The Merchant's Daughter (S:ARG RP) - Traditional Fantasy IC

[Azseth]

After a few short moments of relaxing and controlling his breathing and body, Benjamin immediately relaxed, feeling the anger melt away with the help of his god, Setveo. 'Breathe. Relax. Let it wash away. Be the wind. Be the water. Be the earth. Be the sky. These do not anger. Even when--," he was interrupted suddenly.

"What is your name?"

Benjamin's eyelids fluttered for a second and then opened. He stared at some point on the floor and gave a deep exhalation of air, one last release of any anger or frustration. He settled again in the chair more comfortably as he spoke to Nazgrul, again, keeping his eyes on the floor or some random points around the room. "Sorry. I needed a moment. I am Benjamin Leedak, General of Setveo's Bringers of Justice." Ben's head canted to the side, chin up as he spoke to Nazgrul, and while he wasn't looking at the half-ork, the manner at which he held his head somehow conveyed that he was speaking to and paying attention to Nazgrul. It was rather odd. Noticing those present, Benjamin took in who was here. Two dark elves, a sky elf, a half breed elf most likely, a human that was speaking with Fitch. 'Fucking Fitch'.

'Thank you Setveo for once again testing me,' he thought severely. Setveo was a good who, despite his stern visage, appreciated honesty…and didn't mind a little sarcasm… He felt the eyes of the other human on him for a moment and in turn glanced over in the direction of his feet, trying to get a brief read on him. After a moment he was interrupted by another THUMP THUMP and Benjamin moved his gaze to the door for a second, then back to the ork. "And who might you be, Monk? And may I ask of your race?" He could feel a calmness about this one, focused and centered energy, practiced and disciplined. He was some sort of monk or priest, but judging by the fact his staff didn't seem to be simply for walking, he got the impression that this was no priest or preacher.

Eyes still ahead, he studied the monk a little more. He was fairly large by most human standards, a little broader than most, but not really as large or stout as most orks. His energy appeared to be mostly positive. He had a good feeling about this one.

***********

After staring heatedly at Benjamin for a moment, he snapped his gaze back towards Temer and snorted, forcing his frustrations out. 'We'll talk again later,' he thought and then realized Temer was talking. "-nting me to the washbasin, but it's na' needed." Temer continued on and Fitch paid attention. "Can't win either way. Can't beat the health benefits though." Fitch wasn't disgusted at the condition, it was just a matter of what he was taught about your armor, body and weapons representing you, on the battle field and off of it. But Fitch wasn't as confined as others, and not as judgmental. He understood that every Ascended had their ways and he was not to judge them. At least this human did not stink. Yet…

"Better to be clean and healthy, but each has their way."

"I don't suppose you know anything about our employer worth mentioning?"

Eyeballing the table for a moment, getting hungry again, he decided against another course and focused on the question. He spoke louder than before, anger still simmering, so that all in the room would be able to hear him if they just paid the slightest attention. "I know of Marcurio Deltran. I've not met him, but he is fairly well known around this area. Most of all for being the 'Merchant Saint.' Most merchants here are cut throats, no better than thieves and criminals. They come and go…mainly going to jail. They accrue their fortunes through bribes, threats and some business. Marcurio, he is different. We'll just leave it at that."

Fitch sat back down and relaxed, moaning at the comfort, a moan that sounded more like an annoyed growl. "There was the Fall Fish Riots, back a few years. While it was an actual riot by the people who were near starving as fish and livestock was held from them by merchants, who drove prices higher and claimed there was nothing to sell. People rioted against the merchants when they found out this was all a ploy to make money. The merchants actually planned this, and in the midst of the rioting, several of the more hungry, lower rung merchant families and groups staged full out assassinations on the top merchants and their families or affiliates."

His eyes went to the door as another THUMP THUMP could be heard. "Marcurio was the only targeted member to survive, and his swordsman out there is supposedly the only reason that the family made it through the night. Some say he threw Marcurio into the basement and threatened the family if they didn't go in after him. But. They lived. Anyway, after things calmed and over the course of the next 4 or 5 months, high level members of those families were either thrown in prisons, or banned from the city, or just banished. Reports came in though. That those people were killed. Brutally. No matter where they went. Or where they hid, they were found and killed. Every person who had a hand in that whole fiasco ended up dead, publically dead. With the upper echelon of merchants dead, and the murderous upstarts in chains or graves, Marcurio had time to cement his place as top merchant. And. Here we are today."

[Hymusia]

De'Myr was everything they could have been, the Degrassi that is, powerful, rich, very showy. Not that that was a bad thing exactly, everyone needed puppets after all, the same way males danced for the female's of the kind so did the houses for the Degrassi's will, like marionettes on strings but with no idea they were little more than toys to other peoples will. Vel's family were not politically powerful in the traditional sense, they did not struggle to climb and fall the power ladder with all the other good little peon's. House Degrassi were a shadow family, they took the difficult jobs, assassination's, stealth, subterfuge, they were handed all the weaknesses of the other families, afforded their blackest secrets. It was her family that either made or broke a family, it was through their efforts that a house rose to glory or was burned to ashes under the foot of others.

