@Macario

((hehehe nice >:3 nah you good you didn't need to do disadvantage but that would have been funny if you had rolled like a 1 or something and they kicked you out like nah you can't be here))

Making your way back into the main lobby, you do get some stares again from people who just saw you for the first time (why you were barefoot and had a weapon on you, which did make some guests squirm) and others surprised were you in the ballroom early (the festival does not start until 5pm).

As you go up to the receptionist desk, the worker there, a tall panther-looking tabaxi who was holding what looks to be a pandesal-breaded bánh mì and reading a book, starts to notice you coming.

You two lock eyes. He looks to you up and down, first at your weapon and then at your bare feet. Swiveling his chair, he immediately goes to look behind him before realizing you're walking up to him, so he sighs, puts down his sandwich, and turns to go face you. "Hello?"

He just stares at you disinterested and waits for you to finish until you mention the name 'Inra Gonzalez', at which he then moves to sit more upright. "Oh um, good morning to you too, sir. Sorry um, I don't know where she is right now, but I can let her know."

"Well okay let's see..." He watches you warily at the same while flipping through a large guestbook, "No, right, not here." He shuffles around his desk and switches to another notepad, "Right okay. The 6th floor, booked for all of Inra's guests today." He reads off the paper out loud a few sentences that matches your physical description, "Sooo, you must be Macario then, right? Yep. Room 604." He blinks for a few seconds, like the gears in his head just clicked. "Wait. Did you just say 'mimic'?

His expression changes to one a bit of fear which makes you think he's looking at you like you're crazy. "How- how is there a mimic? Are you okay? Do- do you need anything?" He looks you up and down again to see that you are looking fine enough, no obvious bruises or scratches, but then looks again at your scimitar. "Yes, well okay we can go check that out for you." Forgetting he even asked you about your health, he walks you over to the elevator doors. He tugs the level on one of them but the bell that signals it will move down doesn't jingle. Pak'cha and Lilly are still stuck on the third floor. "Ughhh it's always broken." So he moves over to the next one and it comes down so then you two go up. 

In the elevator he hands you some sandals that he says apparently they have by the desk in the case of their 'no shirt, no shoes, no service' policy.

'Ding'

A yellow caution banner is blocking your entrance past the elevator on your floor. "Ughhh who put this here? It's not even." He goes forward and rips up the 'Under Renovation' sign to let you two through. "Stupid pranksters. This is why I hate this dumb holiday."

As you step through you see that the bridge, your suite, and everything that was there before was... put back. Even the soursop that Eduardo had thrown earlier was still growing on the branches. The noises of the birds and splashes and sounds of the cascading waterfall hitting the rocks by the west are back as well. 

It looks as if... it was all reset.

"A mimic broke this?" You hear him question you under his breath, though he tries to make it seem kinder out loud. "You... said it was broken right?" The receptionist goes over to the bridge and heavily tugs at the perfectly-intact vines. "I mean, I can get someone over here to check it again if want it, okay?"

"Have a nice day." He waves and gives you a smile. Not that far enough away, you hear the receptionist mutters something along the lines of that even Irna's guests are weird, then walks back into the elevator, leaving you behind.

Macario stifles a grin at the "Under Renovation" sign as they reach the sixth floor. He could appreciate a little prank when it didn't involve shapeshifting monstrosities in his bedroom at 7 in the morning. Any hint of a grin quickly vanishes though when he sees the bridge. Attached. He wants to correct the receptionist, to say that it wasn't so much the mimic that broke the bridge as it was him trying to escape the mimic, but all he can do is stare. He'd felt magic leave him during the fight, hadn't he? Eduardo had certainly seen the mimic. But how could the bridge be here, unbroken, with no sign of the fight ever having happened? 

