It's Good to Be Home

[GM-Amanda]

A series of heavy thuds sounded through the Tipsy Traveler, interrupting the calm autumn afternoon. The first was a taloned foot striking the worn door, the second was the door smacking the wall behind it, the third was a haversack dropped beside a chair near the windows, and the last was an Av'yana dropping into it, feathers still damp from the deluge at the Battle of Gateway. Cirrus' eyes stayed closed as she let out a hearty sigh through her nares, seeming to sink even further into the worn wood of the chair. A full minute passed before she smiled and looked over towards Barry and any other patrons.

"It's good to be home."

[BarrytheBartender]

"Welcome back Cirrus, you look tired and cold. Want me to whip you up something warm to drink'?"

[GM-Amanda]

"That'd be fanfrellingtastic. You might want to get the stocks open, I have a feeling everyone else coming back from Gateway will want one as well. And no Korrigan Specials please." She gave Barry a weak grin before letting her head slump back again.

[Gondowon T. Falbor]

Gondowon trudged into the tavern, letting out a heavy sigh as he dropped one of his packs to the floor. He looked around, finding what should have been a well-known sight to be surprisingly unfamiliar. He did see two things he recognized however; Cirrus and Barry. He smiled wearily at the two of them, nodding his hello before trudging off again to find himself a place to sit, and hopefully to read and write as well.

[GM-Amanda]

Cirrus' head lifted and rolled juuust enough for her to open one eye and watch the door as Gondowon opened it, and she lifted a hand in greeting.

"Oi, Barry. Put a Caledonian brandy on my tab for Gondowon. He saved my feathered boop more than once, and he's certainly not talking his way out of me paying him back for that this time."

Her head rolled forward as she sat up slightly, hands placed in particular spots along her jaw to push up and crack the tendons in her neck with wet pops with a grin.

"At least, he better not try."

[Gondowon T. Falbor]

Gondowon looked back at Cirrus with an odd expression on his face. Eventually he sighed, placing a hand on his forehead and muttering, "No, no I won't be stupid enough to argue." He walked over to the bar and got the brandy from Barry, lifting it in a toast, but not immediately drinking from it. He seemed to ponder for a moment, looking down into his mug before finally walking over to the table where Cirrus sits. He placed the drink down across from Cirrus before walking away again. He held up a finger before she could protest, moving to gather his things from where he'd left them and escorting them to the table, settling himself in a chair across from Cirrus.

He pulled out several writing and drawing tools, a small book, and a large map about two feet across on each side. It was easy to see that it was largely incomplete, and several places on its surface did not seem to be a part of Phanterra. Gondowon leaned back in his chair, one hand ruffling his hair and the other holding the table's edge to keep himself steady. A look of resignation crossed his face and he finally took a swig of the Caledonian brandy. His face contorted as though he'd just swallowed a lemon whole as he struggled to keep the drink in his mouth. He shook his head and gasped as he finally managed to muscle down the powerful brandy (or at least it was powerful to a lightweight like him). "Thank you," he said, nodding to Cirrus. He was smiling despite the fact that he obviously didn't like to drink. "So... tell me something. Anything. Some kind of story, real or fictional. I find that I don't really want to work on this map right now."

[GM-Amanda]

Cirrus gave a nod to Barry as he dropped her drink, the warm scents of cinnamon, apples, and whiskey curling up in the steam from the mug. She cupped it almost reverently in her feathered hands, the vapors disappearing into her beak as she closed her eyes for a deep, noisy inhale. A rueful grin tilted her face as she watched Gondowon struggle with the brandy before she took a long draught of her own, appearing to savor the taste just as much as the smell. The Av'yana's head perked up at the request for a story, and she took another small sip before setting it aside to drum her fingers on her wishbone.

"Hmmm... lesse... well, how about a cave I explored in the Hamakhaave desert? Might be a little strange for ya, but I'd actually be mighty interested to see what a learned man like yourself thinks of it. The Pivo in the area told me about a cave that was absolutely overflowing with plants that no one took care of, a little oasis in a tiny little mountainside valley. The whole area reeked of magic, and the scholars they had sent in didn't come back, so they paid me... what... twenty, thirty facets up front to go in and poke my beak around."

