Filimena shrugs. "Not in my experience."

She takes a sip from her beer, then pauses, seems to consider something, then looks at Fala and motions towards the casks of drink to her side with her head, as if to ask, want some?

Fala smirks then nods at the unspoken offer.

Filimena pours Fala a mug of Iron Ale and hands it over. "To Snake Skull Manor," she says, raising her own mug.

Taking the mug, Fala smiles and raises it high, "To the Manor."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Tue 29 Dec 2020.

Looking amused, the large panther get up and grabs a mug in her jaws, going to Filimena so that she can also fill it with ale. Holding it sideways she then carry it to the red-flushed elf, who hasn't said a word in a minute. She puts the flagon on the table next to him, lift up her large head slightly and give a lick on the Marik cheek, before returning to sit in her corner.

Marik lift up the flagon

"To...To the Manor"

"Glad to see that the Strongbrew clan continues to make lovely beverages," Fala says as they set down the mug on the bar where it floats away to the small sink. "Thank you master Lif."

Fala walks over to Rani and give the big cat a gentle petting before adjusting their clothing and saying, "Now I must take my leave for a time as I've a good friend I must see before things get too busy."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Thu 31 Dec 2020.

OOC: Ok, Back from the woods! I'll be more present from now on!



"Going out... so soon?" ask Marik "Why such hurry?"

Filimena waves farewell as she watches Fala leave. She hasn't quite made up her mind whether she likes the elf yet, but... Never say never. First impressions can be mistaken, after all. She glances over at Rani, slightly bored, and idly Minor Illusions a rat floating in the air before her, not bothering to hide the action, and not expecting at all that Rani will be fooled by it.

OOC: Filimena is Chaotic Emo.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:21, Mon 04 Jan 2021.

In reply to Marik (msg # 330):

Fala waves to Filimena before pausing to answer Marik's question, "As I said I have to see a friend, I'll be back before the dinner." then the druid exits the manor giving the group time to finish what they're doing.

"Ah!" simply reply the elf. That sounded way worse when they said it. Always was the problem with these Court sages when they were gone for "a time", you never knew if it was a hour, a entire lunar cycle or a succession of seasons.


As he turns, a lazy Rani attempt to chomp on a floating rat in front of her, before stopping looking disappointed when her jaws pass through the air a second time. Marik give a glance to Filimena, then the panther.

"Good. You deserve nothing less, you overgrown kitten. Maybe I'll slip in some Chandelaya peppers next time you eat venison. " thinks the elf. He looks at the large scar and bits of burned marks visible under her fur and for a moment thinks back on those fateful moments beneath the city. "Yeah, you deserve nothing less, you loveable ball of fur. Enjoy your fun" mutters the elf for himself, smiling.


He sets to place the rest of the plants in manner he finds pleasing in the taproom.

Filimena chuckles, then glances over at Marik. "Well, I suppose there isn't much to do now except wait for the guests to arrive." Pushing herself off the stool she's been leaning against, she walks over to the door and peers into the street outside. A thought occurs to her and she frowns, not sure whether to bring it up. "Do you think the Hawks might show up?" She calls back casually to Marik, trying not to sound too concerned. She looks around the room, trying to get a quick sense for how defensible the room is.

"The...Hawks"? Marik replied, surprised. "Why?"

He thinks about it for a second. The possibility hadn't even cross his mind. Why would the Hawks even decide to pay a visit here? They have no quarrels with them. Could they use the opportunity to make themselves known to all neighbors at once? That seems unlikely. First, they would need to even know the neighborhood is coming to party...well, it's true that Disanz may have been seen carting a garrison worth of alcohol through the city.

By the tone of her voice, Filimena seems to ask it as a casual question. But she is right. They should at least be prepared. He didn't even though about it. He should have. That blade edge is getting dulled...he thinks.

"You right...It is...a possibility...small, but true... If only.. because smell alcohol...I can stay..vigilant...I could...fashion traps?"

"Probably just keep an eye out on anyone who's overly interested in the place. They'll most likely be trying to see who we are and what's going on with the manor. Most will want to know about us, the Hawks will also wanna know about the building..." Raszire says in surprisingly a matter of fact tone.

"It's an idle thought," Filimena says. "Like Raszire says, I don't think we need to expect any real trouble from them today. They'll want to size us up first. But we should keep a lookout for suspicious characters, just so we know what they look like, and who to look out for in the future. And first impressions count, right? Is it in our interest to portray ourselves as  adventurers, or should we play ourselves down a bit, and not come across as quite so capable?" She shrugs, to indicate she's not so sure herself.

"Actually, with all this alcohol around, I'm not sure we can discount the possibility that there might be trouble, even if nobody intends it at first."

"I'd say...best....keep strengh concealed. Let...imagination work. Maybe Hawks heard...stories of what happened..Manor...or to Eye in sewers. Knowing there is danger...but not what or when...is more scary for the mind."

Marik turn to Filimena.

"Speaking of...mind...Any news from Them?" he ask, accentuating the last word with a understanding look to Filimena but wanting to stay vague in front of Disanz.


