As they are left alone once more, Ironmaiden collects herself, "um Sorry, I didn't want anyone to know so I just didn't speak, my parents would kill me if they knew what I was doing, please don't tell anyone!" The visor of the armour looks around each member of the group displaying no emotion but the body language if the young girl within betrays her nervousness.
Reed, using the corpse of the pirate captain as a step, hops up into the nearest chair and begins eating the stew almost as soon as it's put down.
"So are you trapped in that armour?" Reed calls over to Ironmaiden, his voice partially muffled by the food in his mouth.
He's about to ask more when he notices some blood on the side of his boot. He wipes it off on the pirate captain then goes back to eating, dividing his attention between the panicky chicken and the suddenly timid armour.
"If you could mix a little singing in to this show you'd be a huge hit back home in Thornvalley," Reed adds between gulps of ale.
Wilfred tries to catch Roo, until he hears the IronMaiden talk. He stops and turns to the IronMaiden. He folds his arms and says. "Young lady, come here. I know you are trying to do good, but your parents are probably worried sick! How old are you even? Did those pirates hurt you badly? Do you need some milk or something? What's with all the flames, that can't be safe."
Wilfred quickly turns from scolding authoritarian to doting father. He picks her up off the ground and dusts her off. Checking the armor over to make sure there isn't damage. "You really need to be more careful, though. I saw you spewing out that stuff though, good job! Held your own real well! Come here, sit down. What should we call you, I doubt IronMaiden is your real name."
As he get's her settled, he will ask the others with a serious face. "There were some other pirates who got away, right? Hmmm."
The Ironmaiden buries her head in her legs as she hugs her knees up to her chest with a clank, "I uhhh yeah... yep, I was stupid enough to put it on and it won't come off... And I didn't know what to do, I didn't even make it! My boss is gonna be so pissed when she gets back from her trip! I'm gonna fail my apprenticeship and be kicked out of the city!" Her weak voice trails off into a wobbly upset tone, though the suit.
Looking to Wilfred she adds quick fire to his rapid questions, "I'm nearly 19, I can't let my parents see me like this!...
I umm just need some rest and I should be fine...
Oh the flames are the only part of this thing that's actually me, am I rambling, I feel like I'm rambling...
Oh uh yeah I suppose we should all learn eachothers names right? I'm Archaea, or Archie if you like, but please don't call me that in public! Ironmaiden is the name some folk gave me when I beat up some pickpockets, but the victims said they'd keep my secret, and Ironmaiden sound okay enough I guess..."
Reed drains the rest of his drink and polishes off his stew and starts eyeing the portions the others haven't touched yet, but before he can take advantage, he gets caught up in Archie the Ironmaiden's story.
"You're fire?" Reed asks. "All fire? You make the fire? What happens if you get cut? Do you bleed fire?"
A big smile spreads across Reed's face.
"If we ever need a distraction, having you chase the chicken around with flames spitting out, I mean" Reed begins then laughs. "We could walk through the front doors of Flaming Fist headquarters with no one giving us a second look."
He pauses for a moment.
"How much gold do you think they have stored in there?"
"I was made of fire before, I'm a genasi so like, it's normal.. I'm normal, but the suit is um... like powered by my flame? So I think it's feeding off me and keeps my body in a kind of flared up limbo, I didn't flame like this before, and yes I... I think I bleed flame the same as everybody else right? Same as other Fire genasi, I mean... Right?" She looks around as if needing some kind of validation that she's not going completely insane in the moment.
Wilfred looks sad and pats her on the shoulder. "It's okay, S....sweetheart. You're fine and everything's going to be fine. I think you need to get some rest now. None of us here will hurt you." As he says the last line, he glares at everyone in the room, making sure they know there is an implied 'or else' in there. He will pass her some stew. "Here, eat up."
To answer Reed's question. "The Flaming Fist? Based on how they were shaking down the common folk, they have more gold than they should have in there." He eyes the body of the Pirate Captain, and grabs his hat. If it's not bloody, he'll try it on. "Where do pirates sleep anyways? On there boat, right?"
Corlith takes a seat at the table and starts to eat some stew as he listens to the conversation of the others.
