Dal looked at the options. A long, tough climb or riding a wooden platform hoisted by ropes. It was a quick decision.

He lightly stepped onto the wooden platform and tested it out, and it seemed sturdy enough. “Good day to you Zwiddle, I am Daladain. I would like to take up your offer. This contraption seems most ingenious. Thank you.”

He looked around at his travelling companions, wondering who would take up the offer. Part of him secretly hoped that the half-orc would decline and walk up. He had nothing against the fellow but wasn’t sure what the weight capacity was, and Atraxus was awfully big!

"A pleasure Daladain, Atraxus, Qui Lin and Companions.  Hoist Service is an amenity provided to Guests of the Guest House," Zwiddle says.  "Like our pool.  I hope you're going to be guests, because there's a storm on the way and it's going to hit us soon.  I'd hate to be out in it.  That's why you boat left so fast, usually they stay awhile."

The slack goes out of the ropes, the platform rises.

"Please keep your hands and feet and wings if present inside the hoist carriage until it comes to a complete stop," Zwiddle announces.

As it rises, it passes the counterweights- large buckets filled with water.  They are all connected to a rope which can tip them over to empty them, thereby causing the buckets to rise back up and the platform to lower.

Also on the way up, but close to the top, the carriage passes Lehai, still climbing stairs.  The stairs look old and rickety in places, but Lehai has discovered them to be quite solid and more sturdily built than they might appear.

They reach a balcony, half projecting, have built into the wall of the cliff- the Main Entrance Balcony.

This is about forty feet below the top of the cliff.  Several stories of inn go up from here, and a few are below, all accessible from this level, which features a large balcony wrapping around into the Break.  The balcony is a landing for the stairway, and for the hoist, and also features a long ramp to the top, cut into the rock face along one side of the Break.

The balcony is cut back into the cliff, where doors and windows open to the spaces within.  There is the main  entrance facing the sea, and three storefronts around the corner, facing the Break.   On the balcony are chairs, mostly facing the sea, and little tables.
The main door is heavy wood with brass fittings, and a window in a brass frame.  Above each doorway are symbols and runes etched into the stone lintels. Wizardy looking things.

"Welcome to the Guest House at Deluzion Break," Zwiddle says, as Lehai catches up.

It was worth it, rationalizes Lehai, catching for breath. At least now it will feel even better when I rest and I got some extra training out of it. They planned to arrive here before the others - to cement themselves as this physically imposing wilderness warrior who doesn't need to rely on some strange doohicky to get up a cliff - but so much for that ... at least the level of technology here is very impressive.

"The level of technology here is very impressive."

Oh, Lehai, you smooth talker, you.

Zwiddle knocks on the door.  It takes a lot of effort for him to get a substantial sound out, as small as he is.  He is quickly joined by another being similar to him, but not from inside- this one just flew in from another direction.

"Zwiddle, I'll need your help on the bucket rope, to tip them and reset the hoist," the newcomer announces.

Zwiddle gestures towards the party.  The new arrival looks a little embarrassed.

"Bucket ropes and pulleys," Zwiddle says, "if that is the tek know logee then I suppose it is interesting, because it can move a whole horse.  We just call it the hoist.  The Dwarves built it for us years ago.  They're very clever making what's its and thingabobs."

"Firefern, at your service," Zwiddle's companion says.  "I'm the leader here and..."

"You most certainly are not," Zwiddle interrupts.

"Well of the fairies," Firefern says.

"Not even that.  We don't have a leader."

"I could be," Firefern grumbles.  "Welcome to the Guest House at Deluzion Break!  You'll have to open the door yourselves, the big folk aren't here just yet... it's quite large and heavy, and as you can see, we are not."

Aside from the main door, there are three smaller doors, each with a sign above it.
They are shops, from the look of it, but it doesn't look like any of them are open.    One is a barber shop, the second says “Goods, Trinkets, Gifts and Confections”, and the third reads “All Manner of Fixes and Repairs Herein”.

"If your friend is occupied, I can help", offers Lehai. "Sounds like a mundane task that someone like me might be better with than a fairy. No offense."

“Hello Firefern, good to meet you too.” He would have said more, but the two creatures began to bicker, and he didn’t want to interrupt. To him it was most amusing, but he didn’t want to offend by making a joke.

Instead he focused on the doors. The alternative options sounded of interesting, but right now he wanted to be inside away from the storm. He stepped forward and tried the main door, intending to open it and step inside.

