2017-04-11: Barroom Business III

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========================<* Adlehyde - Starfall Saloon *>========================

Located in the southwest quadrant of Adlehyde, the Starfall Saloon is situated next to the local Adventurer's Guild outpost and kitty-corner from an ARMs Meister; the mostly-happy not-at-all-coincidence has turned the Saloon into a popular gathering place for Drifters. The Saloon has been carefully constructed to recreate the feel of a frontier alehouse - it has stables and a livery out back, and the main floor is taken up almost entirely by the sort of dark, slightly dank wooden tables and chairs that appeals to its clientele. An old harpsichord even sits in the corner, although it does not seem to be heavily used. Or in tune, for that matter.

The Saloon's proprietor and bartender is known as Honest Tom; this is a bit of an in-joke among the regulars, as the man rarely speaks more than a dozen words over the course of an evening. The Starfall Saloon is widely known among Drifters for offering warm beds, cold beer and decent grub for a fair price, and so it sees a great deal of out-of-town traffic. It is also known for the three rules hung over the bar: NO GUNS, NO FIGHTS, NO CREDIT.

BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQRL7xws7w

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

It's been a little while, so Bart decides that it's time for a STRATEGIC PLANNING AND TACTICAL session... or SPLAT for short. OK so it's not really anything all that formal, but it's more Bart going 'God that trip to Lahan was kind of terrible - but we should talk it over with Lily, so how about we meet up in the saloon in a couple days?'

So, saloon. Beer (another pitcher of a Kislev ale, although different from the last time). Snacks (some Aveh food, some local delicacies, mostly finger food laid out on a tray). Wanted posters (Bart's has apparently been set on fire, and darts have been thrown at a bunch of others). All in all, the perfect setting for a meeting.

Bart is waiting for the terrible twosome at the table, his own glass clearly having been hit a time or two given that it's half full. He has several bottles of cologne set up on the table in front of him, and the pirate is holding a heavy duty white bottle in one hand as he concentrates on it. The bottle itself glows faintly, and Bart's eye is half lidded as he focuses on it, channeling energy to prepare his tool for the next time they need to go dungeon crawling. 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata Croze is a very familiar fixture at the Starfall Saloon, having worked there for over four years of her life. She's a small-sized girl standing at only slightly over 5'2", but rather distinctive with how her white hair and skin contrasts with the black and white maid's outfit she typically dons as part of her service. She was absent for a few weeks, and those staying would have been told that there's a temp waitress that's not quite up to speed... but, all rejuvenated now, she's back at her post.

She smiles as she serves the beer on tap and several of the finger foods, maybe appreciating customers that are closer to her age rather than some of the grizzled Drifters that come through the saloon. "Let me know if you need anything else, Mister, and I'll be right there to take your order." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon approves of a pitcher of Kislev ale. Having a different sort of ale than last time simply means that he has some variety that he usually doesn't get. The blonde-haired man leads the way, walking down the stairs ahead of Lily. He stays here; it seems central enough to the city, and he wants an idea of who might pass through. He can't very well hide.

His eyes fall on Bart, first at the glass that is half-full of beer, and then to the cologne. He blinks, once, and then gives a long, knowing look over his shoulder at Lily.

Does she have any idea?

That leaves him approaching as Lunata is still at the table. Albus has spent a fair amount of time out or in his room, but he has seen her in passing. He is, as always, polite. "Miss Croze," he tells her. "Thank you for bringing our drinks to us. I hope you're doing well today." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

When Lily Keil enters the saloon with Leon, it's while wearing red-and-black in dark shades, and being unaware of the name this meeting could have gotten. As usual, she doesn't wear her ARM in here, which might make her look like an ordinary woman almost. She's very... severe, though. And quite tall, at 5'9".

...It's not the first thing Lily sees, what she ends up looking at. She spots a half-empty glass (this is Lily, it's half-empty), several bottles, a pitcher and snacks. Her sharp topaz eyes cast over these things and Bart's face, but among them is that faintly glowing, heavy duty bottle, and Bart focusing on the same.

