2017-05-28: Barroom Business V

• Log: Barroom Business V
• Cast: Bart Fatima, Leon Albus, Lily Keil, Fei Fong Wong
• Where: The Yggdrasil - Gunnery Deck Bar
• Date: 5/28/2017
• Summary: The Yggdrasil Alliance reveals secrets and bonds over things exploding following the Battle of Adlehyde. Much as usual.

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<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

ONBOARD THE YGGDRASIL

To say the last few days have been ones of complete chaos would be understating the problem. The Yggdrasil has been on constant combat alert for both of those days, and expenditures of fuel and munitions have been high. The ship has finally calmed down some, although there are still outside working with the refugees from the city.

However, for those in Bart's immediate group, the ones who had fought inside the city any number of times, have been given a bit of a star treatment. Individual cabins onboard the Yggdrasil, with showers, cleaned clothes, and enough privacy to sleep for a day straight after the grueling battle. And when they awaken, an invite up to the rather fancy bar that is located mid-ship, set ahead of most of the general crew quarters. The quarters for higher ranking members are set down below it, and the lounge area for those rooms can be seen easily from where the bar is located thanks to the protruding balcony.

Bart isn't here just yet, but as the alliance members arrive, they are each greated politely by name by the man behind the bar. If you were to look in the dictionary for the definition of butler, this man would probably have his picture there. Older, with white hair, glasses, and an impeccably tied cravat, his suit gives the man an appearance of refinement that might be out of place when you think about... well, Bart.

"Master Albus, Lady Keil, Master Wong, allow me to welcome you to Gunnery Deck. My name is Maison - the Young Master is dealing with a few minor details and wanted me to pass the word that he would be along shortly."

The butler bows politely, and gestures to the bar stools in front of the long sweep of ebony wood that makes up the bar. "Is there anything in particular you would care for? I have a variety of drinks, and the chef can prepare an excellent selection of dishes as well."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

After the sheer devastation visited on Adlehyde, Leon was happy to take cabins aboard the Yggdrasill. He doubts the Starfall Saloon is in any shape to have him living there right now. In a way, being aboard a ship is familiar -- it reminds the soldier of days in the service, of being aboard ships much like this one, and spending time with his own room and showers. He has cleaned up nicely; he has a button-up shirt and trousers on, but he has skipped the usual coat and vest. Both were roughed up in the fight.

He nods to Maison, as he steps onto the deck. His arms cross behind his back, and he walks a little ahead of Lily. His silver eyes move, to study Maison for a moment. He feels some surprise to see a butler here.

Who, exactly, is Bart?

"Scotch," Leon says, "if you have it." After a day like yesterday, he wants something stronger than a beer. He tilts his head to the side, then, before he glances sideways at Lily. "Some food wouldn't receive any complaints."

He sits on the barstool, before he looks the butler up and down. This is entirely more classy than he expected. "I'm a little surprised to find a man like you among pirates, Maison."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

One day. Not enough for everything, to be sure, but enough to get the blood washed out of her clothes, to get in a shower, and to get some alone time for the first time since before the Metal Demons attacked the city.

...Not that she's taken all of the time she could have. She's felt the need to explore her surroundings a little bit, just in case. After the sheer devastation visited on Adlehyde, Lily Keil wanted to be confident in the security of her environs. and happens to be a little paranoid as a rule.

She's dresse differently from usual, in her spare clothes; blood takes a while to wash out of the others. A white button-up blouse buttoned up to her neck, with a small red scarf and a long black skirt with boots. Her golden eyes likewise study Maison.

"Whiskey, if you don't mind," Lily answers. "A double. ...And yes, some food, please. Whatever the chef thinks is good."

She glanes sidelong at Leon, too, interlacing gloved fingers. She sits on the barstool as well. It... Rather is different.

"Mm," she agrees with Leon's assessment.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong has been resting for a while due to the numerous injuries he sustained over the course of the invasion. He makes it to the meeting, though, because he got stabbed in the throat earlier and maybe, just maybe, going to this meeting will result in less stabbings in the throat in the future. Weltall is pretty badly damaged through all the fighting so it's going to be out of commission for a while as it stands.

He's still wearing some of his bandages as he arrives. He sits down on one of the stools and nods to Maison. He admits, reluctantly, "I could really use a drink."

Fei doesn't think he can live the life of sobriety anymore. He looks towards Lily and Leon and nods to sugget a general desire for foods. He's The Wolf That's Exhausted In Every Way right now. All tanks are empty.

"Well it's more surprising to see Kislev agents amongst pirates, in my opinion." Fei says. "But I've been thinking about it."

