Fantasy Converging Fates (IC Posting)

[GojiBean]

The White Lotus. A rather average Guild with average Adventurers, surrounded by an average town of average people. One could say, even if only in jest, that it was the capital city of "Nothing Special." Hardly any major events were held anymore. Almost nobody of importance ever traveled through. And if you were part of the Guild it meant one thing: You were average.

Oh, you could fight that label all you wanted. But everyone in town knew that nobody of exceptional renown or skill belonged to this Guild. Indeed, as far as Guilds go the White Lotus had become a major disappointment. So much so that most folks in town were whispering about being happy the Guild was almost bankrupt and facing elimination for the mounting failures and rapidly shrinking Adventurer population. An unhealthy and failing Guild only brought shame to the town, lowered the desirability of the region surrounding it, and had an observably negative impact on the local economy.

Within this world a Guild's standing was everything. And White Lotus was on the low end of the totem pole. As such, very little money was flowing through it by way of Quests handed down from the organization overseeing them. As such, the Adventurers had little spending money which meant the local economy was not being fed properly. Especially for a town as small as this with only just over two thousand people. Every individual counted for something. And every individual not spending was money not feeding the health of the town and surrounding region. It made the White Lotus, and the town of Sahlsbane within which it resided, a black mark on the map which most travelers avoided or at least passed through without ever looking left or right. There was nothing of value here for them. So, it may as well have not existed.

With the Guild's seemingly impending shut down looming, the call from the Guild for more Adventurers to join and form Parties and go on (and succeed on) Quests was now an emergency directive.

The White Lotus didn't have time to mess around anymore. So, any Adventurers present either needed to join a Party and start Questing or risk expulsion from the Guild by the end of the week. Rogue Adventurers were no longer welcome.

The Guild itself was split into three sections. When looking at the building from the front, the central section was the main lobby and reception area where Adventurers could gather and mingle, check the Quest Board, meet other Parties, etc. The section to the right was the main Party Lodging area where multi-bed rooms, similar to a large hotel room, served as temporary lodging for Parties between Quests. Key word, temporary. Every Party was expected, at some point, to acquire their own lodging as the Guild only had so much room. And finally, the section on the left was the cafeteria/bar/tavern side where Adventurers could go to drink and enjoy in-house merriment from dancers, singers, comedians, etc. Not to mention the server girls had some... alluring attire.

Today, in the main reception and gathering section of the White Lotus, a Dark Elf with long flowing silver hair stood beside a table where a Party of four sat and stared at her. One in particular, the Leader, had arched an eyebrow while giving her a cold, dark glare. She stood tall and silent with a soft smile on her face as she waited for someone to say something. And her wait was not a long one.

"(Siiiiiigh)... Look, nothing against you personally. But you were Demoted for some pretty nasty reasons. And, again, nothing personal, we don't really want someone with those kinds of black marks on her record slowing us down or making us look bad." The Leader grumbled.

"Things are hard enough as is, what with the Guild facing shut down." Said a female White Mage sitting beside him.

Her smile never faltered while giving them a slight bow at the waist, hands folded in front of her lower stomach, and she left the table.

"Drat." She whispered to herself.

It wasn't surprising. Most folks in the Guild had heard of at least a couple of the reasons she'd been kicked out of her previous Party. And, sadly, in terms of Guild culture here at White Lotus the Guild's word and ruling in such cases was basically taken as gospel.

She approached a few more tables over the next several minutes asking if they had any room for one more, but she received effectively the same answer each time. Someone with her record and list of accusations placed against them, and having been found guilty by the Guild enough to demote them, had no place in a Party with any self respect. Eventually, she sat down at an empty table and laid her chin on its surface, arms dangling limply between her knees and her long, elegant fingers nearly brushing the floor and she took in a deep breath and sighed through her nose.

A few minutes rest wouldn't hurt, right?

All around her were others in a similar boat. The Guild had become notorious for its demotions lately. And with the deadline to expulsion just a few days away most were scrambling and desperate to join a Party. If they were expelled from a Guild with such low status as White Lotus, there wasn't a Guild in the world likely to accept them ever again. And their lives as Adventurers would be over.

Well, if that turned out to be true she could still be what she was. Assassins didn't have to belong to a Guild. But she wanted to. The life of an Adventurer was more appealing than actually being an assassin in her eyes. Killing people for money was well beyond her moral code, even if it was what she was born to do as ordained by the Gods. Killing monsters was one thing. But people? She did a few times. And each time she did her heart broke a little more, proving she wasn't cut out for that lifestyle despite her Ability suggesting otherwise.

Hopefully she'd find a Party who either hadn't heard of what she'd been accused of, or was desperate enough to bring her on board regardless. The latter was probably more likely. But, either way, she needed to find a Party soon.

Seirina's Dialogue Color: [b][color=#9494f7]""[/b][/color]

Nellancholy Phayne BuggaBoo Topless Goonfire Solivagante AnonyMouse

 

[Phayne]

The Wardsman

Grimm

No Party

Guild Cafeteria

Body splayed out across the entirety of the single bed mattress, the thin sheet that had been used to cover his most prized possessions had long since been kicked across the floor in preference of the crisp coldness that permeated the small space he called a room. Though calling it a room was being generous, given the space itself would have been considered cramped for a grown person. In reality, the 'room' that Grimm found himself renting was little more than a shed; one intended for storage purposes but instead converted into a room by a former party member of Grimm's. A former beast tamer, now turned tavern owner due to a career ending injury.

With the dwindling state of Sahlsbane, the storage shed had been pretty much empty already and given the minimal space that Grimm physically required, the tavern owner had seen an opportunity to make a little bit extra on the side. Truth be told, if push came to shove the man would have relented and allowed Grimm to stay for free, considering Grimm had once upon a time saved him. Alas, times were tough and he could not survive or feed his family on charity even if he did owe Grimm. For Grimm, the cheap accommodation was a godsend. Since his expulsion from his party any income he had had prior had come to a halt.

Fidgeting in his sleep, an exasperated groan would escape his mouth as he brought his right forearm to his face, placing it across his eyes in an attempt to combat the the unwanted invader of first dawn; the radiant glow of the sun peaking in at him through the smallest of gaps, the ray assaulting him at just the right spot as it hovered right above his eye. A worthy adversary that was gradually winning the fight amidst the appearance of more morning adversaries.

The first. The sound of an over enthusiastic cockerel crowing in the early morning, this douche of a rooster taking it upon himself to always get the first word in almost every day. Had Grimm been the violent type he'd have shown that cock who was the bigger man. That being said, Grimm wasn't the type and he had simply learned to deal with the noise in other ways, the still half asleep boy rolling over to the far side of his bed, back turned away from the wall as he pulled a second pillow over to cover his exposed ear. His momentary peace would again be disturbed as the second adversary made their presence known; the cacophony of caws from a murder of crows, the devilish birds apparently deciding to make a nest nearby, their cawing a retaliation to the cockerel's own crowing.

"Give.. it a rest..." mumbled Grimm, half asleep as he rolled over once more; moving into the fetal position as he pressed the pillow ever tighter against himself in a futile attempt to drown out the noise. He would have no luck in that regard as the sound of banging on his door finally caused him to open his eyes fully.

"Grimm!, Oi! Grimm!" came the burly voice of a man standing on the other side of the door. "I know you're in there you bloody halfling!. Open up!" he continued, banging away without a care in the world. "Grimm! Open up the bloody door before I break it down myself! I've got several hammers sitting in the other shed that could do the job!" he continued to shout, shaking the door vehemently as he threatened to huff and puff and blow it all down.

"Giv.. give me a minute.." mumbled the halfling, rousing himself into a sitting position before finally standing upright and groggily making his way towards the door and opening it; the sudden bright light causing him to raise a hand in protest as he shielded his eyes.

"Oh for heaven's sake!, Put some bloody clothes on!" chastised the owner, shielding his own eyes from the sight displayed before him. Grimm would simply glance downwards, before turning around to grab the discarded bed sheet; a full moon present to the man as he bent over to pick up the sheet, which he would begin to cover himself with. A sigh would escape the man as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Yet he knew all too well that it was futile to argue the case.

"Grimm, I'm sure you're aware..." he sighed "but this weeks rent was due two days ago... " began the tavern owner. "... do you have the money or not?" he asked simply, his gaze anywhere else except for directly at Grimm, who was having a hard time getting the bedsheet to completely cover himself.

"Yeah yeah... " mumbled Grimm, holding the sheet to his chest as he scanned the room for his satchel. "... I've got the money... managed to win big last night... It was about time lady luck took a liking to me" he continued, stumbling across the room to a small desk where several empty bottles of liqueur could be seen next to two pouches of coins "Maybe my lucks finally turning for the better. Maybe I might even get my life back on track" laughed Grimm, grabbing the smaller pouch of coins before tossing it towards the tavern owner. "That should be enough for this week and half of next" the one hand that still held the sheet over himself now releasing its hold as he held both hands outward, either side of himself "Don't you trust me? I told you I'm good for it" he added, laughing whilst not realising he had exposed himself once more.

"For christ sake.. I said put some dam clothes on!" mumbled the owner, feeling the weight of the coin before slamming the door shut and beginning to make his way back into the main building. "Don't be late with the other half!" came his voice as it gradually grew distant.

------------------------------------------------------------------​

A few hours would pass before Grimm made his way towards the guild hall. Freshened up and feeling somewhat reinvigorate after last nights winnings, the halfling would make his way towards the guild reception desk; his face just visible above the table counter as he looked over at the receptionist.

"Hello, Hello" chimed Grimm, smiling and looking over at one of the guild employee's. It had been a very long time since he had any positive news, last nights win and this mornings showboating giving him a much needed pep in his step. Yet, it was currently being tested given the attitude of the employee opposite him. She had momentarily glanced towards Grimm, before sighing and returning to what it was she was doing.

"Ahem, I said hello" repeated Grimm, his smile less genuine now. "I'm here to inquire about potentially joining a party on a quest as a plus one. I am sure someone could use a man of my particular skillset, charm and charisma" he added, somewhat haughtily. "Lady luck has recently blessed me and in my good fortune, I am ready to share that blessing with whichever party is fortunate enough to have my services" he continued, leaning over the counter.

"Mr Grimm. We've been over this before... you know the rules..." sighed the woman, turning a page in the document he was reading. It was evident that whatever that document was, it held more importance to the employee than the man standing before her. "There is no currently active party in need of your services. Unless you form a new one, I'm afraid you cannot partake in a quest. Those are the rules."

"But.. surely someone must need a..." his once arrogant tone beginning to dwindle, before he was abruptly interrupted. " Mr Grimm. Given the state of the guild, if there was a party that needed a man of your.." she paused and gave a somewhat dismissive look. "...calibre. Then we would be the first to inform you, regardless of the transgressions against you. After all even beggars cannot be choosers. That being said, given that no one is begging us for a man of your... " she paused again, standing up and slamming the document down as if she were swatting a fly "... of your stature, that I am pretty certain that the guild currently does not have a quest available for you at this moment in time." she finished, offering an annoyed and obviously fake smile.

"However, feel free to make your way towards the cafeteria. Maybe your lady luck will help you form a party and be of some use to the guild.... otherwise, itls only one more week before the completely useless are purged. Tick tock." the woman turned away and made her way towards a back room, stopping only to turn and glance at Grimm once more. "Good luck. Mr Grimm."
Lost for words and his good start to the day taking a solid hit, Grimm would make his way to the cafeteria. Despite the harsh words of the employee, it was a harsh truth that his recent activity and contribution within the guild had been non-existent. Yet, given the circumstances, it wasn't as simple as just finding a new party and moving on either. Honestly, the idea of doing so was far more frightening that he could ever imagine. That being said, time was running out now and the only real question was... Had he left it too late to form a new party?

Code by Serobliss

 

[Nellancholy]

The sun bore down on the former captain of the Sea Sirens as she stepped out of the modest inn that she had sought lodging in the night before. Her shimmering fins eased back and forth on her head as she reached up, brushing her hair backwards. She had in fact slept very deeply last night, which had in fact worried her considerably.

The past few days made up the first time in a long time in which she had slept on dry land longer than the time it took to report to a Guild and receive her next assignment, sleep that was still, without the swaying and creaking that was inevitable on even the mightiest ship when it was anchored and moored. A less determined woman might despair of ever seeing the sea again, but Salka knew that she had long distinguished herself with her accomplishments even at her comparatively young age. No matter what state the local Guild was in, they would be fools not to have her. She had traveled to this town simply because it was one of the nearest to where she had been found, but hearing that its guild was in decline only buoyed her hopes.

Either she would revitalize the Guild and its surrounding areas with the spoils of her upcoming accomplishments and her sterling reputation, or she would at least get her status updated and be ready to jump ship to a more influential Guild once this one shut down.

No one ever said that Salka was a humble woman.

She had dressed to the nines for this day (as much as she was able), remaining sharp and ready for action instead of tipping too far to the posh side and seeming unreliable.

As she stepped into the Guild office, she nodded to the side, flipping a silver coin into the hand of a man who sat by the door. A doorman? A guard? Either way, cultivating an image of magnamity was a good tactic for anyone living life on the edge of the law.

