Fantasy Elder Idea (Abandoned)

Literary Revenant · Feb 15, 2019

Literary Revenant · Feb 26, 2019

Literary Revenant · Mar 3, 2019

The Black Baron-Ulysses Cain: The Black Baron of Kalin, in the flesh! I had honestly thought anyone from Kalin had long abandoned ship since the war. I have a thousand questions as well as a profound interest in your case in particular. I literally had to fight off my partner in order to sign the application, and I must say that is NOT easy. Damn foreigner is more stubborn than a priest at times. Don't tell him I said that. Regardless, I need to meet with you. I have arranged a meeting at the Masquerade ball of the Cora Family. I feel that your particular appearance won't be so frightening there. I plan on wearing a Fae mask and my favorite red dress. I shouldn't be hard to miss. Meet me there.
Janet, Captain of the Light Lotus Company.

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div] Ulysses was no stranger to the festivities or fun that could be had at the Masquerade Ball, in fact during his tenure as a noble he'd attended many and had been famed as quite the charmer. However, he a had a reputation of being just that. Very rarely did the esteemed Baron take anyone home to bed, and for those he did? Well they kept their stories amongst themselves, and blushed at the very mention of the man. But times had changed drastically since such an occurrence, and Lord Cain had been presumed dead for many a year. Thus why he now went by such a shady, yet effective Alias. Few knew his true identity in this time, and one of the few that did he planned to meet. This alone told him her operation, and offer was legitimate. For she could've easily overturned his name for quick cash, that would've gotten her farther than she likely knew. For the Baron had taken to quite the protest of Balthoran rule over the past few years of his existence as such a living undead creature. Various troops had been slaughtered over the night when camping on Kalin land he happened to have wandered through, as their very presence threw him into the rages he so often suffered. The last remaining natives saw him as a vigilante, while the warriors likely saw the shadowy giant as a monster akin to a wolf among the woods. But tonight? Tonight the Baron was just another man, with a tantalizing mask. He dressed as he once had before in the nights of old, wrapped in a noble mixture of a suit and robes, while a simple black cloak enveloped the entire look in darkness. Which wasn't too odd, given their scenery, but still it would've been obvious who he was to the right person. If his height didn't give it away alone. Ulysses had always been a rather large man, even during his original lifespan he'd been regarded as above average in his stature. But with whatever had occurred to his body during his unholy resurrection, he'd grown exponentially with lean muscle enveloping his form and his bones growing to levels slightly above the norm. This made him a staggering figure, of athletic but intimidating proportions as he stood somewhere around six foot eight. He made short conversation and boisterous jokes as he swept his way through the ballroom, steadily towards his target, Janet Ravenna; his ticket out of such a disgusting city and his only chance at locating his beloved daughter. His voice rumbled and reverberated throughout the room with a low, powerful undertone as he drew near until at last he strode towards her with the pride of a noble that he once had been. "Miss Ravenna, I've come as you called." He spoke, clear and precise. As he nodded towards her with respect, and tipped his hat only slightly to reveal the tussled rich brown locks which were hidden under its confines. His face held a dark pale complexion under closer inspection, almost grey in the shadows. Though just enough pigment made it seem nearly normal in the light of the room, which of course there was likely plenty.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: | Mentioned: | Located: [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div][/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

This meeting had to be the most fun in quite some time. An actual Masquerade Ball! Janet had to get a decent dress for this event, something gorgeous and sexy... After destroying what organization she previously had in her wardrobe, she found an old dress that was once used when she needed to act as a distraction to some rich asshole. It was red, revealed her features nicely while maintaining a degree of class. Surely He'd find her, and a couple dozen other wannabe suitors.

I couldn't find any more red dress girls with a mask that had brown hair. I know this is from Date Alive but Work with me!!!!!!!

Ramirov had to help her get into the dress, although he was reluctant to keep his eyes open. That prudish jerk! Someday he's gonna die wishing that he had her. Donning his own cheap mask, Ramirov led Janet to the Cora house. It was already quite lively, lots of dancing, drinking, someone getting laid somewhere she imagined. She definitely brought attention, the bouncer at the door was questioning her credentials as a successful Mercenary Captain. Regardless, a bat of the eyes, sway of the hips and any man will let you past. Once they were in, Ramirov disappeared into the crowd, likely to find food or something. Janet waited, grabbing a champagne glass to sip on. It wasn't bad stuff, rather delicious actually. Definitely expensive. If the Coras move to Vian and have a party she'd have to attend the next one.

A couple men had declared undying love for her... more broken hearts made. Janet waited, a cool smile on her face, filled with confidence that she hadn't had in a few months since before the failed job. It wasn't long before a giant of a man donned in a black mask approached her. Janet seemed cool as a cucumber on the outside, but was actually quite nervous. This man had been a Kalin noble, who according to his application had been brought back to life due to some strange curse. He was not a man to fuck with, literally or figuratively.

"Miss Ravenna, I've come as you called." The Black Baron said with the nicest tip of the hat. Janet felt her nerves go wild for a moment, she had to recollect herself.

"The Black Baron, Ulysses Cain..." Janet said, quiet enough not to be overhead. "Would you mind dancing with me as we discuss some important business?" She asked, holding out her hand with patient grace.
[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div] His mask in turn was an ornate gold, while it had various patterns and lines engraved over the surface in a metallic black. Though it left the majority of his lower face exposed, it did manage to just barely cover his nose with a beak like protrusion. However, curiously enough the mask seemed to show no sign of an opening for the Baron's eyes. Due to their proximity however, a faint emerald glow could be seen descending from the underside of the mask, presumably from where his eyes laid underneath. Ulysses seemed to take her in for a moment as Janet gazed at him, and for only an instant he watched her nervousness form and caught her reaction to his words. This alone caused the faintest of signs of a smirk to form upon his supple, yet strangely toned lips. [div class="space"][/div] With his gloved grasp, he took her hand and lifted her arm only slightly as he swooped downwards gracefully to place a kiss at its center. Both the movement and the action were brief, and courteous in nature but as his lips grazed her skin Janet likely would've noticed the oddities in even the feel of his body. He wasn't like that of a corpse; cold and lifeless, but instead the very fibers of his flesh seemed to be teaming with a strange buzz of arcane mysticism. It wasn't warm nor cold, but rather more like that of an electric current if anything. [div class="space"][/div] "For tonight and as long as we voyage together, your wish is my greatest honor." Ulysses promised, as he stood back at his full height and properly took her hand in his. With such words, his voice had been low yet full of clarity and weight. His hand held hers lightly, with a strong grip that attempted to show care and respect rather than anything else.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Janet Ravenna | Mentioned: Literary Revenant | Located: Cora Family Ballroom [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

Janet's hand shook with a jolt of energy as the Black Baron took her hand. It was almost like the feeling she'd get when sharing a passionate kiss from a lover. How her knees might buckle a bit, but in this case it was more like her entire body was buzzed. It made her heart pulse a little faster, her breath quickened. For the first time in a good while, Janet was afraid of the man before her. Her whole body trembled ever so slightly at his touch. This man... The Black Baron Ulysses Cain was truly a marvel to behold. He gently kissed her hand, causing a coy smile to fall on her face. Maybe the slightest blush showed as well, which was slightly embarrassing for her. He's not a lover so this wasn't a playful blush, this was a blush where Janet truly felt like a woman and not an object of pleasure.

Janet bowed politely, allowing Cain to lead her to the dance floor to dance. Their dance was a simple one, not meant to draw eyes, but was still a refined performance. Luckily she managed to convince Ramirov to practice with her, the only disadvantage she had now was the Baron's sheer height! He was so tall! So powerful... Men like this are a dying breed in Balthora, and since he was from Kalin was perhaps what made this special. Their eyes never left eachother, save for a spin from Janet or a dip. Janet was enthralled by the Baron, and almost disappeared into a fantasy where he was her lord and she his lady. The music continued, a soft melody portraying joy and prosperity. As it ended with Janet and the Baron exchanging bows, he held Janet's hand firmly but gently looking into her brown eyes.

"For tonight and as long as we voyage together, your wish is my greatest honor." He vowed.

'Oh my gosh! He just vowed! That's so hot!!!!' Janet's thoughts raged like a wildfire. She had never had anyone vow to her, and those who did were only doing a vow in exchange for sex. These words ... were real. Words of power almost. It was hard for her to contain herself but Janet, lowered her gaze closing her eyes to absorb what was said. Once her composure was regained her smile changed from enthralled woman to confident captain.

"I am so glad to hear that my Baron." Janet whispered. Pulling a box from between her bust, providing some mystery as to how she kept it there, she placed it in the hand Cain held her with. "That's your badge. I'll expect you in our warehouse when you are ready. Please don't lose that darling, it's expensive."

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div] Though Ulysses eyes were hidden away under the confines of his ornate mask, his gaze could likely be felt as he danced against her on the ballroom floor. The large man moved with a grace and swiftness that was almost uncanny in comparison to his size, but he met her for each subtle movement that they made until they moved in an undisturbed harmony. Like that of a single symbiotic unit, with the occasional dip or twirl on Janet's end. Even in such slightly flamboyant movements, he held himself in such a way to recapture her back into their performance with relative ease. As he danced, The Baron was sure to not draw the attention of too many individuals. Their sways and movements were enticing, but not so much that they caused a great deal of commotion. But in such a moment, Cain bared his teeth in a broad and dazzling smile. His teeth, though not inherently perfect held beauty in their imperfections. His Incisors were slightly longer and far more sharpened compared to the rest of his teeth, but the others sat in rather neat rows and glistened with a cleaned appearance. His lips were full, and stretched across his face handsomely as he grinned down at her with simple delight from their dance. He too, felt the reminder of what it was like to be that of a noble and the dances he had once attended. [div class="space"][/div] Not to mention Miss Ravenna's unparalleled beauty! Though she seemed egotistical at times in her letter, he saw now that truly she had every right to be. This was a woman that outclassed many other, and with ease at that. If the tales of her feats were true, then to him she had far more bravery and conviction than many a man. The way the dress suited her body with such elegance yet, had a revealing nature that left him teased and tempted. Her reactions to him, only furthered his conviction. She held a fear, that wasn't necessarily abstract horror, but instead seemed to be that of awe. She viewed him not as a monster in these moments, but a man; an equal. [div class="space"][/div] But like all great things, their joyful dance came to a bittersweet end. They exchanged bows, and it was here Ulysses made his binding vow. And he was earnest in its meaning, as long as she held him to a certain equality that he now felt she understood. He wasn't a fan of the Company she worked under, that much should've been obvious. They'd played an undeniable roll in the destruction of Kalin, one he couldn't forgive. However in that same light, he recognized that Captain Ravenna wasn't what the Light Lotus had been. She presented a chance of freedom and exploration, which would be used through the Mercenary Corporation, but not under it. With that in mind, he watched her shift from an enamored state to one of composure and power. [div class="space"][/div] When she spoke, The Baron listened attentively and smirked as she produced her gift and spoke his name. He was rather puzzled as to the mechanics to how she'd hidden it away, but decided simply to wonder and not ask. The mountain of a man nodded as she gave him the instruction as to what he was to do next, and slipped the package away within the billowing black cloak that he wore. [div class="space"][/div] "I shall wear it with great honor, Captain Ravenna. Rest assured, it shall not be lost. Though, I do hope to hear you whisper my name, and tremble under my touch some time again." He responded, with a quiet intensity that reverberated between the space they stood in. His tone was strong, and full of both amusement and understanding. [div class="space"][/div] "I bid you a good night, and I look forward to our travels." Ulysses finished, as he lifted his mask only slightly to reveal the emerald glow that pulsed forth from his viridescent gaze. He held his stare for only a moment, and seemed to be committing every last aspect of her form to memory. It was if she was a work of art that he wished to remember for the remainder of his days. Then, he gave Janet a coy wink and slid his mask back down in a single smooth movement. After that, he strode away. His cloak snaked and churned behind him as he swept through the crowds with a few light jokes and conversation. In one instant he was there, but in the span of a few seconds the mysterious man was gone.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Janet Ravenna | Mentioned: Literary Revenant | Located: Cora Family Ballroom [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]
Jack Royce-Black Baron Style: A pleasure to make your acquaintance Mr Royce. I have reviewed your application and found it suitable for an 'interview' of sorts. Luckily for you I managed to find an actual mission for you to complete and if you succeed you both join our crew and get to keep 70% of the bounty, a hefty 40 Danalins. Sadly, I have found myself so preoccupied that I am unable to meet with you personally. Janet has arranged for you to meet with the Black Baron, who will assess you and give you the assigned mission. It's not too hard, you just gotta... persuade a noble to offer up a sponsorship for our company. I hear he does like men if that helps you any. It doesn't matter if you have to hurt him or persuade him, just make sure to get the job done and your in. I look forward to seeing the results.

Signed Ramirov and Janet.

Jack had rushed downstairs to receive his mail. He had applied to various locations and expeditions, but few if any had regarded him with any sort of seriousness. He had snatched the post as soon as it arrived. Forsham, his butler, stood aghast as the young man feverishly sorted through the letters before taking a handful for himself. He pressed the rest of the post back into Forsham's hands and kissed him on the cheek. "Forsham, you're brilliant." The butler watched with wide eyes as the energetic boy shot back up the steps toward his room. After a brief moment he shook it off, then muttered before returning to work.

Jack leapt onto the bed and began tearing the letters open one by one, reading through them quickly. Bright, excited eyes grew a touch dimmer as he repeatedly saw the word "Rejection" fly by. After the fifth he crumpled it up and sat up, hurt stinging in every fiber of his being. He threw it across the room, closing his eyes. Damned bastards didn't want a child of a noble with no prospects. He looked to the three other letters waiting for him and tightened his lips, then reached out to open those as well. The envelope crinkled as he pulled out the first one.

Unfortunately, we currently have no space...

He tossed it aside. Opened the second letter and unfolded it.

In light of recent budget considerations, we unfortunately have to...

He sighed a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Taking hold of the third letter, he opened it and started reading. Interview... a job? He sat up, reading and re-reading. Meet with the Black Baron...

Forsham had been critiquing a maid's cleaning in the foyer when Jack Royce went rushing by. He barely caught the boy's ponytail swishing before the front door slammed shut.

Jack had a handful of options, but nowhere to go for certain. The letter never addressed it or gave even the vaguest hints. The name demanded a bit of reputation however. As such, he went to those locations that might uncover such particular details for him. The hours drew on, and he stepped from place to place. Each recommendation was worse than the last it felt, as he exhausted one bad lead after another. Persistence paid off in the end though, as he knocked and waited patiently for the answer.

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div]
As it turned out, The Baron likely wasn't at any address the young man had attempted to seek out. However, if the adventure seeking noble had any perception then he likely would've noticed the occasional flicker of black that seemed to always be there. Just out of sight, but whatever this creature was... It was definitely trailing him. In truth, it'd been following him since the very moment that the boy left his house. This... Stalker was silent, and well versed in the truths and skills that were secrecy. The fact that Jack was even allowed to see such a shadow, was a hint in and of itself. With every instance that the figure was seen, it seemed to draw closer. Until eventually, a powerfully loud footfall could be heard that was definitely headed the spoiled child's way. Each step was methodical, and purpose filled in the way that it fell. Whoever this was? They wanted to be heard.
In all fairness, it should've been painfully obvious who such a being was at this point. And if it wasn't, the billowing black cloak of the one and only Black Baron could be seen as it flapped around its wearer. Within moments, he was simply there. With a nod, the hidden man gestured towards a Noble Establishment not too far down the road. The building was large and ornate, in one way or another, Jack's search for the undead vigilante had lead him in turn to the home of his mark. Whether that was intentional or not, wasn't something that was to be told. However, Ulysses was silent as his eerie green gaze bore into the potential mercenary with a strange intensity. He seemed to be waiting.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Jack Royce | Mentioned: Remmock | Located: Dark Alley [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

Jack hadn't much on his mind but finding this Black Baron. He'd been so focused in the forward pursuit that he'd given little care to what was behind him. He was green, to be sure. As the Baron approached from behind a feeling settled upon the lad that caused him to freeze. He never gave another thought to the door that didn't open at his knocking, but jumped in place and turned suddenly to see the man looming close. Hazel eyes widened reflexively, a telling note that he didn't immediately recognize the man behind him. An arm shot up defensively, but the hand on the other side fell out of sight. A trained eye would easily note that it fell to the hilt of his weapon, though the average thug or sword-for-hire might not easily realize that.

After a moment's hesitation where Jack waited to see what he would do, and noting the figure had simply gestured in a single direction, Jack started to settle. His hand withdrew from the hilt before he moved into a proper standing position and looked in the direction of the gesture. The youth's face screwed up in puzzlement for a moment before he nodded. "Right. You're the Baron and I'm supposed to go over there, is that it?" There was that moment of curiosity where he wanted to see if the Baron would speak.

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div]
The Baron was a rather large man, who towered at an impossibly large height compared to that of an average individual. In fact his overall size was far more comparable to that of an Orc, rather than that of the typical human. Nevertheless, his leaner build was distinctly different from that of such a muscle bound race. Not only that, but his mostly hidden face did reveal a rather chiseled human face that held a slightly grey complexion. To say the least this man was by far a rather irregular figure, even in the mystical world in which they lived in.
The tattered noble black garments only added to his strange mystique. The cloak he wore, and the variously dark layers that followed underneath were all of higher caliber than that of what a citizen could afford. But they were far older in style and fashion when compared to even the attire Jack wore or was likely accustomed too. Only the ghastly emerald glow of his irises seemed to have any real color when it came to the shadow encased giant. Eyes, that studied Royce with a simply inquisitive gaze. His attention had briefly flickered to the young mans adjustment of his hands, and from such an action the darkly clad man seemed to smirk slightly from under the cover of his half mask. He took a moment to let the boy collect himself, and speak before he chose to lessen his aggressive facade.
"I am "The Baron", yes. That establishment down the road, is home to the mark you were instructed to... Convince. I've been told to simply observe and grade your progress and efficiency." Ulysses confirmed with a strong voice that seemed accustomed to command. However his tone, was one of simple instruction and goodwill. He truly wanted to see this young noble succeed, even if he was a lowly Balthoran. This man before him hadn't committed the atrocities that now plagued The Barons land, and so he could only hope that under his influence he could aid Jack in becoming better than what his ancestors had been. His quest for true challenge and commitment to their journey already showed promise.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Jack Royce | Mentioned: Remmock | Located: Dark Alley [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

Jack had been paralyzed by the man's look as much as he had been by his own curiosity, holding there to hear the response. He had surmised who the character before him was, but waiting for the response was all the agony of watching a teetering car and waiting for it to either fall or settle. When it settled, it wasn't anything like he expected. It was so calm, collected, and to the point. "Ah, well then..." A smile creased his features, and he raised a hand to beckon the Black Baron along. "Come along, my lord. It would be my distinct pleasure to demonstrate my capabilities in such a review." With that he pivoted on his heel and made directly for the address which was indicated. His light, quick steps took him straight to the abode where he promptly knocked to begin his inquiry.

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div]
The Baron followed quickly after Jack, as the loud rumble of his footfall sounded with every step. He walked with great purpose and confidence that reflected his status of nobility. Something he likely had in common with Royce himself, if anything. In that way, the two of them formed quite the polarized pair. While they were both in some way, shape, or form were noblemen, the two of the deviated in their allegiance. Uylsses didn't blame the young man for his heritage, but it did in fact form a looming rift in what he'd allow in terms of coalition. Nevertheless he did his best too look past that fact as they neared the gates of such a grand establishment.
"Go in with a plan, and be prepared for it to fail. I am here to observe, but I will come to your aid in any dire circumstances. Should you not accomplish your goal..." The darkly clad man let his words trail off there. Jack likely got where he was going with that; he'd be cast out from the mission. But a gut feeling told Ulysses that this young noble had far more spirit in him than what he'd currently considered. From here on in, all of the plays were his to make.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Jack Royce | Mentioned: Remmock | Located: Noble Residence [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

Jack wasn't sure if he was going to be the type to deal with such matters. He'd only ever been concerned for himself and dealt with matters thusly. So as it happened being told he was essentially going in just to be observed was something that jolted him with surprise. This was an agreement for funding after all, something that didn't come lightly. He would have mused longer on it had the door not been answered at that time. A man dressed down in servant's clothing answered and immediately recognized the quality and style of clothing that Jack wore. While he might not have had intimate knowledge of all of the families and their progeny he knew enough to consider everything he was supposed to say. "How might I be of service young gentleman?" he inquired.

"Johnathon Royce the Eighth to see The Lord Newton on a matter of business." The words lit a fire under the servant who bowed away, propping the door open and raising an arm to encourage young Royce to enter.

"Of course, Mister Royce. Please enter into the parlor. I will announce you to my Lord." Jack entered, and the servant immediately made to attend to the matter at hand. He bustled up the stairs and disappeared for nigh on five minutes. During that time Jack walked to a chair, sat, stood, wandered, paced, idled, and finally wandered again only to be interrupted by a call from the stairs.

"The Viscount Newton." The servant then opened the door to the sitting room as Jack emerged from the parlor. Lord Newton himself had descended the stairs, and the two observed each other for a time. Jack hoped he was being regarded positively, but he would wait and see what Newton had to say before attempting to impress upon him any importance of any kind. The Viscount raised a hand, gesturing before walking in to the sitting room where the curtains had been opened to allow light through.

"My boy, it is a surprise and a pleasure to see you," he began. The Viscount moved to the window to look out before turning to watch where Jack stationed himself. The younger man had moved to stand by a chair, but was not yet seated. Newton smiled at that and moved by a chair himself. "I understand you're here on business, the likes of which impresses me. I had thought your brother would be the one to meet me on a matter of business. He does stand to inherit the estate after all... and rather soon if I recall." The shrewd statement matched the dark, sparkling eyes surrounded with wrinkles and the whipcrack moustache he sported. "Am I soon to regard you as a member of Court?"

Being reminded of his father's imminent future was something he liked to avoid as often as possible, and Royce bit his tongue rather than address it. "You do my great honor to suggest as much, my Lord. However, I find myself in this regard here on behalf of an expeditionary force seeking patronage. You'll pardon my moving straight to the point, but that is the nature of business. Time is finance." The statement gave time to allow Jack to gather his thoughts. He hadn't been entirely sure how he was going to pitch this, but he was in the here and now and needed to deliver it regardless of how prepared he might have been. "Finance is everything. Especially in an age of uncertainty. The hour is already growing late as some bands have departed to seek fortunes, but the earliest are ill-prepared. Others still plan to shore up enough support to travel with an army. They will be far too late to stake fair claims. No, I venture to predict that we are in a place of security, both prepared and quick to strike out."

The Viscount's hand was quick to rise at this point and waved dismissively. "Yes yes, that's all well and good. I will entertain you that I was looking to arrange backing for such a force, but how do you know I haven't already, nor that I would choose yours over the many assembling?" The narrowed eyes and creeping smirk suggested that he intended to toy with Jack, and the Viscount sat down to cross his legs idly while watching the young man.

This would not be a place where Jack was inclined to admit defeat, however. "Because my Lord, the Light Lotus Company is an exemplary team that has very stringent hiring practices. Why, the other groups are taking on any old ruffian. My Lord, before long they will be tearing themselves apart out of greed and collapsing from utter lack of discernment. It is why I personally have chosen to work with such a crew." The fingers of the Viscount massaged the end of the chair. Wasted money was poor prospects and poorer optics. He couldn't afford to be the talk of the Court in that way.

"Yes... yes, very well." He stood up, crossing over to his desk and taking a parchment and quill. He penned a letter, which Jack indicated would be best served as addressed to Miss Janet Ravenna. That concluded, and with official seal in place over the back, he accepted the letter with a smile and a firm handshake.

"You won't regret this."

"See that I don't." Those words bore with him a significant overtone. As Jack slipped back outside he handed the letter with a recommendation of a rough amount of funds the Lord was willing to part with, and additionally for another representative to bring papers on hard costs to determine more accurate funding matters. Jack practically danced over to the Baron and presented the letter.

"Ah, here we are!"

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div]
Ulysses had viewed it all, in a way that wasn't natural to that of the typical viewer. Though his physical senses were dulled greatly, the dark lords mystical perception was something greater than that of the standard view. Through this, he observed the situation and watched as the young man handled the situation with status and persuasion rather than that of combat, or even the means Madame Ravenna had suggested. Though the grin he held was hidden mostly by his lower mask, a few ripples could be seen in the dark fabric that gave away his pride.
"It seems your wit was all that was needed, though I do hope you can do more than persuade in the future. Nevertheless, you've accomplished your task marvelously. Keep the parchment until our Captain calls us all forth, and until then continue to hone yourself for travel." The darkly clad nobleman spoke, before he tipped his oddly shaped hat and stalked away into the shadows. Although he was a large, mountainous man he simply seemed to melt away into the darkness without a trace. His words were those of gratitude however, and hopefully he'd properly presented that in his small speech. Jack Royce had succeeded in his task, and Ulysses was sure that Janet would be more than pleased.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Jack Royce | Mentioned: Remmock | Located: Noble Residence [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]
Tanya Aurem-Black Baron Style INCOMPLETE: Miss Tanya! I must say, I was incredibly amused by the letter you have given me! It was quite adorable! While I do believe your skills are more than sufficient I still gotta have someone meet with you and provide some form of test. Why do I say it in such an odd fashion you ask? Unfortunately due to the sheer number of people I've had to meet these past few days me and Ramirov are currently unable to meet with you personally. However, I do have a more than qualified substitute. You will be meeting The Black Baron at the Border between Thanol and Meide. There he will give you a Mark for you to take care of. Nothing too hard, just a money shakedown against a brothel mistress who decided that it would be fun to stop paying me my dues after training her lovely ladies. I hope your not too shy! And don't worry, Mr Scary face doesn't bite.

Signed Janet Ravenna and Ramirov.

Tanya Aurum was still standing up as she leaned against the bench, single sheet of paper in hand. She read the letter for about the fifth time, and then a sixth, just to make sure she got the feel of it. Just needed to make sure she understood, right? Needed to just get exactly...gosh darn it, what was this!?

Tanya let out a tense breath as she finally folded up the letter and placed it back in her coat pocket. 'Adorable', really? What was that supposed to mean? And as for the rest of it...she wasn't sure what she expected. An interview, maybe? Some test? Well, check that, this was a test, but that wasn't the problem. Oh no, boy, she had a few questions about the details of this test, which were painfully few, on the practical side, but on what she could infer...

Well, a nice little sequence of events seemed to be at play here: 1) Janet Ravenna, her possible boss-to-be, trains ladies to be prostitutes in a brothel, and 2) Mistress of said brothel stops paying. Well, perhaps that was pretty much it, but it was still bad, all the same. Tanya whipped the letter back out and cut her eyes at it as if the writer could see her do it. A brothel, Ravenna? Seriously, a brothel!? And who the heck is the 'Black Baron', anyways!?

Tanya shook her head, thinking of all the questions she might have for her possible future boss about her side jobs. She hated brothels. She wasn't highly acquainted, it was true, but even from the outside: all those woman dressed up and painted like ugly dolls, the men looking them over like some piece of fresh meat...it was sickening. And just downright creepy. There was no part of that she wanted anything to do with, not at all. Granted, that didn't mean that she wouldn't be into the idea of roughing up some brothel mistress for the cause...

Tanya sighed, putting the letter back into her pocket again and getting up off the work bench. She glanced at the view of pale sunlight coming in through her small dirty window. She wanted this. She reminded herself, now, why the heck she thought it'd be a good idea to throw her lot in as a mercenary in the first place. Marianne didn't even know, of course. Garimella only knew she was thinking about it--it had been a long while since she had last spoken with her friend. But...she needed this. She needed something different. It was almost like some mid-life crisis come early, realizing that she was on a fast track to working at the forge her entire life if she didn't either A) get married, or B) do something crazy. She obviously chose B. And she had to know what that meant. It meant doing jobs for people, whether she liked it or not. It meant going to all kinds of places, brothels included. She just hoped that, in some capacity, it meant she could be part of solving problems her own way, even as part of a team. It was why she chose Light Lotus, and not some larger company--first of all, due to the Vian thing, and secondly, because she was hoping they might be scrappy enough to still have a wild side.

From the looks of it, she might just be right about that part. Tanya smiled slightly. Well, Ravenna, you seem to be a rather interesting person. Bring it on, girl.

Tanya didn't waste time getting a move on so that she may meet this 'Black Baron' at the border (who, hopefully, would have some actual details as to her little mission. She absolutely hated going into things blind). She wondered what he looked like. Certainly, his use of a pseudonym was...curious, to say the least. Yeah, maybe a little suspicious too. Or perhaps it was just Ravenna's assurance that he 'doesn't bite' that had her eyebrows raised. Who was he, and why was he so important as to be the one to meet her? Jokingly, she wondered if she should be looking for the guy in the black hood. But in reality, she was at a disadvantage. She had not a clue what he really looked like. All she could do was meander around the meeting place, figuring that he would be the one to find her.

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div]
And Ulysses laughed fully at her reaction. There were so very few who weren't immediately terrified or violent when he approached a scene. Even now, while out in such bustling streets he was looked stood out like a sore thumb and likely attracted many viewers. Although it was quite plain to see that not even he could take away the center of attention that the brothel had garnered. Although, she wasn't wrong in her opinion. His attire of all black wasn't normal in the slightest, and he'd chosen such clothes despite his better judgment. It wasn't a stylistic choice, but rather one of representation.
"In the flesh." He mused, with a dark tone which reverberated throughout the space around them. He gave her a swift, but courteous nod of his head before he leveled his gaze at her with a powerful intensity. His eyes alone held a strange emerald glow, which could be found within his irises which pulsed with arcane mysticism. After a quick analyzation of what she'd chosen to wear and bring on such an occasion, the Baron gestured towards the mighty Brothel.
"Miss Aurum, it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I apologize upon the Captain's behalf, but all things considered I believe we have more urgent matters. You have a job to preform, no?" Cain spoke with great clarity, and respect. As he did so, he kept his vision trained on that of the magical establishment not too far away. The wonders that occurred within it's walls were nothing his land of Kalin was unaccustomed with. In truth there, prostitution was a respectable profession in the eyes of the populace. Or at least, it had been.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Tanya Aurum | Mentioned: BlossomingRosebud | Located: Thanol & Meide Border [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

Turns out, her contact wasn't hard to find, after all.

It didn't take long after Tanya saw him before she just knew he had to be it. And when she did, the new recruit resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Oh gosh, Ravenna wasn't kidding with the whole 'he doesn't bite' thing. This man was just so extra. Covered face, long cloak...with so many layers, he had enough black on him to hide the moon. What was up with that? Was he trying to go Goth or something? She didn't know, but it was true: a smaller, baser part of her did shudder at the presence of him. She wasn't sure why. He just had a good act, that's all.

"Let me guess: the Black Baron?" She greeted in a light caustic tone after walking up to where he stood looking at her (or was he? His face was so shrouded it was almost hard to tell). She hoped she didn't somehow get it wrong, but that seemed unlikely. She was just ready to actually get some details for this mission, whatever or wherever that was. Although, she did notice the brothel across the street coming in...could it be that one, perhaps?

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
tags// [/class] [class=BackgroundPicture] Background:url(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/d9/c9/bf/d9c9bfeecc7cd23adce729f2fa10d11c.jpg); Padding:30px; //The background image that become the border// [/class] [class=BackgroundColor] padding:20px; background-color:#fbe7d1; Color:Black; //the solid block of color that makes the border appear as a border all your content will be in this box// [/class] [class=Name] float:right; margin-bottom:10px; text-align:center; border-radius:5px; background-color:#142740; padding:5px;color:#fbe7d1; width:calc(100% - 15% - 20px); //The Box around the name// [/class] [class=Img] border-right:10px SOLID #fbe7d1; border-bottom:5px SOLID #fbe7d1; width:15%; float:left; //this class has a border to create a false margin so the horizontal lines don't appear to go behind the image if you change the back ground you have to change the colors here too// [/class] [class=Image] border:1px SOLID #142740; line-height:0px; //The border around the image// [/class] [class=Line] border-top:1px SOLID #142740; margin-top:5px; margin-bottom:5px; //The tiny lines everywhere// //You can see here they have a set width, which is the shorter length, the bottom two lines have a specific 'style' which overrides what happens here to make them full length. if you need longer lines, copy and paste the style from the bottom two (be careful, they float right, making them too big at the top messes the code up) If you need the bottom lines to be shorter, delete the Style=" and such// [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture"] [div class="BackgroundColor"] [div class="Img"] [div class="Image"]

[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div]
And Ulysses laughed fully at her reaction. There were so very few who weren't immediately terrified or violent when he approached a scene. Even now, while out in such bustling streets he was looked stood out like a sore thumb and likely attracted many viewers. Although it was quite plain to see that not even he could take away the center of attention that the brothel had garnered. Although, she wasn't wrong in her opinion. His attire of all black wasn't normal in the slightest, and he'd chosen such clothes despite his better judgment. It wasn't a stylistic choice, but rather one of representation.
"In the flesh." He mused, with a dark tone which reverberated throughout the space around them. He gave her a swift, but courteous nod of his head before he leveled his gaze at her with a powerful intensity. His eyes alone held a strange emerald glow, which could be found within his irises which pulsed with arcane mysticism. After a quick analyzation of what she'd chosen to wear and bring on such an occasion, the Baron gestured towards the mighty Brothel.
"Miss Aurum, it is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I apologize upon the Captain's behalf, but all things considered I believe we have more urgent matters. You have a job to preform, no?" Cain spoke with great clarity, and respect. As he did so, he kept his vision trained on that of the magical establishment not too far away. The wonders that occurred within it's walls were nothing his land of Kalin was unaccustomed with. In truth there, prostitution was a respectable profession in the eyes of the populace. Or at least, it had been.
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Tanya Aurum | Mentioned: BlossomingRosebud | Located: Thanol & Meide Border [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

"Yeah, I guess." Tanya's words were accompanied by a light shrug, but her eyes were keen as they turned to observe the establishment across the street, in the direction where the Baron had his eyes set. So that was really it, huh? Yay, brothels. Her hand slid as she felt her weapon by her side. She opted not to bring Ellie for this occasion (her axe, that is), because, in such a place, that might be overkill. Too much attention. She had her shotgun with her, though. That could be handy, although chances were, she would be taking this one hand-to-hand.

Those sure were a lot of people, though. This place must be a popular one; it was buzzing from the looks of it. Not that they were a problem, necessarily, but they could make fast movement in and out hard. Was this a mission that required less attention, or more? That would make a difference. But then again, when was she ever one to be subtle?

Gosh, she really wished she had a proper briefing of this thing before setting out today. But she'll make do with what she got. She turned her eyes back on the Baron. Golly, that was a lot of black. "So this is the part where you finally tell me the details, right?" She stared him down with a half-smile, pushing away whatever uneasiness she might have about him, the mission, or just anything in general. She can't complain; after all, this sure was interesting, was it not?

[class=Notes] // Forward slashes are comments and do no show up in the final design, these are to help you find everything easily and explain some code as well. These comments must be with in a class or script tags in order to be hidden, from what I know// // Long URls are images # followed by letter and numbers are Hex codes or color codes.// // This code does not show breaks unless is shows the
code When typing responses to rps, be aware that when you press enter it will not show that you did. You'll have to use the
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[/div][/div] [div class="Name"] BLACK BARON; Ulysses Cain[/div]
The cloth which hid away the dark lords lower face, crinkled slightly as he smirked under the guise of his mask. He almost laughed at the very prospect of "details". After all, if he told her what to do then truly where would the challenge in and of itself lie? No, she'd have to answer any questions she had for herself in the moments that Tanya would undoubtedly have them.
"This would be the part, where I'd advise you to proceed with caution and respect before you enter. While I'm at it, you should know that I will only intercede on your behalf in the instance in which you're in dire circumstances. Everything else, and the entirety of this mission rests on your shoulders alone. As does your acceptance into our merry band." Ulysses informed her with a stark seriousness layered into his voice. His tone wasn't hostile, but in turn it was filled with caution and warning. Truly, whatever awaited her inside would be for Miss Aurum alone to discover and confront. She had her duties, and he was simply there to regard and grade her performance.
"Shall we go?" The Black Baron spoke, though more of a statement rather than that of a question. Without another moments delay, he began to stride purposefully towards the Brothel with a simplistic focus. Once they entered, he'd keep a watchful gaze on her actions. After all, there were a plethora of ways to deal with such a mark. In truth, Cain was curious as to what she'd utilize. Direct violence, or possibly persuasion?
[div class="Line"][/div] Interacting: With Tanya Aurum | Mentioned: BlossomingRosebud | Located: Thanol & Meide Border [div class="Line" style="margin-bottom:0px;"][/div] [/div]
Code by @AgWordSmith
[/div]

'Proceed with caution', he says? Caution!? Well, no duh! Tanya could not help but cut her eyes at the Baron in all his black shrouded glory. That, most certainly, was not what she meant. She knew how to handle herself. At least, she figured she did. She may not really have as much experience as everyone else in a mercenary group like this, but she knew how to be smart and act 'cautious'. (Wait a second, did she really? She wasn't the most subtle...oh, nevermind!)

Tanya breathed a heavy sigh. "You know, I get that you're not going to give me the answers, but I have to say I expected a little something. All I know, mind you, is that I'm shaking down the brothel mistress. I don't know who she is, how much she owes, how long she's owed it, what kind of guards she has, or the layout of this building here, however!" She interjected quickly. "I get that I'm not getting any of that, so I'll go. Let me know if you happen to think of anything else I should know."

And with that, she crossed the street with firm decision. Yeah, she got the picture now. This was all part of the test. For that reason, she knew she had to appear confident. No good was going to come by standing around arguing with the Baron (did he have an actual name?) because she was burning daylight and it was about time to get on with it already.

She came up to the doors, feeling the presence of the Baron close behind. Well, looks like she was making a plan as she went along. What would be the best approach? She didn't know how these places worked. And she didn't know who this mistress was...which left two approaches. Either she slipped in and tried to glean information, trying to figure out who she was and maybe finding some excuse to get an audience with her, or she went the direct way. She thought about it for a just a second at the door, but soon enough figured she did not know enough to make by being sly, and besides, that wasn't her forte anyways. She'd go direct.

In two seconds the doors flung open by her hands. "Alright, who's in charge here!?" She shouted into the crowd as soon as she was within a few paces of the doorway, glaring down every face she could see. Dang, would this work? Well, it better. All she needed now was to act angry, like a patron would, maybe. Be intimidating. But she didn't move yet. She stayed on her toes. A guard could jump out any second now...
Bita Helya Bahu INCOMPLETE: Miss Bahu, I have received your Application and have deemed it worthy enough for a testing of your abilities. I'll be rather blunt, this might be my most dangerous assignment here in Balthora in some time. I'll need you to be on your maximum performance. Meet me in the Shadow District of Meide Sector at night. Bring weapons. This is going to be an extremely delicate affair and we may not survive. However, if we succeed your acceptance is guaranteed as well as a hot meal as my treat. I look forward to meeting you.

Signed Ramirov.

Bita looked the piece of paper up in down. The massage had one good news; her application had been received. She could hardly trust that pigeon when she let her take her message to god knows where. If she was unlucky, that letter of her could fall in wrong hands and then subjects of the arrogating regime would be there to destroy what remained of her family. She had taken a huge risk here and thanked god deeply when this wager didn't lead to a disastrous result.

The rest of message was somewhat troubling. They wanted to put her to a test. It wasn't like she was afraid of her skills being measured. This could be just another mission. But knowing that her approval depended on it made her nervous.

She read the signature again and tried to imagine what kind of guy this Ramirov was. He had promised her hot meal which made her wonder if he been suffering lack of food or been brought up in some freezing land. The truth could be both or neither which really didn't matter. The most important part of message was that she had to take her gears and go to Shadow District of Meide Sector. "What kind of weapon should I choose? If he had mention what sort of mission it is…" She told the brown mule standing beside her. They were in the stable; where she kept her weapons. She went to the large chest placed at the end of the almost empty stable and lifted its heavy lid. Inside rested a bunch of swords, shields and armor parts remained from former knights of family. First, she picked light armor parts then a long sword and a large shield. This set was suitable for a battle in open area. She wrapped them in rags and put them aside. Then, she picked a sword blade, a dagger and a small round wooden shield. She hung them from her leather belt then closed the chest and loaded the other set on her mule. The beast had already a sack of necessary provisions hanging from one side of saddle. Next step was riding to Meide Sector.

Bita arrived at Shadow Destrict when the night was still young. She had no clue where to find Ramirov and didn't know his face or figure so assumed that he was going to find her by his own ways. She had the message with her wondering if he needed it as a proof. The unmounted and lead the mule by rein. They started walking casually in dark streets, looking at this or that tavern as if searching for a proper place to have a drink.

Ramirov was not looking forward to today's endeavors. He spent a fair amount of time reviewing Bita's application sheet trying to determine how she would react in battle. What's worse? Janet had informed Ramirov that some Tempar ass-for-brains had stolen Ron's badge from Janet after she had gotten herself drunk stupid. Damn thing but it was a memento of hers. Ramirov knew it would be wise to wear armor, but there was none to be had. He had been spending his money on finding jobs, receiving applicants, and lots of food. There wasn't enough money to afford a decent set of mail, which meant he would be heavily relying on Bita to watch his back.

He had done multiple ritual preparations, Arcana Evocations, Ward Conjurations, Fire Weaving, and even a special "Blast in a Bottle" that he'd been experimenting with for some time. The small vial was no bigger than his pinkie, but should have a big enough surprise. The day had dissolved into night, it was time to go. Ramirov had grabbed his Rod, a simple wooden stick carved rather crudely but it was an instrument of focus. He mustered his courage and navigated the streets. Merchant District, Business District, Pleasure District, Agrifield, and finally the Shadow District. This place was less than welcoming, Arda's Love had clearly sunk her teeth deep into this place, the Grey had shown signs of forming. Pretty soon if nothing changed this Sector might be at risk of quarantine, but hopefully the company will be long gone by then.

Ramirov found a woman in the shadow district who stood out like a sore thumb, the white moth in a black forest. She was near a tavern, but hadn't gone in. While he would've loved some tea, there was incredibly urgent business to attend to. Ramirov tapped the woman's shoulder and as she turned to face him, he recognized the face from the... pigeon mangled message. He held a finger to lips, signaling for silence, and pulled her aside to a private enough alleyway.