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

"Would you like that on the rocks, or straight up, Master Albus?" Maison inquires politely, and after receiving his answer proceeds to prepare glass and liquor as instructed. "And you, Lady Kiel?" the butler continues, continuing his swift service at the bar. He pauses for a moment to speak into an earpiece, presumably to let the cook know to start on something at Lily's request. As Fei takes his seat, Maison offers him a small, polite bow and asks, "I believe something a bit more basic is probably in order after the fighting you've been through. 'Meat and potatoes', as they say - solid food for rebuilding energy and vigor following such a difficult battle."

The butler works efficiently, and a few moments later several plates are brought out - prime rib, seasoned to perfection, with a side of new potatoes that have been garnished with herbs and a hint of butter, as well as a side of mixed vegetables. The presentation is probably far fancier than any of the trio have seen in quite a while.

"As to your question, Master Albus, if we were the typical thugs who committed to robbing the poor and helpless, I expect that you would be correct," Maison comments in response to Leon's question regarding how such a classy man (in an equally classy bar) happened to end up on the Yggdrasil. "I'm certain that you've noticed by now that the Yggdrasil is not the rusty old claptrap that I'm sure the Young Master described it as." He sounds just a little disapproving, because clearly Bart has tried that dodge before with a number of people.

"What the Young Master tends to leave out is that the Yggdrasil is actually a state of the art warship that was unearthed by the Fatima Dynasty a number of years ago. We believe that it dates back to the Day of Collapse era, or even the Metal Demon Wars." He smiles, picking up a glass and wiping it out with an immaculate white cloth, pausing for a moment to inspect the crystal to ensure that it is spotless.

"As its existence was a secret of the royal family, that craven usurper Shakhan was unable to seize it during his coup d'etat. Thus it made an excellent choice for our primary mobile base of operations when the Young Master returned from asylum in Adlehyde to begin the work of overthrowing Shakhan and his regime."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"We're former Kislevi soldiers," Leon says, looking back at Fei. He nods once, but he stays quiet on the subject of a drink -- even if he approves. "You can check our bounties, if you want proof. Kislev wants us imprisoned."

Or dead, he thinks.

He looks back at Maison, then he waves a hand once. "On the rocks, please." He waits, then, for the food to come. When it does, he digs in -- he didn't voice being hungry the same way that Fei did, but he launches into it with a fork and starts demolishing the plates of food laid out before them. But, he listens while Maison talks.

His eyes widen, as he puts it together: referring to Prime Minister of Shakhan as a usurper, confessing this to be former property of Aveh's allegedly extinct royal line, and Bart's private war against the Prime Minister. Leon's eyes widen, when he looks up.

It isn't that much of a jump. He heard the name of the boy who, supposedly, died years ago. Word got around Kislev. "Then--he's the crown prince," Leon says. "The one that, as far as our intelligence told us, was killed during the revolution."

That he just told Fei that he isn't with the Kislevi military, and then called it 'our intelligence,' doesn't really occur to him.

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Straight up," Lily answers Maison simply, a little gruffly. But that's just how she speaks by this point, though Maison may not know that yet. He doesn't seem to mind. She glances then at Fei, particularly as the pilot in their company mentions his surprise at... them.

"That sounds good," she says to Maison.

Leon answers Fei and Lily chimes in darkly, "Imprisoned is optimistic, Captain. I expect a firing squad as my welcome home." She looks over at Fei for a moment, and shakes her head as the plates arrive. Her own is there...

Lily said she was hungry, and she is starving. She tears into her own like with methodical precision, cutting everything first and starting to take bites that she closes her eyes to enjoy. This is fancy. She's going to savor it.

...But she's going to probably eat more.

She listens along, without really bothering to look up. She pauses eating with her fork down to ask, "If the Fatima Dynasty unearthed it, how did Bart get it? More piracy?" A wave of her finger, "It's true that you aren't the pirates I'd have expected you to be... But Bart is too soft-hearted for robbery anyway."

A pause. "Secrets aside, I certainly support overthrowing Aveh's current regime. The Fatimas knew how to look for peace. I can't argue that one."

Lily stops to take a drink.

But Leon looks wide-eyed and certain. "...What? Leon..." She stares for a moment, "But we know that boy died. And Bart of all people a prince?" There's a certain amount of disbelief in her voice. ...She doesn't so much as bat an eye at 'our intelligence', though.

"It... makes rather more sense than I'd like it to. Maison, tell him he's addled from too much smoke." Lily takes another drink.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei Fong Wong stares at the plate for a while in disbelief. This is probably the fanciest that Fei has ever seen food prepared for him at all. It feels a bit wrong to be eating so well when he doesn't really feel he deserves it but what is he going to do? Starve? If he really wanted to die, he had plenty of opportunities while the city was on fire.

He gives up on chastizing himself for the moment and just enjoys the meal. He's barely two bites in before he looks to Masion squarely and says, "This is the best meal I've ever had."

Despite his hunger, he eats patiently to make the most of it. He might not be this lucky tommorow. Sometimes his hand shakes while holding the fork and he has to stop just to main control of the utensil.

