Veganshi. A city filled with the glories of the hunt. Those who seek out aquatic prey need only go out to the river that borders the town and collect it by the net fulls. And others who want the glory of tracking down the most mighty of beasts in the local area have The Great Spine to the south. A monstrous collection of earth that shot up in the skies well before even the first great dragon flew in them according to legends. It was there that you could find everything from terrifying manticores to the quaint little gnomes that made their home among the stones. Dina looked up at the great peaks with a sigh as he fixed his headband and continued walking in the market place.

It was loud. That was the only adjective that fit the area in his eyes. The people however fit many different categories. Poor. Sick. Depraved. Lost. Hungry. All of these things and more it seemed. The empire of Yid had seemingly taken away almost all the supplies that the city needed to survive, forcing more and more hunts to start up. It was causing more men to come home broken than any war could have. However, at least those that were broken were better off than those who had died in the ventures. At some point soon the city would have to travel past The Great Spine and visit the dwarven city of Kikope and pray that they would show pity and provide supplies. Though it was very unlikely. Three months of messengers going in that direction had only turned up either lost or returned with blood covering the messages and escorts.

Yid soldiers lined up the market place and seemed to be keeping their eyes open for any robbers or thieves. There had been a large amount of crime recently to try and make due with what little the city had to offer in supplies. Even fire wood seemed to be worth its wait in gold and phoenix feathers. With no real forests nearby the city had nearly lost all ways of heating their homes, and with winter coming soon it was no doubt going to be a harsh one. Dina had to swiftly side step many hagglers and beggars that were trying to swindle the price down, only to have Yid appointed merchants turn them away.

The empire's influence could be felt all around. Even after stepping out of the market place and into the town plaza, posters and banners lined the buildings, including the town's inn. They all read the same thing, just with a different amount of words. “Praise the Goddess! Fight for Vikash!” Dina walked up to one small one that had the painting of a beautiful woman, covered in light that seemed to reflect off of her even in parchment form. He quickly ripped the poster off the wall and stuffed it in his pocket. He had little patience for a false deity, especially one that he knew was a puppet in the end.

She did nothing, this so-called goddess. She could stop her disgusting husband from murdering thousands a day and killing off thousands more through his hoarding of the supply lines across the country. Instead she sits in her precious castle no doubt and pretends to pray for the unfortunate. How little prayer had done for him when he wished those who were stolen from him could return. No...prayer cannot bring back the dead.

Nor forgive those who make them so.

Dina looked around the town square for a place that would fit his needs as a base of operations for the time being. He needed to start up a more organized rebellion to face the empire. There had been guerilla groups all across the continent but never a truly fleshed out and focused group that had the strength to take over the land. That was what Panitil needed. A new regime change entirely. The tyranny that had taken over had become to much to accept at this point. They had to be removed permanently.

The inn was a no go. It was too obvious a spot and no doubt under the watch of the Yid soldiers. Almost every city at this point that Yid controlled was under curfews and treated almost like camps for prisoners. A war camp where at least you had your own bed and clothing. At least the empire was kind enough to give everyone that luxury. The town square seemed like a good idea, but it would draw attention too quickly. No doubt this would take time. He needed a place in the city but hidden well enough that he could avoid detection.

As he thought Dina looked up to see a Yid soldier, his black armor shining off the sun's rays and his stoic face staring at him. It was clear he was already getting attention. Then again, with a sword on his back this obvious it was no doubt he would. Dina secretly thanked that there was such a large hunting community here otherwise he may have already been arrested. He began walking away from the inn and started his scouting adventure again, this time on the move. The least suspicious he looked the better, stopping ever so often to look at signs along the road or small stands set up by locals, trying to earn a quick coin compared to the prices of the Yid merchants.

Free range economy. Truly the best way to make it during martial law.

"Susuri, this is the very opposite of funny!" Zalena hissed through her teeth as she slunk along under the shadows cast by the surrounding squat buildings. A odd sound, like the faint tinkling of windchimes combined with a woman's laugh, rang in Zalena's ears. She felt a sudden coolness touch her neck, just below her left ear, and knew that Susuri was there, her miniature form obscured by Zalena's cascading dark curls. "You'll never learn to feel the form of things if you don't practice." the tinkling voice spoke with amusement.

"I don't mind learning. I just you hadn't decided to teach me using mother's amulet. You know she'll have my hide if it's lost." Zalena murmured, ducking her head under the hood of her gray cloak so that the two Yid soldiers passing by her would not notice her talking to herself. It hardly mattered, she mused, insanity had begun to dig its claws into Veganshi. Not a day passed without Zalena coming across someone mad from hunger, war or perhaps both. Susuri's melodic voice interrupted her thoughts.

