Open Chronicles The Last Chance Inn

[Virdan]

The endless night sky was suddenly cut by a familiar smell of sulfur and pungent spices. A small dagger was in her free palm that wasn't there before. But it was hidden. Perhaps just the tip exposed between her fingertips and the bedspread she was currently atop.

Hazel eyes with that small glint of gold calmly took in where she was and who was around her. Her bandaged and mended shoulder. Very quietly the dagger in her palm disappeared back to where it had been hidden before. With the grace and skill of a true rogue.

Hand lifted and firmly pushed the smelling salts away from her nose. "Do I have you to thank for that?" Gaze went to the bandage on her shoulder as she slowly sat up in the bed looking from the wound to blonde woman with the purple eyes. Then a flicker to the Inn Keep. Then finally to the three-eyed man. The one who'd tried to explain to her about the importance of water as she was bleeding out on the floor.

Meanwhile, in the grounds outside, Andor would not be seen or found by any of Alyxander's men if they started searching.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

"Quellchrist. Alyxander. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Glandhand."

As he gave a small bow to his, well, small host, the barest hint of a smile came to Alyx's lips at the first words to leave her mouth. "No please, don't thank us all at once." That hidden blade hadn't been lost on him, and while he hadn't seen it until so very briefly before it moved back to his concealed position, he'd no doubt she could have taken one of them down in the blink of an eye.

Well, she could try anyway.

"Well, now that our lady of the hour has her wits about her, I shouldn't trouble you all with my meddling any further. I'll have my men sweep the perimeter of the Inn just to be safe, though." It was more for his own peace of mind than anybody else's, and he couldn't deny wanting a swing at whoever had been after the young woman. Alyx had an idea of how to teach them some manners...

 

[Ennio]

"Yes, wonderful." Ennio said from the foot of the bed, the smile on his face not so overly gregarious anymore.

For a brief moment he simply nodded to Alyxander who was speaking. The Innkeep didn't much care if the man wanted to send soldiers all around the Chance. He was pretty sure they were all perfectly safe, and if not...well the Inn had it's own response to these sorts of things.

Despite that though, curiosity still lingered. "If you don't mind miss."

There was hint of something in his eyes as he looked at her.

"What exactly was it that left you in this..." His gaze flickered over her. "State?"

Though before he departed Ennio's expression changed to the genial innkeep once more. "Such a service! I imagine your men be tired. I insist you stay the night Commander, free of charge of course. We have rooms enough."

 

[Ipatiy Kozlov]

Ipaity held the salts under the women’s nose until she returned to the world of the living again. Backing away from her once the task had been complete but kept a wary eye on them as she responded. “It was a group effort but if you must know I was the one to dig the arrow head from your shoulder”. She stated matter of faculty as the three eyed man introduced himself.

Ipaity not bother with introductions, she would only do so if asked directly, still that didn’t mean she would stay her tongue from the conversation. “I too would like to know how you wound up collapsing on the floor on deaths door. It looked like you had lost a fight to a bear and we have not ruled out the possibility you could be a not to savoury person yourself”.

Her tone direct and sharp towards the women laying on the bed.

Ennio Virdan Alyxander Quellchrist

 

[Virdan]

Alyxander Quellchrist. Those had been his men she'd seen through her moments of alertness when she'd first arrived. And his clothing matched what he was. A knight commander?

Hazels shifted to the Innkeep. She hadn't caught his name, nor the woman playing judge and jury before her. Virdan settled back against the generous stack of down-pillows that were against the ornate headboard. She had half a mind to close her eyes and feign sleeping.

But she didn't.

First the Innkeep. There were greater things at play. Darker and larger secrets that went even beyond her own kingdom. But from the land of Thanasis a greater threat she feared would extend its reach to this main continent. "Creatures I hope you never meet. The timing of finding this Inn was preternaturally providential. I thank you for your kindness," eyes shifted to them all. Alyxander before he left.

"But I need rest now."

And with that, she did close her eyes.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Quellchrist said nothing as he stood in the doorway, listening to what little information the woman offered them. Sparse though her words were, so too did they threaten to kindle a waiting flame in the pit of Alyxander's stomach, that unyielding ache for adventure, for anything but his normal.