"Must have been pretty recent," Fei continues, regarding Kislev. "You said you had answers about Weltall anyway."

He takes a veeeeeeeeery long drink. It doesn't really matter whether it's whisky or scotch, he manages despite how awful it is because he wants to be buzzed as quickly as possible.

Rather than insist on those answers right away, he adds, "I don't think the Metal Demons were only after the Golems. I don't know anything about those eras--"

He hesitates for a moment as he says that but after rubbing his forehead, simply continues. "The people we were fighting couldn't have been their main force. They were too reluctant and didn't seem to want to kill everybody and burn down the city at all. So I'm guessing their main target was something else entirely."

Fei frowns as Leon puts two and two together and figures that Bart's the secret supposedly dead heir to a kingdom. Is that what he's caught up in now? Arguing over who happens to rule whatever country? It's enough to make him want to walk out right now, but Bart was right about him.

Someone who could see through him like that couldn't be that bad of a guy, he figures. Maybe he's even genuine about wanting to shut down the war and--again--he has nowhere else to go. Even Doc seems to have an in with these people and they did help save the city. They could've just picked over the ruins if they were genuine assholes.

"Well if you overthrew the leader of a nation that's making war against your people," Fei glances to Lily. "Would they still want to execute you? They might give you medals instead."

He leans back. "Why can't he be a prince? He seems pretty princely to me." Impetuous, used to getting his way, and okay yes commanding loyalty.

He looks down and sees his plate somehow became empty. He looks towards Maison hopefully and says, "Is there more?"

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

"Yes," Maison states with a polite nod. "It is better than I tell you now than to have the three of you suffer from one of the crew's innumerable pranks when you accidently commit lese majeste with the Young Master. He is not the one to insist upon strict formality, but believe me when I say that there are some among the crew who find is depressingly hilarious to make newcomers feel... uncomfortable following such an event."

Almost as if on queue, another plate appears for the butler to deliver to Lily as soon as she finishes the first one. Another follows as soon as Fei requests seconds, and Maison's expression is unruffled by requests for additional food. Really, they'd been preparing for Cecilia to show up at the Gunnery Deck at some point, and the expected assault upon the ground beef supply had the kitchen gearing up for high alert.

"But yes, your line of thought is correct, Master Albus, Lady Keil. We are the last remaining retainers of his late majesty, Edbart the 4th. As soon as the Young Master felt he was ready to begin fighting against Shakhan the Usurper, we activated the Yggdrasil and began our rather quixotic quest."

There is a faint noise as the door to the hallway slides open, and then Bart comes waltzing into the bar. "Leon! Fei!" he calls out. "I was just looking at the haul you two brought in, and I gotta say... nice work!" He gives them a thumbs up, and walks over towards the bar. "Lily, I've had several groups of civilians ask me to send their thanks - seems you were working overtime pulling people out, and they wanted to express their appreciation."

The pirate sits down, but before doing so he gives Fei a warm slap on the back. "And I've been hearing about how you kicked ass out there Fei! What did I tell ya!" He grins, before looking at the butler. "How about the usual, Old Man?"

"As you wish, Young Master," Maison comments, and immediately begins pouring out a tall glass of beer. A stack of three hamburgers is whisked out from the kitchen a moment later, and Bart immediately begins tearing into them. He pauses after a moment, and looks at his three companions. "So did Old Maison spill all my beans with some excuse about some terrible prankster on the crew threatening to hang you from the yard arm while we traveled the desert for insulting my oh so delicate royal dignity?"

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"It wasn't more than four months ago," Leon says to Fei. His voice is quiet. They left just before the attack on Lahan. He takes a sip of his scotch, swirling it around in his glass, before he turns his head to look sideways and back at Fei. He nods, once, to him. "I didn't hear much. Lily and I--the Black Wolves, our unit, were commandos. We used Gears when we needed to, but it wasn't our area of expertise. But even then..."

He frowns down at his plate, already half-emptied by his studious work. "...I heard about a Gear they acquired. No one was sure where it came from. It was supposed to be painted all in black. And very dangerous."

Had things happened differently, he could have been involved in the battle at Lahan. He frowns -- and doesn't even blink when Lily gets a second plate of food. He knows perfectly well that her form of magic needs it. Leon looks up at Maison, and his eyes widen -- but they narrow, again, when he hears about a quest. "I see," he says. "I'm unsurprised. I never trusted Shakhan. Too brutal--and his men, too."

Then, he looks sideways at Fei, before shaking his head. "It's... complicated. They accused us of treason, but there was something else going--"

He doesn't finish that, because Bart comes in. Leon looks up at him, and the former Captain allows a smile at the compliment. And, perhaps, at the compliment to Lily -- he isn't surprised to hear she helped pull people out of the city. "I don't think we'll be making use of the Golem any time soon," he says. "The damage that sorcerer did to the outside... we need to find out more about who he is."

