It's Raining Fish!
There's several things different about the Fernwood.. Kae has a couple roughly box-shaped doodads on a large table... She's serving out triangular crisps with red and green and purple of all colors, sauce... And these biiiiig flat round shaped breads with toppings all over them! Kae is currently cutting one into quarters and well nomfing on a slice, blinking a bit.. "Oooh this is tasty!!!" She says, looking surprised.. "Looots of gar-liiic!" She says, waggling her arms "Spicy Garlic!! Eeeee!!!"
Not only is Kaelyn offering her foods, but the Fernwood itself is offering free samples of a select number of their latest baches of drink. There's hard lemonade, sweet strawberry ale, even a new lager that smells heavily of cedar. The small samples are drawing in lots of business for the Fernwood, particularly along with the food. The kitchen has whipped up some special foods to complement Kayeln's own menu. Namely appetizers meant to whet the appetite and tempt people into sticking around for another drink; or three.
Elisabeth arrives, shield slung on her back... and looks for a place to sit as she pulls her helmet off her head to tuck under one arm. After a moment, she heads for a table across the pub from the fireplace. There, she hands her helmet from a wall-peg near her chosen seat, then leans her shield against the wall under the peg -- then takes her seat. When approached by a server, she asks, "Is there a menu of the offerings of the day?"
Kisa moves through the crowded doorway as she looks back to Tami. "NO. I /don't/ want to invest in the fur trade, even if it is a bit colder than usual right now, I want to save that for -full- summer, I think the prices are going to jump right now and while we'll make a little short term profit, I think we'll make more waiting." She crosses her arms, stomping her foot.
Tami stares and then rolls her eyes, "Fine. Fine. But silks are not rising and you've been having us buy it up."
"I-I-I /know/." Kisa throws her arms out, almost hitting a few people in the crowded pub as she starts toward the bar. "That's because I'm betting they'll start to shoot up in a month or so. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and we've lost a few hundred platinum. /Whatever/. But if I'm right, we'll make more than that which we can dump into the furs!" Kisa is moving through the crowds of people and it's not till she's next to Kae's table that she throws her arms up. "WHY IS IT SO CROWDED?!"
Kae waves her hands in the airs, flailing a bit "Woow look at all the people! As far as offerings... Umm I has corn crisps and spicy salsa stuffs, and I has Cenas, and meat pies and a sammich making machine, and... "She goes through this really big list of things, and well seems to have a machine that makes everything on the spot..
She goes over to one weird contraption, pulls a lever, and out comes a monte-cristo sandwich complete with the jelly, and proper chips!
Kae holds up the plate, grinning cheerfully, then offers the sammich to Elisabeth! "Here try! Tell me what cha think!!! I can also do this.." She says, and turns a knob on the same machine, pulls the lever and out comes a plate with a roast beef sandwich, with a black au-ju on the side....
Kae then waggles her arms.. "And if it's not sammiches.. well I got this too!!" More knob and button pushing and this time Kae hits a really big red button... A plate with what appears to be half a chicken on it, with some kind of stuffing, salad, and a small loaf of bread comes sliding out of the machine's chute.... "See! Lotsa of stuff! I can even program new stuff into em!!!" She calls out happily..
Kisa is now noticed and Kae is hopping up and down as she's waving frantically, "Kiiisaaaa! Look! I made the food machines I talked about so long ago! Free foooood!"
Elisabeth takes the monte-cristo plate... and then her eyes widen at the roast beef one. "May I have that one, instead?", she asks. "... and a strawberry ale, please?"
The door opens to admit a short woman in chainmail. She glances around the room before moving to the bar. Elpida settles down on a stool and relaxes, waiting the the barkeep to get close enough before ordering an ale. The woman returns to observing the other patrons.
Everyone is given the food and drink that they ordered promptly, the service here is excellent today with every waitress they have pulled in for the event. It's not exactly standing-room-only in here, but it is very friendly and most tables have multiple people at them sharing space. The air has a hum of conversation in it.
Which is when it happens. A small golden creature appears zipping through the air. It's only the size of a housecat from nose to tail; perhaps smaller. Golden though, as in the color of metal reflecting and shining brilliantly. At first glance it's hard to tell what it is, but at second you realize that it's a little golden dragon. It wheels through the establishment. "FIIIIISH!"
