The Velvet Dolphin

[The Humble Sage]

Eventually the sage found something that wasn't white.

It was a pair of strange trees bent together towards each other. They were entirely unremarkable, and anywhere else the sage would have passed them by without the slightest hesitation. Here however he was fascinated. He had the strange feeling that there was something important about them, a faint rippling in the air between them.

To his best guess, this was where the man had come from. Perhaps there was some trick to it? On a hunch he decided to ride between the palm trees... and emerged somewhere entirely different...

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Immediately he was assaulted with life. Sights and sounds and smells flourished everywhere. The silence and white where shattered in an instant. The sage and his horse were equally stunned and paused just outside the entrance from the gate. The horse stood on a coastal road, leading on towards a large city, roughly the size of the capital. The ocean was audible even from here, and The sage spent some time letting his senses readjust after the solitude they had experienced.

And now I'm just the fool who thinks that all white cloaks are a good idea for travelling...

He paused again, and concentrated, the orb appeared above his hand, rainbow colors dancing and reflecting their surroundings, cascading in an ever growing swirl of color. It felt... stronger, it was still the same size and weight, but felt simply more THERE. The Sage frowned.

What are you? Where did you even come from? I need answers.

He focused on the orb, and slowly the desired items took form. He put the book and pencil into the satchel, along with the cloak. Standing back up he turned to regard his mare, who was peacefully grazing on some nearby foliage.

I don't want to draw attention to myself too soon, and I fear you are too noticeable a beast. I wish you well on your travels, and thank you for bearing my burdens.

He left the mare's gear in a nearby bush, and continued down the road towards the city. Its architecture was immediately strange. He recognized many buildings that he could have seen from his home, but others astounded him. Some shone of brilliant glass, like the windows of a temple, others seemed forged from metal. The sage was astounded, but refused to show it as he approached the city gates. He passed under the bored gaze of another white soldier, and moved into the city proper.

He wandered the streets, simply enjoying the sensations after his time in the white emptiness. Though the people and the buildings were strange he felt far more at home than he had since awaking at the fountain.

No one is trying to capture or kill me, I can feel wind on my face, and I can see new and curious things all around me. Perhaps I can actually survive in this place after all...

he glanced up at the rapidly descending sun.

It is rare to be so glad for darkness...

He turned his attention back to the city, and soon found what he had been searching for. The building was smaller than many of the others, but was sturdily built. Song and joviality emanated outwards into the dying light. The sage chuckled to himself, as he walked under the sign of The Velvet Dolphin, there were some things that simply were always present. No matter how strange a city could be, there were always people; and people always got thirsty.

No better place for stories than a tavern. he thought, and stepped inside.

[The Humble Sage]

It was a busy day at the Velvet Dolphin, and Dasha was finding her new employee hardly worth the coin. She grunted in frustration and continued to count the coins for this months taxes. The Imperial codes were getting more complicated every month it seemed, and she was pretty sure they were inflating. There was a crash as Kelp stumbled over a chair leg and crashed into a table of mercenaries from Dwarfholm, spilling their drinks all over the table and their beards. Dasha cursed and slid the coins back into the chest under the counter. She had to derail this quickly, or she'd end up mopping the boy up along with the drinks later that night.

The leader of the dwarves had grabbed a fistful of Kelp's apron, and was shouting directly in the terrified fools face. Nearby patrons were already clearing out before the nearly inevitable brawl. Fortunately he was only half-way through his list of ancestors by the time Dasha arrived.

“Free drinks, on the house, take that table over by the fireplace. I'll be by with some towels and the drinks in a few moments.” Her voice was louder than one would think given her stature, and it caught the attention of both Kelp and the mercenaries.

It was important to keep them off balance, dwarves had a tendency to belabor a point when they got it, but they were honorable enough that they wouldn't cause trouble if they didn't know why. As it was, their leader was completely derailed, and lost track of where in his genealogy he had been interrupted. He paused for a moment attempting to regain his position, but gave up and went grumbling over to join his companions at the new table.

“Ye best talk ter tha' one, Aye? If'n I'd wanted to go swimmin' I'd be outside in the ocean!” Their leader, a regular patron by the name of Daedlin, called as he left.