This gets her looking much more intently for a few moments as she takes in the details and then meets Leon's eyes while he's ahead of her. She returns the same knowing look, and a raised eyebrow.

It doesn't last all tha long; she walks along behind Leon and takes up position beside him by the table once they arrive. Keil looks to all involved. "Good day," she says quietly to Lunata, nodding to her once, and glances again over the food. "And thank you."

She pauses, and while looking directly at Bart asks, "What are you doing?"

Lily's stayed here as long as Leon has; what's easily and well known about her is that she is very quiet, particularly when down here in the saloon by herself. 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

Bart smiles and makes a thumbs up gestures to Lunata as she approaches. "Just waiting on a couple folks right now," he comments, although there's already a decent amount of food laid out. But hey, it's a celebration. Always good for more food at this point.

Lunata of course has probably heard tales of the last time Bart had a meal here, however. He was accompanied by his cousin and a lady who looked similar to but certainly couldn't have been the Princess of Adelhyde because why would Ceclila be hanging out with a pirate, and also a mysterious blue haired woman who was certainly not the Lord of Calamity. And between the four of them they had eaten a grand total of WAY TOO MANY hamburgers, leaving the kitchen in quite the state.

He does grin as Lily and Leon walk over, and stands up, dropping the bottle on the table to offer them both a handshake. "Glad to see you two again," he states, looking between the two. "Although I saw Leon a lot more recently, but I figured that we should probably sit down and discuss the mess we saw in Lahan."

Bart drops back into his seat, and picks up the bottle for a moment. "This? Well, I don't get these filled with awesome combat magic right out of the store. Gotta concentrate, charge em up, that sort of thing. Figured I'd get one together since I drained my last one up in Lahan."

All channels have been gagged. 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

"Much better, Mister Leon," Lunata smiles warmly and bows her head. "It was a very nasty cold I had, but Jay's medicines have never failed me. A-and please, just call me Lunata, it's a bit embarrassing to get called that by someone much more mature..."

She also bows her head at Lily, saying, "Good afternoon, Miss Lily," and after placing several more glasses on the table to share the pitcher, leaves them to their discussion, not wanting to be terribly rude or intruding. She... definitely does remember Miss Cecilia's attempt at destroying Aunt Hilda's stock of mincemeat, and coming just short of doing so. Many a heffer had to be slaughtered the next day, just to ensure that stocks would not eventually deplete. "Please let me know if you'd like to order, the specials are on the blackboard."

She gestures, where she's written in colourful chalk:

TODAY'S SPECIAL

Half-pound of grilled ribeye steak done to your liking,

served with creamy mushroom pepper sauce

and a side of olive oil and rosemary roasted potatoes and steamed vegetables

TODAY'S SOUP

Homemade chicken soup with hand-pulled noodles,

served with slices of toasted five-grain ciabatta and a side salad

She hums happily as she returns to the bar, beginning to wipe up the counter and dry up glasses. 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Someone much more--

Leon sighs, though it's only a little. Part of him wants to protest being mature -- but he knows that it wouldn't ring true. "Ah, all right, then. Lunata," He nods, once, to her. "I'm glad that you feel better. It's not a great time to be under the weather, with so much happening in the city."

Then, he looks to the cologne. His eyes widen a moment. "I... saw you use it," he says, "but I had no idea, Bart. How impressive." He looks at Lily for confirmation. Is it impressive for sorcery? He sighs, before he takes a seat. "Yes. We went to Lahan and looked it over."

That might be an understatement. He nods to Lunata, as she walks away, and then he studies the special and the soup. He opens his mouth, then closes it. His silver eyes turn distant. Lily knows that look; it means he is hungry. "Hrm." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily looks between Leon and Lunata, and doesn't even blink at the matter of Leon being more mature. Instead she focuses on Lunata for a moment and asks quietly, "Would you be more comfortable if I called you by name?" Lunata is setting glasses down, and Lily adds, "Though Leon is certainly very mature."