"See, you are already distracted. Learning to see the form of things, not with your eyes but with the water surrounding you, is a vital skill. Your mother's trinket is in this alley. You must feel with the water surrounding us to find it. The water embraces everything, whether as liquid or as vapor or as ice."

"One of these days I'm going to stick you in a jar of brine." Zalena muttered shortly under her breath as she sidestepped a passing cart and went to stand by a stall of ripening fruit. She could not yet feel things around her while she was on the move, it required too much concentration of her. So Zalena had to find somewhere to stand still for a few minutes, which was always a bit conspicuous in a busy marketplace. She pretended to be very interested in a basket of browning apples. Her magical "feelers" reached out to the water around her. She was only strong enough to feel things in or around liquids. Vapor and ice were another matter entirely.

There were a few puddles, some buckets used for watering horses, and somebody had taken a piss by a clothing merchant. "If you put it in the piss, I swear-" Zalena began to growl.
"Just focus." Susuri chided by her ear, and Zalena felt a tiny tug at her earlobe. Her mouth twitched in irritation but she kept searching.

A tub of soapy laundry water, filled flasks attached to the hips of soldiers and hunters, and...
"You put it in stew? Are you daft?" Zalena hissed as she began walking away from the fruit stand. She heard the faintest chuckle, and the coolness at her neck suddenly disappeared. The flask at her waist became just a little bit heavier.
"Definitely putting you in brine." Zalena grumbled as she made her way to the very end of the alley, where there was a shabby stand at which a bony woman was selling bowlfuls of stew. Zalena approached the stand and fished out a coin from a small pocket on her belt. She handed it to the weary looking woman, who began to spoon some of the stew into a clay bowl. "Uh- pardon me but may I?" Zalena interrupted her. The woman looked at her quizzically but seemed too tired to bother with asking any questions and relented the ladle. Zalena used her ability to feel out where the amulet was within the small cauldron of murky brown liquid, then carefully scooped it into her bowl. "Thank you!" she handed the ladle back before scurrying off, her prize warming her hands.

Zalena found a spot in the shadows and crouched down, her plain maroon dress puddling around her feet. She fished a golden amulet out of the lumpy contents of her bowl, rubbed it clean and slipped it under the neckline of her dress so that the amulet was ensconced between her breasts and secured by her corset. As she left the alley Zalena handed the still full bowl to a haggard beggar slumped at the side of the road. He looked at her with bewilderment for a moment, then began to slurp down the contents of the bowl.

Zalena glanced at him with pity in her amber eyes before walking away. Her father had called Veganshi a city of opportunity, but all Zalena had seen so far was poverty, unrest and illness. The last part was what hurt Zalena the most. Every day she came across those who were diseased or wounded or crippled. Her hands itched to use her magic and mend them, but her father had explicitly forbidden her from doing so. Attracting that kind of attention was unwise, and could lead to unpleasant consequences, he had warned her. Zalena understood what he meant, but it did not alleviate the pain she felt every time she passed somebody she knew was suffering from some malady. She gave her head a small shake, as if this would be enough to dispel the disquiet in her head.

Now that she was done with Susuri's little lesson of the day Zalena decided she deserved a small treat before heading home to tend to her chores. She still had a little money left in her belt, and she knew from extensive experience that it would be enough to purchase her monthly pastry filled with sweet clotted cream. Mouth watering already at the prospect of such a reward, Zalena turned the corner and began to make her way to the bakery in the town square.

Charlie sat at a small table, he was quietly drowning his sorrows in the rum that could've stood on it's own. He had his one too many ten drinks ago and now it was just shameful. He was currently humiliating some scumbag inbred who thought he could beat Charlie in a game of chess. It could've been checkmate three moves ago but Charlie liked toying with the man.

Nito was having great fun drunkenly arm wrestling anyone who challenged him. Pounding back various alcohols, he raked in the money. Various challengers were placing bets against him, but he had yet to find a worthy opponent. One of the only people he had yet to arm wrestle was a man playing chess at small table. Feeling brave and strong, Nito walked to the man's table.
"Care to arm wrestle? That is, if you think you're man enough."

Charlie looked up at the man and grinned, he took a swig of his rum and returned to his chess game. He moved one of his pieces quickly and said "Checkmate." with rum filling his breath. He then proceeded to ignore the man and walked to the bar to put his empty mug on it.

Nito was not pleased with the man ignoring him. As the man walked past him Nito grabbed another man's drink, and chugged it. He then approached the man who was now at the counter. He sat on the stool directly next to the man, and looked at him. "I don't like being ignored mate." Nito said in a slightly aggravated tone. He could already feel his temper start to flare.

