Day: 3rd day of Hammer (Jan 3rd)
Time: 4 bells after Highsun (4pm)
Place: Gondalim's, just off the High Road

The sun was starting to set on a cold day in Waterdeep and you all find yourselves at the Inn called Gondalim's or more specifically on its 3rd floor. You are all seated in a room around a round table after being brought by note or invited face to face by someone on behalf of a man called Larias of the Font of Knowledge who seeks adventurers.

Food and drink are provided in accordance with the beings present respective tastes. Larias has not arrived yet but you were informed that he would be there shortly.

(Feel free to introduce yourselves and if you have any questions, shoot me either an OOC or PM)

Mimi was the first one to arrive, and had held her form, as a chair, the entire time. It was unlikely, anyone was aware of her, unless they had abilities that granted them such an ability.

She rested, ready, and willing to speak if needed. However, as a mimic her natural inclination for patience, and silence stood strong. With her in her current capacity, prepared for nothing, but everything. She didn't know why she was called there, but it was a chance for adventure, and that's all she cared about. Who knew, what meats she'd eat? What things she'd do? What new experiences, she'd explore? That was what made her excited for this mission. No matter what it was.

Ponder sauntered in. He had a small pack on his back and a case with a lute next to it. He smiled his confident smile and wandered in, wondering where Larias was. He ambled over and found a chair to sit in while he waited. He looked around, there might be opportunity here even if this Larias turned out to be less than a 'font of knowledge'.

One of the tavern wenches opens the door and sets a cast iron pot with a flat lid on the table. "There ye be mi' lord." She says as she settles the pot on a trivet. With an appreciative growl Scriostus hops down from her shoulder onto the pot and walks three circuits of the lid before curling up on the warm iron. Appearing to be very content with the situation and making something something between a growl and a purr, he sends a wave of gratitude towards the girl who smiles and gives him little scratch behind one horn in a sign of familiarity. "See you again soon." She says to him before shutting the door behind her.
When the door shuts his head comes up and he gives the room and the sole human inhabitant a more thorough visual inspection. He settled back on his warm pot and flipped his tail over his snout. One eye slit open, then slowly closed as the heat soothed his muscles. Surely, no one would dare disturb the ferocious sleeping Dragon. Even so, the one eye cracked open and seemed to be watching Ponder.

Shandri slipped quietly into the room, carefully scanning the area for exit routes as befit a seasoned adventurer. Once she had done that, she took note of the one human - a bard by the looks of it - and...oh, a little dragon. She wondered when encounters like this had become just another normal part of her day.

Of course, a little red dragon might be inherently driven to plunder and destroy, but from what Shandri could see, right now the only thing it was stealing was all the heat in the room.

She smiled in amusement, nodded briefly to each of the inhabitants, and took an unknowing seat on Mimi.

The last of them to arrived was practically a boy despite his size.

It seemed like he was not yet able to grow facial hair and his downy blond hair was tied back behind a face that still bore the softness of youth. Indeed, his blue eyes were still bright, but unsure and wary and he took in the other occupants of the room.

He was dressed in a coat of well oiled chain that fell to his knees, calf length riding boots and a thick leather belt that held a plain and unadorned arming sword in its scabbard. The belt held a few pouches in it as well as a pair of gloves folded over.

He smiled a little shyly as he gave a very slight bow and nodded. His cheeks were actually a little rosy against his fair complexion from the chill outside.

"Good evening" he almost muttered and made his way to a chair at the table where he carefully took his seat.

Ponder smiled at the newcomers. He said, "Ponder Kresh, wanderer and sometime teller of tales."

The well-groomed man leaned back in his chair and sipped his ale. He wore dark gray trousers and matching vest over a white silk shirt closed at the wrist by leather bracers. A dagger graced his hip while the hilt of sword peeked over his shoulder next to his lute.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:05, Wed 18 Oct 2023.

