Fantasy Hideout (Accepting Again)

[CHIMNY]

@NeverBetter


Cafurn was knocked to the floor, stunned but recovered quickly. "The beasts of the forest should arrive!" He yelled at the human before running into the dark. He could smell several monsters close by.

 

[Hana Koen]

Lucian walked out of Carita's room trying to be as normal as he could as he closed the door softly behind him. The boy going not stopping for a second as he tried to get as far away from the room as possible. His body shook as he swiped his hand over the little pouch given to him by the noble and squeezed his eyes shut not knowing why it felt so wrong. Each step he took made him feel he could breathe just a tiny bit better. Trying not to reflect on the somehow unsettling experience that plagued his mind. There had been nothing weird he thought with a furrow of his brow as he slid down by a pillar for just a second. The lady had been nice and the conversation while unexpected was normal but it wasn't.


So why did he feel like he had made a mistake. His acting was perfect and he had made sure to speak vaguely as well as truthfully so he wasn't caught in his lie. Maybe someone had spotted him, maybe it was the hug. Not something he was sure about.


"It's probably nothing." Lucian whispered to himself as he held his hand to the wall and continued on his trek. It was just guilt he convinced himself as he got closer to the hideout.


He had partly lied to Afya, he lied to the noble lady whose child had such warmth and he had pretended. That could be the problem he concluded as it came much too close to his life before the orphans however short and spotty the memories were. The boy rubbed at his fingers as he pulled back as he was a couple corridors from the hideout with eyes darkening in worry.


What if no one was back he asked himself as he pulled forward with the ghost of a child hugging him imprinted in his mind. The night had been scary but he was never really left alone to ponder like he was in the hideout. From his point of view, that was somehow worse than the fear of being caught or the fear of hunger. What if he began to think before cutting the childish thought off before it could consume him like it usually did.


Suddenly wishing, desiring that everyone could get together and laugh together even though he often pretended he thought otherwise. He subconsciously clenched his hands with his lips trembling as he wiped his eyes vigorously. I'll be back soon Uzi had told him as they had left with Aliana. Jun, Aleister, Mes as well as everyone else were always busy or out but he knew it was out of necessity.


So for now, he would look tough but maybe someday he could try to be strong too like his family.

 

[Rustic]

uzoma sterk

"umm..." uzoma slowly trailed, looking over to ali for a moment. had they... not said that at some point? that was embarassing. no wonder she was so confused. "yeah," they say simply, a bit baffled by the exchange. they watch as ali pushes open the kitchen door, looking out for any guards in the immediate area. "we're who you're looking for. i'm not sure who told you about us, but..." uzoma wished someone had told them about this place. they wouldn't have spent so much time alone.


once ali finishes, uzo nods. "there are more of us, but, that's where we're going. were you... looking to join us?" it felt like it had been awhile since a new person had come along and it had never really been uzo to welcome anyone into the fold. uzo wasn't exactly the welcoming type, but... they could manage. someone was there to welcome them after all.

mentions

@Miss Mack

 

[NeverBetter]

@NeverBetter
Cafurn was knocked to the floor, stunned but recovered quickly. "The beasts of the forest should arrive!" He yelled at the human before running into the dark. He could smell several monsters close by.

"Coward." Derik lowered his fists. "If I were you, I would run. Run far and hard, and hope I never encounter you again. Because next time i see you, you'll not be able to run away.."


Derik's fun was ruined. He sighed, collecting his swords off of the ground. "I doubted it would run. Bastard. Either way, I can call the Town Guard and have them route around for the thing's home. I doubt it will stay anywhere near this place for a while, but I want it to be known that it has no place in a world of mine." He placed the blades he used back in the sheath. He wiped the sweat off of the top of his forehead, and began to walk away.


"I hope it knows that I won't give up the fight till it's dead. For now, however, I think a scoop of ice cream is a good enough idea for an interlude between rounds." He stated. Monsters would leap at him as he began to leave the forest, at least until he would cleave them in half with the buster sword on his back.


Derik was no average man, and no average monster would touch him easily.

 

[Pashpu]

It was now mid-morning. The sun had risen halfway, and rays of light streamed through the dark dungeon. The orphans had arrived safely back in the hideout, plus one new member. They were fast asleep, tired from their late-night excursions. But safe from the guards, for now.


Meanwhile, panic had started to set in among the townsfolk. Reports had reached the Castle Physician and local healers of a terrible disease starting to spread. 15 people had been found dead within the past day. Examination of their bodies showed that they had no signs of a disease other than a bite marking from a beetle, usually on the neck or upper back, and a peculiar purple rash just above the eyes. Family members and friends confirmed they had started to show symptoms only several hours before they had died. Whatever this was, it was not to be taken lightly.