"And I don't like being hustled." Charlie said with a mild tone to his voice. "How stupid do you think I am? Why don't I just give you my money and you can go buy a whore with it. Leave me be."

"Who is it you think you're talking to?" Nito said with even more venom in his voice than last time. "I don't need your money, bum." With that last remark Nito bought another drink and slammed it down in front of the man as if to challenge him.

Charlie retaliated by cool and collectively ordering two shots with a wave. He then slid the man the shot and said "Okay fine, but first we drink." He raised a glass in the air with his non-dominant hand and locked fists with the man ready to arm wrestle with the other.

Nito picked up the shot, and locked hands with the man. Also raising his glass he tensed his arm, ready to arm wrestle. He quickly slammed the shot and nodded to the man showing his readiness.

Charlie smiled and drank his shot then slammed it back on the bar. "The winner gets my lucky dagger." Charlie said as he held a shined dagger up high with the hand he had free.

"Alright the loser also has to buy the winner as many drinks as he..."

Quickly Charlie slammed the man's hand on the bar and raised his hands both in victory. He smiled at the man and grabbed his hand shaking it. "Name's Charlie my good friend, you owe me quite a few drinks."

If Nito was angry before, now he was downright furious. "I wasn't ready." Nito said shaking with rage. "We go again. On my go. I'm not buying you anything unless you actually win." Nito placed his arm on the table waiting for Charlie.

Charlie laughed a drunk laugh. "Once a champ always a champ my friend. I actually did actually win! My good friend Edwin the bartender can attest to that." Charlie said pointing to the bartender who was cleaning glasses.

"I've never seen or spoken to you before." He said in a grizzly tone and continued his work.

Charlie laughed and turned back to the man. "Oh shut up Kane or whatever the hell your name actually is!" Charlie sheathed his dagger and locked hands with the man. "Fine if you're such a sore loser I'll beat you again." Charlie had no intent on winning. He decided to let the man break his hand against the wood of the bar rather than his whole arm fighting the brute strength.

"Glad you came around." Nito said smiling. As soon as he was done talking he pushed with all his strength. The smaller man flew over the bar counter, slamming into the rack of bottles. With a great crash Charlie fell to the ground and Nito stood up taking a bow, to mock him. "The name is Nito by the way." He said in an arrogant tone.

Charlie sprung back up and immediately threw a bottle from behind the bar at the man's head. It shattered over the side of his skull and Charlie then dove back over the bar and tackled the man. "Nice to meet you." he managed to gasp out as they crashed to the floor.

Just outside of town, Drolock, Nito's pact beast and companion felt a twitch of pain. He could sense that Nito was in trouble. Not wanting to interfere and cause more trouble for him in the city, Drolock sent his pact partner a burst of his own energy.

Nito could feel Drolock in his head. Thankful for the new burst of power the brutish man grabbed Charlie around the neck with both hands as he kicked him, flipping them both. Nito sent punches flying into his opponent, and threw him off of him. "Likewise." Nito choked out as he gasped for air.

Charlie rolled on the ground and the whole bar roared. Everyone was yelling and cheering around them and it was more attention than was appropriate during a time of martial law. Charlie held his ribs and rolled himself quickly over to a table, he then stood using a chair as leverage. Then he grabbed the same chair tightly with both hands and "took a breather".

Nito could hear and see guards rushing into the bar to stop the fight. Nito was no friend the empire, and from what he could tell neither was Charlie. However they were still fighting and so Nito rushed at Charlie, tackling him through the window into a market place. He realized that quite a crowd had been drawn. Guards surrounded the pair, and Nito cursed under his breath.

Charlie stood slowly brushing himself off and ripping a piece of glass out of his arm. The splinters would have to come out later, he then sighed. Turning to his hopefully circumstantial ally he said. "How much do you hate guards?"

"I hate the empire quite a bit." Nito said to his enemy turned ally. "What do you say we give a little bit of resistance to the tyranny?"

"Go for the throat." Charlie said and then readied his dagger.

"I have a better idea." Nito said thinking his plan through. "Stay behind me." A split second later Nito charged the guards breaking through their barrier that had surrounded them. Then both of them went dashing for the outskirts of town. Nito just wanted to get to Drolock, and get to safety.

The filthy bustle and oppressive crush of humanity in Veganshi jangled Lilani's nerves as she moved slowly through the city streets. For the most part she avoided the worst of the crowds along the main markets and tavern-fronts, though she took care not to linger too long in the shadows either. The darkness itself held no fear for her, but thieves and violent drunken men would only slow her progress. Draped in a rough gray cloak that disguised both her refined beauty and her youth, she moved steadily along with her quarterstaff in her hand. The unassuming weapon made a soft wooden thunk against the cobbled street with every other step, and though the gnarled surface was scarred and carved deep with runes, to a casual glance by Yid soldiers she appeared to be just a thin old man with a walking-stick.

