Who: Stefan Richter (tartaros_avatar) & whoever!

What: It's his birthday, come say hi to him and his fish!

When: October 10th!

Where: Around town, and Northeast Hollow

Warning(s): Alcohol

1. Steel (in town)

Back on Earth, Stefan had his ill-gotten gains from a mercenary and thief's life, and he'd spend some of that on himself every so often. Now he's on a tighter budget, but he's still got enough to at least make himself something. Something that will help put himself back to rights, so he'll be ready for whatever the next year throws at him.

That's what brought Stefan to the forge early in the morning, to put the finishing touches on a knife. Ever since the Great War, he'd always carried one with him, and kept it razor-sharp. He bought one once he got to Pumpkin Hollow, but it never sat quite right in his hand, and his newly enhanced strength had worn on it. He needed something better, and taking up the artisan trade taught him what he needed to make one himself.

The final polishing's done, taking a half-gram of weight off the handle to make the balance perfect. He tests it by tossing it into the air a few times, the steel flashing in the early morning light. Despite the risk, he barely seems to be paying attention, lost in thought.

"Oh. Didn't notice you there." Stefan turned toward whoever had entered the blacksmith's shop. "Just thinking about the future--but the future can wait until tomorrow. What d'you need? As long as it's quick. I'm clocking off early for my birthday."

2. Stealing (Northwest Hollow)

His morning in the forge done, there were still more hours to go before Stefan's organized get-together at the Oak and Iron, and he was too restless to wait around town. He wandered out toward the farmland, and what plant life had survived the insanity back in August. Things were worse for wear, but much as he hated to admit it--the local magical practitioners seemed to have salvaged things well enough.

"Karp!"

Lokhós raced through the air on ungainly fins, piloting its bubble of water toward an orchard tree in full autumn foliage, chasing a falling leaf.

"You already know those aren't food," Stefan calls after the fish. Most of the time, it couldn't seem to 'swim' much higher than his head, but every so often it got itself into strange, vertiginous predicaments. He had to be the only man out there to ever find his fish had climbed onto the roof. "And--okay, that one is food," the fish had gotten distracted by an apple swaying on a branch, "but just take one. Otherwise you're gonna get me in trouble."

Despite Lokhós's twenty-five pounds of weight, it took a significant amount of struggle to get the apple off the branch, eventually resorting to grabbing on with its mouth and simply hanging from the apple, until the dead weight pulled the fruit free with another shower of leaves. "I've got to teach you how to be more discreet," Stefan muttered.

3. Samhain (Northwest Hollow)

Stefan stopped beside a pumpkin patch, thinking. "Hey," he asked anyone nearby. "Does this place have Halloween?" It'd been years since he'd had the real thing. In England there was only All Souls Day stuff, which had been too damned pious for Stefan's taste. He'd been to Ireland, but never at the right time of the year. "If nobody's introduced it already, they've got to. The town's called Pumpkin Hollow and everything. And my pet fish already has a costume figured out."

4. Socializing (Oak and Iron)

From his first day on Marrow Isle, Stefan had made a point to spend time at the Oak and Iron. Meeting people, paying for their drinks, and make connections. It was a common information-gathering tactic his gang had often used, and it paid dividends. Tonight, there was a happy bonus - his local friends had insisted on a birthday party, they insisted they'd handle the organizing, and they vociferously insisted he wasn't paying for any of his drinks that night.

"Good to see you," Stefan raised a glass to whoever approached, whether he knew them or not. "Do you want a drink? I'll buy y--" Before he could finish, he was shouted down by the others, laughing at their mock outrage. "Fine, fine. Somebody will buy you one."

5. Serious Business (/s) (Oak and Iron)

As the party careened onward through the night, a disorderly series of activities sprung up. A sturdy table was cleared for arm-wrestling. Then the whole group wandered out to a nearby alley for a few friendly bouts of sparring, before it was generally agreed to reconvene back in the tavern for more rounds. A random selection of drinking games followed, including Never Have I Ever, with Stefan's adventurous life putting him at a disadvantage, and Two Truths and a Lie, where his wild history makes for excellent camouflage.

[ooc: specify which option you'd like, or we can wander between them! If you have another idea in mind, go for it!]

6. Wildcard

[ooc: have other ideas? Hit me up with an @ on discord or a PM here on DW! I'm happy to facilitate with a custom top level if desired.]