The Inn-IC

Sunflower had just squandered almost two decades helping that arrogant woman plot her big scheme for intergalactic domination; and what did she have to show for it? NOTHING!

Sunflower flailed her tiny fists at nothing in particular. She wanted to go back and squash Natasha like a bug, but that would just make her feel like the time had been even more of a waste. Instead she continued to wander aimlessly. After some time, she had no idea how much, she finally stopped and looked around.

"Wait... Where the hell am I?" She was not even sure what universe she was in. She had been so disappointed at the uneventful outcome of her big plan that she had just teleported to a random location and fluttered around on her tiny wings, throwing a tantrum. Anyone that saw her would have thought she was  crazy or something. How embarrassing!

She was a woman of action though. She needed somewhere to be and something to do.

"Hmm..." She said, talking to herself. "Maybe I will try my hand at creating life and put them in a brilliant utopia for all eternity... Oh wait! I know! I'll go get drunk!"

With a little flash of light she disappeared and found herself standing in front of then door to the Inn. This place was usually full of eligible hotties.

Before she entered, she looked down at her cute but plain yellow sundress. It needed something... Something that said 'I am Sunflower and I came to party'. She snapped her finger and a little yellow bowtie with white polka dots appeared around her neck. That combined with her old tophat from her days as mayor of Big Strange, and she was ready. She fluttered inside with a big childish grin on her face. "Hey funky party people!"

She stepped up to a table, admiring how clean the place looked. She sat down in a chair and had to hover a little to reach comfortably over the table. She smiled at the cute little bartender.

"Awwww! Well look at you! Aren't you just the bees knees! The cats meow! The Belle of the ball! The.... Umm... You are so cute! Long island ice tea please."

Duran wandered through the deep roads sword by his side. Banished for his slaying his brother, saving the world form sudden doom, becoming a living legend, commanding a army of unstoppable warriors, and he even became a farther. However he was now looking for a way to stave of death. Or at least that's how the day started, it ended at a tavern. Searching every corner, and every crypt nothing so when he somehow found himself in this odd little tavern he coudldn`t help but drink.

 This time a decade ago he was a dwarven prince raising in military fame now he was a dieing old fool. He slipped in behind a child like waitress and took his place on a stool at the bar. His dingy old armor slammed on the counter top as he let his muscles rests, dust falling from his black beard as the bags under his eyes made him look older then he could eve be. Some young girls rushed over and disamroed him of his shield and sword, and informed him his waitress would be right with him. They did this with such a snicker that it made him nervous but any true devious plan wouldn`t employ anyone foolish enough to snicker.

He felt weak without his blade but he supposed it was good, for him to rest. Maker knows he didn`t need anymore blood on his hands. Time went on, and perhaps he was impatient but he snapped when the bar maids kept saying his waitress was coming. As if he was reserved for someone special. He slammed his fist on the bar and shouted. “I am a hero of the dwarves! I deserve some meed if not respect!” In a gravely and viscous tone.

A wicked smile stretched across Tsana’s face, or at least it bore the appearance of one. No matter how innocent her thoughts were she always looked like she was up to no good, which actually was fitting most of the time, but not in this instance.

The small spritely woman had truly flattered her. Sure she was prone to fits when her sisters sisters called her cute, but this was different. This time it was sincere rather than a thinly veiled taunt. “Why thank you.” She said sweetly as she struck a pose with one hand on her hip and the other pressed against the side of her head. ‘You certainly have exquisite taste in women. Though I’m afraid I can’t say the same about your pallet. The Long Island Iced is a little dull to say the least.” With that she began to mix the drink, rattling off the ingredients in her head as she pulled them out of minibar that had appeared out of thin air before her. Tequila, vodka, white rum, triple sec, gin lemon juice, “just a dash of cola, stir and serve.” Finally she added a lemon garnish and slid the glass across the table. “Bottoms up!” She said tilting her head to the side with a smile.

