Battle for Brains Tavern

What happens when you don't pay your rent? Hardy is about to find out the Hardy way and so are the adventurers he’s roped in to helping him out. But with an army of zombies and a blimp... do they stand a chance?

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## Battle for Brains Tavern

###### ***Characters:***

Hesti Moondragon, Leavenworth*,* Jordyn Silver, Oong'ba Farmhand and Zyra

###### ***Locations:***

Topaz Bay (Reality), Lightheart Tavern (Topaz Bay), Hardy Town (Eternity)

###### ***Notable Moments:***

First return of some Characters, Hesti found Hardy's magic bat, Brainz Blimp, Prune Juice, Hardy Cat-A-Pult, Claws of Justice

###### ***Episode Synopsis:***

Hesti opens this episode, exploring the now-empty docks of Topaz Bay, on her way to Lightheart Tavern. Leavenworth, whistling contentedly, heads straight to the Tavern. Oog'ba, trying to keep his chainmail rust free from the impending rain, heads to the Tavern. He can't really read but does his best to match the letters on the paper to the letters on the sign. Convinced that enough of them match, he also heads inside. Jordyn decides to visit the Apothecary, but the lights are out and no one answers her knock on the door. She heads to the Tavern and realizes that on the sign, the name "Brainz Tavern" is scratched out and "Lightheart Tavern" is scrawled in its place. She also enters, along with Hesti. The tavern is empty, besides the black cat Hardy sitting on the bar and Denis/Dumak rattling around in the back. Before anyone can even introduce themselves, a bright green light flashes, and out of the portal steps Zyra. Hardy is irritated that he was trying to bring Dan through, but whatever. When Leavenworth questions why Topaz Bay is so empty, Hardy immediately deflects but does at least introduce himself to the group. The empty town is everyone running out on Hardy...it's always the other person, obviously. Oog'ba is a little surprised at a talking cat; he's used to using brawn, not magic. But Hardy seems like one cool cat, so he's in. The crew will be paid in Hardy Credits, an "up and coming currency" in Eternity which Zyra assures them she has already gotten payment with them. Plus, Eternity has lots of cool people there, already stocked up with meat, bandages, some books...oh, did she say bandages? Well, not because anyone is getting hurt, for sure. And don't drink the prune juice. Seriously, don't drink it. Leavenworth thinks a drink in a tavern sounds like a good idea however, and pours himself a glass of the lukewarm tap water...with bits floating in it. Maybe have something else to drink...liquor? Spirits? Tea? Maybe in the future. But for now, Hardy explains: "Big things coming down, we're under attack, and I need you to help defend me and defend the tavern!" Apparently Hardy has been squatting in the tavern and Brainz and Co is preparing to take it back by force. Hardy won't be doing the fighting; he'll be in the back, calling out directions. He's a good micro-manager, as he's small. When are the zombies coming? Any minute now...that's why the town is empty because the horde of zombies is on its way.