It would be a wonderful thing to find her way out of the city and back into the wilderness she held so dear. She missed the vaulting trees and enchanting life of the Vegu forest. The verdant empire of wild beasts and powerful earth magic seemed like a lifetime ago now, or even a dream. Even the land around this stinking human city felt used and faded, the forests thinned almost beyond hope and the creatures reduced to straggling individuals full of fear and suspicion, even when approached by a druid such as she.

Thinking about her animal friends brought her back to the present, and she felt guilt and worry about leaving Sarkonar outside the city. Even now she could feel him in her heart and in her head, but felt distinctly lonely and exposed without his fierce presence at her side. While she might have strolled beside him un-molested through the elvish streets of Bisha, human settlements generally held no love for the wondrous beasts of the world.

But soon she would be on her way, traveling through the mountains and skies again. She could continue her slow journey across the continent to the Islands of the Lost. Or perhaps the Bouri forest. Her pretty face broke into a smile under her hood as she thought about it.

Even then, her jade green eyes didn't lose their wariness. There was some commotion up ahead and she could see Yid soldiers in their grim armour rushing through the crowd. Pausing in the lee of a building, she looked on curiously, wondering if she should find another way around.

As she waited, trying to see what was happening in the tavern ahead, an animal nearby caught her attention and she turned to see a bay horse tied to a post with its head drooping low to the ground. The tooled leather saddle told her that it was a soldier's mount, but the lethargic way it shifted told her that the poor creature was in pain. It needed her help. And its rider was nowhere to be seen. The city was a melting pot of misery and suffering, and she had struggled to avoid against a deep-seated desire to help those who had needed it. She could have worked herself into exhaustion, healing those who needed it, and still barely made a dent. But a horse could not out her. Maybe she could do one morsel of good before leaving this terrible place.

She could feel Sarkonar's disapproval inside her almost immediately as she chose to give aid to the soldiers mount. He could sense her thoughts far better than she could his from this distance. To the griffon, horses were just food, and anything belonging to Yid was to be despised. Helping the tragic beast was a waste of time and energy. Moving slowly, both to avoid attracting too much attention and to not startle the creature, she crept close and lifted her hand. Murmuring softly, speaking to the animal softly, she patted his neck and opened her mind. The healer experienced the horse's pain as she worked, gritting her teeth and shifting her weight to one foot in sympathy. Her stomach gurgled insistently. The horse had been worked too hard, too long, with too little food to sustain him. Sighing quietly, Lilani knew she could only help one of those things.

Working her way around the other side of the animal, she leaned down and stroked her fingers along the horses long canon bone. At first he lifted his hoof and kicked at her, but settled down with some quiet sounds from the half-elf. "Calm yourself, wind-runner. Give me but a few moments and you will walk without a limp again." He was no strong-willed creature of legend, so her hold over him was complete. The warm thrum of power shivered through her blood, pouring into the horse. Some, but not all, of the runes on her staff began to glow softly with a whitish light. Within moments the magic was done. The beast curved his head around, his ears flicked in her direction, and he gave a soft wicker.

It was all the thanks she needed. Knowing that Sarkonar would likely complain that she stank of horse when she found him again, she turned to continue on her way. Too late she realized that her hood had fallen back, exposing her face and pointed ears. She looked around as she pulled it up, and a tingle of warning in her belly told her she was being followed.

Poor and wretched things these local merchants were. Covered in dirt and seemingly desperate to sell even the smallest of tools to gain a quick coin, Dina could only look on with a sense of depression and desire to help. Yet with what he had on him there was little he could do. Barely a bag full of coins, he could not give it out to each of them and make sure all of those he saw were taken care of. Plus he had no idea what situations would arise that would cause him to need the gold. Perhaps some check in station by the guards or other things similar to that. Any chance the empire could take that would gain them an extra way to tax the less fortunate the better for them.

As he continued on his way, a large crashing sound of glass behind him. Based on how far, he assumed it was by the inn. A large crowd began rushing over to try and see what the commotion was about and they nearly knocked Dina over to try and get a closer look. Keeping his balance, he followed the rest of the people to the inn and noticed two men run away from the scene itself. He wasn't sure what the reason was for but he assumed it wasn't anything good.

Once he arrived he saw the damage that had been done. Glass strewn about and even more damage it seemed inside the inn itself. It looked like the guards had moved in and began beating down the random patrons there to try and find answers. Why bother wasting time asking questions when you can just punish everyone for just being within ear shot of the incident. Dina silently sighed to himself, thankful that he made the choice to not stay around the inn and become a part of the unwarranted shake down of the entire building.

