The World's End

An old two level tavern seated on the edge of a hill. Other than what seems to be perpetual overcast and a slight mist surrounding the building due to evaporating sea water, nothing seems out of the ordinary. As with most things, appearances can be deceiving. In the basement is a golden caduceus, known as the Staff of Hermes. Whether it is the genuine article of the Greek god or not remains to be seen, but his influence is clearly visible. As long as it remains in the bar, violence cannot be taken against travelers. Fighting is not only forbidden in the bar; it is physically impossible. In addition, the tavern has the rather unusual ability to appear before a traveler in need of rest and refreshments. The bar can be found by anyone who is in need of it, no matter where they may be in the world. (It is not located in France exclusively. This is simply the location that Molly uses to enter it as an employee.)

Inside, the building has an "old world" feeling to it, present throughout the wooden benches and tables scattered around the first level to the candles and lanterns used in place of electricity. Beds are available in the top floors, complete with a dresser and bed, a candle in a holder on a small nightstand with a pack of matches in the drawer. Windows exist in every room, but not everyone may see the same thing when looking out.

=====>Entrance

Heat from the recently set sun continued to radiate off the cracked dirt road as a dark blue Hudson Hornet sped through the quiet countryside. The driver was coming off a long day's work and found himself in need of a place to rest for the night. Luckily, he'd come across just such a place in his travels and if his guess was correct he'd be coming up on it any moment now. Rounding a bend in the country road, the World's End finally came into view sitting at the base of a hill. Gradually applying pressure to the brakes, the driver slowed his car to a stop near the front door and killed the engine. Opening the driver side door, he exited the vehicle pausing just long enough to retrieve a large black case from the back seat before locking the doors and making his way into the bar. Truth be told he'd been rather impressed when he first stumbled onto this place some time ago. Whatever enchantment within the inn was heavy duty stuff to be able to warp space and time like it did to say nothing of the magical prevention against violence within the building. Normally, he would have made it a priority to dismantle it as soon as possible but in all this time he had yet to find any evidence of foul play related to the supernatural here. At this point in his career, the last thing that a man like Henry Travers wanted was to destroy a place that prevented supernatural harm.

Entering the bar, the mustached man made his way towards an unoccupied stool and set his case down next to it. A visual sweep of the interior didn't reveal any over supernatural patrons but some were better at hiding it than others. He removed his glasses and gave them a quick polish before returning them to his face and attempting to wave the bartender over. "Excuse me miss. Could I bother you for a burger and Coke?"

Today was so uneventful it hurt. Hardly anyone had shown up, leaving the bar quiet as death for the last few hours, aside from a rather entertaining Japanese youth quietly singing along to music the entire time, seemingly unaware other people were in the building. He wasn't too bad, though, and the the lack of noise let the original music whisper out into the air. The latest song was rather short, seemingly from a newer anime, and quite dandy. It had a very sci-fi quality to it, almost "space-like".

No time for spacing out or dandying at the moment, though, since a new face had just appeared. "Ah, of course," she answered, swiping a bottle from cooler as she walked towards the man. An older (or "vintage" as many people would claim) drink, it required a bottle opener, which she quickly grasped from below the counter, popping the cap and pushing the soda across on a tiny napkin.

Pulling a pen and pad from an apron pocket, she prepared to write the order. "How would you like that cooked?" she asked the mustached marauder who most likely wasn't a marauder of any sort. Hamburgers were a bit uncommon for this place, but with all the different menu items they'd served over the years, a simple American sandwich shouldn't be a problem.

Settling deeper into his seat, Travers reached out to take hold of the perspiring bottle and brought it to his lips, pausing long enough to answer the bartender's question. "Medium please. Just cheese," he added before taking a sip of the soda. It was crisp and cool, exactly what he needed after a long night. In the back of his mind he was dimply aware that he should probably start cutting back on the sugary drinks but he wasn't quite ready to deal with the guaranteed headache of sugar withdrawal. Placing the Coke back down on the napkin the bar tender had provided, Henry took another look around the bar checking for unsavory types. Upon closer inspection he was sure that a few of them weren't exactly normal drinkers by any stretch of the imagination. Reaching down for his case, he lifted it up and placed it in the seat next to him. The enchantments on the bar should prevent any violence but one could never be too careful.

"Bit quiet tonight isn't it?"

Scribbling the instructions onto the pad, the server tore the paper from the spiral and reached behind her to place it into an open window peering into the kitchen. A large, sweaty arm reached up, body unseen, and grasped the order before taking the paper away to parts unknown. "It should be out in a few minutes," she told him while placing the pen and pad back in the apron pocket.