Of course she'd never mention this, it wasn't something you simply flashed about, just as you didn't tell a person your abilities before a fight. She tuned back into the conversation as De'Myr spoke up, leaning back against the table she'd been sitting at before De'Myr had grabbed her. Happily she took another bite of her apple, a small noise escaped her throat as the sickly sweetness hit the back of her throat, it was amazing. It was like liquid sugar root, fresh and crisp and it tasted like the sun, it was hypocritical of her but the sun tasted good.

When asked for her reason she offered a single shoulder roll in response, pausing for a moment, “If you need my help you have but to say...and pay my fee. Though I have my own morals. I do not take jobs with conflicting interests, I do not betray my client's unless they breach their contract and I don't take jobs where information is kept from me.” She listed each off on her free hand's fingers before licking the juice from her thumb as the apple leaked against her dark skin. “My reason for being here is not noble or for any other purpose than the money. I am here because I was recommended to be by our resident racist, in a round about way, so here I am. Without work I get bored. I haven't been above ground long but my family are in this kind of business, we come and go from the UnderDark as we see fit.”

The regular thumping was getting her attention from time to time, as De'Myr walked off to refill the tankard Vel's eyes drifted from her kinfolk to the rest of the occupants, namely the newest to their little rabble. There was a bickering that outmatched Vel and De'Myr's brief confrontation and this was further settled by the voice in the ceiling. A small smirk drifted to her lips as she watched the human walk off and the thing he'd argued with snort like some bad tempered Star Flower Mole. De'Myr of course regained her attention upon her return and with a politer smile she took the mug from her and took another bite with those sharp, shark like teeth from the quickly dwindling apple. “Seems we're to be working with an interesting bunch De'Myr, I can't help but feel the urge to poke this proverbial hornet's nest.” Of course for now she wouldn't, she did though keep her gaze on the black haired male as he began to speak, his quirk calling upon her utter attention. For a moment her brows furrowed but she brushed it off and sighed, finishing the apple and leaving just the stem which she flicked towards the awkward male that the half breed had called Haytruu. Vel was quite certain that was an insult so she didn't intend to call him by it, she was though curious if her aim was as good as it was in the dark.

She had attempted to strike the fleshy pink thing in the forehead with the stem but it was a light thing and it would probably not fly as well as her daggers. After her attempt at 'communication' with the human she turned her attention back to De'Myr and took another gulp of the mead, “I could probably get us some proper alcohol for our journey, I have a running contract with the--” The voice of Fitch cut into the room and she was quietened, her ear tips seemed to almost flicker like those of a cat as they honed in one the sound and took in the information that was expelled from the loud creature. She had of course done a little research before coming here but she hadn't wanted to spend the coin to get a thorough back ground done on him. She gleaned a few new pieces of information but aside from that she already knew the majority from the local gossip.

[Zhaliora]

Zakein strode over towards the tavern, trying to hide the fact that the sun was hurting her eyes and the heat felt unpleasant on her skin. On her way to the tavern she overheard some people whispering about the unusual amount of gathered Drow in the tavern recently; two already inside and now one more had appeared. Zakein first wondered who this second Drow was; did De’Myr pick up a servant on her way here? As she entered the tavern, she saw a queue of people, lining up to get into a room, she guessed that this was the room the merchant was hiring mercenaries in and queued up. If she had learned one thing from her time as the matron mother, it was patience, the queue moved so slowly she was tempted to make the queue move out of her way, letting her through, but it was better not to make a scene here, and thus she patiently waited.

Finally, it was her time to enter the room, she decided to play this politely, and it is easier to deceive people if they think that you’re a nice person. She knocked the door, and a voice called her inside, and thus she entered the room.
”Wow, more Drow, we seems to attract them today” she heard a man in armour say with a little annoyance in his voice. It seems like De’Myr and the unknown Drow had made a lasting impression on them, Zakein thought with a thin smirk on her face.
”Now, now, calm down Ateo. Excuse the rudeness of my colleague miss, and please, introduce yourself” a man with a staff told her.
“Hello gentlemen, I’m Zakein Amesril and I am a priestess of Lolth and I have travelled a long way to get in on this mission.”
”Amesril, isn’t that the same house as De’Myr said she was from?” Marcurio whispered to Traynt. ”Indeed, I think it was” he whispered back.
“Gentlemen, it’s rude to whisper in a Lady’s presence” Zakein said with a smile.