"Bita, my apologies for not meeting in better circumstances. Follow me." Ramirov ordered, keeping his accented voice to a harsh whisper.

He led Bita through a maze of alleys which he had memorized, passing a few passed souls along the way. Victims to Arda's love. When they reached an opening, Ramirov halted and peeked his head out. There it was, The Church.

An impressive building, suitable for the term diamond in the rough, but this was more a rotten piece of coal. The Church was home to the Templars of Balthora, long time rival to the Light Lotus Company. It was incredibly well built and rather intimidating, and no doubt filled with dozens of armed mercenaries with incredibly short tempers.

"We have a mission, Janet has lost something incredibly important to these bastards, and we need to get it back. Obviously a full on raid is out of the question, but I have devised a plan to get us inside. It will require perfect coordination and more than enough luck to pull off but if we succeed the Light Lotus should have repaired it's reputation as a worthwhile company." Ramirov explained, pausing as he was afraid to say what was next. "I will not lie, we are most likely going to die. Horribly, especially if that Praetor is here. I will give you one chance to leave, I will not think any less of you and you can keep your life for another day. What do you say?"

Bita felt someone approaching her from behind. She pretend ignoring it expecting him passing by without trouble but he tapped her shoulder. It could be a friendly signal or a trap. She turned swiftly and grabbed his wrist before he could make a move against her. He didn't try anything of that sort. She looked him into eyes which were calmer than those of a man who was ready to fight. He asked her to keep quiet silently and she released his wrist before he lead her into a narrow alley. He made an unnecessary apology that received no reply but a slight nod from her. His accent was more interesting to her since it revealed his origins. She wondered if he was another enemy of Balthora or a turn cloak.
"I say I don't care what you think of me." Bite answered boldly after Ramirov showed her the church and explained the mission. "I don't think Lili has a role in your plot, so we must find a proper place for her." She gestured at the mule beside her. "Also, I need more details. I'm not going to die here for details that might have been kept untold. So, please answer me clearly; What does this precious item of Janet exactly look like? How valuable is it to your opponent? Who these people are and why have they robbed Janet? Who is Praetor and why are you scared of him?" Her questions rained down at him in whisper. "After having my answers, I'm ready to hear your plan."

"I say I don't care what you think of me." Bite answered boldly after Ramirov showed her the church and explained the mission. "I don't think Lili has a role in your plot, so we must find a proper place for her. Also, I need more details. I'm not going to die here for details that might have been kept untold. So, please answer me clearly; What does this precious item of Janet exactly look like? How valuable is it to your opponent? Who these people are and why have they robbed Janet? Who is Praetor and why are you scared of him?" Her questions rained down at him in whisper. "After having my answers, I'm ready to hear your plan." TOO MANY GODDAMN QUESTIONS! Ramirov was annoyed by these questions, so much so that he snapped.

"Your job is to NOT ask questions. Do you understand?"

"Not really." Bita whisper, unsatisfied. "You're too stingy... You could buy some trust in exchange of at least one answer." She told the mercenary then observed the church for a long minute. She had to make her decision right there. Joining Lotus meant she had to dirty her hands on behalf of anyone who paid. She weighed it against her own reasons. She was in no status to influence the new born society when the Lotus could provide her a chance to grow her roots in new lands. Just this time I can close my eyes. She thought. She didn't care about Balthorans anyway. "Very well, what am I supposed to do?" She asked Ramirov. This had already become a blind wager.

"Not really." Bita whisper, unsatisfied. "You're too stingy... You could buy some trust in exchange of at least one answer." Sweat was dripping from Ramirov's forehead like a fountain. Trust was something earned and never given.

"There are several times in a job when you'll be asked to do something with minimal information." Ramirov whispered back. "Here's what we'll do. We are going to break in through a side door on the North Wing. As far as I know it'll be the least guarded. Stealth is ideal but not truly necessary. Once inside we are going to find the Treasure Room, find Janet's Badge, take what we can, leave a surprise and get out." Ramirov explained, speaking quickly but enunciating his words as much as he can, atleast what was allowed with his accent. "You'll be with me at all times. If we find the Praetor, which you'll know if we find him, get out as fast as you can and I'll try to keep him off. Are you ready Bita?"

"I'm going to be honest; I'll try my best to put up with the team but it'd be nice if you keep me out of shameful businesses." Bita clarified then listened carefully to Ramirov's plan.
"I'm ready to back you up while you're trying to find so many things secretly under your enemy's nose but if I assume that someone called Praetor has found us I'll flee and leave you behind." She agreed with the procedure. "Also, if I lose you in there and your comrades happen to ask what's happened to you... We've never met." She added.

"Also, if I lose you in there and your comrades happen to ask what's happened to you... We've never met." Bita remarked.

"Glad to know the feelings mutual." Ramirov growled. "Come on, let's move!" Moving quickly and quietly, Ramirov and Bita ran towards the Church, being careful not to draw attention to themselves. Ramirov heard a light metal scraping behind him, glancing behind to see Bita following close. Her metal armor was not designed for stealth, and turned Avila into a moving alarm. Seeing no other option to silence it, Ramirov pushed onward, turning hard left when they neared the main entrance. The door had to be along this wall according to his source, an old decripid wooden door leading to an abandoned mess hall. If this was correct, they should have no problem getting in unnoticed. He found the door, tucked away behind a column near an old waste aqueduct. It still smelled of shit and piss. The foul smell that reached them before bursting through the door made her sure that that building was only a facade of a church. She hated it when thugs abused sacred places for their filthy deeds so she was ready by heart to smash them all. Thus, she nodded confidently as he looked at her for confirmation and the invasion began. Stopping to catch his breath, he looked to Bita telepathically asking if she was ready. She nodded, and Ramirov busted the door down, letting Bita in first before entering right behind her.

The room they entered was indeed empty, old broken tables and chairs covered in years of dust littered the room. Ramirov stepped on what might be cheese, gone blue and riddled with black lines of mold. Who knows how long it's been there, but the Templars could atleast clean up old spaces once in a while. Then again, this room was abandoned, for what was unknown.

"First part done, now we just have to find the treasury, and get out before being caught." Ramirov whispered. A little annoyed by the lack of answers, blocked Ramirov's path with her sword making him very angry. "What are you doing?!" He almost yelled.

"I need answers, I will not allow you to lead me any further without an explanation. What did they steal, why did they steal it, what does it mean to them, and who is this goddamn Praetor?" Bita asked, calm as a cucumber.

"You've got to be fucking... really?! Right now?!" Ramirov asked, pissed off with the recruit. Avila folded her arms still holding the sword to the ground, raising an eye brow at his to-be superior. Realizing that she wasnt going to relent, Ramirov decided to answer atleast some of her questions, begrudgingly. "The Templars stole Ron's Badge, Janet's personal badge which she had earned from her mentor. It has strong sentimental value. Why they stole it?" Ramirov quickly shrugged. "Because they could? Because they hate us and have hated us for years after the War. Maybe they stole it to try and demoralize Janet into disbanding the White Lotus. And the Praetor is ... an enemy of ours. He's strong, smart, and incredibly short tempered. You'll know if we see him. Come, let's go."

If that didnt satisfy her, nothing would. Regardless, they continued deeper into the Church, moving quick and quiet. They turned right into a well lit hall way decorated with blue and white flags bearing the Shield of the Templars. This was an incredibly vulnerable spot, no places to hide and only two places to run, forward or backward. To cover their approach, Ramirov used a simple camouflage spell to bend the light around him and Bita. It was draining a lot of energy, so they had to be quick. Right before they were going to reach the end of the hall, a man drunk off his ass stumbled towards the hallway, bumping into Ramirov with a loud 'Oof!' causing his camouflage to fail. The drunk man, wearing the cheap grunt uniform of the Templars stumbled for a moment, his eyes unable to focus for a bit. Bita took this opportunity to run past and hide in a small janitors room, keeping watch through a crack in the door. Ramirov wanted to follow but the drunken fool had grabbed onto Ramirov's jacket for balance. Hearing the voices of more Templars approaching, Ramirov put the poor Templar in a sleeper hold. It didnt take long for the man to go limp and fall unconscious, Ramirov placed the fool on the ground and ran to Bita, closely observing the passed out Templar. Bita wanted to move but Ramirov held her back, whispering "Don't move yet."

"Come on, theres no way you got to see Janet Ravenna naked. Damn bitch hasn't been seen much for months. Since we got the last of her Lotus members, I haven't heard a peep about her." One of the men said in gossip.

"I swear on Shani's tits I saw her at the bathhouse with some elven girl. Damn woman is still around and has knockers to die for! Who knows, she might be back in business, otherwise she wouldn't be able to afford such luxuries." A younger sounding boy said, a weird ... density to his tone. "Come on, I'm just saying, you never know what's truly happening with her. For all we know..." the two men had come within vision of Bita and Ramirov, discovering the man in the hallway. "Terry! What the fuck man? How many times do we have to tell you to not drink yourself under!" The young boy yelled.

"I don't think he can hear you." The older man mumbled.

"I don't care, come on help me take him to the Washer. If the Praetor sees him like this we will all lose our privileges again."

"Do you think he was trying to get his share of the haul from our raids?" The older man asked. The younger man punched his senior in the gut, causing him to lose his breath.

"What are you stupid?! We already got our cut. He was probably just looking for somewhere to piss. Besides the vault is in the North wing, and it looks like he was stumbling towards that abandoned mess in the Eastern Corridor..."

They continued to bicker as they carried their passed out companion off to somewhere else in the building.

"Thats... convenient." Ramirov whispered. If that's correct, that they came from an eastern corridor, and the Vault was to the north, a Right turn should lead them in the right direction. Ramirov checked the halls, making sure that there was nobody around. Once he knew it was empty he signaled for Bita to follow and quietly stepped from their hiding place and turned right, hoping that it would lead them to the vault. As they were sneaking through the hall, the clamor of noise and cheering grew louder. He feared that at any moment they would run into a group of celebrating Templars, and as he wore a Lotus badge, which had to be replaced after giving his original to Ocarina, he would he seen as an enemy and killed on the spot. The hallway forked. One path led to the Great Hall, and another to another hallway with many doors. "Come, let's check each one. It appears they are partying. This is our chance..."

Bita ignored Ramirov, compelled by curiosity to try and understand more about the Templars. She peeked into the Great Hall, seeing atleast 40 men and women sharing the same colors, a blue tunic with a white emblem over basic chainmail armor. They all seemed happy, far more welcoming and accepting than how Ramirov had been in their first meeting. In their hands were flagons of ale, on their faces bright smiles. This did not seem like a horrible group of slobs that Janet and Ramirov had painted them out to be. These were people, almost a family.

In the meantime, Ramirov had checked a dozen doors, finding a whole lot of nothing. Bunks, bunks, a weapon room, more bunks, there was nothing here! This was where the Templars had slept, not where they stored vast riches. At the end of the hall, there was nothing. Dead end. In his frustration, he punched a wall and a single brick moved into the wall. A large mass of stone moved outward, large enough that a dozen men could walk in side by side. Inside, torches automatically lit, revealing a mass of chests, items and coins littered about in a room the size of a large house. This was what they were looking for.

"Bita, I've found..." when he turned and didnt see Bita nearby, Ramirov panicked. "Bita? Bita?!" He yelled. "Goddammit!" Fearing the worst, Ramirov went inside without Bita, quickly rummaging through chests full of random loot. Mostly papers and documents of all kinds. No badge.

Hearing his voice, Bita turned from the Great Hall, and saw that Ramirov had found the vault or treasury as he had originally called it. She bolted towards him, attracting the attention of one particular figure who sat alone in the room. She caught up to him quickly and saw him searching chests.

"Ramirov, I ..."

"No stories, help me out!" He interrupted. Not wanting to anger him further she began to search the treasury. She found lots of money, random papers, gems, and well built furniture. As she was moving papers aside, a small item made of polished stone and gold shaped roughly like a lotus fell to the floor. Bita knew what it was immediately.

"Ramirov! I found it!" Bita yelled, picking up from the floor. Ramirov sighed, already frustrated with her due to her failing to have his back, turned around and saw that she was speaking the truth. She had found a small badge, shaped like a lotus. In that moment, Bita was worthy and Ramirov had forgiven her of all her frustrations. "Is that what we are looking for?" She asks.

"Yeah that's it. Let's grab what we can and..."

An aged man stood behind them, standing there ominously silent with his arms folded. He wore solid armor plating and had a few swords on his hips. Ramirov's eyes instantly filled with fear. There he was, the Praetor. A man known to have never lost a battle ever in his life. He was here, and they were doomed.

"Helping yourself to our haul?" He asked in a deep, grizzled voice. Not giving him the liberty of an answer, Ramirov turned to Bita, his eyes starting to glow orange.

"Anas!" Ramirov shouted, blasting the Praetor with an orb of flame. "Bita, RUN!"

Bita did as she'd been told; she ran. Out of her armor she was fast but vulnerable. If the mercenary veteran was afraid of the old armored guy so much then she probably had no chance against him with her short sword, small shield and simple tunic. Still, she was way faster than an old man in heavy armor. Before turning into the corridor and losing sight of Ramirov, she looked back to make sure he was running too. It wasn't nice to leave him fight there alone.
Granny Estie. Nope, I'm not using the whole name.: "You promised that you would take this one you big jerk! Why do I have to meet with Estelle?" Janet protested, her arms crossed on her chest as she glared furiously at her partner and 'friend'. "You already got Kyros and Ocarina, I want someone hot and spicy to talk to!" The stillness of the abandoned warehouse was uncomfortable, the old dusty bottles and broken barrels didnt help any, but that's where the Light Lotus had to call home.

Thoughts of her intentions rushed through Ramirov's mind. She had already attempted to bed him 8... or 9 times now, the poor thing must be lonely. But he stood tall over his junior and superior, smiling a calm smile. A father's smile, and rustled her hair. Janet pouted, her muscles shaking with frustration and embarrassment; like a little female Volcano about to erupt.

"Because Janet, these are new mercenaries not liaisons." Ramirov said in a foreign accent, mingled with a Balthoran after tone. "I feel with your history you'd gladly rip Kyros' pants off after he says your name. Therefore it only makes sense that I get the lookers and you get the workers."

"That doesn't even make sense!" Janet cried, throwing an empty bottle at Ramirov, which he easily dodged. His cool eyes drilled into her, she could feel the power, wisdom and pain behind them. Just like when she first met him in the Forests of Kalin. He's the same person, but perhaps a little bit pushy. He's a business partner not a dad! But those eyes... calm brown eyes never blinking... like two pieces of amber lit by a warm fireplace. He's just so... hot!

"Whatever, Ramirov you're such a handsome cool headed grumpy face, but I still love that about you..." Janet answered, walking her fingers up his chest.

"Nope... I said no 10 times already. Go, wear your jacket it's cold. You are supposed to be meeting Estelle at The Crying Bear Inn in 30 minutes." Ramirov said before Janet could get any further with her intentions.

"But 30 minutes is enough time to..."

"Now." Ramirov said loudly. His voice deeper, stoic. Commanding. In an annoyed huff, Janet stormed away, kicking an empty fish barrel down in her frustration. She tied her sword resting in its scabbard onto her belt. As she was about to get out the door, an ice shard whistled by her ear landing in the entryway. Janet wasn't scared but rather more annoyed. "Jacket!" Ramirov yelled out.

"I KNOW!" Janet answered with a growling voice. She pulled a heavy canvas jacket off a nearby rack and disappeared into the crowd. In an odd twist of fate, both spoke the same words.

"Such a pain."

The lobby for The Crying Bear Inn was quiet, as thankfully this particular meeting was scheduled in the hours between a late lunch and an early pub-hopping adventure. Whilst the long counter framing the built-in bar bustled with the handful of staff maintaining it, a few tables were already emptied and wiped down of the previous night's adventures.

Estelle scuttled her way into the bar, stopping only for a second to look for any sign of her potential employers. Technically speaking, as there was still a good twenty-something minutes to pass before the arranged time, there wasn't a need for either party to arrive as of yet...but after spending years arranging meetings between herself and her clientele, the older woman wasn't one to let old habits die easy.

Upon seeing no sign of anybody who seemed like they fit the bill of "somewhat desperate employer", Estelle proceeded to make her way over to one of the better tables. Giving it the once over, a toothy grin broke out over a wrinkled face-- bunched skin nearly managing to hide oaken hues for a few moments.

"Fit for four, good source of natural light, clean surface-- ooh-hoo boy, this is perfectly suitable for some civilized small-talk! And if small-talk doesn't charm them enough, I'm sure to win one of them over with some of my infamous sweets!"

Seating herself so as to face the entrance, the woman reached into the satchel fixed to the right side of her utility belt. Taking out a leather wrap, she untied the small cord bunching the leather together, letting the scent of the batch of sweets waft across the interior of the building.

Nodding to herself, Estelle grabbed one of the sweets and began to nibble on it. For now, she could only prepare herself for whomever she was about to meet. The question still remains: is Janet Ravenna a dainty little thundercloud, or is she the magma fueling the next supervolcano?

It took Janet only a few moments to forget and forgive the actions of her partner Ramirov. He'll have to give in to her twin peaks eventually. A pheromone perfume might work best for getting his essence thrilled, and by her luck they were selling them but only at the cheap brothels where her presence might cause some to assume that she was on the menu. That might not matter too much, there are nice looking men who go there like never. Her past experience being enslaved to a brothel has taught her a few very important things. One: Janet looks very good with the imported Vian Lingerie. 2: The sex is never good, it hardly lasts more than 8 minutes at best. 3: Only the scummy or desperate go to a brothel. While she was desperate for Ramirov she was not that desperate.

The sun peeked through smokey clouds, the burning of Ardanor to fuel the Constructs was slowly starting to poison the air. I mean the daylight is not supposed to look grey! The sooner she can get her pretty ass out of this forsaken kingdom the better. Janet navigated the streets and alleyways, catching a few stares from men along the way. She'd return their stares with a wink and she swear they'd start drooling. One man did try to follow her... She can't remember where he lost him at, it's almost second nature to evade the preying mob. The wind was blowing hard and it was indeed cold. If it were to snow it'd be a dream come true but there had been no such thing as snow for 8 years. Her jacket was a welcome shield against the cold, it was nice of Ramirov to look out for her.

There it was the Crying Bear Inn, only a 20 minute walk. If there weren't a bunch of horny admirers it would've taken 2, the inn was literally two alleys away but there was a lot of traffic. The population has exploded after the quarantine of the Mayii sector. At this rate, we'll be living in 4 square feet of space per person. Regardless she walked in, being as attractive as possible. It's second nature! When you got it, you know you flaunt it! A small sway of the hip, a wave of the hand, raising the chin a bit to show confidence, a sideways glance at the admirers. It's a game, a very easy game. For some reason the room smelled like a candy, and this place normally smells of puke and cheap ale. Already sitting in a somewhat clean wooden table was an older woman. She matched the portrait of Estelle's application. Certainly no looker but she seemed happy enough. Janet hung her jacket on a rack and approached the elder sitting at the table.

"Are you Granny Estie?" Janet asked, hoping she would not regret this.

A few moments after the young woman had entered the inn, Estelle assumed that she was her potential employer. After all, not everybody approaches a strange old lady snacking alone at a table, right?

Right. Anyways, the fact that this woman knew her name only confirmed her assumptions, as Estelle winked in response to the questioning introduction.

"Indeed I am-- and you must be the lovely Missus Ravenna from the application! I must say dear, you look absolutely stunning-- and the confidence you exude! If only I was a few years younger, dear, I'd be reversing our roles here and propositioning you myself! Then again, a looker as you are, I'm sure you've plenty of suitors at your disposal already-- am I wrong?"

Another wink was aimed towards the assumed captain, this time accompanied with a mischevious glint and matching chortle. Estelle couldn't help but tease the young lass a little-- not when she reminded the older woman so much of what she only wished she could've achieved in her younger days!

"All jokes aside, come sit down! I'm sure what with this weather you must be chilled to the bone-- not to mention I'm sure you're bound to be plenty busy, starting back up the infamous Light Lotus Company like you are."

Motioning to the chair opposite of her own seat, the old lady finished the last bites of her snack with a meticulous swiftness. Whether or not the young lady in front of her was interested in actually hiring her was a matter that needed to be done with still...but first, butterscotch!

"Care for a butterscotch, dear? I just finished baking them this morning-- all clean, I assure you! Wouldn't do me very well to make a poor first impression, now would it?"

A beat of silence, lasting only the half-second it took for Estelle to tilt her head ever-so-slightly to her right. "No, no, of course not. Don't feel pressured now, dearie-- I just thought that a kind gesture was in order, is all."

Contradicting her previous intentions, Estelle reached for another piece of her butterscotch candies. Grinning, the older woman flashed her teeth at the younger of the duo-- metaphorically sinking her teeth into the meat of this discussion as she did so.

"Now, if you'd be so kind dear, I would love to get down to business. Is it presumptuous of me to assume that this meeting entails at least some interest in the application I sent you? If there are any questions you have about my skills or capabilities, please feel free to ask away."

"Indeed I am-- and you must be the lovely Missus Ravenna from the application! I must say dear, you look absolutely stunning-- and the confidence you exude! If only I was a few years younger, dear, I'd be reversing our roles here and propositioning you myself! Then again, a looker as you are, I'm sure you've plenty of suitors at your disposal already-- am I wrong?" Granny said with a wink.

Janet was not sure if she should be insulted or perhaps complimented by those words. Sure Janet was ... loose once upon a time but she'd worked hard on quelling the lusty needs of herself and any potential suitors. Of course, she'd still surrender to her desires with the right man... or woman when she'd like to but her last affair was disappointing enough to dissuade her from pursuing another for the time being. Janet smirked, she was amused by this woman and her enthusiasm.

"I do have many suitors, I imagine I have a couple staring at me right now. Oh, and it's Miss Ravenna. I am not married, nor have I ever married." Janet explained.

"All jokes aside, come sit down! I'm sure what with this weather you must be chilled to the bone-- not to mention I'm sure you're bound to be plenty busy, starting back up the infamous Light Lotus Company like you are." Granny said, enjoying a few snacks of Elana knows what.

Cold, a little. Busy, kinda. Reviving the Light Lotus Company? Absolutely! Janet felt herself being oddly energized by Granny Estie. Weirder still when she thought of the elderly, she imagined tired people with little ability and strength to keep themselves alive but Estelle was surely unique.

Care for a butterscotch, dear? I just finished baking them this morning-- all clean, I assure you! Wouldn't do me very well to make a poor first impression, now would it?" 'Now that would not.' Janet answered in her head. The offer of candy was tempting seeing as her usual food was tasteless bread or old fruit, but with Granny openly admitting to being a narcotics expert Janet politely refused.

"Now, if you'd be so kind dear, I would love to get down to business. Is it presumptuous of me to assume that this meeting entails at least some interest in the application I sent you? If there are any questions you have about my skills or capabilities, please feel free to ask away."
Estelle had such an odd demeanor about her. So free spirited and energetic but also... somewhat chaotic. Still, Janet was here for business as well. She didn't feel a real need to test Granny, but still felt compelled to see... something of what she can do.

"Of course, business. I'll admit I hadn't any good idea as to how we should go about testing your ability but things are sometimes best supervised. Without affecting me, can you show my what these... real treats are capable of? Or perhaps something else that you feel that would make you worthy of being among my company?"

Upon Janet's request, Estelle nodded her head, giving herself a few moments time to think about her next course of action. While some form of approval was expected, the older woman had hoped her employer would choose a more specific form of approaching the subject of Estelle's skills-- something like answering a prompt, or quizzing her for the best antidote to a variety of poisons.

"Perfectly understandable, dear. Unfortunately, I've learned that keeping a written record of recipes and such usually results in it becoming leverage for someone else's schemes-- another story for another time, I'm afraid. However, as for something that could be worthy... oh!"

Reaching into one of the many small pouches fastened to her belt, Estelle pulled out what appeared to be three samples of various plants. Laying them out in front of her, the older woman gave her younger counterpart a knowing smirk.

"Now, here I have three common ingredients I use in a variety of things. This first one, with the blue string?" Plucking a dirtied root that looked as if it were made with thick straw from the table, Estelle waved it around for a moment before offering it to her interviewer. "Valerian Root. I've heard some people turn it into a concentrate for flavoring-- but ooh-hoo boy does it have a real sucker punch! Get enough of that I'm your system, and you won't wake up for hours!"

Grabbing the second sample-- a few dark green herbs with boxy leaves, complete with a black string securing multiple sprigs together-- Estelle continued on, "And this here is Jimsonweed! You want to go on a lil' trip within the safety of your own mind-- this here'll do that, and more! Technically, I know more a few practitioners who use it to help with asthma and the flu...but if you ask me, the seeds are more for fun than medicine!"

Placing the Jimsonweed in between herself and her employer, the older woman pointed to the final plant. Another root, this one appeared to be more of a russet, reddish-brown color, with little hairs all over it. A red string at the top of it acted as more of a decoration and placemarker than anything else, really, but nonetheless Estelle picked it up in both hands.

"You might enjoy this one, Miss Ravenna. Ginseng root, mother of all things that can mother! The baseline for any powerful aphrodisiac, it also makes for a lovely pick-me-up tea!"

Setting the root down, she looked at the lady in question. "Now, I'm not quite sure if that was enough plant trivia for you. To be frank, this whole process is a bit...confusing, considering my line of work, and I'm not exactly sure how else I can go about proving the quality of goods I produce. So, any more questions, dear?

Janet should've known that Granny Estelle might've misinterpreted what Janet was asking for. Granny Estie started listing the many effects of herbs, Still not what she wanted but Janet decided to listen.

"Valerian Root. I've heard some people turn it into a concentrate for flavoring-- but ooh-hoo boy does it have a real sucker punch! Get enough of that I'm your system, and you won't wake up for hours!"

'Hmm, Valerian would be a perfect method of disabling guards without killing them.' " It sounds useful, but what else?"

Willing to oblige, Granny grabbed another herb for Janet. Boxy herbs wrapped together with a black string.

And this here is Jimsonweed! You want to go on a lil' trip within the safety of your own mind-- this here'll do that, and more! Technically, I know more a few practitioners who use it to help with asthma and the flu...but if you ask me, the seeds are more for fun than medicine!"

'So... Jimsonweed is ... a Narcotic that can be used for medicine? Well I guess there are uses for that when Ramirov is being a dick.' "Sounds amazing, I may want to try that before we go off to Vian. What else can you share?"

Granny smirked, pulling out another root from her magic bag of herbs. For some reason, it looked and smelled familiar.

"You might enjoy this one, Miss Ravenna. Ginseng root, mother of all things that can mother! The baseline for any powerful aphrodisiac, it also makes for a lovely pick-me-up tea!"

'Oh! I know Ginseng! I use it for energy and occasional pain relief. But... an aphrodisiac? I should try that on Ramirov.'

"Now, I'm not quite sure if that was enough plant trivia for you. To be frank, this whole process is a bit...confusing, considering my line of work, and I'm not exactly sure how else I can go about proving the quality of goods I produce. So, any more questions, dear?"

"There is ... one question I have for you. Don't tell Ramirov but is there something you can give me to... relax? Something that can allow me to escape long enough and not have to worry about losing any performance capability? We are planning something big and I feel I'm going to need something special for this one." Janet said, blushing slightly out of embarrassment. To be honest, she does hate narcotics especially Arda's Love but there wasn't enough gold in the world that Janet would take in order to use that poison. Then she remembered something important. "Oh! I forgot!" Janet reached between her bust, pulling out a small warm box. "There's your badge, it's yours. Please take care of it, it's expensive."

Inwardly, Estelle couldn't help but release a sigh of relief upon the feel of a small wooden box being pressed against her hands. It was a bit more awkward than she would've hoped, but in the end it seems that the old woman was good enough for hire.

Outwardly, she opened the box, taking out the metal lotus and fastening it over towards the right side of her chest. Winking at her new boss, Estelle flashed Janet her teeth, tongue quickly flicking over the small gaps within her mouth.

"Thanks a bunch, dearie-- I'll be sure to keep it close to heart."

Quickly packing up her candies and her herbs, Estelle heaved the medium sized sack from her left hip to the table's surface. The clinking of glass chimed as the old lady began to search around in it.

"Relaxation, you say? Well, I haven't even met this Ramirov fellow-- but considering how you've been speaking of him, I'd assume he's tak-- ooh-hoo! Found it!"

Pulling out a sealed glass vial, she shook around what appeared to be some crushed dry herbs. Estelle handed it over to Janet.

"Good ol' Ashwaganda leaf-- not only good for stress relief, but also a boost for the immune system. I make a tea out of it regularly-- you'll probably see me drink enough of it every now and then. No side effects that I can think of, but I'd probably save it until right before bed."

Standing up, Estelle shook out some of the forming excitement in her body-- hands flailing enough to cause a few odd stares from the few people who were starting to trickle in by now.

"Now! As lovely as it is chatting with you dear, I must be off. Deals to finish, bridges to burn, things to pack-- I'm sure you understand. I'll be sure to stock up some more on those Winter Cherry leaves, but for now enjoy the sample! Heavens knows I've got plenty more in store!"

With that said, Estelle made to leave-- only to freeze in her tracks. Turning around to face Janet, the old lady gave a sheepish grin to her boss.

"Ah, when should I expect to be in contact with you again, dear?"

"You'll get my letter!" Janet answered
Aria Arkrevia Abrams: The lovely Paladin Aria, a pleasure to finally start to make your acquaintance. I'm Janet Ravenna and I also know a couple things about looking as good as possible. My mother taught me how to be a seamstress, maybe you can be a model for my work some time? With that aside, I'd of course love to meet you in person Aria. I can do dinner in the evening, lunch, or we can skip that and go straight.... into the mission I have in mind. You thought I was gonna say something dirty huh? I'm still tempted! Anyways, Theres a certain somebody who owes me money and I'll need your help to deal with this person. Maybe afterwards we can get to know eachother better? I look forward to seeing you and those two capes of yours!

Signed with a kiss, Janet Ravenna

Aria was startled awake when she heard the knocking on her door, she was just starting to doze off, she’d just spent about an hour trying to fix the dented horns in one of her helmets, normally that wasn’t something she’d do herself and she’d have a professional do it. The issue was money. Metal boots clanked on creaky old wooden boards as she trudged over to see who it was. To her surprise it was no one, just a letter. Amazing. Probably some kind of tax. Unimpressed with a slightly irritated expression, she reached down to the letterbox in her door and picked it up with a sigh. That expression promptly changed with the first sentence she read.

“From Janet, open when you get this, cutie.” She read out loud to herself. She laughed, “Another secret admirer huh? That makes two so far in my life,” she opened it hastily, always willing to read words of praise. At first she was wondering how this Janet knew she was a Paladin, but quickly it was erased from her mind as she read the word model on the letter. Model. Her armoured hands clenched the letter tighter, she leaned in close, now really interested. She zoomed through the rest of the letter, her expression a blushing mixture of flattered, excited and uncomfortable. It took a while, but Aria decided what to do.

Dearest Janet,
Light Lotus Company if I’m not mistaken? If not then I don’t know who you are, but I appreciate your compliments and would enjoy more letters like this in the future. But, if so, then I too am happy to finally make your acquaintance by letter at least. Though for what I signed up for we’d have to do much more than write to each other. I’d love to do dinner in the evening, I personally like to get to know who I’m getting involved with before I submit myself to...the mission.

If you’re interested, we can talk about what you have in mind tonight, 8:30, at the Bear Hat restaurant. Let’s also talk about that little modelling job you mentioned. You’ll have to be the one paying for dinner though, money isn’t something I have plenty of right now. Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to make it worth your while.
See you tonight.

XxXx

~ Aria Arkrevia Abrams

She put the pen down shaking and blushing a little bit, she wasn’t used to being written to like that, and definitely wasn’t used to writing anything like that. Aria felt like it was the appropriate way to respond to someone flirting like that, even if she herself was slightly off put at the idea of being so forward. Aria left her house to mail the letter to the same place she’d left her application, with her signature armor and weapons equipped, not forgetting she’d have to deal with some kind of mission later today too.

Janet had received many dinner invitations in her lifetime. Oftentimes from rich nobles or handsome rascals, but from another woman?! Janet had to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. Nope... not dreaming. Based on her letter, especially the lines I personally like to get to know who I’m getting involved with before I submit myself to...the mission. and Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to make it worth your while. See you tonight.
It was almost like Janet was meeting her for an evening of pleasure and NOT a test of her ability. Well she can still test that ability... Nope! Head in the game Janet! But maybe after this was over, there would be time to explore hidden depths.

First she had to get ready, Janet thought that it would be best to wear one of her own dresses to dinner. She had a couple still lying around, some were ripped after a few fun encounters. Black? It wasn't a funeral. Pink? Nah too... young. Red? Nah too desperate. Blue? Close. Light Blue it is! Janet pulled one of her favorites, a light blue dress with lace sleeves and a modest cut. It would maybe go above the knees, but nothing some stockings and heels can't help. Plus going too risque would not be a good idea, it might make her seem too forward, especially at a nicer location like the Bear Hat. Janet hadn't had the pleasure of eating there, a little out of reach to walk and afford. Luckily Ramirov knew how to get there and he wasn't busy until tomorrow. Something about a tourney with an applicant. She didn't have light blue stockings... Pantyhose would have to work instead. Janet walked into a set of heels which gave her an extra inch of height.

"Are you ready yet?" Ramirov asked in his sexy accent.

"So you've finally decided to ravish my body then?" Janet answered, swaying her hips a touch.

"By Throndiir... Someone kill me now." Ramirov moaned.

"Oh shut up you big baby." Janet said, her face pouting childishly. "Yes I'm ready to go."

Without another word, Ramirov grabbed her hand and led her out through the streets. Her dress was far too nice for this district, and she had to be careful to prevent it getting dirty. Ramirov watching her avoiding the smallest puddles and messes as if they were Earthfire. He rolled his eyes and trudged on. Meide, Solnor, Brega, it took 3 whole districts to get to the bear hat! Janet's feet were dead, she might have blisters... But her entire demeanor changed when she saw the restaurant. Ramirov led her inside and sat her down in a waiting area surrounded by nobles too lazy to find a table and those wearing finery while pretending to be someone important. "Thank you Ram-Ram!" Janet said, batting her eyes.

"It's Ramirov. Let me know if you need me to pick you up." Ramirov answered. Janet kept a playful smile on her face as she pecked him on the cheek before he left. Janet didn't appear out of character here, lots of lovely women young and old wore their finest to this place. Some appearing a little more desperate than others. Then she was approached by a blonde haired lady, standing straight, proud, and beautiful!

The Bear Hat, a rather esteemed restaurant, although lower on that spectrum for nobles. In the time between delivering the letter and arriving at the Bear Hat, Aria had freshened up both herself and given her armour another polish for good measure. She arrived promptly to the restaurant, taking in the sight of its exterior. She’d eaten here before, not very recently though- moreso when her parents paid for everything.

A few heads turned when she walked in, usually that was the case. It wasn’t often you’d see someone walking into a restaurant fully armed and covered neck to toe in metal, on top of that it certainly wasn’t everyday you saw capes flowing in the wind despite being indoors where there was no wind. Aria suddenly grew a bit more tense when she realised how many eyes were on her, normally she’d love the attention but this was important. Make or break time, she had to be as impressive as possible. Aria’s eyes scanned the waiting room for new faces, most of the nobles she’d seen before- eventually she did find the new face she was looking for. A beautiful face belonging to a voluptuous woman in a pretty blue dress. Aria had actually expected a less modest outfit, but given that there was only one other face she didn’t recognise, it was likely this person was who she was looking for. Don’t judge a...letter by how it’s signed...I guess. She thought to herself. Remembering what had been written about her capes, Aria increased the amount of wind blowing her capes to make them flow more vigorously and higher than normal, she then proudly approached whom she believed to be Janet with great strides.

“Oh hello, you came! Glad to see I’m not the only one still excited about this!” She said stepping in front of this woman’s line of sight with a friendly smile and a wave before quickly bringing her hand to her armoured chest, a clanking sound of metal colliding being emitted as she did. “I’m sure you know who I am, just in case it somehow escaped you, I’m Aria. Pleasure to meet you Janet. Though now that I think about it,” she let out a half nervous laugh. “I hope you really are Janet or this is probably the weirdest thing you’ve ever experienced,” Her smile became a bit more squiggled in appearance as the possible mistake dawned on her mind.

Before she could get anything else out, one of the servers approached her from behind.

“Miss Abrams, pleasure to have you. Table for two I presume?”

Aria turned away from Janet, she gave the server a nod who responded by walking towards the dining area and prompting them to follow him.

“Oh hello, you came! Glad to see I’m not the only one still excited about this!” Miss Aria spoke with scary enthusiasm. Aria was NOT wearing a dress to Janet's surprise, instead she donned armor. Rather flattering and shiny armor, very well kept and made. Oh! And the double capes were adorable! She had a warm smile, even a cute wave. It had been so long since she had someone wave at her in greeting and not some signal to cut a rope which would set off a chain of events or... a wave to summon her. Whatever, Janet waved back, smiling with her feminine wiles. “I’m sure you know who I am, just in case it somehow escaped you, I’m Aria. Pleasure to meet you Janet. Though now that I think about it,” Miss Aria spoke super fast, it was hard for Janet to get a sentence in before- “I hope you really are Janet or this is probably the weirdest thing you’ve ever experienced,”

“Miss Abrams, pleasure to have you. Table for two I presume?” Asked a ninja server.

Where in the living hell did she come from? She just came in super fast and left just as quickly. Seeing no other option, Janet followed the woman into the dining room with Aria right beside her. They sat down in a nicely set table with lots of silverware set in a rather fancy fashion. Aria sat first, then Janet followed. "To answer your questions, yes I am Janet. This is sorta weird, I mean you are in... armor..." Janet said, checking out Aria's breastplate, distracted by the imagination of what was beneath. Not looking up, Janet started to speak again. "Do those get uncomfortable?" Before she could get an answer, the server returned with fancy wine and a small basket of snack breads. They were incredibly tasty looking. Saved by the bread, Janet returned her attention to Aria's eyes.

"So, It's been a while since I've been here. Would you like to eat first or receive your mission?" Janet asked, putting a hand on the envelope between her bust.

Aria tried to keep eye contact with Janet as best she could the entire time she was talking, though with little success. That wasn’t her fault however, Janet was the one who broke eye contact- looking a little lower than that. Oh, looks like she’s captivated by it too, she thought as she realised what it was that Janet was staring at. Her armour. This was unsurprisingly to Aria, it had seemed Janet was extremely interested in her armour and couldn’t help but take her gaze away from it. Aria smirked, there were few who could resist its shine.

Aria was just about to answer Janet’s question about comfort when the bread arrived. While talking about her armour was something Aria loved to do, her mind and eyes were immediately drawn to the bread. Steaming buns and soft breads. She hadn’t eaten much beforehand purposely because she knew how good the food was here. Promptly, Aria reached towards and munched down on a snack bread.

“Hmm,” Aria responded upon hearing the question, scratching her head while chewing. “I think I’ll take the mission first. I’m just super eager to-“ she swallowed, “-swing my sword again if I’m honest, it’s been far too long.” Aria intended to get the mission over with quickly, she couldn’t be bragging about her speed in the future if her first mission was a drag.

“I think I’ll take the mission first. I’m just super eager to-“ she swallowed, “-swing my sword again if I’m honest, it’s been far too long.”

Aria was nervous. Janet saw that clear as day. Helping herself to a bun, Janet pulled the envelope from between her bust placing it on the table. The bread was tasty! Like tasting heaven, this had to have been made with Kalin ingredients as Balthora were beyond subpar. Janet savored the bread, following it with a sip of Pinot Noir. This was more than she ever gets in any Inn, she had to make use of it. Janet swallowed and then spoke.

"Your mission is simple, lady double cape, I need a particular item of mine found. I have irresponsibly left a very important package somewhere in this district." Janet paused to enjoy another sip of wine. "Its a box small enough to fit a ring, a black box with blue velvet lining. Its sealed with Ramirov's Magic, but I fear that if the Templars get their hands on it I'll be ruined." By this time Janet had almost completely finished her glass of wine. "Now I wouldn't be a good leader if I didn't give you a lead. In that Envelope is the description of one of my contacts who claims to have found the item but refuses to tell me unless I agree to bed him. He's resourceful but crafty and stubborn. Not much of a looker either. Your job is to find him and find out if he has my item or if he's just that damn desperate to be with a woman. I'd be wary hes a little mysoginistic..." Janet explained. The server returned, showing her trained smile.

"Hello Miss, Would you like to place an order?"

"Another glass of Pinot Noir." Janet Answered.

The pressure of the whole situation was starting to creep up on Aria. She could feel herself becoming slightly light headed at the explanation of the mission, not that it was overly complicated, but it sounded like a huge responsibility. Aria had always had others to hide behind when things went wrong. Not often was she left by her lonesome to do anything important, much less something that could possibly even ruin a person. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead as another server had appeared out of no where.

“I-I’ll take the Bear’s Dinner!” Aria said with a slight stutter, she barely acknowledged that Janet had only ordered another drink while she herself had just ordered a meal of fish. Aria took a moment to breathe and try to regain a less jittery demeanour.

“Misogynistic, crafty and begging to be bedded, huh? Charming, and also suspiciously similar to how my older sister would describe a typical noble.” Aria said laughing a bit, subsequently reaching for another bun. It was then that Aria first noticed the orange juice on her side of the table. She wasn’t sure if it was there at the start of the night. Servers, they were clearly excited to see a customer with a wealthy background like Aria- complementary juice to tempt her into buying as much as she could. It was almost frightening how stealthy and quick they were for waiters and waitresses, Aria took note to always keep track of her things in this place. Almost copying the way Janet was drinking, Aria sipped the glass of free juice and began to scan the retrieved envelope in her other hand.

Phillip Startshort
Carpenter

Middle aged man, late 40s at the very very least with an average build. Wizened face normally in a scowl, large nose and forehead with grey hair. Surprising lack of any signs of balding.

