Fantasy Sanctified in Combat

[Romani]

• Bartender
• Thomas and Teya

• 
  
  Jeorg watched as hulking behemoth of a man, he hoped it was a man, hunched down and entered his tavern. He had half a mind to declare the place closed and call it a night at this point. The behemoth came to the bear head, stroked and spoke to it, before sitting by his lonesome. The cloaked woman returned and asked about him. "None of you are my regular customers. Lords of the fallen, is this a joke?",he asked and exhaled heavily. Jeorg grabbed the bear head and set it under the counter in case anyone else decided to whisper sweet nothings to it.​
• 
  
  

  
  They were joined by the woman from Earlier and now that he could clearly examine the armored figure, he was sure she was an elf. She asked of the drinks to which Thomas raised his eyebrows and shrugged. He was no more familiar than she. His dwarvish drinking companion however offered advice in that, she ought to go with her gut.
  
  "Well, my 'gut' is neither as acquainted or large as yours is, Dwarf", she replied.
  
  Concerned things may come to blows, Thomas spoke up. "The ale is good", he told her, "Although, I haven't asked about wine or whiskey either. Haven't asked your names either."
  
  The elf cast him a momentary glance of contempt quickly replaced by that black nothing.
  
  "Teya"
  "Thomas"
  
  The barkeep came by and sat down another mug of ale in front of Thomas.
  
  "Mate, I didn't order this"
  "Some girl came in and bought it for you."
  
  With that the barkeep walked off, returning to his place at the counter and a bear head, of all things.
  
  "I don't think I need this", Thomas said. A quiet clanking shuffle behind him drew his attention. An absolute behemoth of armor had approached the barkeep and was speaking to the bear head, "On second thought."
  ​
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

[Magadude]

Lucas goes to his room and closes the door behind him. When he makes sure the door is firmly shut, he removes his mask and grabs his bottle of water and jugs it. "Man, that voice kills my throat." He says in his normal voice but very quietly, to himself. He takes of his hood and sits on the room's bed. He takes out some bread he had in his supplies, and eats it on the bed, careful not to leave crumbs. After finishing his bread, he grabs his half-empty water bottle and takes a swig. He lays on the bed, and stays quiet.

What to do from here? Maybe I should go through the woods. Then again, it might be too cold to go through the woods, especially with my lack of survival skills.

 

[Jakiro]

"We're from the Royal Navy," A smile dangled on the corner of her lips, her voice having an underlying tone of pride as she answered the dwarf's inquiry. Now, Aurora wasn't one to pass up the opportunity to stroke her ego; this was the perfect time for the Captain to follow up with a tale of grand proportions, regarding her adventures and triumphs at sea, yet strangely enough she found herself unmotivated to speak any further.

It was probably the lack of ale.

She simply decided to wait instead. Aurora propped up her head with a hand, whilst the other tapped the counter in a steady, staccato rhythm. What was taking so long? Three, entire minutes had passed since she had asked for a drink, yet her mug was still empty. If the dwarf's earlier statements were anything to go by, then he was somewhat perturbed by his lack of a drink as well, though Aurora was unsure if someone of his stature would really be able to drink his cellar dry. But he's a dwarf so... Her brows knit together in confusion. How was it even possible that dwarves are more tolerant to alcohol than humans? The Captain wasn't a scholar by any means -- the Naval Academy could only teach you so well -- but she knew that, biologically it shouldn't be the case.

...Then again, why would I care? She hummed in thought, before resuming her previous action of tapping on the hardwood counter whilst waiting for her drink once again. That was when the mail-shirted man next to the dwarf called for the barmaid, to which she replaced his glass with a much larger, much fuller mug. Aurora didn't need to listen to his explanation to know of her mistake. "Oh." She blinked. Well that wasn't a good business model was it? You sit at the counter, but you still have to order from the barmaids instead of the bartender himself. They should've put in a sign or something. Whatever. She just needed her ale. Aurora took the man's cue, "A mug of ginger ale," And with that, the barmaid went off, though not after listening to the dwarf's ridiculous request of ten mugs. "Surely you must be joking," The Captain let out an awkward chuckle. Maybe he was? Though, the barmaid seemed to take it seriously...