It might not sound it, but Leon can probably tell she's teasing a little. She caught that sigh.

"Thank you," she says to the waitress as she starts to move away, and focuses then on Bart, gathering her skirt and slipping into a seat across from her employer. "It's good to see you as well," she agrees. "And that's fine."

Thre's a beat as he answers; he got his handshake, of course, a firm grip through gloves as is always the case for her. "Fascinating. I've never seen that sort of magic." She turns her head to look at Leon and she nods, confirming all right. She looks very intrigued, mostly.

...But she stops that and focuses for a moment. "Whatever it was that you saw in Lahan, I'm interested, since it seems to be important to the both of you. I haven't seen it for myself."

Another look btween the men at the table, and she sees that look. Deadpan, "But maybe we'd better order before we try to discuss too much." The sorceress reaches to the pitcher and starts pouring herself and Leon glasses. 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

"Eh, it's... hard to explain?" Bart comments. He turns the bottle over in his fingers for a moment. "I didn't really know what sort of magic it was myself for a long time - had a friend who was kidnapped by Gebler who explained it to me." He doesn't want to go into the particulars of how Sigurd actually worked for Solaris with these two. Because that would be weird and take too long to explain. "But apparently it's a sort of magic they use called 'Ether' - they use it a lot, but shows up in people in other countries from time to time. I can't do a lot with it - any time I try and use it for anything other than channeling power into an object it just fizzes and doesn't really do anything."

The pirate sets the bottle down and grins. "But I'm not really the magical type either - Lily slings a mean spell, and probably does it a lot better than I ever will." Bart doesn't really care who knows about what he can do - it's not like knowing he's an Ether user will make Gebler any LESS likely to chase him around, given they're already throwing a lot of crap at him.

"Anyways, Lahan..." Bart pauses, and tosses a snack in his mouth. "Actually, one sec..." He holds up a hand, and calls out, "Lunata! Could I get a bowl of the soup of the day when you have a chance?!?"

That settled, Bart looks to Leon. "As I mentioned before, probably the most impressive fact about that place is the fact that the kid won. I'm hoping we can get his Doctor friend to haul his Gear in, 'cause I'd love to have a look at it if its performance is that high." 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

"Coming right up, Bart!" Lunata calls back to the blonde-haired pirate, looking towards the other two with a hopeful kind of look on her face. She wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, but she couldn't help but note some of the things they were talking about -- of magic, and Gears. It was a world that was entirely beyond her, though the fact that her mother is a famed Drifter and archaeologist and her father is an ARMsmith means that she invariably has ties to it all. They were all definitely involved in something big, of a different nature that her mother was...

It doesn't take long for the soup to make its way -- with a rich, creamy golden colour and lovely and plump pillow-like cuts of noodle, delicately misshapen to hint at their hand-kneaded nature. A sprig of parsley adorns the top as a garnish. It smells wonderful.

"That'd be good, Miss Lily," she answers the woman in turn with a soft smile. "Can I interest you in the soup or the special, perhaps?" 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

There is, for a moment, a sudden tension at the very word 'Ether.' Leon knows better than to look directly and fearfully at Lily. He has a reasonably good poker face, and that means he looks forward, and then he nods once at him. "Hm," he murmurs, "I see. It's not... like the types of magic that we were trained in dealing wth, back in the academy."

He glances sideways at Lily, then, though, at the compliment to her. He rests back in his chair. There is a slight smile on his face, though, at what Lily says. She read his mind.

Then, he looks back at Bart. He nods. "The whole village was a ruin, Lily," he says. "Roads torn up, most buildings not standing. I haven't met this Fei Fong Wong yet... but it seems incredible that he could do that by himself." He keeps talking as Lunata arrives -- and he flusters, slightly, and sits up straighter. "Thank you," he says. "Ah--I'll have the special," he says, "It sounds fantastic." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily doesn't look away as Bart calls it hard to explain, her attention flickering between the bottle and Bart's face. Once he starts talking more, it's on him again. A strange magic he didn't know about.