The nobles were presented with another problem- they had not heard from the Emperor in the past 3 days. He had gone out to the neighboring kingdom Aldranor for a day trip, and yet he was still not back. He was therefore officially designated: missing. A search party was immediately sent to find him and bring him back.


@VioletShadow @billthesomething @Hana Koen @NeverBetter @Drunk Dragon @Elephantom @EXPMIRACLE @LifeIsImagination @StoneWolf18 @CHIMNY @rusticyawn @Arty @Miss Mack @Khaz @Psithurism @ghoul queen @Lighthouse8477 @Yuffie Kisaragi

 

[Arty]

"What the... Something else?" Kais got up, and started to wakl to town, yawning.

 

[Lighthouse8477]

Silently Oliver looked around him. His little daughter Ada following. What he had sensed was the sickness. In the past few days he had tried to heal a few people with varying results. Some lasted a few days before dying others hours whatever the sickness was it was powerful. Silently he walked towards the castle. He stopped in the middle of the market and called, "I wish to go searching for the Emperor does anyone else wish to join me on this noble task?" He looked around ready to defend himself. The Emperor was a good man.

 

[bungalow]

Afya was in the midst of a chaos, her mentor had kept her going for herbs and bringing different antidotes to multiple suffering the symptoms of the disease, hoping something would work. But none such luck so far. Her promise to Lucian about eating not only forgotten, but unable to fulfill.


"Afya! Go and draw some more water. Two buckets!" Her mentor snapped, quickly she nodded and headed for the well. Grabbing two large buckets on the way, this was her third trip of the day. Too much work for some day, and the healers still had no idea which bug the sickness came from. Or even where it came from before then. Her energetic, normal self was slowly wearing down. The empty buckets already felt heavy. 'No breaks for today.' She thought with a sigh. 'And I really wanted to see the fireflies.' Slowing her pace as the well came into sight, Afya started thinking of herb mixtures that might help. 'There's a rash.. and bugs... what kind of bugs?'

 

[KhazTheGiraffe]

Jun's eyes slowly opened and he pulled his blankets off. He had managed to get a couple hours of sleep since his thrilling night. He looked around and realized that everyone had made it home safely. Although there was one extra body amidst their small group. He smiled, someone obviously made a friend, something rare for the orphans. Jun was now fully awake, he was used to not getting much sleep between stealing all night and taking care of the others during the day. He stood up and poured himself a cup from the already boiled water, and started to make another fire to warm up the area.

 

[Lighthouse8477]

Looking around Oliver waited. No one not a single person wanted to help him return the Emperor? That's it. He planted his staff on the ground as a light ring made a loud humming sound. Immediately every eye was turned to Oliver who smiled and stated, "Thank you for your attention now as I was saying I am going on a quest to find our lost Emperor does anyone wish to join me?"

 

[Rustic]

uzoma sterk

Spoiler

uzoma rubbed their eyes. goodness. it didn't feel like they'd slept very long. they tried to pull themselves up from the floor they'd fallen onto, looking around at the sleeping bodies. their eyes lingered for a moment at the girl with white hair from the night before. their... memory about what had happened after they'd asked for her to join them was a little fuzzy, but, it seemed as though she was here with them now. they look over - aliana and jun both seemed to be accounted for too. good. they stumbled a little bit as they raised themselves to their feet. it had been a long night - certainly much longer than they were used too, but they had at least brought back a considerable haul for their trouble.


they delicately made their way over to the bag, being careful to be light-footed as they moved across the sleeping bodies. from the top of the smaller bag, the reach out and pull the first thing they can find - a bit of cheese. that'd be fine for the morning. they dig into it quietly, trying to let the sharp, tangy taste savor in their mouth as they do. it was a nice consolation for the day that was to come. even if they'd had had such a long night, even if their limbs still ached and their eyes still drooped from their wild escapades, their occupation still called, and even at their age, they knew it would be unwise to ignore it. they sighed. the cheese hadn't lasted as nearly as long as they would've liked. but they still had to go. they pulled finally pulled themselves up, and stealthily out.


as soon as they'd managed to make their way out of the castle, though, they realized they were in for more of a day then they had ever imagined. immediately, they hear whispers of it - some new supposed disease was making it's way through the kingdom's streets, and the sick and their families were all scared and fear-stricken. especially those of the poor, who didn't have the proper funds to visit a doctor, and would have to wait if they wanted to see a healer. the whole kingdom was hysterical. they groaned. this was bound to be a long day.



it had been a long morning. uzo had shaken off their sleeplessness earlier on, but exhaustion was just setting in as they finally made it back through the entrance of the orphan's hideout. it was barely mid-day and they were so weak they almost couldn't see straight. combined with their lack of sleep and already frail disposition, the toll their powers were taking on their energy was already a little more than they could bare. god, things were terrible. and things were only going to get worse as the day progressed, from the current look of things.


