In reply to Hannatti (msg # 519):

Kirpich is bemused by the whole affair and, being familiar with dwarves, holds his tongue and watches.

In reply to Kirpich Rockson (msg # 520):

Hannatti waits for the little fellow to say something.

In reply to Hannatti (msg # 521):

The dwarf is far frombeing a little felliw. nearly 5 feet tall and and a yard wide at the shoulders, he weighs as much as Hanatti and Kirpich together, only it is all muscle, wrapped in heavy chainmail..

In reply to Hannatti (msg # 517):

her hair fluttering as if in a breeze, the attractive youg woman wearing brigandine armor and carrying a helmet and a srtsff in the crook of her arm raises a glass with the other.
"I am a journeywoman mage, You are a swardswoman, I take it?"

Balir relaxed his shoulders a little as Marlena spoke. He knew her, and considered her  one of his own. But he was still not at all comfortable with other human who had just waltzed over to their table while he was gone. Still, he decided to stay (almost) quiet a while longer and took gulp of his now stale ale, while grumbling "and now the ale has gone stale too. Great."

"Pleased to meet you, Marlena. Yes, that's correct. Sorry if I got the title wrong," Hannatti replies. "Your companuion here seems to be upset over something I've done or not done, and, frankly, without some advice I think this might not be the best of starts."

She tries once more, "Look, Balir, and sorry if the pronunciation's wrong, you weren't here when I was invited to join the table. Now if you own the table, I'm happy to leave immediatley. Otherwise, why don't we start again. And, if you don't mind me saying that chain mail looks really good." She makes a stiff bow in his direction and wonders which way the wind will blow.

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OOC: @Narrator - re #522, I took the reference on height from Balir's description 4'5" versus Hannatti being "tall". It was contextural narrative and no sleight was uttered or intended by manner. Purely having to crane one's neck downwards would be the extent of it. 
This message was last edited by the player at 18:55, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

"Invited? Wha...?" Balir looks around his fellow adventurers. "Are we just inviting random people into our group now? What is the point of this?"
He looks back at Hannatti "So what is your particular talent, that makes it worth it to hand out another share of the gold we make?," apparently pretending he didn't hear the part about her being a swords-woman. He shakes his head and continues his rant "As if it wasn't hard enough to make a decent coin living by the axe and shield already - now we also have to give give our hard-earned gold to apprentices we find in taverns." He once again shakes his head, and prepares to continue his rant

OOC: ... but I will stop him here, so others can interrupt him :)

Hannatti puts her hands on hips and shifts her weight subtly. "The baron thinks I make trouble," she says, staring back at the lump of mountain. "He's not quite correct. It finds me and I deal with it. Now, I've been civil. If I trampled on a dwarven nicety I'm unaware of, then, my bad. If you don't trust the judgement of your companions then that's on you. But if you're trying to give me trouble then let's step outside and I'll introduce you to 'Darkness Slayer'." She gestures to her silver sword by way of explanation and glances at Kirpich and Marlena wondering if anyone's going to interupt their otherwise inevitable escalation. "Grandfather said it bites vampires really hard."

[Private to Kirpich Rockson: If you fancy intervening a bit it would be appreciated. Otherwise this is likely to end badly. Thanks,  :) ]
This message was last edited by the player at 19:37, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

OOC: Oh no ... apart from all the other unfortunate disads he has, he also cannot refuse a challenge ... this is not going to end well.

Balir instantly gets up from his chair. Half angrily and half excitedly he exclaims "Well, I was actually trying to NOT give you anything. But if you INSIST, then I am sure Earthwarden will happily agree to meeting you outside, you silly human." He claps his axe at the mention of it's name and then bursts into a triumphant laugh as if he has already won. Then he continues in an arrogant tone "But I really would advice you not to go down that road."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:53, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

In reply to Balir Ironhide (msg # 528):

"You both clearly have something to prove. You should be adult enough to do it with training weapons, though. Use a staff, or fight bare-handed, so as to make the fight legal. Put away you lethal weapons, and show what you can do without killing each other. Agreed?"

"Pffft. Something to prove? To a human?" Balir stops instantly, realizing he may just have insulted all the people present of his group. He looks at Kirpich, and continues in a more neutral tone "I've got nothing to prove. I was just wondering what she was doing here at our table, and no one has told me anything yet."

OOC: As I said Balir has a set of disads that makes it a bit difficult for him to accept others - especially if they are ... shall we say, not his preferred kind.
While he is still being an ass, this post is actually an attempt at de-escalating the conflict.
I am aware that he is not being a nice guy, but that is because he actually isn't :) - except possibly to those close to him.
Some of his disads are not some I would have chosen myself, but I am playing them to the best of my ability. Sorry :)
This message was last edited by the player at 03:53, Sat 11 Sept 2021.

