The Bleeding Spike Tavern

[Sherlock Holmes]

Tena nodded. Right. And how are you? 

@Arcc1002

[+Ark1002]

18 minutes ago, bees? said:

Talas stood, Nectar in his arms and holding the hands of Asa. “Well, now I just need my food and then we’re all set to leave.”

@Arcc1002 @Sherlock Holmes 

Ambrosia smiled, a tad nervously, her lips tightening for a second. She pushed it down, and wipes her tears away.

"To where?"

12 minutes ago, Sherlock Holmes said:

Tena nodded. Right. And how are you? 

@Arcc1002

Anthony, sitting on the couch and smiling, texts back, hungry. Again.

[little wheel]

Talas shrugged. “The manor, likely. And from there, at least for me, the Tea Garden.”

[+Ark1002]

Just now, bees? said:

Talas shrugged. “The manor, likely. And from there, at least for me, the Tea Garden.”

Quote

By the way, we're rolling with 2 years. Because this is the Alleyverse, and TIME SHENANIGANS

Ambrosia nods, while Nectar boops Silas on the nose.

[Sherlock Holmes]

Tena rolled her eyes. Of course you are. Make yourself something, I'm sure you can manage it. She listened to Ambrosia and Talas idly, mostly just smiling at the icon of Ani on her phone.

[SingingMosaic]

Quote

Nnimm, poor creature I will try to make you less noisy than me. Also I just read back through the thread and now am amusing myself trying to imagine their reactions to certain elements of the environment.

Nnimm stepped into the tavern and glanced around, eyes quickly and smoothly taking stock of their surroundings. A few sights briefly caught their attention, the split second pauses in their scan the only outward sign of their surprise. They were a sturdy, quiet, careful figure in tough, nondescript clothing. Darkness broken by splashes of red just a couple shades lighter than good garnet. Twin half-loops of it bracketed their steady dark eyes.
They found a spot with a good view of the door and paused there, reflecting briefly on this newest turn of events, falling utterly still for that moment--some things never changed. This certainly was a strange city. Loud metal deathtraps hurtling around in every direction, strangely bright, washed out lights, faces and languages and abilities and food and of course the way it sounded. There was nothing like the way this place sounded. On Roshar they had learned, eventually, not to leave their range wide open, their focus taken over by the ambient "noise." But this place... the building had a quiet, thrumming watchfulness in it, perhaps something persistent, perhaps from something here now, and flashes of emotion, bright snatches of cadence stripped of context. Nothing too unfamiliar there, though even some of what was familiar seemed... different. The city, or what they'd seen of it so far though, it was strange. Strange...
Not wanting to become preoccupied in an environment like this, or tap mental speed until they needed to, they blinked back to the present before more than a moment could pass, looking toward the bar and those coming to and from it curiously. Surely someone was going to know where to find information about this unusual place. In their initial explorations, they hadn't thought to find anyone to ask about the way it resonated, but now from the looks of some of those coming and going, they wondered if they might after all.

[Silva]

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Might just be me, but I don't think Aderet or Dusk plan on budging any time soon. 

@Darth Woodrack

Aderet Celeste Blanche Addington pushed her chair back and stood up. She placed a pastel pink card on the table. An address and phone number were written on it in elegant cursive. Below them, printed, was her name, both middle names included.

"Call or come over if you want to talk after letting some of this sink in. We both seem resolute in our opinions today," Aderet said. 

She gave him a quick smile before turning away. Not that she'd ever admit it, he'd also given her a lot to think about. And not all good things.

On her way to the door, a person sitting alone caught her eye.

You are not taking on another charity case, Aderet. she thought.

Of course, however, Aderet ignored the rational side of her brain and sat down across from them.

"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new?" she asked, her right hand laying on top of her gloved left.

Her mind protested immediately. Stupid question. You've never been to this dump before. How would you know who's new or not? You're a sight to see yourself. Where are your manners? Have they been tarnished beyond repair after only an hour in here?

Too late, she argued. Taking it back now would be even less elegant. Let it go. 

@SingingMosaic

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Word of warning: Aderet can be quite obnoxious. Her statements do not reflect my own beliefs.

 

[Soulbinder]

(Apologies if I'm intruding or doing this wrong)

The door swings open and Zephyr, an eighteen year old girl, strolls in, her heavy traveling cloak billowing around her. She glances around, unsure of the proper etiquette. Finally Zephyr decides to sit at an empty table and see what happens.

[Elend Venture]

On 4/7/2020 at 1:15 PM, Soulbinder said:

(Apologies if I'm intruding or doing this wrong)

The door swings open and Zephyr, an eighteen year old girl, strolls in, her heavy traveling cloak billowing around her. She glances around, unsure of the proper etiquette. Finally Zephyr decides to sit at an empty table and see what happens.

