2025-07-30 - A Little Time at the Tavern

Cooper is a bit shocked he's allowed on another expedition given his carelessness with the lizards nesting in the belly of a ship last time. But he's not going to question it. He's also going to try and be more careful this time around.

"So, um, full disclosure," he says to the expedition leaders, "...if we see people and want to do the ole Star Trek first contact maneuver, I can change our clothes to look more like the locals so we don't scare the crap out of them. Well...at least I think I can. I've never tried to change a lot of peoples' clothes before."

He's been uncharacteristically quiet so far, though he occasionally snaps a few pictures.

Those are Michael, Asher and Caroline's jobs. As for Hayley? Her job, for now, seems to be looking out for the deer as they walk along the road, her boots crunching the gravel with every step as she walks along. She's dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, the fabric breathable but durable enough that it's not likely to rip if it gets caught on any branches or anything of the like, her head turning from left-to-right and green eyes scanning the horizon for anything that might be out there that would catch her attention.

She glances toward Cooper, then looks at herself, then back to him and says cautiously, "Uh, depending on what they're wearing, please do check with us first. I'd probably be worse if I was feeling really awkward."

Theo loves this world! Granted, this has been the only world he's been in thus far. That whole flying horse moment has him enchanted, and he comes here as often as he can for another glimpse. He does look a little disappointed when the horse or the elf-man does not make an appearance. He nods to himself when he takes note of the campsite. He tells the group, "The campsites might be a clue to see what this world is truly?"

Iseul is dressed more for function than fashion today! She showed up ready for hiking in appropriate footwear, slightly baggy cargo pants in a deep plum color, and a black tank top. A flannel shirt was brought along in case the weather gets chilly, but at present, its sleeves are tied around her slim waist. There's a spring to her step as they trek on down the road, enough so that her ponytail swishes across the top of the backpack slung from her shoulders. She's been here once before, so her eyes are peeled for the teensy wee deer she fell so thoroughly in love with the last time, a baggie with dried fruits and nuts tucked into one of the pockets in her pants, at the ready for feeding.

The Chases are identically dressed for the slightly arduous stroll in faded jeans, hiking boots, and black tank featuring an image of a bouquet of red roses with one white one in the bunch sporting two puncture wounds on the petals. The script above the flowers reads Concrete Blonde: bloodletting. The only visible difference between them is that one has a brown leather backpack slung over one shoulder.

Both of them cut their eyes over at Cooper and flash an amused smirk. "Are we talking TNG style uniforms," one of them asks. "Or the sixties style retro mini-dresses from TOS?" "Either way," says the other, "make our Engineering red, please."

The Chase with the backpack pulls a phone out of her pocket and pauses to take several photos of the world around them. Lowering it, she grins over at Asher. "I'll do my best not to take a nap on this world."

Asher has been to a world of sleepy snails. They have been to a world underwater with soldiers and the cutest robot they'd ever seen. They haven't been to this one yet, but. This trip needed a medic, and prior explorers had provided information about a language barrier. They don't know if their talents will help or not, but. They're willing to pitch in and find out. Also. They had made a promise to Chase. Before stepping through the bone shaking transition through the portal they'd had a quick chat with Michael on game plans, and made sure they had names for everyone else on the team. They never would have thought Alphabits was a Parker, but Theo looks like a Theo. Either way, if it goes sideways, the medic knows which names belong too which faces, everyone else having already been on their radar prior.

They're dressed with old jeans, comfortable work boots, a black bodysuit, and a comfortable grey hoodie. They have their grey canvas messenger's bag diagonally across their chest and a medical kit on their back. "Bun, you're perfect in anything you're wearing," Asher promises. But then they check in with Cooper, "That sounds potentially useful, as long as they see only you. But the rest of us might give you away." What with how Asher's hair can't even decide what color it should be. "And if they saw you mid change... Depending on the levels of tech or magic they have... Witnessing a Prime Directive break could make it worse rather than better?" But then they're looking at Chase, eyes narrowed. "If you go cosplaying as a red shirt, I'm not gluing your halves back whole again, babes, napping or awake."

Parker looks like he’s ready for a rich man’s safari in a white, tan, and brown outfit that includes a trim jacket with plenty of pockets, and a nice pair of leather boots. He stores gear for the trip in a backpack that he adjusts as he walks – water, snacks, binoculars, a compass, and his thing of Alphabits, of course.

Speaking of the cereal, he reminds everyone as they walk what he was able to divine back in the portal room, before stepping into the relative unknown, for what it might be worth. “Remember, whatever we do, the Alphabits were clear. Accept the offer. No cellar.“ It seems like a clearer message than many he’s received, but that always depends on context.

Otherwise, he’s trudging along down the road, head on a swivel, and grinning should he ever step into one of Cooper’s shots.

"That might not hurt," Michael says to Cooper when he offers to change their clothes to help them blend in a bit. "Though we haven't really seen what their clothing is like beyond the one guy that we met. Quinn saw them in her vision but she didn't exactly describe what their clothes were like. We'll need to see if we can observe them at a distance for a bit before we walk in if we want to do that. It's not a bad idea though."

For his part, he's dressed in dark colored BDUs, a long sleeved dark grey t-shirt, boots made for walking, and a pack slung over one shoulder. He is also armed, one of the few in the group who is. He glances over toward Parker and his collection of alphabits, brows raising a little bit at the proclamation. "Very clear," he says, somewhat skeptically.

"Oh yeah, yeah yeah, no, not changing anything without peoples' permission," says Cooper rather emphatically to Hayley. He snorts at Chase's uniform comment. "No no, I mean like...the episodes where they'd dress up like the locals to the observe them without giving away the fact that they were aliens."

His clothing is just a version of what he wears to work. Steel-toed boots, utility pants, a black t-shirt. It's not the most stylish kit, but it's practical. He'll save the fashion show for another time.

As they walk, he takes a deliberate picture of Parker in his safari getup. "Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking. Get a look at the vibe of their clothing and switch it up before they see us."

