Derrikoth glares right back at Astra, getting up to go and pet Josephus protectively.

Alus largely ignores/is willfully oblivious of the shenanigans of his cohorts. Instead he approaches the innkeeper.

"Sup dude, the name's Alus, but you can call me Al. I don't know what you're cooking but I'll take two. Also..." Alus points towards the silver-haired woman, "can I ask you who that beautiful, heavily armored babe might be?"

The militia members watched all this happen with great interest, and when the short-lived action dies down, one of them rides up the back end of the the ridge and disappears around the back of the Inn.

Quote from GerStud101 >>

Alus largely ignores/is oblivious of the shenanigans of his cohorts. Instead he approaches the innkeeper.

"Sup dude, the name's Alus, but you can call me Al. I don't know what you're cooking but I'll take two. Also..." Alus points towards the silver-haired woman, "can I ask you who that beautiful, heavily armored babe might be?"

 “Oh! Pleased to meet you, Al. You can call me Nhek!” The man, whose actual neck is not really visible, thumps his prodigious torso twice as he introduces himself. His voice is considerably higher pitched than you would have guessed, and his accent is not local. “I tend the Inn, the casks, and the cellar. And I make a mean bean stew, that’s what you smell. Coming right up—anything to drink?” He goes to dish up.

”Ah, and that,” he says, nodding towards the courtyard, where sits the strong-looking woman, “is Tamalin Zoar. Everyone around here knows that! She’s the law around here. Where you from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Just as Nhek finishes speaking there's a slight crunch and groan of wood as an overlarge steps up to the door. Sighing in resignation if the Inn couldn't handle his twelve foot form, the Gith shrinks down, readjusts Genevieve around in his arms into a bridal carry, then steps on through. "Hey waterboy! Is that the man in charge?" He calls out to Alus, and as soon as he gets an answer immediately steps up to say, "Right. Set me up with your most lavish room for the night. Quickly, if you don't mind too much. The road's been long, and I got no time for pleasantries. Me and friend here has work to do." He bounces the warforged lightly in his arms.

Despite the brash attitude, sweat was starting to pour down the Githyanki's from trying to keep her up.

After Nhek ladles out two bowls of bean stew, Alus leans in and gestures a thumb towards Astra. "One of these is for me. The other one is for her. She's feeling a little sad; like she might have hurt her metal friend over there. Mind sending this down her way?" Alus turns towards Astra, smiles, and nods.

"As for us," he turns back to Nhek, "well, dude I guess you can call us the heroes of Triboar! At least, that's where we all met and partied up for our mission, after saving the town from some very uncool Fire Giants and Orogs. But I'm actually pretty local anyways--Caretaker of the Surbrin, Dessarin, and the surrounding wilds on behalf of the Emerald Enclave. A pretty sweet gig." Alus picks up the bowl of stew, gestures a cheers towards Astra, and begins pouring it down his throat.

Astra gives a small smile when Alus orders a bowl of stew. "Thanks." She begins to eat some small spoonfuls of it. "I just wish that I knew she was getting worn out while we were on the road. I never would've gotten on her if I knew that she was in bad shape. And now she's being quiet and I don't know if that's because she's not working or because she's pissed at me."

(Alus can make an Intelligence check if he wishes, in regards to Tamalin Zoar)

As Nirzeg attempts to enter the Inn, to the general surprise of the customers therein, he is having trouble squeezing through the doorway, especially with Genny in his arms. Perhaps if he kneels...turns sideways...

As he tries to navigate the doorway, there is a surprised shriek and a woman yells "TROLL!!!" 

It's at this point that Nirzeg feels the effects of the minute-long spell wear off and himself beginning to shrink back down to normal size. He also realized at this point how unbelievably heavy Genevieve is (350 pounds!), and feels the strain of her weight, in addition to his carried equipment... 

 "He's not a troll. Trolls aren't prone to being a total smartass like he is. But please, give him a room, he needs one to help my friend!" And when she sees Nirzeg struggling, she rushes over to help carry Genevieve.

Responding to Astra in regards to Genevieve: "People aren't themselves when they are hurting. Friendship is a river that runs much deeper than scratches and scrapes, bud. I wouldn't stress."

Alus laughs at the locals yelling at Nirzeg, and meanwhile he ponders the name Tamalin Zoar...(Intelligence Check: 21)...

"Oh wait," he turns back to Nhek, "that's right! I knew the name sounded familiar."

