Fantasy Skyheart (1 slot open)

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Gerel felt ashamed. He didn't have to engage with Ezekiel. He could have ignored the boy and his cocky attitude and be all the happier for it. But despite his promise not to see Qadan's shadow over Ezekiel, there was still something about the Westerosi that simply pulled at Gerel's most sensitive strings. Thank the five deities that Caliban was there to defuse the situation (as he always did, may he be blessed) or else Gerel wasn't sure what he would've done.

All of them went outside following after Kari. Gerel heard the screech and the flapping of wings and knew immediately that Talon sensed... not exactly danger, but something to look out for. Marylka was there, looking a little better than earlier, though she drew into herself the moment she spotted Ezekiel coming out of the shop. He wouldn't blame her. And leave it up to Serik to try and go after her. Regardless of Marylka's choice, two children of Estendor would always be fast friends.

The thing Talon sensed materialized from the crowd into a person Gerel recognized as that man who burst out of the Headmaster's office yesterday. His introduction as Heto Deralis, Head Guardsman of To'bai, only confirmed it. Etiquette prompted Gerel to introduce himself likewise, yet there was that feeling of distrust every time he met eyes with the man. Words from the heated conversation yesterday at the Headmaster's Office floated up in Gerel's thoughts. He wasn't sure if he could really trust someone who was willing to send children out to fight the kind of bloody battle they were only barely blessed enough to survive.

Since Aldaf and Matthias were already talking to him, Gerel opted for silence. He would wait until the opportune time to chime in. Perhaps something Heto would say would dissipate the cloud of distrust hovering him. Or worsen it.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Naberius Lioness075 Saturn_moon

 

[SilverFlight]

Deralis seemed intrigued by Aldaf's answer. "Really? Candour made no mention of this to the council..."
"Our experience is mostly...academic." Kari inserted quickly. "We'll be staying on school grounds." Deralis considered them carefully and for a moment it looked like he was about to press the point, but he turned to Matthias instead.
"Defenses are not as good as they could be. The deathborn attacks have averaged about once per week, pairs or groups of three, but they come at night, and now they have learned to be careful, often they get past the front line before an alarm can be raised. We lack mages. It is a rare gift. I only have about ten in the guard at any given time."
Deralis considered them all for a moment. "I would like to invite you all to our next council meeting. I am sure Candour wouldn't mind, given your...academic experience. It begins tomorrow after sunset, that building there." Deralis pointed to a domed stone structure poking above the rooftops of the city.
He began to walk away before Kari could answer.

She tapped her foot in the dust. "Why do I get the feeling we just got played?...do you think we should tell the headmaster?"

~*~*~

The weapons smith was next, as Aldaf requested. It was a closed canvas stall tied haphazardly beside the smith's forge. Kari had no idea how the woman could tolerate the heat of the sun and the blazing heat of an open fire, but her bronze skin gleamed in the light, and there were soot marks all over her arms and face.
The finished weapons that balanced in wood racks were dazzling, and Kari marveled at them, wishing she had enough money to buy one. Deralis was still in the back of her mind, and she wished she knew more about the situation in To'bai, so she didn't feel so much like a pawn in some political game.
"I think we need to ask the headmaster what's going on...I really don't feel like playing the sucker for Deralis or anyone else in the city."

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura Saturn_moon explosiveKitten

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf watched Deralis leave, a bad feeling tucked away in the back of his mind. He wanted them to go to the next council meeting, but should they?

"We should definitely tell him. By the sounds of their arguing last night, I don't think Candour would appreciate if we didn't tell him Deralis approached us."

-*-*-*-*-*-

Aldaf marvelled somewhat at the forge. He was fascinated by it, as it was basically (to him, at least) woodcarving but with metal. And with metal, mistakes could be fixed easier. At Kari's words, he turned and spoke softly.

"I agree. An entire year of our lives is missing, the dead attack the living, and we're somehow tied to it all."

Aldaf then turned to the blacksmith and waved to gain her attention.

"Excuse me, Miss? If you're not busy, I'd like to request your services."

The blacksmith turned to look at Aldaf, an empty expression on her face. She looked as if she'd been awake for a bit too long.

"What do you want?" Her voice was flat.

"Uh. I was wondering if you could make me a sword out of these."

Aldaf handed the blacksmith his bag he brought along. She emptied the contents onto a counter, the bag being filled with some of Spica's spare scales.

"Huh. Where'd you get these, boy?"

"My skybeast. Ma'am."

The blacksmith took one of the scales by the blunt end and inspected it.

"Seregios scales... I'll make you the sword. I expect to be paid, however."

"Thank you. How much?"

Aldaf and the blacksmith exchanged words and Aldaf pulled out some money and handed it to the woman.

"I will need time to forge the weapon. How best can I reach you?"

"If you could just send a messenger to the Academy asking for "Aldaf Joshen," I'll get the message. Thank you again, Miss...?"

"Cut that Ma'am and Miss crap out. My name is Raina."

"Raina. Got it. Thank you again!"

Aldaf returned to the group, his bag empty now. He stuffed the empty bag into his new satchel, then turned to the rest.