Quote

It's perfectly fine. Your post is the perfect sort of thing for this place.

     Damon saw a young woman open the heavy door and stride in. He hadn't seen her before, perhaps she had come to the city recently. He hadn't seen the Singer who'd entered a short while before either, though he doubted that they were together as she had entered a short while after them.

     Damon slung his coach gun, adjusted his duster, and walked over to the pretty young lady's table, pulling a pen and ledger out of the satchel at his side. "Good day, ma'am, what can I get you on this evening?" He asked, raising his left eyebrow with a subtle smirk. Sharp, curved ones that sat over deepset eyes the hard, dark, green of an ancient lodgepole pine on a mountainside. He flipped his pin and leaned on the free chair at the table looking expectantly at her.

Edited July 7, 2020 by Elend Venture

[SingingMosaic]

Nnimm's eyes, which had been busy with the room at large again--no shortage of things to look at, listen to, or smell in this odd place--came to rest on the woman who approached and sat down at their table. "I am," they said. "New, that is." Their voice bore the characteristic deep, faintly crackly harmonic set of their kind, though it was on the smoky end of that spectrum. "Does everyone fall through..." They paused, searching for words, "...tears, rips in the world like threadbare spots in a fabric to get here, or is there someone I should find and let know something is wrong?" After a beat the corners of their mouth turned up slightly. "My apologies. I try not to make a habit of starting conversations with complicated questions right off, this has been a very strange day. I'm Nnimm." The consonants bore a humming quality, a little like the sound one might make to find the note a space best echoes back. "What can I call you?"

@Silva

Edited April 8, 2020 by SingingMosaic
Trying to figure out how to tag.

[Soulbinder]

Zephyr blinks, a bit startled by all the questions. “Um... do you serve muffins? Or cookies or something? Heard that was a thing around here...”

She turns to Nnimm. “My name is Zephyr,” she adds, almost as an afterthought. “Nice to meet you.”

[Silva]

11 hours ago, SingingMosaic said:

"What can I call you?"

"I'm Aderet Celeste Blanche Addington, but no one bothers with the whole mouthful unless they're extremely stuffy. Aderet is just fine. It's a pleasure to meet you, Nnimm," she said. 

She tried not to stare at their odd coloration. 

"To my knowledge, falling through rips in the universe isn't normal. I hired a worldhopper to bring me here for company business. I'm trying to open a store for my fashion line in the city. It's surprisingly complicated." Aderet shrugged. "But that doesn't answer your question in the least. If you wanted to report that...malfunction, you could stop by the Dark Alley." She paused, her eyes doing another once over of Nnimm. "I wouldn't recommend it, though. While they tend to be intelligent, they have a habit of spiking innocent newcomers. And stealing attributes from unwilling, more exotic, victims. Not really my kind of place."

Aderet looked around the bar, adding yet another reality check to her ever-growing count.

"Not that this really is either." With her gloved left hand, she picked up a strand of blonde hair that had fallen on the table. She inspected it cautiously for any stickiness before tossing it over her shoulder. Tonight, she would spend quite a while decontaminating. And Aderet didn't intend to wear that light blue dress again until someone washed it five times, at the very least. Anyone or anything could have sat there before her. 

"Where are you from? Before you fell through a rip in the world, that is."

It sounded so ridiculous. They'd fallen through a rip in the world? 

Anything's possible, Aderet. she reminded herself while checking the white glove she wore for stains.

[Soulbinder]

Zephyr blushes. “Oh, were you not talking to me? Sorry... um, nice to meet you, Aderet... where are you from?”

[Elend Venture]

     "Muffins, no. But we do have chouta, I would serve it with a sweet sauce, like one puts on woman's dishes. We also have Scottish shortbread, for that matter." He drawled in a mid-range tenor which had a mild resonance in the high ceilinged room. He waited while she had a brief but awkward conversation with one of the other patrons of the bar. He cleared his throat and spat to the side. Unfortunately, there was a table to the side, a table with a blonde girl in an immaculate blue dress and a Singer chatting. The phlegm he had hawked flew far, glistening in the lantern light, and - Aw Rusts, thought Damon. The phlegm spattered wetly on the table leg in the echoing room, only inches from the woman's hand. He heard it well from where he was. I hope they don't notice . . . though little chance of that. Damnation that was loud!

Quote

My apologies in advance, Silva and Mosaic.

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Elend Venture

[Soulbinder]

Zephyr covers her mouth, unsure of what to do. “Um... on second thought... can you point me towards a bakery or something?”