Whilst waiting for her drink, she turned around and leaned her back to the counter, relaxing both her arms on top of it. In this position she was able to see any newcomers arrive in the tavern, a few of which had caught her interest.

The first one, a cloaked figure, momentarily became the center of all the tavern-goers attention, what with the gigantic, mutilated head of a direbear she trudged around as they made their way towards the counter. Unlike the others, who most likely felt surprised, horrified, or both, Aurora immediately decided that she liked this person. The look on the barkeep's face was the exact same reaction the Lord Admirals had made when she presented a severed head to them, and so the Captain bit back the urge to laugh. Aurora'll have talk to this person later.

The next was probably a knight of some sort, from head-to-toe clad in heavy, full plate armor, his cloak fluttering in the wind. Upon closer inspection, scrapes and cuts litter the surface of his armor, its color dulled to an unflattering iron-gray, indications that point to him being a veteran of many battles. In contrast however his sword was in considerable condition. Perhaps it was newly forged, having destroyed his old sword after years worth of fighting? Hum. Aurora could only guess why. The message to everyone was clear however, he was someone not to be trifled with.

The walking suit of armor had taken its place to the barstool to her side, and so Aurora quickly decided that staring at a huge man in full armor at close proximity would not be good for her health in the long run, taking good effort to not look at his direction every once in a while.

The last wasn't really a newcomer to the tavern, but a newcomer to the counter. The person in question was a rather tall, blonde woman with an intimidating gaze. Her tribal tattoos and metal piercings were definitely the first things the Captain had noticed about her, however her eyes moved a few inches to the left, and saw by far the most distinguishing feature on her person. Pointed ears. An elf! Aurora had never met one before in her entire life, and so the idea of getting to talk to one right now proved to be exciting for the young Captain. She'd eagerly opened her mouth to speak, to ask questions only elves could only know the answer to.

However, the elf spoke first, asking for their preferences in drinks. The Captain would have said ginger ale almost immediately, yet the mail-shirted man beat her to the punch, before promptly asking for their names and such.

"I'm Captain Aurora Wendell, of the Brouillardan Royal Navy." She nodded towards them both, and to the dwarf-- By His name, he really was serious!

references
Romani Dark Sanctuary Cosmo Uasal

 

[Dark Sanctuary]

Kraghar gulped down his 8th mug of ale and smiled slightly.

"Heh, after several mugs, gotta say this ain't bad at all! Yer free to pick something else if ale ain't fitting fer yer taste."

Gulping down his 9th mug, Kraghar let out a burp into his hand.

"Hoo boy~! Yer passing names around eh? Me name's Kraghar. Just yer common dwarf. Ain't nothin much about me ta tell."

He strokes his beard slightly as he then looks around at the other people in the tavern. He downs his final mug and places several gold coins on the counter.

"Lotsa different folks gathered here today. Makes me think of that festival I went to in some grand city. Just to sate me curiosity, what were ye all up ta before getting stuck in here from the blasted chills out there?"

 

[Romani]

• Thomas
• Teya

• 
  
  "Royal Navy? You've done well then", he said after the Captain's introduction. The mail clad warrior shifted to better face his new companions. He would later pester the Captain about news and work. Now wasn't the time for such things. "The weather must be fairly inconvenient, eh Captain?", he commented.
  
  The dwarf had introduced himself claiming to be of little importance. "Good to meet you then, mate", he replied, "You've got quite the drink there too. I've seen men killed by less."
  
  The dwarf asked where they were headed or what they were about before the storm. Tom rolled his shoulders in something of a shrug. "I'm just looking for whatever jobs are there. Luckily, there's always a demand for some bastard to go kill some other bastard, eh?", he replied with a small smile.​
• 
  
  The others had gone about introducing themselves and enjoying their company. Teya raised a gloved hand to gain the barmaids attention."Wine, if you have it. Ale, I suppose, if you don't ", she said.
  
