Phillis Circus

Lady’s arrival at the Phillis Circus had marked the beginning of the mission’s end for the Pride. With the secretary’s arrival and the Phillis Circus performers defeated, the Pride could afford to try and relax, breathe, and recover from their wounds. Amy and Crispin’s explanations helped to enlighten the Pride upon the situation that they had been presented with when confronting the circus’ employees… a tragic background that fuelled the need for desperate actions in order to make a livelihood. Estelle could sympathise with Guinevere, Vance and the rest a little, but in no way did it excuse them off their actions in kidnapping innocent people. All they needed to do was promote themselves and advertise for new employees a bit harder… if not make a request of the Guild themselves for assistance, and all of this could have been averted… but it was not to be.

The arrival of the Empire’s army representatives led to the circus’ performers being apprehended and taken into custody, with the circus ground’s sealed off from any further access as they would begin their own investigation into the incident, and finally render suitable sentences for those deserving. But that would take some time yet in the future, and before all of that, the Pride still had their own adventures to embark upon and complete…

---

Morris: Guild

The next morning, after spending a night enjoying a well deserved nap, shower and food (Aria was positively beaming), the Pride had regrouped back together, ready to say their goodbyes to Lady and the citizens of Morris and continue upon their mission to find the two missing Clockwork Town Guild Leaders, Rize and Kara. Lady kept up her end of the bargain, gripping and shaking Estelle and Moira’s hands tightly and paying them back for the Pride’s assistance in the Phillis Circus affair. According to Lady, the last known destination she knew of the pair going to was that of a small town called Cuttlebury, only a couple of days’ walk on the road away.

But good news wasn’t the only thing the morning was filled with…





“What?! You’re leaving?! That can’t be true!” Estelle’s chair clattered to the ground as she sprang to her feet, the spoon she had been using to eat her cereal with dangling back into the bowl. The rest of the Pride, all seated down for breakfast, had turned and looked up towards the standing Lucien and Xandra (the latter having her prosthetic supported in a sling) with complete shock and horror etched upon their faces. Syed and Aria were on the verge of tears.

“Hey, hey, we’re not gonna be gone that long, just, y’know, Xan’s arm is kinda busted, and I’m kinda hurt. Our wounds will heal up nice and good over time and thanks to Amy, but Xan’s arm is… different. It isn’t just gonna fix itself.” Lucien tried to explain, scratching the back of his head.

“I’m sorry, leader,” Xandra looked down at the ground, as if ashamed of herself. “If my metallurgy was better I might be able to fix it myself but… prosthetics are complicated pieces of equipment, and…”

“And we’re gonna get her an even better one!” Lucien thumbs upped. “We’re gonna take a short diversion to Xandra’s master where she got her original prosthetic from, and we’re gonna get him to make her a nice new one! One way better then one before!” With a Cheshire grin, Lucien laughed over and over.



“But… but… what about…” Syed started to mumble, looking towards Lucien like a man betrayed. The Pride had seen numerous friends leave over the past few weeks, all of course reaffirming their commitment to returning, but Lucien… he had developed a remarkable bond to Lucien, and considered him an irreplaceable friend. Even though it was true Xandra needed a new arm, and an escort with her, with Lucien being a good match considering their past friendship and his own severe wounds to heal from… he didn’t like it. “What about your jokes?!”

"Man up, Sy, geez," Moira huffed with her arms folded.

“Pft, it’ll be fine, Sy,” Lucien waved his hands at him. “I know you and Lute are desperate for me around in order to get a chance at the ladies, but you’re just going to have to wait, okay? Hehe.”



“Xan… be careful okay…?” Aria quietly spoke to her friend, gripping her in a tight embrace and crying over her shoulder, as Xandra patted her friend’s back to help reassure her.

“Of course I will, Aria, don’t worry about me.” Xandra smiled, finally returning the embrace. “You should worry more about yourself and the others. Be careful of your shoulder. And don’t slack off from your missions, okay?”

“You dork,” Aria smiled.

With a sniffle and sulk, Trixie suddenly latched onto and glomped both Xandra and Aria together, squeezing the pair very tightly.

“Bad time or something?”




From behind the assembled group, silhouetted in the Morris Guild’s doorframe was the tall frame of a lanky, trenchcoat wearing man and a much small, dainty girl in a dress bounding in. The duo of Eric and Baltimore came striding to their table, outstretching first a thumbsup from Eric and then a hand outstretched towards Estelle to shake her hand.

“Me and Balti were just about to leave, but before we did I wanted to say thank you to you all again for everything that you’ve done. It’s because of you all that I managed to get Balti back… so I’m in your debt, truly. If you ever need any help or anything, here.” From out of Eric’s sleeve, a piece of paper with a series of numbers fell out onto the table before Estelle. “Give me a call. If I’m able to, I’ll come running straight to you guys and do whatever I… can… urk!”

A sudden pain gripped Eric, the man’s body going rigid and his eyes bulging wide. No sooner had he spoken of running then he was forced to do just that, sprinting once again for the Guild’s lavatory, and unleashing a horrendous series of sounds and smells to come wafting out from within.

Balti scrunched her nose up in disgust, and turned away from where her uncle had ran to in embarrassment, focusing instead on giving every member of the Pride a massive hug one by one.



“Speaking of numbers, here,” Another strip of paper filled with a series of digits landed atop Eric’s phone number, and with an inquisitive raised brow, Estelle turned to find its source… a particular man in a garish pink shirt, baseball cap and an arm in sling to match Xandra. Crispin grinned at Estelle. “What you did back there was hot. If you ever wanna call me or something, or if you wanna give me your number so I can call you and we can go get some dinner, then that’d be- AH!”



“Come on you, we have some work for you to do,” Lady shook her head from side to side, dragging Crispin away by the ear. “And so do they. They have an important mission to do and goodbyes to say between them, they don't need to hear your drivel.”

“But, but moooooooooooooo~m!"

Collab between Pach and Buns

“Fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you some more!”

“Moira, that’s enough! He’s unconscious now! Stop, you’re just killing him!”

“Lay a hand on my son, huh? Fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you again some more!”