Creatures I hope you never meet.

He showed none of this, merely nodding back to her with the smallest of smiles as she dismissed them so that she could rest. There was work to be done, and Alyx could pry her for more details when she was refreshed. No need to push his luck any more than he had to.

Waiting for Ennio's guidance to traverse the mystifyingly long hallways. He departed, setting his soldiers outside immediately to scour the area for any sign of danger. The confused, but ever loyal warriors of Dornoch looked at one another for only a moment before obeying, marching out of the front door with weapons readied.

---

Just as Virdan had silently predicted, they found nothing. Alyxander sat at his table, fresh mug in hand, perplexed and deflated. It wasn't as if he wished for the Inn to be in any danger, or for his soldiers to encounter a fight. No, it was that carrot on a stick, that possibility of a challenge, of adventure. It had been so long since anything interesting had happened at the Kingdom...

So now he waited, having paid for rooms for all of his soldiers to have a good nights rest after an unexpectedly long night for them. Most of them had headed off to their rooms, either alone or in pairs, but Alyxander didn't expect he'd be resting much tonight.

 

[Ennio]

"The Chance does have a knack for being exactly where it should be." Ennio muttered cryptically, though in truth he couldn't help the innate curiosity he felt when the woman spoke of monsters.

He had seen his fair share of those kinds of things, both in and outside of his little Tavern. Sometimes they passed on through, and sometimes...well, he supposed that didn't really matter too much in the moment. He offered the woman a smile, and then motioned to Ipati and the Knight Commander.

"Lets let her rest, shall we?" He asked. "Nothing ever cured a wound better than a good nights sleep."

That wasn't exactly true, but the tenor of his tone made it hard to argue with the fact.

After he lead the three of them back through the maze of halls, a path which seemed distinctly shorter this time, the trio found themselves once again in the common room. Most of the guests had departed for the night, save for a few louts sleeping on their table.

Alyxander was sitting at one of the tables having a small drink of consideration while Ennio and Ipati stood near the bar. The former leaning on the intricately carved mahogany. "Well now that all the chaos is over."

He said with a smile.

"I suppose we have time to discuss pay!" After all, no one should work for free.

As he spoke, Ennio was keenly unaware of the creature prowling about the tavern outside.

 

[Ipatiy Kozlov]

That sentence from Ennio seemed to ring true in more ways then one. If the Inn had a habit of being 'exactly' where I should be was her own arrival one of fated luck? "I suppose it does, I did not expect tonight to be so interesting". Her expression seemingly betraying her words as the 3 left the room and women alone to recover from her wounds, Ipatiy closing the door on her way out.

"She should hopfully have enough strength to tell us the full detail in the morning, the whole 'creatures you hope to never see' comes off much to vague for my liking". "I tend to prefer to knowing about the 'customers' and how to 'remove' them from the premises before hand". The maid eluding to her other line of work as the pair arrived at the bar, though it would seem the conversation changed to talk about compensation.

Once more Ipatiy's face showing actual change as a 'warm' smile grew across her cheeks. "I suppose we shall, may I ask the standard working rates at your fine establishment? I think from their we can increase going off tonighst events and possible hazard pay for these so called creatures prowling around". Medical supplies and keeping weapons in order wasn't cheap.


Ennio Alyxander Quellchrist Virdan

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

After a few minutes of subtly listening in on Ennio and Ipatiy's business conversation Alyx's mug ran dry, and even the fog that the alcohol provided him wasn't enough to quell his restless thoughts. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered him so much; people were waylaid all the time in Arethil. The woman was safe, and there seemed to be no threat outside.

It was her words that kept him on edge, that had his entire body on alert for a threat that could rear its head at any moment. He couldn't sleep, he had to be ready for it. Certainly, it hadn't seemed to stop the woman herself, or any of his soldiers for that matter. It felt like celebrating a job half finished, and Alyx hadn't earned his bed yet.

If only somebody was there to tell him he was being an overzealous idiot.

