Azazel really wants to devour the Compact metaphorically. Literally too, and he'll try for both, but he'll settle for one. Such is the case here. It's a shock to everyone when the dozens of floating mouths begin to appear, try to devour all who are present, but also the building itself.

In the Queensrest, he's particularly annoyed that humans have any right to consider themselves superior to ANYTHING. Of course he attacked the staff first, and the unfortunate lead server shall forever be remembered for his arrogance, dismissiveness, and nutritional content. But however satisfying it might be to see some of the snootiest people in the entire Compact devoured, it's up to them to stop it.

OOC: Azazel is trying to eat his way through the room partly on his way to devouring a path down to the thinnest point. There will just be two offensive rounds, and no defensive rounds, checked at hard. However, he is incredibly aggravated by anyone playing up to the nature of the Queensrest Inn. Anyone making an etiquette check does so at easy, and successes there particularly infuriate him and help drive him off. Failed rolls still get dangerous bites.

Tesha checks charm and etiquette at easy. Botch! Tesha fails badly.

Mirk checks mana and occult at hard. Critical Success! Mirk is spectacularly successful.

Ian checks composure and etiquette at easy. Ian marginally fails.

Medeia checks charm and etiquette at easy. Medeia is successful.

Madeleine checks wits and theology at hard. Madeleine is successful.

Lucita checks charm and etiquette at easy. Lucita is successful.

Sydney checks charm and etiquette at easy. Sydney is successful.

"He should be along soon," Mirk confirms in his low, rumbling voice. "He isn't quite as fond of human drinks as I am." He gestures towards the Godsworn. "But you're welcome to join me at the bar, if you'd like. You and your companion. I didn't catch her name? If-" He trails off, alerted immediately that something is wrong. He rises to his feet at once, reaching for his gauntlets and helmet, drink forgotten. He calls to the winds, his voice rising, as a gale of wind howls towards the floating mouths, so bitterly cold as to form ice in its wake. He's trying to imprison them in the ice, harmless. In the chaos, a taill, thin man with sapphire blue hair and silver eyes slams open the door, hurried.

It is most assuredly show your Dragon around Arx day. Or something like that. Tesha had promised to show Calumar libraries and things. But he found this place. There's a lot of familiar faces, but she is distracted HEAVILY as Azazel's mouths start to tear through the Queensrest. She moves instinctively to put herself ahead of Calumar. Because she's a bit daft!

Medeia had only just made her way to the bar to greet Mirk, with a tall woman at her side. The woman has striking eyes the bright shade of green of a poison dart frog - she otherwise appears to be a very lovely, regal, tanned blonde Lycene. "Lord Mirk, I'd like you to meet Serasadin of the Venom. Sera, this is my dear friend Lord Mirk Halfshav. He was the one upon Nyx yesterday." She smiles as Sera gives a nod to the Halfshav lord. It's all very, very polite! Then those MOUTHS appear. Medeia frowns. "Well, this is simply uncalled for behavior, Azazel. You could have come in the door like everyone else if you wanted tea." She takes a deep breath, trying to assess everyone else's wellness against the mouths.

Okay, this was not in Sydney's wildest imaginings, and while she is quite unprepared for what's happening, and a bit into her cups, this... actually helps the famously inelegant pugilist, at least in the moment. She doesn't appear to quite grasp what the screams are about at first, and she drops into an accidentally elegant bow before giggling, "Exactly! They were screaming just like that, begging me to get them to safety an--" She blinks up just in time to see half of a server go flying by. Violas primly rises, a scowl on her face. "Storytime will wait, it seems. Her body starts to crackle with frost. Sydney follows shortly after, yanking the ambient water from around her to wield in front of her. This does mean that she's wielding a fair bit of tea, alcohol, and juice. It is quite the smell.

Petal checks dexterity and sewing at hard. Petal is successful.