"These truly are strange times", he says between mouthfuls. "I guess that is why I joined the Flaming Fist. But pirates brazenly walking into a tavern and attempting to kill someone, and murder sprees conducted by followers of the Dead Three. I had no idea", he says shaking his head.
"Add to that a young lady trapped in a suit of armour becoming a vigilante, and it seems the city has become a very strange place in the time I have been gone".
He grabs one of the mugs, takes a look inside, frowns and pushes it away again.
"Well, for what it is worth, it is good to meet you Archie. In case you didn't hear, my names Corlith. And like the big guy says, you are safe with us. And if I can help free you from that hunk of metal, I'm at your service", he adds as he takes his waterskin and takes a swig.
"I get the feeling this is just the start. Not sure about the rest of you, but I plan on bringing a little order to the city".
Reed reaches over and snags the mug that Corlith pushes away.
"Not too much order though, right?" Reed says. "That's bad for business."
He then looks over at Wilfred in his new pirate captain's hat.
"Planning a little early morning visit to a now captainless ship?" Reed asks Wildfred. "I'd say if we rest up now, we could hit their ship just before the sun comes up. They'd all be sleeping and we could try out this new carotid artery thing Virro was showing me."
"a little order wouldn't go amiss, thank you all for um, for your kind words and offers, I think I'll go rest and leave the planning to you guys... Did we get any info from the lady? I was busy being unconscious after the fight..." With that Ironmaiden opens their visor and dumps a whole plate of food inside before moving to the door of an empty room and waiting there for the conclusion of the conversation before retiring for the night
"COOKED ALIVE!" Roo' screams, still running in circles. "COOOKED ALIVE! COOOOOKE....eh?"
He pauses as Corlith does what he can to sooth his fears. He takes a moment, pausing and ruffling his feathers as he sees the suit of armor that is full of fire rise to its feet. He listens intently as this Ironmaiden chick, apparently called Archie now, and then, if a chicken covered in brown feathers could turn pale, Roo' turns into a ghost as Archie explains that she's made of fire, bleeds, fire, is fire.
"Oooh dear Gallus..." He says, swaying on his feet. "Ooooh dear Gallus noooo. Not that. Oh Gallus..."
He looks like he may faint. The gift of stew and hard drink doesn't even catch his attention.
Virro sits on the ground with his knees flexed up, holding them with his hands as he listens to Archie’s tale. He smiles as he thinks that they were all fooled by the towering smokestack suit of armor with glowing signs, he sits chuckling to himself. “Hi Archie. My name is Virro. Good to meet you. Thank you for telling us, your secret is safe with us.” He gives a conspiratorial wink. “I like secrets. I would like to know the Dead Three are planning. I would also like to know a little more about “Tarina”, and her secrets as well. I know that Reed would.” He shoots him a grin and a nod. “I know that I am different… than all of you.” He looks at each of you in turn. “But I think that we can help each other.. right? Most of you probably haven’t grown up in a mortuary, in an undertaker’s house…..” He looks at his hands, rubbing them together, just to find something to do with them.
(To be continued… but ready for a long rest as well.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
After getting to know each other a bit more over stew and ale, the six of you pile into the two small guest rooms to get a long rest in. Notably, the rooster in one room, the girl made of fire, in the other.
After the 8 hours of rest, you open the doors to a cleaned upper floor. The bodies have been removed, the blood..mainly scrubbed off the floors and your dishes taken away.
Corlith looks to Reed, not entirely sure what business he is in.
"I take it that is the business of murdering pirates in their sleep? You know there was a time I would have said no way and been appalled at even the thought. That was about an hour ago! Now I am not so averse, maybe a strong hand is needed to enforce order. Although it is concerning how happy you seem about it", he says to Reed.
Turning to answer Archie's question, "It seems the follower's of the Dead Three frequent a bathhouse not far from here. There is a secret door to a dungeon where they can be found".
Whispering some magic words, he reaches out his hand and a spectral hand appears next to Roo, helping him remain upright as he listens to Virro speak.
"You are not wrong there, I've never been in a mortuary. But so far it seems our goals align, so let's see how far that takes us", he replies to the slender elf dressed in black.
In the morning
After a decent night's sleep, where he feels completely rested despite some very vivid dreams, Corlith exits the room and surveys the cleaned area.