It's a high-pitched request/demand and it doesn't take long to realize that the dragon in question is circling Kaelyn's little area. "FISH!" It's definitely a demand.
Kisa waggles her arms up above her head as she stares at Kaelyn, and then a little squinty, but a further flail. "Kaelyn. Kae! You should not be giving way stuff completely for free. Especially since - /since/ - if I know you that machine hasn't been fully tested yet!" Another waggle of arms and then she lets them flop down to her sides. She's half expecting Kaelyn's machine to explode right there and then.
A turn to look at Tami, but someone short walks in. She leans up onto her tippy-toes. Was that a swamp witch?! Wait... nope. Nope. Okay. She sinks back down after giving Elpida a wave. Then it's back ff to Kaelyn. "Kae, even if it does work, I mean... you'll destroy economies and livelihoods if you give it all away for free!" She tosses her arms back up again, then looks back to Tami.
Tami however seems to be gone.
"Tami?!" Kisa looks about, then spots her assistant at the bar. Tami, it seems, has ordered herself the lager which smells of cedar. A sigh and she turns as suddenly.
Small golden creature?! She pulls her head up, looking side-to-side with a cant of her head. "FISH!" Kisa adds to the calls with a waggling of her arms.
Kae blinks a few times at the critter, and then also hands Elisabeth the roast beef sammich too "Has both!" She says happily... Then well back at Kisa and back to the flying golden thing, and a few other folks... Buuuut the wierd golden thingie gets handled fast. She's hitting a few buttons on her 'entre' machine and out comes a salmon on creut... basically salmon baked inside flaky crust.... And next? Fish'n Chips... She peers at the fly-y golden thing....
Kae casually slides the two plates off to the side and says "Heeey, golden thingie! There's fish!" She calls out and motions to the stuff..
Then Kisa mentions the not giving stuff away for free... "But But, I gotta test my machines! And why not give em away for free when they're testing the food my machines made! besides! I made a couple ooooother machines to kind of test things out first, this is the next iteration.. Before it was just snacks! Now I has, chips'n Dips, and cenas, and meat pies, and entre thingies..."
At the mention of pie, Kae makes the pie-making machine make a fish meat pie and puts it with the other fish stuff, before peering at Kisa a bit... A tilt of Kae's head and Kae shoves a large bowl of crisps into Kisa's hands, and also tries to put a chip with very tasty, but well fire-breathing warm salsa into Kisa's mouth... "Enjoy!" She calls out happily.
Then she notices Elpida, and Kae is waving again, flailing "Have free foods too!" she calls out, before Kae is busy whipping together various things for other orders... She peers at her machines, and runs off into the back, returning with bags full of raw ingredients which are put into the various machines, how the machines hold them is anyone's guess.... probably artifice or magic.. Who knows...
Kae then beams happily at Kisa.... "Aaaanyhoooo, folks get good food in exchange for trying out my machines, I'll start selling it when I get eeeverything perfected.. I'm thinking of an airship slash food wagon!"
There is absolutely no hesitation from the little golden creature. The moment that the salmon on creut is made it's diving in like a mad bomber. In seconds it's digging into the plate not even waiting for the next plate but when it's done the dragon pounces on it too. A third? It vanishes like magic. In fact you don't even remember seeing the little dragon take a bite. Did it swallow the food whole? Is it magic? Like a bottomless pit the dragon goes from plate to plate and in a matter of seconds everything with fish on or in it is gone.
"Fish?" The dragon burbles the word hopefully and happily, tail wagging back and forth and wings tucked close. Now that it's sitting still it's fairly remarkable. It's hard to tell gender on a dragon this size, but it /is/ a remarkably beautiful little thing.
Elpida peers at Kisaiya moment or two before waving back. Her drink arrive then and she drinks down half of in the time it takes to hand over the coin to pay for it. The golden dragon and its demands for fish earn a chuckle and a grin, and the woman turns to lean against the bar, to see what happens next. "Oh, no, I am just here for the ale. Thank you, though.", Elpida says in reply to Kaelyn's offer of food.