“Mayhaps the boy was just trying to give you a sea more your size!” she hollered after him, which elicited a roar of laughter from the dwarf and his companions.

Dasha led Kelp back behind the bar. “You need to watch yourself pal, I wouldn't want to have to tell your mum something had happened...” The boy nodded and rubbed his nose on his beer-stained sleeve. He was only thirteen, and less polite folks might be inclined to call him simple. Dasha felt relatively sure that the boy was just extremely quiet. He followed directions well, and there was definitely enough work to go around. She left him there and moved back to the Dwarves with a tray of drinks.

“My apologies boys, everyone alright?”

There was a chorus of minor grumblings, which Dasha figured was good enough. She turned to head back to the bar, and found herself face to face with the Officer Belt.

“Everything in order m'dear?” he asked, with the grin of someone who perpetually finds themselves clever. “I do wish you'd reconsider your position...” he asked her.

“Not going to happen, Officer. Your troops want to come in here? They do it off-duty and out of uniform. I ain't gonna have armed troops in my bar, not now, not never. Sorry.” She said evenly, staring him down. He paused just for a moment, and Dasha started to head over to another table. Officer Belt coughed lightly, then started again with a wheedling voice,

“Just think of them as bouncers! This is a very fine establishment and I'm quite partial to it. They can help keep an eye on things for you, so that nothing... unpleasant... happens to it.”

Dasha wheeled around to face him. “If you do anything to this place, I will do whatever it takes to get you court-marshaled by Admiral Kizaru... or maybe I'll talk to Vi.” She turned back to her work, and was pleased to find that Belt did not keep pressing her further.

She moved back to the counter and pulled the coins back out. The deadline was coming up, and her funds were stretched too thin to come up late on the payment. She had just found her place in the work when a new arrival pulled up a seat at the bar, making it screech on the wood just enough that he was doing it on purpose. Dasha promptly ignored him. He sat there for a moment, then started to reach for a mug himself. In a flash, Dasha clamped down on his arm, pinning it to the wood of the bar.

“I have not been having a good day, so with Tyrael himself as witness, if you are planning on giving me trouble I will bodily throw you out myself!” she hissed through gritted teeth. The newcomer was younger than many of the patrons, clearly an adult, but not someone with experience. He looked at her with a mildly surprised expression.

“Aggressive... I wasn't stealing, if that's what you thought. I simply assumed you were busy with those papers and coins over there. I fully intend to pay you.” he said with an innocent tone.

Almost patronizing. she thought with a grunt, “Show me your coins then.” she barked gruffly.

There was a pause, and the newcomer seemed a bit uncertain.

“What, ah... what is the currency here...?” he asked a little bit hesitantly.

Dasha stared at him a chewed her lip. This guy was on the leeward side of dumb she decided. He had to be a new prime, otherwise he'd know the imperial credit was the only form accepted in Imperial cities.

Her eyes darted to Officer Belt, sitting in one of the corners. He didn't seem to have noticed them. What, are you planning on just summoning some coins once I tell you? Omni's arse you're new! The Empire was always looking for more primes, not that she really wanted to know what for...

Officer Belt sat up with a start as something came crackling over his earpiece, and Dasha made her decision. It was the wrong one, and she knew that. But she would see herself banished before she'd help that kind of scum.

“Hello?” The prime asked, vaguely looking over his shoulder in an attempt to follow her gaze. While he wasn't looking she slid a few coins over near one of his hands.

“KELP!” she called, and the boy rushed over. “Take this one upstairs to a room, Try number seven, you cleaned it, right? Get him a meal, and I'll be up once we close.”

the boy nodded, silent as ever, and made to go upstairs. Officer Belt had learned something important, he was sitting up attentively and regarding the other patrons with a renewed interest. Time is short pal.

“Oh... well... thank you?” the prime said, clearly confused. He started to get up.

“Payment.” she said evenly, making sure she was audible. The idiot just looked more perplexed, then noticed the coins on the bar. He gave her a look.