He's trying to play it cool and not look like he's totally overwhelmed by the new world business. But it's rather like trying to pretend you aren't a tourist when you definitely are. "This is so wild," he murmurs. "It's like Skyrim or something. Oh, shit...is that people? Does anyone have binoculars?"

Theo has been taking it slow, as this has looked familiar to him thus far. He's in clothes that would be appropriate for hiking. T-shirt, flannel to cover it, long pants, and a pair of hiking boots with a hat and sunglasses. He's got a pack on him, hears Cooper's request, and starts digging. "Here you go." Handing over the binoculars he had. He also nodded to anyone who looked familiar to him. He is also staring straight at those farm people. "So cool. So very cool." Whatever Parker is talking about leaves him confused.

Hayley turns her head toward Parker in absolute confusion, before she looks back toward the village nearby, a hand coming up to block the sun from her eyes as she gazes out there, chewing on her lip. "Well," she says after a moment. "We have people, working on a farm?" she says, gazing out and considering as she slides her hands into her pockets, looking toward the other. "If there's a language barrier, there's a language barrier, but a farm in a magical world -- did we stumble onto the Shire?" she asks curiously.

Asher's compliment toward her, however, had gotten a wink in return and a, "Samesies," in response, before saying to Chase, "Honestly, I'd take the weird retro uniforms. Those were a look I don't hate at all."

Then she's distracted by a deer in the distance, cooing softly at it and wiggling her fingers in that direction.

Iseul is very clearly with Michael, at least insofar as she's very not clear about the whole Alphabits thing. She's certainly pretty laid back about being out of the loop, though, judging by the glimmer of amusement that warms her dark eyes as she watches Parker for a few moments, and the seemingly ever-present smile that plays over her lips. Almost a grin. Sort of. Drawing even with Theo, she pauses in order to follow his gaze toward the farm folk, intrigued. "Simple clothing," she notes quietly. "We'll definitely stand out." She glances toward Hayley as the wiggle of fingers snares her attention from the periphery, and she steps closer, tugging a zip-loc baggie of fruity, nutty deer noms from her pocket, opening it to let the blonde take a little to leave for the wee deer, if she likes.

Accept the offer. No celler. "It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again." Asher's murmur is soft, but, they have to admit. "Still better than the sleep grass." Maybe. So far. For now. They might reconsider if they end up wearing magical fantasy peasant garb to accentuate the strangeness of their oil-slick hair as if it's not just Star Trek day, but, Prime Directive day a Ren Faire complete with hidden phasers tucked into both Chase's bodices.

Still, the longer Asher ruminates on the red shirts, the more the thought sticks in their mind. "How worried should we be about red shirt connotations?" They think about the protests of the cult-accusers at the influencer event. "It's weird that they keep just throwing all us amateurs through that device armed with breakfast cereal like we actually know what we're doing, right?" Are they just walking cannon fodder after all? Theo's nod gets a a wave, they recognize him as Kiko's second best friend at video games. But Hayley gets an outright beam. "If there are second breakfasts, I'm in, even if we are cannon fodder." Hell. Even if there's only first breakfasts, they're probably still in as long as there are at least poe-tay-toes. When the blonde starts cooing at the deer, though? "I wanna be on your side here, Bunny, but. We can't bring back anything Koda is gonna want to eat." Though, to be fair, it's probably Poe they should be worried about. They grin when Iseul ups the ante from waving to outright bribery, though.

"If you can get a good look at the style of clothing to duplicate it, that wouldn't be a bad thing," Michael tells Cooper when Theo hands him the binoculars. "For now, let's stay on the road, keep moving slow and steady. If they notice us, then we'll deal with that when we get to it."

He nods in Iseul's direction. "Simple, yes," in agreement.

Michael gives Asher a shrug, "You don't have to sign up to come. It's voluntary. And it's not like there's some kind of highly trained magical expeditionary group that exists on Earth. We're the ones building it."

Parker gives Michael’s skepticism and some of the general confusion a bit of a side-eye; Asher’s comment gets a smirk. “What? I’m reading our future.” Perhaps he could have been clearer about that, he’ll reflect on later. But he’s offered what he has to offer there, and so focuses on what the group eventually comes across: A farm.

Letting one end of his bag slip from a shoulder, he rummages around for his own binoculars and brings them to bear. Adjusting the clarity of the image, he watches the people from a distance. “Yeah, I don’t think there’s anyone who’s not an amateur at this point.”

He lowers the binoculars and readjusts his bag, walking over to Cooper to ask, “What do you think?”

One Chase smirks at Cooper. "I know what you meant. We were just trying to be funny. But let's hope this isn't like Skyrim. Damned Drugar kept killing me left and right."

The other Chase saddles up next to Asher. "Red is for Engineering, too, babes. Scotty never died on any away mission." This one looks at the farmers for a second before turning her gaze onto Hayley, winking in TOS solidarity. "Do we need to ask for directions to Isengard?"

The Chase closer to Michael laughs. "Oh yeah they did. Apparently I'm not allowed to travel to other dimensions without my personal healing pack along for the ride. Plus, they've also got this great talent for languages. Which should come in much more handy than my technopathy. At least here."

"I mean...it can't hurt, right?" says Cooper to Parker. "Blending in? It's gonna be a shock to them no matter what, but at least not walking up looking super weird to them might soften the blow?"

He gestures for Parker to hand over the binoculars. Presuming he shares them, he'll take a moment to study the figure off in the distance. Then he hands them back and psyches himself up by hopping in place and rolling his neck. "Okay, here we go..."

He touches his shirt and closes his eyes. The change happens rather quickly. His black work wear is replaced with a simple brown linen tunic and black trousers with fabric wraps around his legs. His belt transforms into a fabric one, but the modern metal clasp remains. His boots also remain since they're leather and steel-toed. It's not a bad look for him, really, with his chin-length wavy hair.

He glances around at the crew after checking his outfit. "OK. I can't promise it'll be perfectly fitting or the best quality, but does anyone want a costume change?"