He shakes his head, then he raises an eyebrow. "He did warn us," he says. "You don't have anything to worry about. Lily and I aren't the sort of people to concern ourselves with insulting royalty."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"I see," Lily answers Maison, lifting an eyebrow at the idea of the prank. There's more that she might wish to say, but as she's thinking about it Leon begins to explain something to Fei that's perhaps long overdue. She glances that way before her plate arrives. "Thank you," she murmurs; th first is entirely cleaned off. She's very, very hungry; she's used an incredible amount of magic lately, and no small amount of physical effort either.

But she sure can eat fast. She slows down a little on the second intentionally.

"...I see, Maison. Well then." It's a bit strange. It's a lot strange. But a quest... "I never had anything good to say about him, but you knew that much. You weren't the one treating wounds."

Bart arrives, and Lily tilts her head over his way, her hair still falling neatly down her shoulder. When he starts complimenting her she glances away, somewhat self-conscious immediately. "...I only did what I could. If they remembered me, that's..." She's not entirely sure what to do with that information, actually. It's awkward.

"...Fei. I think you're right about their tactics, about their main force. That's good insight." A pause. "...Who knows, honestly?" Lily asks. "Even if they wanted to give me a medal, I doubt I could ever go home. It's... complicated."

"...Heh," Lily says after a moment. "He can be a prince I guess." A look to Bart, "The most ridiculous Prince I've ever met." It's somehow... affectionate. Somehow.

"Leon has it," Lily agrees, lifting up her drink. "But I don't think your crew would like pranking me. And Leon's probably better at insulting royalty than I am."

...Is the black-haired sorceress actually in a good mood?

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei's expression is blank at the phrase 'lese majeste'. Does he know what that means? Noooooope. He is slower with the second plate because Xenogears has a weight gain mechanic. He is polite enough to not laugh at the name Edbart--no, it's not exactly politeness, it's an understanding. Namely, it's understanding that his name is Fei Fong Wong and he will probably never win that kind of contest. He's still waiting for somebody to tell him one day he's Fei Fong Wrong. Somebody besides Dan, that is.

Or you know. Something more vulgar.

Bart's slap manages to avoid connecting with Fei's injuries and he smiles back at the Pirate Prince. Yeah, come to think of it, maybe piracy is just being a prince but more honest. A smile might look a little weird on Fei's face but he manages one in that moment. The voice in his head that torments him hasn't returned just yet. Maybe he's cured from the influence, maybe not, but he is going to enjoy being free from that inner voice for now. He's not sure where that OTHER voice came from, but it certainly felt...familiar.

"I would never insult your princely dignity," Fei says with a straight face, but the tone indicates humor. "Master Edbart."

He quickly turns his head because he can't keep that straight face for long. He covers his mouth for a moment, just a moment, before he adds, "You were right about me. I was mad about it at first, about you being right about me, but I think I understand everything a bit better now."

He looks toward Leon for a moment before adding, "I'm not the only person who'se been thrown out of the life he knew. I'm guessing there's some kind of conspiracy going on in Kislev too, maybe they're going to overthrow the Kaiser. Maybe something else. They got caught up in something, saw something they weren't supposed to, or maybe were scapegoated for something." He shrugs. "Anyway, I gotta say, Bart. I'm pretty impressed by you. You rebounded, adapted well to y our new lifestyle. I've got to say I'm a bit jealous."

He laughs and adds, "It's not that easy for me. I can't just--take over a city and make it better." He makes it sound so easy. "But if I learned anything from seeing two homes burn to the ground, I guess it's that the war's going to come to me whether I want it to or not. I might as well make it my own and do the best I can. Maybe then I'll be able to live peacefully again."

He looks over to Leon and nods to him. "The demons seemed pretty pissed I was using it. Maybe it was used against them."

He glances to Lily and says, "Sorry to hear that. And uh... I'm sorry for getting rough back there." He shakes his head. "Seeing another city in flames so soon after I fled Lahan... I felt cursed and needed something to blame. It's not your fault."

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

Bart listens as Leon confirms Maison's perfidy. And he gives the butler a look. "Not letting me have any fun these days, Old Man."

"One time was enough, Young Master. And it is not as if they would not figure it out soon enough."

"Grumble grumble," Bart states. Not actual grumbling, but he actually SAYS grumble grumble. "Well, in for a penny, in for a pound as they say. Especially since we're probably going to be helping out Ceci and anyone with her as well."

Maison just... sniffs for a moment, and shakes his head. "I am certain that Princess Cecilia will not need to twist your arm terribly hard to obtain promises of assistance from you, Young Master. Despite any possible claim to the contrary."

"You see why I stay away from the ship sometimes?" Bart protests, just looking at Lily, Leon, and Fei. "I swear it's like having a conscience on my shoulder telling me that I should be bad or do pirate things just because they're fun!"

