Glasses, bottles, and plates were thrown about the room in chaos. Tables were being knocked over, stools and chairs swung around the room, and spells were being drunkenly slurred into existence. The entire tavern had, for just a moment, sobered up, and the crowd was taking action against the Big Bart’s staff.
Riva, Leone, and Iman were not unaffected by the situation. Despite their manipulated mental state, the three of them were starting to see things more clearly and were checking in with Azim. Leone did try for a moment to jump into the fray at first. Seeing the madness around him made him want to jump in and throw a few good punches himself, however Riva quickly pulled him back to join the rest of them.
The confused group, deciding not to join in the swarm of patrons attacking the Big Bart’s staff, asked Azim what was going on, how much time had passed, and whatever else their delirious minds stumbled to think to ask. The robot, acknowledging the shift in the tavern’s atmosphere, suggested they leave before doing anything else. However, now that she was coming to her senses, Riva whined that she still needed to sleep. The group compromised to slip away from the mess around them and return to their rooms, resolving to ignore how things played out and just deal with everything when they were ready to leave.
Making it back to their rooms, the last words of the adventurers were complimented by the faded sound of yelling and glass smashing in the background. They wished each other a good night’s rest, or morning’s, and closed their doors. Back in room 10, Leone, who was still a bit drunk, lit up at the sight of his bed. While whatever influencing spell Leone experienced had worn off, the effects of the drinks he had ordered were still in play. He jauntily strolled over to his bed, ripping off the tucked covers for the first time, and flopped onto the bed face-first. The young man was asleep a mere second later.
Azim went and stood in the corner, seeing that Roman had emigrated over there without the robot around. Standing by his pet, the android turned the lights in his face down and entered rest mode once again.
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The adventures slept for about a day and a half. The tiresome events of their travels before showing up at Big Bart’s had caught up with them, and the added inebriation did not help. Leone, Riva, and Iman slept through the morning’s sunrise, as well as the rest of the day, and did not open their eyes until early afternoon the next day. They had truly gotten the rest they deserved.
Riva was the first to wake up. She yawned and stretched comfortably, as if the events of two nights ago had not even happened and the woman had just gotten a good night’s sleep. She looked over at Iman to see the young nør elf halfway onto the floor. The woman giggled softly, surprised. She knew Iman had fallen asleep under the covers, and yet…
Waking up the young woman, the two got ready before checking on the boys. They knocked on the door, were greeted by Azim, and all checked in with one another about how they were feeling.
The group was well-rested, but nervous about what waited for them in the rest of the tavern. Before leaving, Riva addressed Azim, letting him know, “I’m really sorry, dear. We didn’t mean, I didn’t mean, to worry you. We shouldn’t have been gone so long, and I’m sorry we wouldn’t come back even when you came to check on us.”
“It is all right, I understand that you were not sound of mind. Your actions were not your own, and I will not fault you for them.”
“That being said, that’s like the third invisible guy we’ve dealt with in one day,” Leone pointed out. “Did you notice that? The guy Riva fought in Lemaerk, the guy in Smithford, and now the guy that was stealing stuff. Three invisible guys in one day. What are the odds? I mean, at least the guy here was an elf using magic and not just another lizardfolk. That would’ve been wild.”
The adventurers laughed at the comment. Moving along, they readied themselves to walk back to the tavern. As they strode down the hallway, the group could not help but feel like the rooms they passed were all empty. It turned out they weren’t crazy for feeling so. Leaving the hallway and entering the tavern, the adventurers were surprised to see that the entire place was empty. Not a single person in sight. Well, save for one. In the corner, his back turned to all of them, was scrawny little Garrett, sweeping away at some broken glass. The nervous man did not seem to notice the group standing behind him. When Leone awkwardly cleared his throat to get the man’s attention, he practically jumped.
“Wha— Oh! Oh, y-you’re here! Y-You’re still here!” the thin man stuttered, unsure what to think of the metal man and his companions standing in front of him.
“Yeah, we’re here…” Leone reiterated.
“And what of it, huh?” Iman sassed. “We paid for our room and so we deserve to be here! We-“
“Um, Iman… we haven’t paid yet,” whispered Leone.
“But your friends helped pay for us, didn’t they?” Riva spoke up. “By taking all of their money and such, right? While we were delirious? Did I get that right? I think we’ve paid plenty, no?”
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Garrett started to squirm in front of them, unsure what to say. Leone took a threatening step closer, which prompted the scared man to spill everything. The staff of Big Bart’s had been responsible for everything Azim had accused them of two nights, or mornings, ago. Mya, the barkeep, and two elves who used cloaking spells all worked together to trap their patrons in a delirious state of joy, leaving them oblivious to the theft that happened right in front of them. Patrons were robbed right in front of their faces without any concern, and when they finally left, a parting spell planted a thought in their minds that their time at Big Bart’s was incredible, leading them to share their experiences with others and urge them to visit. It was usually a perfect racket, as even if one came to their senses while in the tavern, when they finally decided to leave they were then just convinced that the night had gone by without issue.