Has a history of blackmailing customers and affiliates, typically those lower than him in terms of social status or wealth so he’s always in a favourable position should authorities get involved in his antics.

Head carpenter of his somewhat successful business, Wooden Wares. Only one of his shops are present in this district and that’s where I’ve been informed to meet him for his little treat.

Aria folded the letter and placed it on the inside of her armoured boot.

“An old man, I really should’ve seen that one coming. Do you know if he has a family? Seems like the type of creep to get sick of them and yearn for his younger years. Well either way don’t you worry about it Janet. I’ll be back with your item,“ she placed a hand or her chest again, “that’s a promise!” She said with a smile and an expression of determination. Though that look slowly but surely melted into a more somber one before she spoke again.

“One thing you should know about me Janet is that I’m not against killing people if it comes down to it. If you want this to stay clean please tell me now, when it comes to interrogation I’m not really the verbal type- even to start with.”

“Misogynistic, crafty and begging to be bedded, huh? Charming, and also suspiciously similar to how my older sister would describe a typical noble.” Aria said with a cute laugh.

"Oh really? I wonder if your sister has handled as many nobles as I have." Janet said. "Some are fat and sweet, just wanting to do what they can. Others are fat and assholes, like just horrible slobs of flesh and person. Some are handsome but assholes, a rare few are sweet gentlemen. But usually I get stuck dealing with the slobs."

Janet had decided on the fish dinner. She had a figure to worry about and large steaks are a bit much for her. Plus fish is lean, has something called good fats whatever that is, and enjoyed more wine. Aria asked for the Bear's dinner, whatever it is it does not sound like something she would want. She read the letter as she sipped on juice, not wine. It made Janet feel awkward asking for wine, perhaps she had the wrong idea of Aria based on that letter she received. Aria wasn't overly flirtatious but a cute and determined child of a woman. It almost made Janet feel guilty for wanting to see even a little bit of what's under that armor. Just a little bit.

“An old man, I really should’ve seen that one coming. Do you know if he has a family? Seems like the type of creep to get sick of them and yearn for his younger years. Well either way don’t you worry about it Janet. I’ll be back with your item,“ Aria said, placing a hand over her heart. "That's a promise!" How cute! She's being like a knight! Well knights aren't cute usually, but Janet wasn't able to truly meet a knight let alone see them without a helmet on.

"If he has family I'd be shocked. I believe he's a wizard in that department." Janet answered.

“One thing you should know about me Janet is that I’m not against killing people if it comes down to it. If you want this to stay clean please tell me now, when it comes to interrogation I’m not really the verbal type- even to start with.” 'Maybe I should strip you naked and see what you do then.' Janet thought, still admiring every part of Aria that she could without letting Aria know she was being evaluated.

"Honestly, my contact is a giant baby. He's more worried about taking care of some ceramic lizard collection than keeping a secret. You don't need to kill him, or even hurt him. Maybe break a toy of his. He'll talk. Oh and do come back soon, you don't want to miss dinner, and you still have a promise to keep." Janet said, giving Aria a seductive wink.

Aria's face reddened when she figured out what Janet was talking and winking about. The letter. "Ah well, uhm, you'd better have the money...for the food...in that case," She stammered, it was easy to write all flirty- quick responses weren't needed when she was writing. Aria promptly stood up, keeping Janet's advice about Philip in mind. "I-I'll be back soon, see you in a bit. Don't start eating without me," she called out exiting the restaurant in a hurry still a bit flustered thinking about the letter. She'd have to think of a good line for Janet when she got back.

It took a little while to locate now that it was darker out but surely enough she found the shop. Wooden Wares, the building was rather nice, though it looked as if the first floor was a residency, lacking the window displays and fancy lighting the ground floor did. Aria looked around before she took a few more steps forward towards the door, streets were empty. The shop was labelled closed by a sign in the window, but the door opened when she pulled it. Clearly he was ecpecting someone. Aria's arrival was anything but quiet, her armour clanked with each stride she took. The ground floor was empty, nothing but wheels and other merchendise for display. The stairs to the floor above were in plain sight and Aria wasted no more time in going up them. She wanted her food to still be warm when she got back.

The first floor was much more cramped, a long corridor with one doorframe on either side. One was emitting light. Now deliberately making her prescence known with heavier movements, Aria marched over to the doorframe, entering the room and knocking on the open door, her line of sight impeded by the man sitting at a desk in front of her.
"I don't quite remember your movements being so heavy Jane- who in the blazing hell are yo-"
"Philip Startshort!" Aria interrupted his confused response to her prescence. She fully extended an arm in his direction, pointing straight at him, "I, Aria Abrams, am here, on behalf of your associate Janet, to retrieve the information on the box you've withheld from her while demanding frisky activities in return," she drew her sword, getting caught up in the moment, "surrender it to me now or you'll be faced with a fate you do not want to accept!"

Needless to say, Philip was wearing a shocked expression, though he caught up quickly. He spoke while looking Aria up and down. "You're here in place of Janet are you, girl? Fine. You'll do. You'll be perfect actually. I'll talk darling, but only if you give me what I want fir-" he stopped as he took in Aria's actions. She'd somehow managed to slash her weapon faster than he could keep track of, the three pots on the shelf beside her were sliced through cleanly. "Hey! Hey! Do you have any idea what those are wor-" the supports holding the shelf on the wall were cut through next, the section above the broken pots now also crashing to the floor.

"What part of now do you not understand?" Aria asked looking around for more things to destroy.
"Alright! Alright! Stop it, please! I was bluffing. I don't know where it is. Just go and I won't say a word of this to anyone!" He begged, clearly he could tell there wasn't any way he'd be able to attack someone fully armed. Aria paused for a bit, she then walked over to his position and scanned his desk before laughing to herself.
"Ceramic lizards."
"Okay that's enough! Fine, you win. Wait there." He complained, Philip grumbled to himself as he walked out of the room and returned with a box in his hand. Black box, blue lining. Taking the box from him with a proud smile and putting her weapon away, Aria strode out of the shop and hurriedly returned to the Bear Hat.

"Got it!" She proclaimed when she had returned to their table, placing the box in front of Janet before sitting down. "You're right, he was a baby. Now where were we?...baby..." Aria said, trailing off and starting to blush again at the end and trying her best to mimic Janet's wink.

"Ah well, uhm, you'd better have the money...for the food...in that case," Aria mentioned.

"Don't worry about me darling, I'll manage." Janet answered in an enticing tone, jiggling her coin purse.

'Dang it! This is going to cost a fortune!!! All the money Dante and Aron got me is almost gone as it is!' Janet griped mentally. Many years of dealing with dates that forced her to cover tabs has trained Janet to be prepared for situations like this. It was disappointing that Aria couldnt atleast leave an Elanalin to help with Janet's wine. Thankfully she already ordered the whole bottle. Aria strode away from the table, moving rather fast for her short stature.

"I-I'll be back soon, see you in a bit. Don't start eating without me," she yelled before disappearing.

Janet felt somewhat awkward when Aria left, like when a date abandons the other to do something else. Theres been a few incidents, not many, but a few times where some Gentlemen left Janet wanting at a dinner table, bar counter, even the bedroom. Sure she expected this, giving Aria a mission and all but that doesnt make the situation any less awkward. She felt the glares of nobles sneering at her drinking alone. A few confident smiles were enough to shut them up thankfully. Janet felt lonely, the wine she had packed a decent punch compared to what she normally has. She read the label: Ribbon Ray Pinot Noir, 390 Celian vintage, almost 6 years old. Her ninja server reappeared, holding a tray of food for another table, paused when she saw Janet alone.

"Should I cancel the Bear's Dinner miss?" She asked, her light voice calm and sympathetic. At first Janet was confused but then she realized that the server was assuming she had been dumped by her date. She chuckled, smiling happily.

"Oh no dear, my date needed to take care of sudden urgent business. If at all possible can you tell the chef to delay our meal for maybe an hour? And maybe refill my glass?" Janet said, holding up her near empty wine glass, swirling the remaining wine.

"Certainly miss." The server replied, and with astonishing balance and agility she kept the tray balanced above her head with her right hand while pouring wine with her left. The fluidity of her motion, where her hand didnt shake at all, made Janet assume she was ambidextrous. The server smiled and went about her duties.

Janet was alone for about an hour, sipping her wine and enjoying the soft music being performed by handsome musicians with a ravishing singer singing soft tunes of love gone by. In this solitude, Janet found time to reminisce about her life. Sure a fair portion of it was in the bedroom, some of it against her will, but there was more to her. One thing people never understand about Janet was that there was more than a pretty face and skills that kill; she is a person with feelings and ambitions. Long before she was a mercenary, when Janet was a mistress of the night, she loved to sew clothing.

The dress she wore tonight was something she made many years ago, and sadly the tough times of this dying world didnt allow for her to practice her trade. Thinking about this made her think of her mother. Janet didnt know her father when she was very young, and her mother had to work excessively hard in order to provide everything Janet wanted which back then wasnt nuch. Janet was happy sewing dresses with her mother, fitting them and correcting all the details from the trim to how deep the chest would go. This dress she wore tonight was an example of how her mother would work. She remembered the last time saw her mother, sick and weak; the Grey Plague eviscerating her body from the inside. Jocelyn had forced Janet to leave with a strange man just before the the sector was quarantined. The very last time she saw her mother, tears flowed from her eyes as a river after a dam breaks, she held out her hand in a final blessing. The gate closed and she was gone forever. This reminiscion brought tears to Janet's eyes, she was covering her face to not show the emotion but it didnt work too well.

A loud slam surprised Janet, causing her to jump. It was Aria, returning from her mission placing the box on the table.

"Got it!" She proudly said. Aria immediately blushed, anxious for what could come next. "You're right, he was a baby. Now where were we?...baby..." 'She's so sweet.' Janet thought with a compassionate smile on her face. She grabbed the box, opening it and found her mother's necklace inside. Tears again started to form, but Janet remained strong and didnt cry. A simple tear shaped sapphire on a Platinum chain, the final symbol of her noble Ravenna birth. Modest but gorgeous. Closing the box, Janet refocused her attention to Aria, feeling a warmth in her heart she usually doesnt feel.

"Aria..." Janet said, leaning closer, gently caressing Aria's cheek. "What you have done for me is something I can never repay. So I'll give you this." Janet firmly held Aria's head still, closed her eyes, kissing Aria on her velvety lips. Janet's heart did flutter a touch, a warm tingly feeling she rarely feels. This kiss was one of love and compassion, a rare gift for Janet to give. After a short eternity she released Aria, opening her eyes. The poor girl turned a whole new shade of red, her entire body had been red as a beet. It was adorable, but Janet couldnt help but blush too. To try and distract herself, Janet pulled a small lotus shaped badge from her purse, placing it in Aria's trembling hand. "And your badge. You've certainly made this night something I'll never forget my darling Aria Abrams."

Though Janet didn’t say anything, her expression told it all. She was clearly happy, and to Aria that was what she counted as a success. Her mind was finally put at ease and the nerves from before about tonight melted away, before Janet leaned in that was.

Aria believed there were very few things that could stun her, she’d faced against dangerous foes even more talented in swordplay than herself, had to hold people hostage and she’d held her nerve even when ending a life before. So it is understandable as to why she was so shocked at her state of paralysis while her cheek was being caressed. Though she had an idea where this was going, Aria was still shocked at the result. She didn’t know what to do during the kiss either, her eyes were wide open with alarm and her lips relatively stationary. Then it was over. Hundreds of thoughts were racing through her mind after it was over, What the heck just happened? being the main one and I really hope my lips weren’t dry as well as How do I even kiss? being another.

"And your badge. You've certainly made this night something I'll never forget my darling Aria Abrams." Yeah ,no kidding she thought all frazzled.

Aria’s expression was a clear mixture of embarrassed and befuddled, though she tried her best to keep a smile. Aria took the badge from Janet, still not able to break eye contact with her.
“Thanks. I, uh, always try my best” She managed to get out, setting the badge down on the table.

The meals arrived shortly after, the server of incredible stealth set her meal down in front of her. The Bear’s Dinner was four large grilled salmon fillets, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder and marinated in a secret mixture unique to the Bear Hat. Usually the smell was enough to captivate Aria’s attention but she couldn’t help but feel she needed to say something. “Janet, I just wanted to say that that was, uh, my first kiss...ever, so I’m sorry if it was obvious that I didn’t know what I was doing,” Aria had calmed down a bit, now no longer obscenely red, though she was still taken aback by it all. Though it was something she should’ve expected given Janet’s tone and signature on her letter- the idea she actually received a kiss was astounding to Aria. Though the kiss seemed more like a caring one than a lustful one, which she did appreciate.

Deciding not to think about it too hard for any longer lest she completely freeze up again, Aria shifted her focus over to the badge. It was certainly a nice badge, she’d have to find the perfect place on her armour to put it. With that thought and possible places on her breastplate coming to mind, Aria finally began to dig into her fish.
Kannah Brightsleet: Kannah, Such a lovely name and a lovely face too I must add! A pity that you were stolen from your home, but luckily when we manage to get that sponsorship we'll be well off. I don't feel the need for a dramatic test of your abilities... Perhaps you'd like to meet at Shani's Embrace? It's a luxury bathhouse near the central sector. It'll be my treat. There we can discuss some extra details about your role in our Company. I look forward to our meeting.

Janet Ravenna.

Kannah folded the note neatly, carefully tucking it back into the envelope she'd pulled it from before allowing it to fall beside her onto the bed, her own body following suit moments later, slumping backward onto the bed.

She should be happy, she supposed. This was her own doing after all, wasn't it? Week-ago-Kannah had thought it a splendid idea. Right-now-Kannah wasn't quite so sure. Other opportunities had been investigated, but none had turned out as promising as this. Heaps of fine print, plenty of contingency clauses, and large up-front payments were merely a few of the many methods she'd seen being used to ensure any potential applicants would plan on sticking around for the long haul once the new world had been reached. The elf certainly couldn't blame them; she herself had been seeking passage with as few strings attached as possible to make the cleanest break she could once she was safely back in Vian. Her conscience warred with her desire to see her home again. While she didn't exactly relish the idea of deceiving a potential employer into taking her back to Vian, this seemed like the best opportunity she was was going to get.

Kannah stood, taking only a moment to stretch and find her resolve. Even if she didn't like it, this was her chance. Painting a smile on her face, she headed down through the bustling great room of the tavern, seeking directions to Shani's Embrace.

Noises of laughter and screaming rang through the streets: merchants peddling their wares, children playing games, even a quarrel here and there. The rowdiness of the city was something Kannah didn't ever see herself growing accustomed to; humans were always so dreadfully... noisy.

Not wanting to draw any more attention than her pale blue skin, long ears, and lithe build were already inviting, she resisted the urge to cover her ears. Trudging on in silence, a feeling of tension gradually built behind her brow as a headache took hold. She made rather good time, stopping only briefly to ask directions of a seemingly dumbstruck man clothed as one of the city guard's, who merely managed to point a finger down a nearby alleyway. Kannah thanked him with a smile and turned, following the man's silent direction, and just a few minutes later, found herself entering the establishment.

"Gods, luxury bathhouse is right..." The place was incredible. So different from anything she would have seen around Lunasuun, and far more regal than anything she'd seen in her time as a slave on the outskirts of the city. A self-conscious glance downward at her own basic leather clothing only reaffirmed that she didn't belong in such a place.

Kannah found the nearest person she believed to be an employee and hesitantly approached, the oh-so-subtle jingling of her nearly-empty coin purse almost an affront to the remarkable building around her. "E-excuse me, Miss. I'm here to meet someone. A Janet Ravenna..?"

The attendant smiled brightly, and turned, leading the way deeper into the bathhouse as Kannah followed a few steps behind. "Right this way."

Few pleasures could match a luxurious bath. Steaming hot water, enticing aromatic scents, fresh fruit to snack on, flower petals in the water.... It was by far her most expensive hobby but there were no one better than the Shani's Embrace. According to the Seneschals, Shani was the Lady of Beauty, Pleasure, and Luxuries. To follow in her teachings was basically saying you'd rather do nothing but lounge about all day and say you're doing it in the honor of Shani. The Bathhouse did have some Priests and Priestesses there but they mostly kept to themselves.

Dressed in her small clothes, Janet browsed through her wardrobe closet, little more than an aged wood closet, looking for today's outfit. Trousers or skirt... trousers or skirt.... Trousers AND Skirt! Janet pulled a soft lined red cloth pant with a small black skirt that would normally be absolutely unacceptable outside a brothel from the trunk, putting it in her sack along with a red tie-on shirt. This would be her outfit after the bath! Simple but cute. Once she had her outfit picked, she dressed herself in a simple garb of trousers and a cloak with a simple vest to protect her modesty. Janet saw Ramirov as she was leaving. He seemed too busy with some random whatsoever to talk so Janet merely filled a kettle with water and placed it over a fire so he may have fresh tea before he left.

The streets were busy, as usual. Gross, dirty, food that was subpar sold by ugly vendors. She earned many stares, and returned plenty of her own. There were lots of good looking men out today, especially as she neared the nicer districts. The Bathhouse, Shani's Embrace, was of course busy with the rich and beautiful. The Hostess stood by her usual steading, wearing her bright smile and welcoming face. It was a decent facade, but Janet could still see the envious woman beneath. She recognized Janet, and prepared a key.

"Janet! Here again I see! Would you like to enjoy the usual today?" She asked chipperly.

"No thank you dearie. I'll need a Bath for two." Janet answered. The hostess smiled, assuming Janet's intentions.

"Oohh... Do you have pleasurable company today? Would you like a pheromone misting?" The woman asked in a coquettish fashion, her eyes narrowing as Janet approached.

"I'm going to have female company, an Elf. And no, she's not pleasurable company, this is merely a girl time get together. Her name is Kannah Brightsleet. When she comes lead her to my room. And I'd like Lotus flowers in the bath today." Janet said, placing a special members emblem on the counter. The Hostess saw it and immediately stamped something in a giant book of names. Politicians, rich people, nobles, and occasionally her. She had already bought a year's pass allowing her to come in as many times as she wished, at the cost of five months pay... If she hadn't bought it she'd surely be in Vian by now but... Good baths are not able to be passed up.

"Of course Janet! Here's your key, you'll be enjoying the Lunar Glimmer tub in the south wing. Please, enjoy your bath." The hostess answered, not fully convinced in Janet's intention.

She gave Janet a rather fancy key made of ivory and silver. Far too fancy for her liking but this was the life of luxury. Janet navigated the rooms finding the Lunar room, where her tub was. Using the key to unlock the door, Janet entered and saw a giant stone tub made of a near perfect white stone, still empty, waiting for the fun to arrive. The tub was huge, and could fit atleast 4 people comfortably. The stone was so pretty! It almost glowed like moonlight in the night sky! She almost wondered if it would glow if the lights were dimmed. The rest of the room was gorgeous too, mastercraft furnitures, scented candles that could be lit at her discretion, a plate of the freshest fruits of Kalin; an extraordinarily rare pleasure to find in this age. She felt at home, perhaps when she was rich and retired from Mercenary work she could buy a bathhouse and always enjoy a luxurious bath. Finding the dressing screen, Janet placed her sack in a box that locked with the same key used to open the door. Just as she was pulling off her shirt, there was knocking on the door.

"Hot Water and Refreshments Miss!" A young sounding gentleman yelled.

"Come in! I'm behind the screen!" Janet answered. The door opened, and a young man probably just out of boyhood entered the room followed by a couple strong men carrying large vessels of hot water. The steam rising from the polished steel pots told wonders of whats to come. "May I have some wine please? Nothing too fancy, just a light white wine. A Semillon. And can we dim these lights? I want to see if this tub glows." Janet asked, peeking her head from behind the screen.

"Of course miss! Would you like the Moonlight experience?" He asked, professionally. There was a certain suavity about him, he's certainly seen naked women before but almost didn't seem to care much. Janet nodded, and retreated back behind the screen. Now she may be risque but she's still modest! She continued undressing, removing her shirt which revealed the small tattoo over her stomach, undoing the buckles on her boots, belt, allowing her pants to drop revealing her fair skin that was nearly flawless aside from a couple scares and some moles. Now dressed again in her small clothes, light greyish blue underthings trimmed with lace with a bikini cut bottom both made by herself, Janet walked out from the screen earning the stares of the men inside. They were respectful but definitely admiring her. The boy smacked one man upside the head, demanding he get his head together. 'Yup, he's a pro.' Janet thought. "Alright Miss, what kind of Lotus flowers would you like? We have Red, Pink, Blue, Purple..."

"White please dearie." Janet answered. The boy smiled, and grabbed a basket of flawless white lotus flowers, freshly cut from their pods just for her. As requested, a young lady delivered a bottle of wine and a man dimmed the lights to near nighttime, allowing for one central light to shine down from the center, fueled by sunlight likely. It really was like the tub was a shining moon in the dark.

"Is there anything else that we can offer you Miss?" The boy asked. Without providing an answer, Janet removed her underthings, unclasping her bra and sliding her bottoms down her near perfect legs shaved almost every day. Her features were beautiful, surely irresistible to the men watching. One of the men she swore started drooling, but again earned a swift smack to the head from the boy. Janet entered the bath and it was divine. Hot but not scalding, steamy, fragrant, mixed with a small glass of Semillon and fresh fruit it was pure heaven.

"No dearie. I'll be fine, but I am expecting company, if she wants something let her have it. I have the premier membership and she'll be with me." Janet answered. The boy smiled, bowing politely and shoving all the men out. In the tub, her features were hidden by the flowers, but that's no matter. She was here for business, now where was Kannah?

Flabbergasted. There was truly no other word to describe Kannah's state of mind. The Elf was completely overwhelmed by the variety of... things. The Voral of course had their own luxuries, and the beauty of their cities (Lunasuun in particular) was said, at least among their own kind to be second to none. It made sense that growing up in one of the temples of the city had numbed her to the splendor of the Elven lands, if only slightly. The opposite could be said of her experiences thus far in the land of Balthora. Most of the place was just shy of what would be considered a wasteland. The place she'd spent the last nearly-half of her life, while relatively comfortable, was nothing more than a fairly large home, situated about half a day's ride outside of the city by horseback--Kannah could count on one hand the number of times she'd actually been to the city during that time, and never to the nicer parts.

Fifteen years of servitude had certainly left their mark, and Kannah noticed herself quickly becoming uncomfortable with the attention being lavished on her by the various attendants as they rushed to make her feel welcome. The idea that someone could find this enjoyable was, frankly, rather absurd to her. Not to mention the undoubtedly exorbitant cost of such a service. The treatment, however, gave Kannah a fairly good idea of what to expect from her would-be employer, she thought. Given her own background, the idea was more than a little unsettling.

"Here we are, Miss Brightsleet!" The all-too-cheery voice pulled Kannah back to the present with a start, drawing her gaze to the closed door before her. A brief knock sounded before she opened the door slightly, urging the Elf forward. "Is there anything more I can get for you to make your stay a more comfortable one?" Kannah shook her head slightly, uttering a quiet "no, thank you," and stepped lightly into the room.

Stepping into the room, Kannah found herself nearly overwhelmed by the wide array of potent, new smells. While none of them were entirely unpleasant on their own, they blended together into something quite fierce, threatening to catch in her throat. Abruptly remembering where she was, Kannah did her best to compose herself, sharply clearing her throat as her eyes roamed once about the room before settling on the woman in the bath.

It only took but a moment for Kannah to comprehend just how little stood between her and the woman in the tub, and less time still for a deep blush to spread across her pale face. Unaccustomed to such brazen display, the slight composure she'd managed to collect only moments before now lay dashed upon the petals of the tub.

Kannah quickly averted her gaze, pointedly looking anywhere other than the tub in front of her. Was this the wrong room? Unlikely. She'd asked for the woman by name, and there hadn't been a moment of hesitation before the young lady in the front had recognized it. This definitely had to be Janet... which meant--had she misunderstood the intent of the letter? Kannah had applied to become a mercenary, but now thinking back to the letter, it hadn't clearly stated what her "role" was intended to be. She suddenly found herself wondering just how far she'd go to get back to her own homeland, when it occurred to her she'd entered the room nearly a minute prior, and had yet to say a single word.

Finally forcing her eyes to focus on the other woman's (and pointedly ignoring the alluring curves leading down into the tub), she managed a small curtsy, "Kannah Brightsleet, at your service." The greeting was unnecessarily formal, and not particularly appropriate, given that she no longer served a master. However, the Elf's social life had been far beyond what many could consider 'lacking' for nearly half her life at this point, and old habits would prove hard to shake.

After a few moments of internal debate, she decided it made sense for her to join Janet in the tub, even if it wasn't the most comfortable situation she'd ever found herself in. Kannah quickly undressed, placing her rather ragged leathers on the floor beside the tub, and sliding slowly in, sighing softly as she felt the hot water slide over her skin. Out of reflex her knees pulled up in front of her chest in some subconscious effort to preserver her modesty, ever so slightly breaking the surface of the water. She raised her gaze timidly at the woman across from her, trying to figure out how best to broach the subject, finally settling on: "So, uh... details?"

Kannah was red as an apple when she walked in and saw Janet relaxing in the tub. She wasn't trying to be seductive or playful but seeing the young girl acting so innocent and adorable almost made her want to take advantage of her but Ramirov would not approve of that. If he finds out. He always finds out, How can some old dude always know when .... Best not to finish that sentence. Janet could feel Kannah briefly glancing at her but she clearly was trying to not pay too much attention. It's understandable, but Janet wasn't mean. 'Poor girl, I should've kept my smalls on.' Janet thought in retrospect.

"Kannah Brightsleet, at your service." she said rather politely. Janet smiled, snacked on a sliced apple chewing it thoroughly before answering.

"Janet Ravenna. Captain of the you know what, sitting here cozier than a pig in dirt." Janet answered, being informal with hopes to ease Kannah's nerves. Kannah did undress, much to Janet's delight the girl had a good body, so flawless! That had to be due to her being an elf. The trained mind didn't blush, but she didn't to make her uncomfortable so Janet focused on Kannah's face for the remainder of their visit. That wasn't hard as Kannah hid herself with her knees, unnecessary but again adorable.

"So, uh... details?" Kannah asked awkwardly.

"If you were expecting me to do some fancy test with you I have decided not to. You seemed to have been tested enough based on what you have shared." Janet said, enjoying another slice of apple. "Unless you don't know, we are a mercenary company. We will likely not be bathing in luxury everyday, week, hell we might not have this type of time in a month. You are expected to do what I say, when I say, how I tell you to do it even if it makes you uncomfortable dear. Besides that there's not much else to say about Mercenary companies. Some, like the Templars, are rich from sponsorships. They don't really have to work nearly as hard to make good pay where wash ups like me are going to have to pull a thousand strings. But bla bla bla drama drama, can you tell me a bit about yourself? Something I may not know perhaps?" Janet said, taking a sip of wine.

"...Can you tell me a bit about yourself? Something I may not know perhaps?"

By now Kannah's skin had pretty much returned to its regular pale coloring--only a few shades brighter, but that was mostly due to the warmth of the water at this point. She lowered her gaze thoughtfully, only just able to make out her slightly-pruning toes on the bottom of the tub through the bubbles at the surface. They spread and wriggled a bit as she watched them, and she found herself realizing that she was actually enjoying the frivolity. At this realization she steered her mind again to the present, raising her eyes back up to meet Janet's once more.

A slight shrug, then she spoke: "well, honestly Miss Ravenna, there isn't all that much to tell. Obviously I'm Voralian. Though we're generally a peaceful people, I don't think any race has the luxury of being a true stranger to war in these times. We're taught to fight with the best of them. Especially those of us brought up in the temple." She paused, then. The all-too-familiar ache returned to her chest along with that horrid lump she felt in the back of her throat whenever she thought of her days spent at home. Her arms wrapped more tightly about her knees, no longer an act of modesty, but one of comfort. Tears threatened for only a moment, but never quite formed and she cleared her throat again before continuing, hoping the moment had gone unnoticed. "In more recent days, I've lived a simpler life. As for what I can do for the company from a more practical standpoint, I can still fight. My magic's a bit underdeveloped as far as the ways I can use it, but my healing magic is rather potent, should the unfortunate need for it arise--and I've remained practiced with my bow. I can set a camp, and I'm comfortable with labor, even with my slight frame. I'm told my cooking is quite good as well..." Kannah trailed off, unsure of what more to add. It certainly wasn't a great resume, but the thought of embellishing it hadn't even occurred to the Elf.

After a moment's hesitation, she ventured a question of her own. "Might I ask what your plans are? After you reach Vian, I mean?" It occurred to Kannah that slavers came from somewhere. Many somewheres, at that. While she was planning on parting ways with the company to return to Lunasuun as soon as possible after they made it to Vian, she had to admit that helping a group of slavers establish themselves along the way didn't exactly bode well for her people. Then again, even if that was Janet's intention, Kannah supposed it didn't make much sense to share it with her.

Little Kannah started to relax in the tub, looks like some idle chatter was enough to ease her nerves. "Well, honestly Miss Ravenna, there isn't all that much to tell. Obviously I'm Voralian. Though we're generally a peaceful people, I don't think any race has the luxury of being a true stranger to war in these times. We're taught to fight with the best of them. Especially those of us brought up in the temple." She spoke, quietly but loud enough to be heard. "In more recent days, I've lived a simpler life. As for what I can do for the company from a more practical standpoint, I can still fight. My magic's a bit underdeveloped as far as the ways I can use it, but my healing magic is rather potent, should the unfortunate need for it arise--and I've remained practiced with my bow. I can set a camp, and I'm comfortable with labor, even with my slight frame. I'm told my cooking is quite good as well..."

Camping is good, shooting bad guys with arrows even better, healing magic is best. Still, Janet sensed a sort of... drifting in Kannah. Her eyes shifted from her present thought into something else. "Might I ask what your plans are? After you reach Vian, I mean?" she asked rather politely. It's a very damn good question, what was she going to do? Sure Balthora had Jotenii Aldonus, it's settlement but surely mercenary work is scarce. So she simply answered with the first thing that came to mind.

"Honestly little light, I am just trying to get out of Balthora. Reviving the Light Lotus is my goal but I just want to find somewhere where I can take a breath and not smell someone's leavings. I've had lots of fun times and evenings but y'know Sex will only take me so far. I long to adventure."

"Honestly little light, I am just trying to get out of Balthora. Reviving the Light Lotus is my goal but I just want to find somewhere where I can take a breath and not smell someone's leavings. I've had lots of fun times and evenings but y'know Sex will only take me so far. I long to adventure."

The Elf cocked an eyebrow at the apparent petname in slight amusement, but didn't linger long as to miss the rest of Janet's words. A short nod indicated she'd accepted the answer, and she mentally admonished herself, wondering exactly what sort of answer she'd been expecting. It sounded honest enough, if a little vague, but even if it wasn't it didn't really make much sense to tell an Elf with a background in slavery that she was planning on traveling to Vian to enslave more of her kind. And if what she said was true, the motive was just as good as any. Wanting to make one's one way was admirable, even if it was as the leader of a mercenary company. "Oh? Mercenaries prioritizing the thrill of adventuring over that of rape and pillage? And here I thought I'd had you figured out already Miss Ravenna," she teased.

Her curiosity sated and feeling significantly more comfortable than she had upon entering the bathhouse, Kannah was content to leave the room quiet awhile, again turning her attention back to the soothing warmth of the water. She lay back, her face floating just above the surface, bright hair fanned out around her as it danced in the lightly rippling tub. A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she found herself thinking she could get used to this. A dangerous thought, surely. Janet herself had said just a few moments ago that this wouldn't be a common occurrence, and if--when--she ended up getting back to her own kind, they didn't really indulge in such frivolity. As a whole, the Voralian were rather practical. Bubble baths? Not so much.

After a few minutes spent like this, Kannah lifted herself back up to a sitting position and did a quick inspection of her body, subconsciously frowning at the wrinkles marring her usually-pristine features, before setting her eyes back on Janet's once more. "Well, then I suppose that's that." She stood from the bath, modesty forgotten, her eyes searching about the room briefly before they settled on a towel a few paces away. Kannah carefully dried herself, silently marveling at the difference from the rough linen cloths she'd grown accustomed to. "My services are yours then, should you want them," she said simply, glancing back at Janet over her shoulder as she worked at drying the long mane of hair that draped down to just beneath the small of her back.

Kannah seemed satisfied with the answer she gave her, she relaxed a bit more, appearing rather comfortable in the warm tub. She didn't try to hide herself as much as she did before, neither did she seem to worry as much about being admired. Janet was relieved, for a short while, she worried that Kannah would've frozen completely not willing to budge a little bit regarding her personal life. Well she didn't really make any 'girl' talk, but what she did say was still enough for Janet to get a better grasp of her.

"Oh? Mercenaries prioritizing the thrill of adventuring over that of rape and pillage? And here I thought I'd had you figured out already Miss Ravenna," Kannah said, a conceding smile on her face. Recognizing the joke, Janet laughed.

"Hahaha, I fear that rape and pillage isn't enough for me. I may be barbaric but I'm no monster." Janet replied grinning a smug grin.

The women both sat quietly in the warm tub, enjoying the rare tranquility of a luxury bath. Kannah had truly immersed herself into the bath, appearing like an Elven Angel in the shining tub. Janet enjoyed some more fruit and nearly finished the bottles of wine. It wasn't a high proof spirit, but Janet did feel a buzz forming. She figured it was time to get out, almost an hour had passed and if she were to stay any longer she'd become a pruned woman. It was Kannah who decided to step out first, standing up without hiding her lovely features. Janet looked at her with attentive eyes, expression slightly shocked to see such confidence in the elf where she had previously shown none.

"Well, then I suppose that's that." she said, finding a towel to cover herself in. "My services are yours then, should you want them," After hearing those words, Janet shot right up from the tub, not caring about her own modesty and walked directly towards her folded clothes. Slightly intoxicated, Janet fumbled through her pockets finding the key to the room, unnecessarily fancy as it is, and opened the safe. It opened with a slight creak. Janet took out a small box and stepped towards Kannah, offering it from her left hand, still dripping wet from the bath.

"It is my honor to welcome you then, Kannah Brish... Brigyish,.... Kannah." Janet said, slurring her words. "Sorry, too much wine. Take good care of that. It was very expensive."
Bura Sharamph: Bura, I am Ramirov. I reviewed your application form personally and I... was honestly shocked by some of the things I had seen. A Nahan, here. In Balthora, taken when you were a child. With all of these said and done, I must declare that your application is accepted but first I must conduct an interview to evaluate your demeanor and abilities. This is merely a formality for me, but I need to know that you will not fail. If you are worthy, you'll join immediately. Meet me at the Thorn, a small orphanage near the border walls of the Thanol dead zone. Bring NO weapons, only yourself. I'll be waiting.
Ramirov, Lieutenant of the Light Lotus Company.

The soft sniffles of humans filled the dusty morning air. Grey walls. Grey floors. Grey skies. At least the mold created a variation of horridness. Bura stirred awake as the rustled of life was already too loud to sleep through easily. Like many others she lived in a small bit of shelter filled to the brim with tired figures just trying to survive. With a corner to herself in this povely abode, she had slept with her belongings hugged between her torso and the wall.

A rugged and well loved cloak covering what leather and cloth didn't. Her large form blurred by its muddy blue embrace. A stained beige clothe acted as a head scarf around her head. Pulled up and over her nose to cover her tusks and ears overall. She could pass for a human woman if you didn't put much thought into things. She gathered her few belongings and unfolded the letter of acceptance in her callused digits. The Thorn by the Thanol dead zone without any weapons. Her gut turned at the idea not that the emptiness in her stomach helped much. How many times had she reread the thing. It would be best to leave her axe near the location of meeting so if things went south she could retrieve it quickly. Yes that would be best, now more confident in her plan of action she stood up. At six feet tall she was a sizeable woman in these cramped walls.

Her tattered shoes stepped over sleeping limbs and bodies before ducking under the blanket used as a door. Out into a dying city clawing at the edge of its grave. The only comfort she got as she walked through the streets, weaving through the sickly homeless and avoiding sketchy figures, was the methodical thump against her thigh as her axe swayed beneath her cloak. A reminder that she was in control today. Tomorrow could be dealt with when it came. Her path avoided the various dead zones along the way. Golden eyes zipping across her surroundings with tedious distrust.

In her time in this city she had few opportunities to adventure its lonely streets so it took a while to find the Thanol dead zone but by the time the sun had reached its highest, she had found the pathetic excuse of a home for children. Only a few blocks back she had left her axe under some rotting wood crates in an alley. She hoped the smell wouldn't leech onto it but really, everything in this city had a tendency to smell one way or another.

Just the sight of the building made her skin crawl. A dry gulp muffled beneath cloth as she looked around, wondering if this place was abandoned or still had orphans calling it home. Why did it have to be an orphanage of all places? Why not a sad little tavern filled with diseased drunk middle aged men? The smell of body odor and various illegal substances would have been welcomed by the internally anxious Nahan compared to this place. "Lieutenant Ramirov?" She called out as she started to search the area, naturally cautious though her hands in clear view with the letter clutched in her left hand. With each step she thought of which way she would go, what she would use, if this was actually a trap. As optimistic as she was, it was a fine line between excitement and fear.

It was easy enough to find the Orc woman. Even easier to remain hidden as he watched her sleep right next to the cursed border wall. There was hardly any light to refract and reflect so a full invisibility cloak was near effortless. Ramirov felt lucky that he had his magic to warm a ceramic thermos of Tea to battle the bitter cold of the Grey morning. Not like it helped with the lousy smell, rotting wood, vomit and of course that damn Ardanor. Atleast in the production industry you didn't have to smell it burning! Such an annoying little thing here in this ugly Kingdom. He reminisced of times before the war against Kalin when there was atleast SOME green life that wasn't Sorya.

Ramirov closely inspected the Nahan Orc, in honesty he had never seen one even back in his homeland. There they were called Orungalo coming from the land of Orzhaan. Bura was a woman but still an orc, strong well developed muscles, thick calloused hands and of course that sandy brown skin that would never burn in sunlight. Ramirov was slightly envious of that last fact. When she started stirring Ramirov remained as quiet as he could, not that he needed to the wind would hide his breath. Bura had read the letter atleast a hundred times based on how long he had watched her staring at the paper. She gazed upon it as if it held the secrets of life hidden within the letters and she was trying to discern the hidden message. Admirable, such a level of contained excitement for volunteering into a company where she may die.

All things die though, and here they are dying much faster. Ramirov followed as Bura began her walk to the Thorn. Winding through the roads making careful adjustments to his spell to not be discovered. When she hid the axe in a crate, part of the weight lifted from his chest. She was willing to disarm herself, she listened even against her will. That takes immeasurable courage, which earned Ramirov's respect. When she was far enough to not hear, Ramirov placed a hand on the giant handle, fit for a strong man. Whispering a few words as he drew an odd symbol.

"Crolnii Anas. Liyas Lotrinu."

That spell would take about two minutes to take full effect, just enough time to catch up to Bura. His heart pounded, he was incredibly nervous. An unfamiliar feeling but what he had planned was going to change both of their lives. Not necessarily Ramirov's either... Careful planning was made, Ramirov had prepared atleast 14 spells in case Bura would find Ramirov fit to be a punching dummy after this. He himself spent a sleepless few nights trying to arrange this, and it was a miracle that it was achieved. Then again he did enlist the help of his former employer. Ramirov paused as he saw Bura in front of the Thorn, a truly decrepit building. It should be condemned, then again so should half of the city.

"Lieutenant Ramirov?" He heard.

"This is it." Ramirov whispered, swallowing a small gulp of lukewarm tea. "Bura!" He yelled, grabbing her attention. Seeing her eyes and face hidden by the cloth made his stomach twist. That is an Orc. He only hoped that his words would be enough. "I'm sure you may have a thousand thoughts and a couple questions but I have enough answers to suffice I hope. This here is the Thorn. It's an orphanage that is actually still in operation. About 17 kids live there under the care of a mother and father pair. Their own children died after the last quarantine in the Thanol Sector, and with their deaths they lost a lot of their funding. The reason why I bring you here..." Ramirov tensed, readying himself for a broken face.

"Your children live here."

'Oh Elana please don't let me die here.' "It took a little investigation, a lot of it in some ways. I searched far and wide to see if I can find even the slightest clue as to the location of Nahan children. According to my source after the death of their father, the children were taken from their home and placed here. It's not the best living as you may imagine, constant struggles with keeping enough safe food for 17 kids in a dying building isn't easy. I brought you here because of 2 things. 1: No mother should lose her children, if you wish to see them you can now. 2: If you still choose to join our company, they can be your motivation. Many mercenaries join for money, fame, glory, boredom even. You, Bura... I feel that you deserve a far better purpose than that." His words were rehearsed, planned to every last detail. Now he could only wait for the reply of the 6 foot tall orcish woman with enough muscle to make his face look like a potato. He said what he came here to say.

Bura Sharamph. A Nahan Orc with only whispers of a tribal past. Hearing the strange accent pronounce her short name her head swiftly turned, her pupils focusing on the scruffy coated man who had called to her. What was the catch? Seeing how far he stood away her distrust gurgled in her otherwise empty stomach. Slowly lowering the part of her scarf which hid her mouth. A brush of her palm revealing short and pointy tusks. Her brows drawing together as she watched the man explain himself. Why was he more scared than her? Her questions stayed firmly between her lips as she just listened. Taking a noticeable step away from the building upon hearing it was still functioning. How long had it been since she had last been here? 5 months? Her eyes widened as the sound of children entertaining each other within the walls reached her covered ears. Her yellow eyes widening as the pieces fell together. "No." It tumbled from her lips once. "No" Twice. "No no no" Her head shook side to side.

"Your children live here." She heard these words, yet it felt like they were plunged into her, not spoken. Why did he care? Who is this man? What gave him the right? Blood drained from her limbs as she suddenly felt like ice was in her bones and had been tucked beneath her flesh in the dark of night. Her lips parted as she struggled to breath through her pierced nose. Why did she have to be so optimistic. Why did she need this job. Why did she even put her past onto paper. Tears tumbled from her yellow eyes making them an orangeish hue as they reddened. "Who. Are. You." Her words came out through clenched teeth. A voice which never rose above a harsh growl. The control she showed almost as scary as the threat of her control failing. She searched for the right words. "Who are you really and why do you care about a couple of orphans? Are you with the Golden Caravan? Why in the world did you think it would be smart to dig up the past?" Her knuckles went white as veins popped to the surface just beneath her skin.