"I meant you no offence, sir dwarf," responds Hannatti with a nod to Kirpich, but eyes remaining on the tough bundle of metal, muscle and beard in front of her. "I'm here to help kill vampyres. Now, why don't we start over? We can still have a competition, if you like; a friendly one! See who can kill the most vampyres. No cheating. Loser buys first round of drinks for the team? Winner gets bragging rights? What say you?" She offers a handshake; an open hand. "And don't squash it."

[Private to Balir Ironhide: Just in case you didn't know, some disadvantages have a number associated with them, e.g. Vow or Bloodlust. One can (sparingly) choose to roll 3d6 agasint the number to avoid the impact of the disadvantage afor a given interaction/scene. This also allows the disadvantage to by bought off with CPs in stages, so the number is raiased. I think it's GURPS basic that says this is legitimate and reflects the character's internal conflict in coming to terms with, and controlling, the weakness/urge. Hope that helps. If you knew already, pretend I didn't say anything. All good from this end.  :) ]
This message was last edited by the player at 09:23, Sat 11 Sept 2021.

"A competition? HARH! Agreed! Earthwarden is looking forward to that already!" Balir is looking very pleased all of a sudden. "Oh. And apology accepted," he adds as he gives Hannatti his hand. "Now, let's celebrate!" Balir empties his stale ale and instantly turns around to go up the bar and get a refill.

OOC: RP-wise I don't really think Balir has any reason to change his attitude towards Hannatti. But I think we all tire of him being an ass, and she has certainly gone a lot further than could be expected with apologies.
I think being a racist will be the first disad I will buy off if the GM agrees.
[Private to Hannatti: I know about the self control roll. But this is actually a Dwarven Code of Honor (which has no such rolls). And as I said earlier, I think disads should always be rolelayed (IMO) else they are just free points. Also, the rules actually say that "Be aware that if you attempt self-control rolls too often, the GM may penalize you for bad roleplaying by awarding you fewer earned points." So it is not something that should be done too often if avoidable.]

In reply to Hannatti (msg # 531):

Kirpich watches the response.

"It is a fair competition...to a point."

[OOC: Grom is an Earth God, who is commonly venerated by Dwarves. As such, Kirpich and Balir get along well, and many Dwarves regard priests of Grom as a Dwarf.]

Hannatti looks at the form of Balir advancing on the bar then mouths, 'Thank you,' to Kirpich.

She turns to Kirpich and Marlena, "Hmmm! I seem to have a marked shortage of coin. Would one of you object to me sleeping on your floor tonight? Apparently I don't snore."

[Private to Balir Ironhide: Never read dwarven code. I may be wrong but I think codes are intended as non-negotiable. Yes, I got it about not trying to attempt self control too often; hence my use of "sparingly".
And TY for allowing that scene to end amicably!
I actually found that scene difficult as my nature is to avoid confrontation. Stretched me a bit. Anyway, All good.]

Balir returns with two mugs. He empties one and starts on the other. "So where were we? Vampires! Yes ... So do we have a plan then?"

[Private to Hannatti: Yeah sorry about all that. I actually didn't like playing out that scene either. And I have asked the GM to buy off the Code, and pay for it with an advantage. Still haven't heard from him though.]

In reply to Hannatti (msg # 534):

"Fine by me. Grom has no objection..."

In reply to Kirpich Rockson (msg # 536):

"Appreciated," she says simply to Kirpich.

When Balir reappeared clutching multiple tankards Hannatti doesn't ignore him but neither does she engage, not willing to risk furher unpleasantness in the inn. She's already peed off the baron sufficiently.

======
OOC: Unless I've missed anyone in the group that Hannatti should talk to, I'm comfortable if we skip forwards to when Aethul returns.

In reply to Hannatti (msg # 537):

"Yes, Balir, on to the Vampyres. I would like to do some research into the best ways to deal with them before we return, and perhaps obtain the services of a specialist or two. That may cost us a little initially, but in the long term I think it would be wise."

"Wise preparation is always preferably to a swift rush, is what my ole dad says. Do we know of a place to find such information?" Balir asks

In reply to Balir Ironhide (msg # 539):

"Temples might be a good place to start looking..."

"Well, I just happen to know there is one nearby. Shall we go have a looksie if they'll let us use their library?"

In reply to Balir Ironhide (msg # 541):

"That sounds like a good use of time until our scout returns."

He gathers his things and prepares to depart.

In reply to Balir Ironhide (msg # 541):

occ: fair roleplay of the disads, especially as we have agreed to an interpretation of the Code of Honor that is, well,more honorable than spiteful.

outside of the Tavern, there is a minimal temple complex, where a pantheon of local gods have their shrines. Nearby, is the archives,  where a priest-sage of Hermes maintains trade records and a few other sorts of books. They may know something.

OOC: Is this common knowledge for all of us (that the Hermes temple is where to go) - meaning we can all react as we please? Or should we wait for someone with a skill in this subject (possibly Kirpich)?