The Arrival of the Half Elf

Nephalei, upon walking back into the inn, noticed that it was considerably more... empty... than it was. At first glance, it didn't look like anyone was around anymore. Then she turned a corner and saw that there was a man sitting at the bar. Well, why not? she figured, and went over to him.

She didn't sit down, for obvious reasons, but instead moved aside a bar stool and stood at the counter, leaning on it with her elbows. She turned to greet the man, but then stopped short as she noticed his long, pointy ears. An elf?

Wow.

She didn't think they existed. But then, this was a Great Adventure. It was full of surprises.

For a moment she paused, taken aback. But then she collected herself, and her slightly agape lips turned to a smile. "Hello," she said, though she didn't quite know what to say after that.

She was always all too eager to meet people, but wasn't particularly good at it.

"Ah, yes..." Her name. Right.

She really wasn't good at conversation.

"Nephalei," she said, "And I'm..." She paused, not quite sure how to answer the seemingly simple question of "how are you". She was a lot of things right now. "Well," she resumed, "I'm excited...happy...confused...curious...a little scared... and, well, just a bit tired, too." She named the feelings as she felt them. It was an unconvential answer to a very conventional question, but she was feeling rather daring and very honest. She laughed softly to herself and shook her head as she finished, realizing how silly she must have sounded.

"And what about you?" she asked, turning her eyes back to him. "How are you, mister...?" She waited for a name, just as he had.

"Pleased to meet you, Tarin." She nodded a greeting, then looked around. "I don't know if there is a tender. Everyone is...um... rather busy, it seems." She glanced back towards the main reception area - still empty. Everyone had gone downstairs and no one had emerged yet.

She turned back to Tarin. "You just missed quite some chaos, you know."

She hesitated for a moment, thinking of how to explain when she really didn't know much herself. Besides, didn't Seleen and the others want to keep everything fairly secret...?

"Well," she began, slowly, "I was hit by a runaway cart earlier today and hurst myself rather badly. I think my ankle was broken and I had a fairly deep cut, too. I came here with Vesta..." - she glanced around. Vesta was still nowhere to be found. - "...well, she's not here right now, but I'm sure she'll be back. I only met her this morning - truly, I only just arrived here this morning, and I don't even know how - but.. you know, it does feel longer..." She turned her head thoughtfully as that occurred to her. It really did feel as if she'd been here for days, when it had only been a few hours. Given, a few eventful hours, but a few hours nonetheless.

She blinked, bringing herself back to reality. "Anyway, yes... So Vesta and I came here, and it turned out that something was going on here, though I don't know what. I was healed, though, so that was good. Did you know there's magic here?" She supposed that was a stupid question to ask an elf, of all creatures. Clearly, elves and magic went together. "I don't know how I got here, but I'm certainly very far away from home. Where I'm from, there aren't any elves or magic or vampires or anything of the sort. It's rather boring, truly. But this place is like a fairytale, yes?" A smile creeped onto her face. She couldn't help it; it was just so exciting! "I probably should be trying to get home. It's the responsible thing to do. But I'm tired of being responsible, so I've decided that I'll stay for a bit." She paused, then added jokingly, "It shall be my Great Adventure, of course!"

She realized that she was rambling, then, and stopped talking. She was slightly embarrassed. She was doing this babbling thing a lot today, it seemed.

Madeline saw two others sitting at the end of the bar, conversating. She didn't want to be rude, but she did want to make a good impression ion the inn keeper.

"Excuse me Sir, Mam, could I be of service to you. My name is Madeline, and I'm the bartender/receptionist. If there is anything you need please let me know.

Nephalei looked at Vesta, her eyes wide. "A unicorn? Truly?" Was there every kind of magical creature in this place? Why, she could only guess how long it would be before she -

Her thoughts were interrupted by the bartender, Madeline, offering them something to drink, and then, moments later, by Armandeus offering food. Her stomach rumbled, having been reminded of how empty it was. No wonder; she hadn't eaten all day. To Madeline, she said, "I'll just have some water, please," and to Armandeus: "Thank you, a salad would be wonderful."

"Why don't you sit with us, Vesta?" she said, before turning back to Tarinilis. "I truly hope that it...the Great Adventure, I mean... doesn't go in a way that I don't want it to. I certainly don't know how to handle things here, if something goes wrong." She frowned, a bit put off by this possibility. She'd never thought of what she would do if something went wrong; she had no knowledge of this place, and no way to get home. Oh dear... that would be terrible.

But then she smiled and shrugged the thought away. "Well, hopefully that won't happen, anyway. Now... how did you get here?" She had to ask. Was everyone as lost as she and Vesta were, or was it just them? "She and I..." - motioning towards Vesta - "...we don't even know how we got here or how to get back."

Madeline fixed Nephalei her water and sreved her, then stepped away so shwe would not interupt any futher.

Bo and Derek emerged from the doorway to the basement. They exited the kitchen and walked over to Lord Armandeus. Bo spoke up out of habbit. "Lord Armandeus? I am Bo and this is Derek, we cook for our master in her keep and at her home. We were told that you might need some assistance. We are at your disposal sir." They both half-bowed to him and awaited instructions.

So it certainly seemed like Vesta had been making her way around, meeting everyone. That wasn't surprising; it fit with her personality.

She turned her head in curiousity when Tarinilis mentioned an "Alliance". There was nothing like that where she was from; was this a well-known organization here? Was it like... a religion? A cult? He almost made it sound that way.

It was also interesting that there were people here that came from within this...world. So not only were people from different places randomly wandering in... there were also people from nearby areas, traveling here on purpose...

hmm...

((Sorry about the crappy post, I had no muse. x_x))

Nephalei nodded thoughtfully. She paused for a moment, thinking, then leaned forward and asked, "Since you're from around here, I thought maybe you would know... have there been other...instances... in other places, where people like us" - she motioned to Vesta and herself - "...just come without even meaning to, from places that are..." She hesitated, not sure how to explain it. "Well, clearly not anywhere near here... other worlds, possibly, as odd as it sounds. Have you seen it happen before? Do you know how it happens?"

It was probably unlikely that he knew the answers she was looking for. But it was worth a try, wasn't it?