“Oh Tsanaaa,” called a high pitched choir of her siblings that caused the little bar maid the shutter before whipping around to see the source.

“What?”

“Ow! So hostile. We just wanted to tell you a customer requested you by name,” cooed her sister, Ariela, the tallest, and arguably the prettiest of Garsed's daughters excluding Tsana herself. sisters. Ariela was nearly the eldest, and she had made it her personal duty each day to torture Tsana, probably out of jealousy. Behind her stood her stood her two cronies, Yela and Oela. While they were nearly as beautiful as Ariela, they lacked bother her charisma and wit and would have been largely harmless on their own.

Tsana’s faced perked up for a moment, before her skepticism kicked back in. No one ever requested her as a server, though she couldn’t imagine why. She was always friendly to the customers in her own special way unless they were a-

“He’s right over there,” the middle sibling said trying, and failing to stifle her laughter as she pointed to the dwarf sitting at the bar.

“Oh hells no! No way I’m serving a stinking dwarf.” She shouted not caring if the customer heard. Not that he would with all the white noise filling the bar.

Before she could continue her rant one of the other servers pulled her away. Without even looking she knew it was Ella  by the way she pulled her by the arm instead of the ear. Once they were out of sight in the back room she put her arm on Tsana’s shoulder which immediately disarmed the wrath filled child giving her an opportunity to get a word in with her. “Please just do as you’re asked.” She requested in a soft sympathetic voice. “Don’t make a big scene out of it.”

That was too much to ask of Tsana, even coming from her favorite sister. “But he’s a DWARF! You know what happened the last time we let one in.” She said crossing her arms and stubbornly avoiding her gaze as long as she could. Ella’s kindness was enough to win over the most wicked of imps with nothing but a gentle touch.

Once Tsana caved and returned her gaze she tried reasoning with her once more, bending her knees sharply to get on her level. “That stubbornness is going to get you in trouble,” she pleaded.

“What do you care?” Tsana mumbled back having been momentarily transformed from the goddess of catastrophe into a disgruntled child.

“Because you’re my darling baby sister,” she said giving her an affectionate peck on the cheek. Ella was the only person in all the world’s who could get away with calling Tsana a baby without consequence. Ella had always been Tsana’s favorite. She truly was the perfect sister imaginable, perhaps because she was the oldest.

“I’ll try,” she grumbled.

“That’s all I ask,” she said carefully patting her little sister’s head as to not mess up her carefully prepped hair. Before Tsana had a chance to get back to work before the dwarf’s outburst rumbled the bottles throughout the storage room. Ella looked down at her sister with a concerned expression. “You best get going.”

With that Tsana disappeared in a puff of black smoke and reappeared behind the bar before the dwarf. Upon arriving she reassembled the shattered plate that had struck the dwarf from behind and began wiping it with a rag that had not been there a moment ago. “You really should mind your manners.” Her sly smirk and cool demeanor indicated that she was back to her old self. “Now let’s try that again, and don’t forget the please.”

Sunflower stuck out her tongue when she was accused of having a lame pallet. "If the drink suck, I will blame the bartender. Even if she is a peach!"

Once the drink was in front of her, she sipped at it slowly. She was about to start conversation with the cute server, and probably hit on her, when her attention was taken away by a noisy dwarf. Someone pulled the server away while Sunflower was not looking. Sunflower felt herself getting more and more irritated. She finished her drink in one giant swallow and fluttered slowly away from the table.


The cutie had disappeared into another room. When she came back, she was talking to the stupid dwarf...

"What the...?"  Sunflower looked around for some explanation. "What am I chopped liver over here?" She said in a terrible Italian accent.

She went right up to the dwarf and fluttered there with her arms crossed over her chest. She glared him with her meanest look. Of course that was probably like being glared at by a baby or a kitten. Physical intimidation was never her strong suite.

"I saw her first, punk." She said. "Kick rocks."

