Life of a adhoc Bartender - Adam

[Guest]

*Said with a lack of enthusiasm* "The Hell's Maw, come get a drink. The last safest place before heading into village full of possessed people with bloodening tendencies" *Adam wipes down another mug and checks the ever dwindling supply of stock* "The Hell's Maw, where if the demons don't scare you off, the regulars will..." *He sighs, cleaning an already clean mug to pass time, he looks through one of the windows and with a bit of enthusiasm shouts* "Hey! .. Hey! Be respectable, it could be a potential customer! Take the skulls and whatever else your doing off the table!" *Adam watches, his shoulders slowly slumping, as the armored figure run past the tavern and towards the village. Adam spins on heel, now facing the regulars* "Alright, time to put the pool back up! Two hours, I'll find him dead! Method of death .. .. I'll go with pitchfork this time, any takers?"

~Some time later, in the village

*Adam with his trusty cold iron knife, all crouched and slowly walking through the village. He checks the houses one by one as he goes, he knows he's no sneak but having invisibility sure makes him feel like one, he quietly talks to himself which appears to be something he does regularly when on his own* "Pitch fork.. .. Pitch fork. Or living, living is good too..." *He turns the corner into what passes for the villages square and trips, stumbles and falls. He curses to himself, looking over at the possessed who are milling around. Adam stands up slowly and carefully then turns to see what made him fall. His eyes widen and in the spur of the moment, forgetting himself and his surroundings he shouts* "The Scythe-man got another one?!" *The howls of the possessed make Adams head snap back over his shoulders as the four within the square start running in his direction* "Bloody hells! No no no no no!" *Adam starts running, back through the village not daring to look over his shoulder least of all he trips again or slows down enough to get a rake in the back. He bursts through the doors if the Hell's Maw, panting* "Scythe... Chest.... Mess, barricade the door. Villagers on the move!" *Adam closes the door, and while trying to find anything to barricade it one of the shady regulars from the table yells* "Doubt they followed you back here like that! You idiot, you're still invisible. Now, get me another ale and take it from my winnings..."

The Hell's Maw ... Last safest place before venturing into Argyle, If the demons don't scare you away.. The regulars will, and if you don't heed the warnings, you too will end up possessed, mutilated or dead.. Or maybe a mixture of all three, who knows? But if you're truly unlucky, you step inside this tavern so we can all get a good look at you. We'll smile and greet you warmly. We'll even buy you a drink... Maybe. It's all a sham of course, we just want to get to know the horse were betting on before it dies...

[Guest]

~Some time during the night...

*Adam stands outside the tavern conversing with a man and a dwarf, words are exchange and eventually all part ways. He walks inside with a slight smirk* "Any takers? Got two more, two more braving the cemetery, magics all included! A dwarf and a man. My bet tonight. Neither will die, both will live. Pools open again! Two hours, that's the timeframe, you all know the rules after all... But I'm feeling like we could all use a refresh!" *Adam paces backwards and forwards behind the bar* "Two hours is always the timeframe, you can bet on if they go missing, to never be found again.. But that comes with a risk, if they turn up at a later date" *Adam smirks* "You forfeit your next set of winnings. Doesn't matter if you bet a stag this time and a hundred stags next time. Its the rules.. Also accounts for if they slip out the back, if you know what I mean" *Adam fills a few mugs and passes them around* "You can bet on if they'll return alive or dead. If you bet on death, don't be boring about it! Select a weapon choice! Cane's metal bars.. Rakes, pitchforks, ripped apart by hands or claws.. You get the idea. You can even bet part of the Keep falling on them! As unlikely as it is..." *Adam picks up his mug from under the counter. The same well worn wooden mug with his name scratched into it. He fills it and takes a good long drink* "The final rule! And perhaps the most important one! .. Don't interfere, let them do their thing. They've all heard the warnings. They know what lurks there..."



The Hell's Maw... Last safest place before venturing into Argyle, If the demons don't scare you away.. The regulars will. Stop by some time, we'd love to see you... Ignore the grumbling man over there, he just lost his bet is all .. .. Oh you want to know the bet? Well.. His one was that you'd be maimed and torn.. Ripped apart by a demon-flesh zombie in the graveyard, those odds were a good pay out this night.. Here, have a drink on the house.