“Just hand me the coins,” she hissed. “I don't want to draw undue attention.” Understanding seemed to dawn, and he quickly palmed the coins, making a decent show out of pulling them out of his satchel. A lot of white fabric... she observed, he clinked them on the table, and she took them back

“Stay low, I'll explain later.” she said quietly. He nodded slightly and followed Kelp up the stairs.
Dasha quickly went back to work, and after a few moments Officer Belt left.
he could well have seen all of that... Dasha quickly made her way over to the chest under the bar. Pulling out the false bottom, she reached in and retrieved the Dataverse device she had found on the black market. It was old, some prime had probably lost it when a fight went against them. She moved through the menus slowly, reading through each option before choosing. She wasn't well versed with the device, and almost never used it. She was certain this sort of thing was not allowed under Imperial command. She reached the information on the current imperial bounties, and cursed.

[The Humble Sage]

The sage sat in the upstairs room, studying the journal he had found on the dead man. He was quite certain it was a journal now, there were obvious dates. He still couldn't understand the writing, and he felt like there was something else about this book that bothered him.

He took another bite of the loaf that the boy had given him, and scribbled a note into his own book. There was one word, that appeared with surprising regularity, particularly in the last few passages. It didn't seem likely to be a name, it seemed to be following too many grammatical trends, but was appearing in too many positions in a given passage to be anything else... He scratched his head, and took a large bite.

The door burst open with a slam that left a small hole where the doorknob. The Sage looked up into the darkened face of Dasha, and swallowed the bite.

“Do you have no common sense?” she almost shouted, then quieted her voice to a more normal volume.

“You'll need to be more specific I'm afraid.” the Sage replied, closing the book with a snap. Dasha glanced at it as he put the journal away, and her brow creased a little more.

“You just figured you'd stroll into Coasta del Sol and nothing would happen? Not like its Imperially-controlled or nothing! I should turn you over to the Imps right now and collect the reward for myself!”

The Sage cocked an eye at her as she said that, “And yet you haven't. So clearly there is something I can do that is of more value to you.” he responded matter-of-factly. Dasha gave him a mirthless smile.

“No, I'm just too damn generous for my own good.” she said with a grunt. She closed the door and pulled up a chair.
“Listen pal, you aren't the first prime to come wandering through this town, and some of them have already caused me a whole verse full of headache, armored brutes crashing speeders into the streets and people brawling on the rooftops in the middle o' the night!” She sighed,
“But I've also seen primes that didn't do nothing, like a little girl who only went around making flowers and ponies.” Dasha fixed the Sage with a heavy stare.
“And the Imperial troops treat the two just the same. They stun 'em, they stick 'em on the back of a bike, and they don't never come back. I ain't sayin' that I have a problem with the Empire, they keep things in order to the point that I don't even need to hire a bouncer. But it ain't right the way they treat your kind.”

She handed him a printout of the bounty description. “They're looking for a white-clad traveler and they know you were heading towards the Vasty deep. They even have a report of what you look like.”

The Sage sat there for a moment, realizing just how little he knew about the place in which he was. He was not safe, and Yianna wouldn't come and rescue him if something went wrong this time. He was a leaf, cut off from the branch, the tree that it had known for all of its life. A leaf cast to the stormy wind.

Well Omni, or whoever you actually are, if I am to be your leaf, then you can just watch me soar away.

“So what will it cost for you to fill me in?” he asked her, rolling up the paper. The young woman fixed him with a look, “That depends a whole bunch on what you know, and what you can do.”

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Back downstairs, the Sage mulled over the information, as Dasha worked once more on the taxes.

“I have two- Oh you missed the third line there in your calculations...- I have two questions.”
Dasha only grunted at him and made the adjustment, which the Sage took as her letting him continue.

“These gates are the only connections between the 'verses' and people just leave them alone?” The sage asked almost incredulously. It seemed to him that the best way to claim power in this place, particularly the verses that depended on trade for their continued survival. Dasha shook her head yet again. It was starting to get sore.

