Quote Originally Posted by arnisd View Post
I'll go take a look at (2) Swollen Blister Tavern .... We're not going to try to get wasted and do stupid things.... BUT I mean, if I get offered drinks, I won't say no.
You can hear the music, chatter, laughter and liveliness of Swollen Blister Tavern even from a distance as you head along the dirt path coming from the bazaar laid out messily amongst the rocks. Long torches protrude from the ground either side of the path as you get closer to the building, most of them burning brightly as the remainder faintly glow from recent flames. You feel warmth touch your furred skin as you pass each one, keeping an eye out in the night.

You figure first that you should scout the outdoors while the locals are still unaware of your presence, so you depart from the path and begin to take a look around. You can see a fountain close to the tavern itself, but decide to leave that until last as you walk out to the perimeter and work your way in. Nothing of interest presents itself as you wander around, so your search leads you back to the fountain, which you note does not seem to be functional. It appears somewhat well constructed, however, complete with detailed carvings. You squat down, keeping your tail above the dusty ground, and start to inspect the fountain properly.

It looks new enough to have been made in the past few years, but it has not been well taken care of. You assume that the kommo-o who runs the tavern doesn't really concern herself much with the upkeep of appearances, at least not for the fountain. You peer in the fountain itself, noting six strange indents. It doesn't look like water has filled the tray in a long time, but these recent shapely indents suggest that someone has still been taking a liking to it. They appear to be in somewhat inconsistent shapes, but most appear at least mostly square. You reach out a paw to touch one of them, then recoil when you feel a slight burning sensation, and the indent begins to glow with a wispy, shadowy effect. You narrow your eyes. This was definitely touched by evil.

{Fountain Mosaic Indents: Six Missing Patches} was added to the Team Inventory.

Figuring the next logical course of action would be to take a look inside the tavern, you head in, and are hit with a wave of warmth immediately, accompanied by the heavy smell of food, sweat, and liquor. It's a lot to take in at once, but it's easy to get used to, and you barely notice it after a few minutes of mixing with the locals. You see many of the town's inhabitants here, as well as other species you don't remember seeing on the list of suspects. You gather that many of the outsiders who venture into Salvage Keep are keen on resting up and distracting themselves with booze and newfound camaraderie. You spot a scrafty projecting a hearty laugh at a table full of mercenary types, including a bisharp and a lycanroc, each of them partway through a jug of bowl of drink. A number of merchants can also be seen, most notably the ferrothorn that Verde spoke to earlier, and a cranidos nearby stalks over to the table and presents the patrons with a round of drinks, then heads back to the bar.

"Hey there, stranger," a feminine voice coos, and you spin around to spot a bipedal pokémon about a foot shorter than you with a yellow body and a dull pink enormous set of jaws protruding from her head. You recognise this pokémon as a mawile, and it appears that she does not possess regular colours. She gives you a charming smile. "Never seen you here before. Can I get you a drink?"

You are about to decline before you hold your tongue, then accept her offer. Her smile widens as she seems genuinely joyful with your answer, and tells you to sit wherever you please as she heads up to the bar, exchanges a few words with the cranidos, and begins to make your drink. You survey the tavern, picking a seat in a corner that is unoccupied, and sit yourself down. You note that both the table and the chairs are sticky, but you put up with it for now.

"...Silcress coming?" you hear someone ask.

"Nah...he's been acting completely weird," the lycanroc says, a frown on her face. "Delta's not feeling well tonight, so she stayed home, too."

You listen out for any further gossip, but the mawile returns with a drink in her hand. She is a little too short for the particular table you picked, so she turns around and holds out the drink, only for it to be clasped between the maw extending from her scalp. It reaches up further and places the glass before you, skillfully slipping the drink out without spilling a drop. She turns around, eyes filled with warmth. "Don't worry, stranger, it's still clean." She slips off back to the bar, leaving you alone with the drink. It's then that you notice that below your table lies a few splinters, so you pocket them, figuring whoever left them here probably won't miss them.

Added $31 SP$ to your Inventory.

You spend the remainder of the night inside the tavern, and after stealthy searching the place, you find nothing that stands out to you. Instead, you sit back at your seat and try to listen out for anything you can. You learn that the local kangaskhan, Imeida, lives nearby, but does not frequent the tavern at all. Someone mentions that her son was killed by the Stalkers, which might account for her absence, but you hear someone else state that she never came before that happened anyway. Sometime into the night, you spot the tavern owner, who seems to know almost everyone in her establishment. She challenges a patron to an arm wrestle and beats them with ease, then professes that the next round of drinks is on the house, which causes an uproar of enthusiastic shouts and cheers. She meets eyes with you briefly, and almost seems to be about to come over and introduce herself, but someone steps in before that can happen.

Not long after, you figure you should be getting back to the other Emissaries. You didn't pay for the drink that was offered you, but figure that it counted towards the free drinks offered at one stage. Putting it out of your mind, you head back to report what you found.


Brass the Braixen (M: Fire)
Health: 10/10| Sanity: 8/8 | Purity: 10/10
Battle Stance: Fight
Perk: Repair