 SMACK! SHATTER! BROODMOTHERS

    These where the sounds that rambled throughout the inn as Duran shot up with the worst swear he knew. He placed his hand on the back of his head as red blood,mixed in with his short black hair. He supposed someone disliked his tone, whoever they were they wouldn`t be the first. Before he could grumble anymore less then lovely language what appeared to be a 12 year old mage appeared in front of him. She repaired the plate and chided Duran on his tone. So she threw the plate I suppose. Sprightly young girl isn`t she? He smiled at her comment and merely twisted the carved wooden ring on his finger. “You sound like Morrigan.” Duran straightened his posture and stroked his small beard. “Your finest mead pl......” His order was interrupted by some foolish speech.

   "I saw her first, punk. Kick rocks." Duran`s hand balled into a fist as he grumbled something about culturally offensive stereotypes.  He could see some type of a girl out of the corner of his eye but he really didn`t care enough to look. He had no idea why she was claiming possession of a twelve year old, but since she seemed about ten at a quick glance he assumed it was a childish game. “Mead Please!” He grumbled his new found smile gone replaced with a look of complete itratoin, as he shifted his weight on the stool ignoring the foolish pest.

Tsana's smile widened as an idea formed in her head. When opportunity comes knocking you let her in. The dwarf had held his temper, but Tsana had a feeling he was close to boiling over, as was the smaller patron she had served earlier. She wagered that if she couldn't trick the dwarf into breaking one of the inn's rules, which shouldn't be difficult considering his earlier outburst, she could always pit these two against each other. Being a master of the dark arts herself, she could feel the power emanating from the odd little creature. As they say, big things come in small packages.

Having spent several millennia toeing the line Tsana had an in depth knowledge of what she could, and couldn’t away with when dealing with customers. Today would be the day she'd put that knowledge to good use. First she would egg on the pixie, or whatever it was supposed to be and hope her intuition was right that she would focus that wild temper of hers on the dwarf. "I’m sorry sweetie pop, but this big, strong man had demanded that I serve him right away." She said in a mocking tone even as she alluringly rubbed her hand up and down the man's arm. "Although I'm not quite sure I like his tone." She delivered this line with her patented sass before flicking the tip of his nose and pulling back into an upright position with her hands on her hips. "But you did say please so….." With that the tiny step stool she had been standing on to keep her chest and shoulders above the bar stretched upwards until her head nearly touched the ceiling, and a giant mug that looked more fit for brewing in than drinking from appeared on the counter top before the dwarf. She filled the glass while humming a playful tune before hopping off the stool and drifting gently down behind the man to give him a big pat on the back. "Have all the mead you can drink."

Duran had been nice to the server due to her attitudes resemblance to his beloved, he had even kept himself from attacking the girl as a younger brasher Duran would of. He had merely asked for a small thing of mead but oh noooooooo. The little imp, began rubbing her arm up and down Duran`s armor which caused every muscle in his small body to tense. She cooed on and on in a tone and with a signature sass and wiggle of the hips that would have made Morrigan proud.

  Then the wicthy imp granted Durans wish in a manner that made him shoot up with surprise and annoyance. The cup reached to the ceiling like a giant looming over the inn, Duran could smell the sweetness of the mead from where he stood. Duran clicked his jaw and turned around, knowing full well this wasn`t worth fighting over.

  “I`m washing up. Hopefully when I return I will have a more...” He paused, clicking his tongue for a moment. “mature server.” with that he began to walk towards the wash rooms.

Sunflower watched the whole display with one eyebrow raised. The server was apparently trying to cause some drama here, which would have been fun, but the dwarf wasn't going for it. He got up and walked away, still without acknowledging her existence. She considered snapping her fingers and turning him into a bowl of soup, but there was no fun in it without some drama.

Finally she simply shrugged her shoulders and went back to her seat. This joint had been a lot more fun the last time she was here.