”Sorry” Traynt said , but we could not escape to notice that you said Amesril, are you related to De’Myr Draee of house Amesril perhaps?”
Zakein was a little taken aback by this question; De’Myr only ever used the name De’Myr Draee when she talked to non-Drow, never her full name. That could only mean two things, one: she had told them her full name, extremely unlikely, two: she had met the other Drow here in the tavern, and had given her the full name, most likely. That just leaves how these people could know, had they some way of hearing the conversations that happened inside the next room, possibly. If she was going to keep up her “nice lady” façade to these people, she had to neutralise their means of listening in.
“Yes, I am her sister in fact” she lied “, our mother sent me here to find out why she haven’t come back or contacted the house for a long time now. I am sorry for giving you false information first.” Zakein said and bowed to the three men. “But I’ll still help her with the mission that she has undertaken; it would give us a bad reputation to quit on anything we have promised to do and I won’t accept any payment for myself” she continued.

The three men looked a little dumbstruck by this response. They all had the same face; a Drow not accepting any payment, and two sisters from the same house getting onto this venture.
”Ahem, not to be sounding rude, but what is your skill set?” Traynt asked.
“I am very experienced with the twin rapiers” Zakein patting her swords strapped to her sides “and like my sister, I know a thing or two about magic. I am not a very good tracker though, I’ll leave that up to others.”
”Are you aware of that the area is swarming with goblins and giants?”
“I was not aware of this fact, but it’ll be no problems for me, I can take care of myself. I haven’t survived the Underdark for nothing” she responded with a smile.
”Why do you think we should hire you for this?” the armoured man asked.
“Because I am a strong warrior, a good mage, and I won’t take any payment for this venture, I am just here to help my sister.” Zakein had a hard time holding back her laughter as the men kept looking either puzzled by her answers or the look of; she’s such a good sister.
”How do you intent to search for his Lordship’s lost daughter?”
“Like I said before, I am no tracker, but my sister and I share the same dedication to a task and unrelenting spirit once we get a trail to follow, once we get the scent, we’ll never let it go.”
”So if you found a man who knew something and wouldn’t tell, what would you do?”
“I’ll leave the torture to my sister, but if I had to, I think our methods would be the same, poisoning a man can be a very effective way to make him loosen his lips for an antidote.”
”Very well, you may join your sister in the next room, I think we might be here for a while longer.”
“Thank you gentlemen” Zakein bowed again “I’ll see you later” and opened to door to the next room, with an evil grin on her face.

Meanwhile, inside the room

”I know right, it had been fun to do that. It’s such a boring atmosphere here. *sigh* I can’t wait until we get going.
”I could probably get us some proper alcohol for our journey, I have a running contract with the—“ Vel trailed of at the end when Fitch spoke, paying close attention to what he was saying, De’Myr did the same. After Fitch had finished his little “speech” Vel and De’Myr faced each other again.
”Now, about that alcohol--” this time it was De’Myr’s time to trail of, as she felt a presence she had not felt for over four years now, her mothers.
”What is it, sist--” Vel started, but then saw the horror on De’Myr’s face.
”I need to get out of here, fast!” De’Myr said in a panic. ”She is here!”
”Who is? Vel asked.
”My mother!” De’Myr ran off towards the wall and chanted "Elgg l' klez wun ussta menvis", the spell was designed to shatter objects. ”Why won’t it work!?” The spell had no effect on the wall. De’Myr’s panic could be felt by everyone in the room, as almost all of their eyes were focused on her.
"That is because I’m cancelling out you magic, dear. Likewise, I have shut down all magic in this room, so those three outside can't hear us, neither can anyone in here help you." A dominating voice could be heard from the door. "I have been searching for you, you know."

De’Myr tried to hide her panic and turned towards the voice. "Hello, mother, what brings you here? Do you love me so much that you have to come here in person?" After she said those words, she could feel her body flying through the air, towards the outstretched hand of Zakein, De’Myr’s throat tightly locked in her grip.
Zakein slammed De’Myr into the wall and said in their native tongue; "Oh, yes, I like you so much that I want to hug you to death, my precious daughter." Zakein held De’Myr’s throat hard enough for it to hurt, but light enough to enable De’Myr to breathe. " Where is that little whore of yours? That wrench of a human? Oh, that’s right, she’s dead isn’t she!? Slaughtered like the cattle she was!" An extremely evil and cruel grin was on Zakein’s lips as she said this. "I thought I beat that misguided love out of you, or made her hate you after her punishment at your hands. But apparently it wasn’t enough. Haven’t you spent the last three years exterminating the entire house responsible for that incident? And then you ran off here. If only you had killed them and returned to us, I would not have to be here. Good thing no one in the house or the rest of the houses knows about your little, adventure. It would shame our entire house if they knew that you ran off searching for a way to resurrect her, a lowly whore and slave. *Sigh* but now, since you accepted this pathetic request, both of us are stuck here until it’s finished. It would shame us even more if we left before you finished what you've started, so your disciplinary punishment has to wait until later." Zakein said with scorn and dropped De’Myr onto the floor.