"Uhm...yeah...don't worry about it. Thanks. You as well," Macario replies falteringly to the jet black tabaxi, not even watching him turn back towards the elevator. He cautiously places a foot on the bridge, then, feeling no hint of it giving way, slowly walks back across it to room 604. He slowly opens the door (perception 20 with guidance, looking for anything out of place or that proves the events of earlier really happened: a chest in the room, the fire still lit, Eduardo's cart still outside, any sign of a mimic, etc.). 

[[ OOC: This is wild. ]]

(ola)

Argos seems to be interested enough to examine the music source down the hallway.

Also, he feels like he'll probably get a cavity, but no big deal! He can heal B) (Can he-)

He gets up from his seat, and somehow hits his knee on something, which causes Argos to lose his balance and accidentally fall to the floor again. He takes a moment before getting up and dusting himself off. "Nobodysawthatnobodysawthatnobodysawthat..." Repeated in his mind as he walked to the music root.

@Macario

 You slowly walk across the normal bridge back into your room. Nothing seems amiss. But it should, shouldn't it, right? Right, you literally had a fight here with a mimic. How can this be? Gently opening the door, you peer around to see that everything is exactly set up in the room the same way as it was right before the mimic encounter. The mask is in the drawer. The bed doesn't have a gift basket no more. Eduardo's cart still isn't there. And in the fireplace, your flame has been always burning. You see some ashes to the corner of what you can only guess was Eduardo's hat, but now you're not so sure. 

But the chest. The chest is still right there. Nothing mimic-y about it. In fact if you touch it, it does not move. On top of the chest is a card. It looks exactly the same as it was before, though you're not sure since you never had the chance to read it, sorry, but for certain you know now, it's now not knocked on the ground as it had been before by Eduardo's glove throw. 

In fact it is open, lying on the side, like a sign you can see when you first come in. It says:

Welcome back.

- T.

@Argos

((eat the sweeetttttssss. and yeah pfft cavities nahhhh twimee'zah has great dentists. and dental insurance! you'll be fine))

You decide to go follow the music. The soft melody comes in light reverberating whispers.

'The end... is not my end... once we were lost... lost wasn't the end of time.'

'With these mountains. Mountains in between us.'

'But I can't part ways-'

Bonk

Your little stumble there stops the music playing. It continued playing longer for like a millisecond, but after that it just stopped. You hear a clattering of metal utensils falling from the kitchen and the rustle of wings, and seconds later, a door slamming. Do you go to follow it?

Heck yeah he follows!

Macario touches his pocket where he stashed the thieves' tools the young tiefling boy had given him, wondering if they'll still be there, the only proof he has that anything out of the ordinary occurred this morning. He unhooks the scimitar from his belt, leaving it by the door as he apparently had the night before, kicks off the cheap sandals given to him by the receptionist, and picks up the card from the chest (history 9 to see if he knows or remembers who 'T' is). 

@Argos

Despite the setback, you continue on! Following the noise, you chase the music source into the hallway. The hallway seems to be getting longer as you do. The door to the kitchen with one rounded window hole seems to be emitting a bright white light as you go on. You go closer. Closer. The white light. Almost- engulfing. Carefully you open the door.

And it's pitch black. You still hear the rattling of the pots and pan that were thrown about as their spinning comes to stop on the floor. You stand there for a minute wondering what went on.

Then the lights are on. You hear a flapping of wings behind you. You turn around and you see-

It's a toucan. With glasses on. And it has a notepad clutched to it's talons. Still flying in place, it tilts its head towards you.

"What for why are you doing here?"

@Macario

Checking your pockets, ... what a relief. The thieves' tools are also still there as well. When you kick off the cheap sandals, it reminds you of something. And yes, you can also see a scuff mark on the side of the bed where Eduardo kicked it earlier.

You pick up the card. You stare it. Who in the Underside is T?

Like, as if you asked and no you didn't blink, looking at the card again, you see it now says:

You are wondering who 'T' is, aren't you?

-T. :) 

Yes, there is literally a little smiley face there.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I came here to..."

