"For spoils and tall stories!" - IC

2 OOC
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P...%2520Woman.jpg

The old woman peered at the hotchpotch company in front of her. “So, yer lookin’ fer adventure, ain’t ya?” She was rumoured to be wise and slightly magical. You sure couldn’t tell when you stumbled over her in a dark alley! Still, the big, sharp gaze of the woman made those in front of her cringe with discomfort.

“Those thangs’re mostly lethal...”, she murmured. Meeting blank stares, the wise woman elaborated: “Adventure! Dangerous thangs...” Still, the company assembled in front of her bristled with weapons and she even spotted one of those fancy wizardry hats. Perhaps they might be all right. “Well, then. ‘Ave it yer way”, she grumbled. With that she casually pointed at a huge cupboard against the far wall. “Thru the door, into the ‘allway. Then second to las’ door on the left”.

As the members of the company looked at each other, the old woman could see their hesitation. It mattered not to her. They would or would not follow her instructions. Waiting for their decision, she oggled them shamelessly. Just as she could sense power in them, the ancient witch also could peek at their recent history. It surprised her that the company had only recently found each other. Between them she saw connections deeper than could be justified by their brief time together. With some time to spend, the old hag let herself be swept off to the moment of the company's meeting.
**swoosh'n'stuff**

Ribbons and paper flowers decorated the houses. The carnival had arrived. People had been anticipating it's arrival for weeks. With winters becoming increasingly harsh the colourful parade, with it's jugglers and other entertainers, it's colourful sweets, and it's exuberant festivities warmed cold hearts. The harbour town of Frostfjord had been flooded with revelers. Hordes of foreigners, wanting to experience the winter carnival, made Frostfjord groan at it's seams. The three squares of the town were overflowing with people. Amongst them - unaware of their future collaboration - were the members of the company. 'The Adventure Company', the old witch cackled to herself.

It was a virtual impossibility, but there in the midst of the ballyhoo a rough oaken table offered seating. The benches which flanked it were empty. Well, except for the dwarf. Auburn bearded, bald headed and deep in his drunken stupor. Perhaps his loud snoring had cleared the benches, perhaps it was just a coincidence. The empty seating promised a calm moment. A moment to rest one's feet. And surely also the right moment to sip on a tall ale.

"OI! Rune! Where the hell is my rum! You promised me, RUM." The owner of the voice belonged to a red headed woman. She was wearing a black captains jacket with a red and black striped corset, along with various necklaces and barely visible golden earrings beneath her auburn hair. It was more than obvious to any onlookers that she was a woman of the sea, just from the way she spoke and carried herself. The target of her shouting was a man with pure white hair, odd for someone of his age. The man was wearing some sort of cloak, anyone proficient in the arcane arts would be able to tell that the cloak was heavily enchanted. At his sides were a single cutlass and flintlock pistol. In his hands he currently carried a book.

"And rum you shall have Ann." He responded with a sigh. He was tired of his companions constant talking and annoying him about rum. He was a pirate too, and he had never even touched the stuff. His crewmen had thought that near blasphemy. He disliked the drink for various reasons. One being he just didn't like alcohol. "If it will get you to shut up, I shall pay for it myself since you probably spent all of the coin you had on the way here."

"You say that like its a bad thing." She chuckled. "Ain't no harm in havin' fun Rune. You should try it sometime. It'd do wonders fer ya, ya stuck up snobby noble." The jab was accompanied by a friendly and lighthearted smile.

"We have very different views of 'fun' then." He said as he approached a vendor. He bought two mugs of Ale and handed her both of them."Look, there's a table over there. I'm sure you and that drunk dwarf will get along nicely." He started to walk over to the table.

"Hey! This ain't rum!" She shouted as she started after him.

"Yet it's the only thing I'm buying. Now drink so we can get on to other business." He sat down at an empty seat on the bench.

"Fine, fine." She said with a defeated sigh and sat down at the table next to the mage."So...what other business ye talkin' about?" Rune groaned and facepalmed. Today was going to be a long day.

"Hey magic man, I paid you good money for an enchanted sword and you gave me a rusted dagger?!" Said the tall and muscular orc with a gruff voice as he slowly walked towards the wizard, Simon waved his arms apologetically and tried to explain. "N-Now now, you asked for an enchanted blade and that's what I have you, it's one of a kind." The orc didn't look impressed. "It's junk, I don't even know what the enchantment is!" Simon smiled nervously. "L-Like I said it's unique...There's not another blade in existence that can do what that knife does, I've got to say-" He was interrupted by the orc's shout. "SIMON! No more games, what does it do?" Simon yelped from the surprise of being shouted at and his glasses slipped slightly. "Well, it erm...It spontainiously turns to rubber when ever you hit someone with it." A slight twitch could be seen in the orc's left eye and Simon decided he had better not stick around, he quickly turned and dashed into a large crowd and could hear a loud roar behind him, not daring to look behind him the wizard slipped into a small alleyway and waited for the enraged orc to pass by, thankfully orcs wasn't as smart as most other races. Letting out a sigh of relif Simon dropped to the ground panting slightly.