She stares at the explanation, keeping her thoughts well off of her face. She says nothing until Leon speaks up.

"No, it seems not to be like those at all." A pause, "Though it's interesting to know what they call it."

Sh takes the compliment and glances at Leon with a small smile, obviously a little pleased wen she looks back to Bart. "it's good to be appreciated. ...I'm a Symbologist, but I'm fascinated by other forms of magic. I'd like to talk to you more about this sometime."

It's not all lies. ..Just mostly. But they're good lies.

She isn't forgetting the purpose of this meeting though. She glances between both, after Bart calls to Lunata. "...Himself, an entire village?" She'd heard the rumors, of course, as she was listening out for them. "Mm.. You never know."

She stpos when Lunata comes back, and looks up to her while smeling the soup. "All right, Lunata," Lily answers. "Then make that two specials. It does sound very good." She reaches out to what looks like a spicy local delicacy in the meantime. "I've met Fei Fong Wong, if briefly, as Bart knows. I wonder about him." A shrug, "A Gear could do all of that, at least. Maybe I should see tis place for myself." 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

Someone more attentive might have noticed that looks passing between Lily and Leon.

Bart is not that person. The best he'd do even if he'd notice is chuckle and think about how cute the kids were these days. But he nods to Lily, and states, "Sure. I mean, not sure how much I can really *explain*, but maybe you can give me pointers so I can like... shoot fireballs at people or something."

On to the topic at hand. "Well, it would take a hell of a Gear to pull it off by themselves," Bart observes as Lunata speeds away with their order. He'd taken a look at Lahan from a distance before, but that was nothing like seeing it close up. "From what I've been able to gather, Fei's Gear was originally built in Kislev, but a Gebler Infiltration Team broke into the base and stole it.

"That lead Kislev to launch one of their elite pursuit teams after them, and apparently the Gebler team landed in Lahan for god knows what all reason." Bart shakes his head - bastards. If they'd come down outside the town, the casualties would probably have been minimal at best. "Who knows, maybe they wanted to use the buildings for cover. The place was thrashed - buildings down, Gears thrown everywhere. Dunno what happened but I figure when Fei got in that Gear, he was *pissed*." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"I was thinking we might return, at some point," Leon says, with a glance at Lily. "We could use some explosives."

He frowns, and then he nods -- eyes briefly following Lunata, before he looks back towards Bart. His eyes widen at the mention that the Gear was stolen from Kislev. Then, he looks to the side, and he nods. "...I can imagine. A pursuit team... I wonder if it was one of ours."

The Wolves had some Gear-specialist teams. They had no way to be sure, though. He looks briefly at Lily again and his brow furrows, before he looks back to Bart.

"A Gear fight in his hometown," Leon says. "I would be pissed too." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"I'll listen regardless," Lily says to Bart, with little inflection. She inclines her head once though to actually acknowledge the rest of what he said, "I can only show you how I do it. It may not be helpful."

She hesitates there; it might reveal more than she intends to try. On the other and, it may be worth it.

"Well, I didn't stop being certified with explosives," Lily answers, glancing a Leon. "I'll bring extra charges."

Moving to the main topic at hand, Lily acknowledges that observation about a hell of a Gear with a look at Bart. Then, she goes still again when she hears 'Kislev' at this hell of a gear. It's just as surprised a reaction, in its own way, as Leon's widened eyes.

She glanes to the other side. "Of course, they'd send a pursuit team. ...I don't know."

"...When you're angry, you can be capable of real destruction, given the means." Lily focuses on the wall, rather than either of the men nearby. "Or when you're facing something that powerful. Even outside of Gears, Gebler was always... a problem."