Mirk rushes towards Tesha, grabbing his staff as he goes, attempting to pull her away from a hungry mouth of Azazel with one hand while the other points the head of the staff towards the mouth. His own mouth opens, but the words are lost as he sends another gale that imprisons the mouth in ice, protecting her from the bite she might've otherwise received.

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Lucita's eyes widen as she spots the attack on the servers. "This is 'not' the usual greeting to guests." She mutters a few choice, less than polite words under her breath before starting to sing a teaching song, one of proper etiquette" One does not eat a server, one does not interrupt conversations, one does not terrorize customers, one makes sure they have reservations."

[Magic 1 - The threads of Life] - Petal sucks in a sharp and nervous breath as the eater arrives. She is deeply frightened. The thread and yarn from her sewing starting to entangle wit the stems and leaves of her plant. She pricks her finger, allowing a drop of blood to land into soil of the plant. Out springs from the plant, growing rapidly a needled vine with shivering thin silk like threads coming out of such. It snakes around the Inn, tryng to protect the place.

[Magic 1 - Calm down, man... (Defensive)] Madeleine introduces her guest, "This is the good lady Tamrussa. She's..." The sister cuts off when the mouths appear and start masticating their way around the inn. The floating mouths find themselves slowing as they chew, their pace impeded by strong gusts of wind that float around the Sister and set her garments fluttering. This makes it easier for them to be struck at by the bright bursts of grey-blue lightning that Tamrussa shoots out of her hands. "Tammy, behind me," she shouts to her dragon, the sister being protective of her companion. Tamrussa just smiles at the little human being adorable. Like a kitten puffed up and hissing, says her smile.

[MAGIC 1 - Alaricite Strike] "Not that I wanted to be anywhere near that sword, but it was --" Oh, shit. Mouths. Ian was JUST looking over at the server to try and get something to drink, right in time to see the poor guy get devoured right next to him. The reaction from him is immediate; his eyes flare silver, and he draws the alaricite blade from within his cane. Beside him, Pharus, his pale haired companion (who is a dragon, because Ian's got his dragon friend with him), extends his arm and a blade of pure light extends from his hand, sparking and flickering in the air as though with lambent fire. "Like I we practiced, Ian," he says, with the patience of a teacher, and the two men close on the mouth from flanking positions. They can't save the waiter, but they can, and do, avenge him. At speed, and with prejudice.

Tesha is thankfully pulled back by Mirk, and she doesn't have to see herself or Cal injured. She gives a look to the Shaman, "Thank you." she murmurs to him. She then gets ready to start blasting things!

One maw just is screaming at them, "STOP, INSECTS DON'T HAVE RULES OF ETIQUETTE! THEY JUST BUZZ! YOU'RE ALL INSECTS! INSECTS! INSEC..." And then Ian cuts the very distracted maw in half, while others scream in outrage and chase around patrons and staff. A number get so upset by the etiquette they just... die. Flop over and disintegrate in sheer rage. Others are burrowing into the floor.

((These are preeeeettty fast events. Another round of checks, and based on that will be how much of Azazel is getting to the thinnest point for tomorrow.))

Ian checks dexterity and medium wpn at hard. Ian is successful.

Madeleine checks wits and theology at hard. Madeleine is successful.

Petal checks dexterity and sewing at hard. Petal is successful.

Medeia checks charm and etiquette at easy. Medeia is successful.

Sydney checks dexterity and brawl at hard. Sydney is successful.

Mirk checks mana and occult at hard. Mirk is successful.

Tesha checks intellect and theology at hard. Tesha marginally fails.

Lucita checks mana and performance at hard. Botch! Lucita fails badly.

After a moment of ovservation, Medeia gestures to the restored table that was her uncle Orazio's favorite - and seems to enter Deluluville. "Serasadin, shall we sit? It would be lovely to speak more about your alchemy projects. Perhaps we can invite our friends to join us?" And then... She sits. She's ignoring the mouths entirely. Her hands fold politely in her lap and her legs cross at the ankle with the feet tucked aside near a chair leg.