"Yeah, for the past few hours," she answered. "It's like this sometimes, but you never know what could happen." The young man in the corner had begun a new song, this one seemingly German and quite energetic. "What brings you here anyway, stranger? I don't think I've seen you before."

Enter---->

Jennae had made her way from the Vatican and into the streets of Italy in search of a place to drown her problems in alcohol; a bar or pub, or whatever the hell they were called, they were all the same to her. After all, what better way to kill suicidal tendencies and internal struggle between morality and dogma than an overabundance of toxic liquid that killed brain cells and rotted the liver? Especially when combine with coffin nails that corroded the lungs and unhealthy amounts of sweets that made blood sugar skyrocket?

None. At least, not in her opinion. Other people had their own coping mechanisms, Jennae had hers. Lit cigarette between her lips and a ball of half-chewed starburst tucked into her cheek, the distasteful combination of the smoke and juicy flavor being one she had long since gotten used to, she had continued her search through the streets until she had finally come across a place that looked like it might have what she wanted.

The style of the place seemed to be outdated, but then again, what in Rome wasn't? It was a city filled with ancient crap that should have fallen centuries ago, but had somehow survived the passage of time, so she wasn't one to judge on looks alone. However, in all of her years of acting as a so called "Agent of Divine Retribution", she could recognize what her colleges would be quick to call "pagan magic" when she saw it, though she wasn't versed enough in the craft to recognize what kind or the effects.

Then again, she didn't care right now. She wasn't on duty, so she had no reason to enact violence upon something that could be completely innocent in nature, but if this place had an ample amount of whiskey and vodka then she couldn't care less if it was portal to hell itself, so long as it had her two favorite kinds of drink. It was, after all, where she was going to end up anyway.

She took another drag from her coffin nail and exhaled a cloud of smoke before entering the bar, stepping in from the nightly streets of Rome and into the olden establishment that looked as if it belonged in the dark ages. Taking note of the inhabitants with a dead and indifferent gaze, she would run her hand through her mop of white hair while approaching the bar, to which she would take a seat at one of the empty stools at the far end.

She'd speak after removing her coffin nail with two of her fingers, letting a cloud of grey flow from her lips as she did so. "Got any whiskey?"

------
OOC: Ugh post is ugh. I have to get back into Jennae's mindset.

Nodding in response to the bartender's question, Henry reached for a fresh napkin and dabbed his dampened mustache free of soda. "I've popped in a few times before. Work tends to keep me pretty busy but this is always a decent place to unwind. How long have you been here, miss?" he asked, visibly relaxing a bit. She seemed nice enough. It was certainly a welcome change from the gruff redneck types he generally ran into. Speaking of tough cases, it was only a moment later when a new patron entered the bar. A light haired woman puffing on a cigarette with a relatively dangerous air. She took a seat at the end of the bar as the smoke continued to billow upwards from the end of her coffin nail. A bit of an odd one it seemed, but apparently human from what Travers could tell at a glance. Then again, even if she weren't it shouldn't have mattered considering the enchantments on the bar. If she had enough juice to ignore those...well, Henry didn't want to think about that small possibility at the moment. He sent her a congenial smile and a slight wave of the hand before returning his gave to the bartender. "I'm sorry, I spaced out for a bit there. What were we talking about?"

She listened to the customer speak, nodding as he went. "Only a year," she answered. Another person walked in, taking a seat at the end of the bar. "Just a second," she told Travers, quickly walking to the new patron and taking a glass from behind the bar. "Welcome to the inn," she greeted, scooping some ice into the glass and pouring the drink of choice.

Hearing a bell ring from behind, it signaled that the food was complete and ready to serve. Circling back around, she grabbed the plate and place it in front of the gruff bat man. As promised, it was a hearty burger with two partially melted squares of American cheese on top, bun to the side. Next to it was a pile of wedge cut potatoes, bits of hot grease from the fryer still on the crispy surface, sticking the crystals of salt to the outside. "I think it was your food and how delicious it is," she joked, placing a bottle of ketchup and mustard near the previously placed bottle of cola.

Jennae gave a light nod and lazy wave as a return greeting to the woman's own before bringing her drink to her lips. She shuddered as she felt it go do down her throat before setting the glass back down with an audible cling of the ice inside. Smoke, whiskey, and the variety of fruity candy tucked into her cheek made for an extremely odd and queer taste, oddly one she hadn't quite gotten used to despite how much of a drinking habit she had.

