(ignore) 0_o

Middlemist was a small town near the edge of the Sunia border. Really, the most that happened in the town was the occasional merchant that passed threw due to the fact that it was on the road to the capital. Because of the now open borders, more people and merchants came threw the town, but it wasn't really something that would make people cry out in joy. However, the town was a little wary of the old Tropic Elf that was staying at the inn, waiting for adventurers to come to him so they could delve into a dungeon. He had the coin to pay for their best room, which wasn't all that much better than the normal rooms. He had stayed there for a little less than a month before someone came by the little town, wanting to find the old elf.

To Orinthias, the human that seeked adventure was a child. He had lived for two hundred and eighty six years, and the young man was only in his twenties. However, that didn't keep him from seeing the potential that the boy had. He already had a small group of familiars, and formal training from the Northern college. The Tropic Elf heard that they boy wanted to unlock the secrets of longevity, and hoped that they would be in the dungeon that they were to go into. Orin knew that it was pretty unlikely that the secrets to expanding one's lifespan would be in a cave, but one could never know.

Orin wanted to know why a human of all beings was trained at the Northern College, very close to the capital of Sunia. The Elven land was already close off as it was, but the Northern College was even more so to a ridiculous extent. He must have had someone pull the strings from inside the college to get in. Orin wanted to know why he was there, but they had just met, and it was possible that they could just split up after going through the dungeon.

Currently, Orin was sitting down in a chair at the tavern with Atticus sitting across from him. They were talking about what kinds of adventures that they had been on in the past, and because of his old age, Orin had many more stories to tell than the human. Even if most of them were bloody and violent, he had more stories to tell.

"He believed that he was going mad! I had cast a few spells on him one by one, making him believe that he was turning into a spirit. First I made it so that he couldn't talk to anyone, by taking out his vocal cords and tricking his mind into thinking that he could still talk. He could hear his words, but other people couldn't! Then I cast an illusion spell to everyone but him to make them believe that he never existed, and in a number of days he was attacking them all to be noticed! They still didn't see him, and when he was at his lowest point I finished the deed by talking to him and killing him...!"

Atticus was listening quietly to the story, not entirely comfortable with what he was hearing. It was interesting to hear about what spells he developed and how he used them, but all of the death was startling to him. Orin had a calm and happy attitude at the beginning, but turned dastardly and grave at the end. All of his kills were like ghost stories, and he had no idea why he was still listening to the old elf after a week of staying at Middlemist.

The dancer picked her way carefully between tankards both half filled and empty. Brass and silver anklets, chased in gold, jangled on her slender ankles above pale bare feet with toenails painted a dull black and dusted in silver. Many eyes were upon her, though now that she'd been dancing for some time, not all of them as when she'd first begun. She was a beautiful thing, an elf with hair of burnished gold attired in a dancer's outfit. Ebony sleeves ensconced her limbs, her midriff was bare and undulating to the music being played by a pair of caravan drivers. Twisting and turning she swirled and moved, darting in and out of reach of various patrons who reached out towards her. It was a game, an interesting game that the men and her played. It was a teasing game. They would reach for her, to see how close they could get without her taking offense and leaving to dance upon another table. Each one of them hoping to be the one to be allowed to touch her while at the same time fearing their fellows would pummel them for making her flee their presence, hopping gracefully from one table to the next. Those from the table she'd leaped to would cheer and those from the table she'd left would berate their fellows.

A childish game... but one that men rarely tired of.

All the while she listened, sensitive elven ears taking note of her prospective employer. They did not converse upon the actual quest which implied that the young man and he had met long before. What she needed was someone to approach the man, to make an initial overture so that she could eavesdrop. She wanted to know more before engaging openly. It was her way. She preferred to gather as much information as possible before doing anything. She had considered placing a seeming upon herself to look more plain but it had been such a very long time since she'd danced a table and to her shame she found herself enjoying it. She wanted them to see her. She enjoyed teasing them. She also enjoyed the looks upon the faces of the serving wenches who, while they regularly complained of being pinched and bothered, suddenly were jealous instead of thankful for the distraction.

Caspian and his closest crew members were playing a game of cards in a corner near exit the of inn. Caspian and his crew had came to Middlemist looking for the same thrill of adventure that sailing the sea did. After years of sailing, Caspian wanted something different, he wanted dame, more fame than what his name gave him, of what his ship presented him, he wanted to be known all, and this was just the job needed to do the job.

Caspian placed his cards down on the wooden table, facing upward so everyone sitting at the table could see, "Well my friends, Royal Flush" Caspian said with a hint of laughter in his voice. Every one of his crew member folded in exasperation, throwing there cards on the table, Caspian laughed, taking all the gold that was bet. "Aye Caspian, Is ye sure ya not chetin" asked Caspian's Elven first mate Drakes, " Why I would never, I'm just good at the game my friend" Caspian replied, laughing loudly along with his Crew members. His Dwarf ship right Axses, took a large swig of Hard Mead, "Well Captain, after you start adventuring, what will happen to the crew". "Well Ax the crew will still be...". Caspian stopped talking, learning back in his seat he contemplated what would he would do with the crew, tell them to go free for know maybe, Caspian would figure it out later. Caspian watched as the Dancer performed in front of a group of men, Caspian could tell the men were in deep conversation, but it was not serious, it seemed to be a casual one. Caspian took a sip of his Maple Gin and went back to start playing cards once again with his crew members, watching and waiting for something entertaining to happen.

