Take Back the Crown

Thora felt her dress grow warm against her skin, a sign that she was nearly dry. As she sat up, her black horse lowered its head; she grabbed his mane and he helped her stand. She kissed his nose and pet the top of his head. She whispered a thank-you in an old nymphic language. As she began to collect her shoes, she heard from the trees something softer than a whisper; in fact, it wasn't as much a sound as it was a feeling. She grabbed the reigns of her horse and began to look up and down the river until she saw an individual sitting on the bank.


Caution is one of Thora's outstanding qualities, but this was not shown now as she brazenly approached the figure. She could feel it in her bones and in her soul that this was woodland being, a dryad like her. "Hello?" she spoke up quite softly as she approached him.


@L1d1ja
 
Hunter twisted his head to look at the dryad with the speed of a startled animal, tilting his head to the side like an inquisitive bird.


"Hello."He said, his voice was barely louder than a whisper, cracking in the end from a long time it wasn't used. When was the last time he had spoken to someonhe out loud, weeks ago? months? years? He could not remember.


Half his mind was telling, ordering, him to vanish, as he always did. Return to being a passive watcher. But this time he stayed, curiosity being the culprit.


@plasticlizard022
 
"Of course... Madam?" Ayda said nervously, before quickly grabbing a large bowl.


"I'll be back soon..." Ayda mumbled, before heading out the wagon and into the wide open space.


"The river... Is that way I recall." Ayda said to herself, blowing some stray hairs out of her eyes before walking hurriedly towards the river.


'Maybe I should slow down... No! Stop being lazy, Ayda! Things must be done quickly, and efficiently. Yeah, that's it.' Ayda picked up her pace, getting to the river in no time. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Ayda looked up at the sky.


"I wonder how you're doing, big sister... I hope they're treating you ok up there." Ayda sighed,before kneeling down and collecting some water into the bowl. Satisfied with the amount she had, Ayda quickly made her way back, and saw Hjalmar and Phaedra conversing, and waved politely to them, smiling a little. Though her smile did falter a little when she spotted the thief they caught red handed.


(SORRY THIS IS RUSHED)


@Lo Alyssa @TeeKay
 
Thora stayed next to her horse, keeping one hand on its neck as reassurance. "Do you live in this forest?" she asked him quietly and pulled all of her long hair over one shoulder. She eyed him once more to reassure herself that she was, in fact, talking to a dryad. He had to be one. Her heart raced just a little. She hadn't spoke to one of her kind in a very long time.


@L1d1ja
 
He shook his head. "I call no place my own." He said as an explanation, not truly remembering where he was from to begin with. He just traveled.


Though his face remained emotionless at his statement, the movement with which he crushed the lavender-colored heather flower (solitude), which had just sprouted at his feet, betrayed his anoyance at his inability to control his powers.





@plasticlizard022
 

Phaedra admired the pot and gave an approving nod.

"I guess that would be a good target. Is it solid gold? A curious thing that they would choose to advertise something that is supposedly so valuable to their family, isn't it?"

Surprisingly, she wasn't lecturing him on his lifestyle or berating him for stealing something precious from a family. Far from it, Phaedra seemed to simply display interest. She had never met anyone of this profession before - and, once again, she was very sheltered - so this was more of a curiosity to her than anything else. She had nothing but questions.

"But why is a pot their family heirloom, of all things? How useless. Do they not cook with it then? It simply sits in a glass cabinet?"

The more she thought about it, the more she thought it was probably better in Hjalmar's hands anyway. Phaedra wisely decided not to speak this thought. Maybe she would mention it later?

"How long have you been doing this sort of work, Hjalmar? Are you often for hire or do you do it for your own personal gain?"

Just as she asked, her stomach growled loudly and her eyes widened. She was so caught up in asking her questions, she had forgotten that she had just woken up and hadn't eaten yet. She noticed Ayda stride past, waving, and Phaedra returned the gesture.

"...I wonder what we're having for breakfast?" She wondered aloud.

@Lo Alyssa
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Hjalmar beamed at the inquisitive questions, his work was very unappreciated in his time, and he found he actually enjoyed discussing it. However, it became less enjoyable when she started asking how long he had been in the business. Twas a harmless question, but the truth was he had always been a thief, and he was afraid that answering would only bring about more unwanted questions that delved into his past. So instead, he decided to talk about how often he was hired, "I'm hired often, actually. I've got a boss of sorts, I guess you could say. He gives me jobs, I do them, bring back the money, get part of the pay in return for necessities." He decided to keep it short and simple, as he didn't like talking about his boss for that matter either. "I've never actually taken a job without his direction, so this set up I have with your princess would be the first time I've arranged things myself." He said with a side smile, slightly proud of how he handled himself earlier.