Cirrus took another draught, shaking her head.

"Should've turned it down, went up the cloaca ten minutes in. The place was an oasis alright, but it wasn't life magic or nothin' nice in there growing those plants. The cave was an old dwarven mine, and the plants they were growing down there reacted badly to the Cataclysm. S'far as I could tell, some dumb gropo managed to get the greenery hungry for dwarf, and they basically... well, grew into them. One minute you had your back to a dracaena, the next it was strangling you. The Pivo that were down there got beefed up worse than trolls when they got... integrated. Found all the Tsuno bodies, burned what I could, ran like hezmana, blew up the entrance to the mine. Didn't even bother going back to Anc'iia to tell them what happened, didn't stop running east until I got back to the river and washed every bit of those spores off."

[Gondowon T. Falbor]

Gondowon carried an expression of astonishment and fascination throughout Cirrus' telling of the tale. Finally as she finished up he blinked and took a deep breath, staring at the table, a far away look in his eyes. "Feeds off people... a variant of the Une maybe... no, this kind propagates through spores... a Dracmoor mutation? No that doesn't... it beefs up bodies through integration? Sounds Phaze-like... and it's in the des-" Gondowon then came to the realization that he was muttering to himself in front of Cirrus. A bit flustered, he smiled and looked back at her.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you got out alright... and without any spores sticking to you. I'm amazed at what the Cataclysm has done to this world, and I had no idea it could lead to such monstrosities being born."

Gondowon put a hand to his chin, looking at nothing again. "You called it a... Dracaena, right? Maybe I should start a monster manual of some sort to aid those in Haven when fighting creatures," he said, chuckling a bit, but more serious than he was letting on. He absentmindedly grabbed the tankard of Caeldonian brandy and took a large gulp, causing him to sputter and throw a hand over his mouth as the liquid dribbled down his chin and between his fingertips. He cringed and tried to swallow the rest, and began to clean up the mess he just made.

"I forgot that was brandy..." Embarrassed, he dabbed up the spilled drink and wiped off his map. "Thanks for the story, by the way. I'm... not sure what to make of it though... I haven't heard of anything QUITE like this plant before. I have my speculations as to possible variants, but it definitely sounds like an original species."

[Rothek]

not far away from where cirrus and Gondowon sat came a snore, or what they thought was a snore. In all actuality it sounded more like bark being violently ripped from a tree! but when they would go to look that would see rothek sprawled out on his back in the corner on a pile of blankets and animal skins. all of his things were scattered around him: a few bags, a small chest, his great axe was propped up leaning against the wall and his armor in a heap underneath. every few minutes the beastman would let out one of these window shaking grunt/snore/growls which at one point was accompanied by a belch that was no doubt a byproduct of dwarven ale and the random beetle on the road back to haven so the smell was as equally foul as the sound was.

when the beast rolled over, a muffled squeaking came from underneath one of the skins and it started slightly flop up and down, the squeeking became louder until the patrons would realize that it was not squeaking at all but the chirps of the small blue and white bird stormageddon, Aurora's pet blue bird.
it rolled out from under the slumbering beastman then flew up perching on the table in between the sage and avyanna fluffing itself and chittering, happy it was free from what could have become quite the predicament.

[GM-Amanda]

"Ah... I wasn't clear. Might not've been exactly the same houseplant I was used to seeing in Lethnal, but it looked like it, so I called 'em dracaena. Somethin' normal and harmless, and causin' you to drop your guard."