“The Empire strictly monitors the portal here in town, all the ones that go to Coruscant really... but besides that you just make too many enemies. The Empire is strong, but you start sectioning people off and you'll have just about every prime pounding down your gates... And nobody's THAT strong.” She paused for a moment and wrote another thing down.
“ 'Sides, the Emperor may claim to be the first o' the primes, but old Omni likes chaos too much to let something like that slide. 'Ours is not to question yon child-like god.' a prime once told me.” she said with a wry grin, and crossed off another box on the paper. “What's question two?”

“Why do you all speak Shallian?”

“I got no idea what that is, but my best guess, Omni did something to you primes that makes y'all understand each other, and since you primes created us secondaries it jus' kind of bled on through.”

The Sage shrugged. It didn't really matter in the end he supposed, since it wasn't something he could do anything about. He had other questions, but they would need someone with a more intimate knowledge of this Omnilium to really answer. Dasha seemed to think it was as easy as just wanting something and then having it. “Like magic.” she had said when he asked her. The Sage knew enough about magic to know there was nothing simple about it. He needed to meet other primes.

Well there was nothing he needed to wait for he supposed, he was a wanted man after all. What do you have to say to that Father? he thought wryly.

“I believe I'll be heading out of town now.” he said after some thought. Dasha nodded, clearly she hadn't expected him to stay in Coasta del Sol. That was not only dangerous, it was counter-productive to both of their goals.

“You'll want some sort of disguise, that all-white get out is not blending in.” she said without looking up.

“It was to camouflage myself in the Nexus.” the Sage said slightly defensively. I still don't know how they spotted me in that thing.

Nevertheless he Extracted the white outfit. There was unlikely to be a better time to try it. He decided that he didn't like extraction, it felt too brutal. There was no way to be delicate when doing it. You reached in and stole the very part of the object that 'made' it, tearing the thing apart from the inside. Like picking the petal of a flower by tearing it up by the roots. No, this would be something he used seldom.

He created a new outfit that was more akin to what he had worn during his days with the forest-men. It was a light tunic, reddish-brown, with some leather for minimal protection. He could no longer assume the safety of civilization. He pulled the satchel over his shoulder and summoned some empty books. This was definitely something he could come to appreciate, not having to barter and argue over every scrape of parchment and bottle of ink.

“Thank you for your hospitality.” he said as he headed for the door, “There may be a horse outside the city, by the nexus gate. It's yours if you want it. I'll make sure to send business your way when I can.”

“Just keep your end of the bargain, Prime.” she said as he left, still focusing on the taxes. Finally she'd have the quiet she needed.

The Sage stepped out into the pre-morning air. He stretched, and breathed in deeply. He hadn't slept at all that night, but his body felt strangely unfatigued. He wasn't liable to complain, there seemed little wisdom to staying in the port-city controlled by the people who were looking for him.

Alright, Omniverse, lets see what stories you've secreted away.

[The Humble Sage]

The Sage leaned back and cracked open one of his books. There was something wonderful about his current predicament, a kind of mad joy that he couldn't truly explain or describe. There was nothing to tie him anywhere. There was nothing that he needed to do. There was nowhere he needed to go. There was nobody looking for him.

Mostly. he thought as the Lexistone in his pouch thrummed with static. The chatter of a nearby squadron of stormtroopers cut through the natural humming of the stone. The Lexistone had been more than worth the investment. Lexistones were rare in Shallot, they were owned only by a select group of the royal battle-mages and were among their most prized possessions. The stones were infused with magical power, and they could tune into the frequencies of magic in the area. This allowed the mage not only to monitor the amount of magic nearby, but skilled users could also read the humming of the stones enough to gain some incite into the spells that others were about to utilize. There were some of the most coveted items in the kingdom, and there were rumored to be only a dozen in all of Shallot.

Well, now there are thirteen. He thought to himself with a grin, and pulled out the stone. The stone had taken a much larger amount of time than the cane, the rocks, even the horse. It had taken probably about an hour, or at least, that's how long it had felt. He had created it mostly just to see if he could, but upon the creation of the Lexistone he was shocked to find that it did more here. He couldn't explain it, but the Lexistone was somehow able to key into the communicators the stormtroopers used to speak to each other.

This opened a plethora of questions, many of which the Sage was not entirely ready to accept. Did the Empire use magic for things as simple as speaking over distances? Was this some aspect of the Lexistone that was not known in his own land? Or was it simply kept from the public, allowing the most powerful of the mages to speak with each other from across the kingdom at once?

