Who's Vaen?

[Peridan]

A slender hooded man walked into Jimmy's, a lute case on his back along with a massive great sword. He took a seat towards the back and laid his equipment against the wall. The figure swung his feet up onto the table with a thump. The tavern took no notice to him, to which the hooded figure grumbled a "Bloody Primes."

Morpheus Oneiros looked around the room, sizing up most people in the bar. Of course, he covered up his movements with a drink from his recently purchased glass of ale. He really didn't feel like getting caught and having to deal with a "You lookin' at ME?!" He pulled out the scribbling of Vandalay and took another look at he notes contained therein. Vaen, huh? Who was this Vaen berk anyway?

He whistled a little song tinged with bardic magic, and his possessions as well as himself became all that more unnoticeable in the busy tavern. Not that he really needed too, but it never hurt to be safe, especially when his lute was concerned.

Morpheus made his way over to Jimmy, his swinging gait easily avoiding the drunken patrons stumbling around the tavern. He leaned against the bar, his skinny elven frame contrasted to Jimmy's bulk as he cleaned glasses with something that looked like a rag wiped in the gutter, sneezed upon, and then taken out back to be used as a wipe for a case of explosive diarrhea.

The bard paused for a second to reflect on his ale still sitting in the largely unnoticed corner. He shrugged. He has had worse. Like that time when the tiefling farted on the ooze elemental and...never mind.

Loudly, he cleared his throat at Jimmy, to which Jimmy looked up and grunted. "What'd ya have." Morpheus looked him in the eye and used all of his bardic persuasiveness. "This cutter needs to know a bit about a man named Vaen." Jimmy shrugged. "I could care less, elf. Take it elsewhere."

Morpheus slumped against the bar in shock, but quickly regained his composure. "Fine, ye want to play it that way then, eh?" Jimmy grunted again and turned away.

Morpheus sighed. This was always the hard part. He dipped his hands in a glass and rubbed them all over his face until he smelled like cheap ale. He started to hiccup, and stumbled his way over to the meanest looking guy in the bar. He tapped him on the shoulder. "You lookin' at me?!" he slurs. This should be good.

[Peridan]

The huge brute of a human was at least six and a half feet tall, his heavily muscled arms covered in scars and a huge axe was strapped to his back.

He turned to Morpheus, his eyes a little unfocused due to his intoxication. "What do you want?" he growled.

Morpheus hiccuped again, and pointed his wavering finger at the man. "I said, ye were lookin' at me the wrong way."

The human shook his head, "Well, I'm very sorry but my friends say I should try to control my temper by not responding to these types of bar room provocations."

Morpheus stared at the man for a second. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Well, there was that one trick, but he had better get ready to duck... Morpheus swayed drunkenly back and forth. "Well, I think I knows ye."

The man cocked his head to the side in puzzlement. "I do not believe I've ever met you, good sir elf." Inwardly Morpheus rolled his eyes. It figures he has to pick the most gentleman-like the this bloody hole in the wall.

He pointed his finger a few inches form the mans face. "Yeah I do, the family resemblance is unmistakable. Yer mom charged me twice as much as she should have last night, she's gettin' on in her years an all."

The entire bar went silent. The man looked as though something had crawled up his rear and made permanent lodging there. His huge arm muscles bunched with his hand tightening around his glass of ale. The glass cracked and everyone in the bar stared at the glass as it suddenly shattered.

Then all of the Hells broke loose.

[Peridan]

Morpheus ducked under the first massive fist that came flying his way by rolling exit via stage right. When he came up he wasn't surprised to see the huge man flying at him with the other fist, ready to pound his face into mincemeat. Morpheus spied a half-orc at the table next to him, and quickly leaped behind him.

The half-orc, thinking that the huge man was coming at him and not the crafty little elf behind him, decided to take a preemptive strike and so threw a chair at the man. A new enemy appearing, the huge man and the half-orc started to grapple around the bar, starting more fights as they went along, until the entire bar was in an uproar.

The door to the bar opened and a City Watch member stared inside. "What the--" He didn't even get as far as asking what the problem was, because a table was flying conveniently in his general direction. He shut the door just in time and decided that he was most assuredly not being paid enough for this.

Meanwhile, Morpheus found himself dealing with a very angry elven rogue companion of the huge man that he had pissed off so thoroughly. He had his hands up in the air as he found twin daggers at his throat. The elf snarled at him. "Look what you did! It's been a Seldarine-begotten day already, and I was looking forward to some rest! You'll pay!"