Clockwork Town
22 years ago
Largo Mann: F Rank Guilder: Age 26
Moira Dennis: H Rank Guilder: Age 22



Twenty-two years ago, in the centre of Clockwork Town’s main square, beneath the town’s bustling clock tower monument, a ferocious brawl had taken place between a group of nefariously minded bandits and a group of Guilders whom had just returned home tired from a mission in a nearby location. The bandits had originally planned on being able to pilfer and rob from the town in the group’s absence, but hadn’t projected for the group of quickly rising in fame Guilders to have returned as early as they had. The confrontation would have been effortlessly one sided, were it not for the arduous mission the team of Guilders including the team’s leader Damus and his allies Largo, Matthew, Rachael, Tiberius, Jade, Lady, and their newest member had been involved in. That wasn’t to say the bandits now proved to in any way, shape or form a threat – simply so that the fight took a lot longer to complete, and mistakes were prone to occur.

And no greater mistake was that of the mission’s end, involving the group’s latest member…



“Fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you some more!” Moira Dennis screamed, grabbing the unconscious, bleeding bandit by the collar in one hand and pummelling him over and over with her free one. All sights and sounds around her were completely lost to Moira, so lost in her primal, berserker rage that all she could focus upon was the wretched man in front of her that had dared to have the nerve to attack and hurt her own son.

“Moira, that’s enough! He’s unconscious now! Stop, you’re just killing him!”

“Lay a hand on my son, huh? Fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you again some more!”



He had only been watching from the sides of the assembled circle of crowds, watching and cheering his mother work to fight alongside her new friends and defend their town. Watch as the tired team struggled to end the fight swiftly and soundly, and battle on as the fight continued. Watch as his mother was so focused upon defeating two bandits with her great sword that she didn’t see a third charge from behind with a knife readied for her throat, the other Guilders too far away and distracted to help. But he wasn’t…

Sonny’s efforts to save his mother had succeeded, preventing the bandit from killing Moira from behind, but for all his courage and bravery he was still only a young, six year old boy. He was swatted away to the ground from the bandit with a hard backhand, shocking Moira to their attention, and the horror she witnessed in seeing what the man had done to her son.

She was resolved to make sure the pain he felt was a hundred times that what he gave to her son.

“You fucking asshole motherfucking piece of shit fuck! How do you like this, huh? You fucking fuck!” Moira yelled, punching on and on.



“Moira, that’s enough!” Rachael yelled, sheathing her sword and racing across the square as quickly as she could to try and stop the raging woman. Words however were deaf to her, and so Rachael grabbed onto Moira’s arm, trying to forcibly stop her.

"Fuck off!" Moira smashed her hand backwards, accidentally punching Rachael in the face to remove her from herself, so that nothing could stop her.

“Rachael!” Largo shouted, clenching his fists and teeth together upon seeing what was happening. He began to run after Moira, this time determined to stop Moira with more force. Regardless of what the bandit may have done to the little boy, it didn’t excuse anybody from beating somebody to death, or to punch Rachael in the face…!

Largo didn’t reach halfway to Moira before her rampage was brought to a final stop. A giant fist gripped Moira’s face, ripping her free from the bandit and slamming her down into the ground hard, knocking all of the wind out of her. She gasped as her body collapsed to the ground, staring up in disbelief at the mighty A Rank Warrior Damas looking down at her.



“MOIRA DENNIS! THAT IS ENOUGH!” The senior Guilder yelled. The murmurs from the assembled crowd about them died in an instant. “I understand your rage and frustration… but nothing justifies what you were close to doing. Nothing justifies killing a man, as low and debased as he may be! That is not our way, not the Guilder way! We are better then that!”

Brought back to reality, Moira heard the Guilder’s words all too easily. She frowned and glared at the powerful man towering over her, a fierce look of condemnation and revulsion seething out. But that quickly evaporated. Her tensed face softened, and her eyes, nose and mouth twitched. With one hand she shoved Damas off her, the other covering her face as she rose to stand up and walk away.

“Get away from me!" Moira screamed.

"Nothing,” She then spat, walking to and holding onto Sonny’s hand. “None of you know a fucking thing whatsoever. Not a fucking thing...” She walked into and through the parting crowd, away from the team of Guilders - friends, she had spent only a short six months with, and said nothing more.

Cuttersbury
Much like Morris, Cuttersbury was yet another small rural town - although while Morris mostly made it's name in traditional agriculture, Cuttersbury was known for it's lumberjacking. It was nationally praised for it's ability to balance the two contrasting elements of industry and nature, creating good quality, sustainable wood with minimal expense to nature itself. Indeed, on the way they could see the rows of new trees painstakingly planted and lovingly cared for in the loggers' wake.

Moira didn't give a toss about this.



"Gah!" She threw her arms up in the air, her heels clicking against the smooth cobbled road of the town itself. The midday sun shone down on them all, making the journey a little more on the warm side than anybody really preferred. "Where is it?! That woman said it'd be here!" She scowled fiercely, putting her hands on her armored hips.



"Moira," her teathered partner stood a little behind her, a small smile on his face. He had become a little quieter since Lucien's departure, although he was doing his best to stay cheerful for the others' sake. "She said left." He thumbed behind him, to where other members of the Pride were already headed. Indeed, the berserker had turned right. She looked a little angrier rather than embarrassed.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know, what with how she was mumbling! How did anyone hear that?!" she complained, turning around to follow the others. "And this place is a bloody maze!" Syed simply patted her shoulder wordlessly, having neither the heart nor the want for a smack to tell her how she was wrong. He began to explain how holding your hands out before you helped or some similar elementary school nonsense. She ignored him. They were here!

Cuttersbury Guild
A small wooden building stood before them, unremarkable in every way from the pub next door were it not for the sign that hung over it. The doors opened with a jingle at the hand of one of the other members of the Pride, revealing a similarly small room within, with a spiral staircase to the residence upstairs somehow crammed into the already tight space. On top of the table, deceptively comfy chairs, the water cooler and the bookshelves which lined nearly every wall... there was very little room to maneuver. A notice board was hung on the one clear wall, displaying a whole two missions - one with a Guilder's mark on it already. Not entirely suprising, considering the size of the Guild itself.

Crashing and banging came from behind the secretary's desk, although all they could see was somebody's butt wiggling above the desk as they fought with all the clutter stashed in the tiny space behind it. The owner of the backside was male, judging by his voice. He would occassionally throw pens or sheets of paper over his shoulder, hitting anyone unfortunate enough to be in their path. "Where is it... where is it... where is it?!" his voice carried over the noise.