"Don't worry, next time you see me it'll be gold."

The idea that he had nothing to do with the Guild's operations did not occur to her, but given the current state of affairs he was satisfied with pocketing the coin.

With that, Salka reached to her belt as her leather boots click-clacked up to the counter, producing her own license and proffering it to the beleaguered guild receptionist who had just brushed Grimm off.

"Mornin', lass." Salka grinned and winked. Being ready to talk down a little to anyone came with the territory of being a captain, one might conclude. "I, Captain Salka, have recently been becalmed after a most trying voyage, and have drifted here, to a town and Guild most in need of a strong wind in its sails. Why, all I need is a target at sea, and I'll weigh anchor posthaste. I'm sure we can negotiate a good cut of the spoils..."

Despite her stone-faced demeanor, the receptionist's eyebrow raised and her eyes widened just a hair as she examined Salka's license. It seemed her reputation preceded her. "Ah, yes. Captain Salka! I've heard of you." She pursed her lips. "And how you lost your flagship to mutineers who are now trying to harass foreign traders. Quite a blunder. I've seen sensible adventurers quit over less...but I see your boldness outpaces sensibility. I should have known." With a backhanded compliment, she got to business. "Unfortunately, rules are rules. No quests are to be given to someone without a party."

"Ah..." If she felt stung, Salka did not show it. She leaned on the counter with her best smile. "Fisherman's wisdom is to know your quarry before assembling a crew. Sailor who can handle a whale might not be the best for sharks...so care to give me a little peek at your assignments?"

The receptionist glanced upward for a little too long at Salka, before looking back down. "You've given me enough of a peek. And like I said, rules are rules. I'm sure a captain of your fine repute won't have trouble pulling together the saltiest sea dogs for whatever we have to offer." Her sarcasm was tangible.

"Hmph, quite a stubborn little minnow, aren't you?" Salka crossed one arm below her chest. "Well, don't unfurl the sails just yet. I'll be right back."

With that, she turned on her heel and headed too, to the cafeteria. It was too early for a drink, but there were few places better to find the hungry and reckless, ready to stake their lives for a berth on stormy seas...

GojiBean Phayne

 

[Goonfire]

The word had spread quickly. The Guild gave the ultimatum: get to work or they trim the fat. That was all fine and dandy, except Wulfram was the fat. Only a week had passed and his head fit nicely on the chopping block already.

From his seat, he cast his gaze across the room, as a fisherman would cast his line. Other misfits slowly filtered in to join the parties present, though few seemed to pay him mind—on both sides. The latter's focuses were on being catty or outright ignoring the other isolated adventurers.

One member of this circus funeral seemed to implore a party for something. Although 'Read Lips' wasn't one of Wulfram's skills, he didn't need it to know what was happening. He couldn't hear that party's riveting spout of excuses and mockery, but the downward twitch of the dark elf's lips and dispirited bow denoted she was still available. She at least kept going, enduring the pain of every rejection with the grace of a saint.

The White Lotus had cemented its poor reputation well before Wulfram joined. There were no other newcomers, but plenty of 'rogue adventurers' no one within the guild wanted to touch with a sharpened ten-foot pole. One man's trash was another's treasure, though.

With a sigh, he rose from his seat, an absolute unit of a man at 6'4. He kept his footsteps light, not wanting to scare off yet another by barreling towards her like a damned red-skinned demon. As soon as she slumped forward in her chair, he started closing the gap. "Tough break, lady," he said plainly, swinging around to pat the crest of her chair. "Oi, I know that look. Chin up, 'cause I might have a proposal for you." He smirked daringly, craning his head to stare her in the eye.

GojiBean

Spoiler: Dialogue Color

Wulfram's dialogue color: #E25041. It's already on the site's color picker, for the sake of convenience.

 

[AnonyMouse]

Rella (And Marcy)​

Location: Sahlsbane, alleyways​

There was a time when the streets of Sahlsbane had been abuzz with activity. But, these days, the air was still and quiet, as if the town were holding its breath. The staccato pitter patter of paws signaled Rella's approach as she swiftly made her way down a back alley, bounding over empty crates and any obstacles in her path. This shortcut meandered through the backside of the merchant quarter and had become a loading site and dumping ground for many of the shops there. For her, it served as a fun --and fast-- shortcut from her current residence to the guild hall... as long as she watched her step. One slip or trip and she could end up face down in the mud.

That is ‘mud,’ right? Ugh, I’d rather not think about it, Rella thought as she poured on more speed. In spite of, or perhaps because of that danger, this spot was rapidly becoming her favorite obstacle course. It served as a warmup each morning, a little something to get her blood flowing and keep her spirits high. Because getting repeatedly rejected every day could be a bit of a downer...

She reached a kink in the alley and planted two swift steps on the wall to help make the turn, narrowly missing the jagged metal frame of a boarded-up window. Immediately after, she leapt over a pile of rotting timber and laughed gleefully as she continued to build speed. She had tripped over it yesterday and nearly faceplanted into the gutter, but not this time! The sprinting she-wolf was on her way to setting a new personal record when she spotted an old man about thirty paces ahead. His knees trembled as he attempted to lift a wooden box from a cart and carry it into the backdoor of a nearby business.

"Heeeey there old timer," the wolf girl said as she skidded to a halt before him and saluted the elder. “I thought I was the only one who likes this spot. Top o' the morning to ya, friend! Whatcha doin?’ Movin’ some boxes? Need a hand?”

The questions hit like a flurry of jabs and left the old geezer reeling. What's going on? Why is she here? Who is this woman? Why is she talking like she knows me!? But she had already snatched up two crates from the stack before the bewildered old man had time to process the whirlwind which had so abruptly descended upon him.

“Where we taking this? Inside? Let's gooo! Lead the way,” Rella said, still bouncing on the balls of her feet.

For a moment, he stared wide-eyed. But those same eyes immediately collapsed into narrow slits. “Oh… uhhh… yeah. T-take it in there, on the left, I guess,” he said, pointing into the open door.

“Righty-o!” the wolf-girl said as she disappeared into the backroom of his shop with her tail wagging enthusiastically. A few seconds later, she came back for more and he seemed visibly relieved.

“Sorry. I thought you was a thief. Almost gave me a heart attack, ya did,” the old man said, dabbing beads of sweat from his brow. “A place down the street got broken into last week. I thought it was my turn.”

“Huh! Seriously?” Rella said as she hoisted up the last stack and headed inside, still talking to herself as she went. “That's so messed up. I used to get shitfaced in this alley, ya know. We called it the 'Hangover Express!' Could stagger from the bar to my ol' crash spot without worryin' about gettin' run over by a carriage! Never seent a thief, tho.” After delivering her load, she arrived back at the door and found the old man scowling at her. “Oh, shit... I said the quiet part out loud, didn’t I?”

“I knew I recognized you from somewhere, girlie," the man said, wagging a finger at her. "Smashin’ bottles behind my shop, gettin’ in fights, makin’ a ruckus when honest folks is tryin’ to sleep.”

“Hey now, I was doin' my civic duty. Kept the thieves away, dinnit?” Rella said with a nervous chuckle. But, after a moment, her smile faded and she lowered her head. “Yeah… I… ummm… I tend to get a li'l carried away sometimes. Sowwwy 'bout all that, mister. That was a long time ago! I'm super-hyper-mega-focused on adventurin' now.”

“With ‘adventurers’ like you, no wonder this place is goin’ to shit.” The old man groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Agh... Who am I kiddin'? We were all young and dumb once upon a time. Youth fades, kid, but the 'dumb' part is somethin' ya gotta work at. You understand?"

"Yessir. Workin' on it!" Rella said with a brisk salute. "Gettin' a li'l less dumber erryday, I promise."

"Apology accepted," the old man said, thrusting out his hand to make it official. Rella took it with both of hers and nearly shook his arm off. When the assault ended, he jerked his hand free of her grip and jammed a thumb in the direction she had been going. "I'm pretty sure you got better things to do than bother an ornery old sourpuss like me. Move it along, kid."

“Oh, right! I'm s'posed to be findin' a party. Today's the day, I can feel it! Squad up!” Rella said. She began to jog in place, circled around him twice, and then darted away, waving goodbye as she fled the scene. “Catch ya ‘round, gramps. Sidequest complete! To the guild hall!”

Location: Sahlsbane, White Lotus guild hall​

Minutes after her encounter in the alley, Rella burst through the doors of the White Lotus guild hall. The boisterous beastkin had become a regular sight over the last couple of weeks. She arrived at the same time every day, always ready for action: fully-stocked travel pack slung over her shoulder, hunting knife on her hip, and leather armor cinched tightly to her body.

Today’s the day. Today’s the day. Today’s the day…

Those words played on repeat in her mind as her crimson gaze quickly scanned the room. A male receptionist locked eyes with her and immediately abandoned his post, making a beeline for an employees-only area behind the counter. “Aw, shit, here she comes. I gotta go. Break time,” he muttered to a female co-worker as he made his swift escape.

“Bye, Steeeeve! Catch ya tomorrow, buddy!” Rella said, waving enthusiastically as she marched up to the counter and leaned casually on its polished hardwood surface. “Not that there’ll be a ‘tomorrow.’ I’m gonna join a party today,” she punctuated that statement by rapping her finger on the countertop. The remaining female receptionist looked less than pleased. “There’s a change in the wind, Jane, and its name is ‘Rella.’ Can ya feel it?”

The receptionist sighed. “Unlike him, I’ve learned the best way to deal with you is to ignore you. People like you just want attention." She pretended to shuffle papers and did not spare the beastkin a second glance. "And Jane's my sister, you idiot.”

“Oh? My bad. I thought you’d done something with your hair. Looks good, by the way,” Rella commented as she stretched and bounced, flexing every muscle as if she were limbering up for battle. “Anyway, I know you’re silently rootin’ for me, Miss Not-Jane. Chin up. Today’s the big day! Alright, I’m goin’ in. Wish me luck.”

“Break a leg,” the receptionist said in a deadpan. “No, really. Break 'em both.”

Fortunately, one person's sour attitude wasn't enough to bring Rella down. She confidently stalked into the cafeteria, which she found to be the same as it had been every other morning. Rella saw many of the same faces, mosty parties having a bite to eat or a quick strategy session before heading out into the field. Many of the most successful parties had a routine and moved in familiar patterns. She had approached many of these groups before and, although trying a second or third time wasn't out of the question, she preferred to start the day with something fresh and new.

Okay, who's here who wasn't yesterday?

There was a rather voluptuous dark elf petitioning a group of adventurers. Rella couldn't hear what was said, but if the looks on their faces were any indication, the elf wasn't getting through to them. Ooof, I know that feelin. Rella made a mental note to give her a try later on, if things didn't pan out. She was hoping to latch onto an existing party, but if she had to start from scratch and cobble together a crew one person at a time, so be it. Actually, that might be pretty fun! There was also a large red fella sitting alone. She had never seen before. A new hire? Someone from another branch, in another town? Rella didn't know his story, but was interested in finding out. She began to make her way toward him, but something else caught her eye along the way.

A long attention span was not one of Rella' gifts. She detoured toward the room's periphery, where she arrived at a small table. It did not look like any of the other tables. A wooden sign on the front said "APPLY HERE," in elegant script. A gray-skinned woman with long curling horns was seated alone there, reading a book. Her entire aura screamed 'leave me alone,' despite the sign beckoning others to approach and 'apply.' However, reading was also not Rella's strong suit. Reading the room, even less so. On the small table were two trays, one with a stack of blank forms, presumably applications of some sort, along with a pen. The other tray was empty.

It all looked very... formal. Very professional. And, frankly, very odd. Maybe she works here. Ooooh, did they hire a new receptionist!? Nice! Rella thought as curiosity pulled her into the woman's orbit. But, as she drew nearer, a sense of familiarity began to set in. Hmmmh... Do I know you?

"S'cuse me, Horny Lady, is this where we sign up for the free food?" Rella said as she plucked one of the blank forms and began to peruse it. This was a cafeteria. What else could anyone possibly be applying for? Unfortunately, the form had stuff like height, weight, skills, abilities, work history... nothing about dietary habits, tastes, or allergies.

The woman's gaze lifted from her book to study the intruder. There was a faint hint of annoyance writ upon her brows, but she said nothing for a long moment.

"What did you just call me?" she said, one elegantly plucked eyebrow rising ever so slightly above the rim of her glasses.

Meanwhile, Rella very noisily dragged a chair to the table and plopped down in it. She reached for a pen, but the woman lightly slapped the backside of her hand, the way a child gets rebuked for trying to steal a cookie.

"If I wished you to sit, I would have provided a seat. This is not an invitation to parley," the horned woman said.

"Parfait? A little early for dessert, but I'm down," the bubbly beastkin said. She pulled out a pen of her own and began scribbling her info on the form.

"You appear to be mistaken, young lady. I require hungry minds, not hungry bodies. I am putting together a group of exceptional individuals to carry out my grand vision. If you feel yourself worthy of such a position, fill out the form, place it here," she gestured to the empty tray, "and remove yourself from my sight. If I feel you are worthy, I will contact you. Thank you."