As they approach the village itself, Michael slows and motions them off the road and into the trees nearby so that they can take a look through the binoculars at the town itself, its entrances, and whatever they can make out about the people at a distance. He also nods to Cooper and says, "Go ahead and make the adjustments." To the others, he says, "If you have any other kinds of illusions or magics that can help you blend in, feel free to use them."

He then volunteers himself for a wardrobe update. "Keep it as close as you can. I don't need everything falling out of my pockets." He smiles faintly. "But yeah, hook me up."

When the binoculars are not taken from Cooper, Theo shrugs and puts them back in the pack as he studies the farm people once again. "I have an illusion." Theo offers to the group in case Cooper's magic falters for those he is changing.

Asher glances at Michael as he points out it's a volunteer position. They nod, because he's not wrong. But. They still don't look a billion percent convinced. "Love to chat that more back on our side of the portal sometime." Cooper starts his theatrical quick-change talents, and Asher grins at their friend. He does good work even if Asher worries the parts that can't be covered with clothing might look more weird instead of less. But they're willing to play along, within limits. "Just not a dress or skirt, please? And if there's some kind of period appropriate headware?"

Chase lists off a few of their talents, and Asher's smile holds affection. "Just as long as both halves of you stay intact, I'll not kvetch too much." That's probably a total lie. But. They'll try not to kvetch too much. Not on this side of the excursion at least. As to magic to blend them in, though? "Only if we get close enough for an actual bit of discourse." The mention of Theo's illusion draws the medic's gaze. Maybe their hair might be less of an issue than they were concerned about it in stealth mode after all?

"Mm, believe me, I'm pretty much the founding member of the teensy deer fan club," Iseul mentions, sharing a grin with Hayley and Asher. "First time we came through to this world, I spent pretty much the whole time coaxing one close enough to touch. I know we're not allowed to bring anything living back with us, but…" Her gaze sweeps toward the tiny creature again, a wistfulness flickering through her eyes, somewhat at odds with the mischief in her expression. "I keep saying, is it really breaking the rule if they just kind of... I dunno, happen to follow us on their own?"

Her focus flits between Theo and Cooper, then she lifts a hand to add, "I can lend a hand too, if needed, though I might not have as much experience with it."

Hayley doesn't seem too bothered about the potential of being on an expeditionary force, though she listens to Michael and nods in agreement with what he said. "I mean, I signed a waiver, I knew what I was doing," she says as she reaches forward for some of the Deer Treats (tm) from Iseul and tosses a couple onto the ground in that direction, then turns to look at what Cooper has decked himself out in, then nods and says, "Sure, hit me up," as she stands straight.

Chase One shrugs as her hair turns from dark brown to golden blonde and her eyes to a brilliant sky blue. "Not really an illusion, but just in case twins aren't a thing on this world. No need to raise suspicions." She grins at Asher. "I'd do my very best to not nearly die again."

Both Chases move closer to Michael. "This isn't permanent, is it," the blonde version asks as she points at her shirt. "Kind of a collectors item and I'd had to lose it. The reports on this world said that some of the people looked elvish. Should I go for the pointed ears look as well?"

"No, it can't." Parker hands over his binoculars as he turns to the rest of the group, giving Michael a quick shake go his head. No illusions here, but with Theo offering some up, he gives the man a curious look. "What sort of illusions?" he wonders as he turns back to Cooper for his own costume change. While he probably doesn't have to, habit has him holding out his arms like he might at a tailor.

"Any idea what we're going to say to them, when someone eventually comes our way?" Or they bump into someone, or whatever ends up happening. Just not in a cellar, hopefully.

Cooper gets a very serious look on his face. Then he moves around to each person who requested an outfit change. First it's to Michael. He does his best to keep his request in mind, which means more changing the fabric and the vibe than the cut.

He nods solemnly to Asher's request of no dress. He waits for their permission, then reaches out to touch their shirt. When the change is successful, he grins to himself. "Hot damn. I've never changed other peoples' stuff before."

"I can make you a tunic to just throw over your clothes if you want," he says to Chase. "Just gimmie a sec."

Then it's on to Hayley, and then Parker. He cracks a grin at the tailor pose. "Bippity boppity boo," he drawls.

Asher and Michael get outfits of quality similar to Cooper's own. But poor Hayley and Parker will find theirs a bit scratchy and ill-fitting, but still perfectly serviceable. He's skipped the folks who said they have illusion powers, but he stands by to assist them if they want a change anyway.

But then he's got to make a shirt from scratch for Chase. "All right, here we go..." he focuses and gestures. As if weaving the air itself, he creates a tunic and hands it over to her. "Sorry," he murmurs. "That one's a bit scratchy, too."

And then it's hi ho off to the village. As they get closer to actual, genuine people from another planet, he gets more nervous. He sidles close to Parker. "Can you believe this?" he murmurs.

When Parker asks Theo about his illusions, he gets a little embarrassed. "I usually use them in my acts." He is a performer back at the park. "I also tricked someone into thinking I had a lovely cashmere sweater when it was a moldy one, so not huge things. I could maybe add an ornament to what a person is wearing, or if we need coins to talk to those farmers...." Yes, Theo only used this in show business, but he's trying here. The young pup tries to be helpful, even if it might not always be the case.

But whatever else he was going to say, he doesn't because he's walking and he's watching and in awe. Saying quietly to himself. "This is totally like the set of Lord of the Rings." Someone has been watching those movies recently.

Parker asks if any of them know what to say if they end up having a conversation. And Asher admits, "Last time I played translator, I was just repeating what the folks way up the food chain told me to say, UN interpreter style. And the robot devoured a book that was gifted to it and then took over with the conversations after." This time... Well, this time Caroline is in charge and Asher will be doing the same, with one small modification. "I'll start with hello, and then yeah." Looking to Caroline. "What she said."

As they walk, Asher looks every which way, picking up snippets of conversations, and tracking each as they listen in. "Huh." They tell one of the Chases and Hayley who are closest, "There are a handful of languages going on here. There's a common thread between the groups, but, seems like local dialects might be the preferred versions when groups aren't mingling..."