"Where's the bloody bar?!" Moira exclaimed with profound dissapointment, looking towards Amy and Aria. Meanwhile Syed took his time to look around the room as he poked his head through the door. Suprisingly for it's size there were more people than just the flustered secretary in here, including...

A large, dorky grin spread at the sight of the familiar face.

Cuttersbury: Streets

“This town sure is pretty, huh?” Estelle asked with a wide smile, gaping at the lush greenery and quaint, tranquil buildings that surrounded them as their feet clipped and clopped atop the cobblestone road. She had had her hands stretched out and relaxed behind her head, soaking in the sun as best as she could, and taking in the sights as best she could. “I’ve never been to Cuttersbury before. This place sure is nice, though. Have any of you guys been here before?”

Estelle had been walking alongside Trixie, Aria and Lute, whom were all enraptured in showing their appreciation for the town in their own particular way. Behind them, Marcus and Amy both walked a little slower, as Moira, taking Syed with her, took a turn in the completely wrong direction. Both the smiling wind mage and nonplussed, arms folded cleric, stopped to wait a moment for the pair to catch up again as Estelle continued to lead the group’s way.

It had been a couple of days since Lucien and Xandra had left, and although their departure was still sad, knowing that they would be back as soon as the pair felt better helped to uplift their spirits enough that they weren’t plagued with too much worry. Aria and Lute were also making good progress in healing their own wounds, although much of that was thanks to Amy, who dedicated as much of her magical prowess and stamina to heal them whenever she could.

“This is the Guild, huh?” Estelle stopped in front of the small wooden building with the marked sign in front and ivy trickling down from one window. Seconds later, they were inside, Estelle gawking just as much at the scene inside as she had been doing outside.

---

Cuttersbury: Guild

“Ha, this place is almost as small as the Guild in Fenaru, isn’t it, Trixie?” Estelle grinned. Her ears quickly pricked up, as she heard a familiar male voice speak up from one of the two people sitting down at the room’s table, his hands working on fixing his backpack’s belongings and checking over his trusty weapon.

“Now, now, Nani, settle down, there’s no rush,” The handsome raven haired man with faded scars across his cheeks sighed towards his female companion. “We can’t go rushing into things without being prepared. It just causes problems, trust me. We need to make sure we have everything we need. Our mission’s not gonna be a simple cakewalk, yeah?” The man followed his partner’s gaze, and looked up and over his shoulder at the Guild’s front door to the timing of its jingle. His eyes slowly widened and his mouth turned into a smile as wide as Estelle’s once he saw who was there.




“Syed! Moira! Estelle! Marcus! Amy! Trixie! I can’t believe it’s you guys!” Tobias “Tobi” Zenmyr shouted, jumping out of his seat and leaving his backpack and gunblade perched atop the table. He rushed towards the Pride, throwing himself into an embrace with each member of the Pride in turn, even if it was against their will… Amy included.

Undeterred by the red handmark sizzling from his cheek, Tobi leaned back to take a good look towards the Pride, his familiar friends and their newest acquaintances, Aria and Lute. His beaming smile never faded.

“Wow, I haven’t seen you guys in like, forever!” Tobi laughed. “How have you all been?”

Cuttersbury: Guild

Cuttersbury was pretty as a picture, and it actually reminded Lute of the woodlands surrounding Thaum. If he didn’t mind Delilah complaining about how the incessant chirping of birds and the hum of the wind rushing through the trees would eventually drive her insane, the walk to the town proper was relaxing and idyllic. “I haven’t been outside of Thaum, to be honest. It’s my sister who gets to travel around a lot,” The virtuoso replied to Estelle’s question as he relaxed his shoulders. Thanks to Amy’s magic, the pain in his wound had lessened and it was healing nicely, though he knew that if he wanted to be able to continue using that arm he would have to give up strenuous activities for a while… Say like arm wrestling with Moira, though that was probably stretching the limits since that was borderline losing a limb. Speaking of loss, the way things turned out with the circus... "Ugh, I shouldn't think about that now," Lute murmured in an indiscernible volume and he pushed away the memories from his mind. What happened- the overall failure to keep damage to a minimum, the wounded civilians- was all very unpleasant to recall.

They soon arrived at the Guild and the first thing Lute noticed was how packed the place seemed to be. Asides from the appearance that everything was made out of wood, there was just so many things crammed inside the room that he almost felt suffocated. The virtuoso wasn’t claustrophobic on any accounts, but the thought of being squished together with other people in such a small space and exchanging body oils and liquids- ack. He shuddered and shimmied away from the others as they poured inside the waiting area. Since there wasn’t much to look at in his position, Lute’s eyes found themselves wandering over to a wiggling… thing that was raised in the air. He squinted. What in the golden potato’s name is…

Oh. Oh my. The virtuoso turned pink and glanced away immediately. “Ugh,” He exclaimed under his breath, willing himself to keep from wondering how he didn’t even realize that the butt was a butt in the first place, when a commotion in front of the group drew his attention. Before he even knew what was happening, an unfamiliar- and plenty easy on the eyes, said Delilah- man waded through the Pride and gave Lute, then Aria, a hearty hug. The virtuoso was frozen to the spot for a few moments, his mouth hanging open as he considered the stranger in front of him. He… didn’t know this man, did he? Was he a customer at The Red Parasol? Was he one of Ruana’s suitors? Well, he wouldn’t embrace Lute for no particular reason, right!? “Hey Aria, do you know him?” The virtuoso mumbled to his friend and elbowed her gently when the dude hovered away.

However, the confusion was quickly cleared up and Lute realized that the man was an acquaintance of the others. “Greetings, my name is Lute Aiseeeee- ah ah- ahchoo!” Lute suppressed the sneeze and ended up with a small squeaking sound instead of a full blown snort, and he rubbed his noise before balefully looking around. Agh, dust! “Lute Aiseirigh. Hello,” He added and nodded at the guy and towards the direction of his companion.