"I see you got so many applications to work through," Rella said, with a nod to the empty tray. "I'd hate to give you more work. How 'bout we skip the paperwork and party up right now, hmm? You know I'm good for it."

At this, the minotaur chuckled. "My god, you are a silly one. Can you not see I am trying to spare you the indignity of a direct rejection? I know what you represent. But, alas, I am trying to start a party, not a circus. Move along, Rella, former hound of Rogue Spectre," she scoffed as her gaze drifted past Rella to elsewhere in the room. "Oh, look, the traitorous elf is free once more. Rejected again. Go bother her. You two will make a great pair. With some luck, perhaps the Assassin will rid us of a certain troublesome mutt."

The insults rolled right off. "How 'bout I flag her over and we make it a trio?" Rella said, leaning back in her chair to watch the dark elf. "Tank, Damage, Support," she said, gesturing to herself, Serina, and Marcy, respectively. "It's fated to be. Waddya say, Horny Lady? You don't actually believe that stuff anyway, right, those stupid rumors?"

"Calling yourself a tank does not make it so," she said, rolling her eyes. "Likewise, in the court of public opinion, it matters not what I believe. Reputations are not easily unmade. It is a foundation, to be built upon. The dirt can only be hidden, never removed." Meanwhile, the red guy stood and began to make his way across the room, toward the Assassin. "Though some fools will still try to fight the tide or remain oblivious to its flow. Move along, Rella. We've nothing more to discuss."

"Damn... that's how you feel, huh? Well, ya ain't gonna fix anything sittin' over here by yourself, Martha. Gotta get up, get back in the fight." Rella said. "I heard you crashed out hard. If it's true, I think that's great. It shows even you can lose your cool and cut loose a little."

A vein appeared on her forehead. Marcy slammed her book down. "I did not 'crash out' as you call it. There was a difference of opinions. Correction was needed. They strayed too far from the baseline," Marcy said, her voice rising to a crescendo... only to reach its peak and suddenly fall off into a dead calm. "Everywhere I look, I see imperfection. A slovenly imbecile like you, who gleefully bumbles from one error to the next, couldn't possibly understand what it means to have a vision, a plan. Adherence to it requires discipline, sacrifice."

"'Everywhere,' eh? Even in the mirror?" she said, side-eying the minotaur.

"Yes. I am aware of my faults. I chase them tirelessly. Perfection is a pursuit, child."

To that, Rella nodded. She hadn't expected such a reply from the Marcelotte of A'ethelgarde, a woman she believed had a stick shoved so far up her arse a twisted forest was starting to grow where a heart ought to be. She's still kind of a bitch, but... ehhh, let's see where this goes, Rella mused as she straddled her chair, while watching the door. The red guy seated himself at Seirina's table and they began to talk. A fishy woman in pirate garb whom Rella had never seen before entered the room. And, as the cherry on top, a familiar-looking halfling swaggered in behind her, which instantly put a bright smile on Rella's face.

"Friend of yours?" Marcy remarked.

"Drinkin' buddy. Everybody's a friend of mine. Some just don't know it yet," Rella said as she sprang up from her seat. For a fraction of a second, the minotaur probably thought the headache was about to leave. But, no. Rella grabbed two more chairs and dragged them to Marcy's (rather small) table, all while waving her arm sky high to get the halfling's attention. "Oi, Grimmy baby! Whatcha doin' up 'fore noon? Get your shrimpy ass over here!" she called out to him. "And bring a friend."

"Your cruelty knows no bounds..." Marcy sighed.

"Shush, I'm tryin' to help you out. This'll be fun, haha!"
Interaction(s): Phayne [Grimm]
Mentions: GojiBean [Seirina] | Goonfire [Wulfram] | Nellancholy [Salka]

Dialogue Color Codes

RELLA: (255, 155, 135)]
MARCY: (110, 90, 250)

 

[Topless]

The (In)Glorious Adventures of "Sir" Matteo
(And the suffering of her best friend Cherreign)​

It's the time for adventure for our insufferable duo. The rays of the sun cast down upon our annoying "knight" as she woke up from her comfortable slumber. With a loud yawn and a sniff of the town's air, "Sir" Matteo could hear something calling out to her. With a bright smile on her face, she knows that the time for adventuring is upon her...or, it's her miserable friend Cherreign yelling her to come out of the inn.

"Martina! Get out of the inn this instant! We're gonna be late for the quest!" The elf sounded very demanding "Martina! Don't make me go in there and drag your leg out if it is the last thing I do! MARTINA!!!" Cherreign was now on her last dregs of patience, but just as she was about to go inside.

*BAM!*

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNTUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE!!!!!!!!"

The door slammed opened and out came "Sir" Matteo, all geared up and ready to go. Cherreign was very nerved by the sudden outburst and it's not just her. Some of the people in and around the in were disturbed by "Sir" Matteo's irritating yell. "Jeez, Martina! Do you really need to make your presence known?!" She asked. "Hahaha~! Pirthee not, Lady Cherreign of the Grand Observatory, forsooth I, the glorious and braveth "Sir" Matteo, must make thy presence thee to the mass and as well as thy intentions." She answered all so stupidly proud.

"You just yelled "adventure" at the top of your lungs. How is that your intention?" Cherreign asked. "Dost thou know, Lady Cherreign? The gods have spoketh of our calling! The call...FOR ADVE-" "Sir" Matteo was just going to yell again had not for Cherreign plugging her mouth with her hand. "Alright, I get it. Now behave yourself. You've received plenty of warning from the staff for making too much of an disturbance and I have to take the heat for it. Understood?" She said and when "Sir" Matteo nodded in agreement, she added "Very well, let's go." When she uncovered "Sir" Matteo's mouth, the "knight" shouted "To my side, Sancho! Gallop on, Rocinante! The journey awaited us!"

"Sir" Matteo had begun to run off. Cherreign sighed, visibly annoyed by her womanchild friend's eagerness as she followed suit.


The (In)Glorious Duo have arrived at the guild and it had been smooth so far. Upon entering, "Sir" Matteo can barely hold her excitement at the sight of the many adventurers gathered. Those who would notice them have some mixed feelings. There are some who wondered why the guild kept "Sir" Matteo in their ranks despite her insanity, some who thinks she shouldn't be in the guild, some veterans who have praises for Cherreign and her accomplishments in the field, some newbies we're surprised that the Immortal Office has returned to adventuring after being told she was retired and some wondering and even worried why she has to put up with someone as crazy as "Sir" Matteo.

No matter the opinion, what is important for the two is that they have a job to do.

With "Sir" Matteo behind her, Cherreign made her way over to the receptionist and after a quick chat, the duo made their way to the cafeteria. The conversation had went well especially considering Cherreign's reputation within the guild, being a long time member and all before and after retirement. Upon reaching the cafeteria, the duo, especially "Sir" Matteo, are met with the sight of more adventurers, some of them have made acquaintances of their own.

"O-O-Ooooooohhhh!" "Sir" Matteo was in awe. "Calm yourself, Martina. Let's just look for a table and settle down for a while." Cherreign told her as they find a table and when they found one, they settle themselves down.

"Martina, don't you do anything stupid now..." She thought.

GojiBean AnonyMouse Goonfire Phayne Nellancholy

 

[Solivagante]

The White Lotus' party lodging dormitories were anything but luxurious: rows of narrow cots, each with a thin mattress and a single sheet, locked chests located at the head for each adventurer's belongings. Most folks spent only a night or two there at a time before heading out on a new quest: short enough that the beds still felt like a pleasant break after camping rough in the wilderness or on hard dungeon floors.

By the time she woke on her seventh morning there, Althea had a fairly comprehensive catalogue of the lumps and dips of her cot, despite the additional cushioning of her field bedroll laid on top. Even after she'd washed, dressed, and repacked her gear in the chest, her right hip still ached with a bruise that had built over several nights. She finally gave in and laid her hand over it, using a tendril of mana to relieve the pain. It was an indulgence, but as tension released from her shoulders in turn, it seemed worthwhile.

Seven days - a full week - since she'd lost her party. Althea sat on the edge of her cot and loosened the drawstring of her belt purse, now sadly limp in her hand. There were a few coins left, but not many. Another night in the dormitory, maybe two if she didn't eat much on the days in between, and then she would be well and truly penniless.

Again.

She wiggled her fingers, feeling the coins turn and slide against the leather as her palm moved. Perhaps I could barter healing for a meal? That might stretch further... She'd have to be careful, though, not to intrude on the business of any of Sahlsbane's legitimate healers. Best not to attract attention, or to move on quickly. Maybe both.

"One more day," she promised herself, cinching the pouch shut and standing up. The idea of another day of rejection and dashed hopes was hardly appealing, but against the imminent prospect of trying her luck on the road, it was at least worth trying. And who knew? Maybe this would be the day her fate changed.

She wound through the halls of the Guild headquarters to the cafeteria, careful to avoid the atrium where the established parties were gathered. Red's Rangers probably weren't back from their latest quest yet, but it was best not to test that theory, at least not until it was unavoidable. There were plenty of other people to avoid, too - parties who has, kindly or unkindly, refused to take on a Rank F mage with a record of insubordination.

'Charity case', Jasper had called her, and there had been nothing Althea could say to dispute it.

Two of her remaining copper coins bought the simplest meal available - a bowl of porridge, bland and overcooked, but filling enough to get her through the day. Althea thanked the cook, who grunted in response, and found a small table against a wall and settled in, scanning the room for familiar and unfamiliar faces. Some folk she recognized - other cast-offs like herself, who had also been turned away from established parties. Unusually, two of them - a red-skinned man who'd been floating around as long as Althea had, and a white-haired dark elf - seemed to be having a conversation. There was Marcelotte of A'ethelgarde, seated at the opposite side of the room; Althea glanced at the 'Apply Here' sign briefly and then sighed and looked away. She didn't need to apply to know she would never meet an A'ethelgarde's standards.

And besides...

No, that wasn't an option.

The short woman in flamboyant nautical attire seemed more promising. She was new, and the way she surveyed the room had an air of command to it. Althea scraped down the sides of her bowl, getting her money's worth as best she could, and then stood up so quickly she nearly knocked her chair over backwards. Right. Now or never. The sooner she spoke to this woman, the less chance another light mage would have to do so.

She wound her way carefully between tables to approach the pink-haired woman, hands curled into tight, anxious fists at her sides.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

 

[BuggaBoo]

☠︎︎​

'Flower' - Diviner (Shaman) - 'The Wildling'

​

Getting ready to leave, then dancing and eating in the Tavern with her Allies...

^{Dialogue: #61BD6D}​

Several pounding heartbeats. Several tentative blinks. Several cursory sniffs.

A slow sighing exhale she let out, releasing wound up tension. It completely faded as the familiar smell of cold soil and old bark wafted into her nose. Yes, said the sigh, she was back in this reality.

Like blossoms reaching for the sun, both huge brown hands danced in the air in front of her, fingers extended and spiralling to a rhythm only she could hear. The sacred inked symbology sprawling across the backs of her hands she gently slid and pressed upon other numerous tattoos and scars all over her body. Finally they rested upon the beloved permanent tribal design of the jaguar embracing her abdomen. Still clutching the inked great cat , a deep and reverent bow she donned the array of crystals driven into the bark before her. A satisfied grunt then both trunk sized legs uncrossed and relaxed; she had been released from the reverie and ritual proper.

And so the Reading was now over. And she had seen them. All of them. They were gathering. Converging.

Gently she broke the enchanted foliage barrier, a perfect circle of hand picked leaves surrounding her. The very moment the last scoop of loose soils covered the circle, the shiver tickled familiar notes up and down her spine.

"You were warned, Diviner. And yet you still followed through with reading your crystals. Corruption you staved off. This time.

"Next time you may not be so lucky... Tread upon the icy path, eyes wide, feet slow and steady or tread not at all."

The deep silvery voice resounded away from inside her mind, however in this Waking world, it sounded as if it echoed from every direction immediately around her. The uttered words were surfacing baritones and oh so, so, so old; a primordial and smouldering rumbling that spoke into both worlds at once. 'The Smiling Jaguar,' her guiding spirit, only she could see and hear. It loomed large before her, breaching this reality, trace sounds of ancestral drums announcing its arrival. The spirits eye's burned deep in magma, its body hued pitch black just like a shadow's whisper.

And yet, there was no response nor reaction from its conduit. The massive woman merely proceeded to rise and slink out from the earthy hollow. Upon exit, she was scowling and shielding her eyes from the rays of orange morning light breaking through the canopy above. A hiss burned its way outta her throat, blue eyes snapping suddenly shut. The immediate change in lux actually pained someone of her lineage.

Eyes still closed, she grasped her treasured bearskull headdress and notched another sigil into its lovingly engraved surface. Clicks and breath repeated rhythmically as she prayed, head swaying, braided dark locks swaying like willow branches in the wind. Then she paused, gently reaching out, fingertips finding home, pressing fondly into the rough bark of the massive ancient stump. Loud smacking sounds she let out, announcing her ritual prayer was complete.