On the ride up, Qui-Lin was unabashedly in awe.  She'd seen a lot in her short time, but this was marvelous.  And for once she didn't try to hide her reaction.

"Zerfen, nice to meet you as well," she replied to the other little fey.  Looking around at the others, taking in the sights of their destination, she added, "This place is amazing."

Lehai helps pull the bucket rope.  The Fairy is very much impressed by Lehai's quick willingness to help.

"Well, I can see who my favorite new guest is going to be!" Firefern says.  "You saved a lot of work!  We Fairy folk can do a lot, but heavy things... they are not our strong point."

It wasn't that it seems cleverly engineered with pulleys and counterweights.

They enter through the main door, find the common room of the Guest House at Deluzion Break, and find...

More fairies.

There's a half a dozen of them in here, flying around, cleaning, dusting.  A shortage of customers, though, from the look of it.  Just one sleepy looking Dwarf.

One female fairy with bright yellow hair flies up to greet the party.

"Welcome to the Guesthouse at Deluzion Break!” the creature announces in a perky, peppy little voice.  “I am Daisy, your Hostess! You are staying for the night, yes?  Not traveling on in this weather, are you?  We have reasonable and proper prices, and the highest ratings from the Montebon Guild of Guesthouses!"

Daisy points to a plaque on the white plastered wall.  It does seem to confirm her claim- it says that the Masters of the Montebon Guild of Guesthouses have given this establishment  ratings of "Excellent" in Food, Drink, Accommodations, and General Service. It further notes that all dues have been paid.

The main “common room” of the Guesthouse is large.  The front door has coat racks and boot shelves flanking it, and there are big windows overlooking the balcony and the cliff.  To one side, doors leading off to several smaller “niche” dining rooms, other guest rooms, and the guest stairs.  To the other, a large “open air” kitchen and bar, and doors leading off to the pantries, baking kitchen, service stairs, and the service stairs.  The size of the utensils indicates that there is at least one cook of human-or-thereabouts size, who doesn't seem to be present.  Most of the doors are permanently wedged open, as the Fairies who work here don’t interact well with large, heavy, wooden doors.   A few doors, including a very heavy iron bound pair, are closed.

  In the front, doors also open to the three little shops… two of them, actually.  The Goods, Trinkets, Gifts and Confections shop has no interior door, being fully open to the Common Room.

"Eating, rooming, both?" Daisy asks. "We also have a bathing pool. All amenities are included with the cost of rooms."

Though she had been eager to tackle an invigorating challenge in free climbing her way up the cliff right off the boat - in no small part to just enjoy the earth again after being at sea for so long - a second climb wasn't to Kealoha's taste.  Once was refreshing, but two would be exhausting.  She quietly enjoyed the bucket-ride up to the guesthouse and was absolutely delighted by the sight that awaited the group inside.  The facilities, the fairies busy at their tasks, and the promise it all held filled her with a brimming anticipation that showed plainly in the smile on her face.

"Honestly, a stay for the night sounds amazing.  You can't get a home cooked meal and a proper bath taking a ship from the mainland." the Half-Elf managed to pull her attention back to their hostess.  "What're the rates per night?  And do you offer barter?  I can't speak for everyone, but I'm sure not afraid of some labor to knock a few coins off the bill."

That's a lot of fairies. It makes Lehai slightly uncomfortable knowing that these fey creatures are - in a way - the enemy. But the ranger forces themselves to push all that knowledge on how best to hunt, catch, and kill these fey back into their mind. Let's not get swept away here.

"Shouldn't you check our documents first?", they berate Daisy. "I don't know about these people but I was given this" - Lehai pulls out their lodging document - "and I was told this entitles me for one month of service. Am I out of line here?"

The mention of such documentation seemed to spark a realization in Kealoha after a few seconds.  She quickly shuffled around in her satchel, though she had to do quite a bit of digging before she pulled out the same manner of certification Lehai mentioned as well.  "Oh, wow - I'd practically forgotten we even had these.  It was, like, over a month ago!  You've got a good memory." Even if Lehai's tone was curt as it was, it didn't phase the Half-Elf one bit as she fixed the other with a bright smile.  "Even if our room and board is covered by the contracts, these don't handle drinks and probably nothing from the gift shop either.  Those are still gonna be out of our own pockets, and you just can't have a proper meal without some good drinks!"

Daladain greeted Daisy warmly. “A hot bath, hot meal and warm bed would be most welcome, especially after so long at sea. I must smell something terrible.”

He pulled the battered document out of his pocket. “I also have an invite for free lodging.”

