SEWS AGGRESSIVELY

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 20:35

We left off having taken a bus to Sherri's apartment near the veggie dog place, and having met the true protagonist of this story, Dan the Bus Man.

The sign above the hot dog place reads in bright green letters, with a mascot of a dog holding a carrot in its mouth and wagging its tail: DIGGITY DOG SLIDERS.

bobble

What do the other patrons look like?

Sciborg

Inside you see some local college students and mostly young people who are ordering various types of meat-free veggie treats, which is what the restaurant specializes in - veggie dogs, veggie burgers, kosher dogs, and so on.

There also appear to be "green shakes", which are veggie smoothies.

Mithical

Sherri will lead the charge inside.

bobble

Teri mentally puts on her nice-society face

Sciborg

The young man at the counter, who looks to be in his early twenties and wearing a blue hearing aid, looks up brightly at your approach, smiles, and points earnestly at a small handwritten sign mounted on the counter, next to an electronic menu and a paper menu that are laid out for your perusal. The sign reads: HELLO! MY NAME IS SPENCER AND I WILL SERVE YOU TODAY. I CANNOT HEAR YOU SO PLEASE POINT AT WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE :)

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 20:43

Fin sticks close to Sherri to see what the plan is

bobble

Money-conscious, Teri automatically scans for the lowest-priced items

Mithical

Sherri winks, pops him an "OK" hand signal, and points to a veggie dog in a bun - nothing too fancy.

Sciborg

He nods excitedly and taps rapidly on his tablet to ring it up for you. You have never seen a fast food worker's fingers move so fast.

AncientSwordRage

Fin does her best to point at the same item on the menu, but she can't tell if Dan can see her from down there

Sciborg

@bobble There are some salads and "mini dogs" that look pretty inexpensive.

Spencer, who is now standing on his tiptoes trying to see what Fin is pointing at, taps questioningly to make sure that's what you want.

bobble

Feb 16, 2023 20:46

Teri points at a salad featuring blue cheese dressing

Sciborg

Spencer nods and taps it in. It looks like this will come out to eight dollars for everyone.

AncientSwordRage

@Sciborg Fin nods as carefully and clearly as she can

Mithical

@Sciborg Sherri's covering for everyone tonight. Is that 8 per person or 8 total?

Sciborg

Eight total, this world doesn't have ridiculous food inflation.

Mithical

truly high fantasy

2

Sherri's been here before, so I assume she knows the tipping ettiquette

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 20:50

Fin turns to Teri, "How do you make a hot dog out of vegetables...?" Her face is utter confusion

Sciborg

With a flourish Spencer signs something rapidly at the line cook, who darts off to start making all your food. He draws a smiley face in the air at you and smiles.

bobble

At a booth, Teri recognizes a college student who borrows lots of middle-grade sci-fi from the library and waves.

@AncientSwordRage "Science."

AncientSwordRage

@bobble "Va! Is that a kind of magic?"

bobble

@AncientSwordRage "Well, they mix things together, and with some machines, out comes food"

This is not a topic Teri has looked into much

Mithical

Nor Sherri, TBH

bobble

Feb 16, 2023 20:53

"You can also use magic, but that would probably be expensive. And the inspections would be difficult to explain"

AncientSwordRage

@bobble "Then it must be."

Mithical

@Sciborg Has Sherri encountered Spencer before?

bobble

Teri's attention has shifted to figuring out where to sit

Sciborg

@Mithical You've definitely met him a few times when ordering here, he's always very cheerful. If you remember correctly he's going to culinary school.

The food arrives in only a few minutes and consists of a blue cheese dressing salad, two veggie dogs, and a napkin folded into an origami dog, as per usual.

bobble

Who folds the napkins?

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 20:59

You actually have no idea, they just seem to appear.

Mithical

Digging through her bag, Sherri pulls out a piece of paper and writes down Thank you, Spencer! Next time I hope to see you in the kitchen, it's always a delight when you're preparing. <3, and pass it to him before starting to eat.

bobble

Teri stares suspiciously at the dog and pokes it with a fork

Sciborg

Spencer beams radiantly and signs a heart at you in response.

@bobble The dog falls over.