Giving thanks to the former bear den was always in order. It served well as her token Divining place, that and it had been blessed over the decades by several dryads.

But it was time to say goodbye and leave now. It was time to meet those whose faces she demanded be brought to her in her vision. It was time to converge.

From the lower canopy, a crow called out before descending downward, aimed to land upon her tattooed shoulder's muscular girth. From the top of the stump, the lithe form of a small, black pigmented ocelot stirred, stood and stretched then slipped its way down to her. From beside the former den's opening a huge shaggy black wolf limped towards her, tongue lolling from its grinning maw. This was all that was left of them; her animal allies and cuddly confidants. In the town of 'outsider' mortals, they called the crow 'Coal', the ocelot 'Aura' and the wolf 'LiLo.'

Warm, lovingly affectionate purrs and strokes she greeted each of them, hardness in her blue eyes softer than a kitten now. And each responded endearingly in kind. Despite their excitement to finally see her, she couldn't help but let out a wistful sigh as she was able to fully regard the new sigil etched into headdress.

It was a symbol of change. More importantly it meant; her Name was changing.

Oh but she was so weakened now. From once revered as the 'The Wildling,' Diviner veteran of her pack, the renowned Fiend Breakers, to this... a sorry shell of what she once was, an outcast now deserving to only hide and cower upon a farm for subsistance.

Blue eyes found their feral tint once more and lifted to meet the expectant gaze of her animal companions. They regarded their 'sister', waiting for her to speak to them. And so her eyes lit up the same hue as the silvery speech of the spirits. Through the Smiling Jaguar her thoughts translated into words, flowing that familiar connection into their minds.

"Flower will take a new pack. We will meet in Big-Eat-Inside. Coal, Aura, LiLo come with Flower. Meet them, scout them. Then allies will stay on farm with Ol' Lady Kolah. Flower must go with new pack to fix Demotion. Then Flower return to allies.

Flower-Sister speaks true, allies follow true."

There was definitely a sentiment of unease and displeasure. But they had no reason to mistrust Flower and so begrudgingly, one by one all animal companions nodded their heads.

"Now. We must appease Smiling-Jaguar. One last hunt. One last feast...! As one, here and always... now GO!!"

All 3 exploded into action in a flurry of midnight feather and fur. Coal took wing to the canopy above, Aura dove nimbly into the brush and LiLo limped ahead seeking a scent. Flower slowly lowered her sacred bearskull headdress, masking her face. Whirling, chanting and dancing she implored the Smiling Jaguar to bear witness to deeds driven by its name.

The moment the Diviner felt the spirit's molten gaze, accepting it's wards decree, Flower launched into full sprint hot on the heels of her vanguard. More than a hunt for quarry, this was her hunt for her Name.

Into the Tavern she marched, dark boots thudding against the worn wooden floor.

Oh how she hated the smell in here. It was only bearable when music, song and dance distracted from its filthy and lingering stench. Yet she had to will herself to enter, if only for the sake of not getting kicked out of the guild. Such shame and insult she would bring to her former pack, her bloodline and the Smiling Jaguar itself. That and she yearned to be a Name once more.

As long as blood ran through her veins and her heart beat to rhythms unheard, she would do all inner power to not let that happen.

Upon one shoulder sat the crow. Upon the other sat the ocelot. And at her feet trotted the limping wolf.

"Oi! Din't know this was a zoo," the bartender banged the bartop with a wooden stein, with his other hand he pointed accusingly at Flower, "getcha filthy animals-- OOF!"

A bag of coins hit him in the face. But the Shaman never dealt in currency, only barter. And it was obvious she had some help. Tied neatly to the burlap sack was a note she obviously was supposed to remove. In very practiced and fancy writing was the word, 'Bribe 1.'

Feral blue eyes scanned the menu board futilely before she gave up, shrugged and just walked towards a central and clear area. Down onto the floor went her gear and pack and up onto her head went her ornate bearskull headdress.

Gently she beat a drum, trinkets and charms jingling and jangling softly in time, even her dark braids held charms interwoven. They too added to the tinkling percussive sounds. A sudden halt and pose she took, the drumming ended. Slowly the headress lowered over her face, masking her brown visage. Then in an explosion of driving percussions and twirling, rhytmic motions, eyes blazing a ghostly silvery hue the big inked up woman danced.

GojiBean AnonyMouse Goonfire Phayne Nellancholy Topless Solivagante

As she did so, LiLo limped up to each of those that Flower had seen in her vision and seemingly food begged. As the wolf did so, she also came close enough to get their scent.

Once their lupine sister interracted with those of 'the new pack', Coal took note of their goods and equipment, dark shiny eyes of the crow especially staring at all the precious and shiny things. Aura took note of their forms and mannerisms, the ocelot honing in especially on their voices.

When LiLo finally made her way back to Flower, the huge woman had just finished her dance to honour the Smiling Jaguar. Oh, and was it pleased. Flower felt the warm glow of molten eyes heat up her heart. All the info the trio of animal allies gathered, it had gleaned and caught note of spirits that walked with them as well.

"We are held in contented regard. Thank you, allies. Now feast."

An open table she marched towards, but not before tossing a perfectly seasoned and flavoured chunk of deer leg upon the bartop in front of the stunned bartender. 'Bribe 2' said the tag.

At the table, Flower reached into her pack and extracted more of the same cooked venison and gently laid it upon the table before doing her customary clicks and hand motions giving thanks to live another day to feast. Once done, she tapped twice upon the table. All 3 of her companions landed upon its surface and noisily began to feast with their Flower-sister.

☠︎︎​

 

[Goonfire]

The world had become so much smaller for Luminita, yet her goal was woefully out of reach. She leaned against the window frame of the dining hall, the sunlight illuminating half her pale face as she contemplated her life choices. She and her friends should've listened to her father, instead of trying to play heroes and elevate this guild—correction: this lost cause. Now, she was lost. Still, she had no choice but to stay; leaving now meant her career as an adventurer was over, the door to the Undying Dungeon closed to her forever.

The gradual swell of voices and stink of so-called food in the room returned her attention to the present. Of course... With all the recent demotions, the undeterred had gathered today in search of new parties, as opposed to new horizons entirely. She was one such person.

Nita's weary eyes swept the room, looking for prospective parties forming. Gossip flooded back to her with every face she viewed. One such face belonged to the hulking Marcelotte of A'ethelgarde. Had the minotaur not been a known earth mage, Nita may have thought her another vile, villainous Silvertongue. Another, 'Rella', had pulled up a chair in a cacophony as unpleasant as her reputation for debauchery and alcoholism.

After glancing over a few more faces, Nita settled on two more: Martina and Cherreign. Martina was allegedly crazy, though the delusion she was an eccentric knight seemed rather harmless to everything but one's sleep cycle. The thunderous cry for adventure woke Nita from a dead sleep on more than one occasion this week. Cherreign suffered demotion simply for choosing to care for Martina—a saintly move with unfair consequences. Life was unfair in a guild. Perhaps they could reach a mutual understanding, though.

Crossing the bustling room, Nita carried herself with the grace of a dancer, the beat of a drum accidentally setting her pace. Coming dressed in her silk blouse instead of full armor proved wise as she slipped among people and around a begging wolf; she needed only mind the silver rings swaying on her chain necklace and the swords on her hips. She arrived before the duo, punctuating her approach with a bow. "May I sit?" she asked calmly.

Topless

Spoiler: Dialogue color

Nita's dialogue color is: #B71B4E.

 

[Nellancholy]

As Salka scanned the room, like a shopper at market picking out the finest of the day's catch or a raven gazing over sparkly baubles to snatch up, it came to pass that she was...quite politely approached by a great, shaggy wolf, who sniffed her for a moment before moving on. Such creatures were an uncommon sight, but not unheard of in Salka's prior visits to the guilds of the region. There was no shortage of adventurers whose Ability tied into the abilities of animals, or those who used mundane means to train animals as mounts, scouts, guards...or attackers.

"And which of those are you, big girl?" Salka muttered. In any case, the wolf gave no answer, moving on to its next mark. "Fine. Keep your secret. I'll have it out one way or another if I really want."

With that, her gaze turned to the apparent master of the beast, a muscular, tattooed woman. Salka knew the type well, and had come to rely on them a great deal in her past exploits. Rough, tough, strong in body and mind. Ready for hard, steady work on deck. If she wasn't already an able sea hand Salka would shape her into one. As the woman drummed away, Salka trotted up to her, joining in with a jig, her heels tap-tapping on the hard floor as she seamlessly matched the rhythm of the drumming. Flashing her winning smile, she greeted the drummer without the slightest bit of panting. This could hardly tire her.

"Ahoy there! Lookin' for a new crew to call home! Join up with me! Salka, captain of the Sea Sirens- or I'll probably have to come up with a new name but we'll get to that. I'll be sure to treat you right..."

And just like with the wolf, no answer was forthcoming.

"Beast and master alike, hmm?"

Or maybe she was just caught up in her music. Promptly, the muscular woman switched to a dance of her own. Her face became obscured by the chilling visage of her mask, and it gave Salka pause for a moment. But only one beat.

"Oh, of course. Let's finish up then." No sense in interrupting a good party. She let her shawl loose, allowing it to trail off her arms as she spun, moving like a dervish as she timed herself to the jingling of the other woman's ornaments.

As the duo slowed their dance to a stop, however, the muscular woman simply strode off, an air of satisfaction thinly clinging to her as she delivered her "bribe" to the bartender and then took a seat, partaking of her own bounty with her companions. It took a while for Salka to catch up, even as she smoothly maneuvered through the growing crowd. Arriving at the table with the beasts, Salka looked down, her feet planted and her hands on her hips.

"Alright then, ya ready to talk now? After we shared such a lovely dance together..."

She wound her way carefully between tables to approach the pink-haired woman, hands curled into tight, anxious fists at her sides.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

It was then that she noticed a timid, hunched woman trying to get her attention. Elven, apparent by her features, but without the bearing that more mature individuals tended to carry on some level.

"What is it, lass?" Salka sighed, apparently ignorant of the parity (or lack thereof) in their respective ages. "If yer lookin' for a handout, my coffers are a little bare at the moment." Some would say they were approaching bone dry. "But don't ya worry for too long, next time I'm here I'll be swimming in gold."

But just before she decisively sent the elf packing, a lightbulb went on in Salka's head, and her blue eyes widened. "Ah! Unless...you'd like to join my crew and get a cut of that gold yourself! Now, how about that?" She reached out and pulled the elf in with her strong arm in that quintessential overly familiar way a boisterous bar patron might, bringing her close to her side and making a bit of a scene in front of the table. "What's yer Ability, lass? Let's hear it!"

BuggaBoo Solivagante

 

[GojiBean]

"As you can see, this series of accusations and testimonials from your Party are beyond severe. Have you anything to say in defense of yourself?"

"I refute these accusations in full. Our Party Leader attempted to sexually coerce me. Openly, I might add. And I refused his advances. In retaliation, he-"

"Okay, stop. Stop right there." He leaned in, elbows on his desk.

"Do you have any idea how often we receive reports of sexual harassment these days? It's everywhere. And every time, without fail, there's been no evidence to back it up. Let alone proof. In fact, every time it's been reported the evidence points the other way. Jealous exes. Spiteful and vindictive fallings out. The works. So..." He leaned in closer. "If you can give me one good reason why I should believe you over the testimonials of both your entire Party and a handful of secondary testimonies they submitted from anonymous sources close to them, then I'll hear you out further."

"..."

"I didn't think so." He leaned back.

"Get out of my office. You can expect your formal letter of Demotion by the end of the day tomorrow at latest."

"Tough break, lady."

Her eyes snapped open as she felt her hair being patted. Tilting her head to the side and glancing up out of the corner of her eye she beheld... Someone she'd never seen around the Guild before. He was a massive specimen of a man with reddish colored skin and... pointed ears? He looked human. He was human, wasn't he? And he was alone. Did he have a Party but was out recruiting alone? No, surely not. A man like this being in a Party would be hard to miss. And she'd seen everyone in the Guild at least once even if she never formally met or spoke to them. It had been one of her first tasks for her old Party, after all. Going around and getting a glimpse of everyone in the Guild.

Wait... Why did they make her do that as her first job in the Party?

"Oi, I know that look. Chin up, 'cause I might have a proposal for you."

He was being awfully familiar in his communication style. Was this a human thing? Her old Party were all humans, and they behaved much the same with people they'd never met. Either way, she sat up and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face with the back of her left index finger. If he was going to offer what she was hoping he'd offer, she couldn't let the chance slip by.

"I'm listening" She said while offering him a pleasant smile.

Goonfire

 

[Phayne]

The Wardsman

Grimm

No Party

Guild Cafeteria - Rella and Marcy's Table

Almost immediately upon entering the cafeteria, Grimm would be assaulted by a plethora of sights, sounds and smells; the halflings eyes hidden behind aviator shades as he glanced among the various groups gathered inside, as well as the individuals who perhaps had more in common with Grimm's situation than he realized. For the most part, the vast majority of people here seemed to be with their parties; groups of adventurers sharing a table among one another as they seemingly made their final preperations before adventuring.