He heard Phaedra's stomach growl and couldn't help but stifle a laughter, losing it when his own stomach voiced it's anger that it had not been fed for two days straight. "Hope it's not just water." He said through his laughs, noticing Ayda rushing to the wagon with a bucket full of water, he waved back at her with a friendly smile.
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Phaedra grinned and burst into a fit of laughter alongside with him, unable to contain her enjoyment any longer. She would have time to gather her composure, but for now, it seemed that Phaedra and the rogue were getting along incredibly well to others observing.

"I hope not either. I would not complain if we had the same soup from the night before, but we likely don't have the time." Phaedra frowned, probably from disappointment that there would be no more potato stew, as those were the types of surface thoughts she had. "But I haven't had a warm meal until I started traveling with this group, so.. maybe I wouldn't complain regardless."

Directing the conversation back to the previous topic, she gave no warning. Phaedra continued from where they last left off without a missing a beat.

"There must be a lot of danger in your line of work - must be hard to get bored. I'll tell you, growing up in a wizard's tower is monotonous. You do the same thing for hours, days, weeks, and months, and when you are finally fed up with that - on to the next thing, for the same amount of time."

She had sensed his apprehension to her previous questions and decided to offer up some answers of her own without being asked. Phaedra - while she had no ill intent - was well aware on how to play the game. She loved getting to know people, but getting information out of them was the fun part for her. Even if she didn't get questions back from him right away, just from the act of reciprocation, it typically allowed others to open up at another time. She wondered briefly if all people were the same way.

@Lo Alyssa
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This was weird. Now what had just happened - the whole hiring a skilled thief instead of killing him - that wasn't really weird. Comparatively, it wasn't weird at all to what had happened yesterday, and he was sure that it wouldn't be the last strange occurrence that they would see. It was interesting to see everyone's responses though. Phaedra expressed a keen curiosity towards the newcomer, and Yaro a keen distaste, but he was already learning that neither of those things were unusual or out of character for them. He'd watched Hjalmar's interactions with the others in silence, finding he didn't really have much to say beyond a few words of speculation and observation - neither of which were really beneficial, and none of which he was positive were right.


Truth was, he still didn't know what to think of the kid. But when he really thought of it, he really didn't know what to think of a lot of the people they were travelling with, because he didn't know them yet. He had to remind himself though to just look at the facts - he found himself constantly trying to find a balance between pure skepticism and naivety.


There was one thing though that troubled him though. Hjalmar was so... charismatic. Now sure, his personality obviously didn't rub some of their crew the right way, but Bo was kind of surprised to find himself feeling... envious? He was really confused honestly. It's like... he's competition? But it's not a competition? And if it's a competition to see how many people you can get to like you, he's kind of losing? Why do I care? This is stupid. Do I really identify myself so much as a charming person that I'm intimidated by other people who are just as easy to talk to? This is so dumb. Stop it.





It really was dumb. Bo shook his head, his attentions being brought to the conversation just started between Hjalmar and Phaedra. That didn't last long though, as he determined to go see if any of his items were missing. He didn't take long for him to find it: just a little pouch with money in it. It really was the only thing he had worth stealing, and it was probably the only thing small enough to carry along with everything else the thief had grabbed.


After gathering his belongings again, and quickly tearing down his tent, he returned to the wagon where they were preparing food. He wanted to make himself useful, and he did consider himself a pretty decent cook (all thanks to this mentor, who had a special affinity for the culinary arts). He might not be able to help make anything this morning, since it was getting later, and they needed to get a move on, but now was as good a time as ever to offer to help - if not now, later. He looked over the wagon at Svetlana and Ayda preparing food.


"Do you need another hand?" They looked to be kind of in a rush, so he didn't waste his words.
 
Thora took note of the flower, taking only a moment to identify its meaning. She let go of the horse and crouched beside the dryad. "I have no home either," she stated softly. She gingerly placed a small hand on his shoulder. "I am on a quest... I hope to find a home along the way. You are more than welcome to join me. I am with a group..." she trailed off and put her hands on her knees. She hadn't spoken this much in ages, but she felt comfortable; it was like talking to a distant relative or a friend of a friend sort of feeling. "I am sure that they would welcome you." She was confident they would, after all, they accepted a thief. "There is no more need to be alone." She almost wasn't sure if she was talking to him when she said this, but she didn't think about that.