[[Magic 2 - Offensive - Vines of threads and Blood]] Petal keeps her vine snaking around. Threads slip from th vine's body tipped with thin and very sharp needles as they poke at the eater. Poke, poke. So many thornes that are like needle. Some of the needles try to sew part of the Inn into place.

[Magic -2 otion of the ocean... (Attack)] -Rolling winds surround Sister Madeline as she calls out, "Mangata, cleanse this place of this abomination! Bless the drink that it may drive this monster out!" Her robes whip around her as her hair slips out from under her veil and the scent of the sea can be caught on the breeze. The wine starts to boil in the cups and bottles, before it comes splashing out from the containers. It whirls around her on the sea breezes before it starts pouring itself down into the mouths. Where the wine touches down, it sizzles and boils. Is it because the wine is boiling, or because it is blessed? Both perhaps.

Lucita checks 'permanent wound save' at hard. Lucita fails.

Lucita has suffered a serious wound!

Lucita checks 'unconsciousness save' at normal. Lucita fails.

Lucita is incapacitated and falls unconscious.

[MAGIC 2 - Alaricite Strike] Ian and Pharus resemble a two man death squad working in quadruple time, with the way they begin to sweep through the Queensrest. Ian is fast enough that his blade is a pale silver blur around him, but Pharus moves even faster. His blade of light, a saber of light if you will, makes the mouths it cuts through sizzle and smell really, really bad. They're moving together like two people who have, indeed, taken the time to do some practice. It shows in the ruthlessness of their efficiency.

[MAGIC] In draconic form, Nyx is a massive engine of destruction, tooth and claw more than enough for most enemies. In human form, however, he is still more than magical. Where Mirk uses an icy gale, Nyx is ice itself, raising his hands as ice begins to form around a couple of the mouths, converging inwards like a prison. Mirk, however, is still rooted in wind and storm; he shatters some of the ice left behind by his first spell with a few sharp raps of his staff, then calling forth a strong wind to blow those glittering shards of ice into the air like daggers. It's not easy to use those improvised weapons, not with patrons running about, but he guides his wind as carefully as he can to make sure that anything that doesn't hit a mouth of Azazel damages property instead of people.

[Magic: 1 - The Waterfall] Death by manners may indeed be a painful way to go, and Sydney likely relates. With her accidental display of it behind her, she stick to what she know best - smashing through her problems headlong. Violas, more perceptive than the pugilist in the ways of magic, sits down and neatly smooths her dress, back straight, raising her cup of tea to her lips as she watches Sydney with all the energy of someone particularly pleased with a new puppy. Sydney leaps atop one of the tables and sharply snap-kicks to the next, a lash of water trailing after the assault, sharp as a blade and severing one of the maw's head from its shoulders with that razor-sharp blade of ... whiskey, apple cider, tepid water, wine, and herbal tea.

[Magic 1] Tesha moves to Calumar who is has not been in fights, he's more a librarian, but he can fight. She starts blasting intense holy feeling light from her palms towards the mouths. Trying to take out as many as possible as she can.

As the mouths try to do their damages, it is not the ones Lucita faces and tries to fend off that are the danger, it is the one that got her from behind. She gives a pained yelp as her eyes roll up, just the whites showing and her legs fold up, her arms flop by her side and down she goes, unconscious.

A number of the maws just stare at Medeia, "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT, INSECTS DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT..." And then pop, but in all too many cases they are just swatted and destroyed by the forces here, even as some savage Lucita. It's a brutal fight, but a fast one, as a handful of maws burrow into the floor but most are just torn apart by them. After the relatively quick battle, they stand in the surprisingly not completely destroyed Queensrest, as some of the staff politely ask who is paying for the repairs. They are victorious.

Petal seems relieved that they winning. She sucks in a soft breath and then another soft breath. "I'm not paying for repairs, ask the king." She tells the staff who worry about repairs. She then get busy trying to get her vine under control. It knocks some things over, glasses and stuff, doing a little more damage.