"There are other Nahan slaves, they could belong to anyone." She reasoned quickly, trying to hide the facts which shredded her insides. "I bet you think you are doing the right thing." A breathy scoff left her lips. "You think you know anything?" The tears made a noticeable patch of her beige scarf go brown. Pain weaved in her words as they reopened wounds long since healed. Yet why did they sting like they were fresh? Every inch of her body screamed. Fight. Attack. Anything. Quiet this noisy foreigner. Really she was no less a foreigner here. Hide away these feelings she can't explain, handle or destroy. Her head turned quickly looking around to see if there was more people around. They were in a side alley of the building so no children were visible. Yet their noisy chatter could be heard just around the front as they played on the front steps. So loud.

The Nahan had gone silent in a twist of her own truths and questions. "Who knows about them?" She muttered as she neared the man. Stopping at about 5 feet away. Her features now calmer although her eyes betrayed her mask of flesh. She rose no limb to strike him down yet the way she stood made it very clear she wasn't afraid to do so. "How many know about those boys?" She hardly considered herself a mother even after all these years. Their faces would not recognize her as their mother. No. Only as the one that took them away from those pathetic fields only to be brought to a pathetic orphanage. The one who broke off their chains and pointed the way to a different struggle.

10 year old and 7 year old Orcs, former slave boys. Going by names given by their fellow slaves when they were actually able to walk and talk. Using the names she gave them in the short time she held them would be pointless. They wouldn't remember her soft songs. They didn't need to. Her lower stomach felt like there was a boulder in it. She couldn't provide for those boys the way a mother should. She couldn't give them enough freedom in the world to make up for bringing them into this rotten shell of a city. At least she prevented their sister from ever having to meet the same fate her mother did. Tears flowed down her cheeks as her expression twisted once more, gulping with a throat that felt hallowed out and dry. Wiping away the salty liquid with her shaky bandaged forearm, she practically choked in a breath.

"Absolutely no one hears of their existence, understood?" Her eyes threatening to snap as she stared at this stranger with balls or no brain, possibly both. It wasn't a question. It was a demand to be followed. A plea to prevent this alley from being painted crimson. Now she understood why he looked more on edge than she had minutes before. "If I hear any word come out of your mouth or anyone else's in that company about those boys. I will not hold back the way I am now." She paused, her words were intense making her gulp once more. "This place has no hope. It never changes. It doesn't matter what motivates me and not everyone needs to know what motivates me. I just need to survive today. But this company of yours is a possibility for change. Inspite of your greatest efforts I haven't smashed in your skull you suicidal bastard. Don't make me regret this."

Her breathes made her large chest rise and fall, physically straining to hold herself back. "They don't need to see me. Not.. Not like this. I don't know what the fuck you expected. A happy reunion? A. A beating? Doesn't matter." She grumbled before starting to distance herself from the orphanage. Not caring if he followed or not. Tugging her scarf with frustrated movements to cover herself back up. She needed to walk, move, anything. It felt like she was going to suffocate on the grey fog of this city. It's possessive claws desperately pulling and pushing her to do something stupid enough to ruin her chance at actually escaping this place. She needed more than grey walls, grey floors and grey skies. More than painful memories.

Well Ramirov wasn't dead, that was a huge plus. The only downside? Bura seemed beyond pissed, beyond any measurement of anger. There needed to be a word added to the dictionary to describe how this emotion is. If Ramirov were to describe it, it would be a pained rage, not entirely remorse but perhaps mourning. Especially based on her words.

"Who. Are. You." She spoke in short singular sentences. That scared him. That meant Bura was nearing the brink of smashing his face. She began a crawling charge towards Ramirov. Part of him wanted to conjure a wall of ice, but Bura needed to hear what Ramirov had to say, regardless if he were to get hurt. "Who are you really and why do you care about a couple of orphans? Are you with the Golden Caravan? Why in the world did you think it would be smart to dig up the past?"

"I am Ramirov, Ninth son of the Ramirov family line." Ramirov answered the first question, pausing to not share his true name. "To answer those questions, who the fuck is the Golden Caravan? And the reason why I care about those orphans is because of the story you shared. The past is something that never dies. I know what it's like to run from the past, look where it has taken me: Balthora! The Kingdom of Grey Famine and Death. It's smart to face the past."

"There are other Nahan slaves, they could belong to anyone." ...

"And who else could manage to afford, let alone find a Nahan slave? The Orungalo are not weak creatures. You are not weak, they are not weak, I'm sure you understand that." Ramirov replied trying to make some sense of his actions.

"I bet you think you are doing the right thing." Bura grunted angrily.

"There is no 'right thing' to be done in this forsaken world. There is only action. I took what I felt to be the necessary action to revive a purpose for you. That's because in a way I have been in your shoes in my earlier life, I refused to merely watch you fight without a good purpose."

"You think you know anything?" That's when the tears were forming in her eyes. Ramirov did not expect this reaction.... well not in this fashion. He expected crying but not like this.

"No! I do not know your pain Bura! I know that there are two children living in this shithole, who don't remember their mother and have lost their father! Imagine, what do they know? A world of shit, slavery, and more shit rubbed in. Running, watery, disgusting shit. They don't know the warm sands of your home. They probably don't even know who they truly are besides monsters in the eyes of others. Only a set of muscles to be exploited." Ramirov angrily answered. His words were his truth. Perhaps he shouldn't say them to a giant angry woman confronted by a harsh truth. The tears on her face, betraying her true self to the world. She did still have some care in her heart. That should be exploited, so that these children may have a future.

"Who knows about them?" She muttered as she grew ever closer. Bura stopped her charge a few paces from him. Far enough not to be punched but still a dangerous position for him. "How many know about those boys?"

"The only ones who know about those boys are myself, and my contact: The Father caring for that entire orphanage. Any other relation through their tasks in slavery have been.... dealt with. Severely." Ramirov answered further.

""Absolutely no one hears of their existence, understood?" She barked, the tusks slightly peeking from that cloth she hid her face with. Ramirov said nothing, only nodding. "If I hear any word come out of your mouth or anyone else's in that company about those boys. I will not hold back the way I am now." Ramirov desperately wanted to roll his eyes at that threat, she's an orc but Ramirov is of Fraizyurne. She is not the only one holding back the true strength within. He did see the pain reaching a climax in her eyes. "This place has no hope. It never changes. It doesn't matter what motivates me and not everyone needs to know what motivates me. I just need to survive today. But this company of yours is a possibility for change. Inspite of your greatest efforts I haven't smashed in your skull you suicidal bastard. Don't make me regret this." Another threat, she aims for change but she cowers at the thought of changing the lives of those she brought into this world. Now Ramirov was Angry. His self control was slipping, his left fist clenched tight.

"They don't need to see me. Not.. Not like this. I don't know what the fuck you expected. A happy reunion? A. A beating? Doesn't matter."

That, was the last straw. Releasing the fire within, Ramirov's appearance changed, growing more menacing and enraged. Invoking the ancient power of Anas, Fraizyurni Lord of Fire, Ramirov himself was set ablaze. A controlled yet chaotic fire, so ferocious it would make a dragon quiver. His eyes began to glow with the garish rage that is fire, causing him to almost appear like a demon rather than human.

"You are a coward! I care not if you are running from the past daughter of Nahan!" Ramirov bellowed, his voice possessed by his power, echoing slightly. His accent grew oddly thicker as he fully embraced his power. "Those children are not able to run! I brought you here, hoping to spark a fire in your heart, for a Mercenary who chooses to run is a mercenary that is Unworthy!!! Ironic, you chose to invoke my fire instead of simply understand why I bring you here!" Calming down, Ramirov returned to a normal state, the ground beneath him still orange and smoldering. Overwhelmed with emotion, Ramirov felt a tear stream from his face. A tear that froze as it fell to the ground below, remaining frozen even as it hit the smoldering earth.

"Bura... I know the pain I have brought upon you is unfair, downright cruel of a stranger. If you wish you may revoke your interest in joining our company, but I wanted you to understand that through your actions you can allow your children to understand their true selves, as I do. As you do. You are a proud orc of Nahan forced to fester in this hell hole. I want you to have the opportunity to give that same pride you hold as a Nahan orc to your children. To remove them from Balthora and allow them to feel the suns of Orzhaan." With a quick flourish of the wrist, Ramirov completed his spell, summoning the axe from it's hiding place to his hand. It materialized from the air, glowing red and orange, a symbol being engraved onto the handle.

The symbol of a Lotus. Permanently glowing with a yellow hue.

"I ask you to join us, work to change both your life and the life of those innocent children. As a Light Lotus!" Ramirov said, offering the axe to Bura.

Bura looked over the stranger in front of her. He didn't know the biggest Orungalo slave traders, he was oblivious. That was a decent amount of stress off her chest. He had no intentions to use them as actual blackmail. "I refuse to merely watch you fight without a good purpose" She took in a deep breath clenching her teeth as she heard him talk about those children. Her children. Why did he have to go doing this when he doesn't even know the full story.

She turned her back to him, that wouldn't be happening any time soon. Turning around at the blast of energy that suddenly radiated from him. She had hardly made any distance, forcing her to stabilize herself on the wall. Only catching sight of his face before she had to look away. His voice sent shivers down her spine. Don't scare them. Don't bring attention to this. Loud foreigner. She was fairly accustomed to magic but this was another level. A part of Bura finding a reason to respect him. His words echoing into every part of her. Ignorant words. Though if he hadn't spoken the way he had she wouldn't have respected him with his power alone. She admired his moral compass. Though she could see he would hold her to those high standards. "You are a coward." She knew but did he really?

Finally she raised her voice. "The only reason they were ever able to run was because I killed the man who owned us. The man who you believe to be their father. I tried to find a better place for them in this shithole! But I couldn't, I brought them here. I told them they are what they make themselves. I can only hope it gets into their little heads." Tears flowed down her cheeks, her face fully exposed now. Everything hurt and she hadn't even been struck once by his abilities. She wasn't fit to be a good mother. She could only work until every fiber of her body ached. She never asked for children. She was a coward and desperately wanted a chance to get away from here. Even if it meant leaving them behind for who knows how long.

Even when his flames died down it took her a while to look back at him. When she did her golden eyes were reddened with pain. She felt more vulnerable here than she had when chains chimed across every limb of her body. These were the pains of emotional chains? Commitment she could never shake seething for the cracks in her foundation. Watching an axe, no her axe, appear in midair the markings it bore making her twist with want. His words of recruitment offering a clear path through the pain. Standing up straight she approached him and took the axe. Looking at the beautiful yellow engraving on its handle. Inspecting the axe she gave him a suspicious look. He had followed her, seen her hide it. Scary. She made a mental note never to turn her back or loose track of this foreigner.

The orc was quiet, thoughtful before speaking up. "I go at my own pace with my own personal matters. Of which you know more than you should now. Please do not meddle in their lives. Please keep these matters under wraps. I like my privacy Ramirov." She looked up at the orphanage. It had gone quiet as they all cowered somewhere within out of fear of the magical fight outside. Her free hand reaching up to cover her tusks and ears properly with her scarf. She couldn't handle admitting they were her children. Not now. Not yet. She could only do odd jobs and give majority of her earnings to them to spend on what they needed. She didn't need others to know about what she did for them. The smiles of Jay and Audrey would justify her small gestures plenty. Even if her gestures only came once in a full moon when she had the confidence to go to them. She could only survive today and worry about tomorrow when it became today.
Bridget: Bridget, the lovely little Bridget... I must admit I was staring at your picture for a little longer than I should. Please take that as a compliment. Upon reviewing your application, and by that I mean staring some more at your picture, I'm happy to say I'd like to meet you for a personal interview. I've managed to get us a position as back up chefs for a grand banquet. There's a certain somebody that I need to have taken care of as discreetly as possible and with your skills I imagine it will go quite smoothly. Also I admit, I'd just love to see you in person. I've never met a sun elf before...

Signed with a Kiss Janet Ramirov

The light tapping of boots along the road caught Janet’s attention as a cloaked figure approached the meeting place, walking by groups of people completely unnoticed, as if she weren’t even there. A pair of coppery skinned arms poked from under the cloak holding a folded up paper, which the figure under folded and began to read herself again just to refresh her memory. As she got closer, the hood of her cloak was blown off with the wind, revealing the young woman underneath it.
When she finally came face to face with Janet, the young half-elf pulled her bandana off her face and cracked that same grin from her picture at the other woman.
“Well, I’m only half sun elf, but I suppose 50 percent is better than nothin’.” Bridget said, tucking the letter back into her brassiere and readjusting things up there till it was comfortable, at which point she looked over at her new companion. “I must admit, I’m rather flattered that you were so mesmerized by my face. You’re not so bad yourself, darlin’.”
“So... Back up chefs? Who exactly are we cooking for, sweetpea? A nobleman? An aristocrat?” She flashes a crooked grin at Janet, her accented voice sweet like sugar.
She then turned to Janet and suddenly seemed to become all business as she glanced around, then rummaged in the bag hanging at her hip, “I believe I have just the thing for our arrangement. This,” She said, pulling out a smaller satchel from her bag, “Is going to be our special secret ingredient into the soup of our good friend. Just a small one, of course, everything in moderation. Wouldn’t want to make our friend sick, now would we? Took me quite a bit to track down one of these, cost me plenty too. I sure hope he appreciates all the time and money I put into this.”
Bridget then sighed breathily and stuck it back under her cloak. “From what I understand, out of courtesy, all the other guests will wait till the host gets the first bite of his meal before digging in themselves. I’ll even serve the meal myself. So, all you need to do is get us in, and I’ll take care of the rest.” The half elf then turned towards the big mansion that stood before them, with a cat-like grin upon her face. She then looked over her shoulder at Janet and chuckled, before speaking up.
“Let’s give him a meal to die for, shall we?”

Getting ready for today's endeavor was rather easy, much easier than Janet thought it would be. An apron was easy to sew and it was much easier to... convince the guard that new chefs had arrived for the party. Poor lad might not be able to make it, or to any other party after this. Janet was no cook, but that's where her contact should come in. Today was the birthday of a long time rival of Janet's, Mr. Ugly Chin himself Bolgus Alistair aka The Red Death.

He had retired a long time ago, but had remained a thorn in Janet's side for quite some time. He is one of the last people who stand in Janet's way from hiring a ship to Vian, as he now owns all of the harbors or rather the last harbor. Long ago after a failed collaboration, Ugly Chin had blacklisted Janet from any of his services.

Janet heard the clack clack of heeled boots approaching. Glancing over her shoulder she saw a cloaked figure and instinctively put a hand on the dagger hidden under her apron. Some gorgeously tanned arms came out from under the cloak, revealing a folded paper that looked a lot like... an application! A gust of wind from an open window removed the figure's hood showing the... incredibly attractive woman that Janet had been crushing on. Green eyes, copper skin... she took off her bandana and mirrored the smile she had seen on the application.

“Well, I’m only half sun elf, but I suppose 50 percent is better than nothin’.” the woman said, placing the letter between her- Eyes up Janet! This had to be Bridget.

"Part is fine by me, you are still as lovely as I'd imagined." Janet answered.

“I must admit, I’m rather flattered that you were so mesmerized by my face. You’re not so bad yourself, darlin’.” The compliment was flattering, it almost made Janet blush. Almost. “So... Back up chefs? Who exactly are we cooking for, sweetpea? A nobleman? An aristocrat?” Bridget said, her voice so goddamn hot!!! 'By Shani I want her so baaaaaad!!' Janet thought, imagining several scenarios of passion full of purrs and moans. Regaining her composure, Janet turned away, focusing on her well tailored apron to distract herself from the overwhelmingly hot woman.

"Bolgus Alistair. Some fat asshole who's in my way. He's a retired mercenary, but can't hardly swing a sword anymore." 'The one on his hip not being the only one' Janet finished in her head. “I believe I have just the thing for our arrangement. This,” Janet answered, holding a tiny bag filled with a rather unique ingredient. “Is going to be our special secret ingredient into the soup of our good friend. Just a small one, of course, everything in moderation. Wouldn’t want to make our friend sick, now would we? Took me quite a bit to track down one of these, cost me plenty too. I sure hope he appreciates all the time and money I put into this.”

“From what I understand, out of courtesy, all the other guests will wait till the host gets the first bite of his meal before digging in themselves. I’ll even serve the meal myself. So, all you need to do is get us in, and I’ll take care of the rest.” Bridget answered.

"Getting in isn't the hard part, it's actually making sure the right meal gets to him. Bolgus is a suspicious man and would bolt at the sight of me. That's why I have you!" Janet answered.

“Let’s give him a meal to die for, shall we?” Bridget asked.

"We shall. And maybe..." Janet said, walking her fingers just above Bridget's features. "We can go find something for ourselves." Janet moaned with a wink and a coy smile. "Now, I am gonna burn whatever I cook, can you help me with this part cutie?"

“Awww, can’t tell the differences between salt and sugar, huh?” Bridget chuckled, rubbing her hands up to her head and pulling her hair out of its usual high ponytail, letting it cascade down and over her shoulders.
“I suppose it’s not a common skill,” She mumbled more to herself than Janet, quickly tying her hair back once again in a specific way, right enough to keep the hair out of her face, but loose enough to cover the pointed half-elf ears that normally got her ridiculed. “I had to figure it out myself, of course... All this time on the road alone makes learning quick a necessity.”

The young half elf paused a moment, then put a smirk on her face and turned to look at Janet, before leaning over and fussing with the little apron she had, “I don’t suppose you have another one of these cute little numbers, hmm? I’m afraid I don’t quite carry around an apron.”

Once the pair was all ready (I don’t know if Janet actually has another apron?), Bridget merely followed Janet’s lead to get them inside. Once inside, and properly lead to the kitchen to help with the preparation, Bridget did her best to help Janet through the cooking process, without making it too obvious that Janet had no idea what she was doing.

“Now, I think it’s about time we get our special ingredient out, hmm?” Bridget whispered, glancing over at the other woman, watching her pull out their additional ingredient.
“Oooohh, is that an amanita phalliodes?” (AKA a deathcap mushroom) Bridget remarked, deliberately avoiding saying the common name, looking rather impressed. “Those are incredibly rare...”

The young woman glanced around, then nudged Janet with an elbow, “You start mincing that up... yup, just like you’ve been doin’, and I’ll be right back.” With that, the young woman slipped away, fading into the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. She was gone for quite a while, and the food was right about to go out when a server approached with a tray of food, including a bowl of the stew they had been preparing.

“Is that a last minute ingredient?” The server asked, with a very familiar accent... it was Bridget! How she managed to get one of the server’s outfits was a mystery, but thank the gods she had. Now she could hand deliver the food to Bolgus.

The deadly mushroom having been added to the host’s soup, Bridget stirred it around a bit with a spoon to mix it in, and left the spoon there with Janet.
“Now... I suggest you vacate the premises... wouldn’t want to get held up in case something were to... happen, now would we?”
Then, in mere moments, she was gone, along with the other servers, leaving behind nothing but the soft clattering of chinaware.

Heeding Miss Bridget's advise, Janet left the kitchen, throwing the apron into the fire to hide the evidence of her being here. Assuming everything went to plan Mr Ugly Chin would be dead. Assuming.... maybe she should make sure Bridget was gonna be okay. Following a bellboy's staircase to an upper level, Janet found the dining hall and looked down at a small army of guests. Fat men, fat women, really fat women, it seemed like today Mr Ugly was having a family reunion. She scanned the floor for Bridget, I mean it's not hard to miss a gorgeous tan woman in a working outfit. She did find her, carrying the plate to the fat face Ugly Chin. The man was incredibly boisterous and proud, already eating some ribs without care. Once served with the soup, she wasn't sure if the man even tasted it, he just managed to throw it into his stomach both to the disgust of her and Bridget. It won't be long, maybe an hour or two before the poison would set in. Janet disappeared from the castle, finding herself back in the comfort of the Inn. When Bridget arrived, she had her badge already waiting for her.

A few minutes pass before a second floor window opens and Bridget climb start out, dressed in her usual garb, bandana over her face and everything.
The young half-elf took in her surroundings, glancing over her many ways of getting off the roof. She bit her thumbnail and chewed a moment before finally coming to her decision, apparently. The copper skinned woman scampered along the shingles, arms out wide to help with balance, before launching off the roof into a nearby tree, where she disappeared but for the occasional rustle of leaves.

When Bridget finally hopped from the branches down to the street, doing a quick tuck and roll till she bounced up to her feet in front of Janet. Once on her feet, she gave a marvelous flourishing bow before standing up straight.

“And there, the deed is done. With everyone none the wiser.” She chirped, looking mildly pleased with herself.
“Though I must admit... I am not eager to ever do something like that again. Eugh!” The young woman shuddered, rubbing her arms with a disgusted look on her face. “The man was wolfing down his food like an absolute beast! And he smelled rancid, like... like something dead that you find on the side of the road with a bottle of perfume dumped on top of it. Absolutely horrible!” Her nose scrunched up at even the memory of the smell that man gave off. “Lavender death.”

“Hopefully in the future we won’t be doing things quite so.. up close and personal?” She questioned, looking at Janet with curiosity. “Not that I can’t do it again, but that one was especially unpleasant.”
Her green eyes twinkled excitedly like jewels when they came upon the shiny trinket in Janet’s hand. Her fingers visibly twitched as she fought the urge to just snatch the shiny thing and play with it.

“Well, now... What is that?” She questioned, then gasped dramatically and placed a hand to her chest, “Why, is that for me? Awww, you shouldn’t have.”
Aron Ironfist: Hello Handsome, I am Janet and I would like to say that I found your application both amusing and worthy of an interview. Yeah, it's one of Ramirov's ideas, something where I need to test your demeanor and abilities. I'll keep it sweet and simple, meet me at the Crying Bear Inn at midday. I'll be sitting in the far back corner, bring any weapons you have and be prepared for a little bit of fun. I hope to see you there.
Janet, Captain of the Light Lotus Company.

Aron reads the letter again, Crying Bear Inn, he looks up and was sure that this was the right place.

The street was full of people, most of them sick and hungry, but they weren't of his concern, so he walks past them making sure one of his hands is on his purse, Aron knew that in this town are many thiefs and most of them were desperate.

Aron reached the door of the Inn, the door opened suddenly and a drunk fell right in Arons arms, the drunk looked up and mumbled something Aron could not understand, Aron just pushed him away and entered the Inn but the drunk screamed after him. "Just because you are big doesn't mean you can push me around, you giant pick!"

Aron sighed and just turned around. "OK, I tell you a secret, if you say another thing, you will have a bad time." followed by some more insults from the drunk. Aron shaked his head, smiled and grabbed the drunk, he held him high and looked him in the eyes. "Bye!" Aron threw the drunk into the nearest crowed and just entered the tavern.

As he entered the tavern went silent, of course they had seen what just happened, Aron looked around in search of this Janet, she said she would be in the far back corner, he found her but went to the bar first, she said something about fun, so alcohol should be involved. He ordered a large beer and went over to Janet. "Janet, captain of the light lotus company I presume? My name is Aron Ironfist, I think that we have an appointment."

Aron looked at Janet while waiting for a response, he thought that she would be quite attractive for other people, at least if he understood some of his old colleagues right what attractive means to man.

Janet was merely trying to enjoy a quiet drink as she waited for Aron to show up, Iron fists and all. The tavern was especially full tonight, lots of people aiming to dull their perceptions with the sweet poison that is cheap alcohol. Crappy liquor. Despicable drink, who cares! Janet had some tea, but an idiot drunk had spilled it as he bumped into her in his drunken stupor.

"Watch it you idiot!" Janet cursed, using a rag to pat herself dry. She moaned, glancing at the sugary substance spilled on her jacket. "That's gonna leave a stain..." Janet did her very best to use the cleanest rag possible to clean the gross off of her jacket. As she was doing so, she heard the same idiot drunk crying like a giant drunken baby as he was sent flying out the door and into a small crowd. A handsome enough man was there, with muscles and fists that could break bones.

"Janet, captain of the light lotus company I presume? My name is Aron Ironfist, I think that we have an appointment." He said quickly and bluntly. 'Appointment is one word for it.'

"A pleasure Aron, I'll get right to the chase. I need to know if you have the gall to do whatever I need whenever I need however I need it done. So, for your interview, I have a Mark. (Mark is my word for person who needs dealing with.) One of my contacts, an Ardanor refiner by the name of Queby Sadson has decided to stop paying me for my services in keeping his facility safe. I need you to find him in his Home by the Garden district and do one of two things. Convince him to give me the money or kill him. You can't miss his place he has a giant statue of himself in the front, such an ugly thing..."

Aron chucked his drink and smiled. "A rich pick who doesn't want to pay and I have complete power on how to make him pay..." A big smile appears on his face. "This should be fun, you can see this job as done, boss."

Aron turns around and leaves the inn after saying goodbye to Janet, as he walks through the door he sees the same drunk that he threw away, taking away by the guards, Aron just smiled and waved at him.

Aron enters the garden district after some time, he didn't even needed to look long for the house of Queby. "He must be very proud of his ugliness, to have a whole statue of it." Aron smirked and walked up to the gate, he waved to the guard and greeted him. "Hey friend, your master, Queby and I have an appointment, so would you be so kind to let me in?" The Guard looked at Aron suspiciously and asked him. "An appointment, for what?" Aron looked annoyed and shaked his head while shrugging his shoulders. "Why would someone have an appointment with a giant guy with gigantic muscles, he wants me to teach him how to play the violin of course." The guard scuffs at him and Aron sighed. "He wants me as an Bodyguad, geez, no sense of humor."
"Never heard of a new guard." Aron smiled and held the letter of Janet up. "Come closer to the gate, so that I can give you his letter." The guard stands now directly at the gate, he extended his arm, Aron grabbed the arm of the guard and bashed him against the gate, (I hope you know what I mean with that) Aron grabbed the keys of the guard and opens the gate.

Aron goes through the gate and was certain that no one saw anything that just happened. He walks to the front door and was surprised that it wasn't locked, he entered the mansion without a worry and turns as he heared a loud gasp next to him, a old servant stands in a doorway, holding a tray of food. "Ah, good sir, would you be so kind and tell me where I can find your master Queby." The old man points with a shaking hand up the stairs. Aron smiled and took the tray from him. "Thanks, you should take your leave now, it will get loud." The man stormed out the front door.

Aron went up the stairs, with the food in his hands, he saw what seemed like the office, Aron knocked on the door and heared a heated voice. "Come in already, you took your time Alfred, you know that I can just fire you!?" Aron entered and saw three people, two guards and a human pig, at least he is fat as a pig. "Damn, the statue outside is supposed to be you??" Queby's head flung up and his face turned red. "Who are you!? GUARDS!" The two guards drew their weapons and stormed at Aron, who threw the tray at one of the guards, hitting him in the face the other guard swung his sword but Aron used one of his hands to block the attack and punched him in the chest, sending him flying, the other guard was now behind Aron and tried to stab him in the back but Aron managed to dodge it, Aron swiftly grabbed the guard by the head and bashed him into the Wall.

Aron stands in the middle of the room, both guards now unable to fight and Queby's face is now really pale. "Well, that are some bad guards, did you just payed anyone who doesn't was a junky and just gave them a sword? Either way, we need to talk about the Light Lotus Company, they worked for you and you don't want to pay them, I don't care what your side is, so pay or I will snap your neck and take all money and anything from value that I can carry, your choice."

Aron sat down on a chair and cracked his knuckles, Queby looked around, his fat face shaking and then he screamed. "I will not..." He gets interrupted by Aron, smashing his fist through Queby's table. "You were saying?" Queby started to sweat hard and there was panic in his eyes. "I will not look over this mistake of mine and will pay now, everybody makes mistakes right? Right?!" Aron smiles evil and extended his hand. "Of course, so you will pay now and you are so polite that you will pay 30% more, right? You know, because I needed to come here and get it."
"30% that is out... That is more then reasonable." Queby jumbs to his feed and runs over to a safe and came back with I big sack full of gold. "So everything is fine, right, so miss Ravenna should be happy right?" Aron took the money, stood up and just left the mansion without saying another word, he was followed by the screams of Queby.

Aron went back to the Crying Bear Inn and went right in and saw Janet still sitting in that corner and went right over. He had a neutral face and sat down. "Queby is still alive but his guards will wake up with a big headache, here is your money, boss." He put the money on the table and on his face appears an evil smile. "And he was nice enough to give even 30% more."

Enchanted make up mirrors make for excellent tools! Janet had the time of her life watching Aron's work. Perhaps the best part was scaring the absolute piss out of that fat reject! No wait... Smashing the guard into the gate! No wait... OH it was all so damn good! Queby was sure to not mess with Janet again after this incident, hell he's probably been ruined! Hearing Aron return, Janet hid the mirror in a pocket and waited for Aron. He ... didn't SEEM happy about what he had done, but he sure looked like he had fun during it.

"Queby is still alive but his guards will wake up with a big headache, here is your money, boss." Aron said, placing a HUGE sack of gold on the table. Now Aron smiled, a sinister smile but a smile nontheless. "And he was nice enough to give even 30% more."

Janet was stunned, she hadn't seen this many Sanalins (Gold Coins) since her time with Ron. Janet was beyond impressed, this amount of money was just as good as a noble sponsorship, maybe better! Everyone could get a new cloak, Janet could buy some real food, ANYTHING could be done with this much money! Well, affording a boat was still out of the question, but needless to say Aron had exceeded her expectations. Janet poured a large amount of the coins into her own purse, which was heavy again after.... only Elana knows for sure. The bag, looking a little deflated, still heavy with coin rested on the table. Pulling a small box from her pocket, Janet placed it on the table beside the bag, looking at Aron with a proud smile.

"Aron, you have well exceeded my expectations and honestly deserve quite a bit more but... Welcome to the White Lotus Company. Take that 30% and have some real food. I look forward to further business."
Kyros Ularekath: "To Kyros, I imagine you aren't a man for flowered words from a man and would much rather hear from Janet, but I would like to inform you of your acceptance into the Company. However, there is a final formality that we need to finish, an interview of sorts where I can truly test your demanor and abilities. Being from Vian myself, I think you will enjoy this particular exercise of mine. Bring no weapons, but I advise a skin of water. Meet me in the Garden District of the Valon Sector. I will be waiting.
Ramirov, Lieutenant of the Light Lotus Company. "

Kyros looked at the letter he had received once more before he moved onto the destination of their meeting. The morning was obviously not his favorite time of the day due to him having a massive hangover in most of them. This morning was no different. Although the mercenary company was certainly realistic, there was a part of him that doubted that it was little more than a trap for gullible people who think themselves to be mercenaries. This doubt only grew once the Lieutenant, Ramirov, told him to come without any weapons. Although he wanted to be optimistic and trust this man, naivety just wasn't his style. Kyros left most of his weapons at home, with him bringing along simply the knives he kept hidden around his person, should the situation require them. He also brought with him the water skin since Ramirov advised him to do so. This seemed to be one of the few occasions he filled the skin with a fluid that wasn't alcoholic.

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He didn't walk around during the morning this much, with him mostly preferring the cover that darkness provided. Being a shady character by default gave him unwanted attention. His stomach growled a bit too, with him not having anything for breakfast either. He hoped that there was food on deck or that there was some sort of signing bonus he would receive upon finishing this test. Hunger was never something that stopped him however, with him having done many "missions" on an empty stomach. He approached the Garden District, keeping an eye out for someone that looked the part of this lieutenant guy.

The Garden district could've been more Garden and less depression. Unfortunately that is what one is to expect here in Balthora, Depression, Grey, and Death. It's a miracle that Ramirov was even willing to stay here so long given the circumstances. The merchant he approached was, as usual, a rude asshole choosing to spit on his shoe rather than sell him some tea. It's getting too damn hard to find good tea now, at this rate if they don't leave for Vian soon Ramirov is going to explode into a thousand tiny pieces. Perhaps that's the tired author talking but regardless, things need to be completed. He's half elven, so that will make this challenge interesting.

The Fraizyurne Gauntlet.

Having abandoned his search for tea, Ramirov wandered the garden district looking for Kyros the 'ladies man' elf. That shouldn't be too hard, especially with the elf part of him. A quick circle around didn't reveal anyone fitting the description. Then he remembered, Kyros wasn't the most... savory character. Perhaps if he simply ... made an offering he could take advantage of? No... Ramirov has already spent far too much coin lately. Luckily he did not need to. A loud growling stomach both shocked and informed him of someone hungry nearby. That hungry someone was Kyros, in the flesh. Even Ramirov had to admit he was a handsome man, good thing Janet didn't come.

"Kyros, there you are... I assume you are ready for your challenge?"

Kyros kept his uninterested expression as he eyed the man who was the supposed Lieutenant. He didn't look the part at all however. Where he expected an old grizzly war veteran or a nerdy, secretary, stood a man that appeared to be a wizard of sorts. The man didn't seem to originate from around there. But neither did Kyros himself. He cleared his throat as he spoke up. "And you are Lieutenant Ramirov. Pleasure to see you. I do believe its the same vice versa. I'm ready to do this challenge. So what do you have for me?"

"And you are Lieutenant Ramirov. Pleasure to see you. I do believe its the same vice versa. I'm ready to do this challenge. So what do you have for me?"

A grin fell on his face, an unusual sensation for Ramirov to experience. It was time to test the Mettle of this Vian-born. See if he has the heart and reflexes to withstand the might of Fraizyurne.
"You're test is simple. You just have to touch me."

Releasing a whirlwind of fire, Ramirov enveloped himself in red flames. To get Kyros away he immediately summoned a wall of ice, which melted ridiculously fast. Containing the air in a shield, Ramirov directed it at Kyros and released the large burst of air sending the poor man flying a few dozen feet.
'When ice melts and water evaporates, the steam expands exponentially fast. Put that under pressure and you got yourself an air cannon.'

"Come get me if you can!"

Kyros scoffed as the challenge was to merely touch the man. He knew that there had to be a trick up his sleeve. Was this a mere illusion and he'd have to find where the man really was? Thankfully the challenge was a bit more...direct. He recoiled as Ramirov was covered in flame, with him stumbling back further due to the ice wall. After being blasted into the air, Kyros quickly found his footing and stuck a landing, with him almost losing balance. He took note of what Ramirov told him about water evaporating.
He needed pressure and from what he heard of, fire made air rise. Perhaps upwards pressure wasn't exactly what he needed but it could give him the opening that he needed. He walked around Ramirov to get a better idea of the opening there was. When he identified and opening that was adequate, he quickly opened the waterskin, with him dashing to get a better angle and chucking it inside in order to create an opening. If the things Ramirov said was correct about water, then the steam should disturb the position of the flames somewhat, allowing Kyros to touch the man without burning himself.

Kyros recovered rather well from the improvised attack Ramirov threw at him. Then again, he wasn't aiming to hurt the man, only make things a little more interesting. The fire circle around him could easily be raised in the event of Kyros' inevitable charge, which Ramirov would then use to prevent the brash young man from succeeding in his task. However, Kyros wasn't a fool, he did in fact take the time to analyze the situation. To diffuse this hope, Sebastian raised his fire circle higher to about his waist. That would make the common man run.

What happened next didn't surprise Ramirov as Kyros did charge, but Kyros chucked the water from his waterskin onto the ground where his circle rested. That puzzled him, wouldn't he rather choose to have the water fly directly at him? Clear a path to - NOPE! Steam rushed upwards hitting his eyes disrupting his concentration. Acting out of reflex, Ramirov shielded his eyes with his arms, completely negating the spell he had conjured. After a brief moment of recovery, Ramirov realized there was a hand on his shoulder. Kyros looked at him with a confident grin.

'Welp, he got me. No other option now.' Ramirov laughed, a triumphant obnoxious laugh. "Y'know Kyros! I wasn't expecting you to use steam against me! Now I know to be better prepared against you." Ramirov cheered, praising Kyros. He rummaged through his pocket, tossing a small box at Kyros, which he caught deftly. "That's your badge, I expect you'll make a great teammate! Now lets go get some food! I can hear that stomach from here!"

Kyros opened the box and eyed the badge for a bit before closing it back up and pocketing it. "Well I thought you knew of the answer since you told me to bring water along and explained how steam works." He chuckled as Ramirov mentioned food. "I thought you'd never ask. You're buying though!"
Ocarina Flareweck: Miss Ocarina, it is my pleasure to declare that me and my partner Janet have determined your application to be worthy for an interview. This is merely a formality as well as a test of your demeanor. You may expect some form of violence, as I would like to meet you in the Dead Zone, in the Thanol Sector. I have arranged for our entrance as well as proper countermeasures against the Plague. Please bring your nerves my friend, I expect the next few days are going to be hell for you.

Ramirov, Lieutenant of the Light Lotus Company

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Ocarina never entered Thanol district before so she was a bit nervous right now. She feared the people there might be less friendly to her, because unlike Meide district where she usually stationed, there's no 'doctor' deployed in this sector so the people here might be intimidated by her outfit. Not everyday you could witness a person with bird-like mask and full body black cloak walk in front of you.

But after she took one step into the district, her fears melted away. It looks very familiar. Run down houses made of thin woods, grey people working while coughing heavily, kids chasing each other while screaming merrily... That's quite a sweet scene, if not ruined by their barebone appearance, these kids looks like walking skeletons covered in skin. This place looks very similar to Meide district, and no one bats an eye at her.

So our work doesn't make any difference...

She entered the building where the meeting was supposed to be held. Upon spotting a man with normal skin complexion, she immediately assumed that this man was Ramirov, her would-be employer. Since there's not much reason for an uninfected person to be here, really.

She unmasked herself. No matter how much fragrance she stuff inside the 'beak' part of the mask, the scent of the dead body she dragged this morning still faintly lingers there. It made her really uncomfortable. So she was grateful for the opportunity to be away from that scent, albeit only for a few minutes.

"Good day sir. Are you Mr. Ramirov? My name is Ocarina. I'm here to talk about the job." She greeted the man with a slight bow.

Of ALL the possible locations, Ramirov just HAD to choose a Dead Zone. Well, atleast it was dead. Nothing and no one around to bother him. Any desperate scavengers stupid enough to be out here were doomed from the start. Upon approaching the guard and showing him the necessary papers, Ramirov was allowed entry into the Dead zone for 1 hour. No more and no less, for some odd reason. It smelled worse here. Regular Balthora smells of death but this smells of festering death. He wouldn't be surprised if he had found a couple unfortunate souls rotting away in a corner somewhere.

To his shock he did find a small settlement of people. Clearly sick but still working, some seemed happy with their doomed existence. If Ardanor had never been invented though... This world would be a paradise. A couple of children passed by him with their merry making, it was indeed adorable. Pure innocence, made of bones and skin. If only there was enough clean food for him to buy them a sandwich, growls from his own stomach were growing more by the minute. There's only so long when a man can survive off of Tea and more Tea. Then there was another surprise. A young girl who went all out in ensuring her safety approached him with a beaked helmet... thing... hat... abomination tucked in her arm.

"Good day sir. Are you Mr. Ramirov? My name is Ocarina. I'm here to talk about the job." the lovely little miss said with a polite bow, which has never happened for him before. He made the Fraizyurne salute, the only response he could think of. A top on the forehead and a gesture to the one being respected, this case Ocarina. She wanted to talk business, good. He wouldn't have to wait long to get out of this place.

"Hello Ocarina, it's a pleasure." Ramirov said with his foreign accent heavy in his voice. "My sincere apologies for having us meet here, I would have us go to an Inn or elsewhere but frankly I have need of your talents here. I will be brief. I am looking for something. It's going to be in a small box the size of my fist. All I know is that it was in this district. Once you find it, do NOT open it, return it to me on the other side of the wall in less than 1 hour. If you cannot make it... the guards will revoke your license and you will be abandoned here. The only source of intel I can provide is that this item resides in the garden district. I wish you swift feet and good luck." Ramirov said rather quickly.

"Is this a test, sir?" Ocarina asked the man out of reflex. She already know the answer, probably, so she didn't wait for his reply. "I'll do it." She donned her mask again and walked out of the building.

She didn't really know this place. So the first thing she did was approach a woman sitting on a bench, her stare was vacant but she was humming a calming melody.

"Good day, may I ask something?" Ocarina asked the woman. The woman didn't seems to notice her until Ocarina greeted her for the second time. The woman slowly turned her head at Ocarina's direction. "Yess..?"

This woman is blind, and might be a bit deaf. Ocarina thought for a moment whether to ask another person, but she eventually decided to stick with this one.

"Can you tell me where I can find the garden?"

"The garden... walk northwest. It's not far from here. Nice place. Lots of green plants."

"Thank you. May your wish be granted."

"Yess, yess. But my, you have such a crisp voice. It reminds me when my mother sing me a lullaby. It was a very long time ago. I was very tired after picking tomatoes from our garden. So my mother just let me sleep on her lap and sang me the lullaby" The woman kept talking about her past. Ocarina knew she didn't has much time for this mission, but she always enjoyed hearing tales from the past so she let the woman talk for a bit. When the woman finally stopped for a moment to catch her breath, Ocarina immediately slipped in and cut her story.

"I'm sorry. But I must be going now." The woman just kept talking so Ocarina left the woman silently.

The woman's direction was accurate. It didn't take a long time before Ocarina reached the garden. It's not a nice place with lots of green plants as the woman said though. It's just a barren field with some dying trees and brown grass scattered. Some kids were playing with some rocks in the corner of the garden.

"So where is it..." Ocarina murmured to herself as she check every nook and cranny she could find. She found nothing. She was almost panicked when still couldn't find it on her second checks, but then she spotted the box lying on the ground, among the rocks that the kids were playing with. She slowly approached the kids.

"The crow is coming, run!" The kids screamed and scattered to the nearest bush when she came too close at them. One of them had enough time to grab the box with him. She panicked and unmasked herself.

"Wait, don't run! See? I'm human too." It worked. The kids seemed to be less scared now. Their head poked out of the bushes. "I just notice that you have a small box with you there. Did you happen to found it here in the garden?"

The kids just whispered among themself. They still looks terrified, but one of them was brave enough to came out of the bushes and talk to Ocarina.

"Y-yes it is. We found the box under that tree around there. B-but then what? You can't take it, it ours now!"