"Thanks," Michael says to Cooper as his clothing shifts and takes a bit of a different shape though the coloration remains similar. The pants become a little sturdier leather material with just as many pockets though. The t-shirt becomes a tunic with a fabric belt keeping it in place. The boots remain mostly the same though more a natural leather appearance than the more modern ones.

As they make their way toward town, he nods toward Caroline and says, "We're going to approach as visitors from another land and see what happens. Basically, our standard procedure thus far is to just tell people the truth. We came through some sort of portal and weren't sure where we were going to end up and see where it goes from there."

There's a nod toward Asher and Caroline. "We'll let them take the lead for communication. No aggression. Keep it chill and pleasant."

Parker looks down at his new clothes with a mixture of awe and lament for his old shirt. He knows he can get it back, but still, this one just isn’t the same quality. It fits in, though, and that’s what matters. “Can I put in an order for a Halloween costume?” he wonders, shooting Cooper a quick wink.

Caroline earns a quick nod for her response. “Sounds good to me,” he says, eyeing the gifts, which are also an excellent idea. Best to be straightforward with these things, he figures, and grateful.

When Theo explains his illusory gift, his brow furrows. “Sounds pretty useful, actually. Could get us out of a pinch.” Except it seems like they’re ready with things, from Caroline’s prepared speech to Asher’s experience in translating within another world already. It keeps his confidence us the continue down the road.

“It’s something else,” he murmurs back to Cooper, eyes on one of the small, winged beings when he says it.

Hayley didn't seem too bothered as her own clothes were shifted into a much more typical set of peasant attire -- a scratchy, burlap tunic that rests over her figure, tied around with rope, and her jeans turned into leggings. Does she look properly attired for a woman of this time period? Probably not, but foreigners can get away with a lot of things and she doesn't really know what to expect, instead grinning as she turns her head, looking around at everything with clear excitement.

Iseul, for her part, remains pretty much as she is — as Caroline had said, they're going with the truth, hmm? Maybe she figures that should extend to her appearance as well. She does, however, untie the flannel she'd had fastened around her waist, slipping her arms into it but wearing it open. She may be sticking with her 21st century Earth garb, but at the same time, she doesn't want to risk offending the locals by showing off too much skin. Pretty sure tank tops weren't really en vogue in an equivalent Earth era, after all.

Both Chases don their shirts to cover up the rock tanks. If they find the itchiness of the material annoying, it doesn't show on either girl's face. As they pass some of the differently appearing people, one of them will momentarily adopt a slight physical mimicking of them. Pointed ears and the like.

"I think I'm good for just smiling," the blonde one says. "Unless we find something mechanical."

Both versions move so that they are flanking Hayley and Asher. "if things go bad," brunette Chase says, "one of us can stay back to buy everyone else time to get away."

Cooper is a bit too busy staring at the new types of people they've encountered to catch Parker plugging him for Halloween costumes. He grabs his arm and gestures a bit too un-subtly at one of the short winged people. He might fit in with his clothing, but he still gives big tourist vibes.

And then they're making their way into the tavern. He's not sure what he's supposed to be doing and he's trying very hard not to stare. He stares at the server who approaches. Then he leans in to whisper around the table. "Um. Don't suppose anyone's got gold coins in their pockets or something? I think she's trying to take our order."

Hayley is watching the pixies just as much as they are being watched, and possibly being just a touch rude about how obviously she is staring -- when she catches herself, she offers a sheepish wave and a smile, before her attention turns to their server. She might not understand the exact words being spoken to them, but that doesn't mean she's not going to try something that probably won't work.

"Do -- do Sindarin spoke you?" she asks in horrible mispronounced, grammatically incorrect Sindarin, touching into something Tolkien in her past. But she has to know.

Asher looks from Chase 1 to Chase 2 and back again. "I swear..." They're shaking their head. "I'm stapling you to yourself next time." That seems like a lot of work. They reconsider. "Or at least dousing you with super glue and then smooshing. Maybe wrapping around some duct tape after."

When they head for a tavern, Asher wonders about money, but. Theo said he's on that. So, the over-worrying over-thinking medic doesn't waste too much time freaking out about what to do with a bar tab at the end of this little jaunt. Instead, they beam a bright smile at the server. - "Hi. I'm Asher, these are a few friends. We're new here." - Asher speaks the language. Asher speaks the language and their accent and pronunciation are a thing of absolute beauty. Totally a native, clearly. It's a rather stark contrast to Hayley.

But Asher does offer the other Spellbounders, "If folks are snacky, they've got rabbit stew, baked poe-tay-toes, and fresh bread." They look at Theo since Cooper posed the question, then to Michael and Caroline. "Just how much of an insult and incident do we think it's going to cause without proper payment? Less bad or better than refusing hospitality?"

Parker tries not to stare too obviously, but let's be honest, it's hard not to around here. Even he, who is not a big fantasy person, notes how this place maps onto what most people might think about when they hear a name like Tolkein. Speaking of which, he arches a brow for whatever language Hayley is speaking, when she does. Curious.

He drums his fingers on the tabletop in the tavern, looking at Asher when she translates. “I think rabbit sounds quite nice.” He glances over at the pixies to check out their stew, sniffs the air, then points at the bowl and rubs his belly. Good?. “I guess they wouldn’t take AmEx.”

Theo is not sure if these people would see through his illusion. He's not quick to offer that and looks to be waiting to see what happens. If money is needed, he will do it then. Meanwhile, he will be over here trying to blend in as much as he can, nodding and smiling. That works right?

The Chases grin when Asher threatens to superglue them together. "You know that's not going to work, right? We'd just merge and you'd have a Sticky Chase on your hands."

Blonde Chase laughs when they head into the tavern. "This is how all the really exciting D&D campaigns start. Sorry Coop. Left my doubloons in my coveralls back on the island." Hayley's attempt at Sindarin gets a thumbs up.

