"He has freaking seduction venom?" The barkeeper smiled. "Kinky. C'mon, we only have about ten minutes to do this." She and Brie had walked into a drab dressing room with only a few tables with mirrors, and a single bulb lighting the room. Despite the accommodations, the performers, both men and women, seemed to be rather merry, flirting and drinking amongst themselves. "Heeeeyy B." One of the performers drunkenly swagged up to them. He had a messy stubble and shiny shoes to really push that 'creepy guy' vibe. "Hello Earl. I'm afraid we don't have time to chat." She tried to pull Brie along but Earl yelled after them,"You too are just neat, you know that?" The barkeeper chose to ignore this and took Brie to a rickety set of spiral, metal steps. "Head on up there, I'll be right behind you."
"Its seven deadly sins venom, he just likes to dial up the lust when he can." Brie muttered. She did as told to and hurried on ahead.
The barkeeper ran to a closet and pulled something out that was covered in cloth. She follow Brie up the stairs to the catwalk. “Be careful, these thing aren’t up to modern safety standards.” They walked slowly across the metal grates until they were facing the audience. She took off the cloth revealing a tommy gun. “Aim, for the guy Eris is flirting with. I’m going to do damage control.” She ran off leaving Brie and the tommy gun.
"Wait, what? I can't use a gun!!" she squeaked. This was more Eris's forte, she just existed for moral support, really. "And where are you going?"
“Aim and fire.” The barkeeper said. “And as I said, damage control.”
"How do you do that?? Oh, sod this." Brie shot the gun in the general direction of the target, hoping to hit him, but instead making a bullet rip through Eris's shoulder. Her second shot was more accurate, right through the head, but now she had to deal with the embarrassment of having shot Eris. She'd never live that down.
The barkeep ran down the spiral stairs. She heard two shots go off above her. She could only hope that one of them had hit the target. She hurried back to the closet she had pulled the gun out of and grabbed a few grey orbs. The crowd was yelling in panic as she rushed into the main room and dropped the orbs. Instantly the room filled with thick white fog. “Meet me back in the alley guys!” She yelled through the commotion. There was one more thing to grab before heading out.
She pushed and shoved through the panicked crowd making her way to the man’s dead body. There was no sign of Eris so he must have been on his way out. She pulled out a vial and held it to the corpse’s mouth. A glow-y gold substance leaked out and collected in the vial. She corked it and then made it back to the alley to meet Brie and Eris.
However, neither were there. Brie got caught up in all the commotion, and Eris had been dragged out by some terrified and violent bystanders who had seen him shift back to snake the moment the bullet ripped through him. "Eris! Where are you?!" Brie screamed, but no answer.
"Son of a bitch." The barkeeper looked around for Brie and Eris. "Complications, complications." She took out a pen and scribbled something on her arms. Covering the scribbles with one hand she murmured something. Her eyes flashed gold and Brie and Eris appeared in the alleyway. She coughed and her knees buckled.
"Oh god.." Brie said. "The humanoid being… broke?" Eris said, holding his shoulder where orange-gold blood spilled out.
"Ugh." She coughed again into her hand and silvery liquid came out. "I haven't done magic in a while. A kind of magical muscles strain, but far more unpleasant." Most of the guest had ran off so they were practically alone except for a few stranglers. "We should definitely get back to the tavern. But there's a problem."
"Yeah, look at my shoulder!" Eris snapped. "No, let the Barkeep talk, okay?"
"I can send you two back." She coughed again sending more liquid silver into her hands. "But I can't send myself back. Actually, that's really more of a me problem so I'll just send you two back."
"Hell nah. No individual of any gender left behind!" Brie said firmly.
"Well we don't really have a choice. I'm going to have to go to another story to heal up and it's not the kind of place you drag acquaintances to." She replied. "Eris is injured. You should go back to the tavern but I can't send you back if you won't let me."
"Just let her. Survival of the fittest, as that Darwin man said." Eris groaned in pain. "No, she has to come with us! Okay?" Brie said.
“I can’t come with you and you should come with me.” She glared at them. “Now stop mentally resisting and let me send you back!”
"Brie, be reasonable. She can use interdimensional travel, however primitive, and dealing with that level of strain on the mind probably means she can handle her physical form. Just let the Barkeep send up off, okay?" Eris said. "F-fine…" Brie agreed shakily, she was still unsure about this.
The barkeeper snapped and Brie and Eris appeared back in the tavern. She stumbled and snapped send herself to her best healer.