Yid guards began pushing people away from the inn, trying to quiet the outrage for the scene taking place inside. Knowing it was better to not get involved with the scene, Dina slowly slipped away and began heading off towards a small stand where pastries were sold. Keeping his eyes on the scene still going on, he suddenly heard a large cough behind him and turned around.

The stand owner was looking at Dina with a bit of an agitated look on his face. He pointed down at the stand in front of him to point out the reason for his agitation. It seemed that in his moment of lapsed focus Dina had crushed one of the sweet breads that was near the edge of the table with his hands, turning it into more so into what seemed to be a plate then something that would be placed on one itself.

Dina gave an apologetic look and began reaching for his coin purse. The owner held out his hand and sighed. “That one was worth eight gold pieces sir.” Dina quickly threw up a questionable look, as if to argue the price. Instead of giving a reason the owner quickly pulled his fingers in to say that he needed the money quickly. Dina rolled his eyes and provided the necessary coin for the treat. An expensive one at that.

“Are sweet breads normally that expensive here in Veganshi?” Dina asked as he decided to lean on one of the poles that held the small roof over the stand to keep the sun away. The owner continued to count the coins in his hand rather than answer immediately. Once he saw that all eight were there, he pocketed the money and turned to the man standing next to him.

“Blame the empire for that. Normally I sell them for five. But with the recent spike in prices for things such as sugar and wheat I have been forced to raise my own. It costs a man almost twenty coins to buy a bag of flour now. And between you and me I think they have shrunk the bags now. They weigh less in my arms when I carry them home.” The owner said as he took the bread that Dina had squashed and ripped it in half, handing half of it to him. Dina raised an eyebrow to the man, who shrugged his shoulders at him. “I figured you paid for it so you should enjoy some of it.”

Dina laughed as he took his half and watched as the man ate the other. In front of them the scrum was still taking place and it seemed more people were getting pushed away violently by the soldiers. Dina took his bite and shook his head. “What is the point of all this violence. Surely there's a point to it all.”

“There is never a point to violence. All I know is two men flew from out of that window after getting into a fight in there. My bet is that someone didn't pay up after a bet or something. These hunters have been getting very antsy with the soldiers around and keeping them from going out when they want to hunt. They start tournaments in the inn on who can drink more or who is the strongest,” The owner said as he laughed to himself. “Sometimes both at the same time.”

The two shared a laugh at the last comment and watched the guards clear the area out from in front of the inn. Dina continued to eat his bread while the owner handled some more customers for the moment. No telling what actually happened in that place, but surely there had to be some reason. Shrugging it off for the moment, he began enjoying the treat in his hand. It was still surprisingly fluffy even after being crushed under his own hand. Dina felt he would have to ask the owner's secret later on if he had the chance before he left the city.

Charlie was quite a bit faster than the burly man, what was his name again? Not important. He turned a sharp corner down an alley that ended into a side street on which he tuned north on. In any case Charlie didn't need to outrun the guards that were... Well actually they weren't chasing him anymore. He must've lost them. Charlie remembered Yid soldiers being a bit faster than that. Charlie patted his pockets, quiver and sheath just to make sure he had everything. He did have everything except for his coin purse, which happened to have all his money in it. He'd have to go back and hope the guards didn't recognize him with his hood up, Charlie began jogging back to the alley he turned in to. But just as he rounded the corner he seemed to be hit by what felt like a ton of bricks.

Nito had been sprinting before Charlie passed him. The smaller man was much quicker, which was really no surprise. Charlie had run into an alley, as Nito was still being pursued by the Yid soldiers. He knew he could fight them but there were large numbers, and the middle of Veganshi wasn't exactly the best place to kill soldiers. The large man continued to run, until he looked over his shoulder. The guards were no longer behind him. Before he had time to slow down he felt his arms collide with someone, knocking them a considerable distance.

Charlie coughed when he crashed into the various barrels stacked outside the shop. They all came toppling down in a big mess but Charlie didn't dare make another sound. Best case is that Nito was being chased by Yid and would just move on without a second glance.However if he didn't Charlie would just play dead for the last thing he needed was the burly man fighting him again. He really wasn't in the mood to kill anybody today, but mostly he didn't want to clean his knife again.

"So you were just going to let them kill me?" Nito said angrily. "I am done playing games. Good luck not getting killed. Farewell." With his last comment he walked off hoping to get some distance between them. He then thought of Drolock. Well, he was always thought of him because they practically shared a brain. The loss of any privacy you once had was what turned most people away from committing to a pact. It had been a while since the manticore had eaten, and Nito did not like the idea of him eating stray travellers. With that last thought, Nito rushed to meet him in the forest near the city. He was in such a hurry that he bumped into a few people. He didn't let that slow him down however. He had somewhere to be.