"Anyone else got anything to do here?" He asked, unsure of whether or not everyone was ready to move on.
SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Naberius YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Lioness075 explosiveKitten Saturn_moon AncientBird

 

[AncientBird]

As Delaris departed, Serik watched after the man. Inviting them to the council meeting? It sounded like something really formal and important. However, Serik had no idea how would his band be anything worthy to attend such meeting. If they had gotten back their memory or found out about the missing teacher and the mystery of the deathborn’s origin, sure... But as of current, they were still just a bunch of youths that had no idea what happened to their past and all they got so far were just a few patch of vision.

The group continued on their bazaar stroll. They arrived at the weapon smith. Serik browsed along the stall full with many kinds of weapon, all glimmering and attractive. Just like the building, weapons here are made with aesthetic in mind and they were all shaped beautifully with complicated design, contrary to the dull and simple look of most weapons one would find in casual Estendor’s weapon smith.

The smith woman whose name Serik caught in her conversation with Aldaf is Raina worked constantly on her forge as the flame blazed around her. She looked serious and not the type to take much asking so Serik decided to look around the shop by himself.

Serik caught sight of some bow hanging on the wall. He had lost his entire bow set back on Mt. Arebos, the bow and arrows that he and his family carved up themselves. Serik could never hope to make a new set all by himself here, not without the help of his father or uncle’s craftsmanship... So he considered buying himself a new bow and arrows.

His eyes caught on a bow, recurved and shape just like his old one. It was made with wood and leather, beautiful metal work embedded along its limbs and handle, creating shiny pattern that gleam when light touches.

Serik asked Raina for the price of that bow. Her answered though, made him flinched... This was one really expensive bow... Serik could probably pay with the rest of his money but it would strip him of every pieces of coins, and surely, stranding in this unfamiliar land without any money at all wasn’t a good situation to be in. Serik had to drop his idea... At least for the time being. Nonetheless, he had set his eyes on that bow and vowed to himself to buy it later, if it wasn’t sold out by then.

Since bow was already expensive, Serik could also cut sword and scimitar from his list as well, not that he was familiar with large melee weapon to begin with.

Finally, Serik decided to got himself a Westerosian dagger. It wasn’t much ornamented as other more elegant daggers but at least it was sturdier and larger than his current knife that was given by his father. While Serik adores his knife like nothing else can compare, it isn’t much useful in a close combat, especially against deathborns.

Spoiler: Serik’s new dagger

Upon purchasing his new dagger, Serik removed Marylka’s prized kindjal off his waist and slid his in instead.

Serik then walked toward Marylka. The girl was kind enough to lend Serik her prized weapon in the time of need. Serik was honored by that and even though he hadn’t had much chance to use it, he had taken a good care of her kindjal since.

“Thank you for lending me this. I really like your kindjal, but now that I am not unarmed anymore, it’s the time it returns to the rightful owner. I have been taking a good care of it, no rust, no dent, not even dirt...” He said smilingly and handed Marylka her dagger back.

Featuring: Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (0/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Falarion actually has brightly colored wings that have a rainbow hue in bright lighting. In darker settings, they can seem muted into a dark grey or even black color. He also does not have the golden tattoos spanning his body or the necklace around his neck.

Spoiler: Leandra's Westeros Outfit

She's wearing the first, green one.

Looking back and forth between Deralis and Kari, Leandra felt like she had no chance to interject before the man was walking away. It sounded to Leandra as if the small Deathborn attack parties were hardly a threat compared to the massive groups they had faced, but she also knew that it was harder when many civilians were involved.
Leandra furrowed her brows at Kari when she mentioned Deralis and her uncertainty. Shaking her head, Leandra followed after the group and wondered what mess they were getting mixed up in now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the blacksmith, Leandra's eyes were drawn to an intricately designed bow, but her eyes nearly bugged out when she overheard the price. She sighed and turned away, disappointed that she did not have enough coin for much.
She was pleasantly surprised to find a small crate of arrowheads nearby. She knelt down and dug through them, finding the ten best ones and was pleased to feel and inspect them for sturdiness. She had only ever made stone arrowheads, but she could tell these arrowheads had been made out of some metal.

Just as she stood up to ask, Leandra yelped to find the blacksmith standing behind her.
"Oi, you want those?"
Leandra mutely nodded and they briefly discussed the price before Leandra handed over a few of her precious coins. She tucked them away in a pouch within her knapsack that she kept her arrow materials within.

Leandra moved back to the front of the shop and remembered Kari's concern about Deralis before. She had missed the discussion here while she had been digging for arrowheads, but Leandra spoke up then, "I think we should inform the Headmaster, but the meeting isn't until tomorrow. Surely we can enjoy more of this city before then?"

SilverFlight Naberius kase9187 AncientBird Saturn_moon explosiveKitten Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro SleepyCreamy

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf noticed Leandra trade for some arrowheads and tilted his head.

"Lea, you know you could've asked me for some scales. They make some fine arrowheads if you work them right. But I agree, we should definitely explore the city. After all, we might not get the chance to later."

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten Saturn_moon AncientBird

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Gerel listened to Deralis talk, growing more concerned as he heard about the deathborn attacks on the city. He got to thinking about his family back in Estendor, how open and vulnerable they were living as nomadic herdsmen. As the others talked around him, he uttered a silent prayer to the five deities. Truly, there should be nothing to worry about. His father knew the bow and arrow only a little less than he knew his mother, and she wielded the kindjal as deftly as she shaped stone. Still... these were strange, dire times. Not for the first time he wanted to forget everything else and fly back to Estendor as fast as he could.