Or are you simply having a grand old time at my expense, Omni? Warping the artifacts of my home to further disorient me. I would hope you have higher standards for yourself in this case...

Regardless it had proven useful, allowing him to listen in on his pursers as they traversed the city. They didn't have an active trail on him, and in truth this patrol was likely just coincidence. They didn't seem to be intent on a single target, they were simply looking for trouble, hopefully trouble with a hefty coin purse. The stipend they received from the empire was moderately large, but it could always stand an infusion of extra capital.

The patrol moved along the docks, stopping only to scare off a beggar outside one of the taverns. The Sage listened to their chatter as it died out and was absorbed into the natural humming of the Lexistone.
He leaned back against the hull of the ship, and started to read using the Lexistones soft glow. It was certainly less light than was ideal for him to see, but it was sufficient, even here in the darkened galley of the ship. He wasn't sure where it was going, or even who manned it, but he wasn't overly concerned. He was a prime, he could summon food enough to keep himself alive for months, and he knew how to keep himself quiet if he had too. It wasn't likely that the crew of this ship would spot him any time soon. They had left only two men on the deck, and they had both fallen asleep long before the Sage had stepped aboard. The ship seemed to be about to sail, its hold was full with crates of some sort of black bean. They smelled stronger than the Sage would have preferred, but he supposed it would serve to keep him more alert. It would only be awkward if someone were to find him down here.

He didn't NEED to stow-away, when it came down to it, Dasha had taught him enough about the verses that he could create some sort of recognizable currency without too much trouble. But there was something about this method that appealed to his sense of adventure. He would know next to nothing about the destination of the journey, but in truth he didn't need to. The Sage squinted at the words in the faint glow, even his glasses . It would be easy enough to read once morning came, but he would need something for the nights when the tossing of the ship was likely to be keeping him awake. His eye strayed back to the Lexistone once again. This could become slightly too important... He thought as he looked into the stone. There was something new about the stone's activity even beyond the frequencies it was gathering from nearby communicators. It was strange, within the stone he could see what seemed to be words, perhaps even whole books contained within the stone, a veritable treasure-trove of literature and knowledge.

This would more than suffice.

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Dasha guided the last few drunkards out the door of the Velvet Dolphin. There hadn't been any news of a conflict in town, perhaps the fool had managed to get himself out of the city without causing a scene after all. She went into the back, and came out again with a mop to clean up the spill from Daedilen's latest rampage. She paused, as she found a customer sitting at the bar. He was tall, with flaming red hair and a large presence. She had little doubt he hadn't been there when she closed.

“What can I do for you so late in the night?” she asked slowly, noting the well-polished leather armor and the large blade the figure was sporting on his back.

“Just following up a lead.” he said, and fixed her with a smirk, “heard an easy bounty strolled through your place the day before last.”

Not much point in denying it. she supposed. “Aye, the little prime traveler? What of him?”

“Just wondering if he gave note of where he was heading.” The bounty hunter asked, still bemused by the situation. Dasha shook her head. “Just said he was going to have a jaunt around the place and see the sights. Bit of a day-dreamer to be honest.” She fixed the hunter's gaze with her own. And he's got a job to do. So you'd better not be causing trouble.

He stared back at her for a moment, and shrugged, headed for the door. “Well, if he finds his way back here. Tell him that Fenix the Undying is going to be the one to collect his bounty.”

[The Humble Sage]

Dasha looked up as Daedlin’s crew boisterously moved their way into the Velvet Dolphin. There was an audible hush amongst the various patrons as the dwarven crew sauntered up to the unsuspecting traveler who had chosen their table. Dasha groaned inwardly when she realized that the traveler in question was a very large and grizzled Wookie.

He’s never seen one of them before has he?

She anxiously made her way around the edge of the bar, trying desperately to think of a way to defuse the situation, but Daedlin had already slammed his axe into the wood of the table, and in an overly theatrical voice was declaring his ownership.

