Mon'Fargret, Ham, Nekshi, Granite Spear, and Widjgleeby file on into Wirg's just as a customer, a Hertressk-Yangae, is leaving. The man quickly steps aside to allow the Farbett passage, eying the group warily, and then continues out without a word. There is no one at the front. Sounds can be heard from the kitchen area; Wirg is probably busy in the back. As the group moves on into the dining area, Uskua can be seen hustling about as she takes care of things by herself. The place isn't really all that busy; it's certainly somewhat less crowded than it was yesterday. Still, Uskua has her hands full.
Seeing the party, the Ilfroi stops and heaves a sigh of relief. "Beyond, am I glad to see you!" she says. "Go ahead and sit wherever you like. I'll be with you in a minute!"
There are currently eight customers there. Two of them are sitting alone, while the others are in pairs. Some of them are familiar to members of the party, some aren't.
"Well, I'll be rockin' in the wind!" comes a familiar, gruff voice from the direction of the kitchen. "I was afraid that lot wouldn't be back!" Wirg comes toddling out, a ladle in his paw and the Bolgan equivalent of a smile on his snout. "And here you are here together! Just like when you left yesterday! What, were you looking for that trigger-happy git and his lodge-wench all this time?" He lets out a hearty, Bolgan guffaw. "Did you find 'em?"
Just then the front door can be heard banging open followed by a torrent of feminine complaining in Yangae. The voice is very familiar. Pretty much the entire clientele sits up and takes note.
Uskua sucks air through her teeth and hustles toward the front just as Wirg growls, "What...in...twelve..." There is some muttering, and then Uskua can be seen beckoning someone in anxiously, puzzlement written all over her striped, blue face.
Mey'Luskar comes in looking like she's about ready to start smashing things. Behind her comes Bina, who is calm but worried. Dabid stays way to the rear.
"Why...," growls Wirg as he turns around slowly, "in the twelve levels...are YOU here? What kind of gall...grr...why should I let you in?"
Mey'Luskar stops short and greets the Bolgan with wide eyes. "Well, I...uh..."
"I'll vouch for her," says Bina.
"Where's your lodger, lady?" Wirg goes on. He gestures toward the floor, where a chunk of sheeting covers the spot where Dusker shot it. "You know? The flop who did that? Where is he? Whose gonna pay for...huh?" His jaw drops lax for a moment. Then he shakes his head as if to clear it and stares at Bina. "What did you say?"
"I said I'll vouch for her. We'll take care of the damage."
Wirg approaches Bina, circling around Mey'Luskar as if she were radioactive, and gives the disgraced priestess a looking and sniffing over. Then he says, "You're Hergoth!" as if it were a profound discovery.
"Of course I am!" replies Bina with a shallow grin.
"B-but..." Wirg glances quizzically back at Mey'Luskar and then turns to Bina again. "She's...pure scarlet! She hates...I mean she...uh?" He looks at Mey'Luskar again.
"We forgive," replies Bina, "and reality smiles!"
Wirg looks at her, Mey'Luskar, and Uskua in turn before he gives up trying to figure it out and retires to his kitchen with a snort.
Uskua moves past the Bolgan and gestures for the newcomers to sit, changing the direction of her beckoning when she realizes they're moving to join the party. All along her troubled-looking eyes never leave Bina.
"We all look alike," says Bina in reply to the Ilfroi's thoughts.
Uskua gestures negative curtly before saying, "Let me know when you're ready to order." Then she quickly moves away.
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Mon'Fargret enjoys watching minds being blown. He finds the tables everyone occupied and lays down his rucksack next to him and takes a seat.
He addresses "The roots are branches are stranger and more intertwined than you can imagine. If you watch closely, you will find that the harmful vines twist among more than a couple of trees. Yet the forest holds strong together."
Feeling his poetry is finding the wrong audience, he stops short and changes tone, "In any case, she is okay and I trust her."
As he says that, he looks at Mey then back at the group.
Nekshi looks about the place. "Our best guns should face the door, in case there is trouble. We should also watch the kitchen entry in case someone slips in the rear."
She sits with her back to the main door.
"I'm a lousy shot, and I can see the Vid from here. Perfect. I hope everyone brought their appetites."
Granite perks up at the mention of food. "I could sure use some frog legs." She moves to sit down across from Nekshi.
Dabid quickly moves to sit at Mon'Fargret's table. Meanwhile, Bina and Mey'Luskar sit at another, nearby table. Mey'Luskar is clearly upset about something. With a huff, she rests her head on her elbow and starts tapping on the table irritably.