[Guest]

*Adam slams his mug down, a grin* "Pay up .. I bet on that one coming back alive. Hell's, I won one for once" *He fills up a couple of mugs, passing them around* "So I had an interesting conversation.. Although you already know, you were here with me" *Adam chuckles while taking a drink from his own worn mug* "Ever heard of Sundrite? You probably have.. There's a whole mine of mutants, magic eaters. Not only that! It even looks like you can fuel a portal with it. Hell, it even looks like you can make weapons and armor with it" *Adam nods as he talks, every so often sipping from his mug* "Seems like it'll do a whole lot of things.. Wonder if it could be made into an ink? Hah, Armand, I bet it'd make for an interesting tattoo right?" *From a pouch, Adam produces a piece of parchment* "So weapons, armor.. A fuel source. What do you think about a Tanar'ri prison? Maybe see if it has some kind of effect on them too... Surely it could power the wards keeping it there? Maybe we'd need the bars to be made of it too" *He writes his thoughts down, taking a moment to drink* "What about seeing what it does to the possessed? Hah.. Now that'd be an idea. Oh! Or what about seeing if we could.. Make it into a liquid-like form and put it straight into their veins. Maybe a new type of mutant, who knows"

The Hell's Maw... Last safest place before venturing into Argyle, If the demons don't scare you away.. The regulars will. You'll stop by sometime because you're curious, because you never listened. See, you already knew about the afflicted.. But you never knew us.. You pass us by, while we watch. To you we don't exist, but we know you well. Come inside and make some friends.. Maybe we'll forge you into something new. How? Good question... Lets start with a piece of this Sundrite here. Friends help friends right? So help us.. Let us experiment...

[Guest]

*Adam pushes open the door. Ready to greet the patrons, being in a good mood he's decided to start a little bit earlier today. A bit of swagger in his step* "Bars open boys! .. .. Hey, who the hell is this?" *Adam watches as this blonde long haired man appears to be doing his job for him* "Well! Looks like I'm a patron today. Serve me up a stout!" *Adam says happily, a smile on his face. He flicks a few coins onto the counter*

~Meanwhile.. Within Adams mind

*A seething red leathery scaled monstrous visage of Adam, sitting in a chair, behind a desk... One might call this the organizer of his thoughts, another name for it could be his inner self. Whatever it is, its clearly annoyed. The creature smashes a hand down on the desk shattering it into a few pieces and with a pained roar* "Kdara?! Coodnyk 'nodr! 'rod ky dryk cmyyji Kdara jyyrk rana caryrj ZI con jyyrk ZI zyc!" *The creature smashes the desk more, taking then to the poor innocent chair. The creature throws it against the wall*
((For those of us who don't speak Infernal *Coughs* everyone. Translation: STEVE?! Baators wrath! What is this bloody Steve doing behind MY bar doing MY job!"))

*More unintelligible heated words take place between the creature and itself... And of course more things get broken. He screams about it costing him a position, to plots to over throw this 'Steve'.. All of it unproductive*

~On the outside, in the real world

"Cheers" *He raises the mug* "Could get use to being a patron" *He takes a seat next to some of the regulars, conversing, drinking. Generally being a good patron. He pays as he goes... Adam even shouts a round or two, seemingly happy to be apart of the festivities instead of serving them.. The day turns into night, the night draws out and Adam eventually finds a place to sleep it all off*


The Hell's Maw... Last safest place before venturing into Argyle, If the demons don't scare you away.. The regulars will. We have a new barman it seems.. Lets all welcome Steve, a long blonde haired lad... Make his welcome warm and nice, he won't be here long.. You ask why? Well that'll be a story in itself.. If you ever hear screams from the cellar, its alright.. I'll be hiring a new man called George soon enough, he's had previous experience as a barman. I'm sure he'll do just fine managing the kegs, the bottles and the rest of the stock down there full time.. In the dark. With James. Who's James? Well my good friend, I picked James up out of the body of a bandit. See, for some the skeleton keeps the body upright.. Something the muscles cling to so they can all work and stuff.. But James, well I hatched James from a bandit, I set him free... He is forever loyal and grateful, and he'll watch you Steve I MEAN GEORGE. He'll make sure you do your job well..

[Guest]

*Adam, this night has a small grin on his face. Talking to no one in particular.. Or possibly the entire room. The sound of a cleaver hitting wood is heard* "Always a bit messy. See, I was told. Always told. You've got to cut the heads off." *Another swing of the cleaver.. Another thud* "You've got the spine.. The heart, Hell! You could even drown it if its alive in its own blood with a good cut" *Another thud of the cleaver* "People are the same" *He twirls the cleaver, looking up momentarily* "Take old Steve for example. My daytime replacement" *He points the cleaver towards the room* "Could skillet em, could cut off the head, drown him... But the problem. Is the nerves, so I'm told." *Adam sets the cleaver aside and picks up a knife* "With the body all jiggling around... The brain still doing some 'brain-things' it makes it hard to cut and prepare" *He sets down the cleaver and picks up a knife while looking down at the counter, cutting the meat into strips* "Maybe old Steve could weigh in? .. Eh, probably not" *True to its nature.. The body starts jiggling a little* "Gah! See?! I took the head off too damn late... Should've done that before I came in with it. Ah but you know me. Keeping it all clean and tidy for ya all. It's just how much I care about your experience in the Hell's Maw"