Once she returns from helping Nirzeg, Alus nudges Astra with his elbow and points through the back door at Tamalin. "You see that silver-haired chick right there? She owns the place--the whole town, really. When I joined the Enclave this region was barely watched at all by our faction, mostly because there was no real settlement here--just this inn and that's it. Less population means less likely people would start messing with the natural order of things, so less need for the Enclave to get involved. But once Tamalin came around and bought the place, it grew and grew and then BOOM--it was the village we're in now. Enclave's been keeping a closer watch on the area ever since, though from what I hear she's pretty chill. I think she's, like, rich, or something. Like from a noble family, maybe."

"Nono. I think I got it. Just give me.. nope. I was wrong. **** me." Nirzeg says through gritted teeth as he shifts her body around so that at least the heavier end rested on him while Astra had the other. Stubborness and pride would only allow so little. "There... Better.. Now would'ja crack'on with the room keys? Wickerman. My coins." The small, magmilizard crawls about Nirzeg's form until pulled out a small pouch and sat at the ready on the Githyanki's shoulder.

At Astra’s words, the Inn’s customers calm down a little, and Nirzeg’s shrinking seems to allay the rest of their fears. Still, a gith is far from a common sight in the Dessarin Valley, and eyes seem to follow him. 

Nhek is there beside Nirzeg and Astra quite suddenly, deftly maneuvering around the bar and the crowded common room with a grace that belies his mass. “Right away, pardon me folks, excuse me,” he says, leading you up the stairs to a large, hostile-style room. “You’re all staying together, I presume? This is our group room, very popular with traveling adventures. I’ll leave you to it—you can pay in the morning, you look like you’ve got some resting to do!” The big, brown-haired man leaves to tend the rest of the Inn as abruptly as he’d come to assist you.

Meanwhile, as Alus speaks, Tamalin Zoar herself approaches him in the common room.

“My ears were burning,” the middle-aged woman says to Alus (and Derrikoth if he’s around by now). “Your friends certainly know how to cause a scene. Are you folks going to be any trouble for me?” Her hard voice is casual, matching the way her hand rests on her sword hilt. 

Nirzeg cringes, but denounce the presumption. He just nods stiffly unless Astra or another voices complaints, and briskly sees to Genevieve's  removal to the room (with Astra's help). "By the nine. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear someone from Baator constructed this one." Nirzeg lets out a strained chuckle as they set her on the ground of the room. Or at least, the Gith leads in that direction, distrusting any average furniture to hold her up at the moment.

"Ahhhh.... Right! Let's get to work." He said, rubbing his hands together. Remembering Astra however, he frowns up at her, then rolls his eyes. "You have my thanks, by the way. And are welcome to stay. But, I'm gonna need at least good few minutes at least to make sure nothing else goes haywire." As Nirzeg pulled out some tinkerer's tools to start the work. His pupils dilate early in the process as Wickerman licks some salve onto his face.

But after its note taking for the little guy.

Astra simply nods at Nirzeg and steps back to give him plenty of room to work. She stands in front of the door to make sure that no one comes in and disturbs him, all the while hoping that Alus was right.

Quote from Awaypturwpn >>

Meanwhile, as Alus speaks, Tamalin Zoar herself approaches him in the common room.

“My ears were burning,” the middle-aged woman says to Alus (and Derrikoth if he’s around by now). “Your friends certainly know how to cause a scene. Are you folks going to be any trouble for me?” Her hard voice is casual, matching the way her hand rests on her sword hilt. 

 It takes Alus a few moments to respond, as he continues to chug the bowl of bean stew until it is bone dry. He puts a finger up as to indicate he is almost done. Once finished, he slams the bowl down, shouts "refill please, my dude!" to Nhek, and turns to face Tamalin. As he speaks, Tamalin can see a thick, glistening bean stew-mustache above Alus' mouth.

"No trouble, I promise, man. The robot and the aasimar are some of the nicest people I've ever met. The dragonborn is a little prickly, but very loyal and braze. The other guy...can be a little...unpredictable, but he's smart enough to know not to start a storm without good reason, nah mean?" He smiles wide at Tamalin, pausing for bit as the bean stew slowly slides down his top lip and around the sides of his mouth. "Oh! And I'm Alus! But you can call me Al. Valkur's blessings to you!" He outstretches his hand, grabs Tamalin's, and shakes vigorously.

"I'm actually a member of the Emerald Enclave, Caretaker for the region just west of here. But we've all kind of buddied up to take on the giant problem that's been popping off all over. You guys have any run-ins with any giants, recently?"