The chatter, the laughter, the comraderie. Grimm could not help but remember those days, sitting among his fellow members of the 'Denizens of Darkness' party, nestled between the group as their main supporter and blissfully unaware to the inevitable collapse of their team. Though it was only after recent events that Grimm would realize just how naive he had been, how foolish he was to have kept his mouth shut amidst the obvious faults of their party and the growing strains that he was facing as the groups sole supporter.

Described as a rather top heavy party, they consisted of 1 Tank, 1 off-tank, 2 Melee dpsers, 1 Ranged glass-cannon and Grimm as the sole supporter that held the group together with his barriers. Their goal was simple, to kill their target before it could kill them and for awhile that had proven rather successful. It was only once they attempted to advance to C rank that the cracks would begin to appear. Overconfident in their skills and accomplishments, it had become almost habitual for them to overlook proper strategy and planning in favour of rushing into the quest unprepared, believing that their domineering strength would be enough to succeed.

Alas that tactic would not cut it at the higher ranks. They could not simply continue to progress without ample planning and strategy as well as a more balanced team composition. Failure after failure would lead to the party turning on one another or rather turning on Grimm; the one individual who offered very little offensively. Instead of realizing the faults that had lead them to where they were, the party would begin to chastise Grimm's failure for providing them with enough support and for simply being extra baggage that they had to worry about during their quests. If his barriers were insufficient, there wasn't much else that a mere halfling could provide the party.. apart from maybe being bait.

Repeated failed missions would lead to Grimm being evicted from the party, the reason given being his lack of contribution to the parties success since their promotion to D rank, as well as the diminishing health of Grimm, who unsurprisingly had undergone a lot of stress trying to meet the parties demanding expectations.

A quick shake of the head would stir Grimm away from the past. He could not change the past nor would he have much of a future if he continued to dwell on it either. Today was the day he would move forward once more. Lady luck had blessed him the night before with enough winnings to pay off this months rent; perhaps her good fortune would bless him with a party as well.

---------------------------------------​

"Oi, Grimmy baby! Whatcha doin' up 'fore noon? Get your shrimpy ass over here and bring a friend."

Almost entirely out of nowhere, a cold shiver would dance across Grimm's spinal cord; his hair standing on end as if he were prey caught within the sights of a predator. The voice that had rang out to him was one he was all too familiar with, one that would normally signal a good time, but perhaps was not the most ideal to hear given the importance of today.

It was the voice belonging to Rella; the guilds resident hyper energetic brawn before brains, fire mage beastkin. Normally someone he wouldn't mind sharing a drink with, he simply could not afford to lose himself to his inhibitions on such a day... at such a time. Nor could he afford to deal with her, should she herself get drunk. The last thing he needed was to wind up in the infirmary, suffering from 3rd degree burns and unable to go out on missions.

A sigh would escape his mouth as he attempted to ignore her invitation, though given how lively the cafeteria was quickly becoming, he was finding it a tad bit harder to approach others. It didn't help that a few onlookers had glanced in his direction, taking notice of his apparent relations to Rella; a notorious troublemaker whose list of exploits were seemingly endless. Their expressions were almost always the same...

"Oh for fucks sake...this again" he mumbled to himself, lowering his gaze somewhat. He was far too familiar with the expression of those onlookers, their look of disdain towards him. Whether it was due to being a halfling, the reasons for his expulsion or his affiliation with Rella the troublemaker or even all of the above; he could already tell that talking to those people would bear no fruit. They already had their opinions.

Defeated and with no friend nearby to drag along with him, the halfling would now make his way over, if only to get himself a drink to soothe his soul with. He would turn and head towards Rella and the behemoth that she sat next with; the towering and all too imposing figure of Marcelotte. Even as she sat, her figure dwarfed his own. You would need to add a whole other Grimm and a half if he had any hope of towering over her. He could not help but gulp as he got closer; eyes fixated on her visage as well as the horns adorned atop her head. She was truly an intimidating presence, especially for one of his stature. Would he even reach her kneecap if she stood up?

Curious yes. Brave enough to ask, not quite. He would need a few drinks in him before he worked up the courage to even consider asking.

"You just couldn't keep your damn mouth shut could ya?!" chastised Grimm, arriving at their table and turning to face Rella. "Damn mutt, I knew I should have invested in a muzzle! It's hard enough finding a party, but now everyone here knows we know one another. Now nobody is gonna want me.. thinkin I'll be up to some foolish antics with you" he continued, glaring at the wolf beastkin. "I hope you got a few coins to spare, cause I ain't accepting no apology if it doesn't come with a drink!" he continued, wagging his finger at the beastkin. "... and that better be two drinks for two apologies! The first for calling me out in front of everyone. Any one worthy of being my friend would have pretended not to know me if it meant avoiding getting tangled up in one of your shenanigans. The 2nd drink and apology is for calling me shrimpy. How many times have I told you, I am considered quite tall among my people" he paused, as he turned to face Marcy. "... though... saying that now does seem a bit silly... considering..." he paused, biting his tongue as he considered the consequences of what he was about to say; deciding to keep his mouth shut less she take it the wrong way. He wasn't quite ready to die.

"... ugh never mind that. Make it two drinks and I'll forgive you Rella... and make sure they come in the proper size glasses this time! I'm not stone face this time, I will notice the difference!" he added before turning to face the imposing Marcy. "The name's Grimm. Not Grimmy. It is a pleasure to meet you..." he offered a smile. "I'm not quite sure what Rella has planned calling me over... but I doubt its good news for either of us..." he laughed nervously.

If her size alone wasn't enough to cause him to be nervous, then her ancestry was. Despite what others may suggest, he was no fool. As a Wardsman he was keenly aware of the gravitas behind the A'ethelgarde name as well as the founder of their school of the arcane. Grimm once held aspirations of attending such a school, yet fate did not deem it a possibility. Nevertheless, he had read countless records of her great great great grandfathers accomplishment as a Wardsman and being in the presence of one of his descendants was already quite the big deal for him. Though he wasn't going to show it outwardly.

"So..." he began, though he stopped as the beat of drumming began to echo through the room, causing Grimm to turn and face the scene; eyes bewildered as he watched the woman beat her drums and dance, soon joined by another.

"I don't remember the last time the cafeteria was this... lively.." he muttered, fixated on the scene.

Interacts: AnonyMouse
Mentions: BuggaBoo Nellancholy

Code by Serobliss

 

[Goonfire]

Wulfram took a seat across from the elven girl, stroking one of the smooth, purple-streaked horns protruding over his bandana. A breath he didn't realize he was holding escaped as he reciprocated the smile with his own wide, tusked grin. "Well, stranger, I saw you speaking to what I'm guessing are 'full' parties," he pointed out, making air quotes. "I'm new to this whole guild scene, but I heard about all the demotions and—"

"Oi, Grimmy baby! Whatcha doin' up 'fore noon? Get your shrimpy ass over here!"

The voice rang clear over the room's dull roar and muffled drum beats. Wulfram clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle a long, wheezing laugh. "Sorry. That caught me off-guard. Oh, holy hells..." He straightened his posture and scowled upon tracing at least a dozen condescending looks towards the loud dog-girl and the popcorn shrimp of a man.

"Anyway, unless you're smothering your friends in their sleep, I don't really judge. Lot of people—good talent but bad luck—are running outta time, so a few of us should band together and show these snooty bastards how it's done."

The mace bearer paused, then snapped his clawed fingers. "Oh right! Name's Wulfram. Bluntsman. How 'bout you?"

GojiBean

 

[Topless]

The (In)Glorious Adventures of "Sir" Matteo
(And the suffering of her best friend Cherreign)​

Someone had went up to our (In)Glorious Duo! A white-haired woman had kindly asked to sit right next to them. Cherreign was the first take notice and said "Oh, sure. We don't mind some co-" Just then, "Sir" Matteo had cut the elf off by greeting her with "Salutations, o' fellow adventurer! You have cometh thee the almighty presence of the GLORIOUS "Sir" Matteo, Slayer of Giants and Dragons, Destroyer of All Evil, Champion of Justice and the Emissary from Hell! Accompanied to thou is Lady Cherreign of the Grand Observatory, the Immortal Office!"

Cherreign sighed out of deep embarrassment. "Umm...yeah, what she said." She spoke "So anyway, I believe I this the first time we have met. I mean, I have seen you a few times before, but never bothered to actually talk to you or your former party mates. I assume something bad must have happened that got you in this predicament, right? Don't worry, all of us here have reasons that got us on the same boat. What's your name by the way?"

"And while you're at it, can thou spoketh of your own glorious adventures perhaps? Pirthee, such an experienced adventurer such as yourself haveth experienced trials and tribulations dost fitting for such brave lass as yourself." "Sir" Matteo added with her eye shining with interest as she stared at Nita, much to Cherreign's dismay.


Goonfire

 

[Goonfire]

Nita eased onto the chair, keeping a stiff upright posture. Her expression remained neutral throughout the bombastic greeting, though the truth of Martina's madness registered in her mind. While no mere rumor, this was tolerable.

"The woe of being confined to parties is the rarity of interactions outside your party," Nita added to Cherreign's line of thought. "I used to overhear much gossip while cutting hair, so I'm aware of your plight. You have my condolences."

Thankfully, Cherreign didn't seem the nosy type, so Nita didn't feel pressed to divulge her life story, though Martina—or 'Sir Matteo', as she liked to be called—craved tales of victory. "I am Luminita, but... just 'Nita' is more efficient. If a tale is what you desire, Sir Matteo, let it be so." She closed her eyes and drew in a breath before continuing.

"It was my last successful excursion—the Amalgam Dungeon, Rank D, a place of composite horrors. Lars led us into its lowermost level, where the chimera lay in wait. He had the grueling task of deflecting its lion head's fire breath. Faine focused his light magic on sustaining Lars, leaving Sanda and me to attack from behind. Her kukri ravaged the chimera's thrashing wings and legs, while my scimitars rent its heads one-by-one. It fell dead at my feet as I ended its miserable existence with one final slice."

Upon finishing her story, Nita's eyes flickered back up to her fellow swordsman. "Satisfied?"

Topless

 

[AnonyMouse]

Marcy (+ Rella)​

Location: Sahlsbane, White Lotus Guild Hall, caffeteria​

Marcy began to lift her book to her face once more, preparing to bury her nose in it and drown out the chaos all around her. If the wolf-girl insisted on bringing more people, so be it. The minotaur knew trying to resist her would only draw more attention and abandoning her post would be a sign of weakness and submission. The best course of action would be to just tough it out and try to ignore-

EXCUSE me!? the minotaur visibly flinched as something brushed past her leg beneath the table. For a millisecond, she thought Rella's tail was feeling frisky, however, the tail's owner was seated too far away for that. Marcy jerked her chair back and gazed down to see a large cat, with fur black as night, threading between her hooves. The (involuntary) urge to kick loomed strong, but when the feline stopped and gazed up at her with those big soft eyes, even the frigid Earth Mage couldn't bring herself to choose violence... yet. Move along and all will be forgiven, cat, she thought, projecting her displeasure.

She had seen the animals enter with the giantess, but missed their dispatch. The invasion of personal space was annoying enough, but what truly raised her hackles was the thought that she hadn't detected its approach. Sneaky little buggers. This was all Rella's fault, of course. This would not have happened if there were fewer distractions afoot. That same displeasure she had directed at the cat now shifted to the beastkin, but went entirely unnoticed. Rella had already made yet another 'friend.'

"Ohhh, who's a good girl? Who's a good guuuuurl? Is it yoooooou? Yesh you are," Rella purred as she gleefully stroked a large black wolf which had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "No, seriously, are you a girl? This is gonna be reeeeeeeally awkward if you're not."

"Get a room," Marcy muttered dryly, followed by a roll of her eyes and a longsuffering sigh as Rella released the animal and it trotted away from their table. Meanwhile, the sounds of drums began to pick up as the wolf's companion began to dance. Rella bounced in her seat, gleefully vibrating to the rhythm and Marcy could tell, just from looking at her, that she was about to bolt away to join the spectacle. "Don't you dare," Marcy scolded. "It is likely a ritual of some sort. Whatever you do will almost certainly offend her."

"B-but the fish lady is dancin' too. It's fine," Rella protested.

Indeed, she was. A young lady in the seafaring garb had joined the shaman and was performing splendidly. Could be an Ability. or mybe she is well-practised, Marcy thought as the larger and smaller woman moved in unison. There was a huge difference between that and whatever flailing nonsense Rella would do. "Just sit tight. Your 'friend' is almost here," Marcy said as her eyes lazily wandered to the summoned halfling. He was taking his time getting to their table. Actually, he looked as if he was seeking a way out --Yes, save yourself!-- but, finding none, he finally made his way over to them and began to give Rella a thorough tongue lashing for associating with him.

"Drinks?" Rella exclaimed, partway through the storm. She vigorously shook her head, as if he had said a naughty word. "And before noon, at that. Tsk, tsk tsk. How uncouth," she said, putting on a posh accent as she wagged her finger at him, but quickly transitioned into a smug, arms-folded posture as she endured more of his onslaught.