Cirrus took another swig of the concoction Barry had brought. "I got nothin' for what to call the things, even if there are still any wanderin' around, Titans forbid. We got enough to deal with 'round 'ere without things that ARE plants until they bite your beak off. Booping forest. I got somethin' of a record like a manual stored in the membrane, but I never been in a place long enough to really worry about writin' it all down. Be happy to help ya. I'd be more of a help if Brandybrook would just let me in." The last three words came out almost in a growl, except the Av'yana lacked the necessary vocal cord thickness to make it properly menacing. Another swig of alcoholic warmth, and she leaned forward in her chair, reaching into her belt pouch for an earthworm. She held this out to Stormaggeddon, whistling softly to get its attention.

"You got any stories Gondowon? I don't quite ever get the chance to just sit down with ya like this. I like it."

[Rothek]

the small bird was still flitting around and cheeping looking back at the sleeping beastman trying to get his attention. however after cirrus whistled and produced the earthworm. stormageddon looked up at cirrus, back at the worm then up at her again. it tweeted merrily as it began pecking and pulling at the worm. Aurora most definitely had the best of friends! the bird chirped happily while pecking and enjoying the snack that the nice giant bird had given it.

[Gondowon T. Falbor]

Gondowon looked baffled at Cirrus' comment. "I'm, um-" he started, but was cut off by another tree-felling snore from Rothek. He paused, simply watching Stormaggedon as the small bird took the earthworm. At this Gondowon chuckled, and started over.

"I don't see myself as a story-worthy person, but I'll do my best to tell you a tale of at least ONE of my exploits. Forgive me if I end up dragging the story on for too long; I'll do my best not to make it a novel, but I do tend to ramble."

He then furrowed his brow and put a hand on his chin. "Now I just have to come up with something worth telling..."

He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. A moment later he exhaled and opened his eyes again, which seemed strangely dead compared to just a moment ago. When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice carried more weight than it did before.

"The story I'm going to tell you doesn't take place in Phanterra. At least I don't think it does. I know that's an odd thing to say, but... From time to time I seem to reach places that I shouldn't be able to go, and meet people whose abilities break the rules of this world, so I sometimes have trouble figuring out where things are in relation to space, time and reality. Hence, why I'm trying to finish this map, so I won't be lost so easily."

He leaned forward and began absentmindedly drawing on the map in front of him as he spoke. "For the most part I don't go out on my own, save to move to another town. I usually am accompanied by friends and allies, but this was one of the few occasions I decided to adventure alone. I'd gotten a lead on..." Gondowon paused again, looking up at Cirrus briefly, then looking back down with an even deader expression than before. "I'd gotten a lead on the whereabouts of someone I once knew well, and decided to follow it. Unfortunately this lead did not take me to him, but only to where he'd been... experimenting. Deep in some woods," he said, pulling out some green ink and using it to lazily scribble trees onto the magical parchment of his map, "There was an old wizard's tower. Secluded and run down, it was the perfect place to practice the illicit activities my quarry usually partook in. There I found a very odd mirror, about the height of a man, and made of obsidian and diamond. It was very beautiful... perhaps that's why I approached it; I greatly appreciated the craftsmanship."

"As I drew near I saw something in the reflection that wasn't there; the door to the tower was rebuilt and in perfect condition. I turned around and saw the reflection showed the truth: the door was there. I looked back, and saw the run down tower that was missing the door. Suddenly I realized that I'd been taken... somewhere else," he said, flipping the map over, and starting a new drawing with red ink. "I exited the tower quickly and looked around. Everything in that other place was horrid. All the colors and textures of the world were wrong. The trees were red instead of green and resembled flesh more than wood. The sky shimmered like the lights of the northern sky, but instead of beautiful streams of rainbow, it was naught more than black rivers across a hellish orange sky. Light worked differently there as well. Without any sort of source, light shone from the ground, almost as if it were a perfect reverse of the manner in which the sun normally shines. I was terrified. I ran back to the mirror, but on the other side I saw the person I was trying to find... He grinned at me and threw some sort of shaded curtain over the mirror, blocking off my return. I was trapped in this other place."