Cuttersbury: Guild

"There's no rush." Nani mocked and rested her head in her hands. "Me and Cap are dying of old age here. I'm tired of sitting around." Nani complained as she watched Tobi pack and pack and...well he was packing things for the trip. "We are prepared. We have weapons. Look at my poor bird! He needs the freedom! We have been here for ages!" She pointed to the bird theatrically lying on the table 'playing dead'. It went ignored unfortunately, thanks to the ringing bell on the door. Nani scratched her hatless head. Where her pirate hat was, she had no idea. It was probably with her lost ship- that Tobias still had yet to explain about. "Must be a busy day-"

Nani blinked and noticed Tobias going toward the newcomers. "I thought he told me not to wander off with strangers? Oh, look at that Captain, he knows the bunch." She stood and wandered over to see who Tobi was talking to. She fixed the plain red tank top she was wearing under her blue jacket. Before she walked off, she decided it best to grab Tobi's belongings just in case they were stolen or something- and hoping to convince him to leave already. "Oi, how rude Tobi. I don't get an introduction to your buddies?" She saluted the group and grinned. "First impressions are the most important, as I've always said," Grant it, her and Tobi's first impression might not have been the best...

"Ahoy! I'm Nani Sterling- and this is Captain, well Cap." She pointed to her shoulder when the parrot perched himself there. "Nice to meet you all." He raised a wing in greeting and then spoke as well.

"Ahoy!"

Cuttersbury: Streets

“You’re a sneaky one.”

Jett grinned as he crouched over the puppy he was asked to retrieve. The poor brown fur ball was lying flat on the ground. The young man grinned cheerily as he petted the tiny dog. The mission was fun while the chase lasted. Not that long though. The critter tried to pull one on him by slowing down. He actually overshot the dog, ran half way across town, turned 180 degrees, dashed back towards the panting pup, and chase it once more around the other side of town. Poochy was actually whining when he picked it up.

“Don’t gimme that look. We can do this again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that.”

The lad flicked his long fringe back as he tucked the puppy under his arm. The shivering fur ball was covering its eyes with its paws. Why was it looking so scared? Silly thing. It was probably being friendly. He swung his free arm in wide exaggerated arcs as he walked jauntily back towards the guild. The puppy lolled helplessly as Jett twisted left and right to accommodate the movement of his arm. The newbie remained oblivious to the dog’s plight as he strode up to the door and kicked it open. Or he would have it wasn’t already open.

Cuttersbury: Guild

“Bam baby! I’m back.”

He held out the floppy dog to a nonexistent secretary, who was supposed to be behind the desk or something, he can’t really remember. “Awww he fell asleep. I think.”

Jett placed the dog down on a table piled high with stacks of paper. The pup laid still. He stared at it intently as he prodded it with one finger, and then another. Yup, there was a heartbeat! Mission success! Well not yet.

He looked furtively around. No one! He was about to open the top drawer when he saw something fleshy. The young man grinned. "Yo, gramps! I shall leave the pup on the table. He'll probably be up. Soon."

Jett leaned against the edge of the table. He picked up a random piece of paper and began ripping it up. The confetti on the floor began piling up as he progressed to the third sheet.“What to do next?”

Tobias said “Syed! Moira! Estelle! Marcus! Amy! Trixie! I can’t believe it’s you guys!”

The joyous exclamation caused Jett to turn his attention to a group he didn’t notice earlier. So many cute girls – some sexy and some just so darn cute! A cheeky grin crept up his lips as his eyes fell on a particular smexy little red head. Tomboy? Whatever! She’s just so, oh so, hot. Slyly, he crept over to the girl. He gave her his most charming smile.

“Hey there, darling! Are you taken? It’s a crime if those pwetty lips aren’t kissed.”

The rush of flying was sensational. Being on top of the world was the sickest feeling ever. Soaring up that high was reckless, even dangerous. It was like hubris or something, standing that high like you could reach out with your hand and touch the sky. There was a myth about something like that, wasn't there?

A shadow in the blue made the young man's eyes flicker in that direction. It couldn't be...here he was, rolling in on the most mondo, one of a kind, never again in your life curl, and there were sharks up here? He turned and cut hard into the tube, convinced that this was something out of a nightmare. That fin was huge, so this shark was no guppy. His wet hair was plastered to the back of his neck and he adjusted the sunglasses perched on his nose. That shark was moving fast but thankfully it didn't seem to care about the board.

Then the wind whipped hard. The wind buffeted the surfer hard and he wobbled, nearly losing his balance. He put his foot down hard, hanging five purely by accident. His toes were tickled by the warm water. He threw another look back over his shoulder. The fin was still there but a bit closer. He turned to face forward again and could see the beach coming up fast. He leaned in and swayed, cutting the glass with expertise. In record time, he surfed right onto the beach, stumbling only as his surfboard hit the wet, dense sand. He jumped off the board like he had stuck a three point landing and, satisfied with himself, turned to look at the wave. It was unfortunate he had to bail, but sharks weren't worth messing with; as he looked, he felt his mouth fall open.

Some three dozen sharks were visible in the tube of the wave. Gnashing mouths and flailing fins made the wave look like some bizarre rotary buzzsaw...and it was headed right for him. He spun around to make a run for it and tripped over his surfboard. He went head over heels and...

THUMP!

Quentin groaned. He rubbed the small of his back, on which he had landed when he fell out of bed.

"Gnarly dream," he said to himself, getting up. As he dressed, he tried to make sense of it. He was not particularly worried. The thought of a shark typhoon was cool in its own way. A shark cyclone would be even cooler.

"Nah," he said, grinning. "A shark torn--oh no!"

He looked at the clock in his room. It was already way later than he expected. He had hoped to do some surfing in the morning before he went down to the Guild. Well, "surfing," of a kind. Cuttersbury was not exactly a seaside paradise. Most of the time, Quentin went to a small lake and used his talents to create waves big enough to impress amateurs and old ladies. Quentin booked it from his apartment, hoping that whatever activity would be happening at the Guild, he had not already missed it.

Cuttersbury: Guild

In no more than fifteen minutes, an out-of-breath Quentin came panting through the Guild doors, not long after Jett had made his own splashy entrance. He was surprised at how lively it was, even for the middle of the day. There were lots of faces he had never before seen. Some were talking loudly like they were old friends meeting again for the first time in a long time. He straightened himself, cutting a tall figure in his boots and his navy blue robe with gold trim. He peered over his shades to size up the lot of them. Some of them were pretty cute girls, too. His eyes settled on a fair-haired girl in robes. If he had to guess, she was a mage just like him.

