Eunesian Stopover Tavern

[O'Brien]

From the oustide, the Eunesian Stopover appeared much like any other Ariosan house, a quaintly charming log cabin with a thin trail of smoke weaving up through the chimney and into the expansive sky. The only things distinguishing the tavern were the fact that it was notably longer than most houses, and the sign hanging out from the roof, much like one would see in a big city, declaring in bold, blunt letters: The Eunesian Stopover Tavern.

Inside the fireplace off to the right of the building illuminated the entire tavern in a warm, homey glow. Unlike most taverns, the Eunesian Stopover was fairly well lit, with beams of sunlight piercing through the windows that were kept open in daylight. At night, though, when Ariosans really became relaxed and socially minded, the windows were closed and there was the same feeling generated by any dimly-lit tavern in the Empire.

The relatively unstable building, like most in Arios, stood strong thanks to the pleasant weather of Arios. Even though it could get the occasional tidal wave, hurricane, or an unforgiving thunderstorm that rages all over the island, fortunately the huge trees helped wonderfully both in physical and Arcane protection. Natural disasters tended not to be a problem for Arios, since the trees could (and always did) absorb the brunt of them, so architecture tended to be pretty lax. The buildings still stood firm and looked nice to boot.

The tavern tended to be busy whenever it was not closed. No matter how busy it got, though, there were always the same two employees working hard. Both were elven girls with vigor and persistence that only a naturally-born Ariosan could have had.

Inside, there were a few Ariosans sitting around and talking quietly with friends, sipping their drinks all the while. What's interesting about these drinks was that there didn't seem to be a single drink identical to another one. Each one appeared unique in its own right, of different colors and consistencies.

In stark contrast to their drinks, the two bargirls were identical in just about every way. They had beautiful golden hair, pleasantly curvaceous bodies, somewhat down-to-earth attitudes, very real expressions, and extremely beautiful faces to match their bodies. The two elven bar girls were certainly attractive by just about any race's standards. Their voices were, as anyone could guess, very pleasing, light, and friendly. Needless to say these were probably the two most gorgeous beings on the enitre island. Quite tragically, however, flirting with them never really resulted in anything but pain. Even with girls' voices being so irresistibly flirtacious, every Ariosan knew that for whatever reason, you just didn't flirt with them.

(credit: GM Guru, GM O'Brien)

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul walked into the bar, which was nearly empty because of the time of day. He took a seat, and looked around to see what this "Stopover Tavern" was like. It was a pleasant enough place, he thought to himself, very well lit. And not at all crowded.

As he spotted the beautiful barmaid, his heart lept. Never had he seen such a magnificent creature! Even by elven standards, she is a real looker, he thought. And then he spotted the other, identical maid.

"I have died and gone to Heaven," he muttered to himself as the barmaid began to walk in his direction.

[O'Brien]

Poor Paul was probably completely oblivious to what was about to happen to him. "Hi there," they said simultaneously, and one of them continued, "you're looking good. What can we get for you, sir?" The voices were, of course, so irresistably flirtatious. Occasionally one of the girls would ask the other (after all customers had left) if they should ever stop and try to actually find a guy. These ideas, however, soon went away as both of them would burst out in hysterical giggling. They were as incorrigible as they were beautiful.

[Paul Tyndal]

"Why thank you," Paul replied, smiling what he hoped was a nice smile. His experience with girls was limited, and usually didn't turn out well, but these two seemed to be extremely interested in him. "And you two are looking beyond well. In fact," he continued, "you two are the most beautiful things I have ever seen, and I've been around the block." He was lying, of course, about being around the block, but he had heard that flattery was a sure-fire way to get a girl.

He could not decide whether he should favor one with his look, since they were both equally beautiful, so he flashed his eyes from one to the other in what he hoped was a casual manner. He directed his next question to both of them, speaking to the space inbetween them. "Would you like to sit and have a drink with me? I'd be delighted to have you as company, as I'm sure any other man would." He leaned back expectantly, hoping that the answer would be yes.

[O'Brien]

The elven girls sighed inwardly. As anyone could guess, these two were more than used to dealing with flirtatious customers. "Welcome to Arios, sir," one of them said simply, and it was likely that the subtext drifted over Paul's head like a stray cloud.

The other one leaned forward at the half-elf. "Thank you for your offer," she began, "but we work here. That's why we asked you for your drink order. We really don't have time to sit down and socialize." With a curt smile that dared him to press further, she leaned back again.