Though when Deralis spoke of inviting them to the city council, Gerel's brow rose. What business did someone, even the head of the city guard, have with inviting teenagers to a gathering of powerful people? It didn't sit right with him. "I agree. We should let Headmaster Candour know first before we do anything else. That Deralis..." Gerel glanced to the direction the man left. "He gives me a bad feeling."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As they entered the smithy, Gerel was reminded of his uncle from his mother's side, a burly man with a bushy mustache and a buster sword hanging on the wall of his forge in Ocris. Gerel never understood the purpose of forging what was essentially a giant slab of metal attached to a handle, but his uncle considered it his most prized work. While the others went about with their shopping, Gerel looked around to see if they had anything he needed. Arrowheads he could easily make from stone, and with his kit he could make them as sharp as steel arrowheads. His bow never failed him so far, thanks to Ventra's guidance, so there wasn't any need to buy a new one. His mind drifted towards the mechanical hand Professor Targus brought to their room earlier today, finding in himself a growing fascination for how it worked. Perhaps the weapons and gear he wanted wouldn't be found here, but in Targus' workshop back at the Academy. He made a mental note to find it as soon as he was able.

Though he realized that he needed some form of defense against the deathborn. He couldn't expect himself to block attacks with just his bare arm, and Ventra's guidance could only do so much against someone so woefully unprepared. So he grabbed a steel buckler from the wall and handed it to Raina for payment. The blacksmith took one look at him, smiled a little, then gave the price. Gerel winced. It would cost him nearly all of the coins he had so far, but better safe than sorry. He handed over the coin to Raina, took the buckler, then tried fitting it over his left arm. It was a snug fit, the steel feeling lighter than it should. Or maybe he was simply stronger than he was before. Either way, he now had a viable defense in combat.

Taking up Leandra's cue, he said, "Maybe we can go around and find--" and at this point Gerel's stomach decided to roar. Trying to keep a straight face despite the embarrassing moment, Gerel soldiered on. "Maybe we could find someplace to eat? With a good cup of tea?"

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy kase9187 Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten Saturn_moon AncientBird

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka's brows furrowed as Deralis spoke. As curious as she was about what went on in these council meetings, she knew Deralis hadn't invited them for the sake of being passive participants. He wanted answers from them... about them... and she suspected that an interrogation in front of the city's governing body might be the best way for him to get these answers. She tried to imagine what the council might do if they found out the deathborns had been trying to hunt them down and the thought alone sent a shiver down her spine. She wasn't alone in her concerns and a general sense of unease was evident among several in the group. When Deralis had left, Kari suggested they bring the matter up with Headmaster Candour and Marylka agreed. At the very least, he might be able to shed some light on whether or not they should even attend this meeting.

❊❊❊❊❊​

The air inside the weapon smith was so hot that even her new outfit offered little relief. While the others looked around, Marylka approached the shopkeeper, feeling a little out of her depth in the shop. Her knowledge of weaponry was next to nothing and the only ones she had ever used were her slingshot and kindjal. Even then, she would say her skill with both was decent at best. "Excuse me," she addressed the bronze-skinned woman timidly. "We've actually just completed our proving and I was told that I could approach To'Bai's weapon smith to have a weapon made?"

The woman, who went by the name of Raina as overheard from her conversation with Aldaf, turned to face her. "The proving you say? You must be the Estendorian girl who chose Westeros then. You're a lot smaller than I expected... but yes, you heard right. I can make any weapon of your choosing, within reason of course. What would you like?"

Marylka fiddled with the end of her braid awkwardly. "You see, I don't actually have a lot of experience with weapons of any sort so I don't know. If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it."

Raina folded her arms and looked her up and down. She then reached out and firmly squeezed Marylka's arms which made her a little self conscious. "You don't have a lot of muscle on you that's for sure but you do have some strength. If you trust me, I have a weapon in mind that I think would suit you quite well. Likewise, I'll send a messenger to the academy when it's ready."

She thanked the woman, offering her name as well so the messenger would know who to look for. She was excited to see what Raina would come up with. She moved to stand by the entrance while waiting for the rest to finish, enjoying the light breeze occasionally blew in. When Serik approached her to return her kindjal, she took it with a grateful smile and fastened it back around her waist where it belonged. "No thanks needed. I'm sure you would have done the same if our situations had been switched." Still, she was extremely happy to have the blade back and the weight on it resting against her hips was a huge source of comfort. Now, she was starting to feel whole again.

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy kase9187 Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten YumenoTsukishiro AncientBird

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf nodded towards Gerel.

"I agree. Let's find someplace to stop and eat, relax for a while. Tea doesn't sound that bad right now, either. All in favor, say "Aye!"" Aldaf spoke to the others, wanting to at least sit down for a little while.

"Give me a few minutes; I'll find a place for you to stretch your legs." He whispered downwards, audible to only those standing next to him.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro AncientBird Naberius explosiveKitten Saturn_moon Lioness075

 

[AncientBird]

Seeing Marylka happily retrieved her prized item put a smile on Serik's face. "Definitely." He spoke to Marylka. The girl wasn't wrong at all... If it is possible, Serik would lend a hand to help any of his friends no matter what it take.