"Phew, I need to exercise. And I need a drink." As if he had planned it, Simon had actually stopped next to a square in which they were serving drinks "Handy." He stood up and was about to enter when he heard a familiar voice. "Ohhh Siimooon." The orc obviously wasn't as stupid as Simon had thought, he didn't turn around however he just ran into the crowd and moved to the closest table before pulling his hood up. "And a hearty hello to you old friend!" He shouted in a fairly convincing fake voice before sitting down beside a sleeping dwarf and opposite two seemingly ordinary people, after a few minutes the orc had passed through the square and Simon pulled down his hood. "Thanks for that, you don't mind if I stay here for a little while right? It's just I should probably lay low for a while."

"Not at all lad." Ann said taking a swig from her own mug with a friendly smile. She had watched the boy get chased by the Orc with more than a little amusement. "Not every day someone has the guts to challenge an Orc either. Nasty beasties those." She chuckled. "Just don't talk to Mr. grumpy magic pants over there." Rune sighed closed the book he was reading with an audible thump.

"I have a name you know." He said looking at the newcomer. He was interested in the newcomer for a number of reasons. The main one being that the boy obviously had some sort of magical affinity judging from the way he carried himself. "I am Rune. The woman drinking here is Ann."

"That's Captain Ann to you lad. She added, emphasizing the word captain."And to you too Rune." She took another drink of the alcohol.

"The day I call you captain is the day I'm unable to sail myself." He sharply replied to her before looking at the newcomer."I do not mean to pry boy, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to have some magical affinity."

Simon listens to the two introduce themselves, one called Ann who seemed a little more relaxed and laid back and one called Rune who appeared a little more serious and from what he could tell, Simon assumed they were sailors. "I do have magical abilities yes, in fact I'm a mage an elemental mage to be precise." He answered the man. "Well actually I'm more a traveling elemental mage in training, I go from place to place picking up new techniques as I go, only been doing it for a few weeks really since I left the mage college." He noticed the cloak that the man wore was enchanted and so he too was probably magically able. "What about you? You two are sailors right? And you're a mage as well if I'm not mistaken."

Varin could her it as he rode up, The excitement of the festival. "I hope what the old man said was true." "Often times the most unlikely of places is where you get the best answers." "If you say so old man, if you say so. HIYAH." varin shouted as he gave his horse a light kick and began a quick trot into the midst of the festival.

"Thank you girl ill see if i cant find you a couple of sugar cubes in here." Varin said as he hoped from his ebony black horse and looked around at the festival the smiling joyous faces of children and adults alike. This place while fairly new to him seemed to have a lot to offer but just like his mind it was a puzzle that had to be pieced back together. As Varin started to walk into the midst of everything he noticed many things girls, an orc and what appeared to be a wizard a younger wizard having a spat. Varin gave a light chuckle as the wizard took off into the crowd. Some of the younger children taking there first horse ride, some of the younger children playing with wooden swords and the like. Seeing this had awakened a sense of nostalgia in Varin. This was quickly followed by something he was getting all to used to.

"Oh Shit" he thought to himself as he ducked into an alleyway just in time to meet with that excruciating pain that lead to a memory. A group of kids running through an unimaginably beautiful forest and one yelled to the others that trailed behind "the last one there has to face off against varin" then almost like magic Varin no longer saw this from an omniscient POV but through the eyes off the lead child. The clearing was not fear ahead from them now but it seemed to be occupied by a shadowy figure that seemed to look straight ahead at him and smiled the coldest smile he had ever felt. the memory had begun to fizzle out after that and Varin had come to gasping for air and grabbing his head. "Aww man thats a new one well at least there's no blood this time." Varin while staggering to his feet caught his reflection in a window and saw the blood on his shirt. "What the what this was my favorite shirt whatever, I gotta get some food this is to much." Varin removed his bloody shirt exposing his muscular upper-body. Incidentally the shirt was also his chest-piece for his armor.It would dry out and clean itself in an hour or so but for the sake of questions its best to put it away.