Morpheus shrugged as he slowly made his way to his table where his sword lay. "Well, if it's rest ye want, I can certainly tire ye out until ye sleep like a newborn." He winked. The rogue rolled her eyes. Morpheus' eyes widened, "Look out!" He pointed behind her. The rogue whirled around daggers at the ready.

Besides the fighting, there wasn't anything behind her... Oh shite.

She turned around again, but found herself looking the the blade of a very large piece of sharpened steel with a grinning Morpheus at the end of it. "Eat this!" She practically flew back while throwing her daggers at Morpheus' face. His blade came up in a guard, blocking one. The other barely missed his face but took his hood clean off.

Rubbing his mohawked head, he almost didn't notice the flick of silver coming at him again. As he raised his blade in a guard, a thin silver chain wrapped around his blade. The elven rogue had a grin on her face and the chain wrapped firmly in her hands.

Morpheus shook his head. "Good idea lass except..." She frowned. "Except what?" He chuckled as he whistled a bardic magic that made his arms look like steel cables.

"Except I'm a wee bit stronger than ye, berk." He yanked on his sword, making the relatively light elf fly across the room and hit the wall with a heart-stopping thud.

As she fell, Morpheus leaped over and lightly caught her. "Sorry lass." He set her unconscious body down gently in the back of the bar. In the meantime, the fight was wrecking the bar at a exponential pace. Morpheus made his way over to Jimmy.

[Peridan]

Jimmy was beating off drunken brawlers with a mace he had behind the counter that was shaped like an ale mug. With a mighty swing he hit a dwarf a little too into his cups and far too into fighting into a wall, where the dwarf did not get back up. Morpheus dodged and ducked over to the side of the bar with Jimmy in it.

He was only a few feet away when out of nowhere a gnome dressed in monk's garb appeared. Morpheus muttered, "Ye have got to be kiddin' me..." The monk's neck bulged and his face turned red as he let out a loud kiai and made an impressive showing of his martial skills by throwing multiple lightning fast punches into the air. He then pulled a pair of kama's out of his belt and was a literal whirlwind of steel in a exhibition of his mighty gnomish power.

He grinned at Morpheus and crooked a finger at him. Morpheus grinned and muttered a spell under his breath. A lance of pure flame leaped out of his hand and all that was left of the gnome was a dark smudge on the den wall.

"Gnomish monks," he grumbled. "What's next, dwarf sorcerers?" Morpheus rolled out of the way of a flying human and ended up right next to Jimmy. " 'ello there cutter. Ready to tell me about Vaen now?"

Jimmy glared at him. "Why in the Hells should I do that?" Morpheus grinned at him. " 'cause I can stop this with a little whistle." Jimmy ducked as an ale mug smashed against where his head would have been. "Fine! Just do it already!"

Morpheus winked. "Sure thing cutter!" He made his way past the combatants to his lute int he corner of the den. Whistling to himself, he quickly strung it and tested a few notes.

Morpheus jumped on top of the table, his voice amplified by a minor magic. "Rock a bye baby, on the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock..." Everyone stopped to watch the bard. Frozen in place, their eyes gently drooped until everyone in the bar was sleeping on the floor or leaning against those who they had been beating with fists and wooden objects a moment before.

Jimmy wisely had his ears plugged and let out a sigh of relief as only snores could be heard. Morpheus jumped lightly off the table and over to Jimmy. "Now then. Who's this Vaen fella?" Jimmy gave Morpheus a look. "He's a head paladin of the Triumverate. Real head man and whatnot. That fella Hano was in his service for a while, but I hear he's getting old and let Hano go on his own way. Ye could probably find him at the temple."

Morpheus blanched. "Thanks Jimmy, ye've been a real help." Jimmy grumbled something about elves and their reproductive organs and where to stick them. Morpheus walked over to his hood and brushed it off. As he put it on his head, he spied the silver chain still wrapped around his great sword. A thoughtful look came onto his face as he coiled it and hung it from his side. He nodded in pleasure. Then the thought of Vaen re-entered his mind. He made a face as he stepped over a half-orc with a halfling sleeping on top of him.

With his trusty chain, hood, lute and greatsword, Morpheus stood silhouetted against the morning light streaming into the den."Paladins... I hate Paladins..."