There's something inhuman about Ian's calm as his gaze, electric blue shimmering with translucent silver, sweeps the Queensrest and settles on Lucita. He sheathes his blade into his cane as he strides over to her, the strange, off-kilter cadence of his usual gait gone in favor of a predatory grace. Pharus' blade of light draws back into his hand, and he goes to check on the other dragons present, the people he's most familiar with.

Mirk lets out a heavy sigh, looks around at the ice left behind, and sets his entire purse full of silver on the counter with a flat look at the nearest staffer. "If more is required, please send messengers to Halfshav Hall," he says with a tired air. He looks over towards the man with sapphire hair. "You're unharmed, Nyx?" At a nod from the dragon-in-human-form, Mirk says, "I think we got off easily on this one, but what exactly happened?"

"We need a healer for Lucita." she frowns to that. "Or we can carry her to the hospital as well." she Tesha looks at the person that is asking about who is paying for repairs and she reaches into her coat pocket and then writes something on a strip of ledger paper and hands it to the person, "Will that be enough?" she asks them. Then she looks to the others and there is a bit of a sigh, "He's up to something..." she frowns.

Madeleine checks on Tamrussa first as she is the guest here and Maddie did swear to protect her. The dragon-woman is unharmed so she then goes to worry about Baroness Lucita. The sister kneels beside the wounded singer and starts to remove her silken robe to try to soak up the bleeding woman's injuries. "He's lashing out, I think. Attacking directly instead of through his minions," she says cooly. "I don't know first aide," she says softly as she looks around, eyes pleading.

"Screaming is also inappropriate inside, Azazel," Medeia says coolly as she turns to look directly into the nearest maw. Then, they're gone. And the lady's chill is replaced with fire as she leaps from the chair to Lucita's side. "Luc!" She grabs for her medic bag and loses all etiquette. "Fuck! Luc, come on, you're going to be okay."

"Snack for the road," Ian posits as he kneels down. "I'm taking her to the Saving Grace. Medeia, will you come? I'm not sure what kind of state we're going to find it in."

She's still trying to get the hang of her magic. Shockingly, a few days on dragonback were not sufficient to learn the finer points. So when things settle down, the very first thing Sydney does is relax. And the charming mix of everyone's drinks sloshes down onto her. It would be grand amusement, if not for the bleeding and dead around them. She thrusts a hand up and whisks the concoction off of her and safely into one of the gnawed holes in the floor, which she then runs up to in order to stare hatefully down. "What. The. Fuck."

At the fresh sounds of alarm, Mirk turns around and pales to see Lucita's injuries. He rushes to Medeia's side. "Is there anything I can do, my lady?" He doesn't actually interfere, seemingly trusting Medeia to have medical matters in hand. "Anything at all..."


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As quickly as it started, the many attacks around the city were defeated, with little bits of Azazel being quite literally bored to death in many cases, or more traditionally dealt with by being cut or crushed into tiny pieces. Unfortunately, a number did burrow down through the floor, as the Archfiend gathers himself up and prepares for one final battle.
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Medeia starts to shake her head. "It'll be a disaster. So many people. We're... Safe? Here. Now. Let me get her awake." She looks up at Ian pleading. She /knows/ how the Saving Grace can be at wartime. A look to Mirk is given in a 'convince him' kind of way, hoping to get Isn to let her work here.

Petal is struggling to her lure vine back into the soil of her plant. It can be quite rebellious and even dangerous at times. It tries to snake over to Lucita to taste her blood, but Petal rushes up, grabs the vine and pricks on finger on needle thorne to soothe it. "Blood...tomorrow, lots..." She promises the crazy blood plant.

Still kneeling beside Medeia, Ian... at least pauses. Long enough to let the doctor check Lucita over, stop any bleeding that there is, make sure she's fine to be moved. "To the hospital, or we take over a room upstairs. There's wine all over the floor." And water. And tea. And whiskey. And whatever else Sydney was throwing around.