Leavenworth suggests Oog'ba might be good stationed at the door, Oog'ba agrees; Jordyn heads to the back door where she tries to listen for zombies but only hears the rain begin. She looks for items to barricade the door, and finds Denis/Dumak bruised and battered but bottling "prune juice." While Zyra is pestering Hardy about all things food, Hesti tries to get more information from him. Learning that entire objective is to keep hold of the Tavern, she checks out behind the bar. She finds a good defensible position, and a small door. Popping the door open, she grabs a hilt...of a golden baseball bat with a sword hilt. She shows off her find to the group, and while Hardy squawks initially, decides if this is really coming to battle, it would make an excellent weapon for Hesti. She has a weapon and a place to hide behind the bar, she is ready. Meanwhile, Leavenworth is turning over tables to restrict movements. Oog'ba and Jordyn start to hear undead moaning outside; Oog'ba opens the front door and is confronted by 5 zombies, just waiting for him. He sees in the bay three large ships have pulled in, full of zombies, all waving the banner of a zombie head: Brainz. Above is a large blimp with a "Brainz & Co" emblazoned on its side. He sees a small red package tossed out the side of the blimp, and it slowly descends with its attached parachute. Oog'ba tells the group that they have arrived; Zyra will somersault over to the front door in anticipation of battle, and Jordyn will quickly close the door, leaving poor Oog'ba outside with the horde. At least she didn't lock the door...yet. Leavenworth can see out the windows that the town is filling rapidly with the undead. Oog'ba quickly re-enters the tavern and closes the door...much better inside. Denis/Dumak brings a crate of small glass bottles filled with "prune juice," which Zyra knows to be gasoline, much to her delight. Denis/Dumak walks away nonchalantly, as his shift ends at 5. Zyra quickly comes up with a plan of prune juice and fire, but Hardy cautions them against burning down the Tavern...or any other building. He has designs on running for government here one day. Zyra asks if they can get on the roof, they hear a crash, and Denis/Dumak says sure, there's a ladder. He actually just punched a hole in the roof and balanced a ladder on top of a table. Zyra suggests the fighters stay here while the magic/distance folks head to the rooftop. Leavenworth grabs a few bottles of "prune juice" and head up to the rooftop, with Jordyn following; Denis/Dumak drops off an entire crate of "prune juice" for them on the roof. The majority of the zombies are barely holding together, but they are a multitude...with more coming off the ships all the time. As the red package continues to fall very slowly, Leavenworth hears from the blimp what sounds like a few taps on a microphone, and from the loudspeaker: "...Brainz..." Given the word, the horde attacks the tavern, clawing and scratching at it.

Jordyn starts by tossing a bottle of prune juice/gasoline into the main street and shooting a fireball to ignite it. She decimates a group of them, but as they fall, more simply take their place. Leavenworth spots movement in the trees behind the tavern, but no zombies yet. He tosses two bottles near where Jordyn tossed hers, and a wall of flame erupts; briefly lighting up the interior of the tavern. All Oog'ba and Zyra see is the front street on fire. Hesti heads to the front and casts a barrier spell to keep the tavern safe. A window breaks on the left, two zombies tumble inside, and Hardy immediately runs for the bathroom to hide. The red package continues its slow descent. The zombies stand up, swing on Oog'ba, but does nothing against his chainmail. He swings back with his sword, lopping off the head entirely. Zyra does a front flip, cutting the zombie in two from top to bottom. Outside, Jordyn and Leavenworth once again hear "...Brainz..." spoken over the loudspeaker, and they hear an explosion down at the docks. Turning to look, they see large projectile fly up at them, then hear 3 small pops as parachutes open in flight. Three zombies are now floating towards them on the roof. Jordyn contemplates shooting down the blimp, but how??

Faced with the immediate threat of floaters, Jordyn shoots a fireball at one but only serves to mildly irritate it. Leavenworth tries to throw more "prune juice" on the crowd below, and casts a barrier to protect Jordyn and himself. Back on the ground level, the zombies manage to break through the door. The red package continues its slow descent. Oog'ba is undamaged, but Zyra is hit! Oog'ba wants to shove the doors on top of the zombies in the doorway, but fails in the most heroic way. Leavenworth realizes from his rooftop vantage point that more zombies are coming in the through the back way, and these are "fresher" -- they are faster and could get through the back door quickly. Zyra is seeing trouble from all sides: the window is broken, the door is broken, there are noises coming from the back...she starts hacking at limbs. Hardy decides this is the best time to ask Zyra to run to the general store for more kitty litter...and Jordyn yells down to see how wedded Hardy is to the idea that they can't burn down the tavern...because it's looking like they won't have any other choice soon. Is there anything in the back? Maybe a catapult? Or as Hesti rephrases, a Cat-a-pult? Jordyn relays how this blimp seems to be directing the attacks, so if they could shoot that down somehow... Hardy calls Brainz a coward for not fighting in his own battles; he sends in other brainless zombies to do it for him. *(cough, cough)* The 3 parachuting zombies have reached the rooftop; one swings on Jordyn but doesn't even scratch her. The second one attacks Leavenworth, breaking through the barrier and landing some damage. Even after a second attack, Jordyn is still unhurt...but they are quickly becoming overrun. She uses Jolt to electrify the nearest zombie, which falls off the roof right where Leavenworth threw the last "prune juice," and the electrical fire races up the street. Having little option, Leavenworth tries to shove a zombie off the roof, but rain gets in his eyes and he misses. Back inside, Hesti heals Zyra a bit, but the toxic fumes and smoke are entering the tavern. The zombies at the door finally shove their way in - one nails Oog'ba and one grazes Zyra, but they stay on their feet. Leavenworth can finally make out the words on the red package as it sinks below his line of sight: "Brainz Blast" with a symbol of a flame.