He does chuckle at the joke Fei throws his way - even that is a good sign from the haunted young boy. "Ed was my dad's name. My *official* fancy schmancy title is 'His Royal Highness Bartholomew Fatima'." Pause. "Bart is fine, really. I insist. Lotta people expect me to be some refined jackass when they hear I'm a prince, but really I am who I am. Aveh... well, I'm gonna worry about kicking that rat bastard Shakhan out of Bledavik before I worry about anything else." There were a lot of bad things in Aveh right now, a lot of them the fault of Gebler.

"There's nothing wrong with being torn up after the crap you've gone through, Fei. But if you're with us in trying to deal with this mess, then I'm glad to have you." He pauses, and basically devours what's left of one of his burgers before he adds, "I've had a decade to get used to all this, Fei. I was pretty young when Shakhan murdered my family, and believe me, I'm still furious about it. But throwing that around every day isn't going to help me, so I keep it here." Bart bangs his fist against his chest, right over his heart. "It's like a fire - I keep it banked, an ember that's always burning. But when it's time... it's there, ready to blaze up and be used to help push that last extra mile." A shrug, another bite of burger.

"It's kinda weird, and I dunno if I'm really getting the gist across, but... eh! I'm not the spiritual type. Go talk to Margie or Cecilia if you want that."

Bart downs pretty much the entire glass of beer, looks at Maison, and declares, "I'd appreciate another round, if you don't mind Maison." While the butler busies himself with that, Bart turns around and looks at the rest of the group. "Speaking of Ceci, here's where we stand. The Metal Demons were apparently hitting the city trying to steal the Golems and an old relic of the Adlehyde Royal Family called the Teardrop. Except for the Golem you two swiped, they seem to have made a clean sweep of it, but no clue of if those Gebler jackasses got their hands on one.

"Lord Pork Rind the Rusty jumped Cecilia when we were escorting her out of the city and took the Teardrop from her. Current intel says that's really bad for vague and unspecified reasons, and Ceci's trying to figure out where we go from here. I've got a couple ideas, but chances are we're going to probably be helping her group out in dealing with the Metal Demon problem while keeping an eye out for a chance to hit Shakhan where it hurts."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Leon looks at Lily, eyebrow raised -- but he smiles, a little, to see her in a good mood. It feels like the first time in a few days, but it has been quite a few days. The soldier looks back at Fei, then, and listens while he talks. He doesn't comment on his decision to fight -- but the way he inclines his head is a small indication of his approval.

And while he doesn't comment about others losing things, he doesn't argue it. He knows it to be true.

"I can understand that," he says. "No harm was done. After everything that happened... I think tempers have ran high for everyone involved. It means we're human, I suppose." He looks down, frowning for a moment as he listens to Bart talk about his plans. His eyebrows furrow, and he looks to the side -- at Lily.

His expression is thoughtful as he looks at her. They said they needed to go, after this. They have their mission. But, Lily was fond of the princess -- and Leon liked her and Adlehyde both. He thinks of the Starfall, of Lunata filling up drinks, and of the devastation visited on the whole city.

He lets out a long, slow breath. "...We still have to track down Gryndille," he says, carefully. "Even with Metal Demons roaming about, and with the loss of... the Teadrop, you called it? We can't ignore what we're after."

He looks back at Lily. "...But we can't ignore this, either. We'll help you going forward."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily doesn't interrupt Fei at what he has to say; she has food to eat as an excuse, but mostly she isn't the type when it seems important like this... Or when it grows to the topic of her and Leon. Not the only one...

When he puts it that way, they're all like that.

"...Princess Cecilia?" Lily asks. "I'd been concerned about her. She's coming here?" She actually admits it, though a moment later she rolls her eyes at Bart's protests. "Yes, I see why you stay away from your luxurious ship where you can be alone."

...Maybe she likes the Ygdrasil.

"...Bartholomew is too many syllables for daily use. I'm glad you prefer Bart." Bart's goals seem to be a good set of goals to her. But Bart goes on, too, as Lily eats herfood.

He goes on, and... Margie? No, it must be a coincidence. Right?

Lily indicates to Maison she'd like a refill too, after downing the rest of her drink. She can feel the heat in her throat still, just as she'd prefer it at the moment.

"Mm," she says to Fei, as he finishes about himself, but she goes silent as he actually looks at her and apologizes. "...It's fine," she says quickly, evasively after a moment. "You wouldn't believe the ugly names I've been called while sewing up a man's leg." A pause. "...I was upset by the way the city burned, too. I didn't show it, because I'm trained not to show it, but there it is. So really... Don't fret about it, all right? And next time you get hurt, Fei Fong Wong, you come straight to me."

She looks to Bart again next, starting to go back to her meal. "The Teardrop..." and that's bad. "Does that have to do with her being chosen by the Guardians...?" It's not really in her wheelhouse. "Gebler got away with one Golem. Ours was burned by the sorcerer Leon mentioned... Who I still think would've been well served by a bullet to the back of the neck."