Lucita wakes up.

Madeleine's also to blame for the wine...

"A room upstairs might be easier," Mirk says with a nod of his head to Ian. "Faster, at least. Quieter. Sometimes, those things matter."

Madeleine stands, looking over the dragons. "All of you are safe? We swore to protect you, and we will stand by that promise." Poor Lucita. "I don't think he nipped any of you?" She then goes to tend to the spiritual needs of the poor staff who just had to watch that and worse, have to clean it all up.

Sydney squints further down into the hole, where there's still the distant sound of chewing. "...I don't think it was our aim at all. We were just... in the way?" The pugilist glances anxiously down the hole, as if weighing the cost/benefit of leaping after. Violas gets a glance. Violas very firmly stares at the woman she's trusting with her life. The strongly implied answer is a resounding no.

Pharus gives Madeleine a polite smile that's only a LITTLE amused when she speaks of promising to protect him. "Yes, we are quite safe," the dragon says, failing to disguise a certain 'patting the precocious child on the head' quality to his voice.

Lucita slowly rouses and looks around, dazed a moment. "I'm still alive? The rest of you, you are alright? Custos, is he safe?" She looks at her blood stained garments, says a soft... 'ow' then closes her lips tight instead of moaning and groaning.

After a few moments of work, Medeia is able to bring Lucita back around. "Oh thank the gods. Lagoma in particular." She breathes out heavily and then murmurs. "The dragons can help me get her home. We can. I want to go home." Her voice wavers, and the lady looks on the verge of fully cracking. As the weight of the last forever seems to catch up with her at the exact moment as her relief seeing Lucita awake.

Ian gathers Lucita into his arms and, bowing to Medeia's choice of change in venue to a location that's not soaked in wine, he carries her to the door. Pharus motions to Custos, and then follows after; he knows his role in this.

"We were an incidental snack. The primum would've been nice, if he'd consumed any of us - or our bonded partners - but not ultimately the goal at all, no, or he never would've given up so easily," Mirk agrees with a grimace as he peers down at one of the holes. "I don't like the looks of this." He watches with concern as Ian carries Lucita away, but he doesn't interfere. He knows his limits, after all.

Madeleine offers Medeia a hug, becase she's a hugger. She isn't expecting it to be accepted and is ready to turn quickly away. "All our friends are safe, Baroness," she says to Lucita as she smiles gently. "You should go rest, dear," she says in a motherly way. "Your beautiful voice may be needed soon."

Perhaps surprisingly, Serasadin steps in and helps Medeia to her feet, murmuring something to her in Draconic (those who know the language may catch that it is gentle reassurance). The lady stands and accepts the huh from Madelein before following Ian with Sera supporting her.

Madeleine stays behind to tend to the spiritual needs of the wounded since she's not a medic.

Lucita leaves, following Ian.

Ian leaves, following Medeia.

Sydney sets her jaw and glances back to Violas. "...We should see if this is the only place this is happening. Would you mind giving me a lift?" Violas cranes her head to the side, gazing with her ethereally too-purple eyes. "Do you think you will be able to actually hold on, this time? I am starting to think I ought to have you carry saddle with latches on it." Sydney puffs an affronted breath, and points at her companion. "And I'm starting to think... that you're probably right." She steps outside.

Petal has her vine back under control and it starts to sink back into her pot. She gives those still here a smile and then take of.

"Nyx," Mirk says with a sigh, heading towards the door. "We need to take a look at things. I still feel like I'm missing something in particular..." He mutters under his breath. Now fully armored, the red cloak unfurled behind him, he walks out the door, holding it for the dragon-in-human-form. It's the small gestures of respect, after all.

Rurik, a prodigal assistant leaves, following Mirk.

Staff greet the newest guest to the Queensrest with sniffs of disdain, then pointedly ignore them.