Turning back to the common tongue, Zakein continued. "Now, that Drow over there, what is she to you? Your new servant, a slave? Speak up girl." "No, mother. She is an, acquaintance from the house of Degrassi, natives to the mountains in the north of these lands." "I know where they’re from, I’ve been in contact with her house before, namely to find you."
Zakein then turned towards Vel, "You, Drow, give my compliments to your house; they really are the best in their business in these lands, and that I hope we can do business again in the future."
Zakein walked over to the table with food and drink like nothing had happened just now, sat down on an empty chair, and took a bite from the food and tasted the drink. "Not bad, for humans anyway" she said, apparently somewhat pleased. "It's all right now, dear. You can't escape anyway so I'll let your magic return shortly, same for the rest of you" the confidence in her voice hinted that no one in the room would be able to take her down even if they all had their full magical power.

De'Myr got up from the floor and walked over to Vel and whispered "What is your price for theft and information brokering? And with, you don't accept a request if the client withholds information, I guess the cat is out of the bag now. Like my mother said, I am looking for a way to resurrect Lisha, and I need your help with acquiring ingredients and information. There is a possibility that you have to break into shrines or churches, or rob people of possessions, mainly diamonds, scrolls or tomes, are you all right with that? With even my mother praising your house, must mean that you're really good at what you're doing and thus my reservations about your abilities are gone, since if they let you roam free, you must be one of the better ones, sister."

[Hymusia]

Vel'anthi Degrassi.

The conversation ebbed like a tide and as it once more started the room was silenced and her kin was sent into a frenzy that could not be clearly explained until a burnt umber eyed Drow slipped into the room and began to speak about the blocking of all magic in the room. She had slipped in with the silent stealth of a spider and truly wrapped the room in her cocoon, of course Vel rarely used her power and it was innate rather than magical. That was why she could reuse it where others lost theirs after use. Degrassi had bred these skills into their blood with a whole host of less than desirable methods.

Vel watched as De'Myr was dragged across the room and she moved not a muscle in aid of the other drow. Her family were watchers, listeners, they weren't paid to boldly intervene in the middle of family feuds. By simply listening Vel gleaned a great deal between the two family members and while the information would likely not be of any worthwhile cause, as it was too easily given, it was still an edge the family ought to have. While all eyes were busied upon other sources and the Drow blood stared one another down the Degrassi born began to cover ground, she moved slow but no one could call her idle, her feet were placed on the boards as if she already knew which would creak and which allowed for soundless movement. Despite her heels there was little to hear and by the time the Matron's attention had befallen her she had covered half the ground between her table and them.

Had she had fifty or eighty more years training she may have even gotten to the matron's side before the woman's attention fell on her. When nought but praise left the lips of the high-born Vel straightened her posture and back and offered a sweeping bow. Her left arm crossed her body until the hand rested on her right hip and she bent in the middle until her hair all but touched the floor, at the same time her heels clicked together with a meaningful ring, her other arm straight at her side. “A pleasure Matron, I am glad to hear such praise from such a well respected member of the houses. It will please my family to know of your satisfaction with our work.” There was pride in her tone and a grin that could rival the crescent moon upon her dark lips, it always did her a great service to have such prolific people publicise her work and that of her family. Everyone in this room would have heard the praise and for those with an iota of sense, it would be as well to realise that praise from a Matron Mother never came lightly.

She waited until the Matron had departed before righting fully and coming face to face -actually, very nearly face to breast- with De'Myr. Who immediately offered her another job and from formal to professional the Drow flicked without a pause. Her languid show of respect and her acceptance of the authority the other held was swept away by the breeze, replaced with eyes as hard and cold as an eagles, her attention fully on De'Myr. “Resurection, I will not hold your hopes to high Sister, for if there was such capable my family would know of it, it would after all, make our job a little harder.” Though it seemed the thought of such a challenge did not faze her, “Regardless you come to me in good faith and trust, I will take your contract, as with the humans I do my work in writing so it is harder to betray. I do not mind breaking into holy places nor theft but I do not kill clergymen or priest unless first they raise their hands to me.”

More praise followed from De'Myr and if a Drow could blush, well Vel wouldn't, she knew she was good. It was why they did let her out to roam free as it were, “Partly skill, partly my lineage. I of course can assure you that I have taken many contracts in my time, I have broken none, failed none and have been betrayed only twice.” Neither of which could explain their side of the story any more, a public execution had swiftly dealt with that, oddly enough both times they had been sky elves in a pathetic attempt to 'capture' her. God knows why they wanted too though, it wasn't like she'd ever welch on her family.

Cassandra

Ateo had sent for her, which in itself was surprising, the two had had no contact since the war and only briefly had they met then, passing on the field of battle. The war had been hard and bloody and now that she glanced around these streets she could see nothing of the change that ought to have happened. No comradery prevailed from the years passed by, as if none remembered the bloody battle that had come before the winter, all continued to live their lives in disdain of one another's kingdoms and forgetting that they had not one that day, they had just pushed back the tide. Though the thing about the tide was it was ever changing, it would move and flow as only it saw fit and the dawn of war nipped at her heels and ran its bloody fingers down her back.