---

The forest was quite as Nito walked briskly to large tree where he had last seen Drolock. Nito knew that the manticore had eaten some of the local wildlife, but he was not aware that he had eaten enough to silence the forest. Leaves were strewn throughtout the forest floor in many shades of color. Nito stopped to breathe deeply, and inhaled the scents of the wilderness. He could smell wild berries, pine, and he could hear the crunch of his feet on the leaves below him. He sincerely hoped that he wouldn't run into any Yid patrols. They were known to patrol and police the woods around Veganshi because they didn't trust the dwarves on the other side of The Great Spine. Ever since Kikope stopped responding to messages the threat of war has been looming on the horizon.

As Nito reached the massive tree where Drolock waited he slowed down. He reached into his bag of supplies and pulled out a large hunk of raw beef. The large manticore preferred human flesh, but where are you supposed to buy that? Nito didn't think luring unsuspection people to the woods and feeding them to a large beast was very ethical. In any case the beef was close enough, and would satisfy his appetite. As Nito approached, Drolock who had been sleeping, began to stir. "Why couldn't you have made those blasted Yids follow you out here?" Drolock said in his deep, rumbling voice. "They would have made a much better meal."

Nito laughed and threw his friend most of the raw meat. He saved some for himself to cook later. "Someday. Hopefully someday soon we can both have our fix of Yid blood." we can both have out fix of Yid blood. Nito meant what he said. He was raised as a hunter, so he was no stranger to violence. In his mind the Yid soldiers were practically animals anyways so he didn't see anything wrong with killing a few of them if he needed to. His thoughts were interrupted as a pang of hunger struck him. He realized that he hadn't eaten, but instead he had filled himself up with cheap beer. He sighed looking at the small piece of meat he had saved for himself. It would make a good snack, but it was nowhere near a meal. Nito turned back towards Veganshi. The thought of fresh bread, and sweet spiced rolls made his mouth water. He marched off in pursuit of pastries. Drolock knew of his intentions, as they shared thoughts. "I'll be around." Drolock barked at Nito. "Perhaps a Yid patrol will stumble by." Licking his lips, the manticore flapped his huge black wings and jumped up to a large branch. Nito watched as he sauntered off through the tree tops, and shrugged. All he could think about were the pastries.

---

Charlie sighed and crawled out from under the pile of barrels, thank god that behemoth was gone. All he needed was different color skin and he'd be bonified ogre. Charlie stood and brushed himself off, he pulled his hood back over his head and took a deep breathe. " I hate the Yid." He whispered to himself before dashing into the alley ahead of him. He wasn't too far from the inn and hoped he could get back before the crowd died down. He cut left and right through the dark alleyways, puddles splashed and he didn't stop for anything. Then he turned into an alley that would lead him back to the market place and dashed out of it quickly slowing his pace as to not attract attention. He spotted a pastery stand, that was definintly going to be the first thing he buys once he retrieved his money.

Charlie walked into the crowd and kept his head down, he peered up and saw the guards violently attacking innocent people. It seemed as if the crowd was going to be a mob soon there was a lot of yelling and threats being shouted. Charlie scooped up a stone from the crowd's feet and threw it away quickly at a Yid soldier. This was just enough to set off a chain reaction that led to the soldiers and now angry mob charging eachother. Charlie took a few steps back and then walked through the gap in the battlefield of an inn. He hopped through the broken window and snatched his coin purse from under the table he was sitting at earlier. Then he heard hooves, here comes the calvalry.

Charlie casually walked and hopped out the way he came then left the scene. Those pastries were now an absolute must for him, oh he could taste them now. He made his way to the stand and opened his coin purse. Charlie just gave the man whatever he could pinch quickly, surely it was more than enough. He then swiped a sweet roll and leaned back onto one foot. There was another man at the stand, but he didn't care for much conversation especially when he had been drinking. He quietly enjoyed his sweet roll and listened to the scene unfold at the tavern.

Zalena's lips tensed into a thin line as she drew closer to the town square. The unmistakable din of a fight between Yid guards and the townsmen could be heard. It was something she heard often enough to recognize. "There may trouble Susu, we have to be careful." she murmured, knowing that despite the nearing sounds of shouting and fists hitting flesh, Susuri could hear her clearly. A smooth and familiar tingle rose along Zalena's arm, and the cool touch of Susuri's form pressed against the nape of her neck once more.