"Eventually I worked up the courage to explore the place. I took as many supplies from the tower as I could find and prepared myself for anything. Eventually I happened upon a town, which oddly enough was placed exactly where the town in Phanterra was, relative to the tower... almost as though the world had been copied and then made anew. The people there were humanoid, but clearly not human. They were quite beautiful, with skin and clothing that was a gorgeous midnight blue and contrasted entirely from the landscape that surrounded them. Despite finding them to be quite pleasant and friendly towards me, I soon found that all of them seemed miserable lives, trapped indoors and barely able to leave their homes without being blinded. They reacted to the dull, ever-present light as though they were looking right at the sun, but some of them managed to get by with torches that emanated darkness."

"I soon discovered why things were the way they were. They're land was normally covered in beautiful darkness, they told me. 'A world of lovely twilight,' they said, and that one day, a few years ago, a rift was torn open in the sky and light fell from the sky and was absorbed into the earth like wine spilled on a nobleman's shirt. Soon, everything was colored wrong and even the plant-life was infected, turning into what I saw around me. They assumed I could do something about it, since I 'glowed so bright, like the land around me', and that I was from wherever the light was coming from. I don't think they're wrong, either. The time when they said the world was infected by light was around the time of the Cataclysm here in Phanterra. My theory is that where the Cataclysm first took place, the hole between worlds was made, and if I could make it to the heart of where the Cataclysm struck, I might find the hole to that world."

"My priority, though, was to return to Phanterra, and with that mirror covered, I had no idea how to get back. So I took to wandering that world, trying to find a brother or sister mirror that I could use to get back to my own world." Gondowon tightened his grip on his pen and stopped drawing briefly. "Well, I found one in an abandoned wizard's laboratory... and I also found all the trouble that went with it."

"There in that cursed dungeon I faced my family... not their spirits... but their memories. I saw them as I had last seen them, and they saw me as I'd left them when I was still a boy. Without thinking about what was truly happening, I found myself arguing with my father once more, while my younger brother clung to my mother's skirt as she tried to sooth her husband. He'd been cross that I'd left them to become a learned man and an inquisitor. I was mad at him for trying to make me a copy of him and that he'd put so much pressure on me to become the captain of the guard when I wanted to read and be educated. It was when he repeated what he'd said when I'd left that I came to. It was an illusion, designed to prey upon what I'd lost and keep me trapped in my own mind. I snapped out of it just in time as some horrid beast was about to make a snack out of me."

Gondowon then scribbled a rather crude sketch of some kind of spider-like creature, with an alien anatomy of five legs and jet black skin that looked like twisted bark. "I have no idea what that thing was, but I do know I made it out of that place by the skin of my teeth. Just as it was about to skewer me with one of it's long legs, I jumped out of the way as I broke out of the illusion it had cast on me. I was outmatched. It was all I could do to run from it as it chased me down, smashing through stone with ease, but luckily not as maneuverable as I was. I ran through the corridors of that lab, desperately trying to find some way to escape when I finally found it: the mirror of obsidian I'd been looking for. Unfortunately it crashed through the wall behind the mirror, meaning I'd have to risk getting near it to leave the world I was in. That's when I got an idea. I pulled out the sympathy lamp I sometimes carry, remembering the nature of light in this world. No one in Haven is particularly fond of that lamp, due to its brightness, and I don't blame them. But this time I was glad I had it, for it worked wonders against this creature. I shone the lamp towards it and it recoiled, almost burning from the lamplight's power. I took that moment to run towards the mirror, and found myself in complete darkness. I'd returned to Phanterra," Gondowon said, flipping the map back over, and moving its magical ink to some other location on its surface, "and was now in the parallel underground facility. I took a moment to breath, when I found myself in agony and tasting blood. A long black leg protruded from the surface of the mirror as the creature tried to follow me. I shone the light in its direction once more, and wounded I ran as best I could from the place. I didn't manage to seal it off, but I knew that if it tried to enter the light of our world it would likely burn alive."

"And so now, I have a task to perform if I ever manage to get the resources to do it... I must find the hole in our world that the Cataclysm caused, and close it... and furthermore, I must destroy all those mirrors lest some creature from their world, one more intelligent than that monster I faced, decides to come here."

