#al. lich

ϟ our muses work together ❆ our muses get shut in due to a storm 

The storm had rolled in shortly before Seth had arrived to the workshop. The druid hadn’t done anything particular noteworthy in the times Martin and Allen had spied on him but they were still certain it must be more than he was saying. But they’d been moving onward with their other plans and both had sworn to avoid the druid as much as possible (Allen never told Martin about his outing in the woods, to embarrassed by the entire pointless ordeal). Except it was a very small town and Allen was the only resident doctor or herbalist... so it hadn’t taken long for Seth to end up inquiring about his supplies and about lab space.

Allen cursed himself for so stupidly inviting Seth over the first time they’d met because now he hadn’t any good reason to refuse such a request without it seeming to be personal spite or greed. He’d presented himself as an honest and altruistic noble, it’d be the height of suspicion to change course now. So he’d agreed, with a warm, welcoming smile, and told the druid to stop by whenever was convenient.

And so he had.

At least this time Allen had the forewarning to purchase human food stuff from the tavern as well as time to scour the lab area for anything that he didn’t want the human to poke his nose into. It was early enough in the afternoon that Martin and their... guest, Benny, would still be asleep for some hours, Allen just hoped he’d be able to usher Seth away before they awoke. He... hadn’t told Martin that the druid would be here. He’d meant to... but it’d been last minute and then Martin was heading to bed and...

Allen wring his hands together, bones and rings clicking together. Gods what am I doing?

The journey here had been a longer one, and despite his guild's orders to gather information as quickly as possible and report back, Seth had elected to linger even if for a night or two. Besides, they couldn't truly begrudge him that, could they? Sniffing out the village's most popular tavern and finding himself a vacant table was one of the faster ways to gather information, after all. Especially once the staff and patrons realized he wasn't able to repeat anything he heard.

Out loud, at least. Thanks to that the background murmur of conversation continued around the silent island his table had become. All the better, in his opinion, as it gave him the chance to relax after the difficulty it took to get here in the first place.

Footsteps approaching said table, however, were out of the ordinary enough that Seth pulls himself away from his idle people watching in order to see just who had decided that his mostly-empty seating arrangement was the place to settle themselves.

Faces he didn't recognize, though the druid looks unsurprised. Setting his mug down, the beer inside barely touched and primarily there for show to avoid getting drunk while on the job (so to speak), he gestures at the empty chairs in a clear help yourself motion. 'I am, though I am not sure just how much help I could be.'

Wondering if either of them would even understand what he was saying, he leans forward in his seat and rests his weight on the table afterward. The posture is more one of unaffected relaxation than attentiveness, though he's certainly still both.

Catching sight of the odd look on the older looking noble's face, Seth's own expression is one of concerned curiosity. 'Is your companion doing well?'

Martin frowned at the hand movements, recognizing them as sign language but most of the words escaped him. The sign he knew was several hundred years out of date. Stumbling over himself verbally he said, “Ah... that might be an issue... I’m afraid I’m not entirely familiar with your... uh... dialect. I only caught-”

Allen interrupted him with a elbow to the side, “Wait, I think I have something for this.”

Pulling forward a small satchel he had at his side, Allen shifted to be standing mostly behind Martin and tried to make it look accidental while he dug into the bag. Martin for his part gave Seth an apologetic look and tried to be distracting, “Written word might be an option if Allen doesn’t find what he’s looking for?”

Being fairly over dramatic about his search Allen began muttering to himself, attempting to use it as cover for his spell, “I know its here somewhere-” he muttered the arcane words under his breath, making the hand motions inside the bag, casting Comprehend Languages “-Ah! Here it is!”

He pulled out a pair of reading glasses with an exaggerated flourish. Showing the perfectly ordinary pair of reading glasses off to Seth like one might a prized trophy, Allen explained, “They were a gift from a young witch,” he attempted a suggestive expression and made his illusion blush, “After a rather lovely evening she gave me this as a parting gift. They should, if memory serves, act as a translation device! Most wonderful certainly!”

|| Drink together || v. DnD/Pathfinder || @singinghands ||

The sun had set but the tavern was still lively and likely would be for many hours more. It was a very sizable place, especially considering how small the village itself was, but the road nearby was a fairly well traveled trade route and the tavern and attached inn catered mostly to traveling merchants and adventurers. Even still, it was a far better outfitted place than one might expect. And speaking with merchants to traveler this route frequently would quickly reveal that the tavern had been greatly refurbished and expanded in the last few years, as if the owners, an ex-adventure gnome couple, had recently come into a great deal of wealth.

A bard was near the hearth, tuning their lute and getting ready to start a set. Tonight's specials were roast duck with onions and apple tarts. And so much beer. A golly group in one corner was singing a drinking song loudly, beers sloshing as Martin and Allen ducked in through the door, the firelight catching on their finely tailored doublets.