Once again, the two spoke in unison, echoing both each other and themselves: "What can we get for you, sir?"

[Paul Tyndal]

Paul, being the naive fellow he was, insisted on ignoring their hints to back off, and continued. He boldly told them that he was sure that they could sit down and take a break from all their work. He also told them, in a further attempt at flattery, that he had not come for a drink, unless that drink was of the wholesome beauty of them. For, he claimed, he had heard of their legendary looks in Prime, where he had come from. He hoped to impress the two small-country girls by his repetiore of travels.

[O'Brien]

The elven girls exchanged glances after the male rambled on. By the way they both looked back at him, it would not have been uncommon for him to think he had succeeded in his amorous advances. Those thoughts were quickly dispeled, though. One of the girls closed her eyes and held an arm up towards Paul, though oddly the hand remained hanging down slack. Beneath the hand, an orb of golden yellow energy formed and grew to about the size of a grapefruit. Without warning, her hand shot up, revealing her palm, and the energy orb launched forth and struck Tyndal in the head. It felt as though somene had broken a chair over his head, like in a barroom brawl. Anyone familiar with the Arcane sphere of Sorcery could have recognized the spell as Force Bolt, an initiate-level spell.

Still not wanting to be annoying, the girls did not ask for Paul's order again, but would walk away from him if he said nothing else.

[Paul Tyndal]

The blast to Paul's head knocked him out cold, and he would not wake until the next brightening. He just laid there on the floor, no one bothering to move him, just stepping over him, as a momento as to what happens when one attempts to flirt with the two elven serving maids.

He didn't need to find a place to sleep that night.

[Gareth Gruven]

Gareth Gruven and his good friend Solaris entered the Tavern, one hovering in midair as the other walked with both feet firmly planted on the grand. They had just finished a few brightening's work of hard labour, and were ready to celebrate with a good drink or two at the bar. Turning in the doorway, the platinum silver-haired sprite turned to face his companion. "Mind that you don't get drunk, who knows what might happen in a place like this. Oh, and try not to flirt with the bar-girls, I've heard of bad experiences with them," he spoke, and gave a warning glance to show he truthfully meant what he had said.

Smiling at the crowd, he made his way up to the bar, flying over people's heads until he plopped down in a bar seat. Solaris would soon be coming through the crown. The gift of wings! Turning to the barmaid, he smile politely and kept his dark-green eyes on hers, saying in a friendly tone, "What's good to drink here Miss?"

[Solaris Silverarrow]

He followed the sprite whom he had only met a day or so ago. As they had walked through the city he had noticed certain oddities that seemed quite normal its occupants. He had shrugged them all off of course, for he wasn't quite normal himself. He entered the bar after Gareth and took a look around. Again with the oddities of this place, it was dark yet it seemed quite crowded. Perhaps it was that no sleep thing Gareth had mentioned earlier. He watched as the sprite flew overhead and quickly found himself a seat. Once he reached the sprite he sat down and smiled. "No need about me getting drunk, I don't drink those sort of substances anymore, it was part of my past that only led me in a downward spiral." He grinned when Gareth mentioned that barmaids. "I don't think I have anything to worry about."

Then the barmaid’s acuity came over and he gave them a good look over. Indeed they were beautiful, just like most elven women in their prime ages. He had seen the beauty of elven nobles when he had been in Syl'rosya. He talked to them both in the same manner as Gareth, except his tome held something that would tell these bar maids he was no fool, and that subtle tricks to gain a larger tip were not going to happen, however he didn't know if his friend would fall for such things. "If you have a hot cup of tea, I would gladly order one. How much would that be now?" He had only 50 crowns on his person...he really needed to find a place to cash in his vouchers.

[O'Brien]

One each of the two beautiful girls stood before Gareth and Solaris.

"What's good here," echoed the one serving Gareth, surprised, "why, I dare say everything is! We can serve you anything, really. What do you have in mind? I really do mean 'in mind' too. Just think of what you want, okay? Oh, and those are very nice looking wings, sir."

Speaking at about the same time, the other twin talked with Silverarrow. "Hot tea, certainly," she said with a vigorous nod, "excellent choice, sir. I do love a good cup of tea. Don't worry about the cost, you may drink free here. Imagine how you'd like the tea so that we can get it for you, please, sir."