The speech of Gerel suggesting about finding something to eat suddenly called Serik's attention. He wasn't that hungry but he could definitely use some good tea. "Great idea, Gerel! I was wondering if I could find something like the tea Ord made back at the islet here..." Serik said, still remembering the soft and gentle flavor of Ord's tea, as well as its marvelous smell. Aldaf also agreed with the idea.

Just as Serik was excited for tea, his eyes suddenly took glimpse of something... Something that Serik could never refuse. "Alas! They have hazelnut selling here too?" Serik spoke as he suddenly felt his body dragged toward the stall across the street by itself. These nut would go great with the tea and to his surprised, it's actually cheaper than the one selling at central island.

As Serik was buying his pack full of roasted hazelnut, a shadow loomed over his head as it passed by and disappeared. Serik could sense something and stopped to look around. Nothing, it's still a street full of people doing their business. His friends were still on the other side of the street, still discussing their next destination. Serik checked around one more time... Still nothing. She then shrugged at his random thought that he might had been watched and followed... After all, he was just one little man standing among hundreds if not thousands of people. There was no way he would draw any particular attention... The young man then walked back to his band, holding his hazelnut pack. "Hey, anyone want some hazelnut?" He asked.

Featuring: SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius explosiveKitten Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[explosiveKitten]

Katja was busy trying to hide herself from Caliban when Kari agreed to go off and explore the city. And when the man called Deralis appeared, she subtly hid behind Matthias, trying to not catch the attention of the big Westerosian man. She felt an odd sense of apprehension when she was in his presence. Like there was something about him that screamed “sinister.” She didn’t know why she felt like that. But something told her not to trust him.

When he walked away, Katja blinked and stepped out from behind Matthias. Her heart was still pounding and while she was watching him leave, she mumbled. “Well that one had a certain... aura, to him.”

——————————

Katja’s eyes glazed over when the smithy came into view. Weapons. Of course. She wasn’t one for weaponry or fighting, but apparently Aldaf wanted to stop there, so she stopped as well. While everyone wandered around, she was idly bouncing on her toes and looking around impatiently, with the intention of rushing everyone out as soon as possible.

When Serik suggested thy go look for food and tEa, she stepped forward to talk to everyone, “Actually! Um, I did want to go somewhere. I don’t know where... it is... but I need to go there! And I have an address! I don’t know how to get to the address... but I really would like to go there.”

She looked at everyone, her eyes met with the only one who was native to this land, Zeke, before she flinched and looked down at the ground, kicking at the dirt with the sandals now strapped to her feet. “I mean if anyone wants to go with me... We could totally go get some food first if you guys want...”

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf turned and looked at Katja, more than a tiny bit curious and concerned.

"Katja, where do you need to go?"

explosiveKitten

 

[explosiveKitten]

“Oh, uh... To... visit some family.” She said casually, pulling the slip of paper that she received from the Headmaster, “I’m half Westerosi, actually, and my dad has family here that I’ve never had the chance to meet before... I mean as far as I can remember... A-ANd I’ve always wanted to meet them, and I’ve never had the chance. I asked the Headmaster about them this morning and he directed me to this address.”

She holds the slip of paper to Aldaf.

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf took the slip of paper from Katja gently, as to not rip it. The address was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen it.

"Huh. Well, I'm down to go. Maybe Zeke knows where this place is."

explosiveKitten SleepyCreamy

 

[SleepyCreamy]

As soon as they arrived at the blacksmith's place, Zeke gravitated towards the nearest set of chains. Zeke wasn't planning to buy any of the items they have in store as his weapons needed no tinkering or re-polishing. as he pretended to care about the shiny chains in front of him, he overheard Kari say something. "I think we need to ask the headmaster what's going on... I really don't feel like playing the sucker for Details or anyone else in the city." And for once in a blue moon, Zeke found himself nodding in agreement with Kari. The man seemed to be up to no good and if it were to damage the academy or the headmaster's reputation, then Zeke will put a stop to it as best as he possibly can. The vibe and the way that man spoke was very irritating to Zeke and he had to bite his tongue during the whole encounter. Zeke eyed the Northaria man behind him and wondered why he approached the man with such a friendly face when Zeke himself only heard the man speak a couple of words. It was truly a confusing sight to Zeke.

As Zeke worked around the shop and pretended to be interested, he caught the funny sight of Serik eyeing a very intricate, yet beautiful looking bow on the wall. The more Zeke looked at it, Zeke wondered if Serik would have any money to buy such beautifully crafted bow. However, his question was soon answered when Serik walked away from the bow with defeat when he asked the lady blacksmith about the price of the bow. He watched as he retreated back to Marylka. Once Serik approached her, Zeke saw Marylka smile and that was when the voice of his ex-lover struck him once more.

They're better off without you, babe. As soon as he heard that, Zeke could only shake his head and remind himself that it's not true and what he's hearing is something caused by stress and pressure. He has to be logical in a time like this. For now, his emotions don't matter and it must stay that way until he reunites with his mother.