"I am surprised at how efficiently that mess was cleaned", he says to the others who are awake. "Are we thinking of heading straight to the bathhouse or was the idea of going to the pirate ship a serious one?", he asks.
Archaea cracks the window slightly to let some air in befor going to sleep, and after laying down she sleeps like a log, being knocked unconscious the previous night seems to have taken a lot of energy out of her, she snores and with each exhale the visor belches out a little smoke cloud which then escapes out of the slightly opened window.
In the morning she is slow to raise, creaking and clanking as she gets up and meekly asks "what's for breakfast?"
Reed laughs at Corlith’s questions and his smile gets bigger.
”My mum and dad always say that if you don’t love what you do either change what you do or change what you love.”
He leans in a little closer and lowers his voice.
”I like to help. I ease the burdens of the wealthy by making their pockets lighter. But I also even the odds for those who can’t. And sometimes that means killing some bad people before they hurt too many good people.”
Reed looks over at Wilfred in the morning.
”If you want to visit those pirates we should do it right away before they wake up, otherwise it feels like a good day to have a bath.”
Roo' spends the night perched on the pole that hangs in the closet of the room, using it to keep himself up off the floor while he sleeps. The possum, his companion he calls Glory of Morning, curls up and sleeps on the floor below him. When he finally jumps down from his perch and rides his possum out to where everyone else is, he is bright, chipper.
"Ah, hello fellow Fists!" He says. If a chicken riding a possum could look regal, well, Roo' Stor riding on the back of Glory of Morning does. He makes a short lap around the room, inspecting his friends as he goes, and tips his head toward Corlith as he passes, the closest to a thank you that he ever gives for being steadied the night before. "Yes yes, it is quite the day! Quite the day indeed! Ah, yes, breakfast? Breakfast would be quite good yes! Pirates you say? Ah, so there are more of these scoundrels from last night! This is a grand idea! I say we have our breakfast and then we go down there and have at them!"
He looks side-eyed at Archaea as he rides Glory of Morning well away from her, then looks at the rest of the party for backup. It's clear he's still afraid of her flames.
Virro stays awake late into the night, only requiring 4 hours of sleep. Late into the night when everyone is asleep, out of curiosity, he takes a small knife and dissects one of the feet of the Pirate Captain, uncovering the tendon of the extensor hallucis longus in its full course up the foot. He wiggles it and makes the toe flex back and forth, eliciting a small smile. Finally he gives up and goes into the room, watching everyone sleep, then he fades into a trance. He feels strength flow back into him, he holds the back of his right hand in his trance, then grabs his chest, clutching. His lips move silently.
He gives a long stretch in the morning, standing up and arching his back. “Breakfast.” He says, still half asleep. “And coffee. Perhaps.. bacon, and eggs?” With the last, he looks at Roo and smiles. He walks into the main room and is relieved but also disappointed to see his dissection has been removed from the room. “Want to see what they have cooking?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
"If folk are keen on breakfast, maybe we can wait a little to go after the pirates. I am not even sure what their ship is called, and as Reed says, best to take them unawares. After yesterday, they will be on their guard, if they haven't left already", Corlith suggests as they discuss options for the immediate present and beyond.
"Of course, they could be coming after us as we speak, but more fool them if they do", he adds with a determined look on his face.
He takes out his Flaming Fist badge, "Besides, we have orders to deal with the followers of the Dead Three, and I would rather do that before there are more murders".
So many problems in the city, and pirates and murderers are but two. He figures you have to start somewhere though, and following orders makes perfect sense to him.
Once they are all gathered, he makes his way downstairs with the others to add to Tarina's tab.
As the six of you head downstairs talking about where to head next, the smell of breakfast slowly reaches your senses. The tavern is very sparse at this hour, there is a new man behind the bar, a pair of half-orcs at a table in the corner and a human sitting by the fire, very hunched over.
The man behind the bar looks up as you all enter, "Wondered when you all would be coming down. Got some porridge for you, but after that Alan has asked me to make sure you leave his establishment." He shrugs, "He does that a lot, after a tenday, he'll forget all about it and you can come and go as you please. Typical." He turns around and starts putting hot bowls of porridge on the bar, not caring if you grab them or not.
