A Cure for a Multitude of Ills

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Log Info

  • Title: A Cure for a Multitude of Ills
  • Place: Fernwood Pub
  • Summary: After a day of errand running and dropping off his artificial eye with the Artificer's Guild for a checkup, Dolan takes Andelena to the Fernwood Pub for a well-deserved meal. While knocking back ales and eating stew, Dolan lets Andelena in on the discoveries he's made with Auranar and Magpie about the demon army the Nightmare's raised. Once Andelena learns about it, of course, she's on board to bring Daeus's light to one particular general, a Jagoroth. But first... food.

Midafternoon at the Fernwood is its usual self. There are a few people in here, but the majority of people have gone back to work after the noon meal, and it is too early yet for the supper and evening entertainment crowd. Dolan, however, had had a few errands, one of which had taken longer than expected. He'd left the artificial eye with the Artificer's Guild earlier in the day to see if they could determine why the overwhelm had caused the device to malfunction. After an extended wait, they'd kept it for the moment to study it more.

A few more errands in the marketplace, to refill adventuring supplies and rations, and they've stopped for a late lunch at the Fernwood. Dolan now sports an eyepatch over his right eye instead of the golden gem, and sits such that his right side faces the wooden wall. Ale sits before him, and a plate of stew is incoming.

There's another ale next to Dolan's that gets scooped up by a certain redheaded Sunguard. Andelena tips it back and gulps it down, putting it back onto the table. She stretches out afterward for a moment, cracking her neck as she moves it from side-to-side, and she leans back into her chair, relaxing. "Fuck me," she says, "I am ready for that stew. Running errands always seems to make me hungrier than anything."

Her eyes wander up to Dolan's face and she smiles. "Y'know, obviously I want them to get the eye back to you sooner rather than later, but I'm not objecting to the eyepatch at all."

That, at least, brings some of the grin back to Dolan's face. Since he'd left the eye behind, he'd been quiet, businesslike, and more than a little nervous, looking around him frequently. Now that he is here, though, he seems to have settled down some, and leans back in his own chair, taking his ale with him as he does so. "Yeah. Sorry to drag you all over the marketplace. You see, there's something I'm chasing. I think you'd better know."

"Naw, not dragging me along, Bry, you know that," Andelena responds with a smirk. "Just am happy to spend as much time with you as I can get. But, uh, what's the thing you're chasing?" She brings her ale back up to her mouth as she asks.

Down goes another gulp, and then she adds on, "I mean, you're pretty thrifty, but I don't think you mean you're looking for a deal on a new mattress. Not yet, anyway."

"If it's a new mattress you want, baby, I'll be sure to give you a reason to replace the old one." This time, a wicked grin splits the mobile half of Dolan's features, and he sets the mug down and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "No, you remember the imp I took out, right? The one that said that his master sends his regards? Well, I know who his master is."

Andelena can't help but let out a guffaw at Dolan's cheek. "Daeus knows we already broke the bedframe on that shitty little thing in my old apartment--mattress would be the next fuckin' thing that goes," she says. "Y'know what, maybe we oughta..."

She shakes her head and looks more intent now, steel-grey eyes fixed onto Dolan. "Table that for later," she says. "You know the head honcho? Maybe we could investigate and find out where it is. Take it right the fuck out before it gets up to worse trouble."

It's at this point that two plates of stew are set on their table, one in front of each of them, and Dolan hands the serving girl several coins, paying for both their meals plus a little extra. "Yeah, it's one of the generals in the demon army working for the Nightmare. It's the leader of that gods-damned werewolf pack. I've got another one of the statues and a lead on at least one and maybe two more. Taking it out isn't going to be easy."

Andelena murmurs a prayer of thanks over the stew and digs in. Once she's gotten a couple of bites of meat down the gullet, however--she can't shake the part of her noble upbringing that taught her not to eat with her mouth full--she tilts her spoon a little in Dolan's direction as she talks. "Sleep with dogs and you get fleas," she says. "It's what this whole damn business reminds me of. Can't just be some fuckin' agents of the Hound sowing chaos--they gotta get a fucking demon army to boot."