Elisabeth, taking the roast beef sandwich plate, dips the meat and takes a big bite of au jous soaked yumminess... then looks up, wide-eyed, at the little golden dragonling. Chewing hurriedly, she puts down her sandwich to reach for her ale as she works on clearing her mouth quickly -- in case there's trouble -- because she's not gonna just spit out a good roast sandwich, after all. In any event, it seems that there's no real trouble to be had, after all. After taking a swig of her sweet strawberry ale, she gets her hands on her sandwich again to dip it before taking another bite from it.
"FISH!" Kisa cries out again with her hands up in the air, "FI-HOOACK!" her words interrupted as Kaelyn shoves a chip into her mouth. She crunches away on it with her hands coming down, staring at the other after having nearly choked on the chip. She blinks and looks about to say something else when a bowl of chips are shoved into her hands with a little soss dip bowl attached. She dunks the chip into it, then nibbles away on the next chip. She makes a few gestures at Kae. A sort of circular one, with a head waffle, then a nod and a shrug. A pull of her mouth off to the side and then another few nods. It seems she's trying to have a telepathic conversation with Kaelyn.
Kae blinks at the creature a bit "That was enough food to feed a small family..." She mutters, and peers around, before making a large bread disk, covered in fish, little salty ones.. Next she goes to another one and makes fish-based dip, and then another fish pie, different type though, following that up with a whole salmon... She curiously sets those plates in front of the golden lizard.
She then nods at Kisa and tilts her head curiously... Kae goes over to her machines, looking from one to another, then shrugs and after hitting some things, one machine whirs to life, and then the other.. Before long Kae has waffle bits, and fried chicken.. She puts them both in a bowl and hands Kisa a large bowl of syrrup too?
More food for the dragon! The offerings are quickly downed. It might be enough food for /six/ families but the dragon seems to be a literal bottomless pit. The bread-disk with fish on it doesn't get eaten, just the little fish. Then with all the food gone the dragon wings its way up to Kaelyn's shoulder and sleepily lays there washing its paws with kitten-licks. It's warm to the touch and seems quite satisfied on its new perch. "Fish?" It chirps at her hopefully, batting big golden eyes.
Elpida enjoys her ale, and orders another while watching the golden dragon wolf down one fish dish after another. "How is one little creature able to eat so much?", the woman wonders. "Where are you putting it all?"
Kisa stares as her other hand is filled with chicken and waffle bits. She blinks and pushes both back toward Kaelyn. Clearly, Kisaiya's telepathy skills were not yet up to the task. She gives another wave of an arm and then shoves another chip into her mouth with soss and stares. Then, like the campfire game of old that some might remember oft played with white fluffs of sugar, she attempted the impossible.
"Shoo muff oooga nn aaaat. OOo aaaa oooooo?" Kisa stares at Kaelyn meaningfully as she says then then nods her head in a manner that says this was important.
Kae pawns off the chicken'n and waffle bits onto someone else and squints at Kisa "Ummmmm....." She tilts her head first lef, then right..... Next she makes a reallllllyyyyy big bowl of chips for kisa (the big potatoe kind not the crisps) and puts that out for her... with a tangy venegary red sauce...
Kae glances to the dragon now perched on her.. She blinks a few times... "Ummmmm... woooow, you can really put it down.." She peers at the disk... "Yer supposed to eat all the food before getting another plate... buuut.." She takes the disk and well pulls a gun like thing off the side of one of the machines, and points it at the disk, suddenly it's just well gone? Kae shrugs and peers back at her machines now..
Next Kae makes another deep fried fish thing, just the fish though, and puts that out on the table, before she peers at Elpida... "I have no clue? Dragon?"
More fish! The little dragon attacks the new fish dish with gusto. It then very lazily crawls across the table to Kaelyn's hand. Watching the machine with more intelligence than should make anyone comfortable. A little red tongue darts out across the dragon’s maw and it peers up at Elpida imperiously. "Ieatit! Itgoesinmystomach!" The words are said so fast that they jumble together; barely forming sentences at all. Golden eyes blink at the machine and the dragon saunters over to it, pawing at the machine with a claw. It rumbles. It gets pawed again. It rumbles again.
Suddenly it's /raining/ fish. Fish fly out of the machine like crazy, fish here! Fish there! Fish /everywhere/! Someone gets whacked in the head with one. Several people do in fact. Because they're raining down from the ceiling. How? Magic and artifice more than like. Either way the machine is tilted skyward and fish are flying in all directions. Someone yells happily, "FISH!"