  Turning back to the conversation, the dwarf introduced himself with a lot to say for someone so unimportant. He then inquired about their purpose for being so far from home. She couldn't say she was a Guard, so she decided to go with a safer response.
  
  "I'm wandering, doing what is best", she said simply. She wished to move on from this topic, so she turned to the woman.
  
  "Captain Wendell, have you heard any rumours in your travels?", she asked, "News of work or bounties?" Any good sword knew Lords and Ladies were happy to hire someone to go fight a terrorising beast or a rebellious nuisance rather than risk the troops they would need to send.​

 

[Uasal]

​

The Holy Knight Clair​

Clair had been in the bar for little to no time at all yet already had seen and heard much more than she expected too. A dwarf, an elf, A knight and a band of royal marines. Just what in the name of the divines was going on? Why were so many people gathered in one place during such a storm as that. Heck the village was in the middle of nowhere!

Alas Clair's train of thought was quickly broken when everyone began introducing themselves, was she to tell her name as well? With a few moments of hesitation and seemingly randomly Clair spoke in a hushed tone, the captain being the only one close enough to hear her "My name's Clair, I've been seeking out undead bounties all across the land...."

With that said Clair downed the remainder of her ale and ordered another mug. It wasn't often that she drank but she felt it was necessary considering the harsh cold.
Romani Cosmo Dark Sanctuary Jakiro

 

[Jakiro]

Aurora grinned from ear-to-ear upon hearing Thomas' statement. It's always nice whenever someone commends her of her achievements as a person; it makes her feel validated, and she loved that feeling.

He followed up with an offhand comment about the weather, leading the Captain to groan in agreement. "Ugh. That, my good sir, is an understatement," She recalled a few hours ago when they had yet to arrive in this port town. The winds were simply unwilling to let them land safely at the harbor, and the cold left the poor Captain shivering like a tuning fork! Unlike her crew, who were already decked in thick, fur coats to face the frigid temperatures of the sea, Aurora refused to change into more appropriate clothing.

Her Captain's Coat was simply way too cool for her to trade it in for a just simple fur coat, and she wouldn't wear any other kind of stockings aside from garter stockings. Period. Even if parts of her legs started to feel numb. She glugged down half of the contents her mug, before setting it down on the counter with a heavy thud. This time the dwarf introduced himself, though not after drinking two mugs in quick succession. Her liver hurt just by watching him.

"Well met, Kraghar." She idly wondered how it felt like to have a beard, subconsciously scratching her chin as she did so. She heard someone else introduce themselves, although their voice was barely audible enough for her ears to pick up. Aurora turned to the source of the voice, and realized that this was the same, cloaked figure from earlier that had dragged in the Direbear head into the tavern. Undead bounties, hm? The Captain gave her an approving smile, "Nice to meet you as well, Clair."

The dwarf spoke up once again, asking what they were doing right before the blizzard hit. The two gave each of their own responses, though Aurora couldn't help but ponder on what Thomas had said.

Could he be a sellsword? More or less he looked like a knight rather than a mercenary in her opinion. Though maybe it could just be her. Kunkka's beard! The Captain jumped a bit in her seat, once the elf -- Teya was her name -- spoke all too suddenly, asking if she'd heard of any rumors while at sea.

Of course I have! That was a rather obvious question. If you knew how to listen and how to talk then rumors are pretty much a given at this point. She took a moment to compose herself before turning to face Teya, as she seems to clarify her words even further.

"Oh, there's plenty," She didn't even need to think before answering her. Brouillard was a large kingdom of constant strife and disputes. As good of a leader King Frederick XIV might be, there were nobles that still rebelled against his rule, and criminals that still walk under the daylight. Though as to which ones she should bring up to the conversation she does not know.