Gondowon suddenly jumped and shook his head as though he were coming out of a trance. He sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry... I got a bit too into that story... um... thank you for listening," he said to Cirrus, hoping she hadn't fallen asleep.

[GM-Amanda]

Gondowon had managed a feat, miraculous to some. The Av'yana before him was speechless, jaw slack and beak agape. A full minute passed in silence as Cirrus merely stared at him, shock plain on her face, blinking slowly and merely autonomously. She jumped as Gondowon did, sending the last few drops of water out of her feathers as she shook her head clear, then chased the trance further away by draining her drink in a few swift gulps.

"That's... that's one... booping amazing story. And what's more, I know you're not puffin' me up. You sure aren't one to tell a whopper like that, and you got too honest a face, even for a human. Plus, even outside of the Necropolis, I got some experience with alternate dimensions. I betcha could even get back there by portal if you knew the coords."

She picked up her mug, frowning into the depths of the yellow ceramic. Cirrus sighed the despondent sigh of those without their alcohol.

"Besides, Phanterra is a funny place. You never know where you're gonna end up. It's the best part of ramblin' up and down. Even if some gropo trapped you there, you were meant to find it. You were lucky to find something that no one else here, from me to Serith to Shea to Korrigan to Bailey to Marcus to Toritaka to Zandron to the frelling Valkyn'Vi Council... none of them have seen what you have. You know how special that is? Jealousy. All of it."

She favored him with a grin, tapping the map he was working on with two fingers. "Though... red trees? Light comin' out of the ground? I wonder if you were havin' gravitational issues as well... upside down without even knowin' it. That'd be even better! You walk just fine... but you're still above the sky! It's like divin' off a cliff without having to get the feathers wet in the river below first! Drenn! Even more jealousy!"

Her fingers kept tapping on the edges of the map, rhythmically now, up and down in a an arpeggio of hollow thunks. "I wonder how much bleed there is between the worlds now because of the Cataclysm. We just had to run all over the greater part of Haven and her surroundin' lands because of someone could mess with Phanterra with his mind. I got dropped off a cliff and ended up in some kind of land lost by time, and the gropos there were talkin' much the same as what happened in the world you got dropped in... there was a rift, accept here the folks had some great evil frell leave and stop futzin' with them. Apparently, he was the same pirate I pinkyswore to stabbity. Funny that. Betcha a drink we see 'im again."

[Gondowon T. Falbor]

In response to Cirrus' jealousy and grin, Gondowon blushed and rubbed the back of his head, unused to anyone being jealous of him or his experiences. Then at the mention of the pirate and the bet, Gondowon grinned and raised his brandy. "I accept; whatever drink you'd like. And if we do end up seeing him, I will help you 'stabbity' him as best I can." He then took a small gulp of the brandy, shaking his head and slamming the drink back onto the table. "You know, I hadn't considered all that reverse-gravity stuff until you mentioned it. In fact, there's a lot that you mentioned that I hadn't thought about. This is- *hic* 'Scuse me... This is why I try to listen as best I can; it helps me be a better sage."

"Actually," Gondowon continued, his face turning contemplative, "Speaking of portals, how much do you know of them? I plan on taking one to the sea-side village soon, and the portal to Gateway made me pretty sick... any tips or- *hic* 'Scuse me... um... anything?"

[Loki]

"...an' no two way abot it," Loki and Levi's conversation interrupted Gondowon and Cirrus's as the door creaked open once more. "Ah tell ya', e' was gon' ta... 'Ey, Gandawan!" He yelled, arms spread wide, vest open across his bare chest. In a few strides, guitar bouncing along the way, he was beside the pair.

"Mah friend, 'ow you been, mon?" He grins, pulling Gondowon up into a thumping hug that lasted a few heartbeats too long. He released Gondowon, adjusted his askew crown, then patted the guitar at his back. "Me an' mah bruddah were gon' ta provide som atmosphere. But who's 'de girl?" He looked Cirrus beak to claw, conspicuously checking her for wings.