Food arrives thanks to Lunata. "Thank you," she murmurs, and starts to eat. 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

"Yeah, although quite frankly seeing someone take down two teams at once is a hell of a thing," Bart muses, trying to figure out how HE would do such a thing. To be honest his reaction would probably be 'scream, leap, and just beat the crap out of them all at once' which was why he had Sigurd to double check his plans. He doubted such a... direct approach would work.

"Like... we keep track of what sort of Gears are being made by Kislev and Aveh, and the performance on this thing has to be way off the charts, so it's either some sort of super prototype or it's a weird one off job they made for some crazy reason." Bart waves his hands, and then grins and accepts the bowl of soup from Lunata when it arrives. He downs a few spoonful before he spins the utensil around and points at Lily and Leon.

"Sounds like both of you were pretty close to the sorts of teams that would be sent out on a mission like this, so would either of you have stuck around if some super Gear were wrecking the town and both teams in the process? My people have standing orders to run like hell in that sort of situation - better that we know that the problem is out there than go down fighting." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon can only guess how he would handle it. He would need some well-prepared traps, he reasons, and a distraction -- make them think they were surrounded, so one team double backed, and then he could--

Wait, he reminds himself, this was a seventeen year-old villager.

He looks back at Bart, and tilts his head for a moment. He debates that -- and debates how much to say. The question is pointed to him, and his brow furrows. He considers how to respond for a moment -- and then he shakes his head. "No," he says. "The Black Wolves knew what courage was. It wasn't standing your ground and dying unless your death meant something. Any team of Wolves knew the same. Colonel Keil... that was how he saw things."

He frowns. "If it was a team of Wolves, he moved so fast they were overwhelmed. And otherwise... these were amateurs." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"It's definitely possible," Lily answers the matter of taking out two teams at once as one person. She says no more about it in the moment, shaking her head and glancing to Leon for a moment for no given reason.

This Fei didn't have the killer instinct to do this that she saw. So it must have been something different.

"Right," she agrees with Bart about the Gear, seeing nothing to argue with there... And not asking or the moment Bart's sources. She instead cuts steak with her knife, medium rare.

She glances down at Bart's qestion, and her knife pauses for a moment--resuming right after--at something Leon says. She speaks up softly, "Yes, Father is like that. That lesson is something he taught me when I was young." Lily pauses. "..." She looks up.

"Colonel Keil impressed a lot of lessons on the Wolves. I think you're right, Leon, about those options. Sending a team of amateurs just to get them killed, though..."

Lily spears a potato with her fork and adds after a moment, "I'd follow the Captain's directives. ...But in practice my job at that point is to consider the wounded." 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

Bart raises an eyebrow at the term 'Colonel Keil'.

However it's the eyebrow of his missing eye so the gesture is more or less hidden by the large eyepatch he wears. Oh well.

But he does wonder at the relationship. It seemed... unusual that people with the same last name were serving in the same unit, although Bart couldn't say for sure if they were related. And yet Lily's comment suggests that they were.

Stranger and stranger. But eventually Leon and Lily might explain that - he wasn't gonna push them on it.

Still, as for what Leon had said, "Yeah, that's my thought as well. I don't think they'd actually send a team after a stolen Gear without a brief of some sort on what it could do, which implies that something probably did take 'em by surprise."

Bart sits back, and then picks up his mug of beer, drains it, and pours himself another from the pitcher. "So I think we can all agree that for someone to knock out the whole team would take something special. And that the Gear... they should have had some idea of what it can do. Which means the kid brought something unusual to the party - something no one expected."

