[Closed & Accepted] Drinks are on Me!

The Lusty Beastmaiden, one of Izlude's most popular watering holes for the rough 'n tough hunter from lands all over. Here folk of all kinds would get together, be it Human, Elven, Ragonar, Beastman, and even the odd band with a Stonekin or two. The place was always bustling with life- hunting's tough work, after all, and people need a place to relax at the end of a long hunt, to have a drink, sit around the hearth, and tell tales of their triumphs. The building was rather quaint and unassuming from the outside, an old-fashioned wooden building in contrast with the towering technological monoliths that made up most of the human city of Izlude.

Quake waltzed in through the main doors, his trusty crossbow slung over his shoulder and behind his back- this was the first time in nearly a year that he found himself in the Lorian Empire for the prime hunting season. Dodging a drunken brawl between an Elven Hunter and Ragonar Merc (the Ragonar was winning), he came up to the lovely Half-Elf barmaid that was attending. Raising his voice so she could hear clearly past the constant buzz of The Beastmaiden, Quake asked for his usual drink, "A Polaro Oasis, please! On the rocks."

He took a seat and plopped his crossbow down, leaning it against the bar. He pulled out his coin purse to double check his earnings and pay for his drink, as he had sold a few rare desert pelts on his way into Izlude.

Zeik went toe to toe with the elven hunter. It was clear that the elf was too reliant on his speed and lacked technique. Zeik, with his towering build, easily over-powered the smaller elven hunter. With a final uppercut, the Ragonar merc knocked the elf out and over the tables. A resonating cheer echoe'd in the room.

"Goddamn Fairies..." He grunted as he sat next to Quake, the only available seat at the bar. "Barkeep! A pint of your heaviest lager!" He yelled to the staff behind the bar. He glanced to his side, noticing the dessert bowman sitting next to him.

"Hmph. Smooth skins and their pansy drinks..." The ragonar muttered in a hushed tone, still loud enough for quake to hear.

Quake took the final swig of his drink and chuckled, glancing at the mass of muscle that was the Ragonar beside him, "You hornheads are all the same- classless," he looked at the pint in front of Zeik, "I just don't know how anyone can stand drinking that pisswater."

As the Half-Elf barmaid from earlier passed, Quake spoke up, "Another drink, miss."
He tossed a desert coin at her, "And a little something extra, for you," he added, with that award-winning smile of his the ladies (and some men) seemed to love. She was noticeably blushing as she placed Quake's drink down and went on her merry way to deal with the rest of the patrons.

Turning his attention back to the Ragonar, who was downing his lager, "I suppose if your goal is just to get drunk, there's nothing finer than that."

Zeik chuckled through his beer at Quake's comment. "If it'll get me drunk, it all tastes the same to me...heh." He said. The large Ragonar gulped down the rest of his beverage, popped the mug on the bar and motioned the barkeep for another drink. She didn't notice him, however, she was too busy ogling Quake.

"Barmaid! Another!" He said, raising his voice a bit. In the crowded bar, however, it didn't seem all too loud. As his drink came, the Ragonar tossed a few coins on the table. The lager was much cheaper than the "smoothskins" mixed drink. "No more for me, no coin left..." He muttered. He downed the pint almost instantly and it became apparent....

Zeik couldn't hold his alcohol.

Despite the large bodymass, the two drinks seemed to get Zeik tipsy. "Goddamn... need a hunt..." He muttered to himself. "Maybe I should take that job in the Umbala woodlands...." He said, referring to the level 8-15 monster zone. Monsters that could definitely put an end to him pretty quickly at this point in time.

Rhaiken's ear twitched as he overheard the large Ragonar mumbling to himself.

A hunt job? How interesting.
All of the hunts he'd taken as of late had been easy prey, considering he still hadn't recovered his strength from passing through the World Scar unprotected. If this mark was worth hunting, he'd definitely need to get in on that action. Especially if it paid well.

He stepped over the dazed elf and sat down next to the slightly drunk Ragonar and handed him another drink.
"Rhaiken Katashira, but I'd prefer you called me Gale. Now, this hunt you were grumbling about to yourself, I'm curious about it, tell me more."

The Ragonar had Quake's full attention now. A good hunt was the reason he made the trek to the Lorian Empire afterall, and he had to start somewhere. Apart from official requests at Hunting Boards, local bars were the best place to find a well-paying hunting job. Here rumors of rare monsters spread like wildfire.

He checked his coin purse. Yup. Still enough coin for a few more drinks.

"Yea," Quake agreed, curious about the job as well, "If a few more drinks will keep you talking about this job, consider your thirst quenched."

Zeik glanced at the drink given to him by the new fellow that had just sat next to him. "Zeik Thenys." He said, introducing himself bluntly. He picked up the drink and sniffed it. "Ain't poisoned is it? Hell, I don't care if it is." The Ragonar finished his drink.

"hehe, this creature would kill you two in a heartbeat. The woodlands isn't a place for new or veteran hunters... it's for the elite only. We're better off taking a job near the sea." He said in between gulps. His cheeks started turning red as better judgment started to escape him.

"But you two pinkies probably couldn't handle taking down a cow much less a monster...hic!" He said with a laugh.

Raising an eyebrow at what appeared to be some form of insult, Rhaiken casually walked over to where he had embedded Ascalon in the floor a few hours previously and ripped it out, shedding his 'cloak' form in the process. The space around him harmlessly distorted with a faint green aura as he headed back to the bar.