She had tried to speak, as had the rest of her order, to the countrymen and their nobles, to make them see reason but they had not listened. The order was old and its ways were strange and out dated, the city had no use for them outside of war and so they were laughed away. Remembered as only priestess' and not the warriors they were born and bred to be.

She stayed her horse outside the tavern her old colleague -for any one who had fought and survived that battlefield was a comrade in her opinion- had called her to and lashed it's reins to the hitching post. Her armour today was vacant and her saddle bags empty, upon her she carried only her long sword 'the wings of Nemesis' and her gladius. She had of course thought about bringing her armour and full arsenal but had not wished to disturb the villagers into worry or agitation.

Inside she had waited in a cue, watching some people enter a room and not leave and others storm passed her on the way out. There was the resounding sound of wood upon wood and it was finally her turn to enter the room. In she stepped, closing the door behind her with great care before stepping to the middle of the room. She stood with the straightened back and righted shoulders of a soldier but managed to hold a delicateness that could only be attributed to feminine. As was her usual precaution she slipped her scabbards free with a series of buckles and slides until two light thunk and a heavier indicated her weapons had met the ground.

Bowing graciously she turned to face Ateo as he approached her, both extending an open hand and grasping each others forearm before moving in to briefly embrace. “You have wintered well gracious Ateo. It pleases me no end to see you so vibrant.
“And I you Cassandra, it has been too long now. I am glad to see your wounds did not claim you.” Ateo replied, though they cut short the reunion as he turned to face the merchant and Tryant. “This is Cassandra Eventide of the holy order of Nemesis. I have seen her skill first hand and could vouch for her without need for this interview. In fact I have.” Cassandra shook her head lightly, her long braid swaying behind her, “I will undergo the same process as those who I will soon to call my brethren.”

Ateo was set to disagree but the sharp eyes of the human child cut him back and Tryant had already begun asking his questions. “Why do you wish to be part of this mission?”
“I do not wish for anything. Ateo sent word for me and my Goddess granted me clarity, this is the correct and just thing to do.”
“Your....goddess, who is this?”
“Nemesis, the goddess of justice and truth.” There was a brief pause, there usually always was, before Tryant recalled the name from some obscure tome.

“What skills can you bring to the table?” Ateo seemed annoyed at this but Cassandra already began to answer.
“I am a warrior, versed in the use of most bladed and blunt instruments. Despite my age I have already fought battles and wars, in fact I was among the fighters who got off the battlefield at the fight Peninsula before the winter. Aside my fighting talents I have leadership skills, medical knowledge and the favoured power of my goddess.” Tryant paused, considered something and then asked, “If you found a person who had information about my lords daughter, how would you get him to speak.”
“ A lie is a cardinal sin in my convent, I would remind him that the penalties for such are high and then I will simply wait him out. Everyone has their limit to the silence they can endure.”

Ateo waited and Tryant finally spoke up, “There are goblins, orcs and even giants, this mission won't be safe and the pay is only one hundred and fifty gold.” Cassandra shot a glance to Ateo and then back once more. “They will prove to be interesting, however I doubt any more so than I have seen. The pay is not of importance to me, this is the right thing to do. Should you insist on paying me please send the coin to my church.”
“You're hired, if you go to the next room you can help yourself to refreshments.” Ateo stated, waiting only for Cassandra to pick up her swords and reattach them to her body before ushering her through the door. Giving her barely any time to bow in response to the offer.

As she came upon the room some dark skinned woman was yelling at another, threatening those in the room and for a moment her fingertips slipped around the hilt of her sword, stroking at the pommel lightly. When all seemed to be calm again Cassandra slipped her violet eyes -pale like dew on lavender on a cloudy morning- to where the refreshments were. Pouring herself a glass of water and taking a crust from a sliced loaf she found herself a free space and sat, cross legged upon the ground, carefully moving her swords aside as she did so. She would need to introduce herself soon, however she had been riding six hours straight and she needed the rest.


Meanwhile.

“Ateo?”
“She is a superb fighter, honourable and strong, this interview was unnecessary as I had personally already written her name down for the party.”
“Don't do that again.” THUMP, THUMP.

[Terminal]

Temer nodded as Fitch spoke, listening carefully. "Sounds like the boss has plenty of enemies then who might like to take advantage of the chaos from earlier and kidnap his kid, assuming she's alive. "

"That is because I’m cancelling out you magic, dear. Likewise, I have shut down all magic in this room, so those three outside can't hear us, neither can anyone in here help you." A dominating voice could be heard from the door. "I have been searching for you, you know."

"Talk about rude." Temer said, rolling his eyes. Was this idiot TRYING to get herself killed? And then the Drow marched into the room and segued into a monologue while physically dominating the other, and this was where a few things clicked in Temer's head. THIS new drow WAS an aristocrat. He couldn't understand any of the drow's alien, babbling tongue, but he got the gist of it from her tone and from her motion. This was someone who was used to power, who was used to getting their way, who was used to stepping all over other peoples' fingers and then kicking them in the face if they complaind. And he supposed the fancy duds were also a bit of a give-away.