"I see." Ocarina took a deep breath to keep her calm. "Then how about a trade? If you give me that box, I'll give each of you a honey drop."

"What is honey drop?" One of the kid came out of the bushes and asked. He seemed to be interested.

"It's some kind of sweet. A crystalized honey."

"What is honey?"

"Err... It's something tasty."

"What is tasty?" Another one came out of the bushes to ask, but this one was immediately pulled back to the bushes by the other kids. "Tasty is something good to eat, you idiot!"

Ocarina held back her chuckle. It's obvious that these kids were curious about her offer, so she told them to open their palm. She popped one honey drop to each of their hand. After a few monent of hesitation, the kids finally succumbed to their curiousity and ate the sweets. An expression of bliss was displayed on their face.

"I'll take the box then." She took the box from the hand of the kid and put it in one of her pocket. "I'm leaving. Take care, and may your wishes be granted." She put her mask back and walked away from the kids.

"Wait, Miss Crow!! Will you come here again? We will give you more interesting object if you give us another drop." The kids asked with a hopeful face. Ocarina never thought that the kids would offered her a deal like this, and she hate to break their hope.

"I'm sorry kid. I won't come here anymore." She left the disappointed kids and walked to the border's gate.

"Oh, it's you Ocarina. How's the day going?" One of the guard greeted her. There's not much people going in and out of the dead zones. So the researchers and the guards usually already know each others by name. Still, Ocarina showed her pass for formality sake.

"As usual." She replied shortly.

"I see. Oh, and sir Ramirov is waiting for you in the waiting room." Ocarina replied with a nod. She entered the waiting room and gave Ramirov the box, which upon closer inspection, was already opened. The box was empty. Ocarina was shocked that she didn't notice this earlier.

"I-It's not me. I swear I'm not the one who opened the box. I think the kids did it!"

The tea the Guards had in their waiting room was cheap, cold and was likely brewed a few days ago. Still it's better than nothing. Combined with a stale hardtack, which is more painful to eat than regular dry survival biscuits, lunch was depressing. He'd have better luck in the public bread lines, maybe that food would be easier on the teeth. To pass the time, Ramirov practiced an evocation of Ice, keeping an ice shard stable in his hand. It floated above his hand, glowing with the tint of Arcane.

The door opened, a familiar crow suit walked in, led by the Guard. She did hold the box in her hand but she didnt look happy. Her face looked like she had someone steal something important, the down turned frown of defeat. Her eyes didn't exactly meet his, she looked off to the side, unwilling to see his reaction.

"I-It's not me. I swear I'm not the one who opened the box. I think the kids did it!" She nervously babbled. Ramirov sighed with disappointment both for her and himself. He took the box, it was the right one, he should've chosen a better hiding spot. What's worse was that box had her Badge. Finding it was her test, she finds it shes in. A simple task with a decent reward. But... shes empty handed, no badge. Well, Ramirov's conscience would not allow him to let this poor girls efforts go unrewarded. Who knows what trials she endured to find it. With a quick slight of hand, Ramirov removed his own badge, a small White Lotus made of golds, silvers and polished stone. Placing the badge in the box he returned it to her.

"The box was never empty Ocarina. A simple charm to prevent it's contents from being stolen. I'm incredibly proud of you... Lotus." Ramirov smiled, watching Ocarina bloom with joy. "Come, let's go grab lunch to celebrate."

"H-huh..?" Ocarina was confused for a moment. Then she realized that means she was accepted, she actually readied for a hit or two in the head as punishment.

"Thank you, Sir." Ocarina smiled with joy. She did it! She took the badge and followed Ramirov. "T-then sir, I suggest a simple dish called nagireng. It's a mish mash of several grains and several spices mixed into one...."

This was her first day she became one of the Light Lotus. This was her first step towards her goal. This was her first entry in the new page of her life.
Dante: Dante, upon review of your application me and my partner have determined that you are suitable for an interview. Yeah, it's another one of Ramirov's stupid ideas. Just meet me by the Silk Moon brothel and for the love of Elana bring your best behavior. I really don't need to deal with a Guard 'inspection' while we're there. Bring any weapons and your best nerves, it'll be an interesting day for you. That is, unless you don't have the stones for it.

Janet, Captain of the Light Lotus Company.

Dante thanked the inn keeper as he delivered the letter. Opening it, Dante saw lines dancing around the paper in an odd pattern. He recognized the bottom of the letter's pattern. Frustration spread over Dante's face. With a sigh, Dante looked up at the Inn keeper who had a smirk on his face and held two fingers up. Dante paid the price and the inn keeper read the letter before directing Dante to the brothel for another coin.

Donning his armor and placing his sword on his hip, Dante double check the old sigil of his old company was no longer present. First impressions lasted longer than final impressions. Dante chuckled a remembering his father's dark joke. After checking twice and then trice, he was confident enough to head over to the brothel.

Dante lived in the town long enough to get to the brothel in short time without confusion from the inn keepers instructions. Upon entering Dante was met with...

Loud patrons, half naked women and lots of cheap booze! Such is the world of a brothel. Janet's personal experiences in these places were seldom good ones, but with Mr. Illiterate, it would be kinda funny having someone read it to him that he was summoned to a brothel. Oh the sick humor, how delicious it can be. Regardless, Janet was not here for pleasure, she was here for business. The Inn was full and all the empty warehouses were swarmed by Arda freaks by this hour. One of the large slobs of a man was drooling over her shoulder. Rolling her eyes, Janet did her best to continue ignoring him. Luckily she didn't have to wait much longer, Dante had arrived! Armor, weapons and all!

He was good looking, young muscular gruffy hair. Sorta like Lloyd except maybe a little dumber. Well a lot dumber, Lloyd could read. Janet waved him over shouting "Dante! Over here! Have a seat and get comfortable!" As if that was some code-word, the Madam came forth asking if she wanted some pleasurable company. It was tempting but again Janet was here on business so she politely declined. Dante did take a seat. Janet pulled out the paper application and a pen. Her intentions for him were gonna make for a fun scene.

At the shout of his name, Dante felt his heart jump in fear. It was only when he realized the feminine tone he was safe. It was the same voice he heard when he took the damned application. Dante spied the pen and paper and her hand.

Dante cursed the inn keeper and contemplated burning the inn down. A equal punishment for the burning of Dante's cheeks as he realized he would no doubt have to lie about being literate. Dante had no idea what the inn keeper wrote down.

Dante stood before the table well used to addressing his officers. Hands clasped behind his back, eyes straight forward he spoke. "Dante of the..." Dante cleared his throat remembering he was no one. "I came here for the interview" Dante's teeth grinded against each other as he stood unwilling to show any weakness in front of his new potential commander.

'Dante of the?' Oh! He must have come from another company! He did say that somewhere right? Meh oh well, He's here. Time for the fun to begin! But... what should she do? She doesn't want to make a difficult challenge... Aha! A command! Something easy to signal him to do something that she wants! If Dante is capable of this, well it's not like there's anyone who's gonna care that much. Aside from the target.

"Dante, You're interview is this. I need you to pick a fight with anyone here. If you can kick their asses without breaking too much stuff and whatever you do... Don't wake up the sleeping guy in that corner" Janet said, pointing the giant fat guy who had been drooling on her. "I'm going to take notes of your performance and give you feedback as necessary. I won't be helping you for this one so good luck!"

Dante couldn't help but grin. He supposed all companies were the same. The hazing process was always simple enough. Gripping the handle of his sword Dante scanned the room for a good target. Dante's dad had a preference of killing knights the brothel seemed in short supply. He could kill a whore but then again the commander was female.

Then Dante saw his perfect target. A young man was distracted by one of the exotic... women. His dad did say he had a great talent for violence as he spied a rod for god knows what. Grabbing the bronze rod Dante crept up to the bouncer.

A few feet away Dante began his attack by swing the rod with all his might into the back of the mans head. The man cried out in pain clutching his head. Dante continued his assault until the patron was on the ground curled in a ball. Dropping the bent rod, Dante drew his sword and held it high locking eyes with the commander for permission to finish the fight or if she wanted to see more blood.

"Not much for show... Hes efficient though..... Oh! A sword! I must see what happens next." Janet wrote in rough script. She looked up from her writing, glancing at the readied fighter. She wanted to see more as well as complete this contract. It would make for a big payday!

"What are you waiting for big guy? Keep going!"

Dante saw the lady's excitement in her eyes. The pen in her hand held with a little extra force. "What are you waiting for big guy? Keep going!" Her death song sang out. The man's eyes widen just a fraction more.

Just like father used to say, payday is only a stab away. With the application of a little bit more pressure Dante's sword pierced through the mans throat. A simple few inches and the man was guaranteed death.

As the man gave his final death rattle, Dante pilfered through his pockets finding a small purse, a decent curved knife, a handy shirt to clean his sword on and he finally fished out an eye from the mans skull. He did this ignoring the onlookers and the hush that fell over the brothel. If he showed his attention, it would look like he wasn't confident and weak.

Dante walked back to the table and tossed the eye to the lady. Immediate regret coursed through his veins realizing this may not be the same across all companies. He stood back at attention hands clasped behind his back eyes forward feeling a trickle of sweat go down the back of his neck. If he messed up now then he would have to go back to The Sons of the Serpents and hope the trial goes his way.

Overjoyed, Janet applauded this man's skill in battle. Breaking the silence with her own obnoxious cheering.
"Congratulations Dante! You handled this perfectly! And not a table broken, yay!" She cheered.
As a few of the onlookers were getting curious, some put hands on their weapons. An escort had her hand on a blade hidden in her hairpin, a classic tool for this trade. Often a little prick contained a sleeping poison that would knock the poor soul unconscious for a few minutes. Long enough to throw them out and take their money.
"No need for that honey," Janet said, her hand on something in her own pocket. She whipped out a badge made in the shape of a white lotus. "Light Lotus business, go back to your ladies."

Turning her attention to Dante, she tossed him a small box. "Welcome to the crew Dante, your first payment is due. Come on let's get outta here and find something to eat. And don't lose that badge! They were expensive!

Dante deftly caught the box and watched his new commander Janet walk out the brothel with a bounce in her step. He glanced at the badge surprised by its existence. It took him 4 years as a drummer to ear his old "badge" then again he was a kid then. His body not yet grown enough to prevent the tattoo from stretching.

Dante trailed after his new commander. He was sure this was the next part of the hazing process. His mind drifted off to the next target and process it would take to kill them. His eyes remained weary of any threats to his new boss. A hand ever present to the grip of his sword. The commander seemed to be more eccentric than his last. After a few twists and turns they reached their destination possibly? Or a stop? Dante didnt know this part of town too well.

Quados

Literary Revenant · Mar 9, 2019

Janet's New Self: At last it was time. It took a fair amount of time but at last Janet had found a sizeable of recruits willing to join the Light Lotus Company. Based on her counts there were fourteen individuals. With Ramirov by her side, they reviewed their new recruits.

Dante, the mercenary of another company who can't read but can fill an application, whose tribal mother was slain, turns to the Light Lotus in search of money and fame.
Kyros Ularekath, the Half-Born Voralian mercenary whose father was jailed and mother murdered, aiming to make his fortune with the Light Lotus.
Ocarina Flareweck, a young mageling aiming to understand how to heal the land destroyed by the Grey, who desires to see Vian with the Light Lotus.
Estelle Romanov-Emporia-Marguerite-Wineria Luvharte of the Winonian House, while her name is long so too has been her time in Balthora, she loves herbs and aims to discover those growing in Vian... With the Light Lotus Company of course.
Aron Ironfist, a rather simple man who chooses to punch things for money rather than speak with them, his fists are welcome with the Light Lotus.
Bura Sharamph, a pure-bred Nahan Orc stolen from her home and enslaved, while she doesn't trust many she too journeys with the Light Lotus.
Ulysses Cain, the Black Baron of Kalin, killed cursed and reborn as his homeland is restored, found a new purpose with the Light Lotus.
Aria Arkrevia Abrams, She hates when her name is pronounced 'Area', but this double caped model turned Paladin aims to protect the Light Lotus in the new world.
Bridget, The lovely Half Born Alveric with a sharp tongue, sharp wits, and a sharper blade has a yearning for adventure and a fuller purse, both of which she'll find with the Light Lotus.
Tanya Aurum, Balthora is her bane but adventure is her gain, she knows how to stoke a forge, and her talents stoked the fire of the Light Lotus.
Johnathon Royce VIII, A Noble young man doomed to no inheritance from birth, he aims to make his finances grow through exciting means with the Light Lotus.
Bita Helya Bahu, her heart is big and so too is her shield, this knight aims to defend the new world and any who aim to destroy it.
Finally Kannah Brightsleet, A Voralian Elf who yearns to be home, loyal to her master and loyal to the Light Lotus, she has a life to live.

A surprisingly large list, much more than what Janet had expected. She had wondered if there really were that many desperate people in Balthora and that's why she got so many people willing to work in a washed up mercenary company. Still the things they had achieved together was incredible, earning a royal sponsorship, removing a powerful noble lord, raiding the Templar's base, bathing in a bathhouse! Oh wait, that last one isn't that impressive. Janet had enjoyed every moment she spent meeting, interviewing, and testing the abilities of those she had met. Some of which made her time more than worth it... Ramirov had tested a fair amount of people as well, although he was cynical towards some, downright mean to others but overall all of his recruits were deemed worthy. All except one perhaps...

Still, Janet was beyond happy, proper words to express her joy wouldn't be enough. At long last, she would find redemption for her previous failures, the loss of her last crew. The memories of those days still remain heavy on her mind, days when Norg was still around to yell at. That goofball was the best scapegoat of all time, and not a bad fighter either. The last delivery job, delivering 50 barrels of Ardanor to A Nether Noble. Aptly named for being a horrible pain in the ass before the mission, during the mission and of course after when she was betrayed. Norg did sample the product, but even then all delivery contracts have a buffer zone to where product is expected to be lost or damaged. It was dirty work to begin with, Ardanor had long been made illegal for public use without a license, and in order to cover his tracks the Noble arranged for another mercenary company, The Templars of Balthora, to eliminate Janet's company. They succeeded in killing Norg, which led to her final four members simultaneously abandoning her.

How odd, that she remembered those times in her time of redemption. But! Remembering old memories was not what she needed to be doing. All of the recruits had been given their notice to be at the docks by midday with all their gear but it was still atleast a week before the meeting. Janet had a little time to kill before having to leave. There were a great many things she could be doing, enjoying an encounter, sipping wine, bathing in lotus flowers, but Janet decided to return to her roots. While sitting in her small clothes, Janet inspected her old uniform. Rips in the legs, a tear in the shoulder, fraying of the fabric near the chest region, it had also gotten a little too big as her belly was empty for days at a time. She needed a new uniform, perhaps of a similar style, but fresh and modern.

There was still an excess of fabric in her lockbox, cottons from Balthora, silks of Kalin make, leftover worsted wool from when she made a new blanket. Many different inspirations came to mind instantly, but she decided to stick with one she saw in a Vian fashion catalog. She picked five materials, a dark blue cotton, black worsted wool, grey canvas she found at an abandoned tailor's supply shop, bits of lace, and pieces of brown leather for a belt or three. For the first time in many years, Janet threaded a needle, tying a double knot. She began her work.

First she cut the necessary lengths of fabric to make her desired outfit. Using an old piece of measuring tape, Janet got her current measurements which weren't bad. 32B, nice! Using those measurements, she adjusted an old dress mannequin Then she began to sew the blue fabric together, creating a deep plunged v-neck shirt to show off her features. She added some long sleeves, she didn't know how cold it could get in Vian but the material was thin and wouldn't insulate too much heat. She worked with astonishing speed, falling into a trance of sorts.

Working with unrivaled passion, Janet had completed a form fitting split crop top made of the worsted wool, holding it together with buckles. She added small pauldrons as well, it would make for a more intimidating image while also making her appear not as ... easy. More like a proper captain. Her old boots were still in a good condition, but she added a small knife holster with the leather straps. Next were short trousers, really short trousers made of the canvas.

Upon trying them on... they were a little too short, and needed an extra something. More coverage. To remedy that, Janet made a sort of half skirt from the black wool, creating a split for a dramatic effect. A sort of cape for her legs, but still that wasn't enough. She made stockings to cover up a little leg, using the same cotton from her shirt. She didn't have enough material to make them of symmetrical length, so Janet chose to embellish the right leg with lace and coloring. Her work, so calming, it brought her back to her childhood, making dresses with her mother only a little more fun.

And there it was, the finished outfit dressed on the mannequin. It looked not bad at all. Still attractive but a little more controlled than some of her previous attires. The leg skirt made her think about Aria's double cape outfit, different but still hot. The kiss she shared with Aria was still fresh on her mind, odd how she would think of that now but when she had found her mother's necklace Janet couldn't resist giving her something special in return. The warmth in her heart during that kiss, a feeling she hadn't felt in years. It was same when she encountered Ulysses, the Black Baron. A man of power, manners, and most importantly respect. They had only just met and Ulysses made Janet feel more like a person than anyone else. It was weird how she had a certain fondness for them already.

Weirder still was that it had taken her under a week, pausing only to eat the occasional catered meal that Ramirov would always bring after his daily routine. Ramirov had been a little reserved lately, especially after the raid on the Church, which was extremely successful but still he talked even less than he did previously. That was odd, he had also left early this morning, something about an appointment he needed to attend to. That meant Janet would have to leave for the ports by herself. Atleast her new outfit would make it's debut.

This time, Janet decided to wear her hair down, allowing it to lay a little more naturally. It was unusual having her bangs in her eyes, definitely not practical for a fight but was still sexy as hell. Her new outfit definitely earned the approval of many men and even some women as she walked the ever crowded streets of Balthora. She looked like a fighter, but also like the one in charge... Atleast that's what she hoped to look like. Her journey to the port district of Marr was a long one, taking atleast two hours. The sun started to peek above the taller buildings, making the world a little less gray. Saltwater was in the air, an unfamiliar scent. Janet knew she was getting close.

It had been years since she had seen any large body of water, the last one being a lake of Kalin and this would be her first time ever seeing the sea. There were stories about an endless mass of blue waters, but knowing Balthora who knows what horrors could've been done to the ocean. Ardanor refinery waste pumping came to mind first, many of Balthora's streams and rivers were turned to black waterways. Local wildlife had declined, many species even went extinct due to the evils of Ardanor. Another pity and curse for this dying land.

Janet quickly found her voyage contact, an old man by the name of Ali. Apparently he had been sailing for a great many years, longer than she had been alive. He was really old, hummed songs with a voice cracked by age. Not too bad either, he had a good sense of melody. Janet found him sitting on a stool only a few feet from the boarding ramp to his ship, which was currently land bound on unique locks. However, when Janet approached, he might've gotten the wrong idea about a few things.

"Oye Lassy! Are you my entertainment here for the evening?" he asked, his breath smelling like alcohol.

"Sadly not, my drunk friend. I'm looking for Ali, the sailor." Janet answered, placing a hand on her hip. The man, looked up, his eyes so wrinkled and squinted Janet wasn't sure if he could exactly see.

"I assume ye'er Jassy then?" He asked.

"Janet, Janet Ravenna." she corrected, politely. "I need to transport 14 people to Vian, and I was told that you were available. I have money as well as a Noble sponsorship and even a Letter of Approval from the Princess herself, under my companion's care." Janet produced the documents from her purse, being careful to not ruin them. The old man took the papers, looking over them with his wrinkled eyes.

"14 souls? Are ye some sort of business group? The Lazy Lion can take ye of course, I'm just asking for formalities."

"Mercenary Company, The Light Lotus Company. Perhaps you've heard of us..."

"Well if it isn't the Janet Ravenna!" a deep voice said. Turning around, Janet saw someone she did not want to see. The Praetor of the Templars, and a small battalion of hired blades. 'Shit!' she whispered. "A Letter of Approval from the Princess? and just how did you manage that? Sleeping with some fat bastard I'm guessing? You must have really dropped your standards." Janet was quickly surrounded. She had her blade on her hip like always, but no armor to properly protect herself. Plus this was a ... two, four, eight, nine... seventeen on one advantage for the Templars. This was not good. "Last I recall, it was the Templars of Balthora who had earned the Princess' approval, not some washed up nobody crew.

"Oye Miss Ravenna! If ye want to get sailing, we gotta hurry. Looks like you got trouble afoot."

"Yeah no shit." Janet replied. When she had 3 blades at her throat, Janet raised her arms, asking one question. "Ramirov, where are you?"
Ramirov's Realization: Ramirov was especially tired, and decided to see a doctor for the wounds he suffered during the Church raid. When asked by Janet, Ramirov said it was merely for an appointment.Most of his wounds had scabbed over, except the final blow dealt by the Praetor. It no longer bled, thankfully. However, Ramirov felt a certain illness brewing within. His body was somewhat warmer than normal, and his Arcana was off circuit. No matter what Ramirov bound it with, alcohol, herbal remedies... Even after paying a medicine mage to try some healing magic, his condition remained the same. Ramirov had his suspicions but they had to be confirmed first. The doctor, an old man well into his 60s with a well maintained mustache and a large belly had started his examination of Ramirov, who was shirtless while sitting in a specially engineered chair of a Meide district medical clinic.

"Hmmm, this would be a nasty bleeder. Looks like it might've hit the spleen, I'm surprised that you are still able to walk without crying. Any other man would be begging me for Ardanor to ease the pain." He said noisily, both shocked and somewhat disgusted. "This looks like a stab wound, made by a straight blade..."

"I know how I got it, old man. I need you to diagnose me for poisons." Ramirov groaned. The doctor made a loud 'heckh' sound, spitting up mucus into a spittoon beside medical instruments. "Move with haste, I am short on time!"

"Alright alright, sheesh, you can be a little nicer... foreigner. The only reason I'm helping you is because you are a friend of Janet." The doctor said, searching his cabinets for various vials, all filled with a clear liquid. "I'll need to take some blood out of you, normally I'd refrain from taking blood from a patient like you but you seem strong enough."

"Yeah yeah, just do it already." Ramirov mused, volunteering his left arm for the poking. Not saying another word, the doctor grabbed a syringe, sterilizing it with a high proof spirit before jabbing it into Ramirov's left arm. He pulled a small vial's worth and lined up 5 bottles with clear liquid inside of them. Placing Ramirov's blood in them one by one, promptly sealing them with corks.

"Alright, let's check a common one, Wolfsbane." The doctor said, grabbing the first bottle with tongs, holding them over a special blue cold flame. If the liquid were to change color, its positive. However, the liquid remained mostly clear, aside from the bits of red from the blood.

A negative test.

"What about Deadly Nightshade?" He repeated the same test, the liquid froze immediately but did not change color.

Another negative test.

Aconite was negative, same for Belladonna, Arsenic was out of the running too. With Ramirov's insistence, the doctor continued testing various poisons until all common and rare poisons were gone. "There can't be anything in your system, this illness has to be from internal bleeding of the spleen..." the doctor eerily paused. A cold sweat dripped from his brow, as he opened an old box to find an old vial with an illegible label. Using the last of the blood, he placed the vial over the cold flame. It changed color instantly, to an ugly brownish black. The doctor shook, horrified, dropping the vial onto the ground shattering it, spilling the black liquid all over the ground. The doctor was reluctant to even allow his boots to be near the foul substance

"What is it? Spit it out healer." Ramirov said, clearly annoyed.

"I never thought I would see it again... it actually is... Soul's Abyss. This poison... is something only found in one spot in Balthora, in the Dead zone. A flower that blooms once every 10 years. So potent, one drop could make an Orc keel over. I really hate to say this to you, but you're fucked." The doctor said with a shaking voice. Clearly apathetic towards the whole situation, Ramirov pulled a coarse linen shirt over his body.

"You say it's in a Dead Zone. Could it be possible that the poison might be changed by the Ardanor? By the Grey?" Ramirov asked.

"Even if Soul's Abyss could be changed by the Grey, the chances of your survival are less than zero. If I were to give you a life expectancy... well you are still alive so you must be strong already..." The doctor reviewed a long list of old notes from the box. "If the flower was afflicted by the Grey therefore weakening it's effects, combined with the fact that you were just poisoned and you aren't a stiff in the gutters... I'd say at best one year. It's a slow acting poison, it'll attack your lungs and heart. It's not going to be a fun life, you'll have to cauterize that wound to stop the bleeding but you'll always be in pain. I can offer you some Ardanor..."

"No." Ramirov said immediately. "Me and Janet are strongly against that shit. I'd rather take my chances." Ramirov pulled a small handful of coins from his jacket pocket, placing them on a desk. "Thank you for your services. Good day."

Doomed to die in one year... How grim. His foreigner's luck had finally given out at last. It's been 20 years since he was last home. It would be fitting if he could see his home one last time before dying. He wondered if his clan, Haivul, was still existing being led by his old friend Pino. He decided that it would be best to not inform Janet of this transgression, nor would he inform anyone else. This would be his final secret, one that he would literally take to his grave. The only problem was finding out a way to... no that was for another time. Right now, Ramirov needed to find Janet. He was expecting to meet her at the docks to hire the boat that would take the Company to Vian and him back home. He walked for hours, finding himself in the port district of Marr. Finding a gorgeous woman wouldn't be that hard, just follow the crowds. And finally there was a crowd but it wasn't the one he expected.

He wasn't far from the docks now. Maybe only a two minute walk, five if there is a lot of people outside tonight. However a wall of guards had started to line up in the direction of the shipyards. As Ramirov approached, one of the guards, a young man in his twenties, stopped him pointing his spear at his neck. Confused and angry, Ramirov held hands up as another guard proceeded to do a pat down search.

"Why am I being stopped?" Ramirov asked.

"Quiet peasant!" The guard yelled, striking Ramirov in the gut, barely missing his fresh wound. He keeled over, hands on his stomach. "All who enter the Shipyards must pay a toll."

'Fuck, that hurts!' was the only thing Ramirov could muster up in the production of thought for a few seconds, immediately followed by a fuming rage induced by the horrible week Ramirov was having. Making an Orc angry when he was only trying to help, Raiding the Templars without proper preparation, LOSING an applicant in the Royal Tournament due to his failure in producing a Ward... The emptiness of her eyes as she died, while he held her in his arms was seared in his memory. It was not fair to her, she had only wanted to make herself better.

"Are you gonna get up? You still gotta pay the toll." The guard asked, poking Ramirov with the butt of his spear.

'He's a rat, some corrupted stain of a rat, not even a man... Kill him, watch him bleed, make him suffer as she did...

In his rage, Ramirov summoned fire and set the guard's ass ablaze, and proceeded to laugh as he recovered to the tune of a high pitched male screaming. When he was on his feet, the other guards had already had their spears pointed at him. There was fear in their eyes, amusing. Their leader continued to scream and proceeded to roll around like an idiot as he commanded for quote Someone put my ass out! Please someone put my ass out! As Ramirov's laugh turned into an amused grin, he looked at the armed guards, hands blazing in his hands.

"Who's next?"

All of the guards instantly dropped their weapons, stepping back several paces to allow Ramirov to pass. He slowly passed them, on hand clutching his wound, applying pressure against it as he conjured flames to cauterize his wound. The smell of cooking flesh swarmed his senses, it was unpleasant and painful, but the bleeding needed to stop. Once he achieved this, Ramirov continued his search, moving towards the shipyards. From that point it didn't take long to find Janet, but she wasn't alone. Surrounded her was a group of armored thugs, bearing the colors of the unwanted and absolutely hated Templars of Balthora. This day was about to get more interesting.
Get on the Damn Boat!: "Ramirov! How wonderful you're here!" Janet squealed as Ramirov shuffled past the Templars in order to stand by Janet, who immediately wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She proceeded to kiss him on the cheek, whispering harshly in his ear. "It's the Praetor! I thought you killed him!?" Ramirov glanced at Janet with defeated eyes, saying all he needed to say with his expression. "Well, I'm glad to see you too Mr Grumpy Face, you're probably just tired from all this preparation. IF you'll excuse us Mr. Praetor, we need to get this ship on it's way to Vian..." Janet said, turning around to board the ship before the Praetor stopped her with an artificial iron hand!

"You may think you are clever, but we have you two out numbered. The Light Lotus dies here." Janet turned to Ramirov, who had grabbed one of his smoke vials from his belt, making a slow nod. Ramirov saw she was afraid, but also excited. Probably because things were about to get fun.

"Alright. I guess we do this the hard way!" Janet drew her sword, smacking the Praetor's hand away, landing a cut on his face, jumping away doing an acrobatic front flip over onto the Lock Platforms, immediately focusing on a blue copper lever holding the ship locked in place. Ramirov shattered the smoke vial on the ground, creating a white plume of fog, allowing him to disappear temporarily. Ramirov wasted no time, boarding the ship, preparing several shards of ice around him for the inevitable attack. The Praetor instantly burst through the fog, wielding a gigantic zweihander that was taller than Ramirov. The sight of that sword scared him, as he let out a whimper as The Praetor charged at him with zeal. Ramirov threw several sharpened shards of ice at his attacker, only to watch them get cut from the air with astonishing speed. In seconds, The Praetor was only a few paces from Ramirov, swinging the man sword at him. Ramirov narrowly dodged these attacks, ducking, side stepping, even jumping away to adjacent sections in order to escape the Praetor. To make matters worse, arrows whizzed past his head as the Templars began their assault. Ali sat in a chair inside the captains cabin, looking out at the action, laughing like a madman.

"Janet!!!!!!!!! Perhaps we need a new strategy!!!!!!" Ramirov shouted, his breathes quick and sharp as he narrowly evaded arrows and blades.

"Shut up you hotcold baby! I'm ..." Janet said, her muscles straining as she struggle to pull the lever. "trying... to... get this... thing to... MOVE!!!" With no more room to run, Ramirov was stuck near the port of the ship, behind him salty water, and in front of him angry death. Fire was completely out of the question, this ship was their only ticket to Vian and destroying it would nullify their sponsorship including any chance of leaving Balthora. The Praetor, his face bloodied and eyes mad with rage, slammed his axe into the guard just inches shy of Ramirov's shoulder. Thinking quick he kicked the giant man's knee and rolled away.

"Janet!! We are running out of time!" Ramirov cried desperately.

"I ... said... SHUT UP!!!!!!" Janet yelled as she finally pulled the lever, releasing the ship from it's locks. "Great the ships free, now WHERE are the F...ing RECRUITS!?!! You gave them instructions right?!" Janet asked belligerently.

"Yes!" Ramirov yelled, dodging an overhead slash. "I told them to meet at us the Marr Shipyards at Midday in full gear. To have any necessary equipment and essentials on them, nothing else! They should be here... at any second!"

PEOPLE TAGGED:

AshenLily
LOCATION: Shipyards of the Marr District in Balthora, The Lazy Lion.

explosiveKitten · Mar 11, 2019

Bridget's Post, Some Badassery Involved: “... Is that smoke?”
The half elf asked herself, looking at the curling smoke ball in the distance. The young woman had been hanging out nearby, just picking up a bundle of peaches at a fruit stand near the bay when gasps began to arise around her. At first she thought that maybe someone had recognized her, but instead people were pointing up into the sky. When she herself glanced up, she found a plume of smoke rising in the sky, where it was already starting to dissipate. Curious.

Bridget was about to simply continue on her way when a thought popped into her head.
Wait... isn’t that the place I’m supposed to go to meet with... Ramirov and Janet?
The young woman stood there staring at the smoke before pulling her bandan over her face and quickly taking off in that direction.

When she came upon the scene, she had to swiftly duck out of the way of a swinging sword, as a large group of what looked like soldiers- maybe more mercenaries?- were coughing and swinging wildly into the cloying smoke cloud.
“Whoa! Watch the blades there! Might hurt someone!” She remarked, looking over the large group of people. The one who had swung at her turned, mouth open, seemingly with an apology on the tip of his tongue, when he suddenly seemed to notice the little pin on the edge of her collar.

”You’re one of them!” He snarled, grabbing her by the throat and squeezing. She quickly grabbed onto his wrist and began twisting, but to no avail.
“Wow, gods almighty, you’ve got quite the strong grip there, sweetie! Do you train?” She managed to squeak, quickly gripping his wrist with both hands.
The man only turned to his comrades to announce that he had caught one when a quick shk! ended with a blade being thrust through his wrist.

He screamed as the hidden blade on Bridget's wrist quickly sprang forward and nearly cut the man’s hand clean off. He released her and grabbed his wrist as he recoiled, dumping the young half-elf on her rear.
With a smooth hop to her feet, Bridget leaned over and rested her elbow against the man’s shoulder and remarked, “By the way, that use of the term, ‘one of them’? Some people might get offended by that, sugarcube.”

With that, she looked up just in time to jump away from a thrusting blade aimed right at her face.
“Whoa! You guys sure do take your job seriously. Isn’t that just nob- AH!” She was halfway through a snappy jab when she was forced to duck out of the way of a flying arrow. It was becoming pretty clear that this was a horribly outmatches encounter that she would not come away from alive if she kept mocking these guys. Who were they anyway?

“Well... I must admit, I’m awfully flattered to have all you boys staring at little ol’ me,” She chattered, backing away slowly a several of the men from the group began to approach her, “But I’m afraid that I’m reckless, not stupid. Toodles!” And with that, she vaulted into the smoke cloud behind her.

When she came out of the smoke cloud coughing and spitting and fanning her eyes, she looked around to find Ramirov being cornered by a tall man with a long sword, clearly about to stab her new employer, while Janet stood high above it all, in a new outfit, with the wind whipping around her, giving a wonderful view of her ass, by the way.

But Bridget has no time to sit and admire art- She has to do something about sword man. She quickly pulled one of her throwing knives out of its shoulder sheath and threw it as hard as she could, hoping it would bury into the back of his shoulder and make him drop the sword. Or at the very least, miss his next swing.

“Well, this is quite the going-away party I’ve run into! What the hell is goin’ on here?!” She shouted up at Janet as she rushed towards the gangplank that would lead up onto the ship. She would have a way better angle for throwing from up there anyway.

MJ ._. · Mar 11, 2019

Dante's Day: Dante walked down the street to the local weapon shop. With the guarantee of a new job and a small reward for his work in the brothel, Dante had the funds to spend on a new shield since he lost his on the night or terror running away from Captain Stone and his bloodhounds.

Dante entered the weapons shop and saw a few patrons already in there. Many wore full plate. The minority, Dante included wore a mix of plate and chainmail. Dante could help but grin seeing a patron try on a helmet. Dante won more than one fight because an incorrect fit or ringing the helmet like a bell causing them to become disorientated. Dante was a firm believer that vision, air and awareness were more valuable than a helm...

Taking a stroll around, Dante saw what he was looking for. The shields were simplistic for the most part. Dante eyed up a wooden shield of wood with a metal boss and metal reinforcing the outer length of it.

Shrugging, Dante reached for it to give it a try and see how well it fit. He usually petered just using his sword, but he figured having a shield would give him a plethora of new ways to kill people and it would be worth the investment seeing how they were going to a new dangerous world.
Bita's Day: After returning from her bloody mission with Ramirov, Bita considered her options and sorted out her choices and reasons once again. She still doubted if it was alright to dirty her hands of the sake of a greater good. On the other hand, she had no other options. If she and people like her weren't going to make a move, Ardona would taint the new lands that humans had found refuge in. Once more she reached this conclusion that joining the Light Lotus was her best option. When her mind was set, she began planning for the voyage. She couldn't bring Lilly to a ship so had to reduce her gears for the trip. Thus, she sold everything of hers that wasn't needed at home and only kept a few weapons that couldn't be replaced. She was going to buy what she lacked with the money she had earned, once arrived at the port city. After making preparations, she settled down and thought of ways to enhance her skills in the remaining few days. But then something that she had fail to predict happened; she just realized how her decision is going to separate her from her family and hometown. Of course she knew it since beginning but she hadn't known the feeling yet. It made her depressed to think that she might not be able to see her beloved ones ever again. Even if she wasn't going to get killed over the seas, she wasn't able to return for a long time. She was going to miss everyone and everything. So, instead of training, she spent her remaining days creating lasting good memories with all of them.

Her siblings felt the change in her attitude and became worried as if they could sense that she was going to leave them for long. Since they could see that despite of usual that she enjoyed telling them about her missions, this time she had kept quiet about her last mission as if it had never happened. Also, she had changed her habit of excessive training with spending time with elders and playing with children.

On the day of her departure, she said goodbye to every living being in village and town, regardless if she liked them or not. She left them cheerfully but after traveling for a day, when she stopped to camp for night, she cried herself to sleep. Yet fortunately, next morning she found herself fresh and happy as if tears of the last night had washed her sadness and loneliness away. She went the rest of the way to the port city with determination and strong heart.

Bita arrived at the destination early in the morning. She had enough time to buy what she required. So, she began asking locals about a good weapon shop and they guided her to the largest shop of the city. When she got there, she was amazed by the variety of weapons gathered in one place. It was really hard to stay focused and avoid touching ad trying everything from fine quality or odd shape. She totally lost it over a specially made halberd. She watched it for a while as if standing in an art museum. It was beautiful and elegant not for its carvings and the golden patterns on the white blade_ since she believed decorating weapons is useless and foolish_ but for its well-made shape, balance and lightness. She tried it one handed and found it perfect. Surely she could do more with something of that quality. But the price was too high for her poor purse. That had to be rational, since a weapon that was so strong and so light at the same time could only be forged by magic. That halberd was more most likely a rare item. It's not the right time to try new weapons. I've trained with swords and must stick to that for now. She told herself as put the luxurious weapon back on its holder, then went to shield section.

Shields had been hung from a large wall or side by side. Her eyes shifted from one shied to the other until met what she had come to get. There it is! She finally found a relatively small wooden shield that looked like her broken one. She went straightly to fetch it without taking her eyes off her target but as she reached out to pick it up, her hand hit a young man's hand instead. "Sorry…" She apologized as pulled her hand back immediately and looked up from the wooden artifact to meet his face. "Serpent!" She almost hissed in shock and her hand went toward the dirk at her waist automatically.
An unexpected meeting & An unexpected fight: The shield was hung from the wall peacefully when those two chose it. They both rushed forth and reached out to take it. As a result, their hands blocked each other. "Sorry…" The woman apologized as looked up from her target but changed her mind as soon as met the young man's face. "Serpent!" She almost hissed in shock and her hand went toward the dirk at her waist automatically. Dante ripped the shield off the wall and huddled underneath it then bashed the it towards his aggressor. Bita had no time to draw the blade out of its sheath but fortunately, that shield was a small one else she might get smashed by it. It couldn't cover his lower parts of body, so she ducked down and pulled herself a side like a cat. He passed by her, so she could stand and kick him from behind. Dante slammed into the weapons rack with the force of a horse. The weapons cracked or groaned under pressure. The shield was small enough to quickly move but not prevent the thrice damned women from moving. He felt a hard kick catch him right as he turned around shield presented to protect his face. Fortunately, her leg had slammed against his midsection which was protected by plate... the blow still stung and knocked the wind out of him. The plate blocking the trauma but leaving the pain. Using the advantage of the small shield, he grabbed her leg and made an attempt to use the edge of the shield to his attackers face. The woman had no trademarks for the plethora of "Serpent Eaters" leaving a question as to who wanted his "Fang" with a deep breath he would be damned if a "Serpent Eater" for him.

Bita pulled his leg back but the lad was quick. He had grabbed her boot. She could launch forth and use her weight on his hand to spin and kick with her other leg only if he hadn't tackled her face by edge of the shield. Apparently he knew perfectly how to use a shield despite of his first failure. She only managed to save her face by grabbing on a random spear placed by the wall and blocking his attack by it. Amidst their struggle, her boot came off her leg and remained in his hand as she staggered a few steps backward until hit a table of short weapons. That sure hurt a lot. She knew that was going to leave a purple mark on back of her waist. A shop wasn't a proper place to use a spear, so she tossed it aside and grabbed a pair of tonfa from the table instead.

Blue eyes met brown; Dante eyed up his opponent. Her age was young enough that playing for time wouldn't work. She had two weapons in her hand that Dante never fought against before and if he had to put money on it a shield would be a hindrance. The shop still had a few patrons looking in a mix of curiosity and fear. If he was still with The Sons of the Serpent he would have 9 swords to call on but right now the Lotus company just had its name of good conduct to use. Swallowing his pride, Dante made his challenge. "An attack against me is an attack against Lotus Company" instead of drawing his sword. Dante detached his badge off his wait and waved it around especially towards the patrons here. Hopefully, it would cause a noble to join out of honor.

"Lotus Company? The Light Lotus Company? Stop joking around, you damned serpent." Bita said doubtfully but dropped tonfas and stepped closer to have a better look at his badge. Although it was shocking, she was kind of glad about stopping the fight since she had never used tonfa before and could break an arm if her opponent knew how to defy them. Dante couldn't help but laugh. Who knew the old Lotus card worked? This perk wasn't too bad. He tossed the badge into her waiting hand before he started to unstrap his right forearm protector. His badge seemed genuine to Bita. "You have stolen it, haven't you?" She accused him. Dante showed his "badge" from The Sons of the Serpent. "Our shared employer doesn't mind I used to be a serpent. I guess our track record of getting the job done is world class" He still couldn't figure out who this lady was. "Shared employer? I don't remember telling you that much." Bita said coldly. "A wild guess, I suppose. That doesn't matter anyway." She added reluctantly as tossed back the badge. "I bet they have sent you to spy on Lotus or rob them. Or is it a sabotaging or assassination mission?" She guessed. She would believe anything but that she had to fight in the same company as this heartless, shameless guy. From her point of view, he was a demon who had escaped the hell. Dante wished what she suggested was true. It would be better than the truth. Chances were, he looted her village or killed her parents. Same story different person, Dante couldn't figure out why these kids didn't let it lie. She was a little bit too old for that usually it was 14 year olds that came for him.

"The main question is: what are you doing here? What happened to serpents? I wonder how they have trusted a serpent. Janet must be desperate for new allies. (Or obsessed in young men!) Hey, let me guess… did you satisfy her in one way or the other to have your way in?" She bombarded him with questions that didn't really need to be answered. She only had to declare that she had no intentions of considering him a comrade.