To be honest, he felt if he said his real reason for music it would be stupid and the bird would shoo him off.

"I'm here to... help cook! I'm a new guy here."

What a great lie. Smart Argos.

@Argos

"A... cook? Yes... that is your answer..." The bird squints at you, then tilts its head back up, eerily straight and stiff. It flies over to the right to look past you at the pots and pans, the campfire-like kettle pots and griddles underneath them that all each have an exhaust that goes out through the ceiling, the a brick oven lining the walls rotating a line of rotisserie-style skewers, and then finally a large and sink basin in this kitchen.

With a grin, it cackles. "Then cook something." You recognize that this was the same voice that was singing.

Argos looked at the toucan fly to the equipment. He has barely had an idea how to use anything there, maybe besides the pots and pans and fire. Oh well, he thought that was for more experienced cooks than newbies.

Until the toucan said that...

Argos turned into a waterfall of sweat. "I-" "Well..." "I need the ropes! The basic techniques and procedures! I am the new guy after all!"

Trying to change the topic, he said right after "Why don't you sing a song while giving me the ropes! Aha!"

Breathing out a small sigh of relief at the tools still being there and the sight of the scuff mark, Macario reassures himself that it wasn't all in his head.

He blinks his eyes hard and stares at the paper in his hands. The paper that had just changed while he was looking at it. "Yes, I am wondering who 'T' is," he thinks to himself, half-wondering if the paper will change again. Then he has an idea. "Are you going to tell me, or just let me sit here wondering all day?" Still staring at the note, he sends his thoughts out forcefully, as if there's some invisible mind-reader that he knows is present and wants to hear him. "Who are you?"

@Argos

The bird perches on top of one of the stoves. It smirks when you begin sweating. And that fact that you admit it makes its grin widen even more. But it doesn't say anything, just chuckles and then gestures for you to use the equipment.

Then you say it, and that does it. "Can not cook you say? If a cook was to be hired, a cook must know its way around the kitchen, is it not?" The toucan scoffs and begins to take off its glasses, slowly wiping it clean with its wings with eyes pointedly staring straight at you. It chuckles melodically. Its voice, you notice, has an echo as if two people are talking at once. "Ah, so it thinks I am a fool?" 

"I'll then return the favor. Then I am a human druid in wildshape form who accidentally wandered into the kitchen looking for something to eat, I lie." It grins but its smile shows more disdain than an owl with a scowl. "I do not do tricks. Do not play me for a fool. I know who are my dear Argos. Who you have lost and where you have been. And for why you are here. For I have sent for you."

"So tell me again. Who are you?"

@Macario

When you try to send out your thoughts forcefully, the paper wiggles a little. If inanimate objects can laugh, this would be it.

The letters change without a fade. It just isn't there until it is.

'T' is one of my many names. Short for 'Tanya.' 

Do you like my mountains? Montañas. 

I think you already know who I am.

- T.

 

And then a second later, wiping out all the other original contents.

How was the room service?

Macario watches as the paper changes again, only slightly more prepared for it this time. He reads the first line. Tanya. Doesn't ring a bell. The second line. Montañas. Surely it isn't. The third line. It couldn't be her. That would be crazy. Why would she be interested in him? 

"If you're referring to the bellhop, I found him charming but a little green around the horns to be robbing somebody at knifepoint. As for the mimic, I suppose that's certainly one way to get someone out of bed in the morning. But why me?" Macario takes a second to glance around the room as he thinks his response, using those surface level thoughts to hide a deeper curiosity. Could she be here? At the resort? How would he even find her? And what would he do if he did? He really needed to go talk to this Inra and figure out how he'd gotten here and why. 

"It? I'm not an it! I can prove that I am a."

He heard his name and shut himself right up. Guess it's time for him to stop lying.

"Alright... If you know who I am, who I've lost, and where I've been, WHY am I here... Tell me then. And you sent me, I'd like to hear that too. You're no Irna." He confronted with a slight smirk

"Then you'd probably know who I am at that point..." Argos thought in his mind.