Tsana could feel the vein in her forehead bulge and nearly pop. Of all the insensitive things to say. It's not like it was her fault he didn't specify what he wanted. She was trying her best. Or at least that's what she'd say if questioned on the matter. "Who in the hells do you think you are? How dare you say that to me? I am so NOT immature. Get back here right now damn it!" She screamed flailing her arms wildly.  When he continued to ignore her totally mature and reasonable outburst  she flung her hands down to her sides. Dark energy began to swell around her hands. It was the first stage of the legendary dragon slave, a spell powerful to effortlessly level a city. She'd show h-

Before she could finish that spell or her thought she was pulled away with a stern "Nope." The next thing she knew she was sprawled over the floor of the inn's back room.
"You didn't have to be so rough" she whined rubbing her sore backside.

"You promised you'd be good!" Ella scolded.

"I promised I'd try." She pouted and looked away again. She was tired of being yelled at all the time. It was bad enough coming from the others, the added betrayal of it coming from Ella made it even worse.

"Well try harder." Her bluntness was starting to get through to Tsana. Having never heard Ella like this, the tone carried extra weight. She knew this was serious. "You know what will happen if this keeps up."

Tsana felt a sting of guilt. It was such a rare emotion for her she almost didn't recognize it at first. It was hard to decide if she hated Ella for making her feel this way, or herself for pushing Ella to this point.  No, there was no question for her. She knew she could never be mad at Ella for anything. She had been nothing but kind to her. The beautiful ribbons she wore on her head reminded her of that. "Fiiiiiiine."

After begrudgingly agreeing to her sister's demands Tsana drug herself up to her feet, and dusted her dress that had gotten wrinkled and dirty in their little tussle, nothing a bit of magic couldn't fix though. "Come here," Ella said before approaching her sister and putting a warm loving hand against her cheek. She pulled a handkerchief out with the other and wiped the small girls face, even though she was totally not crying. She straightened Tsana's bow and sent her back out with a kiss on the forehead and a pat on the back. As Tsana walked away she whispered in her ear "and be sure to apologize" .

As hard as it was for her, Tsana didn't argue. Instead she walked back out with a big fake smile like a good little serving wench.  She eyed the bathroom door nervously and decided she wasn't quite ready to face him yet. She wasn't breaking her promise, she told herself. She was merely postponing the fulfillment of it, really. She decided to revisit her first patron of the evening who seemed a little bummed out sitting all alone by herself. "I'm baaaaaaack," she said sweetly on her approach. "Would you like another tea?" She leaned down to whisper the last part of her message suggestively into the strange creature's ear. "Or perhaps something more…..exotic?"

Waver lingered, just outside of the building, a hand on her hip. She gave the place another scan, looking over the place with more of a lazy interest than admiration. She’d passed by quite a few times, careful to evade the drunken patrons stumbling about, but never actually gone in the so called “Inn” herself. The elf looked to the side in thought, knowing she had never bothered going in because simply, she was no drinker. Could she drink? Yes. Did she like to? Not that much. Recently, however, she found herself wondering what the place was like. Of course there was the expected drunkards, the stench of alcohol and all the other normality that came with a place such as the Inn—Waver, nonetheless, wanted to investigate for herself. Pushing her hair behind her, she approached the doors and slipped through the facility’s threshold.

Oh yeah, she thought. Just what I expected.

A woman, trying to seduce a patron it seemed, drinkers, and, not to be forgotten, the smell. Although, that wasn’t terrible. Waver’s eyes skimmed over the crowd a moment longer before she rather gracefully turned and headed to a stool, somewhat away from the others in the bar, and seated herself. She liked to observe—this place seemed prime for that.

Sunflower sat there looking grim, even for a moment after the server returned. A small part of her wanted to sit here and sulk... or cause a huge scene and trash the place. She was never one to pass up on some fun though. The cutey offered he "something more exotic" and Sunflower resisted the urge to take that as innuendo. She hopped into the air and did an awkward little spin move before landing in her seat with a big smile! "You were right, the long island ice tea was lame! Surprise me, toots!"