Mithical

"The dog's not going to bite you, darling."

bobble

mage hand it back up while looking innocently away

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 21:02

To be fair, the last inanimate dog object Teri encountered was definitely not inanimate.

This one does seem to be just a napkin, though.

AncientSwordRage

Fin picks up her veggie dog and cautiously takes a bite

bobble

"You mentioned a fashion show, Sherri?"

Sciborg

The veggie dogs are to die for. Sometimes vegetable meat can have a weird aftertaste or be a little mealy in texture, but they nailed the cooking on this one.

bobble

@Sciborg this implies that none of the knickknacks at the gnome house were dogs?

AncientSwordRage

@Sciborg Fin's eyes light up

Mithical

Feb 16, 2023 21:04

"I did indeed, darling. There's one tomorrow that I heard about through the grapevine, and if I can show up with a few finished designs I might be able to make a pitch and sell the designs. Speaking of, I have a lot of work to do tonight if I want to finish that in time..."

Sciborg

@bobble Only gnomes and roosters, I'm afraid.

bobble

This has been said, but she has no taste

"Do you need- can I be of assistance?"

Mithical

"...do you have experience with sequins?"

AncientSwordRage

@Mithical "Já, I can also very helpful"

It looks like Fin honestly believes that ^

bobble

Teri makes a face. "Oakwinkle has me set up all the craft days, so yes"

Mithical

Feb 16, 2023 21:07

"Why don't we finish up here, get back to my apartment, and then we'll see what can be done, then, dears. I have a few ideas percolating, I just need to make sure I have the supplies..."

Sherri looks over at Fin and thoughtfully starts staring, as if she's calculating things in her head.

bobble

Are there any ~~plot points~~ suspicious people in here?

Sciborg

Roll Perception.

bobble

Can I Perception plot into existence? 17+4=21

Sciborg

What languages does Teri speak?

bobble

Oakwinkle, English, Japanese

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 21:11

As a rogue you know Thieves' Cant as a language too, right?

AncientSwordRage

(would it make sense for Fin to help, if Teri recognises Dwarvish?)

bobble

I guess?

Sciborg

I couldn't remember if all rogues get it or if you have to specifically pick it

It affects your Perception result here, is why I ask

AncientSwordRage

@Mithical Fin returns the stare with a well practiced smile

Mithical

@Sciborg all rogues get it at level 1

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 21:14

That's what I figured, so Teri has Cant as well

Mithical

(just checked the book)

Sciborg

@bobble It's very subtle, but a few times as Spencer is in between customers and moving around chatting with the line cook and some other coworkers, you notice that along with his sign language he is weaving in a little bit of subtle Thieves' Cant in gesture form. You don't speak ASL, but you recognize him flashing somatic Cant signs at the line cook as they're talking about something unrelated as a cover, and the cook is returning them verbally with extra words inserted here and there.

It's like watching a carefully rehearsed hidden choreography.

bobble

"Sherri?"

Mithical

"Mmm?"

bobble

waits for Sherri to finish bite

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 21:18

Fin stops smile-staring

Mithical

Shaking off the immersed-staring, Sherri will refocus on Teri. "Yes, dear?"

Sciborg

Did you bring the cans over too? Spencer is currently gesturing in between seemingly normal signs. "Yes," the cook replies, with mixed somatic and verbal Cant cues, "but we'll have to pick a different route, I think Beverly is on to us. She asked me why I was out by the dumpsters after my shift."

bobble

"The workers are conversing in code..."

Mithical

"Of course they are, Spencer's deaf, darling."

bobble

"Street code. Routes and secrets and-"

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 21:21

@Sciborg (would Fin recognise cant having spent time around Brynne?)

Sciborg

@AncientSwordRage You don't speak or understand it as a language, but you could probably also recognize they're using Cant.

Mithical

"Interesting..."

19+5=24 Insight on Spencer

Sciborg

I always thought the rules were stupid about that, Spencer signs emphatically. We have so much extra food at the end of our shift and so many vegetables that get thrown away just because they're a little bruised or weirdly shaped. Might as well give it to people who are hungry, I don't get why she's on your back about it.

"Figures, yeah," the cook Cants back, as he flips veggie patties.

bobble

"Giving food to people?"

AncientSwordRage

@bobble "Some of those gestures remind me of one of Brynne's 'helpers'... dúlla min, do they work for Brynne?"

bobble

Feb 16, 2023 21:24

"ssh!"

