Completed A Night in the Bar

[Tsaba]

19th Summer, 513 Well, here's stop two on my 'unlikely places to find a Nuit' adventure, Tsaba thought to herself as she wandered into the Kelp Bar. And a new contestant for 'stupidest thing you've ever done', by the time I'm through tonight. But if it worked... Ignoring the other patrons in various states of drunkenness and trying not to step in anything wet, Tsaba made her way towards the bar. On the plus side, most of the puddles around her were probably alcohol, and therefore should do her skin good, if anything. On the other side, some of the puddles around her probably weren't alcohol. Finding a stretch of bar more packed with grim, quiet people than rowdy drunkards, Tsaba strode up and waited patiently for the barkeep's attention. When she had it, she slid five silver Mizas across the wooden surface and spoke three fateful, foolish words. "Kelp beer, please." BoughtKelp beer -- 5SM

[Tsaba]

Tsaba found a relatively private corner where nobody was likely to bother her. In the dim light, it was almost impossible to see the worrying black spots under her little fingernail, but she knew they were there. Her little finger didn't bother her much; she'd long written it off. But the rest of her body did, and the moist Zeltivan air wasn't good for her. She'd tried to keep as dry as possible. But it might not be enough. She took a strong length of hollow reed from her pocket and used her knife to slice off one end at an angle, making a sharp point. She rolled her left shirtsleeve well up her arm and felt around the point she'd always been told to find an artery. Of course, being that she had no pulse, the actual artery was impossible to find. She'd merely have to guess and stab. She pushed the point of her knife into her arm to make an incision, then forced the point of the reed in. Ichor beaded up around the incision, but not much; so long as she kept still enough not to force it out of the wound, it shouldn't matter. Tsaba took a long, hearty swig of her kelp beer, but didn't swallow; there was nowhere to send it. Instead, she pursed her lips around the end of the reed protruding from her arm, and forced the alcohol down it. Alcohol, she knew, was a preservative, although not normally the fvoured one for embalming. And she, being dead, should be immune to its normal effects. She hoped.

[Villi Glacieux]

His weathered cloak was pulled tightly around him, and the hood on it was up, casting a long shadow over his face. It made him look older than he actually was. He was sitting near the corner, though not quite in it lest he need to make a quick escape. Villi's eyes bounced around the tavern continuously, and though he didn't have a drink in front of him, nobody approached him to ask if he needed one. Rather, people seemed to make their way around the table. His foot was bouncing slightly on the floor as his anxiety grew. His eyes kept flicking to the door every few seconds, and it seemed that whatever he expected to walk through the door was either being dramatic or wasn't going to show up. He kept a hand inside his cloak, just in case, indicating he either had a weapon or some trick to escape hidden up there. He also kept an eye on the barkeep. He was debating the best course of action, but he couldn't see a way where he could snag a bottle without being seen. It was too risky. And so he sat, his foot bouncing up and down. Finally, a woman walked over with a bright smile on her face, and rather than let her choke a word out, Villi cut her off. "Whatever you're sellin', I'm not buyin'." His voice was falsely deep, anyone really listening could tell he was deepening it on purpose. He had matured, but his voice still wasn't as deep as he'd like, and the last thing he needed was to bring attention to himself because of his age. The woman looked offended but left him alone. It wasn't long before his jumpy eyes landed on the incredibly pale Nuit woman. But only for the briefest of moments. And then they flicked away. And then back. And it continued like that for a while.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba paid no attention to the other people in the bar as she worked, and supposed that they would pay no attention to her. She couldn't feel the kelp beer enter her body, both her flesh and the drink being room temperature. After each mouthful, she rubbed her arm firmly, trying to move the alcohol through her system. When she'd pushed the whole mug into her body, she removed the reed, and cut a strip from the bottom of her cloak to bandage the wound. It could be stitched properly later. She stood up to leave. Tsaba hadn't felt pain strong enough to make her want to vomit since she'd had a stomach to vomit with, so the sudden burning sensation that seized her right arm and shoulder was completely out of her immediate experience. She'd barely stood when she collapsed straight back into her chair, unable to prevent a small groan escaping from her lips. She experimentally flexed her left arm; it moved, but even more slowly and clumsily than usual, and the pain flared anew. But there was nothing in there! Nothing to hurt! It was just dead flesh! Reasons could wait, though. For now, she was in a bar, surrounded by strangers, largely incapacitated, and quite possibly dying. Maybe. How could she tell? The only people she'd ever seen die were pulsers. Get out, Get home safe. That was her first priority. Hopefully, nobody was watching her too closely; people would just think she was drunk. Tsaba forced herself to her feet, trying not to look half as helpless as she felt.

[Villi Glacieux]

His eyes batted back and forth, continuously watching, searching... And it didn't take long for his eyes to land back on the Nuit, who was now rubbing her arm. He knew that there was something strange about her, but he couldn't place it. He'd never seen a Nuit in action, nor had he ever known anybody who was secretly a Nuit, but he knew there was something going on. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her stand up and immediately topple over. A gruff guffaw from next to him told him that another patron had seen it as well and had thought that it was funny. Without missing a beat, the young boy slid his chair back and started toward the Nuit. No matter what was off about the woman, it wouldn't come to light here. The ensuing confusion would cause more attention, and that was bad for business. He slithered around the other tables and patrons with lithe deftness, and wasn't far from Tsaba when she stood back up, tottering. He approached her from behind and as he got close enough, he whispered to her. "I'm going to help you out of here. You're either drunk or hiding something, and neither of those is going to help me." Ever the pragmatist, Villi grabbed her arm at the elbow and nearly gasped. It was cold. He looked at the woman and then steeled his gaze, clenched his jaw, and helped her walk to the door.