"Oh!  You thought I was talking about another drink. How embarrassing!" Tsana squealed cradling her cheeks in her palm. She made a big show out of this by squirming all over and shifting her feet side to side. "But I suppose I can oblige. "Now let me see…." she trailed off as she touched her finger to her cheek and paced back and forth, every movement carefully selected for dramatic effect. Halfway through her third trip across the bar she abruptly stopped and snapped her fingers, creating a little puff of smoke as she did so. "Oh I know!" With the mini bar appeared before her once more.

Layered cocktails were always a crowd pleasure, and were far simpler to make than they appeared. Her go to was the Alien Brain Hemorrhage, but that wouldn't do for this little miss. No, she needed something sweeter.  The Lava Flow fit the bill perfectly.  A bit of coconut syrup, pineapple juice,  rum, and vanilla ice cream blended with ice and half a banana, followed by freshly purée strawberries poured into a hurricane glass with a perfect swirl. Then she added the finishing touch, a little yellow umbrella with a strawberry and pineapple pushed to the side. No cocktail was truly complete without some garnish for flair after all. No longer needed, the mini bar disappeared once more allowing Tsana to approach her thirsty client.

"Bottoms up." She chimed as she presented the drink with a extravagant bow and wave of the arm.

Garsed stepped out of the backroom, joyful red face brimming with a bright grin at the new arrival seated at the bar. He scooped out a glass and began to polish it, clean rag from midair working diligently to prevent spots and germs upon the scape of perfect crystal. "Hail, traveler," he said to Waver as she sat away from the other patrons at the bar, "I am Garsed, the innkeeper. How may I help you?" 

He began to polish the bar with a clean rage, working at any smudges that had appeared since he was last present.

Sunflower watched the little server's antics with a big smile. She clapped once or twice and gave a round of applause at the end. She laughed with delight at the adorable bow. "Wonderful!" She shouted in her squeaky voice. She picked up the drink and took a sip. "Yum!"

Sunflower took the little yellow umbrella from the drink and tucked it into her golden hair. She fluttered over the table and got close to the server. She looked deep breath into her eyes, trying to see who and what she was. She shook her head and decided it would be easier just to ask.

"What's your name, sweetcheeks?" She booped her nose. "And what exactly are you?"

Waver's lips quirked into a smile at the innkeeper's determination to clean any nonexistent dirt on the glass. The ones she could see displayed may as well have been crystals--they were so clear and glittering, a showcase of the innkeeper's care of his craft. She pulled her hair over to one side and regarded him with a polite nod, finding she liked his rather obvious joviality.

"I'm sure this isn't the most common order you take here," she said, glancing toward where Sunflower and a smaller girl were. Their mannerisms almost made her chuckle. "But I'll have water for now. I've been in the heat all day, you see." She kept her eyes on Tsana and Sunflower for a second more, and then turned her full attention to Garsed. "And I thank you for the service. My name's Waver. You must have been exposed to every kind of folk around here by now, just going of of who's present now. It must be an entertaining job for you, being around such diversity."

Both the question and the guests odd behavior had caught her off guard. If Tsana had a soul this person definitely saw it after staring so long and deep into the supposed windows to it. She slowly opened and closed her doe eyes to stall for time. No had ever asked her that before, that bit about what she was. People had asked for her name tons of times. She had often neglected to wear her nametag, as it made it a bit harder for disgruntled customers , which there seemed to be a lot of for some reason, to complain about her, although there was never any doubt of who people were referring to when they spoke of the wicked little devil child. But this was totally different. The question was so deep, and something Tsana had never really gave serious thought to until just now.  Just who or what was she deep down inside. She was likely looking into the question far more than the other girl had intended, and it was sending her into a panic, though in her mind she hid it perfectly.