Mimi, the mimic, slowly shifted her chair-like form, seeking to make herself, as comfortable as she could be relying on the subtle instinctive reactions of Shandri. Mimi was happy, seeking to perfect chair-form. It was quite interesting, to change the structure of a chair-like form, to optimize for a person's comfort. Everyone was different, in what they found comfortable.

Ponder stared. "I'd like to say that was the weirdest thing I've seen this week but, alas..."

Shandri listened to the others and nodded to Ponder. "Shandri," she said with nothing more. The chair grew a little firmer beneath and behind her, the back straightening a bit...and her finely-honed kinesthetic sense told her that the chair was shifting beneath her. "Huh?" she asked, standing and turning to look at Mimi.

"I've seen stranger, but I do wonder what's going on."

It seemed, even Mimi, with her remarkable mimicry skills, wasn't entirely imperceptible. Shandri, perceptive as ever, noticed the slight shifting. Upon, hearing Shandri noticed her shifting, she decided to pipe up. Her Voice, despite the teeth, and purplish tongue it spoke from, coming from the back of the Chair itself, was friendly and melodious, which contrasted with her fearsome nature.

"Hi there, I'm Mimi the Mimic!" she chimed in, she sounded playful and excited. "I must apologize for my unannounced presence.  You see, I was just attempting to perfect my chair abilities. After all, a comfy seat is a friendly seat. At least that's what the Bandit Droug used to say." She paused as if reminiscing about past encounters. "Well, until he made the mistake of striking me. At that point, I couldn't resist, and, well, he became my meal." Her tone remained oddly jovial, given the context.

A mischievous glint sparkled in her eyes as she continued, her fanged mouth parting in a grin that showcased her impressive dentition. "You can scream now... I don't mind. I promise I won't be offended!" Her words, despite her monstrous nature, and her clearly inhuman mentality, sought to carry an underlying sense of reassurance. Trying to make people more comfortable with her presence.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:13, Wed 18 Oct 2023.

Ponder merely sipped his drink. "I'm damn sure glad I chose this chair," he said waving his mug at the mimic. "No offense, Mimi." He did not scream nor seem overly concerned about the chair/mimic/bandit eating carnivore in their midst.

Ponder had seen worse. Much worse.

It seemed that the younger man had not.

General confusion at where the voice was coming from led rapidly to concern over the span of a few seconds. Full blown alarm overtook him a moment later when he caught a glimpse of the teeth, and the tongue and some sort of realization hit home.

The young man lept up backwards and upset his own chair with a clatter in the process. A wide eyed look overtook him, his mouth slightly open as he groped behind him for the door,  through which he clearly planned to continue his retreat.

Shandri listened to Mimi's explanation. "...oh," she said after a moment. She wasn't quite as blase as Ponder, nor as scared as Aldred, but still rather surprised. "It's nice to meet you, Mimi. But you should have given us a little warning so we knew who you were. Some people can be a little surprised by friendly chairs." She stepped over to gently pat the top of the back of the chair, showing she wasn't offended. Besides, they also had a red dragon in the room and nobody was paying much attention to that, so it probably had something to do with why everyone had been called here.

"While I'm not volunteering to be your meal, I can sit in you again if you like. Especially if you can be an armchair." It was only polite to let a friendly mimic be her furniture if she wanted to!

Seeing someone freaking out, she turned to them. "Calm Down, I'm Friendly I swear! If I wanted to eat any of you, I'd have eaten the person sitting on me first! " Mimi tried to console Aldrud.

Turning back to Shandri she said. "Sorry, Bad Habits, But...I'll see what I can do about the armchair! armchairs consume more mass, than I have.... but I think I have a workaround... first she got rid of three of her chair legs, making the bottom of the chair one leg. Due to her immense strength and constitution comparable to others like her, she could carry a lot of weight. This  mass transformed into the arms of the chair, then relying on her internal strength, she shifted the material of the chair to be softer and more plush, though, it took about the same space. It was simply a modification in terms of material consistency, adding a thin layer of fur, to make the chair more comfortable to top it all off. So in the end, the chair wasn't bigger, it was just In a different form. Mimi couldn't really become bigger, when she was already at her max after all. "Will that do?" Mimi piped up, seeking for input in her new design.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:57, Wed 18 Oct 2023.