“Giants? So the reports are true, it seems. No, we haven’t seen any giants here, but there have been reports of giants acting nearby...raiding food stores, demolishing old ruins, dropping rocks from flying castles. Truly horrific stuff, if you think about it.” Tamalin masterfully averts her eyes from Alus’ soup-covered lower face, her noble but no-nonsense poise a stark contrast to the uncouth elf’s manners. 

“Us here,” she continues, maintaining eye contact, “we’ve seen an uptick in troll activity. It’s no secret that trolls are common in the Evermoors, but they’re getting bolder coming down this far. So...nothing so big as a real giant, but I suppose trolls are nothing to sneeze at. I’d recommend you keep alert while you’re on the road!”

Tamalin buys you a drink (Alus & Derrikoth), thanks you for the information, and wishes you a pleasant stay at Calling Horns.

Derrikoth, avoiding eye contact with Tamalin, apologizes, "Apologies for my reaction, our companion was having some difficulties and I was merely taking a precaution."

After she buys them drinks, he reaches for his tentatively before grabbing it and downing it, whispering to Alus, "You don't think she recognized me, right?"

After having been knocked down by the dragonborn and looking at the camera as if she were on the office, Genevieve entered a hibernative state. She would not move as her joints had locked into place, nor could she use her voice box to talk, but she had slight sentence of what was going on around her. She knew Nirzeg would at least try and fix her, and Astra was trying to help carry her to a safe location, taking a note to thank them... If she remembered. It had been a while since she needed to be manually reset, this being the first time since starting her travels, but at least she was in a group with someone who knew a thing or two about technology.

With Nirzeg the right fixing of a wire, a tightening of a few bolts, and a press of a teeny tiny little button that was lodged in some Gods forsaken place (stupid gnome inventors), Genevieve's head tilts upward, her eyes flashing white as she announces, "Manual reset activated. One percent..." Five minutes later. "Two percent..." The percentages increased every five to ten minutes, making it clear she needed a few hours to reboot back to normal. 

As silently thankful for possessing spidery fingers in the moment, the reminder of why immediately elicits a scowl out of the Githyanki. With a start, he breaks from reverie to shuffle around until he sat crouched before the warforged, guaging her reaction. After the first minute of waiting he sighs heavily and mutters some dark curse off to the side. "Where did I go wrong this time...?" He whispers, and glances over to Wickerman. In answer, the little guy just shoved the notes it wrote down into the Githyanki's face.

Anyone looking at it would see a horrifying site of strange symbols that seemed to shift on their own across the page. But to arcanist, he smirked and nods himself mere moments before Genny spoke again. "Hmph! It'll take a couple of days of self-maintenance, but she'll be fine." He says to Astra, and then pats Genevive on the head. "******* Prime Gnomes. They didn't half bad job, but there's so much extra bullshit in there its wonder they got her working at all. Problem to resolve another day. Come, Wickerman. Let's grab a bite while there's still time." With that, the two take their leave of the room.

The crowds have died down and the sun has set by the time Nirzeg returns to the common area, but thankfully Nhek is still there and willing to rustle up some more of his stew for anyone who’s still hungry.

Hours later, in the still of night, you are abruptly woken by the terrified braying of your horses in the stables downstairs.

What do you do?

Astra awoke with a start as she heard the sound of the horses braying. She didn't recall falling asleep, her last memory was of Nirzeg heading down for dinner after Genevieve came back online and began rebooting and her silently agreeing to stay here and watch Genevieve reboot. She guessed that she nodded off for a few moments that accidentally turned into a few hours. She got up from her position in front of the door and moved towards Genevieve. "Hey Gen, I hope that you're all good now, because it sounds like there's some trouble going on outside."

During the night, after Astra had fallen asleep, Genevieve had rebooted herself to the point where she was functional again. When she saw the aasimar asleep in the room, she decides to just stay inert and wait, since she knew that Astra would wake the inn up with her constant apologizing if she knew that she was working again and because she enjoyed how cute Astra is when she's asleep. When the aasimar is roused from her sleep and inquires about Genevieve, she exits from inert mode, lighting up and getting ready for action. "Thank you for looking out for me, Astra. My malfunction really wasn't your fault, so you can stop blaming yourself--OR DO YOU NEED ME TO SPANK YOU AND TELL YOU THAT YOU'VE BEEN A BAD GIRL?--Disregard that. Shall we go downstairs and see what the problem is?"