*Adam looks up from his work, taking time to fill his mug and have a drink* "So! How's the pool looking, who's won and who's lost, any new regulars? Don't be shy.. Speak up!" *Looking around and probably seeing no one new, he returns to cutting up the meat and doing his best to get it cooked* "I'll forgive you lot this time.. Just this time though, I had a good night being a patron. While staring at .. 'him'.." *He sighs* "Do my best you know, and you get a daytime man that in the ends just .." *An unenthusiastic gesture to the counter* "A piece of meat, pretending to be something it ain't. He doesn't know anything about this place! He won't take your bets! HE DOESN'T CARE LIKE I DO!" *He closes his eyes and takes a few breaths, and a drink from his mug* "But I said I'd forgive you lot.. And I will. Even brought you all a peace offering" *Adam grins, serving the meat onto plates* "Now... Who wants a bit of chicken? Seems alright! Caught it myself right here in Argyle from the village!" *He stares around the room* "Chickens chicken, eat it or don't" *He sets the plates down, he stabs one of the pieces of meat with his knife and takes a bite* "Ain't half bad. Had better.. Had worse.. "

The Hell's Maw... Last safest place before venturing into Argyle, If the demons don't scare you away.. The regulars will. You replaced me throughout the day, You should've told me. Common courtesy after all, but not even a note.. You're you're forgiven though, just this time. Try some of the chicken, I'm proud of it.. Put a lot of effort into making that so don't expect it often.. Don't tell Steve, I don't want my ideas stolen.. Do you think Steve drowns or jiggles? Perhaps both...Maybe I'll catch him in Argyle one day too..

[Guest]

*Adam sits on a chest, he unpacks his only valuable possession from his pack. A small keg he poached from the great unknown* "You're lucky, I take good care of my patrons you know. I pride myself in all my work" *He fills up his mug, as well as two others, he sets these two mugs down beside his new companions who stare back at him silently and unmoving* "Todays selection, the best of my own collection.. A nice dwarvern brew. You should be honored. I don't share it with just anyone.." *Adam takes a good long drink, looking at the walls around him. He makes small talk with his two new patrons although.. They don't really talk back, or maybe they do?* "Ya see the other three I was travelling with? An elf woman as bright as the sun, a gnome lady or a skinny dwarf woman. Too afraid to ask, and an elf man with a huge flaming sword? No? .." *Adam laughs* "Course ya haven't!" *He nudges his two silent friends* "Ya got no eyeballs! You're seeing a whole lot of nothing! .. Come to think of it" *He takes the two full mugs off the skeletons he's propped up in the corner* "You've got no stomach either so you won't need these"

*Adam over time makes his way through the three mugs of ale, storing two mugs but always keeping his personal one with 'Adam' scratched into it. He slumps against the wall forever grinning at the two long dead people sitting against the wall* "You're homes not very welcoming you know, necromancers and dead folk everywhere. Needs a bit of cleaning... Spose its a graveyard though. Mm.." *He taps the statue with his full mug* "That trick-torch is a good one, good trap. Let's ya in. Doesn't let ya out. Spose thats how you two got here too.. But don'y you worry, your good bartender can get out of here. There's always a way... See I learned something a long time ago, if you can go somewhere. You can always find your own way back.." *Adam points with his mug at his two companions* "Except you two, I'ma enjoy a few nice quiet drinks before slipping away..."

~Some time later

*Adam bangs on the stone walls of the crypt* "Keep it down out there! Trying to enjoy a few quiet ones with Jake and Scott! Have some gods damned respect for that" *He looks at his still dead friends* "Nerve of these ones.. Moaning and shambling about, if you're going to make that much noise, come buy a damned drink at least.. Anyway, found me a treasure. I'm told its pretty valuable" *Adam shows a multi colored crystal, a grin as it begins to glow* "I'll see you boys later.. I've got somewhere to be..."

The Hell's Maw... Last safest place before venturing into Argyle, If the demons don't scare you away.. The regulars will. Only, today isn't Argyle.. Today is a day spent trapped within a crypt. I should've listened to the gnome-dwarf.. She said it was a one way torch.. But I just had to see for myself. Jake and Scott though, good guys.. Real good guys. Their neighbors? Not so much ... Maybe we'll club them and teach them some respect..

((A fun post for me, since I got stuck. Beware the one way torch in the necropolis. You'll get in but you can't walk out))