But Bart has plans for what 'we' can do. Lily considers thoughtfully, glancing down at her drink, and glances to Leon again. She thinks many of the same things that he does, but she also thinks of all the people she got out. Where will they go now? What will they do? Everything destroyed...

Leon speaks up, and Lily hesitates. "Leon," she starts, as he says they can't ignore this either. She sounds cautious. But after a moment, her expression softens, and she sighs.

"...I don't really want to ignore it," she admits. "But make sure you don't forget our mission."

She looks to Leon and nods, before glancing to both of the others. "...All right. I'm in, too. Bart, you have yourself a medic as long as I'm here. But you'd better show me some interesting new places."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

Fei is given a lot of proper nouns in rapid succession. As the player surrogate and, more importantly, country yokel who doesn't know anything--he has gotten used to being confused and not knowing a lot about what's going on so the exposition is actually pretty useful. Gryndille = A problem he is probably going to have to hit. Teardrop = important and stolen, Golems = important and mostly also all stolen. He thinks Gebler got one, they 'kept' one, and the Demons got one. Bart seems like he'd be a good ruler. He doesn't know a lot about Cecilia, but her city just burned down so he's inclined to be sympathetic. He guesses that doesn't really amount to much when standing up against the grand philosophies of the Metal Demons but it's a rock that he can stabilize himself around.

"Is uh. Lord Pork Rind the Rusty his actual name?" Fei asks because there's decent odds that it is and decenter odds that Bart just made it up right there. The important question though is whether or not it will fit on the character renaming screen. He nods to Lily and adds an, "Alright." to her, seemingly relieved. Then Lily mentions putting a bullet in the back of someone's neck and he loses maybe 30 percent of that relief. Lily = Medic. Also kind of scary. Well, come to think of it, a lot of medics Fei knows are like that. At least Lily isn't dropping giant robots near him. Even so, he finds that he's smiling again. It's like he managed to slip away from Hell, that's how he'd put it. It was impossible to set aside the thoughts of Lahan even for a moment, but now that weight is not gone--but it's shared--and it makes him at ease. He listens for the voice again but it doesn't come back. Not right now.

"If Weltall and I can help, I'll do anything I can. I know there's this metal demon named Zed who is kind of...a special case. He might spill some beans if you lean on him. He's pretty talkative. Though uh, it might be hard to get him to stay on track."

He puts more prime rib into his gullet. "This is the best food I've ever tasted." He adds. Sounds like a social link up.

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

Bart listens as the other speak. He wouldn't have brought them on were it not for their own intelligence, bravery, and... well all those other nice things that people blather on and on about that they respect in people. As far as Bart is concerned, they're good people, and that's what counts. You listen to what good people have to say.

"Hell, if that thing is actually after you two in particular, I'd feel safer if you were here on the Yggdrasil. We'll give it a hell of a surprise if it thinks it can come after you two here." Bart grins, and Maison returns with additional food for those who are interested. Battles can take a heck of a lot out of you, and pretty much everyone here has been run ragged over the last couple days. "If it's just out rampaging and attacking places, you've got my promise that it's a top priority unless the world is going to imminently explode or something. I drive the boat, so too bad if others don't like us dealing with your business if it comes up."

Lily's got some good questions about Cecilia and the Teardrop. Sadly Bart does not have good answers. "You'll probably need to ask her yourself if you want a lot more details than that. As I've said, magic is not my thing, and spiritual hodoo voodoo is even less my thing. But she's the one who gave me the initial warning about 'something bad' coming to Adlehyde, and we saw how that turned out. 'Really bad' seems like something to take seriously given that the Guardians are apparently prone to MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT. They probably think it's funny or something."

Fei also has good questions. Bart still has few answers. "Eh I dunno what his actual name is, I wasn't really paying attention." Poor Berserk. Trying to deal with Bart can be difficult sometimes. "Despite the cute name, he's really damn scary, so while I expect you'll be able to identify him on sight from that description, be careful if you do see the bastard. Large, tough, and kind of stupid."

Still... "Zed eh? Met the guy. Didn't strike me as the dangerous sort, but apparently appearances can be deceiving." Bart will have to think about that, because sooner or later they are going to need some more workable intelligence. But it's good to hear that this crew is signed on, at least for the time being. "I appreciate that you're all on board for now. I know things change, and I'm not going to ask you to go against your consciences or loyalties. You guys have an idea of what my thrust is gonna be - keep the world intact, get Shakhan out of Aveh, and kick those jackasses from Gebler out as well. If they seem willing to fight the Metal Demons, heh." The pirate grins, and takes another pull at his beer. "Might be they go out fighting and find out we've slipped in the back at some point. Something to keep in mind."

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

"I'd like to know why that sorcerer did it. He is a Drifter... hn. I'll see if I can track him down," Leon says. He does not say, however, whether he plans to put a bullet in his neck. It might depend on how a chat with Ethius Hesiod goes.