"hey jun," they say, softly, partly because they didn't want to wake up the others, and partly because they didn't want to put in the energy to speak louder. they tried to be calm about it though, and they take a seat beside him, letting the fire heat up their slightly chilled limbs. they breathe a deep breath, looking around the dim room at the sight of the others. they had all had a long night - uzo wasn't particularly keen on making a fuss about anything right now.

Spoiler

mentions

@Khaz

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Spoiler

no slide

Spoiler

mentions

none!

 

[Hana Koen]

Lucian rolled onto his side looking up to the ceiling as he rubbed at his eye with his one hand while the other stifled a yawn that tried to escape. His eyes landed on the rest of his family that still slept as he eyed Jun and glanced at Uzoma who were both still unaware that he was awake. Closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to mentally prepared himself for the day.


Even if he slept well it didn't help the exhaustion that wrapped around him like a shroud from his temporary lapse in control the night before. The boy felt like he could easily sleep the day away and pretend that he didn't have any problems but stopped himself before he could sink further down. His nose picking up the scent of something burning as he registered the sound of crackling.


Quietly with an ease that could only come from practice did he get out of bed shivering and take a seat near Jun as the blanket wrapped easily around his small form.


"Morning." He greeted in a whisper quickly brushing over the pouch to check if it was safely hidden by his dagger as he then raised up his hands to the fire. Stomach biting in hunger as he sat there with droopy eyes as he nodded off almost on Jun's shoulder a few times. Lucian vision blurred in and out as he continued to enjoy the presence of Jun while taking in the heated warmth. He allowed himself to enjoy the moment as his head ended up on Jun's shoulder. For now I'm safe he thought as he took in the sound of everyone breathing as they still slept reassured for now.


"I thought I would keep you company." He began only to trail off as he held on to Jun's arm to balance his body against as he was too tired to realize how close he easily got to the other. "Warm..." He thought aloud in his hazy state as his light shivering seemed to lessen.


@Khaz @rusticyawn

 

[MiraEnvy]

Mira swayed back and fourth on the stool behind the counter of her merchant table. It was covered with a leafy canopy. Vines going down either sides of the wooden posts holding up the canopy. She hummed a little tune in her head and smiled to herself with her eyes closed. Her eye lids dark with home made make up from crushing herbs mixed with clay mud. Her smokey eyes opened and she nodded to a sweet young woman that passed by that often visited her table. Currently she only had a few necklaces sitting out and one Wild Azzalian plant sitting in a blue and green clay pot. She was going to close up soon and head back to her home.


It had been a long day. There were a lot of people out and about but they all seemed preoccupied with other things and not many people had stopped by her table that day. Normally she would have sold everything by this time of day. She never put many things out at one time because there were so many people that had been stealing her wears. Especially the food that she put out. It never angered her though. If anything it made her concerned about the well being of the city and its inhabitants. She kept thinking that maybe there was something more she could do to help. If letting go of a few baked or grown goods helped a soul she didn't mind.


Her long brown hair blew over her face as a small breeze came by. She smiled at the sensation of the wind against her face. She had to look at the little things. She appreciated the wind and its power. The sun and its energy. Sometimes it was easier to see the light than the dark, but not always.

 

[Lighthouse8477]

Silently Oliver looked around seeing no one raise their hand. He sighed. Well he couldn't go alone with Ada. Walking among the shops he surveyed the murchendise. Wild Azzalian? He needed that. Where would that be? He saw a girl with a little shop with a few neclaces and behold the plant he needed.


Walking over to her he looked at the plant examining it closely then stated, "This is a nice specimen how much are you asking for it Mrs?" He left the last part unfinished.

Mira swayed back and fourth on the stool behind the counter of her merchant table. It was covered with a leafy canopy. Vines going down either sides of the wooden posts holding up the canopy. She hummed a little tune in her head and smiled to herself with her eyes closed. Her eye lids dark with home made make up from crushing herbs mixed with clay mud. Her smokey eyes opened and she nodded to a sweet young woman that passed by that often visited her table. Currently she only had a few necklaces sitting out and one Wild Azzalian plant sitting in a blue and green clay pot. She was going to close up soon and head back to her home.
It had been a long day. There were a lot of people out and about but they all seemed preoccupied with other things and not many people had stopped by her table that day. Normally she would have sold everything by this time of day. She never put many things out at one time because there were so many people that had been stealing her wears. Especially the food that she put out. It never angered her though. If anything it made her concerned about the well being of the city and its inhabitants. She kept thinking that maybe there was something more she could do to help. If letting go of a few baked or grown goods helped a soul she didn't mind.