Teri automatically glances from side to side

AncientSwordRage

Fin claps her hand on her mouth a little too late

Sciborg

@Mithical You get zero sense of malice from Spencer during this conversation; rather, you get the sense that he's helping to do something slightly against the rules for the right reasons.

Mithical

"I have full confidence in Spencer, dears, he's always been very reliable. I don't think there's anything we need to be worried about."

I think Sherri's finished by now.

Sciborg

The origami dog, at this point, has slightly wilted and now looks only vaguely dog-adjacent.

bobble

Teri is as well.

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 21:27

Fin whispers to Teri, "Brynne owes me money, but I don think he'll be very happy to see me let alone me asking for it back"

Fin probably finished a short while ago

(IRL food is arriving soon)

bobble

Teri collects the dishes on the tray, leaving the dog, and puts them in the spot about the trash can

Mithical

If they're all finished, Sherri will stand up, wave to Spencer, and start to head out (assuming she paid earlier).

Sciborg

"I still think when you get out of school, we should talk about your misshapen-vegetable restaurant idea," the cook whisper-signs to Spencer as he passes to help another customer, and Spencer smiles, then notices you leaving and waves enthusiastically goodbye.

AncientSwordRage

"Þúst, we should come again soon" Fin says trotting after Sherri and trying to keep up with her

Mithical

"They do a good job, don't they?" she says absentmindedly.

bobble

Feb 16, 2023 21:31

What time is it now?

AncientSwordRage

@Mithical "Já..."

Sciborg

@bobble Definitely getting into evening.

Mithical

What color is Teri's bomber jacket?

bobble

Faded green

Sciborg

The night sky is clear with a few clouds, and there's a light wind blowing that ruffles your jackets and hair. It's a peaceful atmosphere.

Mithical

Feb 16, 2023 21:34

"Teri, dear, what size is that old jacket of yours? Fin, do you happen to know your measurements, sweetie?"

bobble

shrug "The tag came off long before I got it"

Mithical

"I see, I see..."

bobble

(following Sherri)

Mithical

Cutting to the apartment?

Sciborg

jump cut, orchestra music

Mithical

Feb 16, 2023 21:40

Sherri, immediately upon walking in, starts pulling out boxes of fabric and clothes and rifling through them.

Sciborg

Assuming you've been building up your sewing stuff for a while, you definitely have the equivalent of a sewing kit in here, if not two.

Mithical

Oh, yeah, the question is if she has all the stuff she needs to throw together two highly-specialized outfits in one night :D

bobble

Teri is setting herself up with a blanket

Sciborg

Since it makes background sense, we'll say you can make proficient tailoring (Dexterity) checks to mend clothing, tailor outfits and join cloth and other materials with the materials. And in this case when trying to highly customize multiple outfits we'll call it two checks and each one will take you a different amount of time depending on the result of that check. So you could potentially be pulling an all-nighter here :p

Mithical

I was kinda expecting to take a point of exhaustion

bobble

Feb 16, 2023 21:44

Teri would like to help, but her experience is limited to kiddie art projects and book repair

Sciborg

Yeah - if you badly fail these checks it might take away a potential long rest...

But that's what skill challenges are for :D

AncientSwordRage

(food arrived, will catch up in a sec)

Mithical

"Teri, Fin, dears, can you give me a hand, please? I need to find a black leather jacket that will fit Teri, and a ballroom dress that I can adjust to fit Fin. I think I might have something, but it'd save time if you search through these while I start working on another aspect."

AncientSwordRage

@Mithical "Ooh, I really don't know. It's not mine."

bobble

Teri looks around, clearly unsure where to search

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 21:46

@Mithical "Are you sure?" Fin looks cautiously around

Mithical

"Yes, yes, just go through those boxes." Sherri is grabbing a fabric sample and frantically emptying a box of TEST MATERIALS that she pulled out of a drawer.

bobble

What do I roll to find a jacket?

Sciborg

Roll Investigation, there's a lot of fabric around here.

bobble

12+3=15

AncientSwordRage

Fin is going to cast Borrowed Knowledge (investigation) and then Guidance on herself as she starts to search, turning left and right to almost divine where to look

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 21:51

@bobble It takes a bit, but you eventually manage to locate a slightly baggy black leather jacket with a biker vibe to it.

bobble

"This work?"