He leans forward, against the bar, and nods to what Fei says. He stays quiet about the topic of naming someone Lord Pork Rind -- he doubts that he could call an enemy that -- but then he wrinkles his nose, before he looks at Fei.

His mouth opens and he stays. "Zed," he says. "That imbecile, who breaks whatever he touches. He is a legendary demon, who caused untold destruction and then leapt from the pages of history."

He rubs his face. "I need another drink."

Then, he looks at Lily. He nods, once, before he looks down at his drink. "I won't, Lieutenant." His eyes turn down at the emptied glass -- and an ice cube, melting, cracks and falls deeper into the emptied glass. "We have unfinished business with Gryndille. For the rest of the Wolves' sake."

He looks up at Bart, then at Fei. "We won't ask you to help," he says. "It's a danger... but this is personal, for us. So keep that in mind. We have a lot to focus on. Like the aforementioned legends coming to life."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

Lily looks up to the sky for a moment and if it were anyone else, one could imagine she was trying not to laugh at the suggestion of Pork Kind the Rusty as an actual name. No, Lord Pork Rind the Rusty. She succeeds if so, looking back down and taking a drink because that's definitely not her problem to answer.

Besides, sh'd rather see his relief, without really seeming to notice that her grim humor(?) scares him a bit.

Lily looks to Bart at his answer though, which clearly surprises her. Maison returns with food, and she murmurs, "Thank you," again, and gratefully, politely, takes the third plate and starts right in on it. She... shows no signs of so much as slowing, frankly.

"I... don't know whether it's hunting us," Lily admits to Bart. "I know it's been rampaging and attacking, but that's almost all. ...I appreciate what you're offering. I really, really do."

Her questions... don't get answers. But that's fine; she nods along anyway. "Who knows? I'll ask her." Thre's little else to say about it for now.

The name finally comes.. And Lily doesn't focus on that. She focuses on Leon for a moment. "I'm looking forward to your report, Captain." As regards this Ethius. It also means it's not her problem to do, which is fine with her.

"...I'm not taking Zed out of the 'I' column," the black-haired sorceress announces to the other Kislevi in the room. "Whatever he is."

She takes a drink too, and looks back at Leon. "...Exactly. For their sake, we can't forget. For that day..." She looks solemn.

"...Mm." Not asking for help. That's wise; that's smart. But... She fought it that day, and...

"...You don't want to encounter it anyway. Believe me. I've fought Gryndille." A pause, "...We have a lot going on for now." She seems... disquiet, but...

"It's something to think about," she says, looking at Leon.

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"Well," Fei says. "You don't need to be smart to break a lot of stuff." True country wisdom. Also true country wisdom is something Fei simply thinks with regards to Berserk's description. 'Well THAT narrows it down'. It's not helpful to say. "It's not like we know that much about the Metal Demons. I didn't even know there WAS a Treaty of Iscariot." He pauses. "Oh--yeah, that reminds me." He looks towards Bart. "Do you know what the Treaty of Iscariot is? Why do the Metal Demons care about that?"

He shakes his head, though, and adds, "Is Cecilia some kind of prophet? Maybe I should talk to her, then. Maybe she could clue me in to a few things." He nods to the rest. He's pretty much signed on for the long haul now.

He glances to Leon and Lily. He thinks about Lahan. He thinks about how they took him in. How they treated him so kindly. How they treated him like family, like friends, even though he had nothing. No father, no mother, no past. Even after the town was destroyed because of him, they just let him go. Maybe they felt they couldn't do anything to him. They were scared of him, sure, but who wouldn't be? He's scared of him. They could have strangled him in his sleep but they weren't like that. They were good people. They ARE good people, Fei reminds himself, and the least he can do is try and do for others what they did for him.

"I'm not saying to rush off and deal with this problem of yours now," Fei says. "And I know I don't seem like I'm reliable, but you're my friends. All of you. And if it's that dangerous, you'll want someone dangerous with you. I can't make you, but where I'm from if the barn catches fire we don't tell ourselves that the folks inside can handle it, we start up a water chain."

<Pose Tracker> Bart Fatima has posed.

"Well one of the benefit of having a crew is that they'll help you out no matter what you're up against," Bart replies to Leon. His expression is completely serious, and he continues. "If you two need to be the ones to take it down, I can understand that. But remember, stupid bravado won't bring anyone back, and getting yourselves killed isn't gonna make your crew impressed with your bravado."

He grins and lifts his beer, while Maison shows up and offers Leon a refill. "You need to kill it yourselves, that's fine. But 'kill it yourselves' doesn't mean I don't intend to help you track the damn thing, bring it to bay, and break all its limbs so you can finish cutting the damn thing in half, understand?"