"We could just leave?" suggested her friend's silvery voice. Zalena blew out air from between her lips as a sign she would not even consider that idea.
"These little skirmishes happen all the time. If I went inside every time they did, I would be inside probably always," she informed Susuri but then took a pause. She had caught the unmistakable sounds of hooves hitting the dirt roads and the impatient neighing of horses. Muttering a string of curses under her breath she quickly slid to the side of the street, almost pressing against the sandstone building behind her. She began to make haste when she heard the soldiers round the corner two blocks behind her. Zalena turned her head to confirm her suspicions, and let loose another string of colorful words. There were perhaps a dozen of them on horseback, all wearing irritated scowls and royal armor. They had their horses at a canter, since the narrow roads would not allow for higher speeds. Plus, she realized, they know that their men are much more equipped than the townsmen, and will probably not suffer much, unlike the townsmen. She fought off the urge to spit into the dirt.

"You should return home, Zalena." the usual composure of Susuri's voice was disrupted by a clinking note of urgency.

"Where's your sense of adventure, Susu?" Zalena asked dryly as she shrank against the wall in order to avoid being trampled by the passing horses. "I came here for something and I'm not leaving without it."

"Just keep in mind that you cannot use your healing while you're among so many people." Susuri reminded her brusquely from behind thick strands of Zalena's curly mane. Zalena sighed, her wary eyes still on the passing influx of Yid soldiers. They paid no heed to her, so Zalena took the chance to slip into the tight alleyway behind her. She knew of a way behind the buildings that would get her to the square before the additional guards arrived. A slightly foreboding feeling clutched at her stomach, so many guards in one place could not lead to anything good. As she walked, the small heels of her boots sank slightly into dirt softened by the contents of laundry buckets and chamber pots that were often thrown out of the windows above Zalena. It was disgusting to say the least but Zalena did not mind. Traveling around trouble was something nomads had expertise in, even if other routes were less scenic. She kept her hood pulled low over her eyes as she turned left, then left again, passing by huddled beggar children and a toothless old woman singing to herself. She emerged into the main square, just a few feet away from the pastry shop.

"If only you put that much dedication into your training." Susuri mumbled. Choosing to ignore this, Zalena approached the stand where there were already a few other customers. Noticing that they already seemed to have their food, she gave them polite nods of acknowledgement, then turned to old Yorek with a grin. "Evenin'! Looks like business is going well." she nodded her head towards the commotion as she spoke to the baker.
"Ah Zal! Even if everybody else stops coming here I'm sure I could keep my shop going with just your business," the old man teased, and Zalena gave him a look of feigned exasperation. "The usual?" he asked, chuckling to himself.
"Aye, and best make it fast. Other guards are approaching. I bet they'll shut down all the businesses in the square and then give everyone a sound chiding. Maybe this time they won't trample any children." Zalena rolled her eyes. Yorek made a disgruntled grunt in response, then shook his head as he handed her a puffy pastry fat with clotted cream and sprinkled with sugar. As she was handing him her last few coins, the sounds of horses and irate men emerged into the square.
"Best close shop. It's my guess that this lot hasn't had their daily dose of kicking around innocents and barking orders." Yorek said grimly as he began to wrap up a platter of glistening strawberry tarts. Zalena felt that tug of foreboding at the pit of her stomach again, but she attempted to ignore it as she turned to watch the proceedings, and sink her teeth into her newly acquired dessert.

Dina watched as the soldiers continued their little sport of 'crowd control' in front of him and the stand owner. It was actually somewhat depressing to know that this was the kind of behavior that wasn't just expected of the Yid soldiers, but almost promoted. Behind their dark and foreboding armor were men who enjoyed dishing out punishment and torture on a daily basis. Even on these men you could catch a smirk on their face as the pushed a grown man down to his knees and grabbed women by the hair, only to throw them face first into the dirt to supposedly keep the peace. He wanted to strike them down himself, but knew that it was best to avoid the conflict for the moment until he knew he had support from others in the city.

Not able to see the culprit of the next act, Dina saw a stone suddenly fly out of the air and hit a soldier square in the back of the head. It was an impressive shot and it clearly rubbed the soldiers the wrong way. They began furiously questioning people in the surrounding area to try and find out who exactly was responsible for the heinous crime. Dina could only laugh as he took another bite of his crushed sweet bread and began noticing a man jumping through the broken window of the inn past the commotion. He hadn't seen him in the crowd prior to the stone being thrown, and noticed that he was heading towards the pastry stand it seemed. As he bought the small sweet roll he seemed to be craving, he also began watching the soldiers sort through the crowd. It seemed the little stand was becoming quite a popular place. Perhaps this was where he start the resistance push.