Well, he had to do something to spend some of this energy. Rising from his seat, Alyx cracked his neck to the side and let out a small sigh, before calling over to Ennio and his new employee. "Going to go check in on our friend, I'll be back in a bit."

It had only been a few hours, but a walk down the hall would help him clear his mind a bit, and this gave him an excuse. Leaving the main room, he headed through the door that Ennio had taken them into earlier. He was fairly confident he had figured out how this place worked, to some extent, by helping his people into their own rooms, so finding Her's shouldn't be a problem.

It wasn't, though he got lost once or twice, he did eventually find the room they'd left the mysterious stranger in, and turning the knob, Alyx cracked open the door and poked his head inside.

 

[Virdan]

After they left, Virdan did not sleep well. She hadn't been lying when she'd needed rest. But she was on edge. Moreso, she could feel her dragon's agitation through their bond. To Andor something didn't smell right. And it wasn't from the remants of what Alyx's men left behind.

It was something else.

Head tossed and turned fitfully as she drifted in and out of a shallow sleep. Alyx would see this as he entered. Andor sent a sharp warning down their bond which caused Virdan to jolt awake, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"I know you're there," she'd call out quietly into the darkness to Alyx.

For the others, the small band of Jarlax had arrived and were on the move, approaching the outside grounds of the Last Chance Inn.

 

[Ennio]

"Of course!" Ennio couldn't actually remember the last time he'd actually paid another Server aside from himself.

The Last Chance tended to have few permanent inhabitants, though it did happen from time to time that someone wished to stick around. There was of course a chance that Ipati would choose to do so, but the choice was entirely up to her. "We pay fourteen gold crown nightly, by Allirian rate of course."

She would of course know that was an enormous sum for a place like this. Likely a share of the total profit made in a single night. Not just a regular wage.

"Though." Ennio said. "I warn you if you intend to stay with us long, there will be some travel in order. Not that you'll have to carry anything or, well even go anywhere."

This was always the confusing thing to explain "But you'll certainly see some new place-"

Before he could finish speaking, the large plate glass window at the front of the Tavern suddenly exploded. A strange and bulking humanoid with a skull like mask breaking through and shattering the glass into a thousand pieces. In it's hand was a huge blade, looking as more a heavy lump of sharpened steel than a sword.

Ennio's eyebrows rose almost immediately, eyes darting to the window where two more of the creatures were crawling through.

"Oh." He said, putting a hand on Ipati's shoulder and shoving her towards one of the nearby doors. "I don't think these guests want a drink!"

 

[Ipatiy Kozlov]

The maid gave Alyxander a passing glance as the man went back to check in on their sleeping beauty. Giving a short nod of confirmation before turning her attention back to Ennio. As far as she was concerned money was more important.

“14 a night is quite a tidy sum I must admit. Does that change with performance and ones own abilities? As you probably have guessed I am not your average maid and my own form of arcane arts can allow me to get what ever the customer requires, provided they have the right coin”. Economancy while a difficult form of magic to learn was extremely convenient. No doubt for such a magical place like the Last Chance in a maid able to summon any preferred choice of food and drink for a ‘small’ tip would fit the atmosphere.

“As for travelling it is something I am used to. I can only ask that when this establishment decides to move I am permitted to have time off and conduct my other business in what ever settlement we find ourselves at”? Ipaity testing the waters for flexibility in the working hours. Sadly she wouldn’t get a reply as the nearby wall and window was promptly reduced to rubble.

The scattering glass earning a frown from the maid. As Ennio commented about their new ‘guests’. “Well, they might not be paying for drink but those windows and clean up will require some sort of…. ‘compensation’, wouldn’t you think”? Ipaity tapping the side of her long maid dress, two sheathed daggers falling from the inside and onto her feet. A quick flick from each foot sending them spinning into the air, before promptly being grasped by each hand and unsheathed.

The razor sharp, almost foot long thin blades gleaming in the casted glow of the Inns lighting.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Alyxander swore quietly, drawing his head back as he saw her move, but it was too late. Not that he had any reason to hide, of course; he'd only intended to check on her well-being. Still, it didn't speak terribly well of his stealthiness.