"Pinky you said? You might want to check again", Rhaiken said with a mad grin. The Ragonar had gotten him even more hyped for a new hunt and he was determined to get one before the day was up.

Rhaiken threw a small bag of coin in Zeik's direction across the bar, knocking over a few glasses before stopping.

"If you're so sure we're not capable, how about a test of skill to prove ourselves? What's the worst that could happen."

The bar grew silent for a moment as Gale shed his disguise, but soon everyone went back to what they were doing. In a world filled with magic, this sort of display was not uncommon.

"Oh we almost caused a scene there," Quake said, the tone of his voice an odd mixture of embarrassment and excitement, "...almost," as if he were disappointed that they didn't have the bar's full attention to themselves.

Quake set aside a portion of coin, "I'm liking the sound of that! Let's make it interesting," tossing the coin with a jingle up and down in his palm, "If you're so doubtful of our abilities, you should have nothing to worry about. But if I prove you wrong... how about you cover my tab for the week? If you're right about my ability, I'll give you all the coin in this bag," Quake suggested.

"Just a heads-up, though- my 'pansy' drinks don't come cheap," he added, with a playful smirk strewn across his face.

The Ragonar raised a brow as Rhaiken did his little scene then turned his head in Quake's direction at his comment. Zeik patted his pocket where he kept his coin. Yup. Empty. The Ragonar wasn't gonna let a smooth-skin and a magical smooth-skin doubt him like that, however.

"Alright..." He said, finishing his drink. "I'll play your little game. What are we gonna do? This better not be some bullshit either or I'll rip both your heads clean from your shoulders."

Rhaiken was a little disappointed in the lack of interest in his form change, he decided it must have been fairly common around these parts for magical shenanigans.
He shrugged his shoulders after a moment or two and reformed his 'cloak', resuming his elven appearance.

"I wasn't expecting the responsibility of setting the challenge to be mine, but fair enough.".
His brows furrowed in thought as he tried to figure out a suitable test. It would have to be a creature hunt of some kind, to prove a point, but which.

An idea suddenly occurred to him, what about the creature he chased through the World Scar? It would be weakened just as he was and it would surely still be roaming the area.

"If you're definitely game, what do either of you know of Draconian Warbeasts?"

Quake was silent, running through a mental list of all the creatures he had killed or merely heard of. In this case, however, he was drawing a blank.

"Unfortunately for me," he sighed, "I don't think I've heard of such a creature. I'm not too familiar with the beasts north of the desert."

Quake then realized he had failed to introduce himself, "Oh, and pardon my manners. Most people call me Quake. It's only fair that we know eachother by name if our honor's on the line."

"That's it?" Zeik said. "Just some Draconian warbeasts? I suppose we could do a little challenge, we'd each have to take on one by ourselves. Nasty beasts.... hides sell well but their meat is rancid." He continued. "We use to fight them all the time just on the outskirts of Izlude."

The Ragonar got up and stumbled around. "You boys ready for a hunt?" He asked.

'Just some Draconian Warbeasts?'

Rhaiken smirked with amusement as soon as Zeik spoke those words, this hunt was going to be....interesting. Well, assuming the Warbeast was as weak as he suspected. He was about to follow Zeik but realised he'd forgotten something vital.

"Hold up a second, we're going to need these". Rhaiken reached into his pocket and pulled out three small vials of a dark, foul smelling liquid.
WyrmBane*, a weapon poison designed by Noctyl when they first encountered a pack of Warbeasts several years ago. He learned from past experience to keep a few vials on hand for emergencies.

He held out one of them to Quake. "Try not to waste any, it's a pain in the ass to make more of it." Rhaiken said with a sly grin on his face, before catching up with Zeik.



*Will need Mod/Admin to check if allowed, figured it'd be okay since it's PvE and it's easy enough for someone to decide on limitations.

Quake took the vial and held it up to the light, giving it a little shake. It had a grossly viscous consistency.

"Thanks, I guess," Quake said with a bit of disgust, placing the vial safely in a leather pouch strapped to his leg, "It looks just the right amount of nasty to really put the hurt on something. To be honest I'm a little afraid to open the damn vial- but hey it won't hurt to have in a pinch, considering this will be my first time hunting whatever this Draconian Warbeast is."

Quake got out of his seat and picked up his crossbow, slinging the strap back over his shoulder.
"Hey! Thanks for the drinks~!" he shouted to the barmaid, giving her a flirtatious wink after getting her attention.

"Welp," he addressed his two new hunting partners, "I'm ready to go whenever you guys are. Just fill me in with what you two know of warbeasts on the way and I should be more than able to help out."

He gave Zeik a playful pat on the back, "The walk should give the big guy a chance to sober up too."

"I'm...p-plenty sober!" Zeik said, stumbling on his words. Gravity seemed to shift back and forth for him as he walked, making the simple task pretty difficult for him.

"Waitaminut.." He said quickly. "No, don't use that poison shit...hic. It's too dang-dangerous to use in the middle of a hunt. Plus... it's cheating." The Ragonar said, slurring some words. 'Now, lesssssgoooooo!" 

*Poison was declined. In the future, have a poison making passive it would be alright.*

Quake: 6 posts for 6 XP.

Rhaiken: 4 posts for 4 XP.

Zeik: 6 posts for 6 XP.

Accepted.