Temer knew that, if she was anything like the sky elves from his native land, that actually reasoning with her would be impossible. She was going to spend her time looking down on everyone else in the room, treating herself as the smartest, toughest bitch in all the land because she could perform a few parlor tricks. He had had enough of that back in his homeland, and he was not going to have any of it here. Who did she think she was, marching in her like she owned the place, threatening and assaulting a cohort while canceling everyone's magic? It was almost as if she was TRYING to get someone to step forward and challenge her.

'Challenge accepted.' Temer thought grimly. He turned to Fitch and gave him a small bow.

"Please pardon me for one moment, I need to establish some ground rules." He said off-handedly. He then turned to the drow. The only way he was going to get through to her thick skull was going to be if he stepped into her comfort zone and put her in a disadvantageous position. He clenched his fists and tensed his wrists, slightly extending the reach of the spade-shaped blades on his gauntlets.

"Not bad, for humans anyway" she said, apparently somewhat pleased. "It's all right now, dear. You can't escape anyway so I'll let your magic return shortly, same for the rest of you" the confidence in her voice hinted that no one in the room would be able to take her down even if they all had their full magical power.

"Lady, don't even bother." Temer scoffed. He crossed the room in broad strides and moved to backhand her across the face while she was sitting, with the flat of the blade extending from his right gauntlet, the tip likely to draw blood if the blow landed and depending on whether it dragged or not. His speed left absolutely zero time for her to cast any spells of her own, since she had already demonstrated that the effects of whatever silence field she had cast earlier did not extend to her own person.

"I don't care who or how good you think you are. Tone down the attitude or I will leave your corpse to wither in the sun. We have a job to do, so save your petty bullshit for later." He declared loudly, his body tensed and obviously ready for a fight if necessary. "If you're here for the theater-antics, get out. There's no place for parasites like you."

Temer didn't expect he was going to receive any backup from the others on this. He had spent most of his life as the creepy undertaker of a remote village, and the other villagers had always ostracized him. He was used to nobody supporting him. And he had no problem playing the idiot in front of everyone - let them think whatever they wanted of him, so long as they were still willing to work with him he could live with the image.

[1DVSguy]

Nazgrul Rasgnorr

As Benjamin asked who Nazgrul was, he sighed and said with sadness, "My name is Nazgrul Rasgnorr... I am a Half-Ork. My father was an Ork and my mother is... was a human..." he said the last part with a hint of bitterness then composed himself as he continued, "I owe no loyalty to the Orks... My allegiance now lies with the Henshin order..."

Benjamin looked at Nazgrul... yet didn't look at him. Nazgrul put a mental note of this unusual quirk and stored it away. Benjamin said, "Henshin order? I have not heard of your kind before."

Nazgrul smiled, "Nor I of yours, " he said referring to Setveo's Bringers of Justice, "The Henshin Order is an ancient sect of warrior monks. We are dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom and enlightenment as well as unlocking the secrets of Ki."

Benjamin quirked up an eyebrow, "Ki?"

Nazgrul smiled and said graciously, "Ki, loosely translated, is energy. It is a mystical force that connects all living things. Ki is in everyone... Me, you... even that monstrous Ogre over there... It is only a matter of unlocking that potential and using it."

Benjamin seemed to nod with a thoughtful expression on his face and Nazgrul couldn't help but feel like one of the wizened old masters that taught the beginning Henshin Disciples. The comparison made him fill with pride. Spreading the wisdom of the Henshin, indeed... Nazgrul thought proudly.

Suddenly an apple core came hurtling toward Benjamin's head out of nowhere. Nazgrul responded immediately and his hand darted forward to pluck the apple core right out of the air. He held the dripping remains of the fruit in view of Benjamin and said wryly, "It seems that our colleagues do not have the same sense of decency as you and I..."

Benjamin and Nazgrul turned to look at the offending thrower and at that instance many things happened at once.

The Ogre started belching out information about their employer and Nazgrul's ears perked up to listen in. After he was done, Nazgrul turned a disapproving gaze at the Roguish looking Drow and was about to ask her why she had thrown the apple until he was interrupted by the panicked cries of the other Drow. She strode over to a wall and started chanting in a language unfamiliar to Nazgrul.

Whatever she tried to do, it didn't seem to work and her anxious cries were interrupted by yet another Drow that burst into the room.
All of Nazgrul's nine years of training as a monk could not have prepared for what happened next.

Another Drow burst in through the door, looking nearly identical to the one by the wall, and proceeded to somehow pull the Drow halfway across the room and into her grip. This one was powerful, Nazgrul could feel it, and their was so much Negative Ki that surrounded her like a flock of gnats that it made Nazgruls ears tingle. He grunted and rubbed his temple softly trying to ward away the sensation.

