The table was covered with a vast assortment of foods that Kyle would find vaguely familiar. He would have time to absorb this new found information before the figure revealed itself!
There was a plate covered with roots. The tasting sensation was that of an artichoke heart! A cutely written note below the plate read 'Burdock'.
There were several bowls of hot, steaming rice. There was a note for each bowl, and each of the notes read as 'Gohan'.
There were a few platters of partially packaged meat. The strong smell of fish arose from there. The taste was reminescent of sushi. These notes read 'Onigiri'.
There were a few platters with heavily spiced and seasoned vegetables. A strong taste of pickled radish came from these plates. These notes read 'Takuan'.
A few plates held simple fried eggs. Notes: 'Tamagoyaki'.
There were a few bowls of stew, the ingredients of which appeared to be shellfish, fish, and assorted veggies. Notes: 'Nabe'.
There were a few platters of small cakes with a distinctive green color within each. The cake itself would have a chewy texture and would taste similar to sweetened rice. A sweet filling is also inside each of the cakes, tasting like a sweetened bean.
Notes: 'Mochi
Warning: May cause dream hallucinations'
The last item, in particular, would be particularly suspicious!
There were also various canteens of water set here and there, and a canteen of hot, steamy cocoa with a 'Kyle' note next to it. A single canteen of sake was set amidst the water canteens. It was clearly labeled as such.
The figure looked up to Marie as she apparently finished her little verbal spar with Kelne. "Oh... well, ya see, that's what this is all about."
The figure suddenly stood with a flourish, pointing a gloved finger to the sky. "I've known him for a bit, actually. Along with Kelne, Kumo, and numerous other people I intended to invite."
He paused, seemingly attempting to build the tension. "For you see..."
The cloak fell, and a pair of stilits fell away. The previous mysterious figure jumped skillfully through the air, flipped slightly, and came to a crashing thud in the dirt.
The doily-bob... the tail... the armor... and, of course, the teddy-bear like physqiue... along with a new (and odd) pair of fluffy wings replacing his former draconic ones.
He slowly pulled himself up and out of the dirt, and simply said: "Hey guys, I'm back!"
***
As luck would have it, the closest tavern was an establishment by the name of "The Roasted Chocobo". It appeared similar to any other tavern on the outside, but when he entered...
He was immediately greeted by a strict, formal-looking man of at least 50 years of age. His attire was some sort of white, two-piece martial arts suit brought together by a black belt. "Greetings! You have entered the establishment of the Honorable Nairu Sanshiro! May you enjoy your time within this domiscile, and enjoy our half-off lunch special!"
He bowed to Greg and flourished his hands towards the main area of the tavern. Unsurprisingly, various tables filled the room, with customers seated at most, eating, drinking, or simply wiling their time away. Similarly attired men were cleaning and serving the customers.
The bar itself was set towards the back of the room. The appearance of the bar and the counter were the same as you would see anywhere: a bartender mixing bottles and serving drinks to customers who had taken seats at said counter.
The bartender himself was dressed similarly to the other serving men here. However, he had an even stricter look on his face, and appeared to have a vaguely afro-shaped style of hair. His moves were quick and violent, serving up drinks, selecting bottles, and addressing customers in a rather quick, almost inhuman manner.
The menu just behind the bar listed various drinks, ranging from kid's stuff to kidney busters. One of the drinks was highlighted; it was referred to as the "Fujioka Special". The foods appeared to be your basic tavern stuff: sandwiches, assorted snacks, and the like. The highlighted sandwich was the "Shinken Sandwich". The prices appeared to be relatively cheap for each, apparently due to the half-off special.
There were one or two seats open at the bar; one of them was at the left end and was seated next to what appeared to be a guard of some sort, clearly on a break. The other seat was towards the right end and bordered a man who appeared to be almost violently drunk, cursing someone or another about their preemptiveness.
There was one table open, near the entrance.
Edited by: Crawling Reshiki at: 2/2/06 13:59