"So you do. Would you like a medal?" He sighed, pushing the door completely open and crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe, not seeming to have any issue seeing her in the darkness of the room, for some reason. "Just making sure you were still alright, that's all. Didn't expect you to be awake after just a couple of hours."

That did beg the question of why she seemed so alert. Only a moment ago she was drained beyond movement. Had something happened? Alyxander, looked down the long dark hallway he'd come from. There were sounds in the distance, but he wasn't truly able to discern what they were.

"Since you're awake though, I thought maybe you'd lend me your name, at the very least."

 

[Virdan]

Almond-shaped eyes flashed more golden in the darkness as she looked to the knight commander. It was as if she was seeing past him. Somewhere else entirely.

"Virdan," a whispered response that would be easy not to hear. As if she'd never said it at all.

Then she blinked and moved swiftly. If she was in any pain from her fresh wound, she didn't show it. "Come, we're not saf-," the window to the massive room she'd been given shattered as a Jarlax crashed through followed by a second. Serpentine tongues flickered into the air as if tasting and sensing.

The flash of a dagger was already spinning through the air as it embedded itself into the beast's chest. The monster didn't flinch or look down. Sniffing the air once and snapping its razor teeth it charged at her and Alyx. Two more daggers were in her palms and she was throwing them as she tried to shove the knight commander back out into the hall.

 

[Ennio]

"Time off is essential to any good work life balance." Ennio added, proving himself once again to be a rather splendid employer. Though of course now hardly seemed the time to talk about such things.

The creatures, which had so very rudely, burst through the windows of his tavern were slowly approaching them.

They trudged forward, inhuman in he way they moved. Broad lipless smile seeming to gleam within the lamplight of the taverm as they continued to trudge towards Ennio and Ipaty. Eyebrows nearly touched the Innkeeper's hairline as knives sprung forth from the Maid's sleeves. "Pleasant enough surprise."

He muttered, already reaching for a door to one of the maze like halls.

"But I think best a fighting retr-" Before he could finish speaking one of the creatures let out a bellowing roar.

It charged forward directly towards where Ennio was standing, the sharp length of steel it wore as a sword flickering upward as it slashed towards the Innkeep.

 

[Ipatiy Kozlov]

"I am full of surprises sir". A small hint of a smirk appeared over Ipaty's face as her gaze stayed on the skulled-capped monster. Her concentration not faltering, even when the thing let out a beastly roar and charged her new employer.

The maid acts within the blink of an eye, moving to intercept the monster before it reaches Ennio. Thrusting her daggers into its body. One aimed where she assumed its heart to be, the other stabbing it into the knee, trying to immobilize it.

Said attacks seemingly doing nothing at first, the distinct lack of a painful reaction evident. "How boring". Ipatiy roll dodging backward as the bests head snapped towards her, trying to take a chunk out of the maid's neck. "Hey hey, not biting, I'm not into that".

Ennio Alyxander Quellchrist Virdan

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Virdan.

A fine name, he wasn't so sure why she'd kept it so close to her chest, but...

Alyx felt something amiss as well, a sudden change in pressure not long after he'd heard a clatter from down the hall. His hand dropped to the long, slender blade hanging from his hip only a moment before the monstrosities crashed into the room through the black night on the other side of the window. It was nothing he'd ever seen before...

But Virdan demonstrated in short order that they could be wounded. If it could be wounded, Alyx could fight it. He stepped back with Virdan, giving her room to retreat into the long hallway lined with other doors. Already, some of his soldiers emerged from their own rooms, armor halfway on and weapons drawn to defend against whatever threat had chosen to cross the line they'd set outside.

Quellchrist finally finished drawing his blade and pointed it towards the strange creatures emerging from the door, daggers embedded in their flesh to no effect.

"Perhaps a deeper cut is due?" Alyxander stepped forward, deftly parrying a swiping pair of claws with his blade, before pushing into the Jarlax and running it through with his sword. He immediately felt the sting of the beast's other set of claws against his back and gritted his teeth in pain. Moving one hand from the hilt of his own blade, he pulls Virdan's dagger from the monster's chest and drives it towards the throat.

"Miss Virdan! Do you have his friend?!"