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As they are left alone once more, Ironmaiden collects herself, "um Sorry, I didn't want anyone to know so I just didn't speak, my parents would kill me if they knew what I was doing, please don't tell anyone!" The visor of the armour looks around each member of the group displaying no emotion but the body language if the young girl within betrays her nervousness.
Reed, using the corpse of the pirate captain as a step, hops up into the nearest chair and begins eating the stew almost as soon as it's put down.
"So are you trapped in that armour?" Reed calls over to Ironmaiden, his voice partially muffled by the food in his mouth.
He's about to ask more when he notices some blood on the side of his boot. He wipes it off on the pirate captain then goes back to eating, dividing his attention between the panicky chicken and the suddenly timid armour.
"If you could mix a little singing in to this show you'd be a huge hit back home in Thornvalley," Reed adds between gulps of ale.
Wilfred tries to catch Roo, until he hears the IronMaiden talk. He stops and turns to the IronMaiden. He folds his arms and says. "Young lady, come here. I know you are trying to do good, but your parents are probably worried sick! How old are you even? Did those pirates hurt you badly? Do you need some milk or something? What's with all the flames, that can't be safe."
Wilfred quickly turns from scolding authoritarian to doting father. He picks her up off the ground and dusts her off. Checking the armor over to make sure there isn't damage. "You really need to be more careful, though. I saw you spewing out that stuff though, good job! Held your own real well! Come here, sit down. What should we call you, I doubt IronMaiden is your real name."
As he get's her settled, he will ask the others with a serious face. "There were some other pirates who got away, right? Hmmm."
The Ironmaiden buries her head in her legs as she hugs her knees up to her chest with a clank, "I uhhh yeah... yep, I was stupid enough to put it on and it won't come off... And I didn't know what to do, I didn't even make it! My boss is gonna be so pissed when she gets back from her trip! I'm gonna fail my apprenticeship and be kicked out of the city!" Her weak voice trails off into a wobbly upset tone, though the suit.
Looking to Wilfred she adds quick fire to his rapid questions, "I'm nearly 19, I can't let my parents see me like this!...
I umm just need some rest and I should be fine...
Oh the flames are the only part of this thing that's actually me, am I rambling, I feel like I'm rambling...
Oh uh yeah I suppose we should all learn eachothers names right? I'm Archaea, or Archie if you like, but please don't call me that in public! Ironmaiden is the name some folk gave me when I beat up some pickpockets, but the victims said they'd keep my secret, and Ironmaiden sound okay enough I guess..."
Reed drains the rest of his drink and polishes off his stew and starts eyeing the portions the others haven't touched yet, but before he can take advantage, he gets caught up in Archie the Ironmaiden's story.
"You're fire?" Reed asks. "All fire? You make the fire? What happens if you get cut? Do you bleed fire?"
A big smile spreads across Reed's face.
"If we ever need a distraction, having you chase the chicken around with flames spitting out, I mean" Reed begins then laughs. "We could walk through the front doors of Flaming Fist headquarters with no one giving us a second look."
He pauses for a moment.
"How much gold do you think they have stored in there?"
"I was made of fire before, I'm a genasi so like, it's normal.. I'm normal, but the suit is um... like powered by my flame? So I think it's feeding off me and keeps my body in a kind of flared up limbo, I didn't flame like this before, and yes I... I think I bleed flame the same as everybody else right? Same as other Fire genasi, I mean... Right?" She looks around as if needing some kind of validation that she's not going completely insane in the moment.
Wilfred looks sad and pats her on the shoulder. "It's okay, S....sweetheart. You're fine and everything's going to be fine. I think you need to get some rest now. None of us here will hurt you." As he says the last line, he glares at everyone in the room, making sure they know there is an implied 'or else' in there. He will pass her some stew. "Here, eat up."
To answer Reed's question. "The Flaming Fist? Based on how they were shaking down the common folk, they have more gold than they should have in there." He eyes the body of the Pirate Captain, and grabs his hat. If it's not bloody, he'll try it on. "Where do pirates sleep anyways? On there boat, right?"
Corlith takes a seat at the table and starts to eat some stew as he listens to the conversation of the others.