@L1d1ja
 
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"I do not like to meddle. I'm a watcher. Pain often follows if I intervene." Hunter shrugged and stood up, stepping on growing adonis flower (painful memories), hoping that he did it before the other dryad had taken notice. "And I know about the quest. You belong to a very interesting grooup of adventurers." He added.





@plasticlizard022
 

"That does sound rather boring." He said, though a part of him wouldn't have minded the education. Magic always fascinated him, but he just didn't have the talent for it. "At times, larceny can be a little too dangerous." He started, "I've been put in about a dozen 'top-of-the-line' prisons, all of which I escaped from of course, I've been shot in several places, stabbed, double crossed. It's never boring, I'll give it that much, you never know what's going to happen next." He said, "But that's what I love about it, the thrill of the hunt and of the chase." He probably sounded silly, it wasn't even all about the money or profit, it was all about the adventure, the challenge. He realized he was rambling about it, and flushed just a bit, "What about you?" He asked quizzically, "What sort of occupation do you practice? Or are you one of those drifters, that just travels without having any reason to. Going wherever the wind takes them." He added the pun at the end on purpose.

@TeeKay


Svetlana was carefully dipping her finger in the bucket of water Ayda has set down next to her when Bo came over, it gathered to the tip of her finger and slightly glowed, and then dropped onto the dough wad in her hand. It inflated with a 'poof' and Svetlana smiled. "Ah, no! I think we've got breakfast covered." She said, handing the loaf of bread to Bo, "But would you mind gathering everybody up and letting them know that the food is almost ready? Some of our companions have wandered off." She said, thinking particularly of Yaroslav who stormed away and Thora who had left for the river. But it would be nice if someone got the folk still in the camp site.

@QueenSaiko @soundofmind
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Oceana sighed heavily, finishing packing everything. She was feeling thirsty and utterly listless after that.


Her eyes flashed when she saw movement. In the opposite direction, she caught conversation of breakfast being made.


She made a quick decision.


Seeing that Thora had disappeared down the bank of the river and the time to eat was upon them, Oceana bent toward the river for a quick drink and then followed, curious.


She padded gracefully along the mossy bank, leather traveling armor creaking lightly. She caught a glimpse of the hind quarters of the nymph's horse, Bjorn.


She quickened her step, calling out for the nymph to come to breakfast.


"Miss Thora, we will have to head out soon. Breakfast is..."


The elf maiden stumbled upon Thora and another, unfamiliar, tree-being in conversation. She froze, watching the lithe, humanoid dryad stomp his foot on something in hurried irritation, no doubt hiding it from the nymph.


He moved like a thing of the wood but looked so much like a man. She found it absolutely fascinating and humbling to see such beautiful creatures conversing together.


"Pardon my intrusion" she said with a bow, smile in her voice, treasonous lips curling upwards despite her best efforts to stop them.


"Breakfast is ready."


@plasticlizard022 @L1d1ja
 
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If there were ever a time where Phaedra's excitement translated perfectly into her face and her body language - this was it. There was absolutely no hiding it now, much to her dismay. As Hjalmar described briefly his encounters and the close calls, she looked absolutely starstruck. It all sounded so incredible to her! What a marvelous life to live! The danger, the rush of adrenaline, the heart-pounding excitement! There must be nothing like it. There really was somebody like her who simply enjoyed the thrill.

"That sounds marvelous!" It was probably the last thing he expected to hear. "I can only imagine the amount of effort and cunning it took to break out of high security prisons! You must have delightful stories to tell. I would love to hear them whenever you had a chance! Even if you embellish the details!"

When asked about her own life, she tilted her head from one side to the other, thinking it over.

"A drifter would likely be the most accurate description of my 'occupation'. I left my adoptive father's tower several years ago in search of adventure. I will admit that I do not roam the land in order to help hapless travelers or towns falling on hard times - not without pay. I am no saint."

She shrugged and gave a small, mysterious smile. There was no real reason for it, but Phaedra, quite frankly, was more than happy to play the part of the enigma. It was probably to conceal just how truly transparent she was.

"I just enjoy the unpredictable nature of this lifestyle."

@Lo Alyssa
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Valeiah was leaned up against a tree with her ankles crossed. She was running her fingers over the stone she thought she had lost. It didn't really look very special, it was just a simple black stone with white stripes through it. It was about the size and shape of a skipping stone, with a small hole and a string threaded through it. She sighed just a little bit.
 
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Thora turned her attention to the Elf and stood. She nodded to let her know that she heard her and then looked back at the dryad. "You are welcome to join," she said quietly and smiled earnestly. She wouldn't mind the company of another nymph. She grabbed the reigns of her horse and waited expectantly.