It was kind of scary when you think about it. "I'm willing to bet that the reason why Gebler went after that Gear is it had an Ether booster or something on it - they'd probably go to great lengths to get that back. And Lily, you remember that shot Fei kicked out when we rescued him? I'll bet they had the bad luck of a really powerful Ether user just happening to get into their awesome new Super Ether Booster Gear, and he just went hog wild." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Ah--"

Leon doesn't comment, directly, on Lily calling the Colonel her father. She can't very well hide that forever. It wouldn't be hard to learn the truth; Dietrich Keil was, after all, a high-ranking officer in Kislev. He looks relieved, though, when Bart lets it pass without comment. One day, maybe, they can explain. They may have to, if they keep working with Bart and his pirate crew. Even if, Leon realizes, they haven't seen the ship.

"It's a sound analysis," he says. "They got a surprise. They didn't see it coming, and then they were overwhelmed before they could do much about it. An Ether Booster..."

He frowns, then he nods. "...It makes sense. What does this Fei plan to do, now?" he asks. "Sounds like he's on the run from--well--everyone." 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

At this point, the near-overwhelming aroma of seared steak is unmistakable. The kitchen doors swing open, and Lunata swans in with a heavy armload of plates on each of her sides, on trays. It doesn't take long before the two specials are set at the table; the unmistakable black criss-cross of grill marks is tantalizing, lightly coated in a velvety, creamy brown sauce with sliced button mushrooms lightly swimming along the top. It's a tantalisingly juicy steak, well rested, no doubt, an inch in thickness and with that particular 'eye' that gives this prime cut of steer its name.

That's not to say anything's less about the sides -- the half-cut baby potatoes are golden brown and have been roasting in rosemary and oil and have a wonderful scent of their own, and the platter of seasonal vegetables -- cauliflower, asparagus, broccoli -- helps complete the wholesome image of the ideal tavern meal.

"Sorry for the wait!" Lunata expresses with a smile. "A special for Leon and Lily!"

She tilts her head as she smiles, saying, "Let me know if you'd like another round of drinks." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

It's hard for Lily to correct herself in talking about her father at the moment. Bart sees not to comment, and Lily herself looks less relieved; she looks about the same as she did before, looking through rather than at. ...Se shakes it off soon enough.

Maybe they'll explain eventually. They probably will.

"Yes..." She agrees immediately ane tenatively with what Bart starts to say, and listens along, staring again at the matter of not just something unusual, but an Ether booster. That catches her attention, all right. What Bart suggests actually happened...

She doesn't speak up before Leon, and is interrupted by the wonderful smell from the kitchen and then Lunata's beautiful plates. The black-haired woman looks towards her and lets her golden eyes take in the food. She doesn't smile back, but she does look up to Lunata, "Thank you. This looks wonderful." She picks up utensils as if ready to dig in, and pauses.

"So you think Fei is an Ether-user, too? That would explain just what he did when we rescued him." She pauses, spears a potato with her fork, and offers helpfully to Leon, "Last I saw him he was covered in rope and trying to throw himself on his own sword, metaphorically."

This does not seem a particularly unappetizing thought, because Lily starts eating quickly. Just a couple of bites and she stops for a litle more ale. "You have good timing, Lunata." 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

"I think another round of drinks would be wonderful," Bart replies to Lunata. Because drinks always were welcome - he stayed away from harder stuff, but beer was a wonderful way to finish off an evening. And this conversation was one that called for it.

But Bart isn't gonna pry, as he's well aware that everyone has secrets that they don't feel like reeling off at the drop of a hat. And he's not going to press - just like he didn't press Fei that much when he had talked to the young man.

"For now, Fei decided that he's going to work with us, and he's keeping an eye out for weird stuff around town. Since his bounty isn't from Adelhyde, they generally don't approve of people trying to snatch and grab inside the city proper." Bart had seen it happen a few times - sometimes you got away with it, sometimes the guards called kidnapping and stopped you. Really depending on who was grabbed, and who was doing the grabbing.

"But I ain't gonna lie," Bart continues. "I've seen his type before. He can protest about not wanting to fight anymore, but when I explained we were looking to stop the war, he admitted he'd be willing to at least go at it on foot, so long as he didn't have to get back in the Gear." Bart raises his mug, and takes a pull before gesturing towards Lily and Leon again with it. "Mark my words. Things go to hell around here, and he'll be pulling the Gear out to help out.