Her long brown hair blew over her face as a small breeze came by. She smiled at the sensation of the wind against her face. She had to look at the little things. She appreciated the wind and its power. The sun and its energy. Sometimes it was easier to see the light than the dark, but not always.

 

[KhazTheGiraffe]

"Morning." Jun smiled over to Uzoma who had just sat down across from him. He picked at the fire the lay crackling in front of him and stared into the flames. This was one of his favourite things in the world, although almost everything Jun experienced was his favourite thing in the world, but this was one of the top contenders: Sitting and staring into the fire. The act was so peaceful and warming physically and emotionally.


Jun watched as Lucian came and sat down beside him. As always, he greeted him with a huge smile. The boy pressed his head against his shoulder, and they both sat there for a few moments.


"Your company is much appreciated." He said it quietly so as not to wake anyone else up. He pulled his arm up from Lucian's head and lay it over his shoulder before bringing the boy towards his chest.


@Hana Koen @rusticyawn

 

[Pashpu]

Things were going well, the masked man thought to himself. His beautiful, magical beetles had already taken 20 lives...and counting. One bite from these and the dark magic would overtake a person's body and cause imminent death. Soon the whole city would be panicking. It was the perfect distraction. The only thing he didn't like was that he was being used...The man adjusted his position. A sorcerer of his caliber should not be the servant of another. But the boss did promise a heavy reward. And it was tempting...to be in a position of power once the new order came about. He did not regret his decision.


~~~~~


It had been just less than a week since Kane had arrived in Dendra. And he already had acquired a dozen or so henchman, willing to do his every bidding. He laughed softly. People were so easy to manipulate if you had money. Really, Dendra wasn't all that different from the criminal gangs in Zulla, even though it pretended so on the exterior.


But Kane needed more than henchman. He needed actual allies, ones with political or military power. So he had his henchman do a sort of scouting for him for a few days, isolating particular people that could be useful to him. Now was the time to make his move. Stage one of the plan was complete, with the kingdom being thoroughly distracted with both the "disease" and the disappearance of his Emperor (it was so easy to kidnap him on one of his trips. The well-trained guards had been no match for him and his henchman). The first person he wanted to pay a visit was a certain noblewoman, Carita Lygrimi.


He headed up to the outer castle gate, taking only Nightingale along with him. She would faithfully follow him wherever he went, and he liked that about her. She was the only person Kane could really trust.


Two guards immediately rushed up towards him. "Hold up sir. We can't just let anyone in, especially not during a crisis time like this."


Kane smiled innocently. "We have an important message for the Queen. We're foreign dignitaries, from Zulla."


The guards immediately nodded, and turned around. "This way, sir." Idiots. Anyone could lie like this and be let in. And they weren't even dressed in the clothes that dignitaries usually wore. If he ruled the kingdom, he wouldn't stand for such incompetency.


As the guards opened neared the actual door to the castle, he gave a quick nod to Nightingale. Not missing a beat, she drew her swords and gave two quick slashes. The guards immediately dropped down, cut down by blades of wind in the back of their necks.


They put on the guards' armor, which took longer than they thought, it being very heavy and unwieldy. He glanced back and forth out of the corner of his eyes, hoping no other guards were watching. Once they were fully dressed in the attire of the Imperial Guards, they walked inside the castle door quietly.


It was very busy inside. Several guards stood at either end of the walls, and the Queen and her advisers were busy discussing plans in the throne room. He noticed some of the guards gave a look of surprise as they walked past- they had not seen them before- but they said nothing. It was not their job to ask questions.


Kane and Nightingale walked up the staircase, giving silent nods to the guard standing before it. They walked down the hall until Kane paused. They had reached Carita Lygrimi's room. Hopefully he had not made a mistake here...Lygrimi was a skilled politician with questionable temperament, but did she have too strong a moral compass to join their side? Perhaps he should have asked the warlord Kais first.


"Are we doing this or not?" asked Nightingale, a bit tersely. Kane blinked. He had almost forgotten that she could speak, she had been quiet for so long. "I'm sorry," he said, "I had lost track of my thoughts." Wasting no more time, he knocked on the door.


@Hana Koen

 

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

"Your grace!" A sharp call from the entrance of the throne room. Rija approached the empress, the white cloak of a Royal Guard billowing behind her. Rija kneeled in front of her liege. "A brief report for you. Thieves have been discovered in the castle, but not been apprehended." Rija made a careful decision to not mention her own failure to catch the one she had spotted the previous night. She was a loyal soldier, but one with some sense of self-preservation. The detail was unnecessary. "Reports continue to come in from all over town of new cases of the sickness. It has spread incredibly quickly. I recommend we shut down and quarantine the castle as soon as the Emperor returns. Speaking of him, the search party has set out without further issue. They are some of the finest men in our employ, it cannot be long before he is found."


@rusticyawn