He wasn't a man who would spend his family's wealth on useless things when he himself could craft it, but that specific bow seems to hold a certain significance to the raven-haired boy. So, he waited until the others are satisfied and soon approached the blacksmith once she was free and the others seemed to be discussing some plans for tea. Zeke had a few places in mind since he absolutely loves tea, but he is just one man, and he must do one favour at a time.

"Excuse me, Raina." Zeke tapped her shoulders and once he received her attention, he continued to speak. "Put that bow on the family's tab. My name's Ezekiel Marcellius, from the Marcellius' household" He pointed at the bow Serik was eyeing earlier on. "I'll give you the money later this week, I promise." Once Zeke makes a promise, he will stay true to it, no matter what. Although, Zeke did feel a bit nervous about how much the bow actually cost, what he just did would certainly put a dent on his and his family's wallet. Hopefully, it's one of the reckless decisions he won't live to regret. "Have a message be crafted for that dimpled boy over there." He pointed over to Serik. "And have his weapon be delivered the same as that new girl over there. Another message for the messenger to deliver should suffice." He pointed at Marylka. "I trust that you won't give away my identity to him since I'm doing it anonymously. In the meantime, here's a tip." As he was walking away, he launched two gold coins with his thumb, flipping it over his shoulders and landing it on the lady blacksmith's hands. It may not be much for now, but Zeke's pocketful of coins could be useful once the group has chosen for a place to eat.

As he went over to the group, he was suddenly met with Katja's gaze behind her owl mask and Zeke raised an eyebrow at this. As Katja elaborated more, Zeke understood her need to see her family and decided to put aside his own need to see his mother for more than once... Just to help someone who he has wronged in the past. Aldaf mentioned his name and Zeke decided to step forward and approach Katja. "Let me see it. I might know of it." Zeke spoke in a gentler tone than usual. He might as well be speaking a foreign language if he were to keep his tone up... But it also just shows how much he is willing to try.

SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[explosiveKitten]

“Oh... Zeke... right...” Katja said, her eyes darting over to the man in question before going back down to the floor. She gingerly took the paper back from Aldaf and rubbed her arm. She was honestly a little... not scared, but maybe... hesitant? To talk to Zeke. After he pointed out her uselessness a few days ago, she hadn't exactly been eager to talk to him.

When the man in question spoke up, she turned sharply to look at him and blinked. She leaned away a little, half expecting him to call her another name, but none came. Slowly she handed the slip with the address to him, and watched as he read it.

SilverFlight Lioness075 SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Naberius AncientBird Saturn_moon kase9187

 

[SilverFlight]

Kari heard Gerel's stomach growl from where she was standing and she laughed out loud.
"I guess it has been a while since breakfast."
She took in the other conversations thoughtfully.
"You're right Lea, I think telling the headmaster about Deralis' invitation can wait until we get back, in the meantime, let's grab some lunch, maybe we can get a map too, might help us find Katja's family. This city is like a maze."

The tea house was not a far walk away, it was nestled against a lush green park not far from the river and the terrace was one the second floor, looking out over the massive sprawl of buildings that was To'bai. Kari looked down over the rail and could see peacocks strutting through the flowering bushes and little stone-bedded streams running by white gravel walkways where people strolled leisurely.

The tea house was not that busy, with most of the city's inhabitants home for the hottest hours of the day, but the trees from the park were tall enough that it drenched the terrace in cool shade. There were plush cushions set about low tables you were meant to kneel at, and apart from the little group there was almost no one there.
"This is a good vantage point." Kari said, looking out over the city. She held up a map she had bought from a merchant on the way there and handed it to Zeke.
"Now you can show us where we're headed relative to the school, so Katja can always find her way back."
She gave the healer a sideways glance. "You never mentioned you had Westerosi relatives before. What else haven't you told us about yourself?"
The server came up the stairs and began asking for their orders.

Once they were taken Kari turned seriously to the others. "Candour said he wanted to train us, do you think that means we get to choose what to learn? Beyond our magic gifts of course.." Both Ord and Keshka knew two magical diciplines, and the question that was burning inside Kari was...
"Do you think we have the potential for one of these new types of magic? Is that why Candour thinks so much of us?"
The idea was frightening and exhilirating. For so long Kari had blamed magic for her brother's death, when in reality she had used that as a shield against the blame she put on herself. Now she had a chance to put it to good use, to make sure there were no more people losing loved ones.

When the orders came Kari got a few small spice cakes. She had just picked something randomly off the menu, but they smelled like honey, butter and cinnamon and she grinned triumphantly. The tea she had was light and sweet too, and its aroma had a hint of citrus.

"So Zeke, where are we headed?"

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura Saturn_moon explosiveKitten

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf kneeled at the table and looked at the menu before ordering himself. He heard Kari ask about Katja's Westerosi family, and what else she was keeping secret.

"I agree with Kari, I'd like to know what else you're keeping secret. But, they are your secrets. I'm sure you'll tell us when you want to."

Kari spoke about the new magic disciplines. "... Is that why Candour thinks so highly of us?" Aldaf shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe. There's a whole lot of reasons why we're the center of attention right now."