Who could say which, if not both, of the girls used Mysticism and which used Sorcery? Apparently the one would take both orders, and the other...well, her time to shine was when one of them flirted.

[Gareth Gruven]

"Thanks..." Gareth said blushing at the compliment of his wings. He had grown rather fond of them himself, afterall, they were the main thing that let him take to air. "Well...okay then," he spoke cheerfully. 'Hmmm...I would like some hot tea like my friend here, yet make sure that I pay for everything...just tell me the price ma'am...' he thought to himself, and then began to imagine a brick wall. He wouldn't want anyone to start picking through his mind like that. Yes, there was quite a number of bricks mortared onto it, and oh look! A slight hole was in one of the bricks, it must have been falling apart or something of the sort. Gareth continued to imagine the brick wall. Patiently, he waited for his drink, with a solid expression on his face, much similar to a wall.

Suddenly though, he snapped out of this stolid expression and laughed. Beckoning for one of the barmaids to come closer, he smiled politely at her, knowing her was pure and innocent of mind, and had no coy thoughts of anyone in the room. "Ma'am...do you know where I could learn druidism or tracking?" he asked politely with a cheerful smile on his face.

[Solaris Silverarrow]

His eyebrow rose slightly when the one girl talked to him, she seemed very enthusiastic about this. However his brow raised even more when she told him to 'imagine' how he'd like the tea. This was quite odd, for what good would it do for him to imagine. His mind quickly went back to his conversation with Gareth, and he remembered the sprite saying something that most everyone on the island used some form of magic. "So then...they must be magic users. To imagine my tea huh...must be some sort of mind reading tech..." He stopped as soon as he thought that and looked at both of the twins. One or both could read minds, he was fairly sure of this. He had dealt with magic users before; they were usually on his side however. Matthias and Motito had both been magic users; Matthias had been of...hmm what did he call it? Something with a T, but that didn't matter much. Motito had used Sorcery, and was very good at it from what he had heard.

He tried to close out the thoughts of his friend and such, for he didn't want them to be able to see his friends and their abilities. Instead he closed his eyes and tried to imagine the tea. It would of course be in a cup, its liquid color would be a rich and clear brown color. The steam would rise off of it, slowly drifting towards the ceiling. Its taste would be the best he had ever had, even though the one in Midpoint had been particularly tasty. He opened his eyes and waited to see what would happen.

[O'Brien]

One of the two bar maidens checked both minds, but found Gareth's thoughts to be by far the strangest she had encountered yet. Ah, but she had a plan for him. Solaris was more cooperative, and his waitress smiled nicely at him. "Very well, sir," she said with a curtsy, "I'll have that for you soon." She went into some back room, presumably to prepare the drink.

The other girl had a question to answer, though. "Druidism and tracking," she repeated as though they were foreign words, "I've got no idea. Check out in the forest somewhere, maybe? Well then, we'll have your drink soon as well." The twin went to the back room too.

In a few minutes both emerged. One brought a cup of steaming hot tea over to the elf, dark and fragrant; exactly as he had imagined it. The sprite, on the other hand, received...well, a brick. It was a nice brick, though, and had a pleasant red hue to it. Any mason would have been proud to work with such a brick. The elven girl who had brought the brick out laid it gingerly on the table in front of Gareth. "Enjoy," she said happily, as though she had just brought him something normal.

[Gareth Gruven]

"Make sure nothing happens to my drink," he spoke with a wink to Solaris as the brick was laid down before him. Turning to the woman, he smiled politely at her and said, "Ma'am, would you happen to have a straw? I find it hard to reach over the bar with my small size, and I really don't feel like hovering in midair," he said with his most polite voice as ever. "Thanks" he said and fluttered back to his seat by Solaris.

"So how's the tea?" he grumbled as he sat with his brick, flopping it over carefully so he didn't scratch the counter. He idly wondered how much this stupid thing would cost him. He was almost sure that he was the first person ever to go to the bar and ask for a brick. Well, he didn't really ask of it, he was just thinking about one at the time. "But where did they get it?" he murmured to Solaris, turning to look his partner in the face. "Surely they didn't just find a brick and take it out. Well, they could, but this is a nice brick, not one you would expect to find lying on the floor..." he said in a puzzled voice, but sighed and went back to flopping his brick, waiting for the waitress to bring a straw.