Varin getting his legs back slowly walked around the corner and lo and behold all but one tables that sat in the midst of the festival were filled to the brim. Varin eased on over to the table and stole a seat next to the drunken dwarf and ordered up some mead for the table and three mutton for himself. "So how are you guys enjoying the festival." He said with a chuckle.

(Varin, the table is in fact, outside. It is not in an inn)

"Oh great." Ann said with a roll of her eyes. "Just what I need. Another mage that don't know the meaning of fun." She grumbled and finished off one of the mugs of ale Rune had brought her.

"Ignore my friend here. She has no respect for the arcane arts." He said with a sharp look over to Ann. "And yes, we are indeed...sailors." He added with a friendly smile. No need for the boy to know that they were actually pirates. "You would also be correct about me being a mage. Though I am not truly an elementalist mage such as yourself, I do know a fire spell or two. I'm better with enchantments and more...physical spells." He finished as another man took an empty seat at the table with them. Rune largely ignored him, but gave him a polite nod to acknowledge his presence.

"Oi, It's great mate!" She told the other man before starting on the other mug of ale. "All the ale I can drink!" She said with a laugh. "Only one thing could make it better. RUM!"

Harmony wandered through the crowd. She was just shorter than a dwarf and wearing a fur coat but despite this the throng of people didn't seem to touch her. She made her way through it occaisionally dancing to musicians that passed. It was nice to see so much joy in the heart of winter. The smell of cooking food got the better of her and she purchased two chicken skewers from a smiling vendor. She started eating one as the other seemingly dissappeared into thin air the vendor's smile turning to confusion. Heading deeper into the festivities she passed an orc. Anger flashed onto her face as she turned - and almost on cue - the orc tripped as if and invisible foot had kicked him.

A grumble came from her stomach, clearly the skewer hadn't been enough. Harmony found another vendor, this one selling bowls of meat and veg, it was a simple but tasty dish. She took the two bowls after paying the vendor then realised she would need a table. With everyone around her being taller seeing things wasn't the easiest of tasks. As if he could read her mind the vendor pointed towards the centre of the sea of people. Harmony headed inwards comming to a table. She placed her food down and sat before turning to the white haired man beside her.

"Are you a wizard?"

A minotaur clearing eight feet stepped off the boat and breathed in the festival. He was clearly a warrior with a pack on his back and an axe on his shoulder strapped to one wrist which left his other hand free.
"Time to find a 'red lantern' and a mage."
Poor Blue didn't get a step onto dry land before a brutish looking orc plowed into him while seeming to trip.
"Out of the way cud chewer."
Blue grabbed the orc by his topknot and threw him onto the wharf boards. As long as he didn't touch the stone of the city this was harbormaster duty and not local guards... He hoped. That was how it was in the last town.
No.
The orc rolled to his feet and drew a rusty looking knife. The way he was holding it showed it wasn't his favored blade or maybe even a brand new blade he just 'acquired'. He and his weapon were not one, they had not suffered together, they would loose this fight.
I'm eating steak tonight!
Blue sighed and unbuckled his pack with one hand as the orc came in. He stepped back to the side before stabbing the butt of his ax on the orc's wrist to force the hand open to make the blade drop ands bounce around like it was not made of steel. One hoof was stepped inside the orcs knees and hooked behind the calf before a shoulder check sent him falling backwards. The orc began to get up again when Blue dropped his heavy axe with a meaty thunk, the orc laughed as the minotaur completely missed into the wood. He drew a meat hook and ran at Blue again but the board struck by the ax split under his full weight with the orc tripping to crack his jaw at the minotaurs hoof.
Not without your teeth.
Next came several hard kicks to the orcs jaw again and again, easily shattering the jaw after the tenth blow. Eventually Blue picked up the bouncy blade to tuck it into his pack he had dropped and made his way to a table to let the adrenaline shake its way out of his system. He nodded to the other five with the snoring dwarf at the table and tried to ignore the drying blood on his hoof.
Anyone here know what everyone is celebrating?

While waiting for the boys reply, he was surprised to see a young girl, she couldn't be more than ten years old from the looks of her. He found it rather amusing that she had decided to sit with them. "Aye, I might be girl." He said with a chuckle. "Depends on who's asking." He was quite curious as to what she was doing there by herself, she should at least have her parents with her. He guessed they were just somewhere out there in the crowd though, so he didn't dwell on it. "But first, tell me. What's a young girl such as yourself doing here by yourself?"

"Does it matter?" Ann said with a laugh to the Minotaur. "All the ale a woman could possibly want!" She downed the last of the drink in the second mug, disappointed to find that it had run out so soon. She gave a huff of disapproval and slammed the mug back down on the table. "That is if someone wouldn't mind buyin' me some more."