Talia seems entirely relaxed as she settles herself down on the stool, likely too relaxed given she was here supposedly investigating the 'crime' that happened the night before. When Lilium settles down beside her, the small fennec turns her attention to the Kitsune first, listening to her explaination.<br/><br/>"No guilty parties? I'd love to believe that. I really would. Just things seem suspicious is all....you can understand where I'm coming from."<br/><br/>Vincent's voice, gruff and to the point, breaks over a small portion of Lilium's explaination, the old innkeeper trundling up right behind the fennec as she leans back against the bar "List'n 'ere, wern't not f'tha'lot y'see here, we'd likely all'a been windin' up in sommat's belly, er' on a bloody chain! Only thin't't'lot'o'em is guilty of is savin' lives! Gettin' rid o' the bad eggs, too!'<br/><br/>Talia swings around in her stool, staring at Vincent with  blank expression etched across her face. Finally, she tils her head to the side, her massive ears perking straight up into the air "...You said something. I know it. I just have this feeling in my bones that those were words coming out of your mouth, and I'm sure that in some land, they pass for common. You must be Vincent, owner of this establishment if I'm correct?" She slips out a small peice of paper and what appears to be a coalstick (Something closely resembling a pencil...just easily removed with cloth) and begins to write on it in small, scrawling handwriting.<br/><br/>"Hrm. Well, the fact you are the business owner is going to carry plenty of weight. Right. As you were." Again, she turns her attention back to Lilium, noting every little change in her facial features. Every little change in the tone of her voice. It became apparant very quickly - Talia, while a little bit on the 'easy side' of doing things, was not an idiot. She listened. Watched expressions. Was likely very good at her job.<br/><br/><blockquote class="uncited"><div>“There are no guilty parties here I assure you. Those that attacked last night were forced to flee. Unfortunately we were not able to save everyone…” Lilium sighs, Looking downward remembering Vincent’s sorrow. Recomposing herself Lilium continues “Those that attacked last night were hired by Lesik. I’m sure you know of him…he has his dirty little fingers in nearly everything in this area. I can only assume he was looking to capture a few of us to either sale or make slaves”</div></blockquote><br/><br/>The name 'Lesik' seems to catch her attention, and she once more perks up, tapping the coalstick against her cheek. It leaves a little black smudge-mark on her fur, but she does not even seem to notice it "Lesik, hrm? I won't ask how you know that name. Enough rumors have been spreading around for nearly anyone to pick up a story or two about that slaver. We've been on his tail more than once before. Elusive bastard, he is.." She writes a few more things down on her paper, though the expression on her face seems to lighten a bit, at least.<span style="font-style: italic">~Hrm..~</span>She thinks to herself, eyeing those who had been at least named as the perps<span style="font-style: italic">~...I have this nagging feeling that Clyde doesn't really know what happened. This...is just getting shadier...~</span><br/><br/>When Lilium snaps at the foxtaur, Talia never even looks up from her writing, looking over the handful of notes she'd already written with an unreadable look on her face, as if she were looking far away at something only she could see... It was pretty clear, Lilium's way with words at least has her thinking...<br/><br/>Grettle, on the other hand, actually balks the slightest bit at Lilium's intense gaze. For a brief moment, she even takes a single step backwards, drawing a rather surprized look from her brother. Instantly catching herself before she looked even the sightest bit weak,she gives Lilium a very...very dirty look. That look is followed with her long, slender tongue running along her lips - and a vicious finger-jabbing in Lilium's direction. Lilium could tell, though - she'd at least surprized the foxtaur with that look. The cool, calculated gaze behind it...<br/><br/>It takes a moment for Thram to really catch on to what Lilium had said, though when he does, the hyena-like smile on his face turns into a bare-toothed growl "Why you..."<br/><br/>"Silence." Talia commands, bringing whatever Thram had been ready to say to a sputtering halt.<br/><br/>When Sherani takes the opportunity to get in a verbal jab of her own, the already-angry foxtaur practically sputters in indignation. Her jabbing finger switches from Lilium, to the Tigress, her lips clearly readable as she mouths 'You. Are. Lunch."<br/>Of course, at least in Talia's presence, she never makes a move. Thram begins to pace back and forth, though, clearly a little angry. Grettle does nothing but shift back and forth, easing her massive weight from one pair of legs to the other.<br/><br/>Zoe simply laughs at the display, further leaning back in her chair. She is so casual as to even prop her bare feet up on the table she has currently claimed, shaking her head back and forth "Really. Must everyone here have a pissing contest. If you are that angry, go outside and duke it out..."<br/><br/>"Zoe. Last warning. Shut it." Talia murmurs again, still staring at her parchment. The sudden flash of rage on Zoe's face is brief, gone in an instant - but her eyes continue to shoot daggers at the fennec, despite her once-more-fake-smile.