Is... Is she mocking me? Marcy thought. I don't sound like that... do I?

The minotaur soon gave up on reading her book and opted instead to study these creatures in their natural habitat. She sat straightbacked and erect, like an honorable judge presiding over court as the prosecution made their case. Soon, the halfling's protests shifted to a vigorous defense of his height... though even he did not seem half as confident as he claimed, if those furtive glances in Marcy's direction were any indication. Although her stony visage betrayed nothing, Marcy silently pondered what life choices had consigned her to this hell and what string of choices could get her out of it.

With his thorough dressing-down of the beastkin complete, at last he properly faced her. "The name's Grimm. Not Grimmy. It is a pleasure to meet you," he said, offering a smile. "I'm not quite sure what Rella has planned calling me over... but I doubt its good news for either of us..." he laughed nervously.

"Marcy. Likewise. It is a pleasure to meet a fellow practitioner of the arcane arts," she said, extending her hand across the table. Her long arm easily reached him, without needing to rise from her seat or even lean forward significantly. Not 'Marcelotte.' Not 'A'ethelgarde.' Just Marcy. Although her tone was welcoming, her face remained that same inscrutable mask of indifference, making it clear he was still being weighed and measured. Her eyes told the full story, studying every line of his visage for any signs of misaligned intent.

However, the presence of their third wheel kept things from getting too intense: "Don't play coy. Y'all already know The Plan," Rella said, still sitting with her arms tightly folded across her chest, chin to the sky, and a smug grin plastered on her face as she watched her two 'friends' make physical contact for the first time. That grin morphed into a grotesque smile. A hint of fang poked from the corners of Rella's thin lips as Marcy's long, gilded fingers took hold of the halfling's tiny hand, as if uniting these two was one small step in her grand scheme to dominate the world, one bumbling partnership at a time. In this moment, a villain was born!

Or something like that.

For a moment, Marcy thought the she-wolf would elaborate on her mysterious 'plan,' but instead Rella's lips were sealed. The silver-haired beastkin just nodded, as if to say, 'you know. Everybody knows. Only an idiot wouldn't know.' Of course, Rella had no plan. Her 'plan' was to bang random things together until sparks fly. With enough hammers, nails, and noise, even an imbecile can build a house... or at least a pile of wreckage under which to sleep, Marcy thought as she released her grip upon Grimm and settled back, pausing momentarily to adjust her glasses.

And that is where an engineer --a true visionary-- comes in to save the day.

"So... I don't remember the last time the cafeteria was this... lively.." Grimm muttered in the interrim, fixated on the activity across the room.

At last, Rella exploded, standing up so suddenly, it actually caught Marcy off guard. "It's a CELEBRATION of what's to come!" she exclaimed, nearly knocking her chair over as she rocketed to her feet. "It would be more of a celebration, but... well... I told myself I won't partake 'til i find a new party. I shan't fall to temptation, Grimm. A lady's gotta have her scruples, ya know," she explained, wagging a finger at the halfling once more.

Ah, so that's what it was? No booze until she gets hitched. If nothing else, the girl knows how to self-motivate and self-medicate.

"Look around. The pieces are fallin' into place. They think we're all rejects and nobodies, but I know we can do great stuff together!" she said, gesturing wildly. "Adventurin' should be for everyone, but when I look around all I see are folks who are hungry to get out there and make a difference, but this stupid guild keeps tellin' 'em 'no.' Well, I'm gonna tell 'em YES and I don't care how strong or fast or smart or big or small or-"

"Rella..."

"...Or their Abilitity or their rank or who they stabbed in the back or how many teammates they slept with or how many times they've been thrown outta the bar or-"

"Rella..."

"...Or how often they visit the gambling den or the brothel or their family name is or how insane they might be 'cuz-I-mean-we're-all-a-little-cuckoo-right-so-who's-to-say or how shiny their armor is or loud they talk or how stupid they look when they dance-"

Marcy abruptly stood. "Rella. We get it. Please."

"Ooooooh, beeeeeeg woman," the beastkin muttered, gawking up at the towering minotaur with childlike amazement, as if everything she had been saying a moment ago simply vanished from her tiny brain.

Embarassed --and more than a little annoyed-- Marcy sighed and sat back down. The faintest hint of a purple blush colored her cheeks. She certainly wasn't trying to have that effect. In fact, she wasn't trying to have any effect at all. As much as she hated to admit it, the girl's words had gotten her on her feet without a second thought. I... I didn't plan that at all. Oh, god, what is she doing to me?

"Sowwwy. I just wanna go adventurin', ya know," Rella said with a girlish giggle as she ran a hand through her messy hair. "Just wanna have fun, ya know, instead of bein' cooped up in here. People need us out there."

Marcy straightened and adjusted her spectacles. The mask of stone-faced indifference returned. "You have to put in the work to get there," she said coldly. Control is important at times like these. Self-control first. And then control of one's environment. Marcy's hand disappeared into the folds of her robe and came out with a few silver coins, which she pressed into the beastkin's palm. "I'd like to have a word with Grimm, alone. Would you kindly fetch us some drinks. Non-alcoholic, of course."

Rella remained only long enough to take their orders and receive any parting shots and verbal jabs. And then she was gone, prancing across the room toward the serving counter.

Marcy leaned in, steepling her fingertips on the tabletop. "I will cut to the chase, now that the children have left the room," she said. "This guild is dying and I refuse to die with it. We both NEED a party and the time to do this properly has come and gone. Therefore..." she shut her eyes, as if it took literal physical effort to get the next words out.

At last, she said, "I'm in... on ONE condition. Blank slate. Whatever you have heard about me -- the good and the bad-- you will abolish it from memory. I will, of course, extend to you the same courtesy. You are not a drunken, debaucherous, lecherous little mini-man with a gambling habit. You are Grimm. I am Marcy. She is Rella. Simple as that. The same extends to any other miscreants we gather along the way. What say you?"
Interaction(s): Phayne [Grimm] | BuggaBoo [LiLo and Aura]
Mentions: Nellancholy [Salka]

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

tup, tup, tup, tup, tup, tup, tup,
crick-
"GaH- living...!"

a dreary, bleary, and all around weary face had just begun to peak itself between the steady crevices of a door, only to immediately retract itself back inside, retreating as fast as many wished they could out of a nest of griffins. a few spare agonized grunts escaped from behind.

"gh... cmon..." a voice muttered slightly behind the door, the low sound of a few, steady breaths, before-
WHUMP!!
the door was abruptly FLUNG open before a woman of such a tired nature, unveiling to her the one true enemy of all daytime snoozers.
the ever radiant sun.
"GOD-! SAMSON!!" the lady shouted, covering her eyes with her hefty, dark cloak, more than enough to beat back the suns unrepentant and endless tyraid of light upon the earths surface. "you are the WORST-" she said, sighing before slowly lowering the cloak a bit at a time, showing her set of vibrant, ruby red eyes that drew more attention than she would ever have liked due to the rather... offputting disposition of her resting expression.

a black tentacle, as she lowered the arms of her cloak away from her scowling face, presented itself infront of the woman's sight, waving itself delicately. "Samson... " she sighed slightly, before raising her one free hand and giving the tentacle a slow shake. "yes, yes... i am aware, but please, attempt to refrain. for my sake..." she pleaded lightly with the peculiar appendage, before steadily stepping off of her little patio, the tentacle making a swift retreat into the cloak of the woman, seemingly where more of the same lie in wait.

from which she came, an apartment. something to that effect, anywho. clearly not the nicest of places to be, but, well, it was about as nice of a place as one could reasonably ask for, considering the situation that this particular guild was currently dragging itself through at the moment. in truth, she had been sticking around this place for a not-insignificant amount of time now, having brought herself here a fewish months ago. she wasnt enjoying herself. well- misleading. she wasnt wasnt enjoying herself, but after recent events, the former had become something of a rare occurance.

she had signed herself up as an adventurer here for a few nice benefits. quiet was one of them. bankruptcy has a really strong tendancy to make places quiet, and that was precisely what she needed. her whole body was aches and pains due to a rather... lasting incident with her previous party, and they were not going away. she knew exactly why on top of that, and doubted saving herself from them was a very around-the-corner possibility. she had rather quickly managed to cement herself in town to the more common of the folk as "that one wierd librarian that might be able to turn you to ash just by staring hard enough", and was rather happy about it. it made for an easy, basic income, information was plentiful, and noise was at an all time low! what more could one want?

Unfortunately, if something looks, sounds, and feels too good to be true, thats because it often times is. as bankruptcy made itself more apparent, so did the encouragement for adventurers to take up their namesake, and... adventure. all up until it became mandatory.

so now here she was. trudging herself, tome in hand, her hair making her look like a hedgehog more than any sort of humanoid with how long and unkempt it was, a face, makeupless, that yearned for death itself to swing its scythe downwards towards her neck, and some sort of... creature's tentacles ushering out from within the blackness of the cloak she wore over herself, aaaaaaaall the way over to the guild's hall. the main hall. probably the noisiest place in this moneypit she barely called 'home'

through the door. this sort of... bad feeling wafted off of her as she passed through. hard to miss, it stuck out like a sore thumb. like a particularly bad omen just waiting to hook onto the right place- the right instant- to lay someone lower than they were the instant prior.
up to one of the open desks. her rather large stature loomed over the deskperson there.
"i want to join a party." she said without a hint of greeting. straightforwards and blunt. they didnt want to spend here too much longer than they had to.

"ah... arent you the librarian down the wa-"

"Ersatz" she interjected without a moments hesitation "yes, i am. im here to join a party. do you have anything?"

"...ahem. allow me to find your papers and i will gladly tell you if we do or not." the deskperson said, walking off for a moment, shuffling through a nearby file. a tentacle rose up, resting itself on one of ersatz's shoulders. she held the tentacle with her free hand in response.

a moment later, the person walked back "here we are! now just give me a moment to..." they opened it. shuffled around for a moment, that usual, customer service smile suddenly, and without warning, turning into a grimace "not for you we sure dont..." they said, the friendliness with which they had promised before fading to nothing

ersatz let out a prompt scoff "not for me, or not in general?" she asked, a raised eyebrow

"im more than sure you understand what im getting at." they responded

"kh! i saved their lives! i deserved better than what they were trying to give!" she immediately retorted, her glare intensifying slightly

"and thats worth what, nearly killing one of them? cmon miss ersatz, have some maturity." the desk person said, before promptly shutting the file and setting it aside for the time being "you wont be getting much here, i assure you"

"PAH!!" she said, sharply throwing her hands up above her head, before sharply turning around away from the desk person, and moving to sit herself down in one of the many nearby waiting seats "what. ever!" she said lowly and angrily, steadily tapping her foot. her hand clutched her tome tightly. great. the one time she really needed it not to, everything was coming around to kick her in the face again.

 

[Phayne]

The Wardsman

Grimm

No Party

Guild Cafeteria - Rella and Marcy's Table

It wouldn't be a lie to state that Grimm held some reservations when Marcy reciprocated his introduction with her own; her outstretched hand a clear indication of just how different in stature they both were. As a halfling, he had long since gotten used to the obvious size disparity between himself and most others, this however was on quite a larger scale. He could not help but gulp as his gaze fluttered between his hand and her own; noting that if she so desired she could probably crush his hand in her grip, should he say or do something to annoy her. Yet, despite his reservations, he was by no means a man that would leave a woman waiting on him nor was he the type to willingly dwell on such trivial matters.

Shying away now would do him no favours.

Taking a deep breath to quell the bubbling unease within him, he would reach out and shake her hand in return, keeping as much of a natural expression as he could. "The pleasure is all mine" he replied, though these weren't just simple words meant to follow after her own. It really was a pleasure for him to make acquaintances with someone of her position. He almost wanted to pinch himself now that he at least knew someone affiliated with that academy.

His attention however would be distracted away by Rella's comment, a raised brow hinting at his own confusion as he observed her smug yet someone proud position, arms folded tightly; chin raised skyward as if she had just sealed some kind of lucrative deal. "No... No I really don't..." mumbled Grimm, turning to face Marcy once more as she smothered his hand with her own. He had hoped to see a look of confusion spread across her own, yet truth be told her expression gave nothing away and only served to fool Grimm into believing that out of the trio, he was the only one excluded from the details of whatever this plan was. As such, he would gulp once more at the mere thought of what it was he had just done. Had he just signed a deal with the devil? Sold his soul without so much of a sliver of knowledge as to what it was he was getting himself into. The decorated horns of Marcy did not help to convince him otherwise. Getting involved with Rella was already risky enough and no doubt that 9 times out of 10 it would lead into some kind of trouble. Fun yes, but also trouble that Grimm couldn't really afford to deal with right now.

Though before further brain cells could be devoted towards such concerns, the she-wolf herself would once again prove to be a distraction that one simply could not ignore. As if on cue, her outburst would completely change the mood; pulling Grimm away from his worries and back to the present; her waffling a bait that Grimm simply could not ignore.