Always one to seize the opportunity to make a new friend, Quentin adjusted the dark sunglasses he had been wearing even in his sleep and approached the cute, fair-haired girl. "Hey there. I've never seen you around here before. If you don't mind me saying, what's a cute girl like you doing in a sleepy little place like this? Especially a mage, if I had to guess."

His addressee looked up at him curiously. Marcus then considered the best way to respond to Quentin.

Cuttersbury Guild

Not a minute after the Pride had entered the guild were they already assaulted by faces both familiar and unfamiliar. Their names were (almost) all named off in succession like their presence was being announced, which jarred Trixie's attention particularly. Were they being celebrated for something?

Oh, oh omelets, it's...! ... Who was this guy again? The prankster had this puzzlement on her face even as the marauder hugged her. Only after Lute introduce himself did it finally hit her.

"Tobi!" She tackled him from behind in another hug. "I thought you totally forgot about us!" Trixie only let go of him once a new girl waltzed up to them. The girl Nani seemed pretty miffed about not being introduced too.

Trixie exchanged glances between the two pirates for a moment before a cheeky grin spread across her lips. "Ohhh I get it! Is this your girlfriend, Tobi? Huh? Is it? Come onnn, you can tell us~"

Before she could continue her teasing, the bird perched atop Nani's shoulder let out a welcoming ahoy. Trixie's enthusiasm was sapped in a second. "He... he can talk...?" With a shriek, she suddenly fled behind Aria and started yelling at the feathered beast. "Get away from me!"



Completely distracted by the winged cretin, the prankster had completely overlooked the other two newcomers who had approached them. Amy on the other hand narrowed her eyes at the sight of them, before they could even open their mouths. Not even an introduction of themselves and they were already hitting on the girls of the Pride. Well... girls and Marcus. The poor mage.

She kept her distance from the two, but that didn't stop Tobi from embracing her as he did the others. Or trying to, anyway. He couldn't even touch her before he found himself flat on the floor, with a red mark pulsing on his cheek. Yet he was back up in an instant, his usual cheery self. Amy's all-powerful slap was a direct hit, a success, but the boy was still standing.

Brows contorted, Amy stared at the palm of her hand, eying over every little vein that ran beneath her skin. Something needed to be reevaluated here... Moira was right, they were definitely in need of a bar.

It was a beautiful day, and Aria felt quite at peace as the Pride ambled down the quaint cobblestone roads. Like Estelle said the town was very pretty with a relaxing atmosphere, something she very much welcomed after the whole fiasco at the circus. Luckily Amy had been taking very good care of their wounds, and while the gash in her shoulder still needed to be bandaged lightly, it was healing at a remarkable rate. In exchange, she had promised to buy a couple of drinks for the healer next time they had a chance.

She stooped down to pluck a vibrant wildflower from the side of the street, tucking it discretely into Lulu's hair as he answered their leader's question.

"I haven't been here before either." The illusionist inhaled deeply, enjoying the slight breeze. "It's certainly gorgeous here, isn't it?" Though a certain Berserker's shouts indicated that she was feeling less than tranquil. Aria gave a small huff of laughter- some things jut never changed. Her smile fell slightly when she noted how much quieter the group had become after Lucy left. Xan too- she really missed her friend. Hopefully the metallurgist would get her hand fixed quickly so the two could come back soon.

Cuttersbury: Guild

The guild was small, and unfortunately missing a bar. Aria gave a sigh of disappointment, giving an understanding grin at Moira's outburst.

“Syed! Moira! Estelle! Marcus! Amy! Trixie! I can’t believe it’s you guys!”

Eh? Before Aria knew it, she was embraced in a very energetic hug. She blinked, eyes following the man as he proceeded to embrace every member of the Pride, suffering a hard slap to the face courtesy of Amy. It didn't take long for her to realize that this man was most likely another acquaintance of the Pride's, and she replied as such to the confuzzled Lute's question with an amused smile. The man was certainly lively, impressively recovering from Amy's blow like nothing had happened in the first place. They were joined by a woman who introduced herself, and Aria was very much bemused by her talking parrot. Trixie was much less enthusiastic about this talking bird, however, shrieking and ducking behind the illusionist.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? It's just a talking parrot," she chuckled at the girl who looked as if she was trying her best to glare at the bird through the illusionist's feathered scarf. "What happened to teasing Tobi about a girlfriend?" She placed a reassuring hand on the girl's head nonetheless, doing a double take when she spotted that two more men had joined the group and were trying to flirt with Estelle and- with Marcus? The people here sure were friendly.

"Nice to meet you, Nani. Captain," she returned the salute. "I'm Aria. And this is Trixie," she patted the girl on the head, trying to calm the poor girl down. Did she not like parrots? "It's very nice to meet you."

Cuttersbury: Guild

“Girlfriend? Ahahaha no, not quite,” Tobi’s voice rang loudly with mirth. He threw his hand out and grabbed Nani by the shoulder, pulling her in for an awkward hug. “Nani and I are… mentor and student, I guess you could say. Me being the mentor, she being the student. She’s just… joined the Guild, and I’m showing her the ropes. Which is easier said then done, to be honest. Nani can be a bit of a handful at times… but in a good way? Haha.” The Marauder relaxed and let go of his pirate companion, folding his arms over his chest and looking over the group once more. “Wow, how long has it been since we’ve seen each other? I barely recognise some of you… you’ve all grown, huh? Say… aren’t you missing a few people? What happened to Selan, Wonderhawk and Nikki?”



“A lot of things have happened…” Estelle laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. “They’re all doing fine though, last we saw them. Hello, Nani,” Estelle proffered an outstretched hand to the pirate for a handshake. “My name’s Estelle Fenix, and I’m the leader of-”

“Hey there, darling! Are you taken? It’s a crime if those pwetty lips aren’t kissed.”

“Oh, ew, what on Ddaear?!” Estelle recoiled in fright and snatched her hand back as a strange, creepy young man suddenly shot in front of her, and proceeded to hit on her in the most godawful way. What was it with people flirting with her all of a sudden?! The only hitting someone like him would be getting was from Estelle’s fist. With a forceful shove, she pushed Jett away from her, trying to make as much space between them as possible. “Gross! Who the heck are you?” Estelle frowned.