@OlKaJa77 @L1d1ja
 
Hunter looked quickly to look at the elf who had spoken up. He cursed himself for dropping his guard once again, letting another person see him, before he noticed them. "Thank you for the invitation, but I shall go." He replied politely, heading towards the trees which lined the riverbank. "Goodbye." He added before stepping into the tree, vanishing.


@OlKaJa77 @plasticlizard022
 
He happily took the loaf of bread, assuming it was for him to eat. "Can do!" Bo nodded with a smile, glad that he could do something productive. He turned to head towards the river, but it seemed that Oceana had already gotten the idea to go get the nymph who had left for the river. He could see her heading that way, slowy getting smaller. It dawned upon him that that really only left one person left to go get, since it looked like everyone else was at the camp, packing up or chatting: Yaroslav. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to the guy, really, so he realized that this would essentially be his first impression that he'd make on the guy. For whatever reason... he was incredibly intimidated. It didn't matter that he stood a few inches above the guy. Yaroslav was... someone he didn't want to rub the wrong way. He seemed to have a temper, hence, why he kept storming off like he did the night before, and after the deal with Hjalmar.


Taking in a deep breath, he decided it best to just... be normal. Whatever that meant. (Really, it just meant he was going to be himself, maybe minus some unnecessary small talk). He headed out into the forest, going in the direction he'd seen Yaroslav go. He didn't find it very difficult to follow the tracks of the big guy's footsteps, but he hoped it wouldn't be a very long walk. It had only been a few minutes before his eyes spotted the fiery red hair of the moody man. His face lit up and he let out a small sigh of relief at having found him, but he felt a bit uneasy as he approached. Calm down. Geez, you don't need to be nervous?? You're in the same group. You're on the same team.





He made his way through the thickness of the forest. "...Yaroslav?" He asked, hesitantly, as he got a clearer view of him.
 
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"Ah!" Oceana exclaimed as the dryad melded with the tree, she had reached out her hand as if to stop him but then curled it back to her chest when he had gone.


She sighed a little, feeling the loss of the dryad's presence in the plants in their immediate surroundings. And in Thora's heart.


In her own.


She turned to look at the nymph and the horse beside her, gaze gentle.


"Come on then, Miss Thora. Sir Bjorn."


They are still good company at least..


Her lips twitched the smallest fraction, before she turned and walked back up the river towards camp, Thora and her horse close behind.
 
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Hjalmar flashed a toothy smile, finally someone was searching for the same thing that he searched for, "Life is too short, why waste it playing it safe? I like to live life on the edge." He said, usually not having human contact, he was relating with someone for the first time, "Some people think it's a ridiculous pursuit, putting yourself closer to death and danger. But it's when I'm fighting for my life, that I feel most alive." He said with enthusiasm. He was about to continue, but caught a glimpse of a shadow darting in the brush to his right. His brows furrowed. "I, uh--" He stuttered, trying not to seem too suspicious. He needed to find a good excuse so step away for a moment, "I know we're in the middle of a wonderful conversation milady, but I find myself in need of a potty break." He said backing away, turning his back on Phaedra, as much as he did not want to be pulled away from their conversation. He had a sneaking suspicion about the shadow in the woods.


When he pushed some of the shrubs away, several feet away from the clearing, there sat a familiar face on a large boulder by a tree. His head was bald, with a black tattoo pasted on it, he wore a full grey beard as if all the hair from his head grew the opposite way. He was a rather large man, who clearly had a difficult time getting his belt around his waste. The old man looked up at Hjalmar and he gave him a nearly toothless smile. "Rolo?" Hjalmar whispered harshly, "What on earth are you doing here? And how did you find me?" The man chortled, but then covered his own mouth with his hand, realizing that he probably shouldn't attract the attention of the other camp dwellers. "The boss sent me." He said with a gravelly voice, "And it wasn't hard tracking you down. You caused a lot of ruckus in Brink." He said with a scoff, "He's mad, Hjalmar. You've missed two weeks worth of payment. You gotta be careful man, or you gonna end up like the last guy that stopped making payments... Bloody, broken, ripped apa--" Hjalmar cut him off, "I get it, I get it." He sat on the ground and let out a heavy sigh, "I told him, I had an item that would be worth double the pay!" He seethed. "Hey look," Rolo muttered, "I'm just the messenger."