<br/><br/>"Okay. You. Tigress. Talk." Talia commands, turning fully to face Sherani as she begins to tell her tale. For the first minute or so, the commander makes all attempts to keep up with the story, furiously scribbling notes on her little parchment. By the time she has reached the bottom of the page, she is not longer writing...just listening with a wide-open mouth to the energetic story told by the bold fighter.<br/><br/>By the end of the story, Talia has not only put down her coalstick and parchment, she has actually cracked a huge smirk "So, lemme get this straight. A hyena, a coyote, a cat-guy, an orc, and elf....and a handful in the kitchen? How the lot of you survived, I cannot even begin to guess." For the first time since her entrance, the fennec actually laughs, leaning out to slap Sherani on the thigh. It leaves a little bit of a sting behind, surprizingly enough "Ooohhh...wow. Okay, I gotta admit. A story so full of piss-and-vinegar cannot be a lie. It might not be all true, but I think I can at least take your word on the majority of it. Not to mention..." Talia motions to Sherani's left arm, which had been sliced open the night before. It was at least partially healed now, but the tigress was still injured.. "...Axe wound. I can buy it. So, then...judging by the story, YOU are Lilium..." She turns to Lilium, picking up her coalstick and scribbling something on the pad.<br/><br/>"You...Sherani..." Another quick scribble. She never even asks for last names "Calia.." Scribble "Spike..." Another quick scribble. She pauses mid-scribble, eyeing the orc strangly for a few short seconds...then shrugs, and writes some more.<br/><br/>"Aaand.. Ureck..." She murmurs, her gaze lock on the Collie for a brief moment "I believe I have all of that right, don't I?"<br/><br/>Talia folds up the little piece of parchment, sticks her coalstick into it, and slips it back into one of her many dangling pouches "For the moment, that is all I need. You are not under arrest -" This statement brings a wide-eyed look from both the two foxtaurs, and the squirrel that had, until this moment, looked quite content.<br/><br/>"- However, if there are any *OTHER* altercations, I will bring you in for questioning. Do I make myself understood? Also, I'll be checking in to your story a bit more thoroughly - I can imagine there were a handful that managed to sneak out when the battle really took place. Given there are no survivors handy from the 'attackers'..." Here, she gives Sherani a faint smirk. She didn't even seem to be angry about that fact - "...I'll just have to do what I can."<br/><br/>"So..that's it?" Grettle speaks up, her pride already damaged enough as-is. She wanted to eat these damn trouble-makers! Stuff the entire lot of them down her throat... "We are just going to let them go?"<br/><br/>Zoe is the second one to pipe up, though her voice is slightly more angry - no longer the chip, flawless tone that it was earlier "...This is incredible. Talia, I knew you were a fool, but *THIS* much of one? How could you be so blind! They were the ones that caused all the trouble, and-"<br/><br/>"Zoe, if I wanted your input, I'd have yanked your leash." Talia spits back "All three of you. Back out on patrol. Now." Zoe's mouth drops open in shock - was *SHE* really being spoken to in such a way?!<br/><br/>Neither of the three even begin to move, though Talia - more or less - ignores the fact. For the moment, at least. Turning her attention back to the those gathered around the bar "...Now, that comes to my second question. What are your plans? I'll be keeping a close eye on the lot of you. If I so much as hear a peep that you've caused any more trouble, I won't be quite so forgiving the next time we meet. Get my drift?" The dangerous tone in her voice is accented by the baring of her tiny little teeth. Not exactly intimidating, but it gets the point across.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Sherani</span><br/>EXP<br/><span style="color: #00BF00">18,440</span>+<span style="color: #0000FF">10</span>=<span style="color: #0000FF">18,450</span>(+10 exp - amusing take on the events.<img alt=";)" src="./images/smilies/wink.gif" title="Wink"/>)<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"> Changes to Digestion and size </span><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">After reviewing the rules a bit, I believe that digestion damage for larger creatures is simply a little bit extreme. The advantages for size in a vore-based game are already pretty extreme (+4 grapple, vore checks, AND higher base digestion damage?), as opposed to the penalties - a small penalty to attack and armor class. Therefore, I am going to change base digestion damage for all sizes to 1d6+strength. This is going to be a temporary change until I see how it works. Of course, massive creatures where you are SWIMMING in acid is likely going to be increased (Though crushing damage is likely going to be negligible, unless your size is somewhat comparable). This change affects both PCs and NPCs - though I'll likely be giving NPCs conditional bonuses or penalties to digestion damage, simply based on how effect I think their stomach would be. For the moment, larger characters are going to be a little more on-par with medium, at least in terms of digestion damage!<br/><br/>I will be editing the first page to reflect these changes.<br/><br/>If anyone has *ANY* opinions on these changes, or any others I make, please post it in a spoiler in one of your responses. <img alt=";)" src="./images/smilies/wink.gif" title="Wink"/> I'll read over all of them!I welcome them, and require them to make this better for everyone!</div></div></div>