As the shock subsided a little the young man seemed to grow more confused or suspicious and less prone to leaving outright.

"What is this?" He asked in confusion, and looked mostly to Ponder and Shandri, both of whom seemed to have taken the event more or less in stride.

He still stood at the very edge of the room near the door, his back to the wall, his eyes darting this way and that.

His eyes popped open as the chair started talking and his tongue flicked out a couple times. That's what was causing the itch between his spines. A mimic, even if it claimed to be friendly, which was odd, was not something to take for granted.
As Ponder made his comment the little dragon smirked and sent a telepathic reply. You're assuming that the chair you are in isn't simply more patient.

Stretching his back muscles he sits up and projects his telepathic voice to all in the room. 'This' I imagine is the results of a somewhat cryptic summons. I expect our potential employer is about the come up behind you. He declares as his wings stretch and settle back in place.

Ponder stood suddenly and checked his chair. "Good point," he said in reply to the dragon's obsvervations. "You're here about the job, too? Interesting bunch." To answer 'what is this?' since the man wasn't clear about the object of his query, Ponder, now poking the chair then gently prodding Mimi to see if it felt the same, answered, "Another job, or at least I hope so. In my profession, one keeps moving or one gets stabbed by a jealous husband or outraged father."

Shandri looked at Ponder. "Hey, be nice to Mimi," she said teasingly before sitting in the armchair. "Hm, feels quite comfortable and nice, thank you."

She looked around. "Yes, I'm here to hear about the job, probably like the rest of you."

The air in the room was suddenly filled with the kind of static that presaged the coming of a storm: a feeling of clouds on the horizon, filled with lightning and thunder ready to rain on the ground below. The feeling dissipated as soft steps could be heard outside, stopping when they reached the door.

The door opened, the woman who stood before them was the kind who tended to draw all eyes towards herself. She gazed upon the occupants with black eyes that contained an infinity of stars before walking in.

She was tall and walked with grace and an economy of motion that was breathtaking but somehow...primordial. Predatory, even. She wore a robe of the deepest black that seemed covered with the celestial bodies of the night sky. Her eyes were pointed and her hair black so deep it seemed blue. She shut the door softly behind her before once again turning her gaze on this around her.

"I apologise if I interrupted your conversation but, I believe we are here for the same purpose. We all received the same invitation to come here, yes?" She asked in a voice that twisted like snakes yet seemed filled with music.

Minutes passed & soon after a young man came in.

He was dressed in a long dark blue long coat with a high collar, his arms holding a book and a few scrolls. He wore spectacles that had smaller lenses attached to the sides that would allow the wearer to bring them down to get a magnified look at anything the wearer scrutinized.

He had a Rucksack slung to his side which hit the table as he placed the book on it, the scrolls rolling onto it soon after. He wore a holy symbol of Denier, the God of Knowledge and Scolars.

"Well Met everyone! I am Larias of the Font of Knowledge - i hope everyone has met and gotten their fill of food and drink. Ive sent and hired you all for an expedition funded by me to expand the knowledge of the Font and bring light to a past i will need your help in uncovering."

He began opening the book and grabbing the scrolls placing them in an order only he knew.

"Any questions before i continue?", he said as he was setting up for whatever he was doing.

Mimi, pondered long and hard about the question she was going to ask. She didn't know the man, but the adventure sounded exciting! So, of course there was one question she had. "What meals await us on this journey?" she piped up satisfies, she was curious what creatures she'd be eating soon.

The boy seemed to have partially recovered from the shock, but he remained standing with his arms crossed and seemed unsure of the entire enterprise. Although he greeted Larias with a nod, he simply shook his head with the time came for questions. It was almost as if he was not entirely sure he was going to stay.