Sciborg

@AncientSwordRage You find another, slightly different style of black jacket that's more aviator-esque, buried in Sherri's substantial collection.

AncientSwordRage

@Sciborg (I got 20+4+2 on my roll)

Mithical

Here's what Sherri's aiming to create:

Outfit for Teri:

Black leather jacket, worn open
Sunglasses
Black cotton shirt with a disembodied hand holding a knife
Long, snug but not form-fitting jeans that have been dyed black instead of blue
Black platform boots with three inches of heel

It's entitled "The Skulker".

Outfit for Fin:

Emerald green ballroom-style dress with slightly poofy sleeves. The whole dress is styled with a holographic sheen, so that it looks like straight lines when first glanced at, but if you look at it the lines all change direction, except for one section in the back that doesn't shift, so it stays in th…

3

This is going to require hand-sewing the designs and cutting and sewing the fabric to fit.

Sciborg

@AncientSwordRage Same result, but this one you feel like screams Teri.

@Mithical Skill challenge time! :D

bobble

Feb 16, 2023 21:54

(is there a mechanical way for Teri to help?)

Otherwise she will probably fix herself/Sherri a hot chocolate

AncientSwordRage

Fin, after practically diving into a box, she proudly hoists the jacket aloft

Sciborg

Everyone can contribute using skills that feel appropriate, and we'll say this challenge requires five total successes. On two failures of any kind, it takes long enough that Sherri takes exhaustion.

Sound fair?

Mithical

sounds good

Well, first, Sherri has to take both Fin's and Teri's measurements. That way, if she has to work through the night, the other two can grab some sleep.

bobble

"I can sew things? I fix broken bindings, same principle, right?"

Sciborg

@Mithical That sounds like it could be either Perception or Sleight of Hand.

Mithical

Feb 16, 2023 21:57

oh, neither of those are good :D

Sciborg

Maybe Investigation? :p

Although "investigate your friends" sounds wrong

Mithical

@bobble Sherri looks a bit apprehensive at that notion, but she'll let Teri help out with adjusting the size of the t-shirt to fit Teri specifically better.

@Sciborg that's even worse :P I'll just go with Perception

Sciborg

Also worth noting, in normal 5e skill challenges each skill can only be used once.

bobble

Whenever appropriate, Teri contributes 18+9=27 Sleight of Hand for sewing

Mithical

(@AncientSwordRage do I have Guidance for this check?)

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 22:01

@Mithical if Sherri is ok with it, yes

Mithical

She has to be pretty close to be measuring, so yep

(...how does the discord roll bot work)

Sciborg

@bobble [Pass #1] You do a phenomenal job on helping out with the zigzags and gatherings. As in, your stitches are so tiny, perfectly aligned and symmetrical that it's like a machine did them.

Mithical

well that's a 5

(2+2+1)

...actually, maybe I'll ToC that one

Sciborg

That works, yup :p

Mithical

do I reroll the d4 or nah?

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 22:05

Sure, it's a new roll

I was trying to think of a way you could fail at measuring tape lol

Mithical

9+2+2=13

AncientSwordRage

@Mithical Fin says to Sherri, "Don't forget to measure me sat down as well... And oh, uhm.. you forgot to measure this bit"

Sciborg

@Mithical [Pass #2] You go through the entire slow, laborious process of carefully measuring Fin and Teri for almost an hour. It takes longer than you hoped for and you accidentally misconvert some units so you have to redo one, but you get there.

Mithical

"Don't worry, sweetie, I'm a professional. I know what I'm doing."

AncientSwordRage

@Sciborg (dwarves are very hard to measure)

Mithical

Feb 16, 2023 22:07

With their measurements ready, next up will be hand-stitching the design for Teri's shirt and fitting the pants.

(She also needs to deal with AM's blazer.)

Sciborg

Perception and Sleight of Hand have been used up so far, so they're out of the skill pool.