"I know, I know." Hjalmar moaned, the pressure to get the money was increasing. "Look," he said rooting through his bag, he pulled out the gold pot, "this is worth at least 5000 perks (perks will be the currency in Algoran, one is equivalent to a gold coin). This should cover my last two weeks. Give it to him, and tell him there's more where that came from. I got this job, it'll pay ten times that much, it could cover my debt twice!" He exclaimed in a hushed tone. Rolo took the pot, "I hope so man, while you were gone, Binks decided to stop paying, and..." He trailed off. "And?" Hjalmar asked nervously. It was clear Rolo didn't want to say, "... He threw him in the pit." He hesitantly continued, sweat rolled down his forehead, "Binks didn't stand a chance, I couldn't even recognize him by the time they pulled him out, his body was completely de--"


"Alright, I get the picture." Hjalmar interjected, he usually didn't express his fear, but his boss was known for personally 'dealing' with the people who double crossed him. He was known as the bone crusher, also flesh terror, lots of other nasty names for things he's done to a living human body. Hjalmar shuddered at the thought of Binks, a seasoned and well respected thief, getting done in that way. "Just deliver the message. Tell him to give me a week, and I'll have his money. I promise." Rolo nodded, and vanished within a few seconds, not having anything more to say. Hjalmar sat down and took a moment, registering that this job was now his only hope. There was no other way he could earn that money.


Realizing that he had been gone long enough, and he didn't want to raise suspicion, he tried to regain his composure and exited the brush, returning to Phaedra's side, "Sorry about that." He said apologetically. He hoped his rising anxiety didn't show.

@TeeKay


Yaroslav raised his eyebrow at the sudeen intrusion, turning his head to see the tall fellow, Bo. He didn't know him all that well, neither were they very well acquainted. But at least he didn't make him angry, like some companions in their group. He had cooled off at that point, so he wasn't agitated any longer. Though, Bo might not be able to tell since Yaroslav always sounded annoyed, "What is it?" He asked gruffly.

@soundofmind
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Valeiah flipped the stone over back and forth, looking at every little crack and groove. It was mostly smooth, except for a few imperfections. She looked a little sad while looking over it. She just needed someone to talk to so she would put it back in the bottom of her bag and get distracted.
 

Phaedra somehow doubted it was a "potty break" that led Hjalmar away, but she did not question it. If anything, it was just another thing for her to remember for later. So she occupied herself with observing everybody else in the campsite. From the looks of it, breakfast was almost already and her stomach grumbled impatiently. Valeiah looked to be lost in her thoughts. Phaedra wondered what could be going through her mind. She vaguely remembered hearing something about her family being eaten alive - Phaedra wasn't entirely sure - and thought it probably weighed heavily on the young woman's mind. Phaedra toyed with the thought her true family's existence for a moment and wondered if she would mourn their loss. She wondered if the pain would be even a fraction of Valeiah's or Svetlana's or Yaroslav's.

She doubted it.

By the time she was finished entertaining these thoughts, Hjalmar had returned and she immediately noticed his eyes colored with fear. A bead of sweat on his forehead. His skin had paled ever-so-slightly. Something had shaken him, but she did well not to let on that she realized these things. Phaedra simply smiled and shook her head at his apology.

"No, it is no trouble at all. I just noticed that breakfast was almost ready, though." She gently nudged him towards one of the nearby stumps around where the campfire had been set last night. "We should seat ourselves. You can tell me more of your wonderful adventures later. For now, your latest adventure is about to begin."

Phaedra offered a smile to Hjalmar. She could tell he was uneasy, but she refused to pry. This was something she could not and would not be able to talk out of him. At least not now. Nobody in this camp knew her well enough to confide in her. She one day hoped to be trusted in that way.

@Lo Alyssa
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The stone belonged to her mother. So even though the small thing looked like an unimportant waste of space, it was important to her. She put the string around her neck and stared at the ground until she noticed people were gathering for breakfast. She followed and sat a short distance from everyone, figuring they probably didn't trust her still. They seemed to even trust the professional sneak more than her.
 
"We'll be eating soon, if you wanna make your way over. It'll probably be a quick breakfast." Bo gave a weak grin, holding up the half-eaten loaf of bread and shrugging. @Lo Alyssa
 
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Phaedra had left Hjalmar after she had moved with him to seat him, excusing herself and expressing her desire for his stories come the next time they set up for camp. Her thoughts were pulling her in another direction now - the direction of Valeiah to be specific. Phaedra had noticed that she sat distanced from the rest of the group - much like she often does herself - and decided to seat herself on the grass close to her.

She decided to keep her question simple, unsure of how the young woman would react, only knowing her temper.

"How are you?"

Phaedra asked gently, inquistive eyes - though not without genuine concern - staring up at Valeiah. Taking note of the stone she had been playing with previously, she gestured towards it.

"That is a beautiful necklace. It has a simple kind of beauty to it."

@Danika
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