Harsh words were exchanged and the Human with the glass eyes stood from beside the Ogre and proceeded to stride right up to the Drow. He promptly smacked the Drow across the face with the gauntlets on his hands. The Smack! resounded around the room and Nazgrul stood from his seat. He needed to stop this before this escalated into an all out brawl. He noted with approval that Benjamin had followed suit and was now walking beside him toward the cluster gathering. At least some of us have some decency, Nazgrul thought.

He stopped in front of the Drow and the Human, forming a triangle between the three of them.
"There's no need for more blood to be shed," he said hurriedly, "We all have to work together in the ordeal ahead and there is no sense in tearing each other apart before we have even crossed the starting line!"
His oaken staff was held loosely at his side to appear non aggressive. Though he would have no qualms about using it to separate these two should they attack each other again.

[Azseth]

The door shot open to the main room and a voice followed it.

“THAT IS ENOUGH.”

But it was more than a voice. Something behind it commanded…respect. Something behind that voice demanded you look at the speaker, and everyone in the rooms eyes turned toward the speaker.

Ateo stood for several seconds, gaze moving towards all those standing in the room before speaking again.

His voice lowered dramatically but there was still that something behind it. “Is this a childrens watch? You are all here to help find a girl who needs help. A GIRL. Who right now is hopefully doing what she can to survive who knows what. And you squabble. From this point forward, any altercation in this room is going to lead to dismissal from the group, at a minimal. I do not care who you are, what you are capable of or how much you would benefit this search.”

Again he took a moment to look at everyone, so that this would sink in. “Your families, pasts and differences. Those mean nothing to me. Leave if you cannot put you bullshit differences aside. That means YOU Drow.” He looked at all three of the Drow females in turn for a third time.

“And you, Fitch. Benjamin.” He glared at them for a moment.

“ANY of you. Act like goddamn professionals. Focus on having some fucking honor and dignity until you leave here. And I swear if this spills out onto the road, and this girls life is lost because of any of you, there is not a god that will save you from my wrath.”

He turned his back and before closing the door, he spoke over his shoulder. “This girl means more to me than the lot of you combined. I suggest for duration of this mission, you all act the same.”

“I apologize Ateo. Please convey the same to the two outside,” Benjamin stated.

Nazgrul spoke up next, “it will not happen again.”

Several other people muttered various apologies, some simply started at Ateo’s back.

Another few seconds of silence had passed and then Fitch’s booming voice shook the room back out of the effect of Ateo’s voice, “HA! The God Breaker has spoken. Apologies Ateo. We will play nicely from this point forward!” There was some sarcasm in his voice, and he was somewhat patronizing, but. That was Fitch.

Without another word, Ateo stepped through the door and back to his seat.

The group silently looked about at one another, when Nazgrul spoke up. “God Breaker?”

Benjamin stepped off towards his seat and moved to sit as Fitch spoke up. “God Breaker. Go’Shirik imparts many things to his Champions.” As he spoke this, Fitch’s gaze burned into Benjamin who stared at the floor, pointedly ignoring Fitch’s speech. “Many things that certain people with to remain hidden. Ateo, he was many things before he came into the service of the Deltan family. Things that earned him the name God Breaker.”

He turned his gaze towards Nazgrul at that point. His gaze was cool, but his eyes and his tone clearly implied that this applied to him also. “But. It is Go’Shirik’s favor to me. It is not my place to disseminate that information. If you want to know the truth of someone, ask them. Or, go to a Temple and take Go’Shirik into your heart.”

Fitch took two strides that carried him to the table and he took a large piece of duck, biting into it and making his way back to the bench he resided on previously.

[Dark Project]

Alaron continued to smoke as the elf gave her reasons for joining the group. He saw that she didn't seem to mind the smell. He figured she would not have approached him if she thought it was *too* repulsive.

Her cause seemed noble enough. That and wanting to receive a little nourishment for her time. However he could sense the guilt she felt when talking about the one boy who survived the caravan.

"No, they never did tell me about the survivor. Nor' did any of my sources mention anything about a boy that made it out alive."

Alaron paused for a moment. He felt like he should say something in regards to the boy that had died, but he never really had any experience in comforting people.

"I'm sure you did everything you could to save the boy's life." He tried his best to make his tone sound sincere.

During their conversation another man had walked into the room, however Alaron did not notice. His attention for the moment was on the elf. He did notice ANOTHER Drow enter the room. She approached the other two Drow and pulled one of them through some form of magic into a choke hold. Then proceeded to slam her into the wall and go on a long rant. Alaron raised an eyebrow for a moment at the situation then turned back to the elf. He didn't care much for the situation unless it concerned him. He'd grown accustomed to witnessing fights and squabbles during his times at various taverns where he was from. Men often fought, threw furniture, broke glasses, it was all part of going to those kinds of taverns. The plus side was, that was where you could find the cheapest booze. Alaron learned quickly the more you try to step in and break up these encounters, the more bruises you end up walking home with.

"I hate to sound selfish but my reasons for being here are mainly for the money. My normal line of work has...gotten more difficult to make a living out of so I've had to look elsewhere to apply my skills in order to earn the rent."