Brunette Chase leans on the bar next to Asher, listening as they do their Uhura thing. "I haven't had rabbit since before I left North Carolina. No need to revisit if not necessary for appearances. Though I wouldn't mind sampling what passes for an adult beverage around here."

Michael settles into a seat at the tavern and begins to rummage around in the pack that he brought along with him. He glances over at Cooper and then to Hayley, brow furrowing a little bit to figure out what it was that she just said. But he doesn't even know bad Sindarin let alone good Sindarin, so he looks back into his pack before answering Asher, "Ask her what sort of payment they take, and ask if they'll accept a trade since we don't have any local currency. If they won't take something in trade, we can offer to vacate the premises so that someone else can take the table." He then grins over at Asher, "We're not doing a dine and dash as our first experience in this town."

Iseul keeps her hands tucked into her pockets, having gone quietly into observer mode since they started interacting with the natives. She does stand out a little even among the others from Spellbound, being the only one of Asian descent, so she likely still gets a few curious looks here and there from the townsfolk... but she's sort of doing her best at the moment to stay low-key and unnoticed.

Cooper sits with his hands folded in front of him. He gives his best charming smile to the serving lady and attempts to appear non-threatening.

"I uh...I think I'm okay not...eating otherworldly food just yet," he says to Asher. "Though I'm sure it's delicious and not at all deadly to people from other dimensions."

Then he leans in towards Parker and murmurs, "This is kind of awkward. Note to self: next time bring...gold? Maybe? Though it'd be our luck that gold is worth nothing here."

Asher grins back at Michael. That's a plan they can work with. - "The stew smells incredible. And the bread, too.". Asher glances at one of the Chase's. ""We're curious about your local drinks, as well?" They've already said that the group isn't from around here. "We're not familiar with your currency, though. Would it be acceptable if we trade for things here? If it's not, we can leave your table for somone with more means to pay instead? We're just very curious to learn more about your world.". Maybe they'll get incredibly lucky, and this place will be the perfect anti-capitalist commune, no currency needed at all. They're on team Cooper about hoping for at least one world where currency might be meaningless.

"I can grow food for them," Hayley says in a quick aside to Asher as currency and barter come up. "It's not perfect, but maybe that will work?"

Parker looks at the pixies, eager for a response, but turns his attention to Cooper when he when spoken to. "Where are you going to get gold?" he wonders with a little smirk.

Thank goodness Asher is here to translate. He watches them work and looks for signs of comprehension in their server. Does he really hope to try some rabbit stew today? Maybe, this is hungry work.

Does Theo even know what a distiller is? He's not mechanically minded; he's a performer! He shrugs and looks to the others. "I am willing to get my hands dirty and help with that if it means we get food for payment." He's young. He has not even thought of how this food might be bad for them.

Trade options are offered, and Asher asks Caroline, "Other than the books, what did we bring along?" And then, Asher tells everyone they're with, "They're looking for hides, fishh, apples, or help fixing their distiller out back." And then, they tell the server, - "Hayley," - they nod at the blonde, - "can grow you a whole tree of apples." - What else can the trade? Chase might be skilled at the distiller, especially with Theo pitching in... "Cooper is good at clothing, if you have fabric that needs mending. And if you have anyone sick or hurt, I might be able to help." - They don't offer Parker's Alphabits. - "Thank you just for talking with us. The world here is absolutely beautiful." - They glance to Michael and Caroline in case either of them have questions, comments, or suggestions about things that can be traded. "Also," they tell the group, "She said that we seem like a group of people that might belong to a guy named Lu. I think he's the one with the broken still?"

"A broken still? Well, it's a good thing you brought along the resident mechanical juvenile delinquent. Unless the way booze is made is really different on this world, I might be able to help." Cooper stands up. "Uh...Asher...could you ask them to point me in the right direction? And I'll see what I can do."

Theo helps where he can not minding if his hands get dirty or whatnot. When the jobs are done, he settles in his seat at the table and looks at the table that looks like a feast and can be heard saying, "Wow. So much food." He seems excited to try it all as he doesn't consider himself a picky eater and is excited to dig in. He takes some sips of the ale as he starts consuming the food.

"I never thought I'd check off "repair a fantasy still" off my bucket list. If I...had it on my bucket list to begin with. We can have retroactive bucket lists, right?" Cooper is in high spirits and he's got a bit of fantasy grease smudged on his cheek. He takes a deep swallow of the ale and snatches up a piece of bread.

"So what's next?" he asks with his mouth slightly full. "Hunt for The One Ring?"

"I think I'd rather skip any field trips to Mordor," Iseul murmurs, dark eyes glimmering with warm amusement as she shoots a glance in Cooper's direction. Settling into one of the open seats at the table, she brushes off her thighs lightly, then looks out over the array of food that's been set out for them. She's clearly impressed... and clearly a carb-lover, given that the first thing she reaches for is a hunk of that freshly baked bread.

The Chases split up and while one watched Cooper fix the still (and interjected a few suggestions along the way), the other remained in the tavern people-watching. When they were all gathered together again, with food and drink, they look around the establishment before bringing two sets of eyes back to Cooper.

"A. I am not trying to get on Sauron's bad side," the blonde version says.

"B. We should probably find out if there's a bigger city nearby," the brunette continues. "Someplace that might have the right people for us to establish actual relations with."

Asher does what they can as the party splits up, trying to help where they're able. Mostly, it comes with translations for those whose projects stayed in and near the tavern. But when the group reconvenes for food, they give everyone casual once-overs, making sure no one had small cuts or wounds from their efforts that might have introduced whatever foreign germs may live in this world. No one needs extra-portal tetanus.

Glancing at the ale, Asher also takes note of who is drinking, and there is a quick glance over what foods each person on the trip here is enjoying, too. Contact tracing from the start, just in case. But they keep their checks to themself, letting everyone enjoy the feast of their hard-earned labors without being a buzzkill about it. The banter about the one ring between Isuel and Cooper gets a grin, and Asher points out, "The Dwarven rings were cooler anyway. The one ring was just so basic bish. There were such better accessories for obsessions to have chosen." But they're willing to allow for retroactive bucket lists. "As long as it's not a posthumous list, make all the edits that you want."