He continued to explain that no one had ever eluded the tavern’s charms before. While the magic was simple, it was strong and could affect virtually anyone who encountered it. Of course, he figured, maybe they had just not had any truly powerful magic users show up for a drink, but even that was considered. There were always talks between the staff about what they would do if someone was ever unaffected, yet they never needed to consider the worst as the situation never showed itself. That was, until now.
Mya’s smoke was the initial and predominant method for entrapping their patrons. Garrett informed the travelers how the red-haired woman became suspicious when she noticed no change in the metal man’s behavior after several puffs of smoke had been blown into his face. Normally an individual was hooked off of one, maybe two puffs, but for the robot’s demeanor to remain unchanged after several more, she knew something was up. Though even now, not even Garrett knew why.
The gangly man admitted that if he offered the travelers some money as an apology he would, but unfortunately, the others had taken everything they had and ran off. Now, Garrett was left alone. Not that the travelers could feel too bad for him. He tried to speak up with something more but hesitated. The man was clearly rattled.
Riva decided she was done with anything that had to the scammy tavern, insisting that the group had to be on their way. Garrett tried to apologize a final time, but the woman was already ushering the others out the front door.
“Viyona, what was that?!” Riva shouted rhetorically to the others once they were by their carriage.
“I… don’t even want to think about it…” Leone grumbled.
“Agreed,” chirped Iman.
“Well, now what?” the woman asked her companions. “From the sound of things, we’re out of money, at least of what we had with us when we went in. We should still have a little left in— Oh, no, they didn’t—“
Riva cut herself short to check under the seats of the carriage. They had two small bags of gold that they had left in the cart, which, to her relief, were still present. She sighed gratefully at the realization the thieves hadn’t rummaged through their stuff. Leone reminded her that his spell over the carriage would’ve kept them out even if they had tried earlier. He added that it could maybe be overpassed by stronger magic, but the thieves did not seem like people who had any.
Once settled in the cart, Leone opened up the map of Brell and looked over it with the rest of the group. He reminded them that wherever they went, they should do their best to keep toward the direction they needed to go. Iman asked the young man what they needed to maintain course for, and he filled her in on their plans to reach the Umbra Waterfalls. Riva continued that somewhere nearby the waterfalls was a fairy dwelling, though they weren’t exactly sure where. Once they made it to the falls, all they had to do was look around the nearby area for what they were really searching for.
The nør elf had not heard of where they were going, but was excited. She made a justifying comment about why she figured it would be okay to join them on their journey that way, asserting that such a sight would be good material for her music, and the journey along the way wouldn’t hurt either. Riva and Leone exchanged amused glances.
“Aw gee, What about you, Azim?” Iman turned to ask the robot. “Where do you wanna’ go? Or do you wanna make any particular stops on the way?”
“I have no personal interest in where we go,” the android began, “however I have come to agree with Riva and Leone that traveling to the fairy dwelling mentioned would be beneficial.”
“But… you don’t… want to?”
“I do not have any want one way or another,” answered Azim. “I recognize the reasons for going to the Umbra Waterfalls and thus the dwelling, however I have no desire for traveling anywhere beyond that. If I did so, it would be without direction.”
Iman muttered “hmm” at the metal man’s response. She was not really sure what to think of it. Leone jumped in to put the young woman’s mind at ease, seeing she was getting worried. He explained to her that Azim did not really have any goals or interests of his own. He admitted he thought it was weird as well, but rather than getting hung up on it, helped make decisions for the robot alongside Riva. They figured the best way to help him was to guide him toward what they figured would be best for him, even if thought no particular way about it.
Looking back over at Azim, Iman asked what the android thought about the system, particularly how it made him feel. Azim simply replied, “I do not feel anything, one way or the other. I act according to my system algorithms, as well as the environment around me. Personal opinions or feelings are never involved because I am incapable of either.”
Riva chimed in at this point, assuring the nør elf, “Don’t worry, hun’, he still appreciates stuff. I know he says he feels nothing, but if good stuff happens, he acknowledges it. It’s just mostly on the inside. We’re not gonna see it much. But he still cares. And he cares about us. And that mosstail. I’ll tell you, hun’, he really cares about that thing. You should’ve seen him back in Lemaerk.”
“Woah, you guys entered Lemaerk?!” The young nør elf asked excitedly, abandoning all her worry.
Riva laughed at the musician’s enthusiasm. “Don’t freak out too much, we didn’t make it that far. I, for sure, wouldn’t have made it anywhere if it wasn’t for those two. They really showed off. At least until we were out of our depth.”
The robot added, “A man threatened Roman. I did not find it appropriate given that he was not a combatant.”
Iman took in the android’s words with sincerity and understanding, but when she turned back to Riva, she smiled as she noticed the woman giving her a knowing smirk.