A few seconds of hard thinking later, a metaphorical lightbulb -- or in this case, candle appeared at the top of her head. "The King himself wants a group of rebels known as the Cladd wiped from the face of his kingdom," She took a sip from her mug before continuing. "He sees them as trouble, but is hesitant to throw in his troops to the mix since he isn't quite sure if they're actually a serious threat or not." For dramatic effect, she pauses, then continues once again. "I've heard he pays well, so..." He does, Aurora knew this from first hand experience. The King's answer to everything was 'throw gold at it until it goes away/ agrees'. Hey, so long as it works.

Huh, her mug was empty. "Yoohoo, barmaid! A refill if you would."

references:
Romani Dark Sanctuary Uasal Cosmo

 

[Magadude]

Lucas gets off of his bed, and starts to look for his mask. He finds it and puts it on, along with his hood. I'm not that tired right now, so I might as well listen to some drunken singing while I think about what to do tomorrow. After making sure his mask was not going to fall off, he leaves his room. Lucas goes to a empty table and sits there, deep in thought.

 

[Dark Sanctuary]

Kraghar nodded as he listened to the other guests.

"So yer all warriors and sellswords with yer own reason. I'm nothing special. Just travelling around from town ta town, selling off me ores and minerals and buying other stuff along the way. Mostly drinks though."

He then tunes in on the captain and what she mentioned of a possible job. He had slight interest, but he wasn't going to just throw his lot in without much reason.

"Is there any rare mineral or ore over yonder?"

 

[Cosmo]

An'ggrath decided that this little hole in the wall seemed to be a nexus of... odd characters. Perhaps it was some sort of divine fate that was drawing all these misfits together, but in his long life, he had learned that such gatherings tended to herald a great, and terrible storm. He decided he would watch a bit more and then take his leave, he had no desire to be swept in whatever odd destiny these mortals were heading to as he had his own, far more important, destiny ahead of him. One that had eluded him for centuries.

He grew distinctly aware that someone seemed to have found him interesting, and his head turned slightly to the right and then straight down at the 'small' silver of a woman next to him who it seemed was now looking anywhere but at him. He didn't fault her. He was large and took up a lot of space, was rather difficult to not look at him if not indirectly, but before he could ponder more on any more malicious intentions she could have, two more figures entered and one left to go.. somewhere. Likely to their rooms, if An'ggrath was forced to hazard a guess. He pointedly ignored the shouting of the squat as he examined the next new comer, an... oddity especially in this climate. He could not recall the last time he had seen a Merfolk, or at least, he thought it was. After awhile, the years tended to blend into one another and it became hard to gauge just how long ago most things truly were.

The dwarf, man and elf talked about.. something, but An'ggrath found he lacked the desire to care on what it was they discussed as, instead, he enjoyed the little chantey the crew were now singing, one he had not heard before which almost surprised him, something about a lost love and an alley cat... or at least, he thought that was what it was about. Was hard to tell. A voice much closer to him, snapped his infernal eyes back over to the odd little group at the bar, Captain Aurora Wendell. A name he doubted he would remember in the coming days, but for now, it held a place in his memory.

The stump said something, but An'ggrath was not close enough to ground to catch whatever it was the stunted creature said. His eyes watched the barbed elf and human with moderate interest as he was also curious as to what rumors there were. Any clue was always helpful, and perhaps there would be some amusing pieces in there, one never truly knew.

Apparently the cloaked figure said something to the 'good captain', but whatever it was he did not hear it, but it seems she had introduced herself if the way the captain merrily shouted the name 'Clair' was any indication. An'ggrath tilted his head ever so slightly as the Captain spoke of removing some rebels named the 'Cladd' which was an odd name for a group. An'ggrath did not care for wealth, what coin he had was more for appearance sake then anything else, but, this 'King', likely some petty usurper as were all the whelp-kings of this bygone era, could have.. resources he could make use of. A library with which to study the folklore of this realm, to listen to the intelligence of its spymasters and whores, often one and the same, perhaps it could get him closer to him.

His azure eyes burned for just a moment as ancient rage built itself up into the hollow where his heart once was. An'ggrath leaned forward, the pitiful little stool groaning under his bulk, he reached out and tapped the counter before the Captain once, creating a thudding echo to get her attention as he did not like having to yell, "Captain, these.... Cladd," An'ggrath finally said, his hollow voice echoing out from the helm as he 'tasted' the name that deserved retribution if only for its selection, "Tell me more."