She washes down the bites of stew with another gulp of her ale. "But, nothing worth doing is easy. Y'got any ideas on where to go with this thing?"

Dolan had similarly blessed his meal, then tucked in while she did so, and continued while she talked. It's clear that he, too, had worked up a healthy appetite, and it takes him a minute to wipe his mouth and answer. "Yeah. The man's friend is out in the farmlands, and the wizard who got them the info is probably someplace in Rune." Another bite of stew, followed by a slurp of ale. "Think you're up for coming with us?"

"Yeah, let's do it," Andelena says. "Sounds like a good time to me. Fuck up demons, fuck up the Hound's plans, piss off some overgrown dog-men, good time all around." She shovels another couple of bites of stew into her mouth, pausing for a moment before she adds on, "I am just as responsible as you are for keeping the people safe, after all." The weight of the oath is there in her words, but it's a proud sort of responsibility. After all, Andelena wearing casual clothes like today is a rare sight compared to her wearing her Sunguard uniform.

There's that grin again, and Dolan sits up a little straighter. "I'd hoped you'd say that. This just got to be about more than just some wizard or priest lackey. I want to take this thing out. I know he's got other lackeys, but -" Suddenly, he frowns, the mobile half of his features furrowing. "That explains the fiend-wolf that threw me into the northern gate," he scowls.

"Fuck. I've got a nasty feeling about this." He sets down his spoon, and turns his head to locate his tankard of ale. "Hope they figure out what's going on with that thing soon."

"I hope so, too," Andelena scowls. "Honestly, if I was certain I wouldn't get my ass kicked, I'd just start beating up anyone who looked even remotely wolf-adjacent until I got answers, but that's also not really a good way to go about things. I mean, you know, some motherfuckers are just naturally hairy."

That last bit puts a grin back on her face as she eats her stew. "Either way. Once we locate the enemy, bringing 'em to justice will be great stress relief." 

GAME: Dolan rolls will: (14)+9: 23

Dolan is about to take another swig of his ale when the commentary about naturally hairy comes out. An uncontrollable snort that is the prelude to a belly laugh escapes him, but at least he hasn't actually drunk yet, so a spray of ale across the table at his fiancee is evaded for the nonce. Instead, the snort goes into the half-empty mug, and he slowly sets it down, both sides of his face wreathed in laughter, the scars pulling beneath the patch. "You better not," he manages through laughter.

it takes him a minute to re-gather his equilibrium enough to pick up his spoon and resume his meal, although he is still snickering. "Yeah. I want this lot gone."

Andelena laughs hard, too, her face thoroughly cracked in a wide grin. "Sorry, hun, didn't mean to make you almost choke," she also manages through laughter. "It's true, though. There was one man my father employed to split wood, and the fucker was so big and hairy that I called him Mr Bear when I was a kid. He thought it was the funniest thing ever, but my mother didn't think it was so funny--then again, nothing ever was."

She lifts her ale back up and knocks back the last of it. "But yeah, I want 'em gone, too," she says. "People deserve better."

Still laughing, Dolan waves his spoon at her. "Your mother had no sense of humor." Chuckle. The spoon is finally employed to its intended purpose, and he takes a couple more bites of stew to settle himself. Eventually, he slides back into seriousness. "Yeah. It's a devil, but I don't care. I want it stopped."

There's a more genuine smile that lights up Andelena's face, warmth in her steel-grey eyes that wells up in them and settles there as she hears Dolan's last words. "You did say you wouldn't run anymore," Andelena says to Dolan with a smile. "I'm proud of you, Bry. And so happy. Really, really fuckin' happy."

She polishes off the last of her stew and puts the spoon down. "We'll take it down together. You won't go in alone."