"Hey there. I've never seen you around here before. If you don't mind me saying, what's a cute girl like you doing in a sleepy little place like this? Especially a mage, if I had to guess."

Estelle’s eyes suddenly widened and her head shot to the side in disbelief. Her and her friends all followed their gaze towards yet another strange man dressed in a blue robe with snazzy spectacles, talking to, with a smile on his face, to Marcus. And calling him a girl.

“Is this town filled with perverts or something?!” Estelle screamed. “I take back what I said before! This town isn’t pretty at all!” She turned to Amy, her eyes pleadingly conveying to the cleric what her lips wouldn't say.



“It’s… friendly,” Marcus replied with a chuckle. Whilst not carrying a particularly deep voice, it was obvious to everyone, and especially Quentin, that with a voice like his, Marcus was a male. “Perhaps a bit too overly friendly, but still… friendly. Hello, everyone. My name is Marcus Wiseman. It's a pleasure to meet you, Nani, and to see you again too, Tobi. I trust you've been well? And whom might you two gentlemen be?”

Cuttersbury: Guild

Two more people showed up to the party and Nani saluted them, although they seemed more like they were on the hunt for something other than a greeting from a redhead girl along with someone who she believed was a fellow. She could've been wrong, but it didn't matter because she didn't know them. Nani didn't bother, instead she looked at the short stuff that looked way younger than everyone else. "Ha! Hear that Tobias? The lass thinks we're dating. What an imagination on- eh?" Her head tilted when all of a sudden the girl ran off yelling at Cap. "Well fine I'll go. No need to be rude. You can hurt a poor pirate's feelings that way." She spoke rather dramatically, and then laughed after a moment. "Captain here is friendly. He won't peck, bite, claw, stab, er..."

"Or scratch." Captain finished and raised a clawed foot to show off his talons.

"Yeah, or scratch. Not unless I tell him to. Cap's a smart bird." She patted his head and then smiled at Aria. "Nice ta meet you both." Nani blinked as if catching something she missed and rolled her eyes at Tobi. "Hear that Cap? He thinks we're a handful." She put on the most innocent look she could before looking at the group. "Don't you worry! No hornswaggling and no black spots. Pirate's honor. As I've always said, you can either trust people until they fail you, or distrust people until they're proven trustworthy." There were times when her pirate lingo got the best of her conversations, so Cap occasionally translated for her. It was a tad...backwards.

"No cheating and no death threats! Pirate's honor. And Guilder's honor." Just to be fancy, Cap gave a mock salute with his wing. He didn't bother explaining the last part. They should've understood that one.

"Oh right...English. Thanks Cap. Anyway," Nani held up Tobi's things and raised an eyebrow. "Are we going or what? Not that meeting you lovely people is a bad thing- we could even take them with us if ya want. I just want to get out of this place."

Cuttersbury Guild

"Not so fast, Nani!"



The man from behind the desk had finally stood up once more, having produced a file from the mess. He looked down, took note of the poor worn out puppy, then moved his hands from pulling his trousers up to fishing around for something in one of the desk's drawers. "I know you're eager, but as I've said already the infestation is severe. I strongly advise finding some more Guilders to team up with. In fact our client has asked for a larger team, and is paying enough to account for that." He finally produced a small bag of coin. "Speaking of, Jett, your ID please." He sighed and pinched his nose. He could see both Jett and Quentin had wasted no time in making themselves trouble with the newcomers. You turn your back for five minutes...

He proceeded to scan Jett's ID once handed to him, giving it back along with his gald reward for his endevour. "Now," he looked up towards the Pride, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "My name's Eli, how can I help you?"


"Yeah, we're looking for some people? We've got something to deliver," Syed asked, tripping on one of the chairs. That's what you get for having big feet and having to duck slightly for the ceiling. Even more suprising was how Lute hadn't half demolished the room yet in his klutziness. Although the dust was getting to the poor man, bless him. "Oof! Their names are Rize and Kara? Have you seen them?"

"Hmm." Eli frowned in thought. He knew of them of course, but... "I haven't, I've only recently become secretary here. But our old secretary was very good at filing things, I'm sure I can... dig through." He sighed. His trousers started to slip again.

Syed cringed in sympathy as the masses of paperwork surrounding the man. That... probably will take him a while. "If you could, we'd appreciate it," he smiled. "We can wait I'm sure." He then turned back to Tobi, that grin returning as he chuckled at the antics everyone was already getting into. "So! Have you been here long? Is... the rest of this town so lively?" He offered his hand to Nani to shake, although his face betrayed his slight hesitation at her calling herself a pirate. "Syed. Do you need any help?"


Meanwhile Moira tore her eyes off that bloody talking parrot - which she was secretly very impressed with and very much curious as to if it knew any swears - her gaze resting instead on the two resident Guilders. Both of whom had wasted no time in flirting with everyone, and in the taller man's case, choosing quite poorly. "You try anythin' and sure you'll get a kiss... with a fist!" She shook her fist at Jett to hammer the point home. "Although..." she stood next to Quentin and tilted her head to one side. "I guess Marcus kiiiinda looks like a lady if you squint..."

Cuttersbury: Guild

Quentin's shades slid down his nose and his eyes scrutinized Marcus in momentary disbelief. Between Jett and himself, he was not sure who had made the more impressively embarrassing first impression, although he rather much hoped it was Jett. At least he had not been so obviously ham-handed about it.

"I, uh, sorry. I didn't mean to...er, yeah. Forgive me, it was my mistake. A, um, trick of the light," he said, internally chiding himself that he should have been able to come up with something better than that. Quentin regrouped and started again.

"I'm Quentin Theophilos Hobart, water mage of the local Guild, at your service! My mates call me Q. T. You know, 'cause Quentin Theophilos is a mouthful and it's like 'cutie.' Sort of a...play on words..."

His voice sputtered to a miserable halt as one sweeping glance around the room told him he was playing to a tough audience. Amazing how so many eyes and ears were fixated on a single sentence when the whole place had been a cacophony of chatter just moments ago. He pushed up his sunglasses and sighed when Moira jibed, "I guess Marcus kiiiinda looks like a lady if you squint..."