Katarina Spirit

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Bang!

The tavern door slammed open. Men turned around, startled, and expecting to see perhaps a large, muscular man entering. It wasn't as if those kinds of people were uncommon in a place like this - acting tough, maybe even scaring the bartender enough to get a free drink. But instead, all that had thrown the door open was a little, beige-haired girl skipping, swinging her arms, to the centre of the tavern. Large eyes looking around carefully, Katarina's gaze landed on a small table with two occupants. The older one seemed to be telling stories to his younger, slightly unnerved human companion. Adjusting her weapons strung on her back, the girl proceeded to head straight for the two, head slightly tilted and grinning.

"Hu'llo!" Kat stopped in front of the old man, "Are you the one who wants to go adventuring?" Sitting down on their table, the girl brought her knees under her chin. "I bet there's some other people here that saw your…" She paused, scrunching up her nose. "… ad." Kat decided.

"And I was wondering, too; how many adventurers are you looking for, anyways? 'Cause I wouldn't mind an audition - a battle royale, maybe?" Then after a moment, she added with a nudge, "Hint, hint." The girl laughed good-temperedly, scratching her head.

"Oh, look. That dancer's pretty good. All the guys want her… " Kat smiled, "I guess all men are like that, right?"

The entire tavern had paused. Assallya was included in that number. The golden haired dancer had visited many such establishments in her lifetime but never before had she spied a young woman in such a place acting as she did. This young woman moved and acted like a man, a boorish warrior with little in the way of manners or courtesy. Then she sat like a tiny young girl. The body language was confusing and the elven courtesan was having trouble establishing just what sort of girl this was.

Finally someone, Assallya wasn't sure who, guffawed and took a wyvern sized bite out of the silence. Within moments the tavern was once again invaded by idle chatter, much of it surrounding the strange child. As the elven dancer began to sway once more, she clinked her bracelets together to get the men's attention back and shook her hips. Assallya caught whispers and chuckles about adventurous youth in a "house of men" and others talking about how the ale here would put some hair on her chest. Clearly nobody was taking her seriously but Assallya wasn't so sure. She recognized a certain grace in the child's movements, those movements reminded Assallya of a ranger and while she was no expert she noted the certainty with which the young girl handled her bow, as if it were a part of her own body and didn't get in her way despite her small size.

This was, to Assallya, a boon from the gods. There was almost no chance that these two had prepared for such an event. People caught unawares and off guard were more likely to show their true selves. Paying particular attention Assallya let her mind drift, concentrating almost entirely upon the table the adventurers sat at, letting her body take over the dance of its own volition.

Just like all of the people in the bar, Orin and Atticus stopped their conversation to focus on the door. Also like everyone else, they expected a large and burly man to be on the other side of the door, not a little girl. They watched as she skipped and swung her arms as she made her way to the center of the room. The old Elf and the young Human both had different interpretations of the little girl. Atticus had believed that she was lost, right up until the point where she talked about the 'ad' that Orin put up. She couldn't be serious. Her bow was bigger than she was, and she probably couldn't even hurt a captured rabbit. He didn't want to be mean, but he didn't think that the girl should even be talking about delving into an ancient and dangerous dungeon.

Before he could say anything to her, he heard Orin chuckle. He turned to face the old man, and saw that he gave the girl a shake of the head. "Not all men. I've resisted temptation before, and my companion here is doing a good job as well. You're the second person to come by with the intent of adventuring with me. You can come along with us, but no battle royale. I don't need able bodied adventurers to be beaten up and injured before we go off."

Atticus couldn't believe the old man. He was just going to let this little girl go along with them into a deadly and perilous dungeon?! What if something were to happen to her and people found out? people would look down on them and possibly cast them out of society for endangering children without care! "You're serious?" He asked Orin.

Orinthias nodded his head at Atticus and gave him a calm look. "When you've seen the things I've seen, you know that looks can be deceiving. Back in my assassin days, there was a young vampire, couldn't have been more than twelve, but she used her appearance to deceive her kills. She was an amazing assassin. Vampires are eternal, so she still probably looks the same after all of these years. Anyways, if she wants to come with us, then let her."

Second post.

Caspian and his crew were enjoying there game when they were interrupted by a woman who came running in and yelling about adventure, woman and things all men loved. Though usually Caspian would ignore this type of information and unless banter, Caspian could not shake the feeling that what they were taking about might interest him, and a pirates gut intuition was almost never wrong. Caspian took a swig of his Gin, and leaned back on his seat, watching the elven group that sat jot to far from him.