He can tell that Leon and Lily are very serious about that damn thing, and he doesn't disrespect their intent, fear, or understanding of the beast. But that doesn't mean he's not willing to help. "Just think of me as the Legendary King Brillgirand, who heard of the noble quest of the monster hunters and joined with his thirty brave hunters! He gave them all golden weapons with ancient and mysterious powers and..."

"Please stop making up legends to suit yourself, Young Master," Maison cuts in with a scolding tone.

"Do you SEE what I have to PUT UP WITH around here?" Bart asks, leaning his head on the bar for a moment.

And more questions from Fei, which Bart really can't answer. "Can't say I've heard of it, but I'm willing to guess that some of these Metal Demon jerks have been around a long time, so crap we don't remember is probably like... stuff that is a burning coal of hatred they might never forgive or something. Worth trying to figure it out though, let me know what you discover." YOU HAVE A JOB NOW FEI. Besides breaking things. Enjoy! "Things are still pretty crazy out there, so make sure you drop by and let Sigurd know about that crap so we can keep track of it. If nothing else I want to get a copy of that treaty so I can have it blown up so my Gear can hold it and slap Lord Pork Rind in the face with it."

Bart has the best plans.

"Anyways... wait a second." And Bart makes the last burger disappear in about two seconds flat, followed by him finishing off his beer. "Duty calls, and there's a lot of crap that needs to be sorted out. They're turning the refugee camp into what's basically a new town for folks while the city is being repaired - with what money they're gonna fix all that with I have no idea - and since I'm TECHNICALLY responsible for it... blerg. Work." He turns, and starts heading towards the door after hearing any parting comments. "I'll be around - please come find me and save me from real responsibility if you have some free time!"

<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.

Lily says that they don't want to encounter it -- and Leon cannot help but agree more. He looks down at the bar, then, and his silver eyes are thoughtful. He hears what Bart and Fei say, and it would be easy to say that it isn't their business -- that they shouldn't get involved. Except, he knows, that isn't it. He already lost one team to them.

He doesn't want to lose another.

He keeps that thought quiet, though. Instead, Leon looks up -- blinking at them both in turn, before he nods. "...All right, then," he says. "We're not so proud to turn away help. But..."

He shakes his head. "There's other things to focus on."

Like, for instance, the fact that Bart has to leave -- to handle some work. He nods, pushing back his plate. "I should probably, too. There's... a few things I should check on, out in the city."

<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

The Treaty of Iscariot. The particular Metal Demon who mentioned it, who cared about it, springs immediately to mind for Lily. Her face, her wounds. Thinking too closely into it...

Lily takes another drink from her glass. She doesn't answer Fei's questions about that, or even pretend to do the same.

But Bart's insistence about help prompts Lily to watch Leon again, gold eyes settling on him softer than usual. She can imagine why Leon doesn't want assistance; part of her feels the same, except... It's not quite that. It's not that sh doesn't want it...

She lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Mm." She's not sure what to feel; but there areother things to focus on, Leon says. It's true.

Besides, Lily just wants it handled, and to know...

"If you're a magical king, I want a golden weapon. Get on that, Bart."

But Fei has called her a friend, and Lily hesitates, finallylooking back at him. "...You're right. I... Thank you." She remans hesitant, looking at him like he might've looked at her over the bullets. "...Friends, huh...?"

Bart has to leave, though. Leon the same. Briefly, the sorceress contemplates that she has nothing lined up today.

"Take care, you two. I'm going to be here for a while, and then I'm going to enjoy not being able to see a single other person for a while."

<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.

"I'll ask Doc," Fei says. "He usually knows about this kind of stuff." If he asks directly and Citan knows, he'll probably answer him he figures. Assuming he didn't run off again to do secret agent stuff. Fei mulls further but then adds, largely to himself, "But they had so many spies...how could they not know we didn't know about it? Did that not matter...?" He squints at his plate and shovels the rest down his gullet. Maybe the spies are really bad at spying? He didn't feel like the demons he fought were, well, monsters. They definitely could talk and reason even if their reasoning was alien to him...it wasn't that alien. Ultimately he isn't going to stop anybody from leaving. He needs to process too. Then he can go help with the refugees. "Yeah," He agrees. "Later." He smiles back at Lily with a brief chuckle. "Thanks to you too."

He seems like he's going to stay here for a while too. He closes his eyes. It's just for a few seconds.

He sees a vision of a small child playing catch with a woman. It feels familiar. It feels like a familiar movie. What is a movie? The word movie is also familiar. The emotions looking at this screen are immense and he can't seperate them. There is someone to the right, but before he can look...a cross spins before his eyes and it's gone.

Instead there is a small, smiling boy with hair covering his eyes. He tugs at Fei's sleeve and whispers to him.

You may think I'm gone. You may think we're insane...but I promise I will kill again!

"No," Fei murmurs aloud. "You're not me."

His eyes snap open and he looks to Lily. "I should get going to." He stands up and stretches. "See you later."

He departs.