"I won't, Andie. It didn't do any good anyway, when I did. And-" All of his laughter fades, and he stares into his stew. "I still want to protect you, Andie. I want you to know that. But - if I'm not here, I can't do that. And -" He trails off, falling into an awkward silence.

"The feeling's mutual, Bry. Trust me, I get it." Andelena reaches across the table, holding out her hand to him--just to remind him that she's still here. "There's nothing worse than the fear of what could happen, and I still kind of beat myself up sometimes--that I wasn't home for that, that I can't be there for you when you get beat up. But I have to trust in the Knight's graces. I have to trust that He protects us when we're apart and when we're together. It's more than just us at work here."

Andelena smiles gently. "Plus, we have people we can lean on for help. It's not just the two of us versus it all. Y'gotta remember that, Bry, or it'll fuck with your head."

"Don't I know it. We've got help. Good help. it's going to take all of us to bring this fucker low, Andie. We're talking about a general in the army of the Iron Hells, here." Only somewhat mollified, Dolan returns to eating, pausing only long enough to take a swig of ale. "I need you to meet Magpie."

Andelena's just about finished with her meal and drink--apparently she was famished and thirsty. The mention of Magpie causes her to raise a brow. "Person named after a bird? Eh, I guess there's weirder shit," she says. "Guessin' Magpie's been helpful in the investigation. Sure, we can all meet up and talk specifics."

Dolan is not lazy with spoon, either, and shortly his meal is gone as well. "Blonde gnome girl. She's been helping me with research, along with a couple of others. His right hand hunts around for a moment for his mug, then finds it and picks it up. He stares mournfully into it. "You're right. The Knight's got my blind side. I've got to remember that."

"And so do I, and so do all of our allies," Andelena says warmly, nodding with the sentiment. "Probably shouldn't go looking to fuck up that demon until we get your eye back, though. Here's hoping they get it done sooner rather than later."

She grins a little. "Can't have my man getting migraines every time he calls on the Knight to go looking for little demonic shitheads. Don't think it'd be conducive to your career as a hotshot Corona."

"Hells' bells, no, Andie. We're not doing a damned thing until they figure this out. Most of the time, it's fine. It's just if I come across something strong enough to overwhelm me. The eye just goes haywire." Dolan finally leans back and chuckles equally warmly, but he has turned his head just a little, so that he can see her fully. He still seems just a touch nervous, but he's been that way since the Guild this morning. "Even if they don't, I'm not going to stop doing what I do, baby. I just - have to be a little more careful."

Andelena continues to grin. "I know you won't stop," she says. "Part of what I fuckin' love about you, Bry, especially these days. Giving up's not an option."

She looks down at her cup and looks thoughtful. "Kinda thinking about a second one of these," she says, "but maybe we oughta go home before we end up getting shitfaced. Which, y'know, not a bad thing, but probably should be other things we do with the day besides drinking like we're teenagers again."

This time, Dolan's grin returns in full force, and he reaches for the knapsack beside his chair. She's come to find out that this was a side purchase on his part, and is an interesting little find - it holds far, far more than a pack of its size ought to, and he never seems to have to root in it. He reaches in, and whatever he was after is right there at his hand. He's been using it to hold their various purchases and parcels, and now he picks it up, standing up and swinging it over his back. "You did say you wanted to replace the mattress."

"Impressive little bag," Andelena comments as she eyes the knapsack. She rises from her chair and pushes it in so someone else doesn't trip over it and fall in their inebriated state. "I oughta get one of those. Especially since we both know I can't pack for shit."

She grins at Dolan as he mentions the mattress. "Y'know, that's one thing I definitely don't mind from our teenager days," she says. "Let's go buy one of those downy feather ones that make you feel like you're sleeping on a cloud. I think we fucking deserve it, at least."

This time, Dolan's cheeky grin answers right back. "And no bedframe," he agrees. "Probably for the best, given what I'm planning for it. Let's go."

Food and conversation cure a multitude of ills.

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