~~~~


"And here you guys go." Mes slipped through the entrance to the orphans' hideout, holding a full bag of day old rolls. Nobles threw things away far too easily. This was still excellent bread. She set it down on a crate that was easily used as a table. "Breakfast is served." She said. "And don't worry, I was extra careful. Only thing that saw me was a fly. And I killed it." She said. After everyone had come back from their various field trips the night before, she had managed to piece together a full coherent story of what was going on. "But if you ask me, we should hightail it out of here as soon as we can. There's plenty of other places to hole up that aren't full of guards that want to catch us and string us up." Mes continued, grabbing one of her stolen rolls, and making eye contact with the few that were awake.


@rusticyawn @Khaz @Hana Koen

 

[Hana Koen]

Carita sat at her desk examining the documents in front of her with keen eyes as she began to cross reference all while writing. Her eyes easily picking up abnormalities in the patterns and key terms that brought her to other seemingly unimportant pieces of information. At first glance, things seemed liked they were running smoothly as per her calculations. She knew better than to take things at face value. A mishap could very well eradicate any noble's power in a couple years max. Her lips lifted at the thought knowing how well grounded in the system she was. The mere amount of ways she had branched out in the last ten years were astonishing. It would take a couple years to even find the roots let alone eradicate her power.


"Who ever planned this is no normal person." She frowned as she pinched her nose with a look that spoke volumes of how amused she felt. The data seemed to spiderweb with unrelated incidents, travel routes and other documents some purposely obscured with how smudged the ink on the parchment paper was. She was so close. Just one most piece would connect all the dots and make it clear.


The emperor was missing, the incident with a dozen people being killed by some unknown disease...route, statements and...


So busy was she in her thought that she almost did not register the knock that followed and jumped as she cursed silently. Quickly she gathered up the information as she stashed it away in a magic bonded box keyed to her alone with a series of complex triggers added on.


She glanced at the door sharply knowing she had made arrangements ahead of time to be alone so she could work in peace. Her eyes shut as she let out a long breathe, relaxing her neck as she then rose up once more with a light smile adoring her lips. Brows no longer furrowed and hands loosely by her side as she took up an unguarded stance.


"And who might you be." Carita questioned easily as she opened the door a full minute after they had knocked. In front of her stood a pair of two who she had never seen before or around. Something tickled at the back of her mind as she a gave a swift glance over the two. "I wasn't aware that I would have visitors. Would you like to come in?" She offered easily as she turned around.


People often thought that showing your back was a sign of trust.


@Pashpu

 

[Hana Koen]

Lucian opened his eyes not realizing that he had laying against Jun and wonders while his bed is comfier than usual. His body registers the warmth that radiates at his side like a heater as his nose takes in the woodsy smell of the fire. His blurry eyes clear as he takes in that Jun is there and hears Mes announce she had food as she made eye contact with them. Slowly, he blinked as everything seems to come rushing back to him and he stiffens.


"Ah. I'm sorry about that." Lucian apologizes to Jun as he gets up on wobbly feet before stretching out. Eyes trained everywhere else but the other as he mentally told himself to be natural. He couldn't believe that he had been so close to the other and it was nice but it was bad he thought as he tried to come up with a reason why but could not. Jun always made him feel loved even though he often pushed everyone away and why was he thinking this?


"Bread rolls?" He faced Mes and looked at what was near the makeshift table of theirs. His mouth watering as he dared another look a Jun as he willed himself not to blush in embarrassment before going over to take a roll but not before asking Mes if he was allowed. It wasn't like he was very excited to eat some delicious bread anyway. Lucian slowly took a piece and sat down with a gulp as he stared at it for a moment.


"Thank you for the food." He said graciously as he cautiously took a bite and then another as his hands shook. It would be so easy to just devour it but he had learned that he would risk choking and it would digest slower if he ate slower.


He was stupid for searching for comfort he pondered as he ate but he didn't regret it he thought as he withheld the urge to just hug and be a child. Lucian just wanted an adult to hug him and tell him everything was fine even if it was a lie. Then he could cry and tell them all his problems no matter how insignificant they were to theirs.


Blinking away the slight prickle of his eyes glad that he had faced away from the others as he recomposed himself once more.