"Both Chase's are also making good points," Asher grants. Though they throw a grin at each half of their bestie as they add, "And that's always concerning." They glance to Michael and check in with security, "What do you think are the best uses of time and priorities now that we've made a few friends, helped with a few problems, and earned ourself a meal?" A meal that Asher still hasn't eaten or drunk of.

Parker doesn’t get too hands on with anything Cooper and Hayley are doing, but he does leave the table to watch them work. Hands on hips, he supervises, and thus feels like a contribution has been made.

Back inside the inn, he settles onto his chair once more and flares his nostrils to sniff at the meal. “This is all nice a rustic,” he mutters before dishing himself out some stew. Chase B gets a firm nod about them finding a city. “Maybe we just ask where the castle is.” They could go straight to the top, or at least take a lay of the land for future expeditions.

He stirs around his stew and takes a tentative slurp. It’s not bad!

Michael is not drinking, though he is partaking of the food that has been brought out to them. He has a bit of water, but aside from that he avoids anything alcoholic, preferring to keep his wits fully about him as he's 'on duty' at the moment. He leans back comfortably in his seat though and people-watches, much as he did while the others were helping out with the projects that needed doing.

When Asher looks to him for suggestions for next steps, he looks thoughtful for a moment or two and then nods toward the others, "Asking a little more about the lay of the land wouldn't be a bad idea. They can clearly tell we're not from around here but haven't been hostile so nobody seems to be assuming we're the enemy.. if there's an enemy.. at least." So there's that.

Theo is happy to listen to his elders. He might be the youngest one here, and this has been the only world he has explored, so he's looking to the experts as he pulls on a piece of bread to eat. Grinning at the talk on The Lord of the Rings. "I still need to finish the two other ones. I did start the first one." He doesn't have any questions quite yet because he is in awe of the elves and the pixies. It feels like he stepped into a fantasy novel or movie, and he has no complaints about it.

"Y'know, there might actually be evil wizards around. Sounds like it'd be on theme," says Cooper as he grins at the shoulder-slap. He pulls the second mug of ale towards him and scoops up a bit of the stew with his bread.

Then he looks around the table. "Maybe we should ask someone for a map? Last thing we want is to get lost in a strange world. Or maybe someone to guide us? They're always doing that in fantasy books and movies."

Without waiting for Parker to say yes, he pours half his second ale into his glass. He might be enjoying the gratitude of the townsfolk, but he does know better than to get blotto on a mission. He winks as he pours.

"Hey," both versions of Chase say simultaneously before sticking their tongues out at Asher before looking to Michael. "No, they don't," one says. "But if this is anything at all like some of the books I've read, the people in charge might not feel the same way. Might be worth having Hayley do her LOTR translation thing to find out if there are enemies that we should avoid and avoid seeming like."

The blonde Chase snappoints at Cooper. "A map is a great idea. After all, one of the reasons we're here is to gather info, right? A map of this place would be a great thing to bring back home."

One arm is looped through one of Asher's and arches a brow at them. "Not hungry?"

"A map," Iseul agrees quietly, tearing off another small bit of the bread she'd claimed and adding, "And information that would allow those among us who specialize in such things to piece together a threat assessment of some sort. These folk seem perfectly lovely," she opines, her eyes crinkling at their corners as the faeries' thumbs up signals catches her attention briefly, "But where there's light, there's always shadow. And I don't want to see any of our people coming through and stumbling into... I don't know, Grishnákh or something." She winks toward Theo, because LotR reference.

With a tree made, Hayley stayed outside for a while to chat with Lu as best she could. It's strained-- what she knows, she learned from a fantasy series, after all, and compared to a native, her accent is probably very close to that of a stereotypical American trying to speak Spanish. Hawm-brays. Pass the kwesso. Tor-till-uh. Still, she's trying, and very apologetic.

At least she's earnest.

<<"How many you are? World full of elf, or just some?">> she asks curiously as she walks back in, a nice tree outside that will grow apples, made as heavily with fruit as she can, waving to the others as she tries to catch up on what she's missed and rejoins them.

When Theo mentions the movies rather than the book, Asher's mercurial silver eyes flit his way. They shake their head and the colors of their hair shift with every movement. "The books are so much better. Even the extended editions missed way too many of the best parts. But the audio recordings of the actual novels are fantastic." They laugh as Cooper skives alcohol off into Parker's glass, and they look to Parker, "We don't have Bro One and Bro Two along for hauling if you fall down and go boom on me a second time. Better hope both Chase's like you enough for a tag-team home again." But they wink at Chase as those double tongue-outs come their way. And they nod at Iseul's wisdom.

Asher links a Chase arm as they nod about maps, be they for castles or other things. And they point out to Cooper, "So far, we're the most magical things I've seen over here. For all I can tell? We might be the evil wizards." When Chase talks about food, though? "The pies look fav, and Lex is going to stab me if I don't smuggle a few back in my bag, which, for the record, I do plan on doing. But I'll wait to eat when we get home, just in case the cereal is keeping the night-night air of this portal secret about being in the snacks." Michael is sober security sitter. Asher is medic on duty. The arm not linked with one of Chase's four lifts and offers Hayley a bright, warm wave as she heads back to join them.

"OK, what is Grishnakh?" Parker only sort-of understood the earlier references, but this one goes far out of his limited understanding of Tolkien. He turns an arched brow in Iseul's direction, then notices Cooper filling his mug and swivels his attention that way.

"Cheers," he says, smirking at the man's wink. "You have stuff on your face." He lifts the mug and takes a quick drink, turning once more to peer over the edge of his mug at Asher. "I'll control myself," he says before glancing at the Chase. His features soften just a bit then. "Thanks for that, by the way." It isn't how he'd like to be remembered, the other world explorer who ends up passed out and carried around every time.