"Okay, I made a mistake. It's fine. I made a mistake. The guy's a good-lookin' dude. It's a compliment! Go on and laugh at my stupidity. I'm harmless."

He made a quick look over Moira and then looked back at Marcus. "I was at least right about the mage thing, wasn't I? I figured only a mage would dress that way and show up in a Guild hall, friendliness of Cuttersbury aside."

Cuttersbury: Guild

"Gods," Amy quipped to herself. Especially after Quentin made his obnoxious 'QT' comment, there was no way in hell she'd take any of the men in this town seriously. She could've probably smacked around Jett for the look he gave Estelle alone, but she was confident the swordswoman and Moira got their messages across just fine. Then again... Amy rolled her eyes with a sigh, and crossed her arms. If only they knew their manners here as well as they did lumberjacking.

Saying that, though, Trixie wasn't doing much better either. The prankster didn't care so much about the potential dangers the parrot carried, even as he boasted his talons. Rather, Trixie's entire body jittered every time Cap opened his beak. She had been around animals long enough to know that they shouldn't be talking. Unless of course they transformed. Maybe... maybe that was it. Maybe this bird was like Nikki? Trixie shivered off her questions for now. So long as creepy featherbags kept away from her, she decided she'd be fine, mostly thanks to Aria's reassurance.

The girlie seemed to be in a hurry, though the guild secretary snapped back at her for it. And it was Trixie's gig to stick her nose where it didn't belong. 'Infestation,' huh? 'Larger team,' huh? 'Pay,' huh? Trixie couldn't help joining in after Syed's offer. "That sounds fun! Yeah, let's help out!" She went up and down on her tiptoes in excitement, though came to a stop upon hearing Moira's threat.

Only then did she notice Quentin and Jett had come around, thanks to the other Pride members' yammering. Trixie pursed her lips and leaned towards Lute. "Whoa, why are we so popular all of the sudden?"

Cuttersbury: Guild

Aria was quite glad the parrot was there for translate, because she didn't have a clue what hornswagglings or black spots were. Pirates sure were interesting.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if the woman was in a hurry to leave with Tobi. Did they have a mission lined up? She raised a hand to wave goodbye, but the pirate had been quickly stopped by the secretary who had finally popped up from behind the desk. Syed approached the man to ask about Rize and Kara, Aria being able to overhear the others' conversations in the sudden lull only to have to bite back a snort. Q.T? She liked that guy in glasses already. Lucy and the guy would probably get a long swellingly.

Trixie, on the other hand, seemed more interested in what the secretary and Syed had said.

"That sounds fun! Yeah, let's help out!"

"Well, I don't see why not." She eyed Estelle in amusement, knowing that their leader will most likely jump in as well. The Pride could never seem to ignore things like this. "It would take a bit of time to dig through those files, right? Besides, it would be fun. If you'd have us, of course." She nodded to Nani and Tobias with a smile.

Cuttersbury: Guild

Estelle, eh? The name certainly sounds exotic. Jett let his mind wander slightly as he thought about stars. The red head certainly would fit the profile of a star goddess like one of those girls found on tarot cards. He blinked dumbly as Estelle snatched her hand back. Erm... since when did he grab her hand? Oh dear lord! She must think he is a jerk.

Estelle said "Gross! Who the heck are you?"

Yup, she definitely think he's a jerk. Scratch that. Grabbing her hand like that was creepy! Jett held his hands up defensively to try and block any incoming punches. He debated if he should step back, but he decided against it. Running away wouldn't help. He has to take this like a man! No self respecting man would backdown from accepting a beating from a lady to make up for offending her.

Moria said "You try anythin' and sure you'll get a kiss... with a fist!"

Jett stared at the fist waving about. He stood mesmerized. Somehow he didn't notice the shorty was actually a woman. A pudgy woman, but a woman nonetheless. He wiggled his shoed toes. It's now a two against one, and well things are going to get uncomfortable. He doubted he was as tough as this stouter lady. Perhaps he should try apologizing. He removed his hands, and bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry ma'am. I really am. As Guilders, we mustn't lie. So I was just being honest. Ms. Estelle is real a beauty. I mean no offense otherwise. Stealing kisses isn't my style."

Eli Jepson said "Speaking of, Jett, your ID please."

That's my name. Jett turned around and stared at the secretary blankly. Why was the man... OH RIGHT! He had to give gramps his ID. The novice gladly bowed out of the uncomfortable situation whilst the stout berserker spoke to Gnar Man, but before he retreated, he turned briefly to Estelle.

"Ms. Estelle, I shall be right back. Guilder's honor! I won't run away if you want to beat me up for being a creep."

Jett dug in his trouser pockets as he approached Eli. Nothing. He continued to his jacket pockets. Again nothing. He panicked slightly as he spun round and round on the spot trying to find the darn ID. He swore softly till he noticed something on the floor. He swooped down. When he pulled up, he triumphantly slapped the ID on the table. His fingers twitched a little. He really, really wanted to shred more paper, but no, he had to be serious. He continued tapping his feet. First the right foot, then the left foot, then the right foot again. Then he began rocking back and forth on his heels. The young man let his mind wander again. He was so lost daydreaming that he was taken aback when he saw Jepson holding out the gald.

"Whose is that..." He trailed off before remembering he had a mission earlier. "Oh right! Thanks!"

He pocketed his gald, though dropping one or two in the process, and hastily returned to his former spot. He resisted the urge to snicker when he heard his fellow Guilder asking the rest to address him as Cutie. Cutie? Gnar Man really has an interesting sense of humor. Given his parents called him Queer something. Queer Tin? Well something like that. Poor kiddo. Was it his turn to introduce himself now?

"I'm Jett. I'm fast, and I like to chase stuff. Not a swordsman, not a mage," He shrugged. "Not sure what to call myself..."

Syed said "That sounds fun! Yeah, let's help out!

"What's fun?" Jett interjected immediately, completely forgetting he was halfway through his introduction. He loved having fun.

He paused a little though he was bouncing excitedly on the balls of his feet. This group is AWESOME. They are here less than five minutes, and they are already talking about fun. The Guilders here certainly can learn from this group. He waited somewhat quietly till the black haired lady finish speaking.

"Can Gnar Man and I join? Please? Ma'am," He looked at Moira before turning to Estelle. "Ms. Estelle...?"