@Yuffie Kisaragi @Khaz @rusticyawn @NeverBetter

 

[Rustic]

uzoma sterk

uzoma smiled, watching as lucian sleepily laid his head on jun. the dim lighting and the quiet, warm atmosphere was enough to almost lull uzoma back to sleep. they quickly snap back to attention, though, when they hear mes step in. "thank you, mes," they say quietly as they grab one of rolls she'd placed down. they think, for a moment, about saying something about her trip, but they think better of it. they had all been on some sort of escapade recently - they weren't really in a position to say something about it now. they took a small bite into their roll, and tried to focus on something else.


as the mention of moving away to somewhere safer, they purse their lips. it's not something they wanted to think about, but they knew that it had to be done at some point. "i guess," they say, looking down at their roll pensively. "but... that'd be an ordeal. and..." they stop for a moment, a little concerned about dropping the worrisome news on the others, only reluctantly going on when they realize it was probably for the better. "there's a new illness, apparently, going around. all things considered, it might be actually be better if we stayed, at least for the time being?" there were a lot of benefits to staying, and uzo remembered distinctly what life was like before they'd stayed with the orphans here. it bothered them to think about lucian, or the girl from last night who had gone to perilous efforts just to get here, having to leave it.

mentions

@Yuffie Kisaragi @Khaz @Hana Koen

the empress

elianys immediately readied her attention at the sight of her guard, her eyes following her carefully. hmm. she knew for herself about the thieves being inside the walls, but the fact that they had still not been found was annoying. she wasn't sure what bothered her more - the fact that thieves were marauding around at a time like this, or that that moron of an imperial guardsman had somehow failed to find them yet again. her expression darkened considerably. if the head of her guard could not even manage this, what was she to think of the rest under her service? she knew exactly what.


"as expected. tell the head imperial guard that i expect his report. soon." her voice lacked all their usual zest, instead replaced by an gruff display of her own irritation. it's all she had given anyone all morning. "it has spread incredibly quickly. i recommend we shut down and quarantine the castle as soon as the emperor returns.' she nods at the news. she had every intention to, of course. it seemed to be less a matter of if and more of a matter of when. all morning, she had heard every droll and slightly offensive opinion of every nobleperson who wanted to stick their nose in her business, either coming to repeat the same sentiment as woman just now or insinuating that either she should wait to fall it ill with it, herself. only a few seemed to suggest that they should not wait, and they were either staunchly loyal or deathly afraid of their own mortality. ugh.


"they are some of the finest men in our employ, it cannot be long before he is found." elianys tapped her fingers. there was no visible change to her demeanor, but in some small part of her mind, the words were a comfort. the negativity of the events of the day had clouded her outlook, and the other nobles'... 'practical' attitudes hadn't helped it at all. it was... nice to have someone say something to this effect. "thank you, ramirez. your consideration at this time has been noted." she was more so referring to the thoughtfulness of her report, which, while largely uninformative, was still very much appreciated.


"you are dismissed. make sure the head imperial guard knows that i expect him. and please, do make an inquiry as to how many have been effected by this illness - the reach has thusfar only been alluded to, and i would like to know the specifics as soon as they have been prepared." she waits a moment, not entirely sure if she wants to ask this question. "and... ramirez," she suddenly says. "before you go... do you know personally any of the guard assigned to the search for the emperor?"

mentions

@Yuffie Kisaragi

 

[KhazTheGiraffe]

"Its all right, Lucian." He shot the boy a reassuring grin and winked at him. Lucian seemed embarrassed at Jun's openness. He didn't seem to mind, though, he was used to people being uncomfortable with his undying positivity and welcome personality. Although, even he himself admitted that he could be a little much to handle, especially early in the morning when everyone was still waking up. Saying that Jun was a morning person was a severe understatement. In fact, saying he was more of an all-the-time person was a more accurate description.


"We won't need to go anywhere," Jun grabbed a roll and bit into it. With a full mouth he spoke again, "I have a plan, that will be carried out tonight." He smiled with a very gremlin looking smile at the group of orphans before finishing his roll.


@Hana Koen @rusticyawn @Yuffie Kisaragi

 

[bungalow]

Afya

Afya slowly made her way back to the healing hut. Water buckets in hand. She hoped that this would be one of her last trips, so she could help with the patients. But she knew she would need to do some running in the servent's corridors. 'Come on you can do it! It'll be fun. Pretend you're on a secret mission like always.' Afya cheered herself in her mindm a smile coming to her lips.