"A map sounds good, though remember we don't have any coin with which to pay for a map, or a guide, so don't offer anything you're not willing to pay. Services, like those Hayley and Cooper could provide are fine, but unless they take VISA or Mastercard, we're not going to get very far," is Michael's advice. He takes another bite of his food and another sip from his drink.

"No doubt," Michael says, of there being some dark in contrast to this light. But he can't begin to guess at what precisely it might be. "I didn't seen any scorched roofs, so maybe not a dragon," he jokes a little.

<<"Does everyone get along? Are there a lot of wars?">> Hayley asks as she settles back into her seat, and then as the conversation around her sinks in a little, she squeaks quietly, <<"Dragons? Are there dragons here?">> The excitement with which she asks the questions must be strange to anyone who might live in a world in which there are actually dragons.

She then looks to the others, expressing some willingness to relay questions with her new contact (friend?) here, grinning like an idiot.

"Mm," Iseul murmurs around a mouthful of bread — rustic, beautifully flavorful bread without all the overprocessing it's subjected to back home — chewing and swallowing before answering Parker. Because manners. "Grishnákh is a named orc in the Lord of the Rings series. A captain." Is she revealing her inner geek? Yes. Does she seem particularly bothered by it? Not even a little. Her eyes gleam as she flashes a fleeting grin toward Michael before tearing off another bite-sized chunk of bread. "I wouldn't mind dragons if they were teensy and wee like the deer, though."

"Stuff? What kind of stuff?" says Cooper to Parker. But then he just ends up rubbing his face with the edge of his tunic. He doesn't get it all. A bit of a chin smear still remains.

Then he glances around the tavern. "Sorta hard to go on a map quest without knowing the language. Kinda makes sense to leave that to the people who can have a chat." He waggles his brows at Asher. "You seem to be able to talk to them. Does anyone look well-travelled who might make sense to approach?" He peers around the room.

Theo has been watching the exchange between Lu and Hayley, even if he does not understand what that conversation is about. Yes, she mentioned LOTR and saw that look from Iseu, but now he's thinking of that game world. Yep. World of Warcraft, even if he is too busy trying the stew now.

Hayley gets a concerned look from one of the Chases. She doesn't know what the other girl said, but by the squeak and the excited tone, she can guess that it's because of something fantastical. "Hey, for those of us who didn't bother to actually learn Elvish, do you mind translating."

"Don't sweat it, Parker. She fells asleep, too." She points at the blonde version, who immediately shakes her head. "Wrong. That was you."

The Chase next to Asher sighs. "Yeah, I can't speak any of the languages. Nothing resembling technology to control. I'm just going to drink my ale and try not to be too annoying."

"Oh. And that's...bad, right?" Parker turns this question on Iseul, finding himself more curious about the whole orc thing now that he's found a place where they actually might exist.

When he turns to his other side again, he gives Cooper an appraising look and then rubs at his own chin. "Grease," he notes simply. The Chases earn a quick grin; it does feel good to know he wasn't the only one to knock out in that other world. "Same, I'm a loss with whatever you all are speaking."

Still, he decides to try his hand with something less essential than map procurement. With a look to the table next to them, the one with pixies, he waves a hand to get their attention. He points at them, then lifts his arms to mimic what could be a roof over his head. He mimes sleeping, then lifts his shoulders and hands in an exaggerated shrug. Where do you all live?

Asher grins at Cooper as he lays getting the map duties at their feet. Hayley and Parker were doing great! "Fine," they unlink their arm from Chase and point to him, "But next time Lex and I need green for another Operation Ball Pit fundraiser, it's on you." Medic. Translation services. Pop culture snark in a great fake band tee. Add potential cartographer to their skillset, too. They tell Chase, "Bunny is asking if there are dragons here. But she didn't clarify about if they were Smaug-like, Winter is Coming, or Trogdor with a big, beefy arm."

Asher then translates a little more for Parker after Iseul explains the book side, "The one they face-palmed with the paint in the movies." Yeah. They told Theo to listen to the books. But. They movies still were great, even if they did over-edit. And back to Chase, "The only thing annoying about either of you is the fabulousness." And then they start off towards the tender of this fine establishment. It clearly sees a ton of travellers. If there isn't a map here already they can scribble a copy of, maybe they can be convinced to sketch one from the stories or memories?

Michael nods to Iseul with a little half-smile and apparently will concede that point. Tiny dragons might be alright. He takes another bite of his food and keeps an eye on things as others interact with the locals. He doesn't want to get too distracted in case anything starts to go awry, but thus far -- so far, so good.

When Chase calls her out on not offering translations, Hayley blushes, offering a sheepish smile before she turns to listen to Lu a little while longer, then clears her throat to tell the others, "Sorry, I got -- I got caught up. So, we're in a full-on fantasy world here, there's the elves and pixies, but orcs, goblins, all the things you can think of, they're here." A beat, then a smile crosses her face. "She even says she's heard of dragons, so I have a new creature to want to make a pet of," she informs the others, very cheekily.

Then, she admits, "She's also asking how I don't know all this, so I might have -- dropped the ball on that. What should I tell her?" she asks the others, as well as, "Anything else anyone wants to know?" She then turns to Lu, smiling apologetically and telling her, <<Just letting them know what you were saying.>>

Cooper makes a show of turning his chair around and picking up his tankard. That gives him a front row seat to Parker's pixie charades. He nearly squirts beer out of his nose at the response they're giving him.

"Yeah, keep it up. You're practically negotiating a treaty." He lifts his beer in a salute. Asher gets a snap-point for their deal, but he's mostly paying attention to Parker Pixie Theatre.

"The truth? That her world is different from ours?" Theo says to Hayley as he picks up his ale to drink. He's not prone to lying anyway, so he doesn't see how that could be a bad thing.

Blonde Chase's eyes widen at Hayley before she holds up her hands in defense. "Well, nobody better ask me to make a saving throw or a dex check. Otherwise, I'm gonna be mad." See? Fantasy goes beyond Tolkien. And I'm pretty sure any dragons you manage to bring back through the doorway are going to be frowned upon by the higher ups." As to Hayley's dilemma, the mechanic looks over at Michael. "Do we tell them that we're from a far-away land and leave out the whole parallel reality part?"