 

[Ennio]

Well this whole thing was becoming a mess much greater than he had anticipated.

Not that Ennio regretted even for a moment allowing the strange woman to come into the Last Chance Inn. The tavern was a safe haven for all, a place to come and lay your head and have a drink. Now Virdan had not been allowed the latter but she most certainly benefited from the former.

These creatures, whatever they were, would have been afforded the same opportunity had they not come in smashing his windows. "Good show there!"

Ennio called out to his newest employee, though as she defended him the Innkeep seemed to bounce back wildly. Another of the creatures stepped forward, his blackened blade shifting onto his shoulders as he slowly took in his opponent.

A dry chuckle escaped the blonde, steps slowly tracking backwards.

"Now now, my good fellow. We don't need to-" The creature roared, charging forward just as Ennio reached the door he'd been heading towards.

Without a second of hesitation he threw it open, revealing what appeared to be a large jungle shrouded just behind the doorway. From within sprang a panther like creature, save it had six legs and strange tendrils drawing from it's back. The monster leaped from the open door, crashing into the attacking monster and mauling it in a scene of gore and blood.

"Miss!" He called as he slammed the door shut. "I believe we should find our friends."

Ennio called as he pulled open the door again, revealing not a jungle this time, but a long hallway.

 

[Ipatiy Kozlov]

Ipaity was right at home and in her element battling the mangy beasts. The maids body spinning around elegantly, almost like a ballet, dancing around their partner as if apart of some routine. Her body slipping under one of the beasts deadly claws and around to their back. The two short blade being thrust into the back of its head. The blackish body falling to the ground still this time. “Such a brute of a customer, consider yourself banned”.

Hands quickly moving to while the blades clean using the apron I the front of her uniform, turning around once more to face her boss as his pet cat made short work of the other beast. “I understand, seems it’s rush hour right now”.

More and more of the demonic like creatures bursting their way into the main hall. Ipaity holstering her weapons and following Ennio the now normal entrance. “This place is full of surprises, would it okay to assume they are can’t follow us through that same door”? After all if the entrance lead to some jungle it could prove to be a useful waste disposal for the unwelcome guests.

 

[Virdan]

She'd backed into the hallway, a quick wary glance at Alyx's men as they exited. Two sleek, slender hilts of additional daggers were already in her palm. It was hard to say where she kept them all on her figure. The second jarlax assumed his brethren would end Alyx. Luckily, it was wrong. Unluckily, it had its eyes only on Virdan, stalking toward her.

She could feel Andor's anxiety on the lawn.

Do not come in.

A firm order down their bond. A disgruntled feeling returned.

And she did not have time to respond to Alyx's question as the beast charged. The man could look with his own eyeballs.

One of Alyx's men in only his boxers and scabbard, charged to meet the jarlax who'd followed her with his sword. Virdan rolled away from a claw swipe as the man's sword came to meet it. Moving like a highly skilled fighter, she slashed at the beasts tendons. It roared and fell forward. Coming up swiftly behind the creature, she went to drive her dagger into the back of its skull but it's elbow was faster as it slammed into her gut and she staggered back into the opposite wall.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

"Serrin! Barmaid maneuver!"

Alyx stood over the gurgling body of one of the vicious creatures, not dead, but in no condition to further fight; Quellchrist had sliced clean across the beast's throat, and it now writhed and clutched at the wound as it struggled to breathe. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Serrin, coincidentally the man who'd jumped into action to assist Virdan, gave only a nod towards his Commander as the jarlax struggled back to its feet after swatting its attacker across the room with its elbow. Serrin could have possibly scored another clean hit as the monster recovered, but orders had been given. The under-dressed fellow brandished his blade, waiting for the jarlax to take another swipe.

A set of furious claws came down, and Serrin met them with his blade once more, swinging hard to the left so that the jarlax had to spread its legs apart to maintain balance. The other hand followed, and Serrin blocked again, this time hard to the right. The jarlax widened his stance even further as the stubborn soldier tugged him this way and that.

It was the chance Alyx needed.

He took off running towards the jarlax from behind, dropping into a slide at the last possible moment.

