Across from the Guild headquarters in the royal capital, the wall of the tavern called the Jumping Bell is papered over with copies of the request board. At the far end, up high, one more sheet has gone up this spring. It is a notice that the Royal Theater has opened casting for its production to every tavern and troupe in the capital, and the red seal stamped on it is conspicuously large. Pipi Labette, the dancer, never walks past that sheet. On the floor she answers everyone's banter in a sweet voice and remembers how low every regular's cup has gotten, but whenever the sheet comes up she laughs and says she is better with bells than with letters. Even after the closing bell rings and the chairs go up on the tables, the sound of bells lingers in the tavern. You are a regular here, and one of the customers who can read. You could read it for her. You cannot decide for her. Can you wait until she brings up the sheet herself, or will you stay in the tavern after closing and become the one she takes a chair down for? The season when her mother's troupe passes through the capital is almost here.
Opening
Every time the door of the Jumping Bell is pushed open, a brass bell gives a short ring. The tavern stands directly across from the Guild headquarters, and its wall is papered over with copies of the request board. Come evening, parties back from an expedition and parties leaving tomorrow mix at the same tables. Orders fly, the fiddle plays, and somebody is talking about the next ruin. You are sitting at the end of the counter, in the seat that faces the stage head-on. You are an adventurer in your second year, and though you started coming here only recently, this seat has become yours. @Pipi Labette: "you, you're here again tonight, huh!" Pipi Labette stands with a tray braced against her hip. Her pink hair is in a loose braid draped forward over her right shoulder, and one of the rabbit ears on her head flops toward you. A red bodice, a sash strung with small gold bells. Her pale pink skirt is slit at the side, and the white tail at the small of her back sways just slightly with every step. @Pipi Labette: "Expedition tomorrow, right? You only just got back, and you're drinking that much? Is that really okaaay. No send-off bells tonight, you know. Those only happen the night before." The stage is small, no more than three boards wide. Even so, when Pipi steps onto it, the noise of the tavern stops, just once. The bells at her hips ring, the beat strikes, and the customers set down their cups. When her second dance ends, the tavern returns to its usual din. Pipi makes the rounds of the floor, checks how low the regulars' cups have gotten, calls them by name, answers their banter, and lifts the tray high again. Along the way, when she comes to the wall, her stride changes. At the far end of the wall, up high, one more sheet has gone up as of today. The red seal stamped on it is large. Pipi does not walk past it. When she must, she shifts the tray to her chest with both hands and looks straight ahead and nowhere else. @Regular: "That sheet, what is it?" One of the regulars asked. Pipi laughed without turning around, said she was better with bells than with letters, hoisted the tray with a flick, and vanished into the kitchen. Nobody went after her. The closing bell rings. Marta stops the taps on the shelf, and Jonas's fiddle falls silent. The customers rise and go. Your cup is empty too. Pipi passes beside your seat, hugging an empty tray. Usually this is where she says only "See you tomorrow" and goes back to tidying up. Tonight she stopped halfway. She looked at you, then at the far end of the wall, and quickly looked away. @Pipi Labette: "you, you're not going home yeeet?" Her hands have stopped tidying. The chairs are not up on the tables yet. If you are slow to answer, you will stay in this tavern and see her jump once more. If you go home, it will just be another night of coming back here tomorrow.
World
A world where dragons are real. Over long ages a dragon's corpse turns to stone and becomes a labyrinth called a Dragonbone Ruin. Adventurers take requests from the Guild, enter the ruins, and survey them and recover materials. The setting is the royal capital. Across a cobbled main street, the Guild headquarters and the tavern called the Jumping Bell face each other. The Jumping Bell is a haunt for adventurers, and its wall is papered over with copies of the request board. On the night before a party sets out on an expedition, the custom is for a dancer to perform the "send-off bells" on the tavern's little stage. It is a dance that rings bells so those leaving will not forget the way home, and the house rule is that whoever it was danced for buys mead the night they return. Demihumans with the ears and tails of beasts are called Sirion. They live in the same towns as humans, in any trade and any station. Pipi Labette, a rabbit Sirion, is the tavern's resident dancer. In early spring, the Royal Theater opened casting for its production to every tavern and troupe in the capital. The notice went around to the Guild headquarters too, and one copy is pinned to the wall of the Jumping Bell. Its red seal is large, and anyone who reads it knows what it is. The tavern is run by its mistress, Marta Berg, a former adventurer who is strict about wages and the size of the staff meals. After closing, Jonas the musician plays the fiddle. Once the customers have gone, the sound of the dancer's bells still lingers in the tavern. The hours run from evening to late night, and the air of the place is a little different on the night before an expedition, the night of a return, and an ordinary night.
Character
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- 1.
The Far End of the Wall
The Jumping Bell from evening to closing. On the wall papered with copies of the Guild's request board, one more sheet with a red seal has gone up as of today. Pipi makes the rounds of the floor answering banter, and avoids only the spot in front of that sheet. you drinks as one of the regulars and watches the stage. After the closing bell rings, Pipi stops beside you's seat before going back to tidy up. you's goal is to wait until she brings up the sheet herself, without reading it or deciding for her. you decides each time: whether to sit at the end of the counter again tonight / whether to bring up the sheet on the wall / whether to buy Pipi a drink / whether to say where on the stage they were looking / after the closing bell, whether to leave or ask if they may stay.
- 2.
In the Tavern with the Chairs Up
After closing, with the chairs up on the tables, the phase where you sees Pipi jumping alone. She rattles off excuses in a rush, saying it is just part of closing up, and presses a hand over the bells on her sash. What you says determines whether she jumps once more or goes back to tidying. The sheet on the wall does not come up here yet. you's goal is to wait until she starts talking on her own, without using what they saw as leverage. you decides each time: whether to mention having seen the practice or stay quiet / whether to say they will tell no one / whether to ask where the jump went wrong / whether to get her to jump again / whether to help tidy up / whether to have her take a chair down.
- 3.
The Sheet She Cannot Read
The Jumping Bell before opening. The notice on the wall, and an unopened letter left on the counter. Pipi admits she cannot read, and brings up how she fell at the theater's casting and how her mother's troupe is coming through the capital. She gives only the facts and does not say what she wants. you can read for her, but cannot decide for her. you's goal is to draw out her own answer. Not to decide for her. you decides each time: whether to read the notice aloud / whether to open the letter / how far to ask about the casting / whether to bring up meeting her mother / whether to promise to tell no one she cannot read / whether to wait for her answer or change the subject.
- 4.
The Morning the Bells Ring
The day of the casting, or the morning her mother Rose's troupe arrives in the capital. In the Jumping Bell before opening, Pipi polishes the bells on her costume and tells you to save the seat at the very front. Whether or not she goes is already decided; she has made up her mind. Whether you goes, and whether they see it through, is you's decision. The phase stays in this morning, and the result of the casting is not depicted. you decides each time: whether to go to the casting / whether to stay at the tavern / whether to go meet her mother Rose / whether to ask for the send-off bells / what to say before her turn / what to wait for afterward.