She waited a moment before swallowing the wad of starburst, her eye giving off a small twitch at the aftertaste left behind. A moment later she brought her coffin nail back to her lips, stubbornly forcing an unhealthy intake of smoke, sweets and alcohol into her body. Jennae gave another curious glance around the room, still making mental guesses as to how old the establishment actually was considering how dated it looked.

The thought, however, only lasted for a moment before her attention was pulled back to the reason she had come here, causing her to down the rest of her drink in another, large gulp before pushing the glass away. She reached into the confines of her trenchcoat pocket and retrieved a literal handful of various candies before piling them on the bar in front of her, to which she began to pick through.

Henry's whiskers turned upwards slightly as his lips curled into a smile at the sight of the freshly cooked burger. It certainly looked good but it smelled even better. Cracking his knuckles, Travers grabbed hold of the juicy burger and brought it to his lips, taking a sizable bite. Unable to respond to the bartender with his mouth full, the hunter simply made a thumbs up gesture in response before swallowing the mouthful and washing it down with another sip of soda. Even while enjoying his meal, Henry was able to catch the slight movement of the woman at the end of the bar reaching into his coat. Rather than tense up, Travers kept his body in a loose state of readiness just in case things went south. Evidently getting a bit paranoid in his business, Henry was relieved to see that it was only a handful of candy. It was a rather odd choice to pair with cigarettes and hard liquor but who was he to judge. Working a kink out of his neck, Henry went back to work on his burger, perfectly content with the world for the moment.

Seeing as the gentleman was content with his meal, she turned her attention to the quiet lady sitting at the far end of the bar. Maybe a bit of conversation could get her to open up and not seem so upset. Topping off the glass, she said, "On the house. What brings you to the inn?" Sometimes it was okay to give out a free drink once in a while, especially to someone who seemed more than a bit disturbed. Besides, she'd learned that a bit of hospitality usually meant a bigger profit in the end. Plus, it was a bartender's job to be sympathetic to the people who came for a drink.

Over in the corner, the young man had fallen asleep, music still blasting. In another booth, a pale man dressed in flamboyant red and black placed a pair of orange glasses on his face, leaving money on the table and walking to exit through the door. A few moments later, a short man with a pair of large, hairy feet came up to take the money and clear his wine glass before disappearing into the back once more. He waved to Molly on the way back, getting a wink in return.

Retrieving a pack of skittles from the pile of candy now strewn out on the counter top, she opened it in careful manner so as to ensure the countless sweets inside didn't spill out. She had caught a glance of the man at the end of the bar, out of the corner of her icy blue eyes, and how he reacted to her simply reaching into her coat. She could read body language well enough, noting how he simply relaxed himself, loosening his body into a state of preparedness, as if he was expecting her to draw one of her beloved firearms and enact extreme violence on everyone here.

Sighing, a bit of irritation and mild annoyance mixed within, she pulled the coffin nail from her lips with one hand, tilted her head back and poured a mouthful of the tiny candies into her maw with her other. She used her tongue to tuck the group of sweet round embodiments of sugar and tooth decay into her cheek, causing a small bulge to appear before laying the tiny bag onto the counter and once again clenching the cancer stick between her lips. She spoke, though her attention seemed to still be focused on her empty glass. She made no mention of wanting another round, not yet, anyway, but she seemed to be fixated on viewing her own reflection and all of it's sleep-depraved, suicidal and nihilistic glory.  

"You can relax, old man." She said, removing her coffin nail with two of her fingers, a cloud of smoke drifting out from her lips as she did so. "If I was going to shoot anyone, it sure as hell wouldn't be anyone in this place..." She blatantly ignored trying to hide the fact that she was, in fact, armed, despite the fact that she was fairly certain the barrier the building had erected would prevent her from utilizing her weaponry should she somehow decide to. Hell, even if she could draw them, she doubted it would allow her to pull the trigger.  

She gave an insouciant shrug and a dismissive wave of her hand, a trail of smoke following it form the cigarettes lit cherry, before placing the cancer stick back into her lips which was followed by a mumble that was more to herself than to anyone at the bar. "Though myself isn't included..."

