Last Call

[Shinko]

There is a flowershop that's been abandoned and condemned in the Pen's Point district of the Netwaffle for... a long time now. Decades, as far as anyone can remember. They say that there was some sort of massive shootout there a long, long time ago, and the vengeful spirits of the unquiet dead have kept anyone from going anywhere near the building. Which is also why it's never actually been destroyed despite having had a "condemned" tag on the door for so long. Or so the rumors go.

You've never put much stock in those rumors. You pass by the old flowershop all the time, and you've never seen evidence of anything unusual about it. It's just a derelict old building; sure the windows are cracked and there's ivy growing up the facade, but that's what happens when you don't tend a place for howeverlong.

But earlier this week, a new rumor started to circulate. A story that, between the hours of 6 PM and 2 AM on Halloween Night, the ghosts will lower their guards and let strangers into the building. If, that is, you know how to get their attention. And hearing the method people whisper for getting that attention, you can't help but find your curiosity piqued.

Hoping that nobody notices, you head towards the old building at the appointed hour. You just want to check. What could it hurt? A quick in-and-out. Prove once and for all that there's nothing about this building that's odd except for the city taking it's sweet time about the demolishing. As you round the corner, you are quite surprised to see an old-fashioned telephone call-booth, just as the rumors described. Apprehensive now, you approach the booth, slipping inside and shutting the door behind you. The phone is ancient. A rotary phone with one of those ends you speak into that looks like a horn, and a second horn to hold up to your ear. You spin the dial on the rotary, and are greeted by the unmistakable chime of... a doorbell?

"Hullo?" a bored voice sounds from over the line, making you jump a foot in the air. "You got any idea how late it is?"

Weird- this is exactly the scenario as described in the rumors, almost to the letter. Hesitantly, you reply with the counter to the code-phrase, and one side of the phone booth- the side facing the wall of the flowershop- slides open to reveal a transparent man, hovering in front of the threshold with a phone in one hand.

"A'ight, come on then," he says, beckoning you towards what is not the dark derelict building you were expecting, but instead a brightly lit room full of tables, cigarette smoke, and jazz music. "You were discrete, aye? Don't want anybody gettin' in who'll call the bulls about the giggle water."

You enter the room, and are surprised to find yourself in what can only be some sort of bar. There are black and orange streamers hanging from the ceiling, jack-o-lanterns on every table, and various Halloween themed curios. But instead of teenagers in doofy costumes, the bar is occupied entirely by ghosts. All of them look like they've just stepped out of a period drama from the 1920s, and none of them seem aware of dripping bulletholes that riddle their incorporeal clothing.

Incorporeal the people may be, but when you glance over at the bartender, you can see that the hooch is very much real.

What will you do?

[Liou]

A floating mass of dark glyphs floats into the building - having somehow found a working code phrase through the otherworldly whispers that waft in its wake.
The glyph creature wanders a little, aiming its red glare at a few patrons. Some of the streamers get caught between glyphs and immediately begin to sizzle with blue sparks.
The creature stops in front of the bartender. A ripple runs through its glyphs, then an opening like a mouth appears and out flow more symbols. They zoom above the creature's head, rearranging themselves and changing shape until they read:

Oops... I expected flowers.
You wouldn't happen to have a greenhouse like Huntress 's pub, would you?

[Shinko]

Liou
The bartender looked up at the mass of squiggles, brows raised. "Well you're somethin' different, ain'cha?"

He looked up to the words the thing had spelled out, and rolled his eyes. "The flowershop's a front. What, this your first time visitin' a speak-o? I mean sure, we can sell ya flowers if ya want, but is that really all yer after, Bluenose? I promise, we ain't some dirty dive, the gin's always on tap and it ain't watered none."

[Gelquie]

A hooded figure saunters into the pub, looking all around. Pubs weren't usually their scene, but then if they ever wanted to entertain, it was far easier to entertain drunk people. If they didn't mind the noise. Although would drunk ghosts be any different?

It felt too soon to approach the bartender; they didn't know if they wanted anything yet and they were still getting used to the atmosphere. Perhaps they could look around and see the types of characters inhabiting the place, what they were like?

Actually, there was one thing they could ask the bartender for first. They sit at the bar and turn their chair to face the scene. While turned around, they ask the bartender. "I see you've got alcohol. But do you happen to give out candy?"

[Shinko]

Gelquie
The bartender glances away from the otherworldly spirit creature towards the hooded figure. Seeing such characters wasn't an uncommon occurance in a speakeasy, though most visitors knew better than to draw attention to themselves by looking overtly sketchy. Still, he doesn't comment- as long as the newcomer doesn't attract the attention of the fuzz, it's none of his buisness.

He reaches under the counter, coming up with a bowl. "Halloween special, yeah. First piece is free, then you get two more pieces for every drink you buy- a shot's worth three pieces."

A closer inspection reveals that the candy in the bowl is the sort one might expect their grandpa to give out at Halloween- the kind that makes kids purse their lips in sullen resignation. Sugar Daddys, Charleston Chews, Dots, Mounds, Bit-O-Honeys... pez dispensers?