The order arrived, and Aldaf looked at the food somewhat curiously. It was a cake, like Kari's, but somewhat different. Some fruit had been baked into the cake, and it smelled of about four different fruits. He took a bite and chewed, tasting the weird fruity cake. It didn't taste terrible, in fact it was rather good.

Aldaf stayed silent as he drank his tea, which smelled of jasmine and honey. He felt a sense of discomfort and whispered down to an unseen party.

"Will you just chill out? I'll try and find a place soon, give me some time."

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[Elenion Aura]

Matthias​

Matthias leveled Katja with an inscrutable gaze. Half-Westerosi... Not that it mattered, now. At the Proving, Katja had chosen Northaria, after all. Even so, the notion did not sit well with Matthias. He nursed a teacup that looked miniature between his hands, the ceramic warming the meat of his palms. Matthias' thoughts were far away. All this talk of family, long and lost, had made his heart ache freshly for the comforts of home. Every new stop on this whimsical romp through a foreign city, another reminder of how far off his homeland was, the smithy and the old stone outbuildings. He wondered if there was bread cooling above the hearth of their family home, and if he'd ever return there, some day.

"Keshka's ability seems the most useful... Where fighting Deathborn is concerned."

With that thought, Matthias wondered how quickly this little war would be over, if each of them shared her gift. They could march their forces straight into whatever stinking pit the Deathborn were crawling out of, and cut their strings. It unsettled Matthias to think that Westeros, rival of Northaria, was pressed back on their heels, forced to defend their borders rather than strike out at the heart of this invader. Matthias would have liked a word with Deralis. Should they not be thinking of taking the fight to the Deathborn?

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​

 

[AncientBird]

At the tea house, Serik settled down along with his band. The place was kind of empty during the time and Serik could feel some peace after passing through crowded and lively street for the entire morning.

Kari started bringing up topic to conversation. She pointed out about Katja's Westerosian relative which made Serik interested. From the point of first knowing this mysterious masked girl, Serik always painted her as a pure Northarian, and since she also chose to be one after the proving, finding out that she was actually a half-Westerosian surprised the young man. Nonetheless, Serik barely knew anything about Katja anyway, so more secrets about her showing up would to be expected.

Next, Kari discussed about Candour and how he was interested in this particular group of youths so much.

"To be fair, I am not surprised... Everything that had happened to us so far was screaming strange. We all lost memory, woke up at the same place, at the same time... Then we had vision that showed all of us together. We all gained ability to heal off injury easily then there was the deathborns that specifically hunted us down... Even if we couldn't wield any more strange magic, all those facts together were enough to put any attention on us... Especially during the time that deathborns are becoming threat globally." Serik said. Serik didn't really care much if he could wield any of these new type of magic or not, the one already exist in him was enough daunting to him to perform, let alone having some different one to learn as well. What Serik really aimed for was to know the answer to what happened to him during the memory loss... The thing that ripped him off his time with family and put him in this wild ride in the first place.

His meal soon arrived with the others'. Serik's meal was 3 pieces of roti, topping with meat and sweet potato stew. Taking the first bite, the taste of the warm stew and juicy meat, combining with the soft, slightly salty roti made Serik forgot all the exhastion and concern over the topic he discussed earlier. The jasmine tea he ordered was no less marvelous than the one Ord prepared as well.

Finally stuffed, Serik wiped his mouth clean with a napkin and listened as his band discussing how to get to Katja's family. His eyes set on Ezekiel, the trouble making man who just caused some conflict a while ago. However, Ezekiel looked like he regretted about his action earlier and Serik could tell from his eyes that he looked at his teammates. Serik hoped that helping guiding around in this big city would at least enable him to made up with all those he bothered and that the atmosphere of friendliness would soon return to the band.

Featuring: SleepyCreamy SilverFlight Lioness075 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten kase9187 Saturn_moon

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Once Zeke and the rest arrived at the tea house, Zeke took that moment to think. "The Ahkmets, huh?" Zeke mumbled as the name sounded familiar in his head. Zeke concluded that the family must be pretty influential if the name somehow managed to cling into his mind. As he minded his own business and tried to map the whole city with his head, which proved to be quite difficult due to his missing memory, a lot could've changed during that year. Stitt was resting comfortably in his shoulder, silently judging Zeke's earlier actions, she was at least glad that Zeke was finally investing his money for someone that is not him, his mother, and his... other 'friends'. Stitt was the first one who noticed the approaching Kari, so she tapped Zeke's shoulders using her lantern-like tail to get his attention, and to her luck, Zeke nodded to Stitt and gave her a little pat on her chubby cheeks.

"Now you can show us where we're headed relative to the school, so Katja can always find her way back," Kari said and Zeke took the map off her hands and once he turned his back, he sighed with relief as it made it easier for him to locate the Ahkmet Household.

Zeke only ordered a cup of tea. he has been in the tea place and would rarely visit it since he found some better tea shops to visit. He sipped some of his tea and ignored the conversation around him since they were on the topic of magic and Zeke has none of it. He doesn't pity nor does he wish to have some magic in him, because he's proud of who he has become without magic. He smirked as he remembered the people's smile when he danced for them as he handles his flames. Oh how far he has come.