"HA!....You? Scrupulous?!" laughed Grimm, slamming the table with tiny fist's as he looked toward Rella. 'This.. coming from the woman whose list of misdemeanours is longer than I am tall!' thought Grimm as he watched the she-wolf continue on her tangent. Despite the humourous start to her speech, Grimm could not help but agree with her and found himself feeling somewhat envigorated that there was at least one other person out there that felt they were being unfairly held back by the guild. Placing a hand upon his chest, he could not help but feel a swell of energy growing, like a dwindling fire threatening to fizz out of existence had just been reignited. Of course, it just had to be the arsonist mage that made him feel this rekindled vigour.

At the rate she was going, there wasn't even a shadow of a doubt that if Grimm had had a few drinks in him then he would have been standing right beside her, a comrade in arms cheering her on against the unjust treatment of the guild and uncaring of just how much noise he would be making or how much mess he would undoubtedly be creating as he swung a mug of ale around. Alas, no drinks were present and no alcohol to lower his self-control. Thus, without alcohol as an excuse to act a fool, he merely remained there, watching and listening as she openly called out the guild in front of everyone present, noting how several gazes had already fallen upon their table as well as many more to follow.

It wasn't until he felt the table shake that he would turn around to find the cause; eyes widening at the sight standing before him. "Oh... damn.. wow.." gulped Grimm, a few beads of sweat forming on his brow as he craned his neck upwards. His jaw could not help but remain dropped as he took all of her in. "Beeeeeg woman doesn't even cut it...not even close..." stuttered Grimm in response to Rella's comment as he wiped the droplets of sweat away. She was truly something else.

Unlike Grimm that had silently watched and agreed with Rella's outburst, Marcy was seemingly unable to contain herself any longer. Was it a feeling of unease from all the eyes and attention being drawn towards them? or was it second hand embarrassment for being associated with Rella -a feeling Grimm knew all too well- .Well whatever it was, her abrupt movement didn't seem to help. There was no way that someone that big moving so suddenly would not catch the attention of others. Heck, the chair screeching in protest as her movements caused it to retreat were enough to send shivers down the spine; like nails on a chalkboard.

Not that that was enough to shake Grimm away from staring at the whole lotta woman standing before him. Stunned in awe, he could not help but notice the faint change in colour upon her face as she sat down. Despite not really knowing what she was like, Grimm had to admit that he wouldn't have expected her to react like she had done, nor to fall victim to the she-wolf's antics either. He had simply assumed her to be quite the serious, well mannered and proper type; a lady of etiquette. A stark contrast to the childish troublemaker alongside them. If there was a lesson to be learnt here, then it was to not judge a book by its cover.

Alas, that momentarily slip up from Marcy would only exist for so long before her former aura returned to the fore. Her tone cold as she replied to Rella, just prior to making a particular request that would catch Grimm off guard.

'Word's with me?' he thought, noting the suddenness of the matter. Had it not been for Rella's earlier invitation, then what were the chances he would have even come over, let alone now be requested to be spoken to in private.

"Since alcohol is off the table..." he paused, struggling to remember what else they served that wasn't alcoholic. "I.. I'll have anything... anything except Juice" spoke Grimm, towards Rella before she departed. His attention returning to Marcy as she leaned in on the table, fingers pressing against one another as she eyed him; eyes undoubtedly looking him over.

By now, a nervous smile had crept across his face as his eyes darted from side to side, unsure where to rest now that her focus was upon him. Whatever was coming next was surely going to be quite serious, so much so that he had to wonder if this was the plan that the she-wolf had been concocting. 'Surely not... of all people...her?' he thought to himself, ridiculing the idea that that troublemaker could have actually planned all of this.

The 'apply here' sign and the stack of blank forms did not go unnoticed by Grimm, rather he had simply overlooked them, considering he was invited over rather than coming on his own accord. However, if his intuition was to be trusted as well as the recent speech from the guilds resident she-wolf, then it all lead to one thing; his assumption soon proven true as Marcy began to speak. Grimm remained silent throughout, listening attentively to her proposal as well as continuing to sit in silence after she had finished, the halfling consolidating his thoughts on the matter.

By all accounts, there wasn't really much of a reason for him to prolong his response to her proposal. Joining a party was the sole reason for him being here today, the goal he had set himself prior to setting out of his home earlier in the day and the escape he needed from the mundane mediocrity that his day to day life had become. It was blatantly obvious that he had put it off for far too long, battling the anxiety brought about by his last parties failures as well as hiding behind the excuse of the proclaimed shortcomings fired his way from those too blind to see the truth.

Accused of being a lacklustre support and the reason their party struggled at the higher ranks, Grimm himself had almost come to believe such accusations. Convinced himself that he would ultimately be the cause for another parties failure to progress should he struggle to struggle to meet their expectations and be little more than a burden to their success. After all, most other parties had believed the lies, victims to the voice of the majority while deaf ears barely acknowledged the minority.

Yet now, before him was Marcy and her offer. A blank slate, an opportunity to start fresh and anew for not just her, but him and anyone else that took her up on the offer. A chance to not be judged upon by past actions; whether true or not. If the Minotauress's words were to be trusted, then this offer was one that Grimm simply could not pass up, one that he would regret not taking should he lose the battle against his own anxiety and fears.

What was he waiting for? A better offer? Ha. Unlikely. Taking a deep breath and now looking Marcy directly; eyes locking onto hers to show his seriousness on the matter.

"I say..." he paused, clenching his fist and gulping. This was it, the first step out of the shadows of obscurity and towards a brighter future. "..I say I am in. For too long I have hidden behind excuses, hidden behind my own anxiety and worries, transfixed on the reasons for why I ended up where I am today. I cannot promise you that my love for alchohol nor my habits will disappear should I put pen to paper, however what I can promise you; Marcy, is that I, Grimm, The Wardsman will undoubtedly endeavor to prove myself worthy to be part of the party, to prove to others the truth of who I am through my own actions and not by the words of others. If you would still have me, then I will happily sign the dotted line" he finished.

"Also... the term is halfling. Not Mini-man... I am adequately proportionate for my people" sighed Grimm.

AnonyMouse

Code by Serobliss

 

[BuggaBoo]

☠︎︎​

'Flower' - Diviner (Shaman) - 'The Wildling'

​

At the table with her Animal Allies, trying to Converge...

^{Dialogue: #61BD6D}​

With heartbeat steadied now, the Shaman feasted with her allies.

While they dined upon the tasty freshly-smoked venison, she took another bite outta the enoromous red toadstool in her massive mitts. Before her at eye level she held it like a turkey leg, inspecting the rippling mottled crimson, black and white hues spread across its surface. In reality, she was enjoying the colours and textures mix and churn, swirl and dance like some kind of mushroom-shaped swimming mosaic.

Yes, she was getting high.

To other walks of life, the toadstool should prove to be toxic and even fatal if eaten in copious amounts. But her physiology tolerated and actually benefited from the fungi; she was part dryad afterall. That and with the inebriation came higher levels of consciousness. And in such a state, she could clearly hear and see her guiding spirit.

Feral blue eyes widened, a near euphoric surge washing across her entirety. A heartbeat later, her gaze lit up, warmly radiating the silver mists of the Otherside.

"And so, Diviner, such visions have perhaps blessed you with finding them here. How fortunate. How convenient...

"And yet you sit alone with merely they you already know joining your feast? Do not tarry. The molten steel wll not harden until plunged into welcoming liquids..."

The crow upon the table perked up when his hulking two-legger sister clicked and signed in her wordless native tongue. Dark, beady eyes turned as she nodded towards the sauntering lithe form. The oncoming lovely, nautical and spry woman had not only impressed the Shaman with her talent, but won her over with such Skill.

One last swallow of a savoury morsel then a series of rattling clicks Coal let out. He held still until the boisterous pink-haired woman finished her interactions with the meek and diminutive elfish newcomer.

Nellancholy Solivagante
"Hail and hearts, 'Dancer'. Hail and hearts, 'Light Mage.' Please feast here. Flower-sister welcomes here. Eat meat. Eat. Welcome." if any were savvy to the recently disbanded Fiend Breakers, the crow spoke in perfect, albeit broken, mimicked speech of the former leader, Laila Delgado aka 'The Ice Queen.'

A lone midnight wing swung outward and a charming sweeping bow it donned the pair. With eyes still glowing silver, Flower clicked and signed away, sprinkling in a few grunts and heavy breaths. All the while the crow stared transfixed upon her, its own eyes taking on that same radiance as well. He nodded then turned back towards the pair of females hovering at the edge of their table.

"Dancer. Light-Mage. Please sit on chair. Not table. Sit chair. Eat. Friends here. Flower-sister is 'Diviner'. Looking for new pack. Yes, Flower-sister will together with Dancer. New pack, yes. Flower-sister see new pack inside dreams. Sit. Eat. Please."

Once more his wing swept outward but this time alluding to his companions on the table with him, "Aura-brother, 'cat.' LiLo-sister, 'wuff.' Here 'crow', Coal-brother. No touch. Not pets, frieeeeennndssss. Understand, yes. Sit. Eat. Please."

If Selka had ventured anywhere near her, LiLo would have happily licked her blue-tinged face; the lone wolf loved dancing and would more than readily shown her appreciation. That and the part water-nymph had given off such welcoming vibes upon greeting her.

Now wether or not they decided to join them at the table, Flower stood and did a similar sweeping motion, yet swayed her hips and shoulders as she clicked and breathed a welcoming chant. A solid, curt nod she snapped once complete.

A massive and heavily muscled arm she lifted and held before them. More clicks and breaths, this time accompanied with the faintest traces of a smile. With her other hand she pointed and traced the elaborate tribal flower of her homelands fully encasing her bulging brown shoulder and bicep in a permanent sleeve.

Another snap of her proud chin then into her pack she reached. Two big chunks of smoked and tender venison she placed gently upon the table. Without even a cursory glance, she slapped the offending paw. Immediately Aura recoiled, his attempt to snatch up one of the offerings for himself thoroughly foiled. Yet again.

"It's a CELEBRATION of what's to come!"

All 4 spiritually touched beings cringed once the shrill yelp pierced through and nearly silenced the roiling ebb and flow of conversation in the tavern. Blue eyes of the ocelot narrowed as he turned to yowl at the loudmouth with great annoyance. As if the sound threatend his meal, he lowered his dark hide close to his meal, protecting it from any other loudmouthed shrill yelps.

LiLo however, perked up, ears like tents then quickly wheeled around to look. Immediately her big black fluffy tail started swishing away, juuuuuust above the heads of her 'brothers.' A string of chuffs followed by a plaintiff whine worker its way outta her throat.

With more than a modest plea, blue eyes drifted towards Flower. Silvery hues lit her lupine gaze as she locked eyes with her Diviner sister. The big, inked up woman couldn't help but smirk in response. A subtle nod was her reply. LiLo barked once sharply and joyously, spinning around fluffy tail chasing behind her.

The massive black wolf snached up a chunk of venison then suddenly leapt off the table, leaving it rocking back and forth like a ship on the high seas. Coal spread his wings, feathers fluttering wildly trying to regain balance. Aura easily held on and smacked a heavy paw upon his sister's hind leg in annoyance. The worn ol' wooden thing had withheld the canines weight, but with near 200lbs kicking off the edge of the table, it barely held together.

Big muscular arms swept across the stained wood, clutching at the meat to keep it all on the table. And yet despite the commotion, Flower just continued to munch away upon her toadstool, gazing unabashedly at the two potential new packmates. Although she hated this place, with the auspicious start, the Shaman's heart soared. This could actually go better than she could have ever hoped!

Aura, on the other hand, hissed and grumbled in annoyance once he saw where his sister was headed. More accurately, when he saw she was headed towards... 'that thing'! Even lower now he hovered over his meal; if that big, clumsy, 4-eyed, hoofy-horny Oaf decided to come over, there was no way he was sharing his meat with them!

AnonyMouse Phayne
Over to the trio across the way the wolf limped, blue eyes shining, a play-grin hinting at the corners of her maw. Once at the table's edge, she wagged her tail and impatiently waited for them to acknowledge her. But no, a heartbeat longer she couldn't wait and so the shaggy thing reared up, forepaws landing heavily upon the table. She may or may not have even brushed aside the little fella whose head barely peeked above its wooden edge. But LiLo reeeeeeally wanted to get close to the loverly and friendly Beast-kin female.

Onto the table in front of the Beast-kin she happily dropped the hunk of meat. Bright blue lupine eyes glinted as her tail swung back and forth wildly like a rudder on methamphetamines. Oh, but with bated breath she held out for the Beast-kin to thank her with an avalanche of affectionate pets and adoring words just like before. Whether or not she received them, several barks she let out then pulled her forepaws offa the table.

Her tongue lolled out her mouth as big paws pranced her hide several lengths away. Then she stopped abruptly, spun once before seating herself upon her sizeable haunches. With dark snout now tilted towards the heavens, eyes slowly closing, she let out a beckoning howl hoping to entice the Beast-kin wolfling to her. And why the hell not; Flower-sister hated it here in the Big-Eat-Inside and a reverberating howl was a big middle finger to the 'civilized' establishment as far as LiLo was concerned.