Brunette Chase is more focused on watching the interaction between Cooper and the pixies. "They're like... sorority girls at their first mixer. Better watch out, Coop." She's all grins and teasing tone, but her eyes are also keeping a watch on Asher's back. After all, it's fun and games until you get a sword thrown at you.

Asher thanks the keeper and then heads up the stairs as directed. Well. Would you look at that? Well. Most of them aren't looking at that, most of them are looking at charades, and when Asher learns they've gone upstairs to look at that map and missed the charades? Cooper owes them at least two more bake sales worth of product. But Asher doesn't know that, because they've climbed to the hall oof the second floor and pullled a notebook out of their bag. It's mostly full of on-site vitals and other important transfer data to relay alongside patient transfers. But. Now it's a set of can't be a HIPAA violations since it doesn't have names and one vaguely replicated wall map. Ta-Da! They turn back towards the stairs so they can make their way back to the group.

At first, Parker is glad to get any response from the Pixies, but as their laughter continues, he starts to find the whole thing a bit rude. “Alright, alright,” he mutters as word of dragons can be heard from across the table.

And then one of them responds directly to him. It takes Parker a moment, but his own eyes widen before he shakes his hands in front of him. “Oh, no-no.” He looks at Cooper and glares. “Very helpful.”

It’s all…actually kind of fun, though. This place is alive with a variety of culture and life. When he glances back at the table to see that Asher has gone in search of the map, he suspects they could soon learn even more about all of that. He’ll echo Theo in the meantime and say, “The truth was the plan we wanted to go with. Doesn’t sound bad.”

Michael coughs just slightly at the charades going on with the other table, trying to conceal his chuckle behind his mug of water but not entirely succeeding there. "Excellent diplomatic relations," he comments to Parker with an amused smile. "At least they seem entertained?"

But then there's a more serious question for him and he shrugs to Chase and Hayley and says, "I think truth is what we were going with, so.. we come from another world, got here by magic, and are a little lost, but friendly, and just looking for a little help." He nods toward Parker in agreement and says, "Truth works."

Cooper just grins wide. "A+ pixie flirting, handsome," he drawls. Then he stands up and claps Parker on the shoulder. "Good try, though. I applaud the effort. We'll call that move flirt-diplomacy."

Then he glances at his travelling companions. "I'm guessing we're not going on an epic quest today? Before that happens I think we should like...find out what the currency is here or bring stuff to trade or we wouldn't get very far."

"Yeah, what Cooper said." Theo finally catches on to what is going on with Parker and his fan club, and it has him laughing behind his ale and shaking his head. This one doesn't even know how to flirt, or if he does, he has never been aware of it, or he is easily entertained.

Iseul watches the exchange between Parker and the pixies quietly, though her amusement is clearly evident upon her features — particularly when one of them actually throws heart-hands. She nearly chokes on the bite of fruit she'd finally strayed from her beloved bread to sample, coughing lightly and giving her chest an open-handed slap or two to help clear it. Her grin is utterly irreverent as she reaches for some water, voice just a touch raspy as she joins in with Cooper in teasing, "Better be careful. I think that one might've thought you were... proposing something, when you mimed sleeping. Something indecent." Probably not. But her interpretation's way more fun.

There's a shake of her head and a smile, and Hayley says to Lu, <<We're something of wizards, ourselves. But we would love to meet with them someday, I'm sure!>> She looks toward the others, and says, "She's trying to help us -- and she mentioned a lot of wizards in a nearby city. I think that's worth going to check out sometime soon," she says with a grin as she finally catches Parker and his Pixies [claiming this as a band name] and shaking her head in delight, before telling Chase, "I'm sure you'd roll a nat twenty on any check, by the way. You're definitely already working with permanent advantage," she points out with a motion toward brunette Chase and a quick wink.

"The people who don't know how to flirt are sometimes the most fun to flirt with," she opines, before nodding at Cooper. "Probably better to go back now that we have an idea what kind of world this is." Back to Lu, she nods once. <<You've been a lot of help for us. I really appreciate it.>>

"Flirt Diplomacy. I like it. Going to have to remember that one when we get back home." Blonde Chase gives Cooper a fistbump as she winks at Parker. Brunette Chase grins at Hayley. "What can I say? I like the odds to be in my favor."

Asher is not the world's best artist. But. They have a sketch of a map that wasn't the world's most accurate to begin with. As they reach the main floor once more, they carefully tear the map they've sketched from their notebook. They wander up behind Michael and lay the map down on the table in front of him and then make their way back towards Chase and Hayley, glancing that Iseul is ok as she coughs. They missed the entirety of Flirtplomacy. "Wait." Their head shifts back andd forth between Cooper and Theo as they do their best Jefferson via Hamilton coming home from France, "What'd I miss?"

Michael focuses on the map when Asher brings it over and lays it down in front of him. He does keep an eye on the room, glancing up every so often, but he makes note of the landmarks and says, "Thanks, Asher," to them, gratefully. "This will help. And yes, we should find out what sort of currency is common here, and what we could bring to trade for some of it. Or whether they operate heavily on barter, because if we're going to get far, we're going to need things to trade." This, he definitely agrees with Cooper on. "So let's do that.. find out what we can about the currency and trade, and then finish up here and begin the journey back. We can come back with the map, some supplies, and maybe brush up on.. whatever it is that Hayley's speaking if we want to try and communicate better with some of the locals."

Unfortunately, it’s difficult for Parker to hide the flush in his cheeks. He offers the pixies a final grimacing smile before turning back to his table and leaning over his stew. He’s pink-faced because of the steam, of course, not embarrassed at all!

“Wizards? In a city? Well, that’s interesting.” Focus on that, people. He dips his spoon in for some more broth, sipping it as Asher returns and lays down their copy of the map. “What do you have?” It’s not a distraction this time, he tilts his head to get a good look at the drawing and see what might be opening up for them.