@Macario

The card, though made of hard paper, seems to loosen a bit once you get it. You can almost sense a warm smile emanating from it. But it doesn't address it anymore.

The words on the page appear line after lines slowly, but you can feel its reverberations on the paper like someone is writing this frantically.

Oh right!!! The bellhop!

My child of the night. The horns of fright. A life of sighs and stares. A pity I know too well.

 

He was very amusing. He frequents my hotel more times more times than branches there are on this tree

 

With that you see that some of the branches outside your window begin to shake.

I did love watching him squirm.

Another message.

You held up very well in a fight. Did you like it? I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

You know what they say. Adrenaline gets the heart pumping.

 

A pause.

Or so I've heard. You mortals do love it, don't you? I heard it comes with many health benefits.

A 'morning routine' if you will.

Though I am not sure the point of it all. I have heard of yoga. I have heard of Pilates. Do people really do them? Is running still an option? If I had my real legs right now I feel like I would enjoy a good morning run.

 

The card... it's just rambling now?

Why you? Because you're interesting of course! You're the only one to check out my little mimic surprise! Oh I really hope you adored it. Did you find it funny? I love the look of absolute surprise on your people's faces. Oh to be there in person. I can't wait for the event tonight. I am sensing it is something special.

You feel a cold draft and it sends a shiver down your spine. It feels as if someone is trying to 'touch' the inside of your thoughts. However do you describe that psychically?

Inra? 

She is my beloved companion. Her magic show amuses me so. You want to go to her? 

She is...

There are flickering dots on the page almost like a loading screen. Then the card begins again, almost feeling heavy like shoulders dragging.

Crying? In the bathroom?

What has happened to my child?

 

Excuse me. I must go now.

-D.

 

With that. The paper is blank.

@Argos

The bird just watches you smugly as you say this. It doesn't interrupt you once. Just stares until you finish and over time a frown just inches its way onto its face.

A scoff. "Do you hear that, brethren?" It looks back over its shoulder to no one there. "It continues to justify itself." The bird lifts its head back and murmur of multiple voices erupts from the toucan's throat as you get the feeling someone else is watching. In a snap, its beak is shut. "It thinks of itself more highly than an 'it'. But it just likes to say it isn't. It is an 'it'.

"Just like the bird I inhabit. It has a weak mind. Just like Inra. Who do you think planted the seed of thought?" The bird taps its beak as if in thought and then hops around from equipment to equipment, being especially smug as it perches on the rotisserie.

"Weak minds try to win in a show of confidence." With its beak, it holds a pen that just wasn't there before and quickly whips it head around to write something on the notebook it was holding. It gives a dry chuckle. "So it tries to use my words against me."

"It does not deserve an answer." It squints its eyes at you with a comically large grin, awaiting a challenge. 

(Can Argos fight this bird, Argos is pissed :^))

Argos runs up to punch the bird in its beak (or am I supposed to reply in the other post?)

"Toucan" Encounter - Round 1

Armor Class: 12

Hit Points: 1

 

Initiative Order 

1. Argos (HP: 17/17) - Argos uses Unarmed Strike 12+1 = 13; 0 damage

2. Toucan (HP: 1/1) - Toucan uses its Beak to attack 8 + 0 =8; 1 damage      Attack vs. Argos AC   8 < 16  A Miss.

You lunge towards it, hitting the toucan straight in the beak. Your fist connects with its beak's hard keratin shell, knocking the glasses of its smug little face. "Oh it wants to play?" The bird sneers, "Well two can play at that game."

The toucan flies by you, snapping at you its beak, missing at you by mere inches, before zig-zagging back around. It growls (albeit more to itself). "Guess I am a bit rusty. This body might need some getting used to..."

Argos scoffed too and unsheathed his staff. Swinging at the bird with intent to launch it into the pans. (I rolled a 4 on the sheet)