"These truly are strange times", he says between mouthfuls. "I guess that is why I joined the Flaming Fist. But pirates brazenly walking into a tavern and attempting to kill someone, and murder sprees conducted by followers of the Dead Three. I had no idea", he says shaking his head.
"Add to that a young lady trapped in a suit of armour becoming a vigilante, and it seems the city has become a very strange place in the time I have been gone".
He grabs one of the mugs, takes a look inside, frowns and pushes it away again.
"Well, for what it is worth, it is good to meet you Archie. In case you didn't hear, my names Corlith. And like the big guy says, you are safe with us. And if I can help free you from that hunk of metal, I'm at your service", he adds as he takes his waterskin and takes a swig.
"I get the feeling this is just the start. Not sure about the rest of you, but I plan on bringing a little order to the city".
Reed reaches over and snags the mug that Corlith pushes away.
"Not too much order though, right?" Reed says. "That's bad for business."
He then looks over at Wilfred in his new pirate captain's hat.
"Planning a little early morning visit to a now captainless ship?" Reed asks Wildfred. "I'd say if we rest up now, we could hit their ship just before the sun comes up. They'd all be sleeping and we could try out this new carotid artery thing Virro was showing me."
"a little order wouldn't go amiss, thank you all for um, for your kind words and offers, I think I'll go rest and leave the planning to you guys... Did we get any info from the lady? I was busy being unconscious after the fight..." With that Ironmaiden opens their visor and dumps a whole plate of food inside before moving to the door of an empty room and waiting there for the conclusion of the conversation before retiring for the night
"COOKED ALIVE!" Roo' screams, still running in circles. "COOOKED ALIVE! COOOOOKE....eh?"
He pauses as Corlith does what he can to sooth his fears. He takes a moment, pausing and ruffling his feathers as he sees the suit of armor that is full of fire rise to its feet. He listens intently as this Ironmaiden chick, apparently called Archie now, and then, if a chicken covered in brown feathers could turn pale, Roo' turns into a ghost as Archie explains that she's made of fire, bleeds, fire, is fire.
"Oooh dear Gallus..." He says, swaying on his feet. "Ooooh dear Gallus noooo. Not that. Oh Gallus..."
He looks like he may faint. The gift of stew and hard drink doesn't even catch his attention.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Virro sits on the ground with his knees flexed up, holding them with his hands as he listens to Archie’s tale. He smiles as he thinks that they were all fooled by the towering smokestack suit of armor with glowing signs, he sits chuckling to himself. “Hi Archie. My name is Virro. Good to meet you. Thank you for telling us, your secret is safe with us.” He gives a conspiratorial wink. “I like secrets. I would like to know the Dead Three are planning. I would also like to know a little more about “Tarina”, and her secrets as well. I know that Reed would.” He shoots him a grin and a nod. “I know that I am different… than all of you.” He looks at each of you in turn. “But I think that we can help each other.. right? Most of you probably haven’t grown up in a mortuary, in an undertaker’s house…..” He looks at his hands, rubbing them together, just to find something to do with them.
(To be continued… but ready for a long rest as well.)
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
After getting to know each other a bit more over stew and ale, the six of you pile into the two small guest rooms to get a long rest in. Notably, the rooster in one room, the girl made of fire, in the other.
After the 8 hours of rest, you open the doors to a cleaned upper floor. The bodies have been removed, the blood..mainly scrubbed off the floors and your dishes taken away.
The previous evening
Corlith looks to Reed, not entirely sure what business he is in.
"I take it that is the business of murdering pirates in their sleep? You know there was a time I would have said no way and been appalled at even the thought. That was about an hour ago! Now I am not so averse, maybe a strong hand is needed to enforce order. Although it is concerning how happy you seem about it", he says to Reed.
Turning to answer Archie's question, "It seems the follower's of the Dead Three frequent a bathhouse not far from here. There is a secret door to a dungeon where they can be found".
Whispering some magic words, he reaches out his hand and a spectral hand appears next to Roo, helping him remain upright as he listens to Virro speak.
"You are not wrong there, I've never been in a mortuary. But so far it seems our goals align, so let's see how far that takes us", he replies to the slender elf dressed in black.
In the morning
After a decent night's sleep, where he feels completely rested despite some very vivid dreams, Corlith exits the room and surveys the cleaned area.