Noticing the lingering gaze on the pez dispenser, the bartender gives an apologetic grin. "Bit of a private joke- the Don's been trying to quite smokin' and he keeps a pez dispenser in his suit pocket instead of a lighter." The ghost flips the jack-o-lantern head of one of the dispensers, adding, "They're root beer flavored. It's part of the joke."

[Gelquie]

The hooded figure turns and looks over the bowl, smirking at the comment. "That's a pretty good method for quitting; seems like assigning a similar but alternate habit to the lighter. I wish him luck in his efforts."

They look over the bowl. "Can't say I'm a fan of Pez myself, though. Or, uh... Well, some of these take me back. I remember a family member of mine who used to crave sugar daddy's all the time, but I could never get through one. And... dots and mounds! I'm actually a fan of those. Hmm, only one, though?"

They hover their hand over the bowl for some time--their song sleeves obscuring their hand while simultaneously making it difficult for them to actually pick anything--but they eventually pick out a mounds. "Thanks a bunch. I guess if I want more I'll have to drink... I still have so many places to visit, though. Do you have anything... non-alcoholic?"

[Shinko]

Gelquie
Before the bartender even has time to respond, a ghostly woman dressed as a flapper looks over from her own barstool, grinning like the cheshire cat. "Aww, c'mon! If y'were gawna be such a prude, why come to a blind tiger at all, 'mirite?"

She stands, revealing two dripping holes in her chest as she approaches the hooded figure and pats them on the back- or tries to anyway. Her hand passes right through with a sensation like ice, filling the hooded figure's ears with the sounds of screaming and machinegun fire before she pulls away again. "I mean, no feds here! You can have 'smuch fun 's you waaaant! Hey, hey!" She gestures to the jazz band in the corner. "Play that one song! The dancy one!"

The band agreeably shifts their tune to a much more lively- and very loud- jig, one that gets several of the ghosts in the room up and dancing. Their forms mist and blur with their movements, seeming to fill the room with a cold fog.

[Celestial]

The lady leaves her caravan behind and approaches the telephone, dialing the number. After the door opens, she enters the speakeasy, looking about in what you assume is rapt wonder. Her mouth certainly suggests it, though you're still unsure about the eyes. A gentleman puffing a cigar gets too close to her and she waves away the smoke, her bracelets jangling.

Finally, she reaches the bar. "Nice speakeasy you have here. What are you serving?" she asks the bartender, leaning on the counter. "I'll have something that will not make me go blind. I do quite like my sight, thank you very much. So get me proper stuff, if you please."

The lady turns back to look at the ghosts, still dancing either foxtrot or charleston to the sounds of jazz. She never could tell the difference between the two. "So, what happened over here? Did you get into a fight with the police or a rival gang?" she smiles at the bartender. "You can tell me. I'd say I'm not a cop, but I'd probably say that if I was, wouldn't I? So I best not get your suspicions up."

[Shinko]

Celestial
The bartender offers a smirk. "Ye been runnin' in the dives where river swill passes for whiskey, I take it. None of that here, we take pride in what we serve. We can get whatever strikes yer fancy, I been mixin' cocktails for a long, long time. Mint julep, sidecar, white lady, bees knees, southside, highball, heck if ye got enough money on ya, we can fix up some sazerac too."

He was reaches for a glass as the woman asks her second question, and his expression goes dead flat. The man reaches a hand up to the side of his head, where a dark fluid is visible dripping out from behind his ear. His eyes show only whites now, without pupil or sclera.

"Can't seem to recall," he answers gruffly, his voice now seeming to echo from somewhere far away. There is an evasive quality to his words, as if he's hoping you'll drop it. With a blink, he returns to normal. "So, what'll it be?"

You could press him for the information, probably. But do you want to risk it?

[Celestial]

Shinko

The lady grins as she listens to the bartender list off his selection of cocktails, but as his eyes turn white, her expression shifts to a look of concern. She taps her fingers on the counter, thinking about what to do next before offering him a smile.

"You certainly have a good selection of cocktails, my good gentleman, and your establishment seems to be a pretty classy one. I trust you will give me my money's worth," from her sleeve, she produces a large, silver coin. "Give me a Mary Pickford, though if you don't have the maraschino liqueur, I'll take a whiskey sour too. And..." she puts the coin on the counter and takes off one of her bracelets. "This is solid gold, with a single 4 carat sapphire. See how it shines?" she lifts it up to the light, making the gem sparkle. "It's a good cut. And it can be all yours if you tell me what happened over here. I'm only being curious," she shoots him a smile. "Won't you make a lady's night?"

[Liou]

The glyph creature tilts its head to the side and seems to stare at the bartender. When the flapper lady speaks up, it tilts its head to the other side and stares her instead.
In their own way, these people are also difficult to decipher, as they speak in their own code. The glyph creature feels right at home.
As the band pumps it up, the glyph creature suddenly stands on its hind appendages and begins to rock on the dancefloor. Every time a patron speaks in slang, the shapes lean in their direction.
As the song draws to an end, the glyphs hobble back to the bar and slump their head on the counter. A small vortex opens where the mouth should be; distant screams are heard, then a very heavy gold coin slams onto the counter.