Dante received a barrage of questions thrown at him along with the badge. "I did satisfy her. I beat some guy's brain in at a brothel. Comrade, I hope you can appreciate the skills I bring to the company" Dante started to head towards the door trying to leave before the shopkeeper returned to ask about him paying for the shield. Whether or not she wanted to play nice, Dante couldn't help but enjoy her discomfort. Irony was pretty fun now.

They're cut from the same cloth. This Janet might be as mad as a serpent. Bita thought regretfully. She ignored him calling her comrade but couldn't avoid wondering if he had already realized that she hated it. He had to be so sharp to get it that fast. She waited for him to leave then began cleaning up the mess they had made. For the sake of Lotus name, the owner wouldn't dare to charge them for dueling in his shop. Yet, she wasn't a person who could let it pass easily. She paid for whatever they had damaged and left the shop with empty hands and empty purse. That made her feel even worse about that serpent guy. It was the second time he had embarrassed her. But then, she heard a man calling her back. She returned and saw the keeper coming after her with a pack in his hands. He gave her a second handed wooden shield which needed recoloring and a pair of worn out tonfa. She was amazed but that unexpected kindness but seemed that the old man saw it some kind of advertisement for his weapon to be used by members of Light Lotus. That was her luck. Thankfully, she parted and headed toward the harbor with a satisfied smile on her lips.

Dante had waited at a corner in the dark for the little Serpent Eater to come out. The gang that normally haunted this corner gave him one glance before roaming away. He saw the lady come out and receive her weapons and shield. He came out of shadows to approach her and drew alongside her before placing his arm over her shoulder as if she was an old friend and making exaggerated motions as he talked. "It's been such a long time my friend! How are you? How is your family? I see you aren't wearing your armor what's the occasion?" As he did this Dante's eyes darted around and quickly figured out she too was summoned to the docks.

Bita didn't hesitate to hit the guy in nose by her elbow hard enough to cause bleeding. "Don't touch me without permission." She warned him coldly. "I'm not your friend." She noted, emphasizing. "My armor is resting in my package and we're going on a voyage in case that you have not been important enough to be informed." She answered sarcastically as increased her distance from him. "I bet you'd like me to fall in the sea wearing an armor and drown immediately." She muttered hatefully. "Now it's your turn to answer. Why have you been kicked out of your father's gang? That must be painful."

Dante smirked through his bloody nose and spat out a glob of blood. He probably had a split lip too. "Of course you're right that was wrong of me. We're brothers in arms. I would love to watch some unknown wrench to drown in her armor in an accident, unfortunately that's not you. I was with the 9th Serpents or 'The Scions'. My dad was with the 'Heralds of Blood' probably looting the countryside" Dante rubbed his jaw to check for any cracks as he continued on. "Who said I ever left. Once a Serpent always a Serpent. Nations break before the sons do"

"Brothers?" Bita echoed. He sure had weird ways for talking to a girl. "If you enjoy watching people die painfully, then be assured that you're going to die painfully." She said and sighed. "You're hopelessly sick." She grunted. "It's good to know more about you and your daddy. I only had heard that both of you are sinful sale swords. I would like to ask Janet why she is tagging a serpent along." She quickened her steps. They had already wasted too much time fighting in the shop. And now this guy had a pretty bloody face to suit that fight although he hadn't really fought back then.

Dante followed suit step for step. His companion stood only a bit shorter than himself and the stride she set wasn't enough to dissuade him from leaving her alone. This was his chance to find out why all these damned orphans kept running to his sword point. "What made you a Serpent Slayer milady. If anything, you look like your family used us to fight in their wars and such. I bet Janet will say the same thing everyone says about us. We are the best at what we do. I never make people suffer unless I have to. It's too expensive to play with someone's life for the sake of it."

"I'm not a serpent slayer. You jerks are too much to get rid of. I just met a face that I didn't expect to meet unless something awful is going to happen." She answered him but was distracted by noises coming from docks. She wondered if she really had heard a shout from afar. She strode faster than before. "Ah, stop your nonsense. You know you're tainted with blood of innocent. You can't cover it with every excuse in the world." She told him impatiently. It wasn't the serpent that bothered her but the fact that they were late and she still heard faint shouts. Suddenly, she started running. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her guts. Her large and heavy baggage didn't allow her to run as fast as she wished. Without a word, Dante shoved his way past, unsheathed his sword and tightened the straps on his shield. He could've sworn he heard a familiar voice in distress. The woman would have to wait. Turning the last corner until they could see the docks, Dante looked and saw over a dozen figures moving menacingly towards his employer. Dante swore before speaking at what he hoped was his fellow. "I see over a dozen of them. Drop your bags, we move too slowly and they have bows or a mage...." He dictated.

Bita had arrived a minute after him. In first sight, she knew that he was right about leaving the baggage and so she did, but it meant that she was going to leave all her gears behind. She only took her half sword, steel and wood medium shield and wore a light chainmail hastily. In three minutes, she was ready to fight. She spied the docks again after that. "Why is Ramirov fighting alone? Where are the others?" She whispered then noticed Praetor. "That guy is a beast… just a week ago he lost an arm and now he is fighting as if nothing has happened. But Ramirov… it's a miracle that he still can fight after that horrible wound he received from that ridiculously large sword. He won't last long… we have to charge immediately." She informed Dante. "If we had a bow we could take down a few before clashing swords. Do you have throwing knives? A spitting cobra can be appreciated." She asked hoping that Dante had a few skills for long range attacks since her only long range ability was throwing objects like stones. But to her disappointment, he shook his head. "They must've arrived early alone to prep the ship. The others I haven't met yet. That big guy whether or not he's healed will have trouble dealing with a new limb. I never used a bow or threw knives. I was too busy being tainted with the blood of innocents." Dante looked at her equipment before going back to staring at the situation. "Keep our shields close together and try to reach them in time... or we wait for an opening. The others should be here soon and then we can hit them in the back" He suggested.

"Useless..." Bita mumbled as he made a joke of being busy with murdering the innocent. She considered his suggestion and imagined it in practice. "If we go side by side they'll have only one target to shoot at which will be too convenient for them and soon we'll be circled." She found flaws in that strategy. "We can't wait for back up. Ramirov won't be able to hold for long. Maybe it's nothing to you, but we've fought side by side a few days ago and I survived without wounds only because he took that armored guy on all by himself. I owe him one for that." She explained her reason to rush for Dante. "That's why I'm going to go to his aid right now. You can wait for reinforcement or back me up in wisest way that you know." She told him before holding her shield up and rushing to the battlefield.

With a groan Dante looked up to the sky. "So much for tactical patience" Dante unstrapped his shield off of his left arm and went into a dead spirit to catch up to the woman until he was able to place a left hand on her shoulder. "You block I'll kill" before withdrawing his hand and holding his sword in an overhead striking position. Hopefully, she maintained her agile form and would be able to weave in and out seamlessly with Dante.

"I hope I works. I don't know your style and I bet you have forgotten mine." Bita managed to say before the first curse was sent toward them and hit her shield. It appeared to be flames for a moment. She looked up from behind her shield and found the caster then aimed her sword at them. The curse left her sword and hit the caster. She was so focused on her approach that couldn't watch what Dante was doing.

Pushing past Bita, he made his strike. The guard barely had time to block before Dante pressed into the dead lock sweeping the guards feet from under him and finishing the job with a stab into his throat. Quickly, Dante moved back under the cover of Bita's shield and crying out "push through!"

"I'll do my best…" She answered as chose direction and ran forth while crouching behind her shield. "I'm going as fast as possible, but I can't hit more than one opponent directly by shield." She explained. Their opponents had already learned that casting magic from far could help Bita to access long rage tackles, so they had stopped using long range magic and were coming at them with bare blades.
Notes and Tags: Literary Revenant TheLoyalAcorn The_Omega_Effect Spoiled Bread Calypso Major Quados Senor_Fluffy Dethrix Critical.Over explosiveKitten BlossomingRosebud Remmock AshenLily

Critical.Over · Mar 12, 2019

“Oh, it’s go time now, suckers!”

Interacting with: N/A | Mentioned: Janet (

Literary Revenant ) | Located: Near Marr Shipyard
XxXx

Aria’s Antics!: Aria was sitting, hunched over, with a blank expression on her face outside of a clock shop. Her head resting in her hands and her gaze fixated on a large clock face. Janet had told her to be at the Marr shipyards by midday today. Trouble was, Aria was super early. Based on what had happened on her previous encounter with Janet, the last thing Aria wanted was the possibility of being there alone with Janet again- and then being suddenly kissed. Again. “Not before I’ve properly learnt how to kiss people anyway,” she said speaking her mind aloud, it earned her a confused look from a bystander which she couldn’t help but notice yet tried her best to ignore. The shipyard was little more than a ten minute walk away from where she was, according to the clock inside that shop, Aria had a little over half an hour to kill until midday.

It was then that her eyes made contact with the shopkeeper inside. She was staring at Aria with a concerned look. Aria got up, not breaking eye contact, and confidently waltzed in- marching towards the continuously more scared looking woman. “There isn’t a reason to worry, I'm armed yes- but armed for style and business elsewhere. I’m not gonna try and do anything here. I’m just trying to keep track of the time. You see,” Aria broke eye contact and began admiring her gauntlets, showing them to the shopkeeper too, “one of the cons of wearing something as beautiful as this is that I can’t really have anything that tells the time on me. I mean, well, not really a con when you think about it cause the pros outweigh...are you okay? You look like you’re dying to say something,” Aria said eventually looking at who she was speaking to.
“Miss, those clocks in the window aren’t correct,” Aria’s eyes widened when she heard this, “It’s about two minutes till midday.”

“Two. Minutes. Till. Midday...Excuse me.”

With that Aria dashed her way towards the exit of the cluttered clock shop, stepping small clock on a low display in the process. Noticing this, Aria hurriedly took her boot off and reached inside to find her emergency money. Pulling a few coins out, she left it at the scene of the destruction before replacing her boot while stammering many apologies and then running off again.

Now disoriented, her face struck with panic, Aria wasted no time in darting as fast as she could down the winding streets leading to the shipyard, apologetically shoving aside unsuspecting men, women and kids alike during her mad dash. Aria was closing in on the shipyard when her shoving streak was suddenly stopped. Two men stood in her way, both armed. Aria could feel the tension in the air from the scowls on their faces.
“Wow, uh, thanks for the catch soldiers, I almost tripped. I owe you, totally owe both of you. For now though if you’ll just excuse me,” Aria said with a smile trying to go around the both of them. They stood in her way.
“Why would we excuse you? Like you said, you owe us. So go on, you need to pay to pass through here.” One of them guffawed. Aria sighed in annoyance and a growing impatience for the delay in her journey before instinctively reaching down to her boot as she brought her leg up. She stopped before removing it though.

“No, actually no. I don’t need to pay,” she stood up straight and looked up at the taller of the two guards dead in the eye and spoke loudly in a confident manner, “you see I’m on official business. I’m an important Paladin, Aria Arkrevia Abrams, of the Light Lotus Company. I work under Misses Ravena and she’s requested me to meet her at the docks located in this area. That should be fine enough of a reason to let me throug-”

“You’re not even carrying money are you?” The taller guard asked.

“Nope. Not a single on me.” Her response was met with a harsh poke to her stomach from the hilt of one of the guards’ weapons.
“Then get out of here. You’re not coming through.” Aria looked at the group of guards with narrowed eyes, thinking only of how late she was getting. Without a plan, Aria turned around and began to walk away. That was until she swiftly turned around again and dashed between them when they'd lowered thier guard. They called names out as she ran from them, "Weakling, trickster, coward, trite!"

Aria stopped dead in her tracks. Trite, Aria thought, my armour? Trite? Who decided that? She turned around with irritation written all over her face. With a extended an arm in their direction, pointing straight at them, Aria shouted over: “Oh, it’s go time now, suckers!” Aria drew her weapons and sprinted over there, her armour clanking with each speedy movement. She jumped into the air when she was closing in on the group, the jump was aided by a gust of wind she conjured up from underneath her to give her some more height. Aria thrusted her shield downwards, bashing the same guard she'd spoken too. Her shield impacted with his face and knocked him clean off of his feet. Aria landed back on the ground with only a slight moment of unbalance before turning to face the others. Four left, the guards were visibly shocked at her actions, clearly they weren't all too familiar in dealing with an actual attack and mostly resorted to intimidation in numbers to ward off potential rebels to the toll like Aria.

One of them eventually managed to pull himself together and made an attempt to stab at her exposed thigh. Aria followed his movement and parried his attack with her sword, pushing the spear to the side and counterattacking with another shield bash to the face. This one wasn't as strong however, and the guard merely stumbled back in pain. Aria didn't plan on killing these people, they were only doing their jobs after all, she just wanted to make an impression. With the remaining guards now psyched up to fight, Aria stood her ground, watching their moves and ready to counter with concussive blows. I really really hope they don't all attack at once she thought as she noticed them separating from each other. Maybe this wasn't the best idea to act on alone, I might actually get scratched up here. Or worse, my armour might get scratched up, they began closing in, looking more and more ready to attack with each step. The guards then lept in and Aria prepared to block their combined attack.

Dethrix · Mar 13, 2019

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The Black Baron; Ulysses Cain

[/div][div class=basics] 31 ///////////////////////////// Male[/div][div class=basics]
Enraged ////////////////// Armed[/div]
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There are certain things in this world that simply shouldn't be. The question Ulysses constantly asked himself; was if he's one of those "things". On certain days he didn't notice the differences, and all seemed to be at peace. But others? Or rather the majority of the time? He was bombarded with a sense of dread and displacement. A feeling which was incredibly wrong seeing as... This was his world after all wasn't it? He'd been born in such lands, and raised into the gentleman he'd become. And yet the stars no longer seemed to shine in beauty, but rather as harsh burns in the fabric of the night. The same could be applied to the sun, which simply seemed to pierce and shred the blue canvas of the sky with its corruptive fire.

However, today had been one of those rare blissful day's of peace. He'd started his morning with an uplifted morale, for the day had come at last! Their voyage would finally begin and they'd encounter untold wonders, that would only bring him ever so closer to the location of his lost child.

Ulysses had awoken to the mice again. They were ravenous little creatures, that fed on the scraps of the castle. Or at least, what had once been a castle. In its current state the establishment was nothing more than precariously held together ruins, due to his rampages nonetheless. It had once been a home, but upon his resurrection... Well Cain had done some redecorating, to say the least, when he'd discovered the Balthoran filth occupying the premises. Like the rats that skittered about at his feet, they'd been vermin that only profited on the scraps of land they'd destroyed. Or perhaps that was a tad too incriminating for a mouse, after all no simple creature could've done the actions which bred such powerful human greed.

With huff, The Baron stood from the ground where'd sat only moments before. Although the dark lord lacked the requirement of sleep, he could put his body into a trance-like state which simulated such a sensation. It changed nothing however, as his body would always remain restless for as long as he stayed in such a form. Regardless, he dusted off his black garments and went on to gather the luggage he'd set up quaintly at the main entrance. There were at least three jet black duffle bags, stuffed to the gills with various forms of equipment and well packed clothing. Within moments, he was ready to depart, and with a single loving touch to what had once been a home, the large man left his Noble Abode.

Travel was something the mysterious man had grown accustomed to in his years, whether they'd have been during his tenure as a living being, or the state he currently slaved through currently. In any case, the large darkly clad figure knew his ways through the shadows of the bustling streets and towns in such a way that he arrived promptly and without a hitch. Or rather, there wouldn't have been one if everything had gone as planned. Ulysses had made his way out from the shadows, only as he'd begun to near their vessel. He'd taken notice to the guards, but the chaos that ensued within moments after their relative arrival was... Uncalled for.

There are certain things in this world that simply shouldn't be. The Black Baron didn't need to question if this was one of them, because it was irreversibly wrong. Cain wasn't sure if his body still contained blood, or what exactly it was that leaked from his corpse when he bled... But within him currently? Whatever it was, he felt it ignite like gasoline under the effect of a match; he burned. Thought seemed to leave him in such moment, and the ridiculously filled bags he'd seemed to carry with ease, came to a crash at his feet. Like the blast from a cannon, he was gone and the armored men began to disappear as well. It started with one unfortunate soul, who met his undeniable end through brute force.

The disgusting mongrel had attempted to close in on the blonde haired paladin from behind, an act of cowardice. Ulysses proceeded to the heft the man into the air by his helm, before he crushed the thinly plated metal through the fool's skull. That same corpse was slammed down against the chest of another knight, which only served to throw such an individual to the ground with a satisfactory crunch. From that point forward, bodies only began to pile along as he waded through destruction, a hand cannon clenched fiercely in his right hand, while a gear mounted blade swung from his left.

Arrows, daggers, musket balls, and swords all protruded from his form in various directions and locations. His clothes were torn, bloodied, and burned yet he continued to attack with an unbridled rage unlike any other. He moved silently with only the low reverberations of an animalistic growl giving away his ability to even speak, as he focused on the destructive task at hand. No matter the wound, or it's placement nothing truly seemed to slow his attack. The scarlet blaze that lit his irises only seemed to compliment the blood splatters that continued to spread along his form. At this point, five to eight men had been exterminated in his wake.

Ulysses didn't stop.

Interacting: With Aria | Mentioned:

Critical.Over

Literary Revenant | Located: Marr Shipyards

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[/div][/div][div class=credits]credits @RI.a[/div]

Critical.Over · Mar 15, 2019

“Hey you! Yeah you, dead guard!”

Interacting with: Ulysses (

Dethrix ) | Mentioned: Janet (

Literary Revenant )| Located: Near Marr Shipyard
XxXx

Aria’s Antics!: Aria went from slightly concerned with the situation to confused in a minute. Someone, something, of monstrous power had come to aid her. Though she kept her guard up, her eyes couldn’t help but get lost in awe the spectacle she was beholding. Men being effortlessly turned to corpses left and right, unsettling crunches and inhuman growls escaping into the surroundings. The being responsible for such actions moved as quickly as it did powerfully. The guards around her that hadn’t been killed had fled at this point, Aria looked over with mild annoyance at the first guard she had attacked, his body now lifeless. Oh come on, I was so careful not to kill them, how do I brag to them now? she thought to herself for a while before she sighed and made a decision.

“Screw it Hey you! Yeah you, dead guard! I bet that’ll make you think twice about making fun of my armour. For the record, it’s way better than yours.” Aria said with her hands on her hips, she would’ve continued but the ridiculousness of bragging to a dead person started to dawn on her and she decided against continuing, instead returning her attention to the newcomer.

He was a large being, his speed was even more surprising given his size. The clothes had become tattered and bloodied from the fighting. Aria could swear she even saw some kind of burn marks on his clothes. Jeez this guy needs a new outfit, not only is everything he wearing ruined but his whole look even discounting that is so, scattered. It just doesn’t really work she thought to herself before she noticed something glimmering on the otherwise shaggy attire. It looked familiar. She then looked down to the soft blue fabric on her breastplate, where she’d placed her badge. Aria came to the conclusion that he was bearing the same badge as her. So is he part of the company too then or am I just seeing things?

Though slightly wary of him due to by his performance, Aria couldn’t think of another way to confirm her conclusion. She had to speak to him. With only her sword drawn, Aria walked into his line of sight, her expression was nothing more than her normal smile.
“Hey there, thanks for the help with those guard back there. Those guys were in my way too,” she paused, taking the badge on her breastplate off and holding it between her fingers before extending her arm out to show him. “You have this too right? Is yours from the Light Lotus Company? Do you know Miss Janet?” Her usual quick pace of speech had slowed down considerably. Aria wasn’t even sure if who she was attempting to talk to was capable of speech- she didn’t hear any while he was fighting that’s for sure. So Aria made sure he’d understand what she was saying.

Before Aria continued talking her mind was brought back to Janet, and why she was here. “Oh shoot, I need to get to the shipyard!” She said with a a slight panic in her tone. She walked closer to the unknown man.

“Are you coming to the docks with me? Mister...” she asked, her face growing slightly more concerned as she imagined just how late they were.

Senor_Fluffy · Mar 16, 2019

Off to a Good Start

Location: Marr Shipyard | Interacting:

Calypso Major

AshenLily

Quados | Mentions:

Aron runs Errands: Aron was quiet happy with his new employer, no snotty brat or some sick psycho wanting him to torture others, just good and legal work as a Mercenary... Aron laughed, well maybe just good work.

He looked at his fist, his gloves were damaged in his last fight and he would need a replacement, maybe he could get some with stronger metal on them or maybe even some made from dragon scales and behemoth bones, that thought alone made him squeal a bit, what isn't in anyway scary.

Aron remembered that one of his fathers cover shops would have something he would want, best quality in town. So he walked there, he knew his father wouldn't be there, he is too good to supervise the stores himself.

As he was near the shop, he could already see the display and there they were, beautiful and shiny dragon scale
Spoiler

So he went inside and was greeted like he would still belong to the family. "Aaaah the young master, it is pleasant to see you here." The merchant bowed quickly and gestured his servants to do the same. "Can this humble employee give you anything to make your stay more pleasant, wine, food... Ardanor." Aron looked disgusted and raised his voice and gave it a threatening undertone. "Did you just really offer me Ardanor? Do you know what happened to the last person who did that? Either way, I want to purchase the gloves in the display window and don't think you could rip me off." You could see fear in the eyes of the merchant and he bowed repeatedly. "of course young Master, you can have these, but we could never charge you, not after we insulted you... What are you standing around, get him a pair in the right size!" He snapped at his servants. "I am very sorry, I didn't have time to train my new servants."

The two servants came quickly back, each holding one of the gauntlets and the merchant went into his best salesman mode, in the mean time the servants showed Aron how to equip the gauntlets perfectly. "This gauntlets were made from the scales of a black dragon, it is hard enough to withstand most weapons, blunt-/strike-and pierce damage can be blocked with these, because of the dragon scales you can even withstand fire for a short period of time, of course only on your arms and hands... And you may think that these gauntlets are heavy but only if they aren't worn, if they are worn then an enchantment is activated to make these light as a feather." The merchant has a big smile on his face and asked with a sweat voice. "Could we help you with anything else, maybe a new jacked, yours is pretty worn out and has some tears, we have some made of...." He was cut of by an aggressive "No!" and as the merchant turned around he was met with an angry stare. "This jacked is my most precious treasure and I will never give it away.... The gauntlets are enough." Aron turned around and left the store, still fuming with anger, he would never give the jacked away that his sister gave him, even when it was a bad joke on her side, it is the last thing he got from her before her "accident". Aron breathed deep in and out, he shouldn't be to angry, no one knows about her really, but still and he just remembered that he put the emblem that Janet gave him on the shoulder part of it.

He just remembered that he was supposed to meet with Janet by the docks, the Marr shipyard if he was correct, he was lucky that the store wasn't that far away from that shipyard.
Kannah's Perspective: Truth be told, lying on a borrowed balcony with a lumpy sack of grain as her makeshift pillow wasn't precisely what Kannah had in mind when she'd decided to get an early start on the day... however, it was working out quite nicely. She'd made sure her affairs were all in order (not that she had any, but no one needed to know that), ready for her to depart Balthora and if all went well, say goodbye to this god-forsaken land once and for all.

The elf munched happily on the whatever-it-was she'd purchased in the market square. A pastry of some sort, she thought, but honestly she hadn't been paying much attention to the explanation the vendor had given her. The city was so fascinating now that she was on her own, free to explore and spend her not-too-modest inheritance as she saw fit. The gift from her late master had been intended to help her transition into being a free person in Balthora, but given her plans Kannah didn't imagine she'd need it to last any longer than a day or two, till they could set sail.

It seemed the day of luxury she'd spent with Janet at the bathhouse had rubbed off on her after all, as the set of extravagant leathers she now wore would attest. Her other purchases for the day included but were most certainly not limited to: a few sets of undergarments, a traveling cloak, a thin chain vest and leggings, a small, easily accessible pouch she now wore at her hip--embroidered with the company seal, of course--a proper quiver made of... now what did the man call it again? Mahug...? Mahoga...? well, very well-crafted wood anyway. And of course, a new pack to carry it all.

All in all, Kannah was rather pleased with herself. She'd been to the market only a few times with her master, but on those occasions had picked up enough to know when she was getting a good deal, and when she was getting taken. By the time she'd finished buying everything she needed around mid-morning, she'd begun to fancy herself as quite the haggler, but found herself realizing she still had quite a bit of time to kill before they were scheduled to meet at the docks. Which led her to the present, lazing about on some unsuspecting noble's balcony while they were away doing... well, whatever it was nobles did this time of day in the city. It was still probably an hour or so till mid-day, and Kannah found herself content to just sit and watch the goings-on down at the docks. The spot had a great view of the entire dock area, letting her observe the different crews loading and unloading cargo, and eventually she even saw Janet show up, though after deciding she was curious to see what she was really getting herself into, she opted to wait a bit longer as others of the group arrived.
Bura's Baggage: The bitter cold of the morning air was never something Bura enjoyed. Even if it was from the ocean, the land it touched seemed to taint it with it's rot before it ever reached her. Bura had woken from her sleep amongst the same desperate people living in the abandoned building the past couple days. Taking her leave in silence the tall woman adjusted the scarf on her head, making sure it covered her hair, ears and went over her nose to cover her tusks while still letting her see. A quiet alley was all she needed to check all her belongings. She had a decent bit of coin from the odd jobs she had been doing. She split it in half, giving a bit more to one pile. She hesitated. She had all the clothes she would need, a weapon, a few bits of leather armor, she would be making more money in her travels. A soft metal against metal sound emanated as she put all of her coins in the pouch except for enough to get some food for herself.

Her cloak covered figure lumbered through the districts, ending up near the Thanol dead zone. Grabbing a small bit of wood she scratched a word into it with the edge of her nail. Arriving a few blocks away from her meeting spot with one of her new bosses, she couldn't help but look around with paranoid eyes. Finally satisfied that she was alone she wiggle free a stone from the side of a step that led into an abandoned building. A small hole was beneath it. A little spot only 3 people knew of. Putting the small pouch in along the bit of wood. She stared down at the word, "survive." She put the stone back and made her way towards the marketplace next to the docks.

Bura bought a meat pastry and made her way through the crowd, noticing an unrest she stayed out of the way as guards rushed to the docks. Welp, of course something went wrong. Noticing a rushing figure in the crowd she spotted that familiar lotus symbol. Quickly going over to him she grabbed ahold of his shoulder with one hand and showed the head of her axe which bore a similar symbol, using the other hand. "Named Bura, slow down. Something isn't right. Don't bring the attention of the guards by rushing towards the same spot they are." She explained quickly in a scratchy voice beneath her scarf, tucking her axe out of the way again.
Aron's Reaction to Bura: Suddenly a huge commotion brought loose, Aron looked into the sky, too where people were pointing, a huge amount of smoke was coming from the shipyard. Arons eyes widened, that was the shipyard where he was supposed to meet Janet, as he wanted to run to the shipyard he was cut of by some guards that were running in the same direction.

"Lucky day, they didn't see me, maybe I could bully them a little, befor I meet the boss."

Aron started to run after the guards but felt a hand on his shoulder and from the corner of his eyes he saw the blade of an axe, whoever that is will get a taste from his new gauntlets. As he turned, he already made himself ready to attack that person but saw the emblem from the light Lotus company on the axe and heard the person saying. "Named Bura, slow down. Something isn't right. Don't bring the attention of the guards by rushing towards the same spot they are."

Aron relaxed a little and was a little surprised, Bura is a woman, a tall woman, it's not often that you see a woman that is nearly 2 meters high. Aron smiled and crossed his arms. "Name is Aron, Aron Ironfist and it seems like we work for the same person, so I will forgive you that you touched my jacket, for the future, don't touch it and I know that something isn't right there, but we need to help our boss, if she is there." Shaking his head he just sighed and said. "OK, then let's just get closer and observe for the moment, we can still break through a wall for an epic entrance." He walked already to the corner that leads to the entrance to the shipyard and gestures Bura to follow him.
Kannah Investigates: The balcony overlooking the docks was the perfect vantage point for Kannah to see everything as it was unfolding. Though she wasn't exactly sure what she was seeing at first as the scuffle between Janet and the Templar with the makeshift arm began, she guessed they had history. Bad history, from the looks of it. Kannah considered waiting back to observe the outcome for only a moment before she lightly hopped to her feet, casually pulling her bow and quiver from where they lay against the building as she stuffed the rest of the creamy whatever-it-was into her mouth in a rather unladylike manner.

By now it had been some time since Kannah had last taken a life, alas it was a difficult skill to forget. She'd weighed her options and her best chance of getting back to Vian in one piece seemed to be the Lotus, so she had a vested interest in the outcome of the fight breaking out before her. Quiver shouldered, bow in hand, the elf quickly glanced over the newly-christened battlefield, deciding on a mark. Too short. Too heavily-armored. Too... ugly--don't imagine anyone would be too sad to see him go. Ah, there. A short way down the dock a man garbed as the other Templars was readying his own bow, seemingly looking for a shot at either Janet, or the elderly fellow near her. Either seemed unfavorable outcomes.

The bow lifted silently, the arrow drawing back without the slightest hint of a whisper. Kannah held the pose momentarily, inhaled, and then released the breath as she freed the string. Her aim was off slightly, but she noticed before the arrow had taken flight. A single softly whispered syllable directed her magic towards the shaft, changing its trajectory almost imperceptibly, but placing it back on the intended course.

The beginning of a scream could be heard, but it instantly shifted to a gut-wrenching gurgling noise as her target's throat was pierced by the arrow, drenching his nearby comrade with his life's blood. Kannah couldn't help but feel a small bit of pride, even as the sight forced her to battle to keep her breakfast down. Sometimes you had to kill quietly. Efficiently. Other times, such as now, you had to make things more... memorable.

Templars and guards alike looked on in horror before several began to flee, the quarrel before them forgotten. It hadn't entirely won the fight, but an unseen assailant did have a way of dampening morale a bit.

One last look around the scene from her vantage point rewarded her with a bright glare off of what appeared to be the blade of a weapon. A Lotus insignia.

Kannah dropped quickly, the natural dexterity inherent to the Voral making a rather impressive display of acrobatics feel second-nature to her. Once at ground level, she slowed, approaching the two figures carefully. By now she could overhear their hushed conversation, and tell they both had insignias matching her own. Of course this meant they should be on the same side, but making foolish assumptions was an easy way to find oneself in unfortunate circumstances, as she knew firsthand.

The elf balanced on the balls of her feet, ready to sprint away at a moment's notice, before slipping from the shadows approximately fifteen paces from the pair, and offering a quick curtsy in greeting, a small gob of cream on her lip from her earlier snack only slightly detracting from her impressive demeanor. She was careful to keep her eyes on the pair before her all the while. "Hail, friends. Light Lotus Company, no?" The pouch she wore at her hip was embroidered with her own insignia, having been carefully arranged to be clearly visible before she'd stepped out to greet the two. "Bura and Aron, if I'm not mistaken?" Kannah didn't actually know the pair, but having overheard their names, decided it may help her chances of them not trying to gut her on sight. Worst case scenario, she figured they'd want to know how she knew their names before they tried to do so.

Kannah nodded towards the dock, a grim expression on her pale face. "Things seem to be a bit more... complicated than intended. The boat's nearly ready to go, but Janet and company seem to have been waylaid, as I imagine you've noticed. We won't have much time if we're still planning on making for Vian. I don't suppose we'll have the luxury of waiting around.
Granny Shananigans: "Wait, you're leaving?!"

The signature cackle of an old lady only managed to catch the attention of a few passersby. Then again, this section of the market was more well-known for engaging in some of the more risque activities, so it wasn't long before aforementioned people moved along.

"Well, you know what they say dear. Go with the flow-- the cash flow, that is!"

"No, nobody says that at all-- but Granny Est! Our clients, your home--!"

"All well and taken care of, I assure you. In fact, I'm about done with tying up the last of the loose ends right now-- here!"

A single iron key was thrown at the young man in question -- a former employee of hers who Estelle knew was only in the business for a pair of younger siblings. Truth be told, it was far easier to handle the empty lot that was once her home and workspace by handing it over to a person, rather than dealing with any paperwork.

"Consider that your final paycheck, dear. And tell the children that Granny Est loves them!"

Waving a quick farewell to an obviously-baffled young man, Estelle shifted the weight of her pack before setting off.

Unfortunately, this part of the market was not very close to where she was supposed to set sail. That said, her shuffle quickly turned into more of a skirting motion on the ground, her large pack jingling with all of the glass vials, notebooks, herb storages, and other 'essentials'.

Thankfully, none of her luggage was extremely heavy.
Just... bulky.

...

Arriving at the docks a tad bit later than planned, the old lady paused. Hands releasing the straps of her pack, she proceeded to double-check the security on her belt. "Hmm, let's see... herb pouch, lotus pin, knife sheath, essentials pack, candy pouch, a cow's mouth-- awhat!"

Estelle could only sputter, eyebrows raising as a cow managed to snag her last pouch on her belt. The cheeky little bugger catching onto the string she was just about to reach for in order to secure it! A sigh escaped her lips, forcing a few stray hairs out of her face.

"Of all the things to stop right next to, why did an outgoing shipment of livestock have to -- Oh fudgenuggets, that's my stash!"

Hurriedly, the old lady approached the beast. "Listen here, you lovely, overgrown, furry steak! I need my personal stash if I'm gonna make it through who-knows how long of a trip, and you seem to think that it's fuel!" Estelle turned, looking for whomever was in charge of these cattle.

Instead, she realized that it was about to near midday.

Crap.

Whipping back, she yanked her pouch out of the cow's mouth-- leather cords ripping as the body of the bag was thankfully saved. "I don't have time, I don't have time! This is all your fault-- Jafar!"

Yes, Jafar.
The spotted white beast of slimy destruction.
That was still chewing on leather straps.

...was that smoke where she was supposed to be at?

"Next time, Jafar, keep your mouth away from my herbs!"
Bura Shananigans: Bura removed her hand from his shoulder once she had his attention. "I will forgive you for touching my jacket, for the future, don't touch it..." He said, she just offered a slight nod in response to the strange request. As she looked around, listening to his suggestion as she followed him the short ways. Her attention snatched by the dexterous elf dropping from a rooftop. Untrusting at first she relaxed a bit upon noticing the pouch decorated with the symbol of the Light Lotus. How many of us were there? The scarf and cloak covered ork nodded.

"Mhm.. We need to get to the boat now. The guards will be troublesome..." Her gaze wandered further down the port where the imported and exported livestock were held in little corrals. A glint in her eyes. "I am going to get some chaos going to distract the guards. Go to the boat, and stay out of this main street." She made a light motion with her hand along the wide stone pavement which was bustling with anxious people and guards. "See ya'll there." She turned and slipped into the crowd as much as she could. Her shoulders and head slumped to make herself smaller, her gaze to the ground as she made her way to the corrals.

Large digits unlatching 3 different gates and pushing them slightly open as she brushed past. The keepers of the animals distracted with the smoke, guards and gunshots coming from further down the port. Bura nearly bumped into a grey haired woman with a humorously large bunch of bags on her back. Blinking from behind her scarf she mumbled a pardon me. Her gaze lower she froze in her tracks as she caught sight of the lotus pin on the woman's belt. "Wait. You are with Light Lotus?" She asked, showing the blade of her axe and the lotus insignia ingrained in it. "Name is Bura. We need to get to the ship now." She unlatched her axe from her belt. Leaning over the corral fence she sunk the axe into the rear of one the cows. Within moments the panic amongst cows, goats, mules, sheep, and pigs fell like dominos.

The conveniently open gates she had set for them leading straight down the main port street. Anyone in that area would have heard it coming just moments before the stampede rolled through, a flood of people trying to get out of the way only adding to the fray. Bura whistled before putting away her axe, quickly moving to the end of the pavement to the 5 foot drop onto the docks. Looking over to this old lady before back at the docks, as if to ask, you plan on coming or? She crouched down before hopping down on the wooden docks. Cringing at the crack one of the planks sounds upon receiving her weight. The motion of her jumping down onto the docks making the bit of scarf covering her nose and mouth fall, small tusks sticking out from frown. She was so tall you could still see her head peak over the edge of the stone. Reaching up her arm to help this greyed woman join her.
Kannah's Observations: "See ya'll there."

Now that she was closer to the source, Kannah raised an eyebrow at the woman's harsh voice. The accent seemed vaguely familiar, though she couldn't quite place where she might know it from. It certainly wasn't human, though now wasn't the time to ponder such things. Well, that was easier than expected. Kannah nearly took off toward the docks before remembering she'd acquired a new companion and turning to the man. "Come, we have little time," was all she said, reaching down to take the man's hand in her own, taking care to avoid touching the seemingly sentimental jacket he wore after recalling the earlier outburst she'd overheard.

Bura's makeshift stampede seemed to have done wonders, hardly a soul was left wandering the street, the trip back to the docks uneventful. Upon arrival back to the ship, things still seemed a bit heated, with many of the templars and guards preoccupied with their own battles against whom Kannah could only assume were other members of their company.

The battle was winding down, but seemed to be going favorable for the Lotus members for the most part. Figuring she was just as likely to get herself or whoever she might try to help injured as she was to aid them, Kannah remained vigilant, but took the opportunity to observe her would-be comrades in the heat of battle, bow-in-hand.

This was it. At long last, Kannah would be returning home.

code by Ri.a

The_Omega_Effect · Mar 20, 2019

Kyros did not know where exactly they were going to go as the mercenary company. There were lots of powerful people in the need of mercenaries in places that didn't need boats to get to. Though he wasn't seasick, he despised the constant swaying of the ship, not to mention how there were rarely good looking women on board with him to mingle with. Just a bunch of dumb sailors and a captain with some god complex who wishes to scream at everyone else due to his insecurities. Ramirov had treated him to food and didn't seem to be too much of an asshole though, signaling to him that the rest of the gang would at the very least be competent and not miserable sacks of shit.

They were instructed to meet up with the rest of the company at the docks and bring along with them their necessary equipment. He wondered whether this was a one-time thing and that they would be returning or if they were just going to leave the city entirely, never to return. Whatever the case, Kyros was not going to complain about having to get out of there. He needs a new place to move to after all, why not use this whole mercenary thing as a way to pick out an appropriate place to live if he survived by the end. The tiny apartment he stayed at was enough for just sleeping and wasn't comfortable at all. The possibility of earning enough money from this adventure and being able to spend it on the luxuries of life once it was all done sounded like an amazing idea. Walking up the stairs to sleep after a hard day of killing and stealing without having to look at some old, ugly landlord sounded wonderful. He wasn't even sure how that man's daughter could look as pleasant as she did...Maybe it would be best for him to leave quickly before he finds out that he not only slept with his daughter but also cheated on her. With someone who he also eventually cheated on too...withsomeoneelsehecheatedontoo

He couldn't carry everything along with him so he had to take only the necessary things. Starting off, he wore his standard, lightly armored clothing that allowed him to be very agile, along with his cloak to help him sneak around and be more stealthy. But really, he wore the cloak just because it made him look cool. He'd take it off or throw it away/at someone if he started to get serious anyway. The tiny knives he kept on his person were secured and hidden, with him bringing along a short sword in its sheath at his side. In his backpack, he packed a deck of playing cards, the gold he pickpocketed 30 minutes ago, some arrows, a flint with steel, a waterskin filled with booze, a grappling hook, a few lock picks, a small overused whetstone to keep his things sharp, his black leather gloves and a pack of playing cards. He also brought his recurve short bow which he slung on his shoulder after putting his bag on. He hated walking around like this but he thankfully packed lightly. Leaving the rest of the useless things in the room, Kyros walked down and threw the key to the landlords before leaving without a goodbye. He'll figure it out eventually.

It seemed that Kyros had arrived a bit late to the party, looking at the dozen or so corpses that littered the ground with the fight still going on. He thought about intervening but he honestly couldn't be bothered to which was why he stood back for the time being to watch the show from a place he wouldn't be noticed from. It didn't take long before all the people that were presumably a part of the mercenary company with him put down the remaining guards, soldiers, and whatnot. They seemed to be official with their uniforms and whatnot, which meant that he wasn't the only one that had to leave the city as soon as possible. The soldiers were done for, with the only ones standing being those within the company. The battle continued on board the ship, however, with the crew trying to take down a man with a large sword. Kyros didn't think they'd need much help though, as the man seemed to be done for anyway. He recognized Ramirov as he walked closer to the ship, with him also making out who appeared to be their captain. For the most part, he did not know what was going on. One thing was certain though, there would be no shortage of good looking females aboard for company. And also no shortage of weirdos.

As he got close, he made sure to be careful around the corpses and all the splatters of their innards on the ground. If he was going to get blood all over himself, it would not be this early on. "Looks like I arrived late to the party. But you guys seem to have things...under control" His attention was caught by the guy that killed most of the guards and helped the armored blonde. He had arrows and daggers sticking out of him, with all of his clothes being torn and damaged due to wounds and cuts. There was a look of shock and confusion on his face as he slowed down wondering how long it would take for him to bleed to death. "I know chicks dig scars but don't you think you're overdoing it?"
Mention:

Critical.Over Interaction:

Dethrix

BlossomingRosebud · Mar 23, 2019

Tanya Aurum

Tanya tapped her foot impatiently on the crisp and clean parlor floor, glancing out the window to catch a glimpse at the sun every few seconds. It was going to be midday soon! So where the heck was she?

"Is it really necessary for you to bring that in here?" An aging woman in a fine ocean blue dress stood disapprovingly over her, her face too delicate for a scowl, but displaying great displeasure all the same. Lady Scion, otherwise known to her as Garimella's cranky old aunt, was just like that, though.

"I need her for later," Tanya smiled with a wink that she knew the lady hated. She knew what she was talking about, and no, she did not care. No one was allowed to hate on Ellie, that was for sure. It felt good to have her axe strapped to her back again; she just hadn't had reason to use her lately. She kind of regretted not taking her along on the brothel assignment, but the thing was, axes like hers were so large, she was bound to be obvious. Yet, there were some times when it was okay to be. Like today. Today she had on her traveling clothes: leather jacket, boots, her axe and her shotgun. Plus, a knapsack with some of her tools in it, and a carry-on carpetbag for the rest of them. Well, not all of them, exactly. Obviously, her larger equipment from the shop had to be left behind. She didn't have time to deal with it, either. No, she had to call on her brother-in-law, of all people, to handle the place just long enough to sell everything. That, indeed, was the best way about this. She thought about selling the whole shop, but...she didn't want to. She remembered still how their uncle provided them with the place, just when they otherwise would have no where else to go. So, she wanted to leave it for someone. That was her final instruction. Sell the equipment so it doesn't get stolen, but leave the space for someone who needs it. She would have liked, of course, for Marianna to be in charge of all of this...but she and her sister, unfortunately, had not spoken much these past few days. Not when Marianna found out about what job she took.