Chowing down on a few french fries, Henry didn't immediately react to the statements from the woman sitting at the end of the bar. However, the manner in which she referred to him was enough to eventually get a bit of a rise out of him. "Old man?" he muttered, glancing along her line of sight past himself. Shrugging his shoulders a bit, Henry continued his meal, silently assuring himself that he was by no means old. By this point the burger was half gone and all that remained of the fries were a few crumbs. He hadn't realized just how hungry he had been until he'd taken the first bite of that burger but now his hurried eating pace was beginning to catch up with him, causing the alchemist to set down the remainder of his burger and let out a sigh of contentment.

Seeing the impending argument, she tried to defuse the situation before someone had to call Tania to take one of them outside. "Age just brings wisdom and experience. I'm sure it was just a compliment." A lot of men seemed to be sensitive about their age, and (even if it could be funny at time) it was usually bad for business. Thinking back, she'd thought an awful lot about money this night. It probably made it seem like that's all she cared about here. If someone could read these thoughts, it would sure be embarrassing. That's totally not how she is.

Choking back a light chuckle at the bartender's reassurance, Henry mentally chided himself on being so easily read. "I certainly hope so, hehe. Guess I've just gotten a little thin skinned after a long day," he said with a smile. Wolfing down the last few bites of his burger, Henry stood up from his seat at the bar and gently pushed his plate away before reaching for is wallet. "I've got to tell ya, miss, that was just fantastic. Do me a favor and let chef know how much I appreciated it will you?" the alchemist exclaimed, dropping some cash onto the bar to cover the meal and a decent tip. Extending a hand to reclaim his "bag of tricks" Henry failed to account for the excess grease on his fingertips from the meal, causing the handle of the case to slip through his grip and fall to the floor below where it bounced open. His reflexes kicking in automatically, Traver's foot stepped down to close the lid before anyone could get a good look at the contents. However, the bounce itself had been enough to dislodge his baseball bat which bounced slightly once before settling to the ground at his feet as well. Donning a slightly embarrassed smile, Henry squatted down and reclaimed his possessions, resting the baseball bat over his shoulder. "Whoops. Regular butterfingers tonight."

Jennae had all but ignored the banter between the old man and the bartender, not having the patience nor care to chime in anymore than she already had. She was here to drown a few internal demons in just about any kind of alcohol she could get and suffocate the rest with the toxic plumes of smoke from her coffin nails, not make idle chatter with two individuals who were obviously far more lively than she was comfortable with.

Inhaling, the red cherry consumed the body of the cigarette with surprising rapidity, leaving only ash behind, which fell upon the pile of candy she had spread out within her arms reach. Removing the butt, she casually exhaled the large cloud before placing it in her coat pocket, only to retrieve her pack from the breast pocket once again and start the process all over, ending with the lighting of another coffin nail and another cloud of smoke exiting her lips. Additionally, a few more candies were added in to form a slight bulge in her left cheek.

The True Cross agent's acute eyes were drawn to the floor upon noticing the mans grip loose from his bag, causing it to drop to the hard wood and attempt to spill open. Luckily, the man had managed to catch it before Jennae had caught sight of anything important inside, except for the baseball bat, which was somehow tucked inside. "A bit of an outdated method of self defense, ol' man." She spoke absentmindedly, exhaling another cloud of smoke from her lips. "A bullet works far better."

She grabbed the money off the counter with one hand and the empty plate with the other. She dumped the dish into a sink full of soapy water before opening a register and placing the money in the machine, using the tip to pay back anything lost in the comped drinks for the woman. "Don't give him too much praise. You won't believe how often he talks about how he could have been a five star chef in some fancy restaurant no one can ever find on a map. The last thing we need around here is a bigger ego." As the case fell to the ground, she sprung into action in anything but an immediate fashion. Rather, she just grabbed a handful of brown napkins and pushed them forward across the bar. "These might help," she said, taking a glance towards the woman as she began to speak again. Her drink situation seemed to be adequate for the most part, so she wouldn't have to refill right now.

A sigh of annoyance and overall boredom finally escaped the female gunslingers lips, growing rather tired with what was happening around her. She didn't come to the bar to chat with the waitress, nor shoot the shit with an old man of questionable occupation. Removing the cigarette with her middle and index fingers, she pushed herself away from the bar and stood, retrieving a small tip from her coat to drop onto the counter before turning away and ushering herself out the door. She didn't like this place enough to put up with the atmosphere, and she hardly cared about how her two previous conversation partners would react to her rather rude and abrupt exit.

It was time to dive headfirst back into her shitstain of a life... The life of a True Cross agent. Fuckin' fantastic... The mental expression was drenched in sarcasm, though unless anyone in the vicinity could read minds, it wouldn't hold any significance to anyone but herself.

Exit---> Limbo