As smooth as ever she flashed a cheeky little grin and dropped her backside into a stool that willed itself into existence just to catch her. She titled her head to the side where her head palm rose up to caress it. Her unmatched wit allowed to Tsana to slap together a response that would answer without really truly having an answer to give, and at the same time further entice the inquisitive fairy. "The name is Tsana, and I'll be whatev-" Tsana paused and her eyes shifted to look at the door labeled employees as it flung open and the echo of familiar bootsteps resonated throughout the room.  "Hold on a sec. I'll be right back"

She disappeared once more in a puff of black smoke. This time reappearing just a few feet away from the proprietor of the inn. "Papa!" She shouted with glee as she leaped at him and wrapped her arms tight around his wait before sliding them down to his hips. It was her most sincere display of emotion of so far that evening.  "I missed you so much." She said  nuzzling his big belly adoringly.  When she finally stopped she pressed her chin into his body and titled her head up all the way up to see his face, or rather the bottom of his big bushy beard. "Have you made up your mind on that thing yet?" She inquired hopefully.

Sunflower watched the server as she showed off. It was about as precious as anything she had seen. Sunflower had lived for thousands of years, making her a very difficult person to manipulate. Still, this girl knew how to work with what she had.

"My name is Tsana, and I'll be whatev-"

Sunflower threw up her tiny arms in frustration and rolled her eyes. Yet again the cute little thing had been pulled away. What did a vampire/witch/flower/anomaly have to do for some attention around here?

She turned back to her drink and sipped at it. She held out her hand and several tiny little lights began to form. A mass of darkness sorounded the lights but did not cover or consume them. Finally one larger light appeared in the center and the smaller ones began to orbit around the big one. When she had finished, she held what appeared to be a tiny little solar system in her hand.

In truth it was about as simple as a planetary system could get. Even if it were big enough, it would not have supported life or been self-sustaining. It was the best she could do at the moment though. She figured with a few hundred more years of practice, she may be able to make galaxy big enough to be the home of a small, sentient termite colony.

She sat there staring at her little creation with a delighted, and slightly twisted, smile.

Garsed waved his hand briefly, a tall crystal glass appearing from the wooden counter in front of him. Extending his finger, liquid crystal water spewed forth, arcing perfectly into the bright new glass, purer than a new mountain spring. The glass began to sweat as he slid the coaster underneath, the water a cool, refreshing tempreture. He almost began to reply, before Tsana roughly threw herself at him. Laughing brightly, he picked her up and swung her around, great arms wrapping around her tightly in a loving embrace. "Now, Little Fairy, I've told you, you're not old enough for a pet. I don't think you'd take care of it," he set her down lightly, as if she weighed nothing, "A puppy is a big responsibility."

Garsed's eyes wandered a bit, finally resting on the woman who he had just served, a bright glint in his eye. He leaned forward on his elbows, eyes studying the woman, his mouth seemingly chewing on the words before he spoke them, "what do you think, Miss? Is the lass here old enough for a dog?"

Waved regarded first Garsed and then Tsana, now standing on the floor after the man lowered her. She stirred her water, smiled, and looked back to the inn-keeper, eyes glinting.

“I think, as long as she takes care of the pet, she can have one,” Waver answered, winking at Tsana. “If she proves incapable of caring for the creature, it would be simple enough for you to take it away, yeah? I say go for it—she’ll learn something from it either way. Let her have one for the sake of a learning experience.”

Had it been left to Waver, she would have allowed the child to have a pet regardless. However, it sure sounded better tying the situation in with responsibility, and it seemed like it would make Garsed feel a little better, even if he—in Waver’s eyes—appeared likely to let Tsana have a pet anyway.

Tsana prepared to protest when Garsed gave his answer, not through a childish tantrum but rather through a controlled reasonable discourse of course. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t come to a logical conclusion on his own. He had used up all the good bits of his brain by willing her into existence, or at least that was what Tsana figured after hearing the story of her "birth". Even considering his impaired judgment this staunch refusal to allow her to have a pet was just plain ridiculous. Sure she looked like a child (she'd admit begrudgingly), but in reality she was……well she didn't really know exactly how old she was, but she was old enough. The bit about responsibility was laughable. She had been working in a bar for as long as she could remember, a flipping bar! A bar that doubled as a strip club on the weekend, serving alcohol and everything, and he was going to stand there and say with a straight face that she wasn't responsible to take care of a dog? Crazy talk.