Cuttersbury: Guild

One of the disadvantages to bonding with a sound spirit was that you tend to hear far more than you ever want to. An example of this would be Lute listening to the moves Jett pulled on Estelle- “Hey there, darling! Are you taken? It’s a crime if those pwetty lips aren’t kissed.”. Let’s just say that after hearing that line the virtuoso made a strangled noise that was between a snort and a cough.

The Cuttersbury Guild was… interesting. A talking parrot and a couple of men who seemed to think flirting with the ladies (or… Marcus) made for a good first impression. How lovely. Oodles of sarcasm in that last statement. Lute crossed his arms over his chest as he sniffed, watching as the two received a frosty reception from their targets. “Butter smooth. Ha,” He snidely commented under his breath until Delilah asked him if he could do any better. Point taken.

“Mmm-mmm, it’s good to make your acquaintance, Nani and Cap,” Lute, still oblivious to the bright purple wildflower tucked behind his ear, smiled at the pirate. Trixie really seemed to abhor the parrot though. He patted the girl on the shoulder before a strange silence filled the room, enough for him to catch…

“My mates call me Q. T. You know, 'cause Quentin Theophilos is a mouthful and it's like 'cutie.' Sort of a...play on words..."

“Q.T.? Isn’t that something you use to clean your ears with?” Lute asked loud enough for both Aria and Trixie to hear. Ah, well, whatever. “I… don’t know what’s happening, but I think the cotton buds guy hit on Marcus. By any chance, do you know what a Q.T. is? I swear it’s something… hygienic,” The virtuoso whispered back to Trixie, nudging her with his elbow as he leaned to her too. Also, five minutes in this place and they were already out on another mission? Whoa, whoa. “I guess we can do that-,” Lute sneezed again, “- it’s better than staying here and developing an allergy, anyway.”

Cuttersbury: Guild

Estelle’s brow twitched in agitation and disbelief at everything the bizarre man who had thrust himself upon them was doing, aggravatingly so. Guilders don’t lie? Of course that was true, however it didn’t mean speaking your mind about anything and everything. Still, she got slightly flushed about the comment made by Jett that she was beautiful, but then remembering everything else he had done so far, and watching the way he which he presented himself towards the Guild Secretary before automatically inviting himself back towards them resulted in Estelle feeling that same aggravating ire again. Her brow wouldn’t stop twitching.

And then the other man in the robes and shades proceeded to introduce himself as Quentin Theopolis, and asked the Pride to call him Q.T. And after he had just tried to hit on Marcus, as well!

What was it about them that attracted weirdos?



“Hahaha, you’re an amusing man, Q.T.” Marcus chuckled without missing a beat at the ridiculousness of the man’s speech, even going so far as to offer his hand for a shake. “You’re quite right, I am a mage. My speciality lies in manipulating wind, although I am also beginning to slowly practice controlling ice. What about yourself? What do you specialise in?”

“I don’t even…” Estelle shook her head, turning away from the scene before them and trying to catch a breath. And then, all of a sudden, he was in her way again, pleading for her to allow him to accompany them on a mission!

“Hey, it’s not my mission to give!” Estelle huffed and looked away from Jett, instead focusing on Tobi. “I don’t even know what it is! But… if you need help, Tobi, we’re always welcome to assist. These other two guys though…” She quickly glanced between Jett and Quentin. “I can’t take responsibility for them.”



“Ahahaha,” Tobi laughed, chuckling at how fortuitous the situation had grown for his old friends. He knew all about the Pride’s longterm mission in searching for the Guild leaders of Clockwork Town in order to deliver a very valuable letter, and was in fact a bit disappointed at first from the seeming look that they hadn’t succeeded so far. But when he thought about what the nature of his mission was, and how it added up together with the amount of time it would take Eli to search through the Guild’s files and find the relevant information… well, he found the perfect way to help the Pride and make up for his inability to have joined them earlier.

“I would be honoured if you could come help me, Estelle, Syed, everyone. Even you two as well, Jett and Q.T, if you’d like to accompany us.” Tobi grinned. “As Eli said, this monster infestation is pretty severe… they’ve got a lot of numbers, so having you guys along for the ride would certainly help me and Nani out.”

“What kinds of monsters are we talking about?” Asked Estelle, looking at the marauder inquisitively.

“A certain nomadic species of monster that likes to travel underground and steal peoples’ belongings. They can be pretty tough little critters for newbies. Very tenacious, also. Ever heard of Varrens, before?” Tobi’s face then turned incredibly jolly. “Anyway, it’s not so much the monsters you might be interested in, but the place. You guys are going to love it…!”

The water mage put on his brightest smile and energetically shook Marcus's hand. He positively beamed when Marcus described his specialty.

"Wind and ice? Radical, dude! I work in water. I bet you and me would make a great combo together if we ever--"

"...Even you two as well, Jett and Q.T, if you’d like to accompany us.” Tobi grinned. Quentin's head snapped around to look at Tobi. Did he hear him right? Was he just offered a mission? Sick!

Estelle posed the question of what kind of monsters the Pride would encounter. Tobi replied with an answer about Varrens. Quentin realized he was still shaking Marcus's hand absentmindedly and released the poor wind mage from his grasp. Varrens were wicked devils, no doubt. Quentin had only ever seen them but never fought one. After stroking his chin for a few seconds, he reckoned that some well-placed water could ruin one of those spiny dude's days. After all, they burrowed underground, but how fast could anything travel in mud? Probably not fast at all, if he had to guess. Yes, he could totally, totally be a help to these guys if they were down with it.

His eyes darted between the members of the Pride. Most of them did not look like they were super high ranked or anything, which was a relief. Quentin was only Rank H and Varrens were probably more dangerous than that. Of course, the Pride didn't really need to know unless someone asked. And really, with the motley crew assembled here, there should be more than enough people to take down some spikepigs! Quentin was practically salivating at the taste of some adventure. Cuttersbury was a nice place, no foolin', but it was lame unless you were a tree hugger or something.

"Yo!" he called to Tobi, raising a hand. "Question for ya: where's this place we're going that we're gonna love?"

Quentin made a point not look in Eli's direction, lest the secretary tell him he was in way over his head. The only way to catch the wave is to best the shark.