Elpida sits up with a start when the voice in her head sounds. She eyes the little dragon curiously. "You've eaten several times your weight already, unless you're much bigger than you let on.", the woman says to the dragon. Then it starts pawing at the machine, and fish start to fly everywhere. "Er. Perhaps you should just stick your maw over the outlet there and let it shoot fish right into your stomach?" The Paladin starts edging her way to the door.
Kisa finds another type of bowl in her other hand now. This leads to some problems, she has a bowl in each hand. A blink, and this is not conducive to proper eating. Kisa does the only thing she can think of.
She leans her head down, dunking chip in soss before tilting her head back and munching away on the chip. She does this twice before.
SMACK!
Right in the face with fish. Both bowls go up into the air, raining down chips and sauce as her hands go flailing about at the fish flops down from her face and onto the ground next to her. She steps right on it, slips, and is sent tumbling into other patrons as Kisa seems to weigh at least 60 lbs more than she should... almost like she was wearing plate armor or something.
CHAOS RAINS WITH THE FISH!
Blink blink... "Umm dragon that's..." kae deadpans... "Not a good idea." As fish begin flying out of the machine, some even alive.... "Wooow, I didn't know it could do that!" She calls out, casually ducking a fish, before Kae puts up a large reinforced umbrella, and a pair of goggles... "It'll run out of fuel here realllyyyy soon, it's gotta be given material before it can make food stuffs, though living fish is a new one.." She says and rubs the back of her neck. She then shrugs. "Maagick..." She then peers at the dragon "Get enough feesh? can I turn it off before it explodes?" She asks the dragon curiously, as a rather large tuna bounces off her umbrella... "Umm Sushi anyone?"
Some ideas should never be spoken. Telling a little dragon that they should shove their face into the source of flying fish is one of them. Because that's exactly what the dragon does. Viciously with tiny claws the dragon pounces on the machine. "MAGICFISHBOX!" Is all that's heard before the muffled sounds of a five-pound dragon trying to shove its mouth around something that can hold a much-larger-than-it items. Claws go in every direction. Fish get eaten. Fish go flying. There's a low rumbling warning noise from the machine. A /dangerous/ rumbling noise.
The dragon looks up at Kaelyn offended for a second. As if it can't handle /this/! A fish goes flying! "MINE!" Smoke starts pouring out of the contraption and then suddenly.... They're gone. The machine, the dragon. The smoke, the raining fish. Gone without a trace.
The Paladin laughs at the sight of the dragon trying to handle all the fish, though the smoke coming from the machine is concerning. She shrieks and doubles over as the machine and dragon vanish. "W..why. Why do I think that somewhere, there's a village. And something explodes. FISH EVERYWHERE! Gears and cogs raining down." She guffaws. "And then... FISH? FISH!"
Kisa slowly stumbles back up to her feet, dusting off her dress and looking around. She stares for a long moment, then slowly starts edging toward the door without anything in her hands. Yep... Yep... Time to leave before everything else starts hitting the fan and people are asking others to clean up.
Inch-inch-siddle-inch.
Kae blinks a few times.. "Welll there goes the entre machine..." She says simply, not really having anything else to say... She blinks again and well all the fish are gone too.. "I soo hope that little dragon doesn't hurt its self...." She says and rubs at the back of her neck.. "I mean, looots of artifice in that machine to do all it does and whatnot.... " She adds... "course it'll probably just go on churning out fish, till it just kinda falls apart, my stuff doesn't noooormally explode.." Well that is one thing that is true, her stuff doesn't explode per say, turn a bunch of people into barnyard animal hybrids for a day? oh most definitely, maybe not literally explode....
Kae then blinks at all the chips and dips that were thrown by Kisa.... She holds up another bowl of chips and soz to the other, before she looks at Elpida... "Umm yeah, well soo you gave the dragon the idea to run off with my machine, it did..." She says and rubs at the back of her neck....
Elpida straightens to her full height, which is a few inches shorter, at least, than everyone else. "And where do you think you're headed?", the woman asks of Kisaiya. She looks to Kaelyn then and nods. "And my next idea is going to be true as well. You two made the fish, you two clean up." She guffaws again, and slips out the door (since she was there first!) with a slam.
-End