[Chembalo]

Chembalo looked at the run-down building.
Somehow he had gotten the idea that visiting a local tavern would be the right and proper thing to do; now that he had left his childhood home and got to know a new city. Since he had no idea where to go he had actually gone and asked the sailors what place they would recommend. Yelling and laughing they pointed him to the place he was standing in front of now.

Getting second thoughts about whether this really was such a brilliant idea he entered the bar. Still in the doorway, he gasped for air - somehow the stench of rotten fish was even worse inside the shabby structure than outside. Behind a random assortment of unsteady looking chairs and tables he saw the large black letters declaring: KELP BEER, 1 HALF-NILO.

"What are they selling here? Dead fish in a mug?"
Even though entirety of the clientel seemed peculiar, two people stood out to him the most. Which was not because they were heading for right for him, but instead because one of them was a woman who looked very literally dead. "Seriously, what are they serving here?!" he though in shock, while being rooted to the spot in the doorway.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba was in no position to question help. She threw one arm over the stranger's shoulders, gritting her teeth against the pain, and hobbled towards the door with him. Safety was no longer an option; it had become a question of what involved the least danger. Collapsing on the floor in the bar, possibly in death or stupor? Even if she was fine, she'd be at the mercy of the other patrons. Trust the stranger to get her somewhere safe, hope he wouldn't rob her? She didn't carry much money, but he could very well kill her in rage if he found that out. Was that likely? Try to find an alley, and hope she wasn't accosted? He was her best option. She nearly tripped into a young man standing in the doorway and tried to ignore the way he openly stared at her. Hopefully, he would just assume that she was a drunk woman being steered home by her husband or son. "I need somewhere private," she muttered to the man she was leaning on. "A room, an alley..." probably not enough time to get home. "A sheltered doorway, even." Somewhere that nobody will see if your intentions are less than honorable, and I'm in no condition to defend myself. Couldn't be helped. With barely any money in her pocket, though, she had very little that a dishonorable stranger would want.

[Tsaba]

Tsaba watched the people around her for several seconds and, when it was clear that no help was forthcoming, bit back a snarl of frustration. She pulled away from the man supporting her, involuntarily gasping at the pain as she moved. The movement of her ribs just sent another wave of pain through her, so she stopped breathing. It was a stupid, pointless habit when she wasn't speaking anyway. She staggered out of the bar and glanced about quickly. Her gaze settled on an alley. Dark, probably deserted. Good enough. Tsaba made her way to the alley, stumbling over her own feet like a drunkard. Her feet were working fine; it was just a little difficult to focus through the pain. As soon as she was out of sight of the street, she collapsed to her knees. What had she done?! Why had she thought that it was a good idea?! She didn't know how alcohol would react to her. How it would react to ichor. She didn't know anything. What kind of moron started experimenting on themselves with no backup like that? She pulled at the makeshift bandage with her teeth, hardly noticing when one tore clear of her head. It loosened and fell. Tsaba did the only thing she could think to do to stop the pain; she put her lips to the wound, and sucked. Tsaba had a vague memory of the feeling of pins-and-needles from when she was alive. The sensation of drawing alcohol out of her body was rather like pins and needles set to a background of intense pain. She spat a mouthful of kelp beer onto the ground between her knees, then put her lips to the wound once more. Tsaba spat out several mouthfuls of kelp beer. Eventually, flecks of pearly white ichor began to appear in the growing pool between her knees. When she spat out a mouthful that was more ichor than beer and her vision swam, she stopped. It was hard to be sure what had happened, but she thought she had a pretty good theory. Most likely, forcing a lot of foreign liquid into one part of her body had simply displaced the ichor from part of her arm and shoulder. Ichor was life, and Tsaba didn't really know what was supposed to happen when it suddenly became unevenly distributed. Intense pain in the ichor-starved region, apparently. Would there be long-term effects? Tsaba glanced at her little finger, which had been paralysed ever since she'd accidentally amputated it, even though the reattachment went fine. She didn't think she could go on very long without mobility in her shoulder. But surely it was fine. It'd have to be. It had been less than a minute. If Nuit bodies were that delicate, her mentor's wouldn't last as long as they always did. She retied her makeshift bandage over the puncture wound in her arm and pulled herself to her feet. Tsaba hadn't lost all that much ichor, but still, she felt weak. She hoped that alcohol didn't react with it or something.That was something she really should've tested in advance. Too late to do anything about it now. And she couldn't loiter in an alley, it was too dangerous. Step by step, forcing herself to walk normally and not give in to weakness, Tsaba made her way back towards the university. Only once she was safely in her room did she allow herself to lie down. Or, more accurately, collapse. She fell face-down onto the bare wooden pallet that had been a bed before she'd had all the soft, absorbent parts of it removed, and as she felt her body sink into stupor, one final thought flitted through her mind. I had better wake up in time for my first Glyphing class.

[Abstract]

Tsaba

Skills

+ Embalming - 2
+ Observation - 1

Lores

+ Puddles on a tavern floor aren't always so bad
+ Using Kelp Beer as a preservative
+ Pain??
+ Alcohol is BAD

Other:


Notes

If the other two ever come back, please PM me and I'll give you your grades! Anyways... I love the way you set this up!

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this grade, please PM me and we can work it out!