"There's not much point in getting mad about it," says Bina. "What's done is done!"
"That's easy for YOU to say," snaps Mey'Luskar.
"Make that a PLATE of frog legs", Granite says with a grin. "Hell, bring me ANY kind of meat."
Gesturing boisterously at Nekshi she adds, "You look like you could use some meat!" Granite withdraws slightly, realizing she might have overstepped her bounds, and then falls silent.
[Oh, and don't tell me Granite can't grin with a beak. Haven't you seen "How to train your dragon"?]
As soon as Granite Spear's talk box finishes intoning the last syllable of the Yangae word for "meat", Widjgleeby's stomach growls loudly enough to startle some of the nearby patrons.
Some of the other members of the party look rather less than amused.
"Um," says Mey'Luskar darkly, turning back to Bina, "you don't have any way to pay right now, do you?" When Bina gestures negative in Yangae fashion, she adds, "I'll cover you. What do you want?"
"Something meatless," replies the Hergoth abruptly.
"They have monacta here," suggests Mey'Luskar. "They say it's pretty good."
"Oh, that sounds great!" says Bina with a sigh of relief.
Mey'Luskar sighs more darkly but then manages a sheepish grin. "Maybe I'll try it, too," she says. "Why not?"
"Why not?" echoes Bina with a grin.
Uskua, who was already approaching the table warily, now looks even more like her whole world is falling apart around her. She doesn't say anything, but just stares with her order pad in hand.
"Two helpings of monacta, please," says Mey'Luskar. "Oh, and let's have it with..." She glances at Bina.
"Common tea," adds the Hergoth.
Uskua nods and punches in the order as if making extra sure each peck is precisely on target. Then, with very furrowed brows, she moves to the table shared by Mon'Fargret, Ham, and Dabid. She can be heard muttering something about frog legs and the galaxy suddenly imploding.
"So," she says testily when she arrives, "will any of you be ordering Ahmonite zak-shek or raw blood?"
Mon'Fargret chuckles as he enjoys watching Uskua's brain turn somersaults. "Now those do sound good, though raw blood is a bit salty for my tastes. Nonetheless, I will stick with my usual."
He adds, "So, what did we miss since Mey's friend blew a hole in the floor?"
"Ah," says Uskua as she enters the order. "Just those scary people that showed up after you left. That really weird guy looking for you, and that scary woman wanting to crash Nekshi's party. Nothing really after that except Adulie popping off." Then she folds her pad in her hands, leans in closer, and says quietly, "Speaking of which...I may not know much, but I remember faces, and I definitely remember hers!" She nods surreptitiously toward Bina. "Why's she here? And why's that scarlet being so nice to her?"
"Do you always pry into your customers' personal affairs?" asks Dabid pointedly.
Uskua studies him for a moment and then replies, "Only if I have a reason. What would you like?"
"I'll have the soup of the day with type 3 rolls," says Dabid as if nothing happened. "Something very mortal and down-to-the-sod, if you know what I mean. That's the thing. The celestial realm has no use for those that are too down-to-the-sod, even among their own."
Uskua eyes him with disbelief and then throws a troubled glance at Mon'Fargret before moving on to Ham.
Sandwich, I would like a nice sandwich. Meat and bread all mushy and nice. thanks.
Uskua heaves a private sigh of relief as she enters Widjgleeby's order.
(Shall I just assume that Ham wants ham?)
˙ǝןqɐʇ ǝɥʇ ɹǝpun ɯoɹɟ ɐnʞsn ʇɐ sɹǝǝd puɐ 'uʍop ǝpısdn pɐǝɥ ɹǝɥ suɹnʇ ǝʇıuɐɹƃ
Ham scowls at the menu before ordering a Foldorian-style sandwich. Then he asks Uskua to make it a double before muttering about how Foldorians tend to make everything too small.
Nekshi orders her usual, eying Granite Spear with puzzlement.
As she hurriedly enters the orders and hustles away, Uskua looks like she needs a vacation.
Nekshi grins, "Perhaps this is how we should deal with our enemies, by sillying them to the point of distraction."
"You can never resist the urge to kick the tree bark, can you Old Root?" replies Mon'Fargret.
"I apologize for the strangeness, Wirg, but if you recall, she wasn't the big talker back when that fellow shot the floor. Oddly, that fellow has an interesting story of his own that I won't go into here."
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