While being lost in his thoughts of the task at hand, he was jarred as the stand owner seemed to perk up from being downright stoic to being quite friendly with the next customer. Dina looked and saw a young woman beginning to chat with the man on a first name basis. Zal was the name the merchant said, though he wasn't sure if that was just her name or an abbreviated version of it. As the girl got her treat the owner began packing things up at his shop. Dina watched as small treats began leaving the stand and set down behind it and he almost felt a pang of regret. He would have liked to try a lot more but didn't have the disposable income to splurge on deserts. He began remembering the smell of the strawberry tarts in particular and let out a sigh.

'Surely you have better things to do than dream of cooked wheat Dina? Such as starting up a rallying call or something similar to it?'

Dina let go of his fantasy and let out a quick gasp. It was his pact beast. A great fire dragon Junesha. Albeit she was only an adolescent but still, in comparison to him she was much more grand than he. Letting out a sigh as he shook off the initial shock from the sudden deep voice in his mind. He had just formed the pack with the dragon maybe two or three days ago. The idea that he was no longer ever alone with anyone made him very uncomfortable and on edge at times. The dragon however was polite enough to not simply go about and speak constantly, she at least respected his privacy enough for that.

Taking the last bite of his treat he brushed his hands off on his pants and began looking across the area in the town square. 'I would love to Junesha, but the fact of the matter remains that now is not the best time to start any revolution. The guards are up in arms and seem to be flexing their collective muscle as we speak.'

The dragon scoffed in his mind and seemed to be growing more agitated based on the sound of her voice. 'Then why not speak in whispers then. That thick armor of theirs makes it difficult to hear. Perhaps the girl and man standing next to you would do fine as soldiers of warfare and espionage.' Junesha joked as her deep and ragged laugh echoed in Dina's mind. It practically scraped on his skull, showing his discomfort by gripping his head.

After the laugh he shook his mind clear. It seemed Junesha was done with her little speech. She could see and hear everything he could now that their souls were bound and whatever people were nearby it seemed would fit her idea of an army. Dina feared the next person she would suggest was the owner of the stand who had just finished placing the last bit of product away.

Dina wanted to cast away the dragon's idea, but every building must first start with a single stone. Perhaps one of these two would be able to assist in some form or fashion. Perhaps the man was skilled in some combat. Maybe the woman was more than just a pretty face, though it was hard to tell past her hood that remained down. And he needed some kind of knowledge of the city that only the locals could provide. It was his best chance to start at least somewhere.

He remained standing with his face towards the near mob that was in front of them. Now with the cavalry coming in to fix the problem it seemed it was finally going to start slowing down now that the fear factor was coming into question. “Do riots like this happen often do you think? Or was this just a one-time drunken fool parade that spilled into the square?” He asked aloud, not really pointing it towards either of the two, but wondering who between them would answer first. More importantly, how the two would react to him speaking up.

As Yorek packed his livelihood, Zalena kept a wary eye on the nearby Yid soldiers and ate the delicacy held between her fingertips. Her jaw tensed as one of the Yid brutes brought his fist down onto the face of a lanky teenage boy when the child professed to knowing nothing about a stone that had been thrown at the guards. The child's wail cut straight into her.
"Easy," warned Susuri's voice by her earlobe. Zalena gave a small growl of frustration in response.
"These two youths standing by you are...interesting," Susuri continued, possibly as a means of distracting Zalena from her aggravation. Without turning her head, Zalena flitted her gaze from the form of one of the young men to the other.

Susuri hardly paid attention to other humans besides Zalena. As far as Susuri was concerned, humans were short-lived nuisances who pissed in her beloved rivers and stuffed their faces with the carcasses of her fish friends. So when the undine did call attention to anybody, Zalena knew to take notice.
They both have nice swords, but that's hardly of note here. That one's a big fellow. The other one looks like he doesn't smile much. Then again, not many here do. Am I guessing anywhere close to what you're talking about Susu? she spoke to Susuri within her mind so as to not attract attention. While she and Susuri were connected on a mental, emotional and physical level, Zalena normally preferred speaking to her out loud. It made the flighty undine seem more like a friend than like a presence that resided in her head because of a pact forged many years ago. Before Susuri could respond one of the men, the one with a head of unruly fiery hair, spoke up.

“Do riots like this happen often do you think? Or was this just a one-time drunken fool parade that spilled into the square?”

Zalena glanced at him questioningly, pushing her hood slightly further back from her forehead to get a better look at the man.
"You must be new to these parts," she stated plainly, "You'd do best to learn how to avoid them, they enjoy throwing their weight around, the bastards. Sometimes the men here put up a bit of a fight but that always ends up either very bloody or with half the town thrown into the cells by morning." she continued, her lips thinning in a faint scowl.