She had forgotten all of that the moment her beloved father had tossed the question to the woman he had been serving before she carelessly interrupted. He had made the mistake of assuming she would agree with him, and now if Tsana got her to take her side he'd have to buy her a puppy. She folder her hands together and tucked them neatly under her chin. She waved back and forth behind Garsed's back, pleading for the elf woman's favor from both sides of her father. At one point she even dropped to her knees. It must have been a peculiar sight to see a god praying to a mere mortal, but Tsana had no qualms with tossing all pride to the side for a moment to get the thing she wanted most in the world for the time being.

"Yes! You're the best!" Tsana shouted enthusiastically after receiving the elf's blessing. Little firework like sparks of violet and gold shot from the floor as and she leapt for joy. With her small size and godly strength her hands would have hit the ceiling of a smaller establishment when she threw them up , but the inn had a few feet to spare. She stopped mid air partway into her descent. With a front flip and a twist she landed softly behind the gracious guest who she now stood tiptoed behind with her arms draped over her shoulders and her check against hers. "Can you be my mother?"

Waver watched the sparks drift to the floor like ribbons of confetti, amused at the fairy’s response and still smiling from her little display earlier. It was unneeded, but she was glad the girl had felt the need to throw in the effort; it was rather adorable, and while she had already decided help the girl out, Waver felt even more compelled to do so after Tsana’s actions. She grinned and nudged the little god’s cheek as a big sister would to her younger sibling, not fazed at all by her choice of landing style.

“I can take on the role of fairy godmother and help you in times of need, when you’re father presents obstacles to you happiness.” Her words were light, and not the least serious. Not completely, anyway. She was joking to play along still, but Waver had to admit, she was pretty stealthy, regardless of her Elfish blood or not. Who was to say? Should Garsed decline his daughter’s wish for a puppy, Waver wouldn’t be surprised if, to say, one happened to appear in the young god’s room one night. Unrelated to any action of hers, of course… But the elf was fairly certain the innkeeper hadn’t intended to say no to begin with—his tone had been too jovial for that kind of answer, at least to her. She would be genuinely taken aback if he said no and meant it.

“Just give me a magic wand,” she joked, “and consider it done.”

"Now there's an idea," Tsana replied with a bemused smile, having taken the elf's words at face value. An air of malevolence wrapped itself over the miniature goddess as she waved her hand above Waiver's. The dark energy that flowed from her soon took form. Dark branches that resembled dark bone appeared in Waiver's hand, writhing like snakes before twisting together to form a thorn covered wand. Tsana's creation had a chilling aura around it that radiated with great and terrible power. Given time it would undoubtedly become an infamous artifact that would topple entire civilizations.

"And there you are." She whispered in her new godmother's ear. Tsana's tone had changed markedly. It was suddenly more mature and sinister, no longer the voice of a spoiled girl but one befitting a wizened god of temptation. "With this you can grant any wish, even your own." While Tsana was prone to bouts of mischief and sometimes downright evil, even she was not entirely a slave to her own temptations, and as her eldest sister often professed she had a light of good deep inside her. For a moment she felt a twinge of remorse for what she had just unleashed on the world, and a woman who had shown her nothing but kindness. "But be warned, my magic cannot create happiness. No gain can be had without an equal or greater loss. If you are wise you will never use that wand but hide it away somewhere for it is not a gift, but a curse. Please forgive me."

Tsana bowed her head as she walked away. The apology and warning she issued was insufficient in absolving her of guilt. Even if Waiver could resist the urge to use the wand, a feat few mortals would prove capable of, it would undoubtedly fall into the wrong hands given enough time creating an age of darkness somewhere in the multiverse. Still, there was nothing more she could do. The dead had been done. Alas, even gods are powerless against their own impulses.