In-Character RP: No Stone Unturned

[Mei]

Mei looked at the faces of the other adventurers, not keen on being the first to speak up. "This fabled stone... which is it? I have heard of many in my travels, but have yet to see one in front of me." Her eyes shine with a newfound excitement. "What powers does it give the one who holds it? Are there more searching for it?" She begins to calm down a bit and her eyes narrow in suspicion. "And what is the reward for such a dangerous mission? I owe my knight in not-so-shining armor here at least a few silver pieces," she giggles, patting Talix's shoulder.

[Talix]

Talix followed the group up the stairs and into the booth, allowing the others in before himself. He sat down and listened quietly as Eliizer explained their mission, and his expression became stern as a dragon is mentioned.
"Unless slaying that thing is absolutely necessary for our mission," he thinks to himself, "we should probably avoid it as best we can."
Talix looks over the gecko client and continues to think to himself, as Mei started her questions on the stone.
"Eliizer shouldn't have too much difficulty getting by with us around distracting it," he turns his attention to Krebbic, "though, I worry Krebbic might be reluctant to leave a fight unfinished."
Talix snaps out of his thoughts as Mei patted his shoulder.
"Err, oh! Haha, no, it's quite alright. No need to pay me back, twas nothing."
He straightens up and waits for Eliizer to respond to the wolf-woman's question, while debating to ask his own questions here or on the road.

[Viciviser]

Eliizer looks at Mei a moment before answering.
"It is thought to be one of the Five Sorcerer's Stones. As legend would have it, the stone we're after does not directly grant anything to the one holding it, but it can be used as a perfect and inexhaustible catalyst for alchemy. If you recall the story for that one, the stone itself is in the shape of an egg. It changes size and color depending on what kind of energies are stored in it at the time."
The gecko shifted his weight and leaned forward speaking in a low voice just to be certain.
"You will be rewarded 10 gold bars, roughly 20k, and 5 platinum bars estimated at another 5k per bar."
His face took on a very serious air as he knew some of them might have an excited reaction to how much money was at stake for each of them.
"I want to be clear. I do not infiltrate ruins for wealth. There are times I've kept treasures for myself based on what I am looking for. I do not always have a client paying me. But I have no use of this stone so it is going to a collector who is willing to pay something close to the risk to our lives. My objective is to get the prize and return alive. That is all."

It seemed like he was done talking for a moment, but he leaned back again and situated himself.
"And no, there is no one else searching for it. We are the only ones to know that the ruins harbor this stone. There might be random thieves trying to rob the ruins but not with knowledge of what is inside. Most perish or flee so it is rare anyone enters the place anymore."

[Mei]

Mei looks at Eliizer eagerly as he begins explaining the journey. Her eyes widened at the mention of the Sorcerer's Stone. The fabled stone!! She thought to herself. Now THIS might be an exciting journey! I'm lucky I stumbled into this group! As she heard the sizable reward, her jaw opened slightly and she began to feel dizzy. Steadying herself by shifting in her seat, she corrected her hiccup in composure and began to think about the possibilities. She nodded as Eliizer finished and sat silent, glancing around the table at the other's reactions.

I haven't had a good fight in a while, this ought to be fun...

[Talix]

Talix, too, looks astonished once the reward is mentioned. Trying not to get his hopes too high up, he asks,
"And what of the dragon? Anything you know about it; what it is capable of? Should we even try fighting it, or find some other way to get by?"

[Viciviser]

As expected their reactions were of surprise, well except maybe Krebbic, it was still hard to tell how much of the conversation he was following. But thankfully they did not express their surprise in a sheer greedy grin or flashing eyes. He was glad for that. Talix felt it necessary to ask about the dragon, although it would be crazy not to. Still, Eliizer made another sour expression as if loath to talk of the beast.
"It's giant. It's the same size as this whole upper floor all the way to the ceiling. If we fight it we won't survive the encounter. The only saving grace is the creature is slow when first waking up, but only temporarily. It becomes more active and quicker the longer it has you in its sights."
He shivered a little bit and looked down at the table. It was the first time he seemed intent on not looking at them.
"It can breathe out a toxic fume and its wings cannot fly but they kick up air and dust to buffet you and disorient. I could barely react most of the time to dodge its attacks. This is just a guess, but I don't think it feels pain or maybe its sense of pain is very limited."

Eliizer looked back up at Krebbic specifically, "Giant, rotten dragon is very dangerous. Do NOT fight it. Run."
The gecko could tell that Krebbic wasn't stupid, but he hoped limiting the words would help him not have to sift through conversation as much.

He then looked to Talix, "I do not know if or how we can get by it. The creature haunts the place. It moves about till it becomes sluggish again and then goes dormant wherever it lands. I do not know where it ended up. Despite how big it is its dark flesh blends in with the stone around it. I walked right by it before even noticing it was there. Also something is preserving it. Despite being rotten it did not have much of a smell until it became very active."

[feraldraco]

When Krebbic was given that "simple" explanation, his eyes squinted and his grin moved as far up as a crocodile's maw possibly could; he even chuckled a bit. All he said at that point was, "You think?"

Then, Krebbic went straight back to listening for what little information he would need to prepare for the mission at hand.

[Mei]

Being upstairs and away from the barkeep, Mei managed to flag down a wandering employee and convince him with an innocent smile to get her a drink. She sipped on it whilst listening about the rotten dragon. Her eyes began to flick back and forth between a knot in the wood of the table and her drink as she began working out possible plans and escape routes in her head.

When Krebbic rumbled, "You think?" She let out a small yelp, jumped slightly in her seat, and spilled some of her drink on the floor. She was focused so intensely she had forgotten how loud the crocodillian was. The wolf blushed and settled back into her seat, flipping her tail over her lap, ruffling and smoothing the fur while she finalized her decision.

"I'll do it." She answered resolutely.

[Viciviser]

Eliizer blinked at Krebbic's response. Maybe the big guy was following better than he realized. Mei's tumble did not stop Eliizer from finishing speaking to Talix, but he did glance her way while she re-situated herself. After he finished addressing Talix though he turned his gaze completely onto Mei.

"You'll do what?" He asked with eyes unblinking.

[Jaredthefox92]

In walks in a traveling merchant. He appears to be a rat dressed in odd, Arabic like attire. He seems to have on golden and pointed shoes with winklepickers, a snow white tunic on, and a keffiyeh made out of crimson red cloth. Around the traveler's waist is what appeared to be a curved sword sheathed and strapped to his belt. The brown fur rat appears to resemble that of a dessert rat and seems to be carrying a small bag of items into the tavern.

"Greetings, my friends."