He looked around the inside of the guest house. It was certainly different to home, with some many fey creatures flitting about. He smiled. This place is strange, but should be fun!

Atraxus snaps his fingers as Daladin mentions the document.

"I believe I have one as well," he says while fishing around in his backpack. "Ah, here it is." He presents the documents to the group's Fairy host.

Producing her own document that matched the others, Qui-Lin replied, "Yes to both.  And my thanks for your care."

"Oh, yes, those are good here!" Daisy says, flying from document to document and looking at them. "It's what we have to do for our Annual Service.  It's the queen's plan, to get people to come to the north side of Montebon.  Someone must have thought you were the right kind of people to give you these."

The larger people of Deluzion Break begin to show up, an elderly man and woman.  The introduce themselves as Arcto and Cornelia, the owners of the Guesthouse.

"There are more of us," Arcto says, "but we had to get some work done in the fields.  Very hasty stuff, when the storm comes in, keeps everyone busy.  Welcome to the Guesthouse at Deluzion Break."

"I said that," Daisy says.

"Of course," Arcto continues.  "Daisy is legendary among hostesses.  We're the only Guesthouse in the guild with a fairy staff.  Well... since you have been made welcome, and you are guests of our Queen Helena, there's no sense keeping you standing around and waiting for us, we have rooms for you... we are, in fact, mostly empty at the moment... we have our pool, and of course, we have food, which will not take us long to prepare.  Our menu is... well its a very changeable thing, always what's available and never what's not..."

"Peculiar, it's been called," a fairy says.

"I don't know why," Zwiddle says.

Daisy directs your attention to the large slate menu board, which judging by the smears, is been erased and rewritten frequently.  The writing is small, and decorated with little flowers.

Dried Pork and Yam Stew Served with Tankard of Stout (10 cp)
Yam Stew, Mug of Stout (4 cp)
Baked Spiced Yams and Mug of Stout (4 cp)
Pickled Fish and Diced Melon, Yams, Tankard of Stout (11 cp)
Yam Biscuits (2 cp)
Bowl of Melon, Cut Into Fancy Shapes (3 cp)
Pickled Fish and Dwarven Biscuits, absolutely NO Yams, Tankard of Stout (11 cp)

"Three meals a day on the house for guests of the Queen," Daisy says.

Though she was never one to turn down local cuisine since that was half the fun of visiting new places, the menu-as-listed has the enthusiastic Half-Elf's shoulders slowly slumping the more she read.  There was certainly a theme to say the least...

"Uh... I don't want to sound ungrateful or anything, but do you ever serve fowl or fresh meat?  Spirits besides just stout?" she had to ask, though she already feared the answer.  Being at sea for so long demanded food rations be stable for such a trip, so she'd had enough dried meat, fish, and beer over the last few weeks to last a lifetime.

Atraxus' face twists into a puzzled expression as he looks over the menu. The thought of pickled fish coupled with melon is enough to make even the hardy Half-Orc turn a tiny shade of green. Fortunately, the other offerings seem much more palatable.

"I'll have the pork and yam stew meal," Atraxus says after introducing himself to the new arrivals.

"Well, now that we are here, do you have any jobs or tasks you need fulfilled?" Atraxus asks the groups' hosts. "I feel a bit odd enjoying the benefits of the Queen's invitation before doing some of the work it certainly includes. Also, it would be nice to feel as if I am contributing after sitting idly during the ship ride over here."

Dal read through the menu and grinned. “What happens if you don’t like yam?” he joked quietly under his breath to nobody in particular.

He turned to the hosts, Arcto and Cornelia, and greeted them warmly. “The menu looks... interesting. I will try the baked spiced yams please. If nothing else they should warm my bones! And a bowl of melon pieces to follow would be good too, it would be nice to have some fresh fruit after a long sea journey.”

Lehai leans in and whispers back: "You take the pickled fish without the yam." They are dead serious. Not even a hint of irony or humor.

"A warm meal sounds like a good start", they say to Daisy. "I'd like the baked spiced yams then. I love spicy food and it's hard to come around."

"I'll take the pickled fish," Qui-Lin announced, smiling at the joke running between Dladin and Lehal.  "Not that I don't like yams, mind you... I'm sure I'll have that for breakfast."

"We'll make yam waffles for breakfast!" Daisy says cheerily as she collects the orders.

As she does so, another of the Guesthouse's crew arrives, looking a little out of breath.