Ax realized what he was looking at and inquired what was going on, " Aye Capt, what's going on, is ya like the little lass go talk to her". Caspian sent an angry look his way as Drakes began to snicker. "That's not what's going on you twit." Caspian said angrily, "There seems to be opportunity in the air, and I want to be a part of it." Caspian whispered, "I'll see for myself what they are speaking of and then choose for myself what I want to do." With that all conversation between him and his crew members stopped, they were all intent on gathering information for there Captain. Caspian took a large swig of his drink, letting the warmth spread through his body. Caspian would find out to what they were speaking of, and he would.be a part of it, if he saw it as worthy.

"Not all men. I've resisted temptation before, and my companion here is doing a good job as well. You're the second person to come by with the intent of adventuring with me. You can come along with us, but no battle royale. I don't need able bodied adventurers to be beaten up and injured before we go off."

"You're serious?"

"When you've seen the things I've seen, you know that looks can be deceiving. Back in my assassin days, there was a young vampire, couldn't have been more than twelve, but she used her appearance to deceive her kills. She was an amazing assassin. Vampires are eternal, so she still probably looks the same after all of these years. Anyways, if she wants to come with us, then let her."

Kat sighed, "Aww… well, I guess I shoulda' saw that coming. Oh, well. As long as we get to beat up a whole bunch of monsters, it'll be fine with me." Then, with a distasteful look at the younger man; "Yeah, asswipe. I bet I could put an arrow through your eye from a mile away." The girl paused, and then suddenly stuck her tongue out at him rudely.

Kat sat up, crossing her legs and looking curiously at a man staring at her. And what was he supposed to be? "What do you want?" the girl called to him, then muttering, "Creepy pedophile!"

The dancing elven girl turned away momentarily, lowering her azure gaze lest her obvious surprise be apparent on her face. She wasn't sure what to make of a near instant acceptance on the old elf's part. While she was, at that girl's very age, already trained in how to slit a man's throat after bedding him she somehow found the idea of tiny girl wielding a man's weapons as "wrong". This Kat's immediate acceptance, without any sort of challenge or even promise of one, did bother her somewhat but, Assallya had to ask herself, how was that different with any of the other adventurers she'd worked with?

Picking her way carefully through the ale filled crockery, pale bare feet slipping across the dark stained wood, she considered making her own overtures but now she wasn't sure. Finally, after some deliberation, she slowly descended from the table, stepping upon a man's thigh for purchase. The man took the opportunity to grasp her buttocks, his fingers rough through the gossamer material but that , unfortunately, was to be expected. Reflexively she twisted and slapped him, not because she particularly cared. She had danced tables enough that she was accustomed to such behaviour. She did so because they expected it. Already they were laughing and teasing the man.

She then moved towards Orin and Atticus' table, hips rolling, blonde curls caressing her slender shoulders. She didn't look like an adventurer, not with her pale skin and loose nearly transparent silks. If anything she appeared as little more than a strumpet and nearly as useless a the young girl, adolescent boy, and an old man. Ah, what a group they would make.

"This goes against my better judgement," Assallya said to Orin as she sauntered forwards, "but provided the girl can shoot and the boy do more than conjure a kindling flame you may have a chance at whatever delve you plan. I am Assa'alliyeh, a sorceress and I have some interest in such things. How would you sway me to your cause?"

Atticus was startled by the vocabulary used by the girl that was half his age. He was also somewhat insulted that she had called him an asswipe, but kept quiet about it as he simply directed a glare at her. Orin simply raised an eyebrow at her colorful vocabulary, and quickly glanced at the man who she called a pedophile. He looked back at her and raised his brow one again. While he was keeping an open mind about the girl, he was wondering if she had the skills to back up what she was saying. He didn't talk about it, though, as he was sure that she would insult him as well if he were to speak bad about her. He was about to say something before the dancer who had been entertaining the tavern came over to their table. He kept his cool around her. He had seen and plenty of beautiful women in his day, and he was much too old to be of any use to her intimately.

Atticus was also rather calm around the provocative dancer, but he had hardly seen women that had the same level of beauty that she had. He was further insulted when she doubted his skills as a conjurer, and wanted to stand up right there and summon the most fearsome flame-based familiar that he had at his disposal. He knew better, though, and simply cast a soft glare at her, trying to keep his glare up so that she wouldn't be able to see that he was mostly entranced by her body.

Orin kepy his eyes locked onto Assalya's, his body not even attempting to look down at her mostly revealed body. He had gotten past that several years ago, and when he did look at a woman's body, that was because he wanted to, as a way to keep up an act of an old man. "When we clear through the dungeon, I can assure you that there will be great treasures. It is one of the oldest dungeons in Sunia, and belonged to the first line of Elven rulers. No doubt there will be more treasures than what we can take on one trip, and even with a large group we could be set for the rest of our lives."