But that didn't matter anymore! She was leaving! Tanya's feet itched with anticipation. She longed for this. In just a few minutes, they were going to be leaving this cursed disease-and-corruption-infested world behind, and taking on a new adventure. That was what she wanted most, surely. To finally be somewhere out in the open, where she could taste freedom. She just wished she had more time to take care of things...

"M-miss?" A young maid poked in shyly through the doorway. "Lady Garimella seems to be at the office in the Clover District, right now, if you want me to go back and get her..."

"Nope! That's fine!" Tanya got up from her seat in a flash, rushing towards the poor maid's side. "Just...give her this, please?" she dropped a letter in the maid's hand, and with that, she ran off.

She ran into the street, and looked up at the sky. Was it midday, already? She reached in her knapsack and dug for the pocket watch. Ten minutes til. Oh, snap!

She ran through the city and made a beeline for the docks. This is what she got, she guessed, for being sentimental. She just wished she had tried harder sooner. She hadn't seen Garimella in weeks...but, unfortunately, they were both just too busy to make that happen. She needed to at least tell her old friend where she was going, though. Hence the letter. But...she had to let it go. As of today, nothing in the world was left tying her to Balthora. She wasn't even, exactly, planning on coming back ever. She'll make a new blacksmith shop one day. But it wouldn't be here.

She skidded to a stop. It didn't take long, getting towards the docks, that one could something was definitely off. The sounds of fighting, all this commotion, and yep, that was smoke. Well, brilliant.

Tanya backed up slowly. She could see the guards at all the entry points. No no, nope. What kind of crazy circus show were they trying to pull? She thought the Light Lotus had permission... Well, fine. Be like that.

Turning her jacket collar up to hide the ensigna, she walked smoothly to the side, and then started running. She saw what she needed. The roof of a house, right beside the dock bridge. She could totally pull this off.

She climbed to the top of the roof, and laid her carpetbag to the side. Was this what you meant by 'travel light', Ramirov? Eh? She thought this was within bounds, but from the looks of it, she wasn't holding on to this any longer. It was too bad. That was her favorite fire poker, too. But it looks like, in Vian, she's just going to have to start anew.

She jumped off the roof, axe drawn. Like a flurry she landed on the dock with a heavy thud, right in the midst of the guards...and scoring a long slash against one guard's back on the way down. Sorry about that. She preferred to fight face to face, but from the looks of it, she had a boat to catch. She plunged ahead.

Spoiled Bread · Mar 26, 2019

~~Ocarina Flareweck~~

Bye, Crows: Location: Flareweck's house
Time: afternoon, several days before the Light Lotus first gathering

In the dim light of the afternoon sun, two female figures could be seen on the balcony of a two-story house. One of them was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair and the other ones was a woman with wildly unkempt black hair. The woman poured a liquid from the fancy-looking bottle that she brought into two wooden mugs, she gave one to the girl and took one for herself.

"Now, cheers." The woman rose her mug, the girl hesitantly followed suit.

"But should we wait for Leroy first?"

"Bah, you know he doesn't drink alcohol. Now, CHEERS!!" The woman bumped their mugs and gulped down the drink in seconds.

"Sorry, Leroy." Shaking off her hesitation, the girl drank hers. Just after a few sips, she could felt a warm sensation in her stomach. "Wait, this is not the usual beer." She could even felt her cheeks blushing red now.

"Of course not! It's a high quality drink. This will be our last time drinking together right? So may as well go all out." The woman merrily poured another one for herself. "How do you feel right now? Are you ready to start your journey?"

"Honestly, I'm confused with what I'm feeling right now." Despite the drink being stronger than she expected, the girl decided to empty her mug before she continue the talk. "On one hand, I'm really happy and excited about the journey to Vian, becoming a mercenary, meeting new people and all that. On the other hand, I don't want to leave you all. I will miss you and Leroy, and mother and father. Regina, do you think I will be okay?"

"Of course!" The woman named Regina answered with confidence, almost shouting actually. "C'mon Ocarina. You've been working for The Crows for almost 7 years, 7 freakn' years! Much senior than me, you will be fine! I'm still amazed why you haven't become a badass brooder person by now."

As Ocarina opened her mouth to reply, someone rung the bell downstair. She shifted her attention and shouted outside, "Leroy? Come in!"

A creak could be heard as Leroy opened the front door. It only took another few seconds before a tall young man with oval head and bald hair entered the balcony. Among the three, he wore the most formal attire with a thick book strapped on his left hips and a short sword on his right hand. He put the sword on the table and slide it to Ocarina, whose face showing confusion.

"It's for you." Leroy shortly remark before sitting on the chair.

"Huh? Thanks... but why? You know that I barely ever held a sword before." The confused Ocarina took the sword and unsheath it. Other than the fact that it was a gift from her friend, she didn't found anything special in the sword itself, just a regular iron short sword. She'll treasure it though.

"So, me and Regina here pool some of our money so we can give you a farewell gift. You're going to be a mercenary right? I think you'll need a sword even though you may not use it. Just put it on your hips and some people might think twice to attack you." Leroy looked thoughtful as usual when he explained himself. "I actually want to buy a better sword, but a certain someone used some of the money to buy overpriced drink."

"I wonder who is it..." Regina innocently gulped her third drinks. She was pouring another one for herself when Leroy snatched her mug and drank it. Both of the females gasped in unison.

"Just for this time. Ugh.. the taste is weird, truly overpriced. What? Don't stare at me like that!" Because his usual stiff demeanor, seeing him going outside of his habit like this was a nice surprise for both of his companions. Ocarina quickly fetched another mug from the kitchen and they emptied the fancy bottle together rather quickly. They spent the next hour to play games and joking with each other.

Time passes rather quickly when you're having fun. As the moon rose to the night sky, Regina and Leroy excused themself from the house. Ocarina waved them goodbye as the two person walked away. Would she meet them again someday in the future? She hoped so. She'll really miss them.

.........

"Hey, Leroy. Now that Ocarina isn't in the Crow anymore, there's only two of us stationed on the Meide district right? So... Will HQ send a new guy?"

"Sadly not. Apparrently they stricten the registration requirement so we will not get a new member for a few weeks, probably months. We will split up the excessive tasks."

"Then you take the cremation duty."

"No, I have talked to captain and tell him to assign you that."

"Leroy, you bastard. You know I can't talk fluently in public. Hey, stop dodging and let me crush your balls!"

"Ha, if you want I can lend you a book about public speaking. Anyway, my house is this way. Good night, Madame Regina. May you sleep well tonight."

"Fuck!"

Something Fishy: Location: Marr shipyard
Time: noon, D-day

A barefooted girl wearing a brown mantle and a short sword strapped awkwardly on her hips were walking on the beach. She held her boots firmly on her left hand and her quite bulky backpack was dangling on her back.

The breeze on the port district really felt more violent than what she usually used to. Not only that, just by standing on the beach she could felt that her skin became slightly sticky.

She was exploring the beach before going to the pier because she wanted to try walking on the beach's sand. The ticklish sensation was incredible, very worth it even considering the blistering heat of the sand and the occasional small crabs that almost nabbed at her feet.

"Oyy!"

This was Ocarina's first time coming to seaside area. The sea was really incredible! It's just water as long as the sight go. She heard that if people stranded on the middle of the sea for too long then they would became violent and start fighting each other. She wondered if that's a fact or just myth. Actually, would she experience it firsthand since the Light Lotus were going to board a ship?

"Oy, miss!"

A rugged hoarse voice of an irritated fisherman pulled her from her daydreaming. The fisherman was pushing a small boat to the beach, looks like he just finished some fishing since there's piles of fishes on the boat.

"You're on my way, move out!"

"Oh, r-right. Sorry." Stepping aside, Ocarina watched as the fisherman pushed the boat off shore. She decided to help a bit by pulling from the other side, but found that the boat was much heavier than she thought. She barely help at all.

"Sir, is that a squid?" Among the small fishes in the boat, Ocarina spotted a weirdly looking creature with triangle head and several root-like limbs sprouted from its bottom part. Or wait, maybe she looks at it at the wrong angle and those tentacles were actually its hair?

The fisherman grinned at the girl's curiousity. For him these critters were his everyday source of income so he knew everything about them inside out, but there's just lots of people visiting this place that never see sea before, and their curiousity was always amusing to him. He learned to squeeze a bit of money from them too.

"Hehe, good eyes miss. This is a squid through and through. If you want how about you buy this one? I wasn't particularly searching for squid but sometimes one or two of them got caught in my net."

Ocarina quickly agreed with the deal, the fisherman mentioned a price that seems quite reasonable, probably. After the exchange, she put her newly caught squid in one of her cotton sack, which she immediately groaned as some of the ink coming out and tainted the sack. The fisherman laughed loudly at the sight before excusing himself.

It didn't take long for Ocarina to reaches the Marr Port, only took her a few more minutes. Unlike the non-port section of the district, the beach of this part was mostly covered in wooden structure that allows people to have an easier time mooring their ships. There's also plenty of big ships here that awed her, not only that, various kind of livestocks seemed to be allowed to roam freely and chasing some people...

Wait what?

She never heard of livestocks wandering the port, and the people seemed to be panicking. Some tried to run from a trudging cow, some tried to grab a goat and carried it somewhere else, some tried to subdue and tied them to nearby building. Most of the guards seems busy doing the latter.

A-anyway, Mr. Ramirov should be around here somewhere. She scanned the dock, trying to spot him among the chaotic port. There's a particular ship that attract her attention, because there's a raging battle between... who against who?? She couldn't be sure, she hide behind a big wooden box with [FRAGILE] written on it. Until she was sure what's happening, she'll try to keep her calm and keep observing.

Literary Revenant · May 1, 2019

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A Mad Man's Revenge: "Revenge... I must... Have... Revenge!" The Praetor spoke as he quickly recovered from another swing of his enormous blade. In his eyes, the Light Lotus and all of their scurrying rats are worth less than the dirt on his boots. Yet with his overconfidence, one of these rats managed to steal from the heart of Templar Lands, the Church itself! In that massive explosion, not only was a vast wealth lost, but his own right arm had been lost in the fire. If it wasn't for the master healers they had in their employ, he would be a memory. Not even a good memory, only instilling fear and pain. Thus, this was his second chance. The Operatives had discovered that the Light Lotus Company had arranged to leave Balthora by a ship that left today. The healers had only just finished installing a replacement arm, merging the nerves with the iron, but The Praetor refused to be put still.

No, he took his closest followers, led them to the docks. That's of course where they found Janet and that Gods forsaken mage Ramirov. It should have been easy, to destroy 2 rats with a sword. Yet even now the rats swarm against his forces, at least 10, maybe more. All of which are nothing more than obstacles to his victory. The only one he truly feared was the mage Ramirov, for yet he still lives even under the wrath of Soul's Abyss. Even as he swings his mighty sword, he fears a rebuttal that may end his life, just as the explosion nearly did.

"You never know how to die, do you?!" The Praetor roared, missing yet another swing. "All these years of living here, you are one of the only foreigners who had managed to stay alive. All the rest of your kin has either left or been reduced to slavery, but not you. What makes you so special?!" Finally, the Praetor landed an enormous blow with the flat of his blade, slamming Ramirov to the floor, facing upward. The mage somehow managed a shield split seconds before the blow hit, but the magic conjured shattered like glass against the might of his swing. Before the mage could react, The Praetor, thrust his sword downward, only having it stopped by an immense magical energy that glowed an odd bluish white. Looking into the eyes of the mage, The Praetor saw no fear. Baring his teeth, the mage held the blade just above his chest with his magic. His arms strained but didn't falter, another act of defiance. 'Kill him, just kill him, watch his light fade... He's another stain, watch the light fade, kill him, kill him now!' Many voices swarmed The Praetor's mind, and with a furious zeal the Praetor slowly pushed down against the magic. Slowly it touched the man's robes, then piercing his flesh, reveling in his screams.

"Yes... Die... Die... Fucking DIE!!!!!!!" He shouted, lauging maniacally.
Rousing the Light Lotus!: Meanwhile, Janet had finally got the lever to budge, the locks partially released the ship. Apparently there were atleast 3 more levers to pull. A sharp whistle of arrows flew by her left ear, shrill and unwelcome. Glancing to the left she saw multiple templar archers knocking arrows aimed directly at her bosom.

"That's no fun." Janet mumbled. After a short preparation Janet made a running jump off of the platform, running on the flat metal helmets of the templars towards the other lock platform to the tune of "Oh! Oof! Gah! What th-! Yowch!" It was amusing. From the last Templar, she nimbly bounced onto the stone pavement, rolling to break her fall. More arrows whizzed past her, well of their mark! "Hahaha! You gotta do better than that boys!" Janet giggled. She swiftly scaled the ladder leading to the next lock platform, groaning frustratedly upon noticing that this lever too was heavily corroded. Using her whole body weight, Janet worked on this lever too.

“Well, this is quite the going-away party I’ve run into! What the hell is goin’ on here?!”

It was a familiar voice, one of the new recruits. Janet turned to the sound of the voice, and it was indeed a recruit. Bridget! The Half Alveric assassin chef with a great body and a killer grin. Somehow she had managed to get to the ship by midday but... where did she come from? Regardless she was grateful Bridget was here. Janet smiled as warmly as she could while pulling a lever. When it wasnt budging she stopped to take a quick breather.

"Well, in short, the Templars dont want us to leave! So me and Ramirov are trying to get this ship free while at the same time fighting them to the death. Sound like fun" Janet answered and asked.

How fortunate that it didnt take long for help to arrive, Bita, Dante, The Baron, Bridget, Pretty Pal "Aria", Bura, Kyros, Aron, all of them, right on cue! Such perfect timing and not a moment too soon. Janet cheered and whooped as she saw her recruits show up one by one.

After Bridget, the recruits had shown up in quick succession. Bita and Dante had started a charge through the lines of guards, looking a little scraped and bruised. Aria and Ulysses had made a rather nauseating mess of red meaty pulp, which was likely the product of Ulysses' immense strength. It was amusing how Aria was yelling at a dead body, part of her wondered if the poor slob got a drop of blood on the double cape. Kyros managed to find his way through the chaos, and had tried to get all buddy buddy with Baron but nothing had come of it.

Janet had caught glances of the others dispersed through the crowd of fleeing citizens. She even saw Ocarina hiding behind a crate containing glassware. With their help beating these Templar 'soldiers' should be easier than removing her panties. Now she had to give orders, so exciting! The only person shes been able to boss around has been Ramirov, but no matter how many times she commanded him to disrobe for a physical all he would do is make tea and ignore her, or take off a sock and say his foot was just fine. Sometimes both and that is never fun, in short when it involved anything when they were alone, Ramirov would say something stupid or read those stupid magic tomes of his. What's first? It's been months since she had led in battle... But battle came often and leading followed naturally. She had a plan.

"Dante! Bita! Get your asses over here and help me get these locks taken down! Come on quickly now!" Facing the alluring Bridget again, Janet smiled. "You, Golden Cookie, I need you to keep those..." she paused to sidestep an arrow that she had very luckily guessed was coming "Archers from making us into human Pincushions. Maybe give me a show while your at it?" Raising her voice, Janet then focused her attention on the group of recruits, one of which was the lovely Aria who was oddly yelling at a corpse, whose human shape was barely recognized over the amorphous meaty paste it had become. It was rather funny watching her waving her little arms screaming with such vigor. Maybe he got a drop of blood on those perfect double capes, and that's why she was angrier than a cat in water.

"Aria, stop yelling at the dead guard and establish a perimeter with Ulysses! Make sure no more Templars or Guardsmen get in. Or out. Or... nearby? You know what I mean! Kyros, you help me with this lever, I'm not strong enough to pull it on my own!" 'Who else? I couldve sworn I saw an Orc and a familiar bust er... face.' As she thought, the ugly screams of a man having his back raked by a blade. A blonde haired girl, not really armored like armor, but still full of spirit. "Oh, you must be er.... Aurem? I recognize your face. I trust The Baron took care of ya? We can chat later, but keep killing those guards for me and make sure any civilians around are taken to safety. Estie! Do what you can to heal anyone wounded! Civilians included! Bura, Kannah! Get on the ship and help Ramirov! ... Oh F*** Ramirov!"

Having completely forgotten her partner, she looked down and saw Ramirov lying face first unconscious on the deck, a rather nasty hole in his chest. The sickening red of blood stained his handsome blue robes, worst of all, the Praetor standing victorious over him. He looked up at Janet, pulled the blade from Ramirov's motionless body, a large and evil grin crawling over his long face. Screaming desperately, Janet called for the one man she knew could help her fallen ally and friend.

"ULLYSES!!! GET OVER HERE NOW!!!!!" It had been years since she screamed, the uncomfortable strain on her voice would leave her throat sore for a week. The only question racking her brain was how could this have happened to him? Ramirov had never fallen before...
The Lightbringer Arrives: The day started well enough. This was Vivian's day off away from her studies and teaching. During her time as a Templar, she paid her dues working as a mindless drone. Fortunately, she was able to use her powers and intellect to carve out a worthwhile position. She was put in charge of the Marr shipyard making sure everything ran smoothly. It was an easy task as she had her own following to help her in this endeavor. Those under her commands would come out in force to remind those in the city that the Templars were here to keep the peace for the better. While others resorted to stiff arms and heavy sticks. Vivian maintained order through information and a fearsome reputation. Her followers knew everything there was to know, and she made sure in the bars and taverns knew what she was capable of. Those who broke her rules were publicly punished along with anyone associated into the affront to Vivian.

Today like always, She taught at the local orphanage known for those who had some magical ability. Personally, she focused on numbers and letters as she aptly put every time the children whined. "A great foundation so you know when the merchants are ripping you off" the older kids bribed with sweets and a copper coin would help encourage the younger kids to stop their whining and learn. Vivian enjoyed teaching the simple things rather than the complex stuffy classes she was required to teach at the church. It also didn't hurt that by doing this these street urchins would one day and somehow join under the Templar banner and eventually find their way back into her clutches. Unusual for the day, the city seemed more alive than usual. This was the day the drunkards would stay sober, the gamblers would come out of their dens and the beggars would disappear. Vivian knew she couldn't root out all the criminals, but she could determine the level of respect and fear they had for her. It was simple system she made. Everyone sends kickbacks to her and didn't quarrel with one another unless she gave permission. Today like every week the docks would quiet down as "The Light Maiden" came out to inspect her domain.

Vivian saw a few guards run off towards the docks. The two guards she left outside didn't come inside the building. Chances were it was nothing serious maybe an unruly crew. She continued her lessons and she could've sworn she felt the ground rumble as if a earthquake had happened. Once again her guards didn't come in to explain anything. She was somewhat surprised no one came to see her as she continued her lessons a bit more distracted than usual. Soon a loud booming voice rang outside the door. Vivian could make out the sounds of her guards questioning the knocker. A few moments later a messenger came hurling in. A swirl of brown robes was all Vivian saw before he gave the message. In a hurried and hushed tone the messenger shared the current situation at the docks. A dispute between the Praetor and a mercenary company. Vivian's face tightened in anger as she smiled and pretended like everything was alright in front of her class. She wouldn't show any weakness in front of any audience much less those she would see again in a week. By the end of the message, Vivian was livid as she politely excused herself. She walked out her door and saw a tell tale smoke plume come from the docks. Her eyes couldn't pick up too much aside from a few moving specks. This went against the order she established. No violence occurred unless Vivian knew about it earlier and allowed it. The fact all this happened without her knowing before it occurred caused a flood of embarrassment. Many of her acolytes had gathered around the orphanage as no doubt the trouble centered around the docks had spread. None of them looked at Vivian in the eye. All of them no doubt worried she would pin the blame on them.

All her acolytes and her fellows knew Vivian's expectations. Order was maintained by Vivian and only her. There was no exceptions. This was a personal attack on competency as far as Vivian was concern. All that work to carve a place out in this world. All of this might go up in flames because she didn't know about this problem before it occurred. Her fist clenched and a ball of light formed around it. The air around it became distorted as heat rolled off her fist. Memories of the docks sprung to the forefront of her mind as she realized the smoke might be from a fire, and it could burn a path through the docks. "I swear by Salieri no one will insult his memory! I will tear them apart!" With an angry roar Vivian took off to the docks. Vivian didn't take the winding main road. She lived her for years as a child and now as an adult. She walked into alleyways, houses and warehouses all left unlocked and forgotten. It didn't take long for Vivian and her entourage to reach the docks taking these shortcuts. All around there was chaos if the bloodied pulp of a guard had anything to go by. Vivian held back bile at the pathetic mutilated waste of a human. The Templars were struggling to maintain the initiative against a dozen ragtag mercenaries. Vivian flicked a hand and her mages, guards and warriors scurried off to help. They brought with them fresh energy to push against what Vivian hoped was tired foes.

Vivian's eyes flickered to where she stood. It still looked the same as always. She tried to look for the the place where her luck changed. A stone was a slight crimson to anyone else it looked like an old wine stain from years ago. For Vivian, it was a sacred spot she would stand every day it rained waiting for the man. The anger in her bones burnt stronger as she looked around. How dare these people desecrate this place? If she didn't keep everything perfect how was her father to find her. A ball of light formed in her hand as she lazily tossed it at one of the mercenaries. They were but dirt beneath her feet. She searched for a worthy opponent that would change the tide. Her eyes searched for her foe in the fierce fighting on both sides. The mercenaries tried to flee on their boat like rats on a sinking ship. All of them were separated in small little grounds. They were ever so slowly turning the tide of the battle in their favor as they took direction from their leader no doubt. A female on top of the ship trying to release it from being anchored. The Templars were falling leaving their dirty blood on her docks. They fought without leadership causing many to become exposed and in effect easy pickings to the united, determined and well trained mercenary company.

She then noticed the Praetor sending a flurry of blows to a smaller man. Then the Praetor was caught off balance as the man moved to capitalize on it the Praetor suddenly regained Balanced and pressed his attack. Vivian rolled her eyes as she saw The Praetor fighting a mage. The mage was masterfully dodging, countering and keeping the brute occupied. A pity the brute couldn't kill the mage. She couldn't help but wonder how the brute held any respect at all.

Creating a few light barriers, she swiftly ascended the staircase throwing up additional shields when projectiles got too close and gracefully jumped aboard the ship. The death of this mage would no doubt free up the brute and in effect in this destructive battle. A worth opponent to beat."Need help Praetor?" Vivian's voice was filled with little concealed disgust.
An Immortal Falls: "Lightbringer, good your here. Try to keep that mage still for me, hes a slippery one."

"You... Will NOT TOUCH HIM!" With his thunderous voice, the Black Baron nullified any of the sounds of battle. He was certainly frightening and more than capable of defeating the Praetor, but that other one, the mage would prove to heba problem. Luckily, he was not alone. By his side he had Grannie Estie, Avila, and Johnathan Royce. "Good... I'm not alone. Avila and Royce, you two keep that mage occupied. Estie, make sure that Ramirov isnt dead and stays that way. When your done, drug that mage with death or something. The Praetor... is mine!"

Both surprised and invigorated by this challenge, The Praetor relished the chance to pay back the loss of men at the hands of this monster. Wiping the blood from his weapon, the Praetor didnt wait, and charged at Ulysses, and the two clashed in a bloody duel. Using his monstrous strength, Ulysses tore holes in The Praetors Armor, tearing at the soft flesh beneath. Ignoring the pain, the Praetor responded with swift broad swings of his sword, which were easily dodged. For a short while he wondered how he might actually defeat this thing.

Meanwhile, Grannie evaded the fighting and snuck to Ramirov's side to analyze his wounds. The big gaping hole on his right shoulder was pretty bad, bleeding badly too. A glance at his blood revealed another serious issue, something kept his magical energy at bay and drained the blood of essential nutrients. A poison, no doubt. Luckily she had something that should help, it may be a temporary solution but this stuff was strong enough was keep someone clean from the Grey. First she rubbed a healing salve in the shoulder wound, and put a special tablet in his mouth that quickly dissolved. "There you go, dearie. In a moment you should be better. Now about that mage..."

The Praetor was unable to land a single blow against Ulysses, he was faster than a raging storm. With each swing that he would miss, the monster landed two blows. Soon his body was riddled with several small wounds that all stung in the salty air. 'Its no use! This monster is going to kill me! I must call upon the Demon, but if I resort to that power again, I may not come back again. Still I have to try!' The Praetor's thoughts rushed as though they were words. Taking a brief moment to focus and bide his energy, The Praetor entered a brief state of self hypnosis emptying his mind. In a moment the whole world became a cavern and at it's heart a mirror-like lake. Walking to this lake, The Praetor gazed upon his reflection, his once fair and handsome face being barred by scars, tobacco and a lifetime of grumpiness. For a moment, a second face flashed over his, one that bore no human shape or resemblance only being described as how shadows smile. This was the demon, the one who was always lost and never found, until it's riddle was solved.

This was his Salvation.

"Kreizahi!" The Praetor screamed, somewhat mournfully as if calling someone he had lost. The air grew uncomfortably still, like all the energy had been drained from it. Ulysses paused to analyzed what was happening, and The Praetor's body somewhat changed, growing more fierce than before. His eyes were livid and hungry, they desired something, if Ulysses had to guess: Blood. Still he wasnt frightened, no beast could scare him. Before The Praetor could finish whatever he was doing, Ulysess moved to end this in one final move. He grasped his head in his hands, crushing it. Feeling the bones cracking in his hands, the Praetor stood no chance, or so he thought. The Praetor grabbed Ulysses' forearms, pulling his hands off of his head. Shocked, Ulysses tried to tear at him, but The Praetor refused to let go. Instead the Praetor landed blow after raging blow on Ulysses, with such force as to shatter stone into rubble. For the first time since his first death, Ulysses was sent reeling, until the Praetor with such immense strength grabbed his head and ripped it from his body. A rush of power flew from Ulysses' body, flying like a hurricane in all directions. In that moment, Janet watched in horror as perhaps her greatest weapon was destroyed, along with a close friend. The Praetor laughed, not a human laugh but the laugh of a monster, a demon. His attention shifted, to his ally Vivian.
Lightbringer's Wrath: The duo attacked before Vivian could blink. A wall of blows flew in Vivian's direction. Three stabbing and slashing swords and bashes from a shield to contend with. Vivian put up a spectacular display of dodging and well placed barriers frustrating the pair's efforts. Vivian notice the two awkwardly move around and their blades frequently coming too close to hitting one another. The two probably never fought together. This caused the two to stumble over one another, and it allowed Vivian to easily stay out of any tricky situation. The smaller of the two the boy had attacked with masterful strokes more fit for a dancer than the blade master he was. It took moments later to realize he was using his swords to try and keep her pinned and head in the direction of his choosing which endlessly frustrated Vivian as she couldn't do anything about it with his guardian dutifully watching to cover his mistakes.

There was no pause in his attacks. His ability was the blade was nothing to scoff at. They were fast, brutal and adaptable attacks. Vivian used every ounce of energy to dodge them. The boy used his counterpart to hide behind whenever Vivian attempted to counter, the knight would block every bolt of light with only minimal effort. She noticed small openings during the pair's attack but nothing substantial yet as while she could get a hit in. The wicked looking shield of the knight promised swift and painful retribution. The last thing she needed was to risk it all to just give the pair a minor wound. The boy seemed well aware of this fact and made more daring moves that Vivian not only barely kept up with but made her it was only a matter of time before he was able to box her in allowing the heavily armed knight would have a field day with Vivian's skull.

She just need to wait for her moment to exploit the duo's openings. Vivian's chance came when the smaller one slashed at her exposing his whole back to his ally. He overextended from his attacking routine just enough. This provided Vivian the opening she needed as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him in. He was a quick thinker, Viv could tell as she watched him prepare to gut her with his freehand. Perhaps, this was a riskier ploy to end it all and to be honest a great move against another swordsmen. Unfortunately, a flick of her hand and his sword only hit a rough barrier. A look of understanding reached his face realizing his fatal flaw as Vivian smirked. Her hand was already aglow as she shoved the orb of light into the boys face. The smell of burning flesh filled her nostrils. As he tried to pull away, Vivian placed a barrier directly at his back. He was forced to bear the brunt of the pain before Vivian willingly pulled back as the heavily armed knight tried to move and flank Vivian. Pulling back and throwing him as far as she could from his partner, her work was more than done. The results spoke for themselves. The boy was blinded. His eyelids looked permanently closed as blood seeped from his eyelids. His swords were forgotten on the deck as he held his face a screaming about as loud as a banshee.

"Royce!" A feminine voice yelled out in shock seeing the brutal results of Vivian's handiwork. A sense of pity hit Vivian as she threw a few light bolts at her uninjured opponent. The force behind each bolt forced the female back as now Vivian could focus a bit more and increase the force of her bolts. Behind Vivian sat the boy miserably trying to come to terms with what happened. With a backwards glance and with a feeling of guilt, Vivian sent a bolt of light hurling towards the boys head. A brief flash of light, and the boy no longer had to suffer. All the while the woman couldn't move aside from taking slow steps back afraid of exposing the wounded mage behind her. No doubt the reason the knight didn't fully commit to any of the boys attacks out of fear it would leave the healer and wounded mage exposed to a deadly bolt of light.

Focusing back at the fight at hand with each bolt of light, Vivian realized the woman could easily stand her ground all day. Her bolts while strong and hot couldn't piece the heavy armor and shield she now faced. Vivian felt a fine sheen of sweat start to cover her body and blood from dozens of shallow cuts burn. She knew she had to end it now lest she tire and find herself in the women's situation backed in a corner and at the mercy of another. The boy while dead had left a lasting impression in littering her body with small cuts that burned and prevented Vivian from making too extreme of moves, like using her barriers to move quickly around the knight, lest she stress the wound and make it worse.

Vivian decided to pull out her ace card against knights like this one. A prayer graced Vivians lips as she held her hand up. "Goddess Salieri, Hear your Chosen, grant me the strength to smite my foe with your Shining Lance!" A lance of light flowed and formed in the palm of her hand as her other hand continued to harass her opponent, keeping them at bay. The lance widened and lengthened as Vivian focused her anger into it. Once it was ready, she threw the lance at her foe. Her counterpart expected to be able to absorb much of the magic attack like her bolts, and there wasn't any reason not to believe that assumption. To her surprise. The light pieced the shield and her armor. The lance then exploded in a dazzling display of magic. Her enemy's shield held a large fist size opening along with her gut. Still her foe stood unwilling to give up despite her injury, the lance had exploded on her armor causing the heavy plate to go into her body and leave a nasty wound.

Vivian recoiled at the sight of blackened and burnt flesh. She had a healthy respect for her attacker. A horrendous wound yet still standing tall. A final, frantic yell was heard followed by a sluggish charge with her sword held high. Vivian didn't even have to try and dodge the obvious overhead swing. She ducked and shoved a bolt of light into her gut wound. She slide away and turned to see the swordsman had slammed into the railing of the ship. Her wound was no doubt too much as she leaned heavily against the railings. Vivian didn't finish the knight off as she saw that the armor that once protected her now acted like an iron cage keeping her down. Vivian turned heel to face her final opponent, the healer.

A look at the elderly mage told her enough, she was old and weak. A red dart 'whished' at Vivian, almost drilling a hole into her forehead. Hastily creating a barrier, many more red darts formed and threw themselves from the grandma's cut hand. Vivian's barrier broke apart under the assault, rather shocking based on their size. A look of rage was on the wizened lady's face, no doubt at the death of her two comrades. Vivian ducked, rolled and crawled away from many of the thin red darts. After cowering behind some cover and rapidly throwing a dozen or so bolts. Vivian checked her wounds and only saw superficial injuries. Damn, blood mage had attacked with the violence, speed and audacity better resembling a younger, more aggressive berserker than a feeble woman. Vivian smelled iron and threw her body from cover to see a small red lance pierce where her head was just moments before.

Vivian quickly created a barrier to jump on and take advantage of the height advantage it gave her risking the potential to worsen her wounds. She jumped from one barrier to the next destroying the barrier she left behind as the small red lances flew from the older ladies hands. At mid jump, Vivian was caught in the gut throwing her off the platform and onto the ground. Unfazed, Vivian threw a flurry of bolts at the grandma and continued to dodge and weave. Where once the two dueled with finesse and precision, Vivian and the grandma were just weakened wrecks hoping to land the larger spell on their foe as they hid behind their chosen barriers. flinging their spells with reckless abandon.

Finally in an audacious ploy, the grandma sent a metaphorical wall of bright red needles at Vivian. With little to no time, Vivian sent up the strongest barrier she could muster and bore the assault with a prayer on her lips relying heavily on her faith into stopping the unrelenting attack. Vivian's barrier held for the most part but in many areas of her body, blood seeped out from small wounds from needles getting through. This caused her wounds from the swordsman to swell and take their toll. A larger wound tore into her right shoulder seeping red droplets. The three opponents had left Vivian with bruises, cuts and a noteworthy wound on her abdomen. Creating a bolt with one hand as she still held the barrier with the other hand, she pressed her hand on the worst of her wounds and moved on best she could. Her left arm stiffened and desperately needing a healer. Her once white robes were covered in bright red splotches, dirt seemed to cover her whole body and her hair was once in a loose ponytail now ran wild like how she was in her youth.

Dropping her barrier completely, Vivian looked to see the grandma was still standing, but she stood still and unmoving almost like a wax statue. Vivian threw a bolt she used to cauterized her wounds at the still figure and to her surprise the bolt struck true. The smell of burnt flesh rang out, but Vivian saw no blood emerge from the grandma who fell over. Quickly inspecting the body, Vivian realized the old lady out of desperation had used everything she had in an effort to kill Vivian. Vivian saw why as the black brute was slain by the Praetor. The old mage knew with all her allies dead. She could ill afford the risk of fighting two foes at once. Each mercenary fought with skill and talent Vivian wished wasn't wasted in such a battle. The three enemies seemed to only be bested because of unfortunate circumstances. The boy risked it all but his limited knowledge on her abilities and overestimated his strength. The knight was weighed down being a living shield to the boy and the wounded mage. The grandma did her best, and she might've won if the Praetor was still fighting in his duel. Unfortunately for all of them, time and fortune didn't favor them.

Only the wounded mage was left after those who came to his rescue were one by one killed mercilessly. Vivian tried her best to straighten, catch her breath and look battle ready. In truth, she was on the decline. All the fighting had exhausted her and all the spells, punches and dodges would only get worse until the battle ended. Vivian wouldn't voice it out loud, but the Praetor would need to do most of the fighting. At best she could hold her own and provide a strong support with her barriers. If the mage focused on her, Vivian considered fleeing. Her last ace card was a spell her father taught her bases in ice. Taking a battle ready posture Vivian spoke. "Surrender and I'll give you a merciful death for desecrating this place." Vivian hoped her voice was strong and firm hiding her exhaustion. All around her the docks were defiled. Would her father recognize the docks after all of this?
Frostburne's Fury, An unexpected reunion: Ramirov felt strength returning to his tired body, his shoulder cried out with the voice of a mad inferno. The melody of battle played as stars appeared in the blue sky. He felt lightheaded but only briefly. Once he had regained his senses in their entirety, Ramirov rolled over, placing his left hand onto a splintering plank, covered in blood. Not his blood, this blood was black and inhuman. A quick glance upward revealed a young woman, maybe in her twenties covered in blood. Beside the young girl, the bodies of Avila, Johnathan Royce, and even Granny Estie. Her clothes were of a priestesses cut, but not any Seneschal of Balthora. What was stranger still was this unusual resemblance to someone he had met long ago. The Praetor stepped in front of her, standing victorious with the head of Ulysses, the Black Baron, held firmly in his iron grasp. He could not believe his eyes, he simply could not. The impossible had been done, the Praetor had slain Ulysses, and Ramirov had thought it would've taken the largest army of Balthora just to scrape the immortal Kalinite. In acknowledgement of Ramirov's noticing, the Praetor tossed Ulysses' head at him. Rolling and tumbling on the wooden planks, slowly landing face up at Ramirov. The horrendous sight made him nauseous, but he had nothing in his stomach to purge. Instead, Ramirov closed Ulysses' eyes with his weakened hand, closing his eyes to silently respect his fallen comrade.

"Surrender and I'll give you a merciful death for desecrating this place." the young woman, covered in blood shouted, ready to challenge him. "Maybe we'll let the rest of them live if you do..." The Praetor ... or something else said, reinforcing the other's threat.

Then it happened, in only two heartbeats Ramirov called upon an ancient power. While his body was battered, the pain he suffered was replaced with the numbing strength of Frost. In his wounds burned a fire that did not blaze but burned cold. The Flame of Frostburne. First it was his wounds set ablaze, then his arm, as the flames spread over his body like cream in coffee Ramirov was instilled with the strength of his homeland, the immense cold Heartland. Pushing himself up, Ramirov met the eyes of his enemies with the zeal to avenge his comrades. The presence of his ancestors by his side, their weapons aimed and readied at his foes. The Praetor stood baffled, that wound should have killed him, he must've missed his heart. Not wanting to take a chance, the Praetor charged.

Time slowed, Ramirov closed his eyes, whispering the words "Adnahra, Shiias Nolansky Ramir Tovarsh Thavyien Fraizyurne." Though no snow fell from the sky, Ramirov felt as if a single flake of pure cold energy floated down from the sky, wafted slightly in the wind as a feather does as it falls. As he conjured his spell, Vivian watched in awe. There was only one man she had ever seen use this type of magic. It was something she had seen and also learned from ... her Father, Naven! But could this man truly be Naven? The man she so desperately wanted to please, and prove her worth? Ramirov held out his hand to catch the energy, which although was cold, held a warmth that soothed his soul. Glaring at his charging enemy, Ramirov, now unencumbered by the pain of battle, clenched his fist imbuing it with the power of burning ice. He too charged, pulling his right fist back to release a haymaker of the ages. The Praetor beamed at this sight, the old man had some fight left in him and he would snuff it out forever with the might of Kreizahi!

"Die you freak!" The Praetor bellowed.

"Throndas Fraizyurne!" Ramirov yelled as he stopped, delivering perhaps the most spectacular uppercut the Docks of Marr had ever seen. As Ramirov's fist met The Praetor's now incredibly squishy face, a fractal-like pattern of flames and ice exploded from the contact point quickly spreading up and around the immediate area. The sheer force of the blow staggered the Praetor, and the immense wind generated by the rapidly expanding air caused by the burning ice sent the Praetor flying like a golf ball atleast twenty feet in the air. He landed on the horns of one of the stampeding animals fleeing in terror from a familiar Nahan orc. The Praetor seemed to be screaming in pain, but it was unclear as the bull he got impaled by was moving too fast for Ramirov to get good listen to, disappearing into the passages of Balthora. It was kinda funny, earning a chuckle which turned into a laugh. Perhaps the first genuine laugh Ramirov has had in a very long time.
The Battle's Over, Our Work Begins!: Vivian watched in disbelief, it was him! Father! While every bone in her body wished for her to leap into his arms and feel his loving embrace once more, she knew it would be reckless and foolhardy to just rush in for a hug. She had to think of a better solution and fast. "Acolytes!" She cried, calling the attention of her men and that of Ramirov and Janet. "Fight with the strangers, defeat the Templars!" Without question they obeyed, following her rule as if she was a goddess. A perk of being the Lightbringer no doubt. Janet jumped from the ship lock, boot dagger drawn, holding it firmly against her throat. "Agh! Get off me you-"

"Shut up you weird garish bitch! Before I stab a hole in this pretty neck of yours!" Janet threatened, more than ready to kill Vivian. Stepping forward, Ramirov held his hand up, motioning for her to stand down. "Janet! Stop! Let the girl go!" he yelled out. Now Janet knew Ramirov had gone insane. First, he hides that insane power of his until after four of their recruits are dead, manages to not die after being stabbed by a giant sword and manhandled by some psychotic Templar, and now he asks her to spare the life of the woman who killed three recruits single handedly?! "No. Fucking. Way! Are you mad Ramirov?! What makes you think I am going to just let her go?!" Janet spat, droplets of actual spit flying from her mouth as Janet was now angrier than bull with it's pride removed. "Please, make her let me go Nav-" Vivian was choked before she could finish that sentence. "I SAID SHUT UP!!!"

"Vivian... is my Daughter, Janet."

Daughter? What? Ramirov has children? This girl doesn't look anything like Ramirov. Ramirov has brown hair, blue eyes, a gorgeous face, and lots of godsdamned Magic! This ... girl this thing could not have been his daughter. Her hair was too dark, her eyes were a different color, not to mention this was no magic she was familiar with. She doesn't even have an accent, she doesn't even look foreign. How in the stinking Death pits of the Grey, could this woman be Ramirov's Daughter?! The sheer shock of the words made Janet unwillingly relax allowing Vivian to fall forward, coughing up a lung with a new cut on her throat. Janet fell to her knees, spacing out at the sky above lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. Did this mean Ramirov has a wife? That he was never available this whole time? That him refusing to bed her was some unstoppable measure of faith and loyalty to some foreign bitch?! Someone else already has Ramirov's heart?! Tears began to stream from her eyes as a torrent of emotions overwhelmed her. All the while, the acolytes had aided in defeating any leftover Templars, allowing all the remaining recruits to bear witness to this exchange. Ramirov slowly walked to Vivian, kneeling down to place a hand on her shoulder. As the still coughing girl looked up, Ramirov smiled warmly.

"Not of blood, Janet. When I first arrived here in Balthora, Vivian here tried to rob me but failed miserably. When I saw her lying so still on the road, beaten so easily by this world, I couldn't allow her to just stay there." Ramirov began to explain. "So I decided to do what I could to raise her. I taught her some magic and customs of my homeland. While she does have some potential, I fear she may not actually bear a flame or conjure an ice shard. However, I did introduce her to the Goddess Salieri, an Elder of Vian. In your terms, a Goddess of Light. I spent a good four years of my life raising Vivian, but I was forced to leave her after some... old enemies caught up with me. I feared that she may have returned to her old self, but I am very glad to be wrong." His words made sense. Ramirov never lies either, atleast not about serious shit like this. Why would he make up an entire story about some random murderer being his daughter without some truth to the story. When Vivian recovered, she stood up, squeezing Ramirov in a tight bear hug, sobbing uncontrollably as for the first time in many years she has hugged the man she calls father.