“You’d best be moving along there Fuzzball, this here bench’s got my name on it!” The Wookie only grunted at him in reply, and Daedlin turned to face the rest of his crew, a wide grin splayed on his bearded face. Dasha knew what was coming and retreated back behind the bar. She was too late to prevent this one.

“Well, it seems this Sasquatch has got less respect than a Troll to his muther! You need to be taught a lesson, an’ it looks like I’m just the dwarf to do it!” Daedlin turned to Dasha and gave a shout, “I’m gonna take this here dog around back for a bit, but ye can go ahead an’ get me and the boys our usual rounds. This won’t take long!” The dwarf grinned and grabbed the wookie’s arm. “Let’s go, ye big sack a lint!” 
The Wookie’s response was to lift the dwarf clear of his feet with a backhanded punch. Daedlin sailed a good four feet into the air before landing heavily on a table, destroying it utterly. The Wookie unfolded from the stool, towering almost double above the remaining five dwarves. It gave a bellow of challenge, which the dwarves answered in kind without hesitation, “Beruk Khazad!” rang through the room, startling poor Kelp who had just entered from the kitchen.

Many of the less bloodthirsty patrons began to make their way hurriedly to the door of the pub as the dwarves charged the Wookie, only to be stopped dead in their tracks as the eight-foot brute swung the prized table directly into their midst. Dasha pulled Kelp down behind the bar as one of the lighter dwarves went sailing into the wall nearby.
 
 Daedlin picked himself up from the shattered pieces of wood. He felt his jaw with a bemused expression. “That’s a right whallop and no mistake! Well swung! Now Imma have your hide!” He began to charge the Wookie, who was being pummeled by a pair of dwarves. They had gotten inside his reach and were currently hammering away at his hips with stone-hard fists. The Dwarf Captain never made it however, as he was intercepted by an obviously drunk ninja who gave an almost comedic cry as he assaulted the dwarf with a flurry of blows. The sailor dwarf grunted and grabbed a mug of mead which he proceeded to slam directly into the face of his attacker.
The brawl now encompassed the whole of the common room, and Dasha decided that enough was enough. Grabbing her dataverse device she put out a call for the nearest imperial patrol for assistance. In what was probably the fastest response she had ever received from an Imperial line, her device was pinged for a statement. “Uh, this is… the Velvet Dolphin,” she said, it felt weird to speak into this metal box, hoping it would provide her with answers, “We have a brawl in progress! Requesting some imperial troops for control!” There was a pause, then a chuckle cut through the static with painful precision.
“A brawl do you say? How interesting!” Dasha gritted her teeth as the very pleased voice of Officer Belt continued on, “If only you had listened to my suggestions, there would already be troops in the room. As it is I’m afraid all of our patrols have been called away to deal with other issues. I regret to inform you that we have no available assistance to lend you. We don't have that device you are using on our records, it isn't black market by any chance ma'am? That would be quite naughty of you." His voice took on a more formal tone, "Per Regulations I must tell you to exit the building and move a safe distance to ensure that you are not harmed…" then with what was almost a snarl he finished, "...but your kind always seems to come out of these sort of snafus unscathed.”

The connection went dead, and Dasha threw the device back in its box with a curse. Kelp was hiding in the corner, and Dasha was gratified to note that he had managed to snag several of the more expensive items on tap for safekeeping. She made her way over to him, ducking as another of the dwarves crashed into the bar above her. “We’re on our own with this one, lad. Keep your head down, and try to get upstairs.”

There was a shout, and Dasha looked up just in time to see Daedlin leap off a table and manage to loop an arm around the wookie’s throat. The hairy beast gave a roar as it struggled against the chokehold. The Wookie staggered backwards, slamming Daedlin backwards into one of the support columns of the building. The dwarf grunted, pounding his opponent with the empty mug while continuing to maintain the hold.

Dasha and Kelp took their chance, and darted through the wreckage of the room and past various prone forms towards the stairs. Dasha glanced back as with a howl, the Wookie finally managed to get ahold of Daedlin. The Dwarf was held a good three feet off the ground by the Wookie, his shorter limbs unable to effectively reach his adversary. “That the best ye got?!?” he hollered, then swung his body backwards and with the added momentum drove his iron-tipped boot directly into the wookie’s gut. The Wookie bellowed and with a flex of its corded, furry muscles, lifted the dwarf straight upwards, smashing his head directly into one of the ceiling beams. As Dasha hurriedly made her way up the stairs, there was a thud, and then a bellow of triumph. Wookie trumps dwarf.
 