We require á̸̧̹͕̦̫̟͒̊̑̑͑ͅ ̵͓̙̘͚̖̠͚̠̳̎̀̏͆̏ḅ̴̠͕̯͍̼̻̱̍̃̈́̊͝ǫ̷̡̡̢̛͕͓̳̜̻͈͉͉͓̦̃͗͐̈́́̇̀̍́̉̇̕͝ţ̴̦̠̮͔̈́̊̀͊̇̃̄̆̚ͅt̸͍͍̤̗̪̥̯̙͈̖̙͔̟̊͊͊̎̄͋̄̔͆̈̕͠͠l̷̡̧̡͕̳͕̱͓̙̬̖͖̲̂̓̀̎̉̄̎̋́̊̈̈́́̂̅ͅe̸̢̯̥̫̪̣͖͎̾̽ ̴̧̧̟̭̥͙̥̺̮̊̎̅͋̍̇̕

[Gelquie]

The hooded figure watches at the flapper who approached them got up to dance with the... very loud band. The hooded figure couldn't help but cover their ears. How could anyone hear anything in an environment so loud, and thus be able to enjoy the music at all??

...Which probably didn't help the image of their prudish behavior. But the hooded figure was uncomfortable.

"I just don't like alcohol; doesn't mean I can't enjoy other things," they say to no one as they watch the dancing. They try to focus on the dancing on the taste of the candy they picked out and watch as the scene goes down. They weren't much of a dancer either, but that doesn't mean they couldn't watch.

[Shinko]

Liou
The bartender is much taken aback by the weight of the coin that hits the table. He squints at the garbled letters that the glyph creature summons into the air.

"Hold on- I'm not wearin' my cheaters," he apologizes. The ghost makes a gesture over his face, and a pair of glimmering spectacles materialize seemingly from nowhere. "Oh- a bottle? Well most folks ask for fancy cocktails, but if a beer's all you want..."

He palms the gold coin, then furrows his brow in thought. "This is probably worth more than a beer though- I'll get you a bottle of the good stuff."

After a moment of fumbling around behind the bar, he returns with a fancy looking bottle of reddish-amber liquid. "Cognac," he says proudly as he passes it over. "No flimflam either- it was no small scratch to import, this stuff, but it was worth every penny. Here ya go, bottoms up. And help yourself to the candy too."


Gelquie
The hooded figure's reply comes not from the bartender, but one f the establishment's bouncers.

"Why take the risk coming here at all?" he seems genuinely curious. "Gin joint ain't some small potatoes community service sentence, we'll all get tossed in the hoosegow if word gets out to the wrong people."

[Gelquie]

The hooded figure blinked at the bouncer and the question. Hmm, did the people think they were there to rat them out? Perhaps they should be more careful. At the same time, this place was so unusual, not because of the speakeasy, but because of everyone's... ghostly nature. They wondered if they knew that people could just stumble in tonight (...metaphorically), or if they were dead... It was probably impolite to ask.

"I wouldn't worry too much about word getting out to the wrong people," they mused to themselves. "I'm not here for trouble; if I were I'd be a lot more subtle. Your secret's safe with me; I'm honestly just here for curiosity, and for the atmosphere. I like new experiences, good atmospheres, what people are like in different places. Besides... if it's a drink I want, that could easily be done home alone with some home brew. But that's not the only reason why people come here, is it? People want to drink in the atmosphere as well, do what they want in a place away from trouble above."

[Shinko]

Celestial
The bartender at first seems not to even register the lady's question. He reaches for the various ingredients for the requested cocktail, shaking them up before pouring them out into a cocktail glass and dropping a single cherry into the bottom of the glass. Passing the Mary Pickford towards his patron, he meets her eyes, something illuminating briefly in his- the reflection of a muzzle flash?

Finally, he replies in a low voice, "If you really want to know, you should speak to the Don- he's over there." The bartender gestures to a sharply dressed ghost in pinstripes sitting at a table across the room. "But be warned- most of the people in here don't realize that they got bumped a long time ago. It doesn't do to remind the unquiet dead of their sticky ends, 'less you wanna meet one of your own."

Gelquie
The bouncer rolls his eyes. "If you wanna make your own gin in your bathtub, that's your call, I guess. Mostly people come down here too party, away from the prying eyes of moralists. If you really want a drink that's not gonna get ya tipsy, you can always ask for some of the juice that goes into the cocktails. Only thing is, that stuff's cheap and the candy deal is meant to encourage people to request the hooch."

He grins, and for the first time the hooded figure notices scars from old knife and gunfights on his face and neck. "Be cheaper just to get your own candy if that's all yer for. Ye get one freebie to get ye into the drum, in the spirit of the season- and ya got it."