Zeke's eyes landed on the area where his house was located, it is certainly located among the wealthy district of To'Bai. As his eyes drifted away from his place and down to the street, lower down the map, he spotted the house he was looking for. The Ahkmet's Household. The location was certainly a fair distance away from Zeke's home, which made Zeke sigh in relief. However, it does make him wonder what kind of family the Ahkmets might be.

Just in time, Kari asked, "So Zeke, where are we headed?"

Before Zeke could respond with an answer, he tipped the rest of his tea down his throat and laid the map down the table. Zeke reached for his pencil down his bag to mark the Ahkmet's place. "The Ahkmets' should be right here." He made a cross mark on the location. "And, also..." Zeke looked at Katja with slight hesitation. He fiddled with his fingers first, before looking away, "I'm sorry about my words earlier back to the cave. You see, I have this weird self-esteem issue where I hate myself, but I also think I'm better than everyone else, which proves to be... problematic to someone with my attitude." Zeke felt his cheeks reddening, however, his almond complexion should be able to hide his arising blush of embarrassment. "For that, I apologize. I'll be more... considerate from now on." Zeke rolled up the map and gave it to Katja and then looked back at everyone else who seemed to be staring. Zeke's eyes met Marylka and Aldaf, he figured he could apologize to them individually and privately since he doesn't want to cause a bigger scene than this. Zeke sighed and said to Katja, "I'll lead you to your family whenever you're ready."

Stitt seemed to be overjoyed with what just occurred and headbutted Zeke's cheeks out of affection.

III✦III

Zeke led them through the streets of To'Bai and stopped once they arrived at a stone marbled mansion, to which he believed to be the Ahkmet's place. The street they were currently on was less crowded since if you go further down this street, you'd be met with the Marcellius' mansion, where the street is almost barren. Zeke turned his head to Katja and said, "This is the address the headmaster wrote in that paper. I guess I still have some time to spare before I could reunite with my own mother. So I'll stay for a while." Zeke himself knew how complex family ties can be, so he might as well stay for a while and watch some family drama unfold.

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[kase9187]

Aldaf took note of Zeke's gaze moving over him, but said nothing more. He moved with the rest of the group out of the cafe, onto the streets of To'bai.

-----

'He found this place pretty quickly.' Aldaf thought. He turned to Zeke, a half smile on his face.

"Glad you can stay."

This place rang a bell in Aldaf's head, but he didn't know why. Not the mansion specifically, but rather the street.

"By the way, Zeke... what's the name of the street?"

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[YumenoTsukishiro]

Hearing Kari's remark on his growling stomach made Gerel red in the face. Not that he always got hungry or anything, but when he did, his body was extremely vocal about it. So he kept silent the entire time as they made their way to the tea house, (unsuccessfully) forcing his stomach to stay quiet. When they arrived, Gerel instantly picked up the familiar and welcoming scents of dried herbs and floral teas, as well as something... darker that he couldn't name. The shade from the trees was a welcome respite from the oppressive Westerosi heat that still bore down on him despite his new clothes. Once the party found a spot he knelt on the cushion, feeling at home and at the same time excited with all the delicious smells from everywhere.

Watching some of the dishes in the other tables, Gerel knew what to order. He was about to give his order after Kari did when another server passed by them holding a pot filled with... Gerel took a whiff, and he recognized that strange darkness when he first came into the cafe. "I'll have whatever is in that pot," Gerel said, pointing to the other server. "Plus a plate of Bas... Basbousa?"

"So a plate of Basbousa and a cup of coffee, sir! Would you like some milk and sugar with that?"

Milk. And sugar? In tea? At least, Gerel thought it was tea, but who in their right mind would put milk and sugar in tea? That would utterly ruin the taste!

"No thank you. Just... coffee."

Worry and a little disbelief passed through the server's face for the briefest of moments, so fast that Gerel wasn't even sure that he saw them. After a few minutes, the food arrived. The server placed a plate of yellowish cakes that smelled faintly of roses, plus a cup of the darkest liquid he had ever seen, blacker than the strong tea his mother favored. Yet it smelled oh so inviting. The mere scent of it somehow invigorated his body and made him more alert. With a careful hand he picked up the cup, inhaled the alluring aroma, and took a sip.

He spit it out almost immediately.

Gerel barely managed to swallow what little he drank, and even then he felt the extreme bitterness slither down his throat. He quickly followed it up with a bite of the cake, and relished in the sudden rush of sweetness tinged with a refreshing floral taste. He took another, and strangely found it considerably less sweet than before. On a hunch, he took another sip of the coffee, and found that he was fast becoming used to the bitter taste. After that he bit into the yellow cake, letting the sweetness flood his mouth. So fascinated was he with the dynamic between drink and dessert that he almost didn't catch what the rest were talking about.

"I'm particularly interested about Keshka's magic," Gerel said, picking up on Matthias' cue. "If she could manipulate the energies of the deathborn, then fighting them would be easier. If she would teach us, then we could shut down the deathborn before they even reach us.

"At the same time, I'm curious about Targus and her workshop. If that mechanical hand was any indication, her expertise could arm us with better weapons against the deathborn."

Then Gerel heard Ezekiel lay himself bare with his words. Like the sweetness of the cake after a sip of coffee, Gerel felt the animosity he felt towards the boy wash away just a little. He simply smiled. Ezekiel would have a long way to go to get back in everybody's good graces.