---

 
After she was certain the fighting was over, Dasha made her way back down into the Common room. There was a creak behind her, and she looked back to see Kelp following closely behind her, a quivering dagger in his hands.

“Put that away, Lad. We aren’t to be fighting any of these ones.” She scolded, then motioned for him to stay where he was while she peered into the room. Through the wreckage she could see Daedlin, his crew, and a few other unconscious patrons scattered about. The ceiling beam was cracked where Daedlin had been smashed against it, and he lay below it, blood trickling down into his beard, and a large grin slathered on his face. The Wookie seemed to have left.

“That t'were a strong one! And no mistake! Might be I get one of ‘em for me ship!” he said, when he noticed Dasha’s approach.

“Why do you insist on doing this so often? I can barely afford the repair fees, and if there are many more incidents I have no doubt that Officer Belt will put men in here to arrest the lot of you! You think I can stay in business with the fines he’ll slap me for that?”

The Dwarf dismissed her argument with an uncoordinated wave of his arm, and took a swig of some alcohol he had managed to find nearby.
“Th’n I’ll fight them to! I got’s to have a proper celebration when something happens like this!”

“Something like what?” Dasha asked cautiously, Daedlin was unpredictable and taciturn, there could be literally hundreds of reasons the dwarf wanted to celebrate. He struggled until he was in a sitting position, then pointed to the least demolished corner of the room. “I got me a prime who owes me a favor!”
Dasha looked and regarded the woman who was sitting in the corner booth, with a drink Dasha did not recall serving her. Perhaps Kelp did it? She thought, but Daedlin continued before she got a chance to ask, “Fished this here drowned rat outta the brine not three days ago, says her ship got blasted by that storm on their way to Blue Flame Island. She was in a bad way when I found her, said she would owe me if’n I got her back to civilization. This is how I make the bigtime, this is ‘ow Daedlin Terruck Thol Geshud makes his stand for Good King Bruenor!”

Daedlin continued in this way for some time speaking of the deeds he would soon preform for the glory of Dwarfholm, and Dasha regarded the prime that the dwarf claimed to have rescued. She was surprised to see how unaffected the woman's corner of the room was from the chaos, but after a moment's inspection, she did notice the sword at the woman’s belt and the two prone forms nearby with obvious saber wounds. Using a sword in a bar fight…The Woman nodded in Dasha's direction, her bright red fedora a stark contrast to grubby walls of the tavern. Dasha distrusted her immediately. “Call me Carmen.” The woman said, raising her glass in welcome, and a subtle taunt to Dasha’s eyes. “What the dwarf said is true. My ship and crew are lost to the Kraken’s maw, and I find myself short on both power and friends. What was it you wanted me to do again Sir Dwarf?” she asked, and took another sip.

Daedlin nudged Dasha in the ribs, “Aye, tha’s me. Did ye catch the Sir?” Dasha only rolled her eyes as he struggled to his feet shakily, ignoring wounds that would have seemed significant to your average soldier. “I wanted ye to make me a proper warship, an’ ta help us in the war with those bloody trolls.” He finished with a gleam in his eye. The prime simply shrugged.

“These are both within my powers, but not my experience. I can make you a warship, but it would be unwise to use it against the trolls without testing it first.” The pirate settled back into the corner with a sigh. “I’ve lost one boat already this week, I’d rather not lose another.”
The dwarf shrugged. “it makes sense, none o’ my crew know how ta use such a ship yet anyways.” His eyes narrowed for a moment, “I ain’t about to go after an Impy vessel if’n that’s what you’re suggesting.”
The woman shook her head earnestly, “Not in the least! No, I have no desire to draw their ire on us right now.” She leaned forward eagerly, a smirk peeking from beneath the hat’s brim, “No, I have a more… PERSONAL score to settle, if you care to listen.”