Our team is losing ground...in an effort to slow the zombies' progress, Oog'ba uses his shield to bash the zombie in front of him back a bit, and blocks the door to keep more from entering. The zombies at the back door haven't broken in yet, but the door is shaking. Denis/Dumak hasn't been any help yet, but he exits the kitchen with some sort of contraption, and silently enters the bathroom...?? The zombies on the roof are still chipping away at Jordyn and Leavenworth...they can't hold out much longer! Zyra, ever accommodating, starts her kitty litter run for Hardy. She somersaults her way through the window, outside, through the crowd, and when they all close in on her, she does her spin of death, slaying zombies as she goes. But the air outside is thick and toxic, making breathing more and more difficult. Jordyn uses her telekinesis to shift the Brainz Blast away from the tavern...but also over Zyra...

Denis/Dumak finally exits the bathroom with the weapon, with Hardy sitting on top. He has a strip of red cloth tied around his head, a grim expression on his face, claiming "they drew first blood!" Denis/Dumak brings him to the ladder and climbs with the contraption while Leavenworth sweeps the leg of the zombie on the roof. Can they hold on? Hesti uses the golden bat to wallop a zombie, and delivers enough "bonk" to put it down instantly. Oog'ba tries to hold off the horde while Zyra rebuffs more attackers. Oog'ba yells his War Cry to draw attention to him, giving Zyra a break...just as Hardy's head emerges from the hole in the roof. "You have done very good but it is time for me to end this." Denis/Dumak aims and readies the hand-held Cat-A-Pult, and Hardy growls: "Fling me at the lump and I will use my Claws of Justice to tear a hole in it!" Denis/Dumak obliges, and Hardy is launched...at way too high of an angle, overshoots Brainz Blimp entirely, and lands in the waters of Topaz Bay. Seeing this, Zyra tells all of the zombies around her, "He went that way!" *(nat 20!)* They all turn and start staggering down to the docks; the remaining ones are still fixated on Oog'ba. Now freed up, Zyra sees the Brainz Blast just about to strike the Meat Cart. NOT THE MEAT CART! Using her Elven nimbleness *(and a dirty 20)* she hops up on a barrel and uses zombie heads as stepping stones to snag the bomb out of mid air by the parachute, saving them all from the blast. From their vantage points on the roof, Jordyn and Leavenworth see a flash of green in the water, and poof! Hardy re-appears on the roof soaking wet and shivering. He's over the tavern, let the zombies have it. Zyra pipes up that she...sort of...has a bomb? Could Hardy portal it to the blimp? Hardy opens a portal, Zyra jumps in, and POP she is above the blimp in free fall. She deftly drops the bomb to land squarely on top of the blimp, and it all explodes instantly. As the blimp plummets, they hear one last "...Brainz..." before it crashes in the woods. Hardy says Brainz will be really mad when he crawls out of that mess, they need to go now! A small green portal opens up under Zyra who falls through, and the other adventurers get their own portal as well. All jump through and arrive safely in Eternity to find Denis/Dumak fiddling with his Cat-A-Pult, and Hardy still shivering...now with his red bandana slipping down and covering part of this face. He is nonplussed. Hesti tries to help reposition it, but he is still not happy. The adventurers will make their homes in Eternity now, where there is another tavern, a forge...and no Brainz!