"No one who throws themselves into the middle of an ongoing battle to protect their town is just going to sit out and watch people getting hurt before their very eyes." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"Mm..." Leon trails off, his murmur fading as he considers what Lily and Bart both say. He nods, finally. "...I think you're right. I'll want to talk to him, though. See for myself what he's like. Not that I don't trust your opinion."

But he wants to form his own, too. After all, Lily risked everything to help him.

He starts to satee off, thoughtfully -- but the smell of cooked meat, the sauce on it and the potatoes -- make him look up. His eyes widen and he breaks into an almost uncharacteristic grin. "Ah!" he says. "Thank you, Lunata!" He takes the plate and looks down at it.

"You and the kitchen staff outdid yourselves," he says. "I'm glad that we ended up at this saloon."

He starts cutting into the steak with his knife, before he looks sideways at the waitress. He considers for a moment. "Is it different?" he asks. "Having so many Drifters in here?"

He hasn't connected her to Meredin Croze. 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata nods as she returns to the tap and refills the pitcher, so that she can individually pour her guests more glasses of ale. Nice and pale, with a perfect head of foam -- the perfect pour. That's something Lunata's practiced for months and is proud of.

"Not that-- the conversation is my business, but... I really do hope nothing like Lahan happens here..." Lunata couldn't help but comment, lowering her head a little. "Just hearing about what happened wounds me. Some of the refugees that have passed through here... their spirits are broken."

She regains her cheer at Lily and Leon's compliments, though. "Thank you. Both Uncle Tom and Aunt Hilda pour a lot of love into this place, and I think it really shows." She tilts her head at that question in thought. "A little. I've only really got Mother to compare to, but there really are all kinds of Drifters. Sometimes they're really kind, under that grizzled exterior, and other times, a fine face hides a mean heart..." she chuckles. "It just teaches me that you can't judge a book by its cover." 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"I see. So things have changed," Lily answers Bart, considering. She has her own doubts about the city, but sees no reason to bother voicing them; it's safer here in some respects at least, that's for sure. But Bart keeps going, and Lily startsc utting steak, watching him even as her hair falls forward, and considers.

"...We'll just have to hope that he knows how to aim that thing," Lily says seriously. "...It's good to want to help. I shouldn't speak against that." It's hard to identify her distant tone.

Lily looks to Leon as she suggests talking to Fei himself, and nods.

But she is soon occupied with her food, and with the new ale... taking the time to make another effort to finish the first. It's a good conversation for drinking a little bit.

Lily listens to Leon first, and then Lunata speaking of what happened in Lahan "...I hope not, too," Lily says, aware as she says it that it isn't much of a kindness. She considers, and then, "...I'll keep my eye out, all right? I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try."

She deliberately doesn't look at Bart or Leon as she says it, or even after, as if she can ignore that she said something like that at all. She looks at Lunata being complimented instead. "I agree, it shows." A pause. "...Your mother...?" She stops. "...That's some lesson." At that she gets back to her food; she eats fairly quickly. 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

Bart coughs and scratches his head for a moment, wondering what he should say at this point. But then again... it was probably best to be reassuring, wasn't it? "Well, it's not like we want anything like Lahan to happen again, and I don't think Aveh or Kislev would be crazy enough to start a new war out here. So I think you're pretty save." He grins at Lunata - sadly winking doesn't work when you're missing an eye because how can you even tell?

He sincerely hopes that the Shaman is wrong about her premonitions, but that's why he's taking precautions.