"Naven! I thought you hated me!" she sobbed. "I hoped someday you would return, and now you have! I'm so sorry for hurting you, please forgive me Naven!" Vivian's cries were enough to attract a crowd of bold onlookers, willing to brave the bodies of templars and guards to take a peek. Ramirov held Vivian in his arms, stroking her hair, doing his best to comfort her all the while his wounds starting to hurt again. He didn't care, he refused to let this moment be ruined.

A long tense few moments passed, Janet sheathed her weapon, wiping the blood from her blade and making sure her new outfit wasn't horribly stained by all this blood everywhere. While this was an incredibly touching scene, their ship was wrecked! The old sailor had been accidentally impaled by a dozen needles in the conflict and this ship was sinking quickly. Janet almost had to drag Ramirov off the ship to prevent him from getting stuck underwater with his 'daughter'. The next question was simple. Now what were they going to do?

"Well... While I can appreciate that you aren't dead Ramirov, Lotus blood was spilled today. We have lost 4 recruits as well as our ticket to Vian. How in the name of Viilo are we going to get to Vian now?" Janet asked, doing her best to contain tears.

"I can help you there..." Vivian spoke, still in Ramirov's arms. "For most of my life I have been trying to find Naven, to prove to him that I am worthy of being a good daughter, that he was wrong to abandon me. But, it seems I was wrong about a few things. If it is of any conciliation, I will pay for a ship to Vian for all of us. I know that what I have done, you may never forgive me for Miss... But I hope that you may allow me a single chance to prove my worth, to you and Naven." Vivian stepped up to Janet, still covered in Lotus blood. She placed her good arm over her heart and knelt, facing downward leaving herself at the mercy of Janet. "I, Adept Vivian, Daughter of Naven, Lightbringer of Salieri, swear my fealty to you. I shall serve you until my days end, or until Naven releases me. You have my word I shall never betray you, and that I shall do my very best to atone for the Sins I have committed against you." Vivian swore in a long, formal statement.

Janet stood perfectly still, with only her chest moving with her breath. At first she thought about killing the girl, but that may lead to a very angry Ramirov. She definitely did not want to get punched into a stampede like the Praetor was, but she didn't feel she could fully forgive Vivian outright either. Plus, this girl was a Templar one of the sworn enemies of the Light Lotus Company. Yet for some reason, that didn't bother her. Drawing her sword, Janet placed it on Vivian's shoulder, making a cross.

"Why the hell not... Vivian, I hereby make you ... Steward of the Light Lotus Company. Congratulations... Hurray..." She leaned in close, so that only Vivian could hear these next words. "However, if I so much as think that you may hurt me, Ramirov, or anyone in my Company again, I will not hesitate to thrust this sword in that pretty face of yours." Janet swiftly turned around, cheering to her surviving recruits, all bloodied and bruised from battle. "Light Lotus! Let's go! We got a ship to find!"

Vivian kept true to her word, using all of her remaining savings and influence, she had secured a first class ship as well as passports and endorsed documents declaring the Light Lotus as an official Envoy of the Princess, with the help of the 'stolen' documents of course. At long last, Janet would rid herself of Balthora, and see where the future would lead her in the new world.

In Vian.

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Location: The Docks of Marr
Tagged:

AshenLily
Temperature: Around 65' Farenheit, 18' Celsius
Janet's Status: Emotionally Shaken, but uninjured.
Ramirov's Status: Badly injured, but still standing.
Important Notes: Johnathan Royce, Avila McAlister, Ulysses the Black Baron, and Grannie Estie have all DIED. Vivian has joined as an NPC Character.

Literary Revenant · May 20, 2019

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: Captain's Log, Janet, Captain of the Light Lotus Company. According to the Shipmaster, it is the First Zantaldanen of Juvian, so it should be warm when we get to Vian. Which, by the way, I finally saw land this morning! Green healthy land! I actually saw trees for the first time in years and they had green leaves on them without being painted or Kalinite origin. Our group morale has more or less recovered from the battle at the docks. Everyone has been more than happy to make friends, or at the very least acquaintances. Luckily Ocarina had a cure for the seasickness everyone had suffered with, that helped keep the smells from wafting into my cabin. There has been a lot of drinking, I fear that we may have some alcoholics by the time we arrive.

Ramirov and I havent spoken much since our argument, not like I've wanted to really. His pet 'that woman' has been trying to buddy up to me, doing small favors like making me this weird honeyed gruel for breakfast, healing the cuts I've gotten from from sharpening my daggers, shes even cleaned my small clothes. Without my permission I must add! Of course I'm suspicious of her, I havent touched what she has given me for fear of it being cursed by that strange light magic. I've had to go commando for the past few days as a result... I lost my favorite pieces too... I did ask 'that woman' to relay a message to Ramirov, asking him to explain the plan we sorta collaborated on but is really just me making all the decisions.

Kannah is still heavy on my mind, she's just so adorable. It's been about 3 weeks since I told her how I felt, oddly enough its put me at ease. Of course... I was rather brash with my confession, and since I've had some time to think I admit that perhaps I was suffering a... moment of weakness and used Kannah to vent my feelings. Still, she has reciprocated my feelings and that means I must commit to her. Which means I have refused all of Kyros' advances, no matter how handsome he is. Ever since I've declared my feelings, theres been a few instances where I've had to scream into a pillow to distract myself from her irresistible charms. How odd... normally I'm the one doing that. I've noticed myself fluttering like a teen whenever I see her walking in the halls or when shes in the common room. It's hard to not smile around her, and even harder to not ravish innocent, beautiful elven body. Regardless, I have to go. Vian awaits.
: Vian... it's beaches were so close, after a long and rather tense voyage the Bismoliyet (Bees moh Lee yay) harbor was just minutes away. Janet couldn't contain her excitement, she was pretty much a 10 year old in a candy store for hours. At breakfast all she could say was 'We are finally here! Dont eat too much, we'll find an inn! I can't wait to find the hot locals!' Okay, perhaps that last one wasn't true but based on her record, Ramirov knew it was only a matter of time before it came up. Since Janet still refuses to make any type of conversation with him, Vivian was kind enough to inform Ramirov asking him to explain the plan to the recruits. Well... most of them, Dante had made the decision to "Repent for his crimes as a Serpent" by joining a local monastery. Something involving a previous argument with Bita, which didn't make much sense but that's all he said when he spoke to him and Janet.

Ramirov had finally gathered the last of his gear, packing his last bottle of medicine into his sack throwing it over his shoulder. Using his staff to prop open the door, Ramirov walked to the main common room where the entire team had assembled in full gear. He felt a sense of pride, renewed along with company spirit. They all looked at him with eager eyes, sharing a want for information and of course the plan for landfall.

"Comrades, I'm glad to see you all now. Our time in Vian begins today. The plan is simple, we will arrive at the Bismoliyet Harbor and get off the ship. There are several markets in the harbor, and there you will replenish your supplies, sharpen your blades, recover your senses if needed. You will have one hour to do all you have to do in the markets. Each of you are to be handed out 5 Silver Marks, this is from Lotus coffers and to be used only for business needs. We cant spare anything more, as most of our money was lost with that sunken ship.

"Once you have acquired everything you need, we will travel west to a small Balthoran Settlement called Wuld. Listen closely! Wuld is a coed settlement, consisting of both Balthorans and Vian natives. It is imperative that you maintain manners at all times, relations with the Wuldite Vrahi have been very tense the past few months due to rumored Ardanor presence. They don't fully trust us and we shouldn't trust them for the time being. My people have dealt with the Vrahi, so they may not see me as a problem, but they have been violent in the past. As long as you are polite and not acting suspicious we should be just fine.

"When we get to Wuld I will lead us to my contact at the Tired Tavern. He and I have good history and he has already agreed to grant the Light Lotus land to build a Headquarters. There we will make busy finding missions and small jobs, nothing large though as Janet needs to find the leader, a Count by the name of Orvan the Most. She plans to offer our assistance, and if she returns with a mission then our work truly begins. Let me make special note, we are not known here. This is essentially a restart for the Light Lotus, we must use this to our advantage and establish ourselves as a reliable company of great skill.

This is it, your chance at fame, glory and riches. A new life in a new world. Janet? Would you care to finish?"
: Such an exciting time to be alive, Janet could hardly contain her emotions. Hell she wasnt sure if she fully dressed herself this morning. Her loins chafed something awful in the old leather pants she chose to wear. She needed to lose some weight, eating nothing but oats and beer without proper exercise left her with some unwanted fat. No doubt a few weeks of work wouldn't fix. Based on Ramirovs long ass speech, her message must've reached him. While it was childish of her to continue this pouting confrontation with Ramirov, it was kinda fun. Seeing him grumpy made his face look even sexier. Not as sexy as peeping on her elven crush though.

"Janet? Would you care to finish?" Ramirov's voice was still grating, but Janet bit her lip and dealt with it. 'Time to be a captain.'

"Theres not much else to add. Just watch your asses out there and we'll be fine." Janet added, smirking. The bells of the port rang, various sailors yelled random sailor stuff. The ship came to a complete stop, and they could finally leave. "Come on! I want to walk on solid land! Move ladies and girls!"

With Ramirov at her side, Janet led the group up the familiar halls of the ship up to the deck. They were met with clear blue skies, clean air with the slightest hint of teas and incense, and verdant trees almost everywhere. Bismoliyet was still a small port, the buildings made of an unfamiliar design, sturdy quaint and cute to boot. This had to be Vian architecture. Janet took the first step off the ship, strutting to impress the locals, as well as a certain Lotus. Glancing behind, Janet watched Kannah as admired the new world, her eyes filled with wonder. It was adorable, Janet had to avert her eyes to prevent blushing. She felt a nudge on her shoulder, it was Ramirov. He had a smug grin on his face, he doesnt know that she likes Kannah does he? It's none of his business anyways.

"You have a good smile when you look at her." He whispered, his accent making some words hard to understand. He must be doing that on purpose to mess with her. "Is she special to you?"

"She's just hot. I just want to see her naked.... again."

"Again?" He said suggestively, an eyebrow raised. Janet immediately turned bright red.

"What?! No not like that! We just bathed together during her trial."

"That sounds kinky."

"We did not" Janet stopped, not wanting to finish that sentence in front of her team. "Where has this come from anyways?! You've never cared about my affairs..." It was a long few minutes of catty bickering. Ramirov would've rather not hear about how 'My sexy-time stories are none of your business ' followed instantly by 'I haven't forgiven you!' For a long boardwalk, but he was happy that she was speaking at all. Bita's advice was helpful after all. They arrived at a marketplace, where they sold mostly food. While some were fair skinned with the usual blonde brown or red hair, there were others who were tanned with jet black hair, traits unknown in Balthora. These must be the Wuldite locals. Janet held her hand up in a fist, signaling for the group to stop.

"Alright, come get your coins and resupply! Be done in thirty minutes sharp! Your not with us you we leave without you, so dont dilly or dally!"

-----------

Location: Bismoliyet Harbor Marketplace
Tagged:@TheLoyalAcorn

AshenLily
Temperature: Warm, like a clear spring day.
Janet's Status: Excited, slightly annoyed with Ramirov.
Ramirov's Status: Happy to be home. In a sense.

AshenLily · May 20, 2019

Interacted with:

Literary Revenant (briefly)
Mentioned: Pretty much everyone in a roundabout sorta way.

Home at last.: The days leading up to their arrival at Vian were absolute torture for Kannah. As they drew closer, she spent more and more time above deck, often standing at the raid for hours, gazing endlessly out over the bow of the ship. Every day she fancied her keen elven eyesight could just make out the faintest line of what would be Vian on the horizon, but every night she was forced to concede it had only been her eyes playing tricks on her. Until at last the day came.

So much time spent on the deck staring out to sea had earned her a bit of a reputation with some of the crew members. The lookout in particular, a rather suave fellow who called himself Raleigh had taken an interest in the elf. He'd mostly leave her alone, captain's orders to not bother the passengers and whatnot, but she would seek out his company now and again in the early dawn or fading twilight as she watched the horizon, often a soft Elvish tune dancing from her lips. Raleigh found himself looking forward to those times with anticipation the closer they got to Vian, also noticing a slight sense of dread at their eventual arrival and parting.

The morning of what would be their arrival in Vian was one such morning the two had shared each other's company. Raleigh had only just started getting everything situated for what was to be a long day (most spent in the Crow's Nest were), when he heard a familiar tune making its way up from below deck. He caught himself smiling in appreciation as the elf stepped up, wrapped in her usual traveling cloak.

"Whaddya think, Raleigh? Today's the day, yeah? I can feel it this time!" She carefully unwrapped her cloak, folding it methodically, and laying it on the railing in front of her, before crossing her arms and leaning down onto it as a cushion of sorts. This had been her morning ritual for at least the last week, probably longer though by this point the days seemed to blend together. It was difficult to tell. She'd started the voyage at odds with the ocean, but now Kannah found she was nearly starting to enjoy it, if such a thing could be believed. Nearly. She relished the chill morning air, the slight taste of salt in the air as the occasional large wave met with the hull of the ship and sent droplets of water dancing along the pale surface of her skin, leaving small spots of gooseflesh on her arms.

Raleigh frowned a frown she wouldn't have been able to see even if she'd been facing him, and then shook his head automatically, again a needless gesture as he was outside of her line of sight. "You've said that every day for at least the last week. Nah, I'm telling ya, Kan. I've got a knack for this kinda thing. Not today, maybe tomorrow though. We've been making good headway, but it's a helluva trip." He peered over the edge of the Crow's Nest, stealing a glance at the elf's enticing frame and bright Azure hair before returning to his preparations, silently wondering not for the first time what series of events led a girl like her to join a mercenary company.

Kannah sucked in her cheeks in a mock pout that somehow managed to reach her voice as she replied. "Are you always this much fun, Raleigh? I can't imagine why you get stuck on lookout duty so often." The sailor merely huffed in response. A comfortable silence held after that, the two wordlessly enjoying each other's company in the early hours of dawn.

Within the hour, the telltale "Land, ho!" could be heard throughout the ship.
The details.: She listened to Ramirov's speech, wondering how he managed to be dull enough to take all of the excitement out of her homecoming for her. Her attention was just about anywhere but in the common room. She could feel the life of Vian all around her, in the air, the ground, even the magical energy she pulled from the world itself seemed to have a different feel here. Everything was so alive compared to the dried out husk that was Balthora.

Kannah imagined herself flitting through the Voral Forest, imagined the warm greeting she knew she was sure to receive upon returning to her people. It had been quite some time by this point, and the harbor hadn't looked familiar to her, though the name didn't ring any bells either. With humans being the way they were, she figured the settlement had likely cropped up at some point between her capture and return, but dismissed the thought as she realized she didn't particularly care at the moment. Kannah practically danced in place, impatiently waiting for Ramirov to finish giving instructions so she could bolt. Even Janet, whose features she regularly caught herself absently staring at couldn't hold the elf's attention. She imagined herself a youngling at a field day, simply waiting to be given permission to run free.

Her ears did perk up slightly at the mention of Wuld, only serving to further fan the flames her excitement. Wuld would be on the outskirts of the Voral Forest, meaning she was even closer to home than she'd originally thought. Her emotions had up until quite recently still warred between leaving the Company in favor of returning home immediately, and waiting to see how things would pan out here. Eventually at some point she found herself realizing she'd decided to wait and see what would happen. She'd been away from home for nearly 20 years at this point. Another week or so wouldn't hurt, and though she didn't want to admit it, the thought of leaving Janet or the other friends she'd made wasn't one she particularly relished.

At Janet's prompting, Kannah and the others rushed ashore, Kannah waving a short goodbye, accompanied by an ear-to-ear grin to Raleigh who returned the gesture with a much more somber expression. She imagined the ship would be around for at least a few days yet, and made a mental note to come back and give a proper farewell, suddenly realizing with a pinch of remorse that she'd probably never see the man again after they parted ways. A bit of melancholy took hold momentarily before it was abruptly shoved to the back of her mind in favor of the excitement of the day. Kannah practically sprinted up to Janet's side, snatched the coins they'd been told to take, and out of habit, without a second thought in the heat of the moment (oops), placed a quick peck on Janet's cheek accompanied with a short "Thanks, hun!" before she was gone into the crowds of the marketplace.

The_Omega_Effect · May 20, 2019

Finally.: Kyros began to grow a slight resentment towards the mercenary company and pretty much everyone that was around him. He relished in being free to do as he liked which was far from the case on that fucking boat. The boredom was getting to him, with it being especially unbearable when he ran out of booze to drink. After a few of his advances on the captain were denied, he completely gave up, with him trying to look elsewhere for someone to share his bed. His search yielded him nothing however, with him wasting the rest of his time loitering or gambling with the other sailors that were there with them. He took quite a bit of their money and also got into many fights. Soon enough, him winning often meant that the others would just despise him and only play with him reluctantly. A lot of times when he looked out of the side of the ship, the thought of jumping overboard and swimming somewhere came to him numerous times. Even drowning sounded more interesting to him. There was no one to fuck, no one to fight and no one to kill. Over the course of the trip, he turned more irritable, impatient and distant, with him itching for the chance to stab something living. The only interesting thing was that the few, pitiful magical abilities he had such as seeing in the dark all got slightly stronger.

He didn't have too big of a reaction to seeing and reaching Vian, with him simply going back into his chambers to gather all his equipment so that he is ready to leave this shit pile of a ship. He'd be a fool if he hadn't noticed a bit of cold blood between Janet and Ramirov. Although he did not have a conversation on the topic with either of them, he could tell from the way they acted. It seemed as though it was Ramirov who had wronged the her, as it really felt like she was trying her best to ignore him, with her talking to him only when not doing so would make it obvious to everyone that she was ignoring him. With nothing else to do on this ship, watching and noting things in his head about the others on the ship was one of the few things he did to pass the time.

Regardless, he was looking forward to getting to screw around a bit in this new land that he hadn't been to before. Dante leaving the group like came as a bit of a surprise to him. But Kyros would be lying if he claimed that that affected anything. His attention was grabbed upon a mention of an inn, with a sense of relief washing over him as the anticipation of returning to a more familiar atmosphere grew within him. He listened to the bare instructions that Ramirov gave the crew at the common room, with him following them out of the ship. Upon reaching the market, he was among the last to take the coins with him aimlessly moving to the market in order to "resupply". His mood was lifted slightly upon exchanging looks with some of the locals that looked easy on the eyes. First order of business...booze. He browsed the marketplace for a bit before getting his empty water skin filled with something that both smelled and tasted like death. But it was heavy and cheap so Kyros was not going to complain. He then went on to buy a some dried meat to chew onto. He figured that it would be a good idea to keep some of the coins as a reserve in case of an emergency.

With a level of enthusiasm that could only be described as non existent, Kyros returned to where the company was to regroup before they moved to this "Wuld" place, arriving 10 or so minutes early and slowly nibbling on the jerky he had bought.

Quados · May 20, 2019

A new World.: Aron stood on deck and watched the sea around him, it is always the same scene but it is always beautiful to him, he knew his sister would have loved to see it... But he was kinda sick of this boat, not seasick but he was annoyed it was just too small, there was no place to really work out and the atmosphere felt a little off after the news about Dante spread, loosing another person after so many died is not really good for the moral.

He was so happy when he heard that they will arrive shortly but was taken back by the comment from Ramirov, about the rumored Ardanor and he hoped that this had nothing to do with his father. "Stupid old man, if he really sells his filth here, I swear, I'm going to break every bone in his body." He mumbles more to himself then anything.

The first thing Aron did after he set foot on solid ground, was stretching and then he snatched his money. "Oh yeah, boss, I heard you are very skilled with the needle, so I wanted to ask if you could give me some tips on how to fix this old thing." He held his jacked up, which he had hung over his shoulder. "But don't worry, I'd you don't have time for that, I can see that you would love to do something, or should I say, someone, else. I will just wander around a bit, tell me in the Inn if you can help me." He laughed and gave Janet a strong pat on her shoulder, then he just walked off, humming an old song that his former master always sang, but turned around to shout to his comrades. "If anyone of you idiots want to accompany me for a meal that isn't as bad as the food on that boat, I dont really mind." He turned around again and the humming started a new.

Interacted with:

Literary Revenant

Senor_Fluffy · May 21, 2019

A Breath of Fresh Air: Bura had busied herself with various things, socializing only enough to be familiar with those around her and the tensions they held with each other. Majority of the time she spent on the dock watching the crew work and see if she could figure it out. Though they kept far from the orc she didn't seem overly bothered. She was used to the way humans stared. It was too much of a bother to hide herself behind a scarf when these people would know anyways. And they couldn't do anything about it.

So the tan mass of muscle either gazed about or slowly chipped away at a small plank. What she carved out of it mostly hidden by her large hands and hunched figure. Putting the piece away whenever she was tired of it. She needed to busy her hands somehow.

When there was finally word of land Bura couldn't help but swell with excitement and anxiety. She hardly knew anything of those who lived in Vian. How would they treat someone like her? Should she hide away her telling features or wear them with pride? So many questions and not nearly as much courage as she had hoped to have when facing her future.

She watched Dante leave them before Ramirov even started talking. He had been really inward turned after that interaction with Bita. Her golden hues gaze returned the grumpy man as he explained the plan. Lightly playing with her golden nose ring with the tip of her thumb as she took in the information, leaned against a wall. She had her scarf wrapped around her dreads and ears but the entirety of her face was exposed. Her armor and cloak had found its rightful place against her. She was very modest now compared to the voyage to this green world.

Taking her portion of money she looked it over before pocketing it. Pulling her scarf up over her nose before making her way off the ship. Passing Aron as he requested Janet to teach him how to patch up his jacket she seemed to hesitate before continuing past them. She knew how to fix up just about anything but right now she needed to walk. And walk she did. She paced through the street and looked over her environment, getting as familiar as she could with her surroundings with the given time she had.

MJ ._. · May 21, 2019

Last interaction with all girls:

explosiveKitten

A Book With Black Cover: Bita couldn't believe the sudden change in Ramirov's attitude when he gave her his tome like book. That night, she laid in her hammock, listening to the soothing sound of her roommates' snoring and examining the black book. Looking at the cryptic text of it reminded her of his offer about teaching her Fraizyurni language. She had always been a fan of education, specially studying languages, and he had caught her with that offer. Also, the look on his face at that moment was everything she could interpret as a devoted teacher. She wondered if Vivian had been his disciple and lived with this side of him. If so, there was no wonder they were so attached to each other. On the other hand, Janet seemed to have seen him in other lights. Did she expect the old guy to give her everything… every drop of his emotions? That sounded too demanding but maybe it was her sort of love. As a girl, she could understand her deal; Janet probably believed that she had enough to give in exchange of what she desired, but unfortunately for her, her goods weren't required by her target. She found it a sad story; this one sided love of captain. It wasn't surprising that she had turned her anger and frustration against him. Still, it wouldn't be fair if her breaking down was going to affect the company. After all, every one of them had trusted their fate to her wits.

Tired of her pointless thoughts, Bita sighed put the book in her package before rolling to her side and trying to sleep. That night, like many other nights since boarding the ship, she dreamed of home with its fields and horses, and a brother whom she had missed the most.
The first to leave: Next morning, Bita woke up to her schedule of on ship life style which began with exercising to warm up and stretch her body. Then, she thought of talking to Janet about her plan to manage sparring time between comrades. She met her during breakfast and found her still untraceable. "Maybe I don't need to take it seriously." She told herself afterwards and decided to invite anyone who might be interested to train with her. Obviously, her first choice was Dante who had fought once against her and once by her side. Serpent or not, he was a useful guy.

She found him confiding himself on his room and received an absolute 'no' in response. She wondered if their argument had hit him badly. She couldn't find out since he didn't give her space to talk and dismissed her seriously. She returned to her room in bafflement and searched for something to do to avoid getting sentimental about that guy's unexpected decision, by keeping herself busy. She had already sharpened her blades polished her armor several times_ the armor had become too shiny for her liking! _ so took out the black book and spent her time over it for a while. Meanwhile, she was thinking the shocking news over, trying to overcome her sense of guilt. "I didn't want to make him withdraw. He is a good sword… I just wanted to hone his rusty blade for my benefit. Am I too selfish or is he too fragile?" She spoke to herself in her loneliness. She even considered if he actually had planned to return to his old company, which was a wise choice with his attitude. There still was a chance that she had misunderstood him and was overthinking. In the end, she picked the book and went to ask Ramirov to teach her reading it, in order to take her mind off Dante.

On her way to Ramoriv's cabin, she saw Janet and changed her way to go up to the deck instead; she didn't want her to put her in the same pot as Vivian. And just like that, she lost many chances to learn a new language.
KnightShip: Bita had two hobbies to enjoy her voyage with; Sparring and night private classes. The later was for a ginger boy from the crew with sunburnt face and countless freckles. The other crew called him Gill. He was the same boy who had overheard Janet's and Ramirov's argument when he was cleaning another cabin in that part of ship. One day, she heard him gossiping about another member of the company, revealing secrets that weren't expected to be known by anyone. "He knows his gossip well!" She thought and approached the boy. After wasting a long time on haggling, they agreed with Gill giving information that he eavesdrops in return for she giving him fighting lessons. She didn't win any important information from that deal but it was fun in overall.

As for her first hobby, which was part of her training, she invited almost everyone she met during the day to a friendly duel. She specially liked to try Bura and Arya. She even approached Kyros on the deck once. He was staring at the sea in a way that suggested craving blood. As if he was ready for a good fight to stab or get stabbed. That was much more than her requirement for a friendly sparring, thus she decided to respect his vast privacy and left him to dwell in his melancholic thoughts for the rest of their voyage.
Land, ho?!: As the ship neared Vian, Bita began feeling the change in the air and water day by day, although she still couldn't see any sign of the land at the horizon. Eventually, she started spending less time indoors and stayed under the sky almost from dawn to dusk. The day the land was finally sighted and call of "Land, ho!" Was heard, she cherished every moment of appurtenance of the green line in the horizon. After traveling through damned Balthora and crossing the vast blue waters, sight of the prosperous Vian was heavenly. She watched until the ship was close enough to the harbor, then hurried down to her shared cabin and donned her well-polished armor to be ready for stepping on the land any minute.

As soon as she packed up her belongings and got ready to go, members of the company were called to gather. Joining them, she saw Ramirov getting ready for speech.

"Comrades, I'm glad to see you all now. Our time in Vian begins today. The plan is simple, we will arrive at the Bismoliyet Harbor and get off the ship. There are several markets in the harbor, and there you will replenish your supplies, sharpen your blades, recover your senses if needed… Once you have acquired everything you need, we will travel west to a small Balthoran Settlement called Wuld. Listen closely! Wuld is a coed settlement, consisting of both Balthorans and Vian natives. It is imperative that you maintain manners at all times, relations with the Wuldite Vrahi have been very tense the past few months due to rumored Ardanor presence. They don't fully trust us and we shouldn't trust them for the time being… When we get to Wuld I will lead us to my contact at the Tired Tavern… Janet needs to find the leader, a Count by the name of Orvan the Most. She plans to offer our assistance, and if she returns with a mission then our work truly begins. Let me make special note, we are not known here. This is essentially a restart for the Light Lotus, we must use this to our advantage and establish ourselves as a reliable company of great skill. This is it, your chance at fame, glory and riches. A new life in a new world…"

As dense as she could be at times, she overlooked the possibility that Ramirov might have prepared his short speech due to her influence. She simply considered it part of duties of his position in the company. She only was bothered with so many strange names and wished that she had a proper map and a book about nations of Vian which she could read.

The group followed Janet out and off the ship. It was an unexpectedly exciting moment for her, when the board was down and they were about to leave the ship and step on the untainted land. All the beauty and charming smells of nature reminded her of her home. Suddenly, she felt her heart ache due to homesickness. She wished her sisters could see the beauty of Vian and felt worried for them. If Ardanor had found its way across the see to Vian, then there was no hope for villages of Kalin to stay safe from the grey. She had left her family in such danger and was enjoying herself at the other side of the sea. She tried to fight back those ominous thoughts and emotions, and concentrated on the company instead. Apparently, silver coins were good distractions. She went to Janet with a bright smile to have her share. "Thank you, captain!" She said as took them. Aron had already went off with the offer to have companions for a decent meal, and Bura was walking away alone. Aron's suggestion sounded tempting at first but they were going to harbor's market which generally is more interesting than casual markets in towns, and they only had one hour to spend, so she saw that she didn't want to spend this one precious hour eating. They could eat later at the inn while she expected wonders from a harbor market. She could loiter around a bazar for a whole day without a penny in her pocket. A boy probably couldn't understand the zeal of a market like that. "Hey girls! Shall we go shopping together?" She suggested loudly enough for even Bura to hear her clearly.

Critical.Over · May 21, 2019

“The f***?”

Interacting with: Bita (

MJ ._. ), Ocarina (

Spoiled Bread ), Tanya (

BlossomingRosebud ), Bridget (

explosiveKitten ), Bura (

Senor_Fluffy ) and Janet (

Literary Revenant ) | Mentioned: Ramirov and Kannah (

AshenLily ) | Located: Bismoliyet Harbor Marketplace
XxXx

Aria’s Antics!: Aria had been looking forward to getting off the ship ever since she got on. One thing she never learnt was how to swim, and while in a suit of armour she definitely wasn't going to learn now, so once she heard the news about them getting off the floating death-trap soon she was ecstatic. Shortly followed by more news of another person leaving the company. This was rather disheartening though somewhat expected to Aria, she thought someone was bound to let those earlier deaths get to them and make them chicken out. Yeah that’s definitely what happened she concluded about Dante’s choice in her head. Either way, Aria almost completely overlooked his departure in favour of her excitement to step into an armour shop with Ocarina, that same excitement had made her restless since her chat with Ocarina.

To her absolute delight, when Ramirov was giving instructions he said there would be time to restock. Vian was a beautiful and luscious kingdom compared to the grey Balthora, their everything must’ve been so much better than in Balthora.

Bobbing up and down in excitement among the company’s now slightly smaller crowd waiting to depart from the ship, Aria raced gleefully onto the board leading to shore, letting out a cheer as the sound clanking of her metal boots on the port surrounded her. “This port looks better than literally any place I’ve ever seen,” she said mostly thinking out loud, her eyes scanning the surrounding area to take everything in. She’d been darting her line of sight around frantically since she’d stepped foot on the deck of the ship and Bismoliyet came into view. Everything looked so foreign. So beautiful. With the order to come and collect their money from Janet, Aria was about to leap forward and take it until something interrupted her happy streak.

"Thanks, hun!"

The fuck? Aria almost instinctively exclaimed upon seeing Kannah kiss Janet. Luckily she had stopped herself, biting her lip and only thinking it, a shocked, almost irritated, expression still emerging from her face. Aria’s initiation night was still fresh in her mind, Janet had kissed her that night and, other than embarrassed, Aria didn’t exactly know how she felt about it in the moment. Aria hadn’t interacted directly with Janet during their ship journey at all, she didn’t want to admit it to herself but she had been avoiding Janet to avoid confronting anything about how she felt about that initiation night. Though clearly Aria didn’t have a choice but to at least pay some mind to everything going on in her head right now. She was so distracted with emotions and thoughts that she barely noticed the others take their coins and go, most of what everyone else was saying was a blur, that was until Aria decided to go and get her coins.

With an attempt to clear her head and her uncertainty stricken face already turning red, Aria waddled over to Janet meekly. “T-thank you, Janet,” she took the bag, that was the easy part. Aria stood for a while at Janet’s side, her legs almost frozen in place while her mind replayed the image of Kannah kissing Janet over and over. Janet was slightly taller than Aria, and with great determination Aria leaned up, moving towards Janet’s cheek. In a motion that felt like it lasted forever, Aria was egging herself on in her mind:

You have to do this, you have to win. I know you’re embarrassed but obviously you’re jealous of what Kannah did, now go in there and do it! Do it!

Aria’s hand found itself of Janet’s shoulder, doing a dusting motion. “You, uh, had something on your shoulder.” She said sheepishly before starting to walk off in shame of her cowardice. Wow that was horrible she thought only to instantly try and take it off her mind. What Bita had said then came to her.

“Oh y-yeah! Let’s all go together! That’d be s-super great...” Aria composed herself a bit more before looking over at Ocarina, “ready to see if they have any life-saving armour at a non-life-ending price Ocarina?”

BlossomingRosebud · May 21, 2019

Tanya Aurum | Docks of Vian | Tagging: All the girls,

explosiveKitten

Vian is not a smog-infested city, and that is nice: Tanya never considered herself much of a sentimental person. At least, not when in came to attaching value to certain things or places, and certainly not when it came to fawning over ambiguously important things, like the ocean or just nature in general. Of course, when it came to the latter, she never really knew it well to begin with. Tanya was raised in Balthora. She born on the dirty streets, lived on those dirty streets with their fake trees to go along with all the fake people, and she probably would've died on those same streets if she hadn't been so dang determined to get out. Or, rather, if she hadn't ever run across an opportunity like this one. And that was it. All she knew was that Vian was fresh and wild, and it wasn't Balthora, and that was good enough for her. But truth be told, on this trip over here, she did start to think about it more. Part of that was really just because of how surprisingly diverse their group actually was. Tanya would be honest--she kind of assumed everyone living in Balthora was human. But then you got elves, this orc woman...people who were from Vian but ended up on the worser continent for whatever reason. She didn't know exactly. She remembers Kannah mentioning things, the light in her eyes evident as she stood on that deck day after day and talked of finally seeing 'home'.

Tanya didn't spend much time above deck. But even as she sat on some bench somewhere flipping through whatever scrap of reading material she could find, she wondered what it must be like to have a place you knew that you actually wanted to go back to. A place that was 'home'. Could a physical location possibly mean anything?

Today, for once, she really did think it might. Because they were here. She stood on the dock, almost making a fool out of herself for being so slack-jawed. It was...stunning. She wasn't even so sure why. It was just a marketplace, just a town, but oh sister, the sky was blue and the water was clear and there were trees and they were so luscious and natural and boy, was that something different. It was so free. And, like, not disease-infested. That was a plus.

She took several breaths almost subconsciously as she came into position with the rest of them. Or, most of them. Dante was already gone. She heard he'd gone off to join some monastery or something for some reason; she didn't know him well, but she admitted, that did put her a tiny bit at unease just at how fragile this thing was. She looked around at her teammates again. How many of them would drop off before this thing even got started? Would more of them leave, now that they're in Vian like they wanted? She wondered what she would do if everyone left. She could just stick around; a big part of her only wanted to get passage here, anyways. She could make a new shop. But truth be told, she kind of still wanted this job. She wanted the adventure, the challenge. And she'd like to see the world, too.

She listened to Ramirov's and Janet's spill about their stay here--yadda yadda, don't be an idiot, keep up your manners, she got it. Her ears perked up at the announcement that they would have some money to spend, but then fell again when she realized that wasn't enough for the equipment she really wanted. Not that it should be. She shouldn't get ahead of herself--she didn't even know where they would be headquartered yet. As much as her hand was itching already to strike metal with a hammer again, she would have to wait. But what did she need that she could get with just five silver pieces?

"Hey girls! Shall we go shopping together?"

The question threw Tanya off guard. She whirled around fast to see Bita, smiling and perky as always, along with some of the other girls of the group. She blinked. Shop...together? That was a new concept. She had done that kind of thing exploring the city with Garimella, back in the day, but that was years ago. Garimella...she would like this, seeing Vian. Tanya felt again that unfamiliar burst of eagerness to go out and explore--oh fudge, she was acting like a schoolgirl! Keep it together! But heck yeah, she was excited. Unfortunately, she felt a little green, too. Some of the others have been here before--she hasn't. She had never even seen a real tree before today. But, well, she could learn.

"You know? That sounds nice," she affirmed Bita with a sideways smile. "I'd be down for looking around together." Because you know, why not? It was about time she got to know these people. Who knows, maybe they could teach her a thing or two for once.

Spoiled Bread · May 22, 2019

Ocarina Flareweck

The Start of a Journey: As she took her first step into Vian, Ocarina couldn't contain her excitement. She arrived at Vian! Even the air already felt different! She had grown up too close with the grey for too long that she could felt the lack of it by sniffing the air, she hoped her nose was telling the truth.

Slinging her satchel over her shoulder, Ocarina joined the girls as Bita asked the girls to hang out together. That sounds... nice. Ocarina just realized that she never done this kind of thing before, mostly because she spent too much time in her work before. She might be inheriting her parent's work-ethique without even realizing it.

"Yeah, let's do it!" Ocarina exclaimed enthusiastly. "And I will be in your care, master." She winked at Aria, which she entrusted to choose a suitable armor for her.

Actually, there's a building with sword and shield sign embedded on its door not far from where they were standing. Ocarina pointed at the building.

"Let's go there first." She merrily walked towards the shop, passing several various stalls on the way. New environment, new activity, new friends. She was in a very good mood after weeks trapped in a boat with almost nothing to do. She even asked the cook to let her accompany him in the kitchen so she could stare at the dancing fire below the cauldron.

As she opened the store's door, a bell chimed from the corner of the door's frame. A sweet mechanism to indicate incoming customer. The store itself was quite spacious. Various armors and weapons were lined up on the shelves, put on a stand or just laid on the tables. There's one thing in common with all these wares, they were drapped in transparent clothes.

A middle aged man came running from the back of the building, eager to greet his customer.

"Welcome to my store! I sell various life-saving equipment or life-ending, for yours truly!"

Ocarina looked around the room, the choice was kinda overwhelming for her since she barely know a thing about armor. Definitely she won buy that full plate armor in the corner, but she did have another question.

"This is a wonderful store you have here mister!" Ocarina started with a polite praise, just like her mother taught her. "But why the clothes?"

"Ah, that. Sea breeze. This place is damn wonderful for my business but the rust can ruin everything." The storekeeper took a peek at Aria's armor. Probably wondering how it could be that shiny, or might be guessing how many days it took for her armor to gain its first rust. "So what can I help with you ladies?"

Ocarina poked at Aria's shoulder. "Please help me choose one." She shifted her attention for a brief moment to the other girls in her company. Wondering wether they had something here that catch their fancy.

Critical.Over

BlossomingRosebud

MJ ._.

Senor_Fluffy (?)

explosiveKitten (?)

explosiveKitten · May 22, 2019

MJ ._.

Senor_Fluffy

Critical.Over

Spoiled Bread

The wind was nice while it lasted, but windburn was never fun to deal with.

All this time, avoiding most everyone, Bridget has spent a majority of her time up in the crows nest, watching the horizon. She did a lot of thinking while she was up there. Contemplating.
Why did I do this again? A free ticket to Vian, and all she had to do was kill some fat aristocrat. Seemed easy enough. She hadn’t gotten attached to anyone, barely showed herself. The hope was that when she got to land, she could slip into the crowd and take off on her own. That WAS why she did this.
Objective 1: Get to Vian.
Objective 2: Ditch whatever ragtag crew she managed to convince to take her with them to Vian.
Objective 3: ????

“... I wonder if they’re actually in this place.” She mumbled to herself, her eyes spying the approaching landmass. The wind whipped her hair around her face, and she had to comb her fingers through it to get it to stop.
“... I’ve been looking for so long, all over Balthora... they’ve got to be here. There isn’t anywhere else to look..” She took another moment to look over the landscape, before glancing down and noticing the gathering crowd. She raised an eyebrow, then sighed and began to climb her way down.

Eventually she landed rather hard on the deck right beside Blonde number three (Tanya) and straightened up, fidgeting with the clasp on her cape. She looked up just in time for the aforementioned blonde to start addressing all the girls. Something something... shopping trip? Aw, hell.

“Ah, riiiight. Shopping. With five pieces of silver? That is some budget shopping you’ll be doing... we. We’ll be doing.” She remarked, correcting herself and cracking a grin. “I might as well tag along.”

Senor_Fluffy · May 22, 2019

Bura Sharamph | Vian Market Place| Mentions:

MJ ._.

Literary Revenant

Not Bura's Cup of Tea: The orc raised a brow as the invitation to go shopping together was sent her way. She paused to look back at Bita with a moment of consideration. Someone with quite the sense of morals and pride. Bura remembers actually training with her a number of times during their voyage. Yet as she watched the ladies gather together she felt her skin crawl with dread. She wondered how differently they would look at her if they knew what she had left behind. Had they any right to judge her? Had she any right to have done what she had?

The golden orbs wandered to Ramirov just for a moment. He certainly had.

Such thoughts dragged their talons along the curves of her body ruthlessly. The itch to move and get a bit of distance from the people she had been stuck around offered a sweet relief. It wasn't personal. The heavy footed woman made her way through the market, observing the foods, the clothes, the people. They were all so unusually normal. Bura had expected this place to be exotic and sure there were a good bit of difference. The place wasn't undead for one. But it all felt so normal even as she lumbered through, the handle of her axe thumping against her thigh beneath her cloak.

It was so abnormally normal it was truly a breath of fresh air. Bura spent her time wandering about to wherever her mind wished to venture. She watched a few craftsmen do their thing behind their booths. A performer dance with another playing a stringed instrument harmoniously. A man haggling on the price of a tapestry. The tanned orc could have spent hours in such a place just silently observing and admiring good craftsmanship and beautiful products. And for a little bit she let herself get lost in such pleasantries. All while not spending a coin.

Fantasy Elder Idea (Abandoned)

One Thousand Club

One Thousand Club

One Thousand Club

One Thousand Club

Fanfic Kitty

Nothing

Critically over you

Hero

Critically over you

What happens when you don't clean your hair brush

削除

But setting marshmallows on fire is fun

The Lord of the Uneaten

One Thousand Club

One Thousand Club

*Le Yawn*

削除

maybe something out of this world

What happens when you don't clean your hair brush

Nothing

Critically over you

But setting marshmallows on fire is fun

The Lord of the Uneaten

Fanfic Kitty

What happens when you don't clean your hair brush

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