Koenraad

Making his way swiftly down the hall, Koenraad had a determined look on his face. He needed to get the reports on the illness. He new the empress would be wondering. Koenraad just needed to get to the healing hut. But making your way across a buzzing palace is hard enough if not for the illness. 'Ugh.' He thought grumpily. 'Just stay out of my way.'

 

[NeverBetter]

The night before....


Sandrew's legs were about to give out as he clasped inside of the Orphans shared home. He made it.


Carpet was a safe meathod of using his Earth magic without exposing the ability. Just a pinch of energy, and a little bit of remembrance of how the spell went, and small platforms, only raising off the ground about a half-inch at their highest point, would generate below his feet, propelling him forward with every launch, and falling back into place moments later. The carpet didn't look like it moved, and the ground, though damaged, was hidden below the wool. He had ran for the carpet just ahead as the Knight neared. Just in time, she had been right on his heels. Like a little rocket, he moved quickly. Quickly enough to lose her, and duck in. Sandrew breathed in harshly, recovering from the ordeal as best he could. He had made it home only moments after Uzo and Ali, which he was lucky to: he had no chance of opening the seal he made in his condition, he was shocked they could do it in theirs. Before passing out on the floor, she had taken a look at their haul. A lot of ingredients. Some meats and cheeses, among a few other things. No doubt he could cook something up with that.


The morning...


Sandrew had been kept busy the whole morning, he needed only a little rest before he had to go again, it was more mental exaustion than anything he had suffered last night, and this was a good thing, in some sense.


Many had begun suffering from illnesses he had never seen. Many couldn't find even the slightest help, his heart bled for them. He couldn't help it: even if he could get caught, he went without the cloak for the day, instead, he opted to help as many as he could. He kept a number of people stabilized though usage of his minimal magic for a while, but he knew he couldn't keep them alive. His heart hurt.


So many people dying. So many people ill. So many people...


He kept working, feverishly, soaking heads and using all the energy he could muster keeping about four people infected alive as best he could, but he let their family's know it wouldn't be long: all he could do is limit their suffering. The words stung the tip of his tounge. He cursed them. He cursed his own weakness. Why couldn't he have been stronger? Why was he always too weak to handle the world around him? He shed tears and sweat pouring himself over them. He had to cure them, somehow. But one after the other, they fell dead as a doornail, and Sandrew only blamed himself.


At that point, he was far too exausted to keep healing, but more and more were sick. He didn't have much coin, but what meager cash he did have, he gave to people who were suffering. One last good meal, one more gift, something to comfort the still-beating cadavers and their loved ones stone dead hearts. Something. There had to be something!


A man lay dying in the street, alone, dressed in rags and dressing cuts deep to the bone with aged wrappings, he looked like a storm hit him full force, but only now, did he go down. Sandrew looked in his pockets for a few extra coins out of what he gave. Just enough. He took the man to the best professional healer he knew that would take what little cash he had left. He wasn't well-known, or even that good, but he was something. So many people still lined the walls. The man died asleep, Sandrew had at least eased the pain, with the help of the healer, enough thst he could sleep until his demise. At that point, Sandrew could only cry. He left the room in defeat, another one he failed to save because he just wasn't good enough. But some of the kindly familys, though wracked in sorrow, though their faces stained with grief and tears washed their smiles away like acid, found their way to him as he slugged about in the streets on his way home.


They gave him a loaf of bread, a few coins, even a few bits of jewelry here and ther, all as thanks. In reality, it wasn't going to be worth much, maybe enough to buy a sack of potatoes if they were a day past due, but the thought was what mattered. He tried to refuse, but they wouldn't leave him without something. In every turn he begged for their forgiveness for not being able to do more, but they held no resentment. He was exausted. So much had happened during that day as he trudged on, till he finally made it to the castle, where he had slumped down on the floor as soon as he stepped foot back home, and became one with the floor, so to speak.


Present...


Sandrew awoke, his heart beating out of his chest. A nightmare of a man dressed in black with swords of silver strapped to him, calling his name in frustration(or maybe anger), rung in his head as he pushed up from the ground he lay upon. He breathed harshly until his heart returned to a steady pace. "M-morning all." He coughed out, only for Mes to not even notice him and step all over his back. He was use to it, normally he wasn't around, and at that, he bear held any presence. Didn't help that he sort of blended in with the ground. No matter. He sat up as she unveiled her haul- some rolls. "Uzo and Ali snagged a lot of food last night, so doing that was dangerous and unnecessary..." He said, before standing. "But I agree... It's not safe here anymore. We need to find a way out of this town." Sandrew coughed, looking at his hands: shaking still from all the energy he had to put out last night.