[Elend Venture]

4 hours ago, Soulbinder said:

Zephyr covers her mouth, unsure of what to do. “Um... on second thought... can you point me towards a bakery or something?”

     Damon pulled a rag out of his satchel and leaned over to the next table to wipe it's leg, not looking at it's occupants. "Well, the Dark Alley makes the best cookies in town, though if you were hoping for something well, more safe some folks do prefer The Underground Baker's Association.

You sure I can't get you anything to drink? Whiskey has a high sugar content."

Edited April 8, 2020 by Elend Venture

[Soulbinder]

42 minutes ago, Elend Venture said:

     Damon pulled a rag out of his satchel and leaned over to the next table to wipe it's leg, not looking at it's occupants. "Well, the Dark Alley makes the best cookies in town, though if you were hoping for something well, more safe some folks folks do prefer The Underground Baker's Association.

You sure I can't get you anything to drink? Whiskey has a high sugar content."

“Erm... no thank you. Unless you have fruit juice or something. Alcohol and I do NOT mix.” Zephyr said. She frowns. “Hmm... you seem to know a lot about the city. Is there an inn or something I could stay at? Preferably near a bakery?”

[Elend Venture]

 

 

     "Lucky thing is, we've got rooms upstairs. They are fairly comfortable, and only fifty chips a night." He nodded, moving back toward the bar, looking back. "We are fairly centrally located too, so whichever bakery service you might choose it will be within a fairly traversable distance. So what do you think?" He said, rasing his eyebrow again.

@Soulbinder

[Soulbinder]

“I’ll take a room,” Zephyr said, absently pulling a muffin out of her satchel and munching on it. Fifty chips, she thought. I have three hundred twenty-one. Six nights. Better get a job. “Anyone around here hiring? Guilds looking for new members, that sort of thing?”

[Elend Venture]

     "Yeah, most of the guilds are hiring pretty much all the time. Feel free to look around, best to see them all before you commit yourself to one. That being said, these are dangerous times to not have anyone backing you up - then again this city never has been very tame," He laughed, polishing the bar with a clean rag.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Elend Venture

[Soulbinder]

“Okay, thanks. So... could I get a room key?” Zephyr said, sliding 50 clips across the table. She eyed Damon, not sure if she should be flashing money around his type. Dangerous, Ari would have said. She was probably right, but since when did Zephyr listen to good advice?

[Elend Venture]

"Ah, yes. Here." Damon reached into the lockbox under the bar and fished out a brass skeleton key with a number '7' etched into it in a calligraphic font. He passed it over and collected the spheres into a pouch which he placed in the lockbox. "You're room seven, second floor, third door to your right. Have a nice evening, ma'am."

@Soulbinder

Edited April 8, 2020 by Elend Venture

[Soulbinder]

Zephyr dipped her head. “Thank you.” She climbed up the stairs and scanned the hallway for room 7. Finding it, she took in her temporary quarters. She smiled, and said aloud, “Yes, this will do.”

[SingingMosaic]

"A pleasure to meet you too, Aderet," Nnimm replied. The hard consonants were pronounced like taps, accentuating the rhythmic, lyrical quality to their speech. "I come from Roshar. There are... That is complicated, too, actually. There is terrible conflict there. After the things I've seen, I didn't think anything could surprise me. And then this," they gestured to the surrounding room and beyond, "happened."
Spiking, they thought. Somehow I knew I hadn't seen the last of that. The wider universe touches you and after that you can never get away from it.
Their thought was interrupted by the accidental exchange and they looked up again, eyes landing on the conversing pair of humans, one of them looking out of their element, the other one who worked here based on the gist of their conversation, just as he spat on their table. They gave him a brief, level look as he came over to wipe it off and remarked dryly, "Some things never change. Careful where you aim, you wouldn't want to hit someone's soup."
Turning back to Aderet, they remarked, "So wandering around asking for them is a bad idea, this is good to know." Malfunction, they thought. Curious phrasing. They mentally filed it away for future reference, it could have been simple wording, but they'd learned not to dismiss a turn of phrase, just in case. "Is there perhaps an... official way to pass on the information? And on the topic of information, where is a good source to learn about this place? Admittedly I have questions about pretty much everything I've seen, and I don't want to overwhelm you with them unless you wouldn't mind. My curiosity has been piqued pretty much since I got reoriented, falling out of the air will do that to you..."

@Silva

@Silva 

@Elend Venture

[Elend Venture]

     The barkeep turned red and looked away, mumbling something like "Sorry 'bout that. Too much time outdoors . . . spit anywhere you want . . . ya'know?" And then, louder, with his accent somewhat more downplayed: "Would y'all like anything to drink tonight?

@SingingMosaic

@Silva