He paused for a moment."That and I guess saving an innocent girl is something I would like to see done" he said quickly, breaking eye contact with Epi and staring at the ground.

As he finished his sentence the door to the room swung open and a loud voice thundered "THAT IS ENOUGH.". I was Ateo, referring to the Drows. His voice quickly calmed down everyone in the room, and several people involved muttered apologies as he closed the door back up. Once the man left Alaron turned back to Epi and noticed something strange. Against the elf's white hair he could see some short hairs of grey. But they didn't look human, they looked animal, so thick and short. His eyebrow raised as whatever was under her hair moved quickly and repositioned.

"You've got something..." He motioned with his hands to Epi's shoulder.

[Azseth]

Ateo closed the door and closed his eyes. He knew the other two were looking at him and he didn’t care about that so much as the name he heard for the first time in what…over 10 years? 15 maybe?

God Breaker…

Traynt broke the silence, asking “what was that about?”

He opened his eyes and looked at the other two. “You know what it was about. Their squabbles and bickering have no place here.”

“And you know what I’m talking about.”

There was a silence as both Marcurio and Traynt studied him, having heard something about Ateo that they’ve never heard before, and seen a part of him that they had only heard about on several occasions. Ateo never gave his past history to Marcurio and he never required it. It was one of the stipulations of his employment so long as Marcurio’s family was in no jeopardy because of it. And they weren’t, this much Ateo knew. He had tied up those loose ends long ago.

“It is nothing. All is as it was before.”

Then it was Marcurio that spoke and his tone and emotion caught Ateo off guard. He was observant and shrewd, and wise beyond his profession. “You are hiding so much in your life Ateo. I will never ask you of it, but you know that you are family to the Deltran’s in everything but name. So I say this as I would to my family that I love. Maybe someday you should open up. Maybe not to me. Not to anyone in particular. But someone. Since I’ve known you, it’s been like I’ve been speaking to you and getting to know you from across a moat, or another side of a wall. But. Let’s continue.” He nodded to Traynt and there was another THUMP THUMP as Ateo moved back to his seat, a slight tension now in the room.

‘Damn Fitch… Maybe his inclusion was a bad idea.’

[Irell Starling]

Epi looked out the window when Alaron brought up her efforts to save the boy. ”Yes well...” she added softly, never finishing her sentence. She had been telling him the truth, one of her greatest regrets about leaving her village behind was her lack of magic. She was young in elf standards, and since she was a village hunter, she hadn’t paid as much attention as she should have to ‘farm’ magic. She feared it was too late for her to learn now, especially with the lack of a teacher. Xerus, of course, had to know some magic with his ability to disappear into thin air or drudge up information from the far reaches of the world. Nevertheless, the Ratatoskr never offered to teach her and whenever she brought the subject up he became edgy and aloof.

The elf maiden was vaguely aware of the comings and goings around her. From the corner of her eye she noticed yet another Drow and a young human female enter the room. The older one, the Drow, claimed to be someone’s mother and had tried to seal the magic in the room. Whether this happened or not Epi was uncertain since she felt to ill effects. When the fighting finally calmed down again, she let out a sigh she hadn’t realized she was even holding. It didn’t bode well if the group was at each other’s necks before they even started on the journey, but maybe things would get better once they had some enemy to use all their energies on.

Epi listened in on Alaron’s reason for joining the group. She wanted to question him on ‘his line of work’ but figure he has paused for a good reason. Something told her she didn’t want to know especially since he seemed to be one of the few of the group who hadn’t raised his voice or gotten into an argument, which were already two checks in the good column.

"You've got something..." He said and motioned with his hands to her shoulder. She beamed at the him and laughed at the face he was making. ”I know,” she said, conspiratorially. ”He’s usually not very shy but maybe all the fighting is making him nervous also.” With her hand, she pushed her hair back behind her ear to reveal the creature sitting on her shoulder, looking for all intents and purposes indignant.

”I’m not nervous,” the creature replied as he folded two furry paws across his chest. ”I just don’t see any reason to be social with these people.”

Epi flushed, embarrassed by the comment. ”This is Xerus. He’s a Ratatoskr. He’s usually not like this…”

”I would say I’m pleased to meet you, Alaron,” Xerus continued, beady eyes glaring around the room.”but I’m not a liar. Can we go now, Epimediad?”

The red on her face deepened and she gave Alaron a pleading look. ”I apologize for his behavior.”, then added, ”and the only place I intend on going if after the girl.”

Xerus stamped his feet and the elf, having had quite enough of him for the moment left her hair swing down to conceal him again. In a few seconds, she felt his weight disappear and knew he had run off again, probably to go pout in a corner somewhere. This wasn’t too far from the truth since he was currently ranting to himself about the horrific concept of ‘free will’.

Trying to come up with a different subject to get their minds off of what had just happened, Epi asked,”Did any of your sources come up with anything particularly useful about this quest?”