"But I agree, its hard to judge a Drifter by the cover. Even a scruffy looking guy like myself can hide deep and powerful mysteries, to be revealed only when the time is right! But really, everyone has a story. Question is which way we end up walking when those stories intersect for a time." Bart isn't really fatalistic, or philosophical, but sometimes he has interesting things to say. He does look at Leon, then at Lily, and nods. "Anyways, I think we should keep an eye on the kid none the less. He's not a bad sort, but if he decides he really wants to kick some ass again, I want to make sure he's ahead of me, not behind." 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon gives Lunata a long look -- and he refrains from looking at Bart. He said that he had some indication that something was coming. He couldn't be sure what, but he didn't seem the sort of man to lie about that. Leon's brow furrows, before he nods. "...We'll work hard to keep Adlehyde safe," he says. "That's what we're for."

Except, of course, that isn't what Drifters are for -- but, speaking as he did, Leon didn't think of Drifters then.

He blinks, though, at what she says. "Mother...?" Leon asks, head tilted to the side. He is still new to the Drifter business -- and then it sets in anyways. She made a name for himself, and that prompts a nod. "Oh, I didn't realize. That's the truth, though. Drifters come in all sorts. And sometimes, how they act at first..."

He thinks of Jude, then shakes his head. 

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata nods at the three of them as she finishes her pouring, and says, "I believe in you. You're all really kind, capable people. And--" she scratches her cheek, "I feel safer here because of the Castle Guardian too... it might be-- silly, childish thinking, but I feel like Zeldukes really does look after this city. It's too bad his statue is in such disrepair... I like spending time there to clean it up, it makes me feel more at ease."

She looks to Leon and nods embarrassedly. "Ah, yes, Meredin is my mother. She's been hounding me with stories about a Ruin she's been looking into for months... I think she's looking for Drifter help to decipher its secrets. But-- oh, I've prattled on a lot!" She bows apologetically, perhaps thinking it a bit uncourteous, especially as a voice starts calling her to look after the counter. 

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

The thought of Kislev and Aveh expanding their front out here is something Lily doesn't say anything about. Instead she looks between the three others here at the table, until Leon speaks up again. She knows full well that that's not what a Drifter is for.

...But is it really what they're for?

It brings more questions, and while not all of them are bad, she isn't in a position to lose herself thinking about them for the moment. Instead she just watches him for a moment and then looks back to Lunata again. Well, she hesitates when Lunata calls them all kind, and picks p her drink again, but that marks her drinking when Lunata talks abot the Guardian.

She doesn't answer that idea, remaining quiet.

When the current glass is empty, Lily sets it down ot of the way. "...We're often interested in ruins." A pause, as black-haired woman hears Lunata's apology.

"...For me," she says, looking to Lunata, "I like it when someone else talks a lot. It means I don't have to." 

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

"Hey, if we've got free time we're always up for poking around into ruins!" Bart comments, glad to have a little different topic of conversation. He does grin at Lunata, and adds, "My concern is usually whatever parts and supplies I can pull out of em, but doesn't mean I don't appreciate seeing history and all. ...plus Ci would kill me if I went around destroying cultural treasures or something like that..."

Still... bah. Why worry about stuff. They've hit the highlights of the conversation here. "Anyways, I think we've covered what we need to. I definitely think you should have a word with Fei, Leon - make sure you think he's on the up and up for yourself. Just don't like... whack him or anything without talking to me first."

Pause.

"Unless he's gonna blow up a city block or something, y'know. Common sense."

Another look to Lily, and he adds, "And we can find some time to talk soon, as far as the magic stuff goes. Be interesting to see what else you can do!" He doesn't mention any interest in tattoos or anything. No, that would be rude. But hearing Lily describe herself as a Symbologist DOES make him wonde-no, bad Bart. Bad! 

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon nods back to Lunata -- even when he catches that look from Lily. But, then he shakes his head quickly. "Don't worry about it," he says. Except, of course, she is on the job. He waves as she she bows.

He looks back at Bart, then, and nods. "I'll do so. Have a word, that is," he says. "I don't typically whack people, as you put it." He takes another long drink of his beer -- and looks down at his plate.

He decides it needs some undivided attention -- and so he digs in, happily.

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