She is an old human woman, and looks large and well fed.  Perhaps a bit too well fed.  She looks at the newcomers in the common room, then wanders over to where the "gift shop" opens into the common room, and quickly positions a sign that reads "Open".  Then she takes a seat in common room, letting out a heavy huff.  Like the others, she looks a little tired.

"Daisy, something with yams, please, surprise me," she says, before talking to the party.

"I'm Zynobia.  I see the queen's efforts to make this a place and not merely a place to pass by in a hurry has borne some fruit.  The Breaks have a lot of potential... raw magic to tap into, who could be against that?  But sailors don't like the straight, they tend to run right through as fast as they can to get to Montebon City.  Or they turn west and head up into Changeable Bay towards Sanzi.  So... we have us.  A few villages, and the Guesthouse, the center of our odd little world.  We were getting the farms ready, because when the chaos storm hits the farms have to ready for it, fast and heavy work... I mostly supervise.  But the fairies are pretty good at keeping things going when no one's here.

"It looks like you've picked a good time.  There's going to be a Chaos Storm.  It will hit in the evening, I'm sure.  A good way to get introduced to life here."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:14, Sat 08 Aug 2020.

"What exactly is the difference between a Chaos Storm and a regular storm?" Lehai loves storms - as long as they stay outside. In the past they were usually right in it so it will be nice to watch it blow by.

“A chaos storm? That sounds... interesting. I think I would like to see that.”

"I think I will give that question to Arcto," Zynobia says.  "He's always been scholar of the group.  Arcto?  Chaos storms, what say you?"

Daisy and a few other Fairies begin to show up with food.  One is wearing a dress that appears to be made of flowers, and is using some kind of levitation magic to move plates around.  The other Fairies call her "Petunia" and her role seems to be "big thing handler".

Artco walks over.

"Chaos Storms are what make this place special," he says.  "Since you've got the Queen's certificates you are new arrivals.  There's a lot about the Southlands that's different.  The land itself is magical in ways it wasn't where you came from.  In some places, that magic is very strong, and it always seems attuned to a fundamental force of nature.  For us, that place is the island on the east side of the channel across from Deluzion Break.  You can see it, barely, on the horizon on a clear day.  And the fundamental force is chaos.  That island is thick with the force of chaos.  Things you see one day, even mountains, might be gone the next.  Bizarre creatures live there.  It used to attract adventurers, and this was a popular starting point, but they began to realize that magic and bizarre creatures does not mean treasure and reward.  When they didn't come back with chests of gold and magic swords, they stopped going.

"But then we have the storms that blow off the island and hit us, every now and then.  Chaos is the magic of change.  When it hits, it brings change.  To the land, to the plants and animals, and on very rare case to the people.  It also brings the other forces of nature with it- a chaos storm can rain fire or ice, or just water.  Or air.  It does have some very peculiar side effects, and one is the Chaos Farm.

"In some places, where the Chaos meets just the right amount of the Force of Order, which is nature's counter to Chaos, the strangest things occur.   When the chaos storm blows across a farm that is ready and prepared and tilled for it, and there's just enough Order around, somehow the storm knows that this piece of ground should be a farm, and it makes one.  Only, you don't know what it's going to grow.  Could be anything."

"Last time it was yams!" Daisy announces, in case anyone missed the obvious.

"Lots of yams," Arcto confirms.  "The magic is powerful, and the fields are very productive.  And since they produce novel and unusual things, often very lucrative.  Not always.  We have the most splendid crop of thick, lush grass, once.  Chaos does what it wishes."

"Tell them about the llamas," Daisy says eagerly.

"Ah, yes, well... as I was pointing out, order resists chaos,"Arctos says.  "Naturally.  So with the right energies, we can survive here.  Things like certain magic artifacts and rituals, carvings and monuments, and for some reason llamas.  The will of a llama seems to be strong enough to counter the effects of raw elemental chaos- they never get lost or frightened, they are never changed or hurt, and those with them are usually protected. I have no idea why.  But we have ten of them.  The Dwarves at Chromic Notch have some, and the people at Stonebell breed them."

Various yam related dishes have appeared on the table, largely thanks to Petunia's magic.

Other humans have appeared, a gaggle of teenagers.  They seem to be the grandchildren of Arcto and his wife Cornelia.  They take over the job of "moving stuff" from Petunia, who seems a little tired from her efforts.

Qui-Lin frowned and pursed her lips, appearing to be trying to do mental math in her head.

Leaning over to Daladain - who she suspected had the same basic roots she did - she asked, "Does that make sense to you?"