He did not offer his name or much in the way of anything. If it came up, he would give them a name. One was as good as another these days, at the time, his goal was removing these annoyances and seeing where this new olive branch would lead him.

Jakiro Dark Sanctuary Uasal Romani

 

[Romani]

• Thomas
• Teya

• 
  
  Tom smiled at the Dwarf's response.
  
  "There's a reason why the beasts and Lords are both more common across the pond. That land is ancient, filled with danger and riches."​
  
  
  The elf asked the Captain about rumours, clearly not caring about formalities. "King who can't manage his Kingdom", he commented with a grunt, "Sounds about right" The Knight took a long drink from his mug. "The Cladd, you said? As in 'Eyrin Cladd'",he questioned,"They aren't rebels, they're a cult. And if they're big enough that your king's heard of them, then we had best leave soon or there won't be a kingdom to come back to."
  
  Thomas had fought against the Eyron Cladd before. They worshipped a terrible diety and spoke in an aged tongue similar to their own. They wanted to bring about the return of their dark religion and were extremely adept at infiltrating the local populous.
  
  Tom took note of the man and woman who had come down to the bar. "I'll be back after a moment", he promised as he rose and approached the woman, bringing his drinks with them
  
  "You were the one who paid for my drink, yeah?", he said, "I don't have a need for it, but I thought you might." He held out the second pint of ale, then spoke again.
  
  "You and that one you're with, you look like you might need work. If I'm right, I'll be with the others. Come and join us"
  
  That being said, he turned about and returned to the bar.
  ​
• 
  
  The Captain had turned and spoken to the cloaked figure who whispered an introduction seemingly to Wendell. Of course, her pointed ears weren't for naught, even as comparatively small to her cousins as they were, so she too heard.
  
  Teya nodded at her words"Sounds like trouble.", she said, then asked, "Is it?"
  
  The man, one she thought more and more likely to have been a knight, spoke cryptically about these "Cladd", but she didn't press him, knowing she'd get nothing.
  
  The dwarf went on about minerals and ore. Perhaps the most perplexing thing about Dwarvish culture was their fascination with rocks. You couldn't get them to shut up.
  
  Suddenly, the monstrous armored man approached and spoke, his voice like ash blowing against stone. The Knight had twitched in his seat at the abrupt noise, unnoticeable save for to someone like her. The manner with with his body had tensed led her to believe he was quite the experienced veteran.
  
  The man had asked about the Cladd, whom the veteran seemed quite knowledgeable of.​

Jakiro Dark Sanctuary Uasal Cosmo QuietlyExisting

 

[Uasal]

​

The Holy Knight Clair​

Clair let out a soft laugh when the captain called out her name, to think such a woman would boast as loud a voice as that, well it was quite amusing. Of course Clair quickly let her laughter subside and soon came to turn towards the woman in hopes of joining in on the conversation. However, just before she could speak he iron clad knight did so instead.

With a soft sigh Clair turned back to the bartender who immediately met her with an open handed gesture "the sword, come on pass it over". After a few moments of hesitation Clair gave into the request and hesitantly passed the scabbard and blade over the counter top. The scabbard itself seemed to have been forged with blessed gold and steel, decorated beautifully with a sapphire blue imprint and held a verse of some foreign origin inscribed on its front. The sword seemed to be forged in almost the exact same way however in appearance it sported a perfect edge and held two verses, similar to that of the inscribed, inscribed on opposite sides of the blade. To a keen eye these items were easily identified as the holy relics Avalon and Excalibur.

With a smile from the barkeeper Clair returned to address the captain "Have you heard of any bounties that may interest me over the sea?"

Spoiler

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Dark Sanctuary Cosmo QuietlyExisting Jakiro Romani
(Sorry for the delay and haste of this message, i'm up to my eyes in work but hope to have it resolved by tomorrow or Thursday. again I apologize for the overall quality of my posts)