Mithical

intimidation? ;)

(kidding)

AncientSwordRage

"Já, of course..." And Fin explains a bit about the heirloom dress she got repaired once with bright modern fabrics)

Sciborg

@Mithical SEWS AGGRESSIVELY

Mithical

it's an intimidating design!

bobble

Feb 16, 2023 22:10

Teri will now make hot chocolate (not part of skill challenge)

Also, I have to run for a meeting in ten

Mithical

Stealth, for making the pants fit within any obvious sitches?

Sciborg

Sure!

Mithical

@bobble (thumbsup)

18+2+3-23

AncientSwordRage

@bobble (are you ok with us continuing?)

bobble

Yep

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 22:12

@Mithical [Pass #3] You… stealth the fabric into submission?

Mithical

:D

bobble

Once the hot chocolate is done Teri distributes it and retires to a corner

Mithical

Just to clarify, @Sciborg, is the blazer for AM part of this skill challenge, or will that be separate?

Sciborg

That will be separate, unless you want to make it too - maybe it adds an extra success required?

Mithical

I'll do it separately

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 22:14

"...and Mama was so mad when she saw what I got Madam Tapek to do to the dress..."

Mithical

Next up is resizing the base layer for Fin. This is going to involve probably a lot of cutting and re-sewing, since they're mostly Sherri-sized or assorted fabric.

AncientSwordRage

"...500 years old..."

Sciborg

Both of the outfits are really taking shape, two more checks to go.

AncientSwordRage

Fin seems content to keep helping while chatting

Mithical

Maybe Survival for this one

"Fin, can you give me a hand here, please? I need to make sure this fits you properly."

(Guidance still applicable, @AncientSwordRage?)

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 22:16

The Survival usage could be to pad the clothes with a little extra support/armor class, just in case.

Mithical

What armor does Fin have right now?

AncientSwordRage

@Mithical Fin's eyes glow as she obliges with Guidance

@Mithical Fin's leather jacket is leather armour

Mithical

got it

well that's a 4+2+3=9

AncientSwordRage

"Já, I can help" but Fin's voice is slightly distorted from all the Guidance the Draumrsteig is providing

Sciborg

[Failure #1] While trying to add some light shoulder support to Fin’s shirt, you accidentally cut too far and slice a hole in the armpit that requires an extra hour to fix up.

Mithical

Feb 16, 2023 22:19

"Oh, for..."

bobble

o/

Mithical

\o bobble

Last up is the dress. This is probably the most labor-intensive and most perfomative article of clothing, which is why I was saving Performance for this one.

17+6+4=27

AncientSwordRage

@Mithical "You haven't touched your hot chocolate... Would you like me to make you coffee instead?"

(\o bobble)

Mithical

"Yes, yes, don't distract me please, god I hope this material lasts to the end of this...."

AncientSwordRage

Fin shinks a little but nods

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 22:25

@Mithical [Success #4] You dramatically pin, measure, cut, align, realign, reassess, cut, pin, sew, and swish like a magician as you assemble the dress. It looks like a scene straight out of Downton Abbey or the Phantom Needle.

AncientSwordRage

Fin beams while she watches Sherri sew so skillfully

Sciborg

The dress comes into shape like a sculpture being coaxed out of marble.

It’s beautiful. It just needs one more something, a finishing touch.

Mithical

Sherri is going to aim to put something in to bring out Fin, specifically, in this dress.

10+5+3=18 Insight

Sciborg

[Final Success] You delicately add an essence of Fin: a fiery orange splash of color, like the dwarven forges of her youth. It completes it perfectly.

Mithical

Sherri sits down heavily.

What time is it at this point?

Sciborg

Feb 16, 2023 22:29

It’s just after two in the morning - you can squeeze in a long rest still if you wake up a bit late. You saved just enough time.

Mithical

...nope, still gotta do AM's blazer

And pull something together for herself

AncientSwordRage

"Sherri, it's beautiful but..." She yawns, "Don't you need to sleep?”

Mithical

Sherri is now digging through the boxes, yet again. "You and Teri go to sleep, sweetie, I have a couple more things to finish. Shouldn't be long."

AncientSwordRage

"You don't want any more help...?" The concern is audible in Fin's voice

Mithical

"You need to sleep," a bit more firmly this time.

AncientSwordRage

Feb 16, 2023 22:32

And Fin looks over at Teri, and then nods at Sherri.

Fin finds a blanket and curls up somewhere soft and out of the way

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