After the response of Cardinal Stephanus to the accusations of being dead, a trend has started in the various taverns, the Golden Lion in particular.

Without being prompted, someone will stand up on a table, chair or other raised platform and ask for attention, to give a short speech. In this speech, they not only deny being dead, but go into painful detail as to a ridiculous 'rumour' as to how they would have supposedly died.

An important part of the game here is to make the rumour ludicrously ridiculous and highly improbable and to act as indignant as possible, as if the rumour had not only spread, but people were believing in it.

The girl in white hopped onto a table - it wasn't quite clear why, she had been sitting on a ceiling beam in the Golden Lion from which she'd have been much easier to spot, but she insisted on putting her feet left and right of someone's plate nevertheless.

"I just wanted to take this opportunity..." she started "... to denounce any rumors that I have died." she explained. "And I cannot believe anyone thought I might be!"

She seemed offended, giving an accusatory look at everyone gathered.

"While it is true" she continued "That I slipped off the roof while inspecting the cracked clock tower bell" she leaned to the side "It is still cracked" she confirmed before continuing "that should not necessarily mean that I am dead!"

"Sure, the tower is over sixty feet tall... and yes, I bounced on one of the stone gargoyles, almost breaking off its head in the process, only to plummet immediately further, slam into stone awning with my head, and then tumbling to land on the stone pavement below." she noted casually, as if that was nothing

"And yes, as I lay on the ground there, I was momentarily stunned. And I could see how my dislocated left hip and my right arm being at an unnatural angle might be misinterpreted in haste..." she admitted.

"But to think that I was dead!" she noted indignant, hands in her sides

"First of all, anyone that knows me knows that my limbs are always at odd angles!" she explained, lifting her foot, taking it in her hand and then stretching it upwards casually and then beyond straight into an oversplit. "That's my whole thing!"

"And secondly, anyone paying attention would know that I managed to break my fall by landing on my face! As I have done many times before!"

She shook her head

"So please disregard any rumors of my death. They have been greatly exaggerated, and anyone that says otherwise is a liar!"

Treasure for some reason didn't seem to think any of this was funny at all. Upon being poked to get up on a table and declare she hadn't died, she stormed off, slamming the door behind her angrily, with a few profanities about how this was stupid and everyone was stupid and this whole thing was stupid - she'd had more creative moods, but just didn't have it in her today. It probably didn't help that she was already in trouble for stealing - and destroying - clothes from several of her new relatives.

Vanessa was thinking about telling a story but when Treasure stormed off, she went after her in order to calm her down.

"Well that was odd" Rani said as she got up on to the table to say her piece. She was dressed as a proper noble lady was.

"Okay. I'm not dead either. Mind you, with the number of times I've come close it's sometimes a wonder I'm not. Still, in answer to those that wonder why I haven't been doing my acts recently, it's cause I got .... other matters to take care of"

She does a twirl in the dress.

"But if his Royal Highness wishes it, I'll put on the most extraviganzic, death defying act that will wow and amaze."

With that, she hops off the table.