"This town is dying... this morning, while I was out... I was around for a lot of the people who died... there are many with symptoms still, too.. I did my best to heal as many as I could, but they were beyond the scope of any healer ability that I've ever seen... if one of us were to get sick, we couldn't survive..." He coughed again. He hadn't been infected, he was sure of that. Symptoms seemed to start quickly and end with the lives they take very quickly, and a frail boy like him wouldn't have stood a chance. He breathed in a deep gust of wind, and that did it in for his cough. "If any one of us were to get infected, it wouldn't take maybe more than a few hours at the most, all of our struggles in vain..."


Derik stood in the middle of chaos at the town square eating ice cream. People were dying, growing ill and then just... dying. And he sat there and ate.


He didn't care the world around him had gone to hell. Nothing he could do about it. He had already let the Town Guard know of the beast's existence and the likely location of its layer, he had gotten a little bit of cash from his benifactor, that's all that mattered. Across the way, a Wizard had forcibly pulled everyone's attention to him, in request to find someone to join his quest. After he seemed to give up, and walked to a stand with a rather odd flower on it, Derik took his opportunity.


Stepping up to the old man, he gave a light "Hey." To the man as he pretended to gloss over the jewelry. "Before you spend any major cash here, I have a proposition for you. I'm a Mercenary, and a pretty damn good one at that. My most recent job fell through a little, I blame nature for making such weak-willed monsters, but that's aside a point."


He gave the old man a look of curiosity as he tried to tell if his pitch was working so far. "I'll join you in looking for the man you wanna find, if you can pay me, I dunno... Fourty gold a day or so? In turn, you get all of my services until he is located, and he will be as soon as possible." His cheerful grin and kindly demeanor was hopefully selling his service well enough.

 

[Pashpu]

The head guard was in a horrible mood, as usual. Apparently the Empress was questioning his competency again, well f*** her. He had more pressing matters to attend to.


Two of his guards had been found dead at the entrance to the castle. He was absolutely shocked when he found their bodies. He had known them, two fine guards, always did their duty. And they had been cut open by deep gashes on the back of their necks. It had to be the orphans, it just had to be, he thought, not entirely rational. They must have been trying to sneak into the castle at night or something, and they were caught! Anger welled inside him.


He dismissed the rest of his guards patrolling the castle. He was going to do a personal sweep of the entire castle to look for those damned kids, even if it killed him. He didn't trust anyone else to do it well. It had to be him.


As the head guard carefully walked down the lower-corridor of the castle, eyes on the lookout, a strange idea came to him. Suppose the thieves were using magic to hide? It was not likely at all, sure, for common thieves to know magic, but it was a possibility... if it were true, it would be easy enough to reveal. As part of his training to become head guard, he had to learn some basic counter-illusory magic...he racked his brain, trying to remember the spell.


Right. He remembered now. "Oleiso" he chanted, but nothing happened. It took him a few times, for he was out of practice, but then he felt the magic flowing out of him. Everything seemed to adjust. The world looked the same as it did before, but he felt something pulsing out of the corner of his consciousness. It was coming from ...where? The dungeons?


He headed downstairs to the dungeons, he could feel the pulse getting stronger. He turned left, went deeper and deeper into the corridors. The walls were starting to get cracked, and the spiderwebs were everywhere. Finally, he located the source of the pulse. A section of the wall was emitting a soft blue glow. He moved forward and reached his hand to it....it went clean through. This was a hole. He walked through the magical illusion, and found himself in a room.


There, sitting on the floor, were five or six kids. He gasped, and drew his sword.


@NeverBetter @Hana Koen @rusticyawn @VioletShadow @Yuffie Kisaragi

 

[KhazTheGiraffe]

Jun's excitement of his master plan had all but disappeared when he realized that the footsteps coming down the hall were too heavy to be Vera's. He swung around and saw a clearly surprised guard coming towards his with his sword drawn. Jun didn't hesitate and lunged for his swords that lay near his bed before the guard could come any closer. He whirled around quickly and stood in a defensive position between the other kids and the guard. Years of being extra cautious and prepared for this sort of incidence had finally paid off.


"Uzoma," Jun stood barefoot with nothing but black trousers and a shagged shirt, "Please take the others through the other entrance while I sort out our little misunderstanding." He gave a reassuring smile to the others without breaking eye contact with the guard, but couldn't hide the urgency and intensity in his voice. This was an uncommon tone for Jun to use, but the surprise caught him off guard and now it wasn't just his life that was in danger, it was his families. Normally Jun would be thrilled to be apart of such an interesting story, but he couldn't relax knowing the others were in danger, and now that the guard knew their faces, they wouldn't be safe until he was... silenced.


@NeverBetter @Hana Koen @rusticyawn @Yuffie Kisaragi @Pashpu