Alyx wasn't a small man, but he was flexible, especially without the bulky armor he'd been wearing earlier in the night. Folding his right leg under his left and bringing his sword to lay flat to his chest, Alyx was just barely able to slide through the spread legs of the Jarlax, a surprised sound of shock from the beast the last thing it would utter before Alyx's blade drove into its neck and up through the top of its skull.

 

[Ennio]

Ennio threw the door closed behind Ipatiy. "I should hope not!"

The Last Chance could be a very confusing place if you didn't know where you were going. Every door could lead anywhere and nowhere. Tunnels, mazes, hallways, rooms, and everything else one could imagine were to be found in the mysterious little tavern.

Sometimes that could confuse even the tavern's owner, but in this case at least he knew where it was he was going.

"We should probably find the good Soldier and our earlier guest." Ennio suggested to his employee, slowly beginning to make his way down the hall. "I imagine our new friends are under the same assault we suffered."

Another door was opened, and in the distance one could hear Alyx and Virdan's fighting. "I suspect the young lady we saved will have some answers as to what these...creatures are."

He said, gesturing for Ipatiy to go ahead of him.

 

[Virdan]

The creature Alyx slayed fell backward with a gurgling snarrel - body suddenly stilled.

Dead.

A quick darting glance from where they'd come from. The door to her room had closed suddenly and in its place was a wall. Head shook slightly. Perhaps she'd hit the wall harder than she thought and was just looking in the wrong place.

At the moment, no more Jarlax were coming. A respite, no matter how small, she'd take.

Daggers were sheathed back to unknown places on her lithe figure.

"Your men are quite capable," she said quietly, a nod of thanks to the one who had helped her with the second. Fingers moved to press against the side of her face where old scars were. Eyes closing as a wince passed over her features.

Andor hissed a warning along their bond.

Her eyes slid open. "More are coming. I need to get outside."

 

[Ipatiy Kozlov]

Ipaity wasn’t too confident in that ‘I should hope so’. This Inn proved to be quite a wonderful but wacky place, but if even its owner wasn't sure of the structure's full capabilities, well then she had to be on guard for any surprises. Still, if she got paid at the end of the day it wasn't really her problem, this place could be as wacky as it wants.

"I believe if they are as skilled as I think those beasts won't cause too much trouble, so long as they are fighting them in limited numbers". They didn't appear to be very smart so brute force and numbers were probably their go-to strategy, but the question still stood, what exactly were they and why did they attack this inn? "She better have answers, I don't take kindly to having my head almost bitten off, and she still owes me, I'd be eager to cash that in for information".

She replied to her employer as the pair finally caught site of Virdan and Alyxander Quellchrist, arriving just as they had dispatched their own enemies. "Pray to tell me why do you wish to head outside, call me observant but is that not where the enemy is coming from"? She chimed in, her face holding her usual calm expression hands once more neatly folded over her blood-stained apron like she wasn't just in a life-and-death battle moments before.

 

[Alyxander Quellchrist]

Serrin smirked at the praise as Alyx rose back to his feet, kicking the dead Jarlax aside with a scowl. "Foul creatures. A lot hardier than they look, aren't they?" Nothing a few well placed attacks couldn't do away with, but the fact remained that he'd underestimated them. The wound on his back from a set of claws was testament to that.

Serrin finished putting the rest of his armor on, now that there was a break in the action, as Virdan seemed to think intensely, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Alyx would have loved to retrieve his own armor as well, were he able to find the room he'd stashed it in amongst these labyrinthine hallways. Sheathing his blade, he eyed the strange woman, expecting some form of explanation, something that would help what had just happened make a tad more sense.

Instead, she offered more battle. A woman after his own heart.

"Then stay close and keep your eyes peeled. We go together, Virdan."

Alyx had the hallways up until her now seemingly vanished room memorized for the most part, and it would take little time to lead the three of them back to the main room.

Or it would, but as they set off, it became apparent that the Inn had no intention of letting them out so easily. Turns that should have been there simply weren't. Doors he hadn't seen before filled walls that had once been blank.

Serrin furrowed his brow.

"Think we might be lost, Boss."