OOC: Made a little History check for myself for fun to see if Marik could recall a specific story in the forest to accentuate his point but rolled a 3, so went with just a general view instead of what I had written. :)

Filimena briefly contemplates feigning a dizzy spell, rolling her eyes back, perhaps falling to her knees and arching her back violently, but decides she's had enough mischief for one day. "No," she says instead, with a shrug. "There's still the doorway in the basement. That's probably something we should pursue, right?" She has the clay tablets still in her backpack as well. Perhaps someone in the alley can tell her something about those.

OOC: yeah...maybe a quick thing. I realized I had some talk pending.




"Right" Marik nods. Something flash in his mind. He notices they are mostly alone in the large taproom now with Raz.


"Speaking...basement. Filimena. Hadn't a chance...talk...yet. I...wanted...to...thank you . For Rani...while madness took me...below...Thank you, for staying my...hand...and bringing. her back... You too, Raszire...Wouldn't be alive...without you. "

"We hadn't time...really...to talk....how you feel, Filimena...after that encounter...illithid? You...were hurt...and I can...tell...it...took a toll. How are you?"

Filimena winces slightly. She doesn't like to be thanked. "I'm sure..." she says, trailing off slightly, "If it were the other around, you would have done the same." She shrugs. She seems to be doing a lot of shrugging recently.

"I'm feeling fine," she continues, once the embarrassment wears off. "It was a close one, but we made it, and that's what matters. That's another thing, I guess. I'm curious still, about what that thing was doing in the sewers. Yet another thing to get check up on. How busy we are." A dark look crosses her face, followed quickly by a look of mild annoyance.

Marik look unfazed, the expression serious. His eyes are dead-locked on Filimena as if he tried to see through or past her. He ask again, in the same calm tone.

 "Filimena...how are you...really..."



OOC: Marik would like to roll a Insight check to study Filimena behavior, and get a sense of what she's really thinking behind the "I feel fine" words. He would roll 22 for a Insight check.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:10, Wed 13 Jan 2021.

"I'm fine! Really!" Filimena gasps, exasperated. "You guys were hurt as badly as I was. The important thing, like I said, is that we made it out!" She looks over to Rani and cranes her neck slightly, raising her eyebrows as if to say, Right? Back me up here.

She is fine, isn't she? Why shouldn't she be? The injuries she'd suffered down in the sewers, they had all been healed, hadn't day? Filimena has a sinking feeling there's something she's forgetting.

OOC: Oh no!! I had to go back and re-read some of our adventures, and only just remembered Matron Urikas hadn't been able to lift the Memory Drain effect from Filimena. Does this mean this entire time I should have been subtracting 1d4 from all ability checks and attack rolls??? Lol. Oops. Well. In-game, I've decided that Filimena herself can't remember! Whether this is due to the Memory Drain effect somehow spreading (not sure that's how it works), or a result of some form of PTSD, I guess we can figure out, depending on what works, narratively?

I suppose with a 22, Marik ought to be able to tell that Filimena had previously managed to convince herself that she's fine, even if it's not true, but that his questioning her caused her to realise something wasn't right.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:16, Sun 17 Jan 2021.

Marik sense he touched a nerve. He'd like to inquire further, but he doesn't want to alienate Filimena or risk making her angry. It's clear she's repressed as much as she can the memory of that encounter. He decide to let it rest for the moment. She seems as okay as she could be in the circumstances. He nods and respond in Elvish.


"Very well. Just...making sure. The worst injuries are not always visible." he says, as he go retrieve a new batch of appetizers and taking out the boiling kettle for the fire

OOC: And I think that could be a good moment to have guests arrive if you want!

At the door comes a heavy knock - as if someone with hammers for fists was trying to get the attention of all inside. The door is opened by Lif who believes the group ready to take guests.

 Filling the frame is a individual some six and a half foot tall and almost as wide as the door itself. With bright orange hair and skin the color of cooling lava this is without a doubt Embric, Avi's partner. He's dressed in a flowing robes of black with gold accents with sandals on his feet.

"Greetings neighbors!" the fire Genasi says in a booming voice. He smiles as he surveys the space. "I'm Embric, Avi will be here soon. May I come in?"

Filimena nearly jumps in fright as the loud knock on the door interrupts her train of thought. "A guest!" she hisses playfully at Rani, as if this is supposed to mean something to the big cat.

"Good evening, Embric!" she says, puffing up her chest and doing her best to be equally booming. "I'm Filimena, these are Marik, Rani, Raszire, Disanz, and er... Lif. Come in! Come in! We have drinks, as you can see, and I am sure there will be food here shortly..." Her eyes dart past the genasi and out the door, looking for any sign of a buffet loaded onto a cart, or a giant roasted wild boar being hefted in upon somebody's shoulder.

Embric smiles widely, "I have come with several main options. Didn't know what you all liked exactly, but Avi said who you were and well that was lots of potential!" The fire genasi reaches behind him and pulls in a large cart with a trio of covered dishes upon it - with the central one being massive.

"I worked up tastes of home as it were for you find folks, with venison loin with leeks and brownbuds Marik, a salamander and chicken zirdin (a kabsa like dish) for Raszire, and lastly chicken and dumplings for you Filimina." He wheels the cart into the common room.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:46, Thu 21 Jan 2021.