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[Naberius]

When Deralis turned to leave, Caliban simply watched him go. At the weapon shop, he didn't really give much thought to anything there. He already had all he needed, or so he thought. When they left, and Katja mentioned her family, however, he stopped a little. He was still smiling his usual smile but hesitantly, almost... Shyly....? He spoke up.

"I uh.. I'll go with you. If you want, anyway.."

The moment passed, and it was decided that they would go for a break somewhere. They made their way through the streets to what he would soon realize was a tea house, though he had never really been to or heard of one before. He was never much one for tea, but somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that wasn't entirely true. But he couldn't place why. Suddenly, he looked to the proprietor with a smile and ordered a raspberry tea. He still had no idea why, it just... Felt like a memory that was stuck in the back of his mind nagging at him to do so, but he had no recollection of ever drinking it before.

Sitting down with the other, he found himself beside Katja, and listened to the others speak while absent-mindedly sipping the beverage. It was good, he had to admit, and he started to relax. He had also obtained a rather generous plate of different pastries and cakes, just to try and sample everything he could.

When the topic touched on Katja keeping secrets, he was going to speak up as he had done before, but thought better of it and simply smiled sadly, and spoken softly.

"We all have our secrets..."

But, when Zeke finally made his proclamation to everyone, he beamed, and flashed his friend a warm smile and a nod. It was a good first step, and he was glad to see him take it.

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[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (0/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Falarion actually has brightly colored wings that have a rainbow hue in bright lighting. In darker settings, they can seem muted into a dark grey or even black color. He also does not have the golden tattoos spanning his body or the necklace around his neck.

Spoiler: Leandra's Westeros Outfit

She's wearing the first, green one.

Hearing Aldalf's comments, Leandra inwardly cringed and muttered, "That just doesn't feel right to do. Thanks anyways."
She quickly walked away, hoping to avoid the topic again. She could not understand how removing the scales of any animal was harmless and simply did not want to be involved in doing so.

Leandra laughed when Gerel's stomach growled and happily followed the group to the tea house. She was not entirely keen on tea herself, what with it always tasting like flavored water to her, but she knew there would be great snacks.

Aldalf asked for people to say 'aye' in favor of going to the tea house, but Leandra looked around the group and nobody seemed to be responding to him.
Confused, Leandra said quietly, "Aye?"
She then looked around the group and rubbed the back of her neck, feeling awkward for having said anything at all.

When Serik returned talking about hazelnuts, Leandra's confusion grew. She gave a hesitant shrug and then began to wonder if the group would ever go to the tea house or not.

Katja stepped forward to announce where she wanted to go, but seemed to just as quickly back down.
Leandra smiled at her and said, "I'd love to meet your family, Katja. I think some of us just need some food to refresh our energy."
The desert heat was definitely beginning to take its toll on Leandra despite having lived in a jungle all her life. Dry heat was certainly a very different kind than she was used to. She could feel her throat shriveling under the desert sun.
Pulling out her water flask, Leandra sipped at it gingerly and then put it away. She had to wonder what it was like for Katja to have families from two different islands. It was a unique situation for anyone to be a part of and Leandra felt like it must be difficult for Katja at times.

When Ezekiel approached to look at Katja's home address, Leandra instinctively took a step back. She may not have been directly involved in the cave incident, but she still felt differently about Ezekiel now.

The group finally relocated to the tea house and Leandra sighed in relief once she found the shade underneath trees. She leaned back against a tree just as Kari asked Katja about her secrets.
Leandra frowned at this and left her tree to stand near Kari. This was starting to annoy Leandra, everyone asking Katja to explain herself and to reveal her secrets. They may have known each other for the past year, but they were all getting to know each other again. Leandra could not understand why some felt a rush to know so much now.
Leandra was pleasantly surprised when Aldalf voiced that it was Katja's choice to share her secrets. Perhaps their conversation in the first cave of their adventure had left a better impression than she had thought.
Nodding, Leandra added, "Tell us when you're ready, Katja. There's no rush, really."
Then looking at Kari, Leandra said pointedly, "We don't need to know each other's secrets right now."

Leandra was not entirely sure what to order once they were inside the tea house, but she copied Kari's cake order and was more than pleased with the end result. She had two of them and was sitting there, satisfied and relaxed, when Kari brought up Candor. Leandra mulled over the questions and then shrugged.
"I mean, I'm very interested in the engineering workshop. I'd love to finally make better arrows than the stone arrows I've been using all my life. As for the magic, I guess that's for the rest of you to discover. I haven't shown any magic aptitude my entire life, so that's out of the question for me, sadly."
Leandra was torn between feeling comfortable with her lack of magic abilities and wishing she had the aptitude for one of those new magics. She had lived her whole life without magic and it had never been a big deal for her, but now they were fighting these Deathborn monsters and Leandra had to wonder if magic could be the difference between life and death for her.
Hearing Gerel voice an interest in Keshka's magic, Leandra shuddered and shook her head.
"That magic is just...wrong. I want nothing to do with it."

The others chatted for a bit and then Ezekiel spoke up, finally apologizing to Katja. Leandra listened and watched with interest, fairly surprised with the sudden openness of Ezekiel. She held off saying anything, assuming that Katja should be the first to respond to this.

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