"I am surprised at how efficiently that mess was cleaned", he says to the others who are awake. "Are we thinking of heading straight to the bathhouse or was the idea of going to the pirate ship a serious one?", he asks.
Archaea cracks the window slightly to let some air in befor going to sleep, and after laying down she sleeps like a log, being knocked unconscious the previous night seems to have taken a lot of energy out of her, she snores and with each exhale the visor belches out a little smoke cloud which then escapes out of the slightly opened window.
In the morning she is slow to raise, creaking and clanking as she gets up and meekly asks "what's for breakfast?"
Reed laughs at Corlith’s questions and his smile gets bigger.
”My mum and dad always say that if you don’t love what you do either change what you do or change what you love.”
He leans in a little closer and lowers his voice.
”I like to help. I ease the burdens of the wealthy by making their pockets lighter. But I also even the odds for those who can’t. And sometimes that means killing some bad people before they hurt too many good people.”
Reed looks over at Wilfred in the morning.
”If you want to visit those pirates we should do it right away before they wake up, otherwise it feels like a good day to have a bath.”
Roo' spends the night perched on the pole that hangs in the closet of the room, using it to keep himself up off the floor while he sleeps. The possum, his companion he calls Glory of Morning, curls up and sleeps on the floor below him. When he finally jumps down from his perch and rides his possum out to where everyone else is, he is bright, chipper.
"Ah, hello fellow Fists!" He says. If a chicken riding a possum could look regal, well, Roo' Stor riding on the back of Glory of Morning does. He makes a short lap around the room, inspecting his friends as he goes, and tips his head toward Corlith as he passes, the closest to a thank you that he ever gives for being steadied the night before. "Yes yes, it is quite the day! Quite the day indeed! Ah, yes, breakfast? Breakfast would be quite good yes! Pirates you say? Ah, so there are more of these scoundrels from last night! This is a grand idea! I say we have our breakfast and then we go down there and have at them!"
He looks side-eyed at Archaea as he rides Glory of Morning well away from her, then looks at the rest of the party for backup. It's clear he's still afraid of her flames.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Virro stays awake late into the night, only requiring 4 hours of sleep. Late into the night when everyone is asleep, out of curiosity, he takes a small knife and dissects one of the feet of the Pirate Captain, uncovering the tendon of the extensor hallucis longus in its full course up the foot. He wiggles it and makes the toe flex back and forth, eliciting a small smile. Finally he gives up and goes into the room, watching everyone sleep, then he fades into a trance. He feels strength flow back into him, he holds the back of his right hand in his trance, then grabs his chest, clutching. His lips move silently.
He gives a long stretch in the morning, standing up and arching his back. “Breakfast.” He says, still half asleep. “And coffee. Perhaps.. bacon, and eggs?” With the last, he looks at Roo and smiles. He walks into the main room and is relieved but also disappointed to see his dissection has been removed from the room. “Want to see what they have cooking?”
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
"If folk are keen on breakfast, maybe we can wait a little to go after the pirates. I am not even sure what their ship is called, and as Reed says, best to take them unawares. After yesterday, they will be on their guard, if they haven't left already", Corlith suggests as they discuss options for the immediate present and beyond.
"Of course, they could be coming after us as we speak, but more fool them if they do", he adds with a determined look on his face.
He takes out his Flaming Fist badge, "Besides, we have orders to deal with the followers of the Dead Three, and I would rather do that before there are more murders".
So many problems in the city, and pirates and murderers are but two. He figures you have to start somewhere though, and following orders makes perfect sense to him.
Once they are all gathered, he makes his way downstairs with the others to add to Tarina's tab.
As the six of you head downstairs talking about where to head next, the smell of breakfast slowly reaches your senses. The tavern is very sparse at this hour, there is a new man behind the bar, a pair of half-orcs at a table in the corner and a human sitting by the fire, very hunched over.
The man behind the bar looks up as you all enter, "Wondered when you all would be coming down. Got some porridge for you, but after that Alan has asked me to make sure you leave his establishment." He shrugs, "He does that a lot, after a tenday, he'll forget all about it and you can come and go as you please. Typical." He turns around and starts putting hot bowls of porridge on the bar, not caring if you grab them or not.