Up onto all fours she sprang once the loud and mournful note ended. A shuffling prance brought her paws back towards the table. One would note that signature limp became almost non-existent; the power of joy compelled the pesky hindrance to banish itself for the moment.

Several greeting barks she sounded out at the tables edge then powerful hindlegs launched her midnight hide. Back onto the table landed nearly 200lbs of happy wolf, illiciting annoyed hisses and rapid-fire squawks from her siblings as the old worn wooden thing teetered and tottered yet again.

☠︎︎​

 

[GojiBean]

"Well, stranger, I saw you speaking to what I'm guessing are 'full' parties," he pointed out, making air quotes. "I'm new to this whole guild scene, but I heard about all the demotions and—"

"Oi, Grimmy baby! Whatcha doin' up 'fore noon? Get your shrimpy ass over here!"

Seirina's eyes slid towards the source of the noise, spotting the two women chatting. One was a beastkin, and quite boisterous by the look of things. The other was a minotaur who seemed more mature, albeit quite annoyed with her company. There was also what looked to be a halfling with them who was also berating the boisterous woman. Were they already in a Party together?

"Sorry. That caught me off-guard. Oh, holy hells..."

It seemed he was noticing what Seirina had spotted. Scorn. All around the room were dark stares and scowls aimed at the beastkin. And as Seirina turned her attention to the room she felt several cold spots forming. This indicated that more than a few people around the room not only held the beastkin in contempt, but it bordered on or crossed the threshold into malice. Some of them may have even meant to do her harm.

"Anyway, unless you're smothering your friends in their sleep, I don't really judge. Lot of people—good talent but bad luck—are running outta time, so a few of us should band together and show these snooty bastards how it's done."

Seirina returned her gaze, and her smile, to Wulfram.

"Of all the things I've been accused of, that's not one of them." She chirpped.

"Oh right! Name's Wulfram. Bluntsman. How 'bout you?"

"Seirina. Nice to meet you Wulfram."

Her smile didn't waver, but her eyes did trail towards the beastkin, minoatur, and halfling. While the Guild itself held a no-discrimination policy on paper, it was rarely enforced. Many times in the past Seirina had seen non-human folks berated, insulted, and chastised simply for being what they were. And if those cold spots were anything to go by...

Seirina stood from her seat and clapped both hands in front of her.

"Say, Wulfram. How about we go talk to those two?" She gestured to Marcy and Grimm. "Something just tells me they're in need of a Party as well. And if the beastkin comes back and joins then we have a full Party of five! Come on!"

She didn't wait. She couldn't afford to. Those cold spots were getting colder by the second. So, she jolted past Wilfram, giving him a pat on the shoulder on her way past, and jogged over to Marcy and Grimm before slowing her jog to a walk, stopping beside the table, and giving the pair a bow.

"Good morning, you two! By chance are you forming a Party? You wouldn't have room for two more, would you?" She gestured over her shoulder towards Wulfram whom she hoped had come with her.

Goonfire Phayne AnonyMouse BuggaBoo

 

[Little_Red_Cassette]

Slowly, steadily, she rubbed her temples with her free hand as she sat ,legs crossed, one over the other. she had, quite literally, just gotten to the hall not a few minutes ago, and already things were getting infinitely more complicated than she had hoped they would be. she had figured it would be as simple as joining another party, and yet...

"Haaaah..." she let out a deep sigh, slowly raising her eyes from in front of her face. the noise was already getting to her... a brief pause, sequestering herself into her thoughts. she needed to weed out the noise. clear her head, and look for possible direction... she didnt get to do this for long, however, as a sharp tug knocked her out of it. "nnrgh-"

A beast of many limbs, many-er eyes, and even more teeth than that poked its surface out from beneath her gown. its hard, almost scaly skin that covered its surface glistening softly under light, creating bleary reflections of its surroundings. its tentacles wrapped around a side of Ersatz's torso as it poked out, pointing a few of its tentacles towards the cafeteria- with a rather noticable eagerness at that.

"Samson... alright, alright. We can have some breakfast" she said, on the verge of complaint over having to walk into somewhere potentially even noisier than where she was now, but ultimately relenting to the urgent tugging of her friend at hand. Standing herself up, she started walking over towards the cafeteria. "Now samson, dont go grabbing peoples food, I dont want this to be like the last time we went out to eat, alright?" she said, to which the creature responded with a low "Mmrrrh..." only to be quickly retorted at with "I am going to get you food, dont worry. you will get your meal, so you dont need to grab at other peoples stuff, alright?"

Walking through the cafeteria, she took a steady look around the place. Not great, particularly, but servicable and clean. Satisfactory, all things considered, and somewhat comfortable, were it not for the erroneous abundance of people. She looked to the menu, hung up on a board above where one could order their food for a bit, staring at it for a brief moment, before walking up.

Slap!
"I told you samson." she said, an outstretched tentacle quickly retreating back under the cloak with a subtle whimper as she walked past one of the tables that had ordered a steak. "Whatever dish you have that has the most meat, and a salad with pasta, with two cups of water, and ice." she ordered. Simple, and quick. Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a small purse and promptly paid the cost outlined without much hesitation. Honestly, thank the heavens being a librarian paid alright here. Education was equally as important for adventuring as actionable skill, and the amount of adventurers that came through seeking information on particular monsters or books on specific skills - even in such a low reputation area - was enough to make it easy for the guild to see the purpose in paying well for her employment, even amidst the steady downfall of the place.

After making her brief order, she maneuvered herself into a good corner of the room, before turning around and looking out. a good view of most of the people there. her eyes skated across the surface of the room one by one.

No. No. N- Slap!
"Samson." she muttered lowly, causing the tentacle to recoil again and away from a particularly juicy leg of a chicken-esque meat left upon the table of someone likely gone to the bathroom. Too high rank, that group; she could tell by the gear and the scars. No. No. Mm... maybe? No. DEFINITELY not. No. No. Not a party, those ones are just there to eat. She couldnt be too picky now. No. Not that one. No... hmm. Actually. That one there. That group of people. They were clearly just forming. A cue they were likely of low ranking. Especially considering... that one... that one was desperate. Good. Should it not work out, she could leverage that into a seperate party. Plan set, she made her move.

She quickly got out of her little corner, swiftly, yet calmly, moving along her way. She still stuck out harshly. So to the point of where one could notice her incoming a mile away and then some. Practically the entire yet-to-be party could catch her looking directly their way with those slightly glaring red eyes as she moved in, clearly having very little intent of going a different direction. That bad air around her... it still followed, giving that slight hhhhh... feeling. You know the one. That 'oh god why is this person approaching me?', the one you never dared to vocalize, but most certainly thought about a person or two. As she reached closer, she asked, forwardly to the group:

"Would there be room for a third and her companion?"

GojiBean Goonfire Phayne AnonyMouse BuggaBoo

 

[Topless]

The (In)Glorious Adventures of "Sir" Matteo
(And the suffering of her best friend Cherreign)​

After Nita had introduced herself to the duo, she told them of her last expedition somewhere in the dungeon, of which she and her former party had slew a chimera. The duo had listened intensively, especially "Sir" Matteo. "A chimera thou sayeth? Pirthee, tis was a perilous encounter yee hath fought." She said "Though Lady Nita, you hath spoketh that was of your last adventure. Perhaps with this gather, we can all maketh up for whatever faults, true or nay, that we have committed. For that, your tale have satisfied thy interest."

"Chimera's are quite the unpredictable creatures, yet somehow you, or rather your former party, have become one of the very few that had manages to slew one. Well, I have told Martina about this one; but I too have slayed chimeras as well. It's just that, I've probably have dealt with them at least ten times already. It's quite a lot, but do note of some things; as an elf, we have very, VERY long lifespan compared to humans. I have been with the Guild for quite longer than you may think, yet I cannot maintain any of my ranks because times do change. This isn't the last time I have demoted to F rank." Cherreign added.

"Well, other than that, why the dress? Do you have like a special occasion that you'll be attending to after?"

Goonfire

 

[Goonfire]

Wulfram beamed merrily as his new companion Seirina confirmed she hadn't killed her party and proposed approaching the remaining pair at their table. "That's what I'm talking about!" he cheered before bolting up to accompany her.

The peculiar features of their table became more apparent as they drew closer. The new member couldn't help scrutinizing the rather frigid, towering minotaur and her neat script inviting others to this gathering. "Well, I think the sign to 'apply here' removes any doubt..."

"Good morning, you two! By chance are you forming a Party? You wouldn't have room for two more, would you?"

"You look like you could use some brawn," Wulfram added, folding his arms in front of him. The short sleeves of his maroon tunic hinted at a set of rather bulky muscles, not uncommon among people tainted by infernal powers. "The name's Wulfram, and this is Seirina."

He paused, feeling an uncanny sensation of eyes on him. It wasn't that of the other malicious parties; he could let their biases and disdain roll off his back. This carried an unnatural chill... He looked behind him to behold a second tall woman—roughly a head taller than he—approaching the table. Something about her was off, yet he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Who's your companion?" he piped up first, not wanting to give a definite answer until the other, more experienced people said something.

GojiBean Phayne AnonyMouse Little_Red_Cassette

 

[Solivagante]

It seemed that as soon as Althea stood up, the room got even more chaotic than before. She picked her way around the perimeter as a very muscular woman, accompanied by three animal companions, began a dance driven by the rhythm of a hand drum. Althea's objective, the pink-haired woman in sailor's garb, joined into the dance with flowing grace, and the elf paused to stare at them both for a moment - they made a compelling contrast to one another, both in physique and in movement. There was fluid elegance to each, but the pink-haired woman seemed to barely touch the ground, whereas the muscular newcomer made every movement feel rooted in power.

When the dance ended and Althea caught up to them, both at the same table, she was feeling more than a bit out of place. The jovial way the pink-haired woman reeled her in by the shoulders did not help, and while she was trying to re-gather her courage - of all things, the crow accompanying the bigger woman spoke.

"I - yes, as he says, I am a light mage, ma'am." No etiquette lesson had ever covered introducing oneself to animals, but good manners were universal; she made her best attempt at a bow from the waist to the crow, and then to each of the other animals and both women gathered around the table. "My name is Althea. I am looking for a party - or a crew, I suppose. I'm only F-rank, but I can heal, and I know field medicine for the things I cannot fix with magic. And I would be happy to learn other tasks to make my way until my skills grow, as well."

Babbling, said a crisp voice in her memory, and she pressed her lips together. Gently, hoping not to cause offense, she ducked out of the other woman's one-armed embrace and pulled out a seat at the table, glancing at the diviner - Flower, the crow had called her? - on the other side. Her gaze was direct and frank, but her eyes seemed a little unfocused, and that mushroom in her hands... Althea had learned only a little woodslore, but she was fairly sure most folk weren't supposed to eat those. Still, nothing about the woman's posture or expression warned her off, so she took a tentative seat.

"Are you also looking for a party, Miss Flower?"

BuggaBoo Nellancholy

 

[Nellancholy]

"Oh, and to call ME a Dancer...?" Salka feigned surprise as the crow greeted her graciously, its speech stilted but very clear. In fact, it reminded her of a fellow she had onboard for a while who tried to train a parrot to fly around, perch on people's shoulders and even speak. He said it would "add to the crew's image", but it never really panned out beyond a couple of words. Still, the bird did actually come back again and again even after it was let out...maybe that's what mattered. She figured him and his bird wouldn't have turned on her, but she knew what happened to loyalists who tried to resist mutineers that outnumbered them...

Either way, the fact that THIS bird could not only manage full sentences, but had in fact discerned not only the elven woman's Ability, but also Salka's own...there was more than meets the eye going on with it. Maybe with these animals as a whole, and their master. After all, her own Ability had few outward manifestations, the way she chose to use it. And her attire and demeanor left few doubts as to what her chosen mode of adventure was. So for a creature of any kind to see beyond the exterior to see the gods-given gift underneath...it couldn't hurt to figure out exactly how they worked, and try to get them on board. Maybe eyes like that would be able to sort out the traitors, even...

As for the elf..."Hey, looks like I've hit the jackpot twice today!" She offered little resistance as Althea bowed and then freed herself a few moments later to take a seat opposite the human (?) woman. "Adventurin' types always go on about how a Light Mage is worth more than their weight in gold...I'll have ya on board if you'll have me." Press-ganging someone was a poor way to ensure your own safety, but who would say no to HER, Captain Salka?

With that, she took a seat as well, alongside Althea and opposite Flower The meat didn't have the most appealing presentation, but she might decide to load up on some protein...in a bit. "And as our friend here said..." Here she opened her arms in a welcoming gesture. "...would you like to enjoy the honor of being part of Captain Salka's new and improved crew? The addition of your bouquet of companions would make this arrangement positively exquisite." Flower (or so her name appeared to be) didn't seem the type to be moved by honeyed words, but that was precisely why Salka applied them, to see how Flower would try to lead the situation.

As the wolf approached the beastkin and the halfling, Salka too glanced towards them, leaning on her arm. "Ah, something's caught your girl's eye, Flower? Why don't we invite them over?"

BuggaBoo Solivagante