[u]Roc Mission[/u]

The creature came at him and Arcadius dove for a rather soft and comfortable looking patch of ground. Diving right down below its flight path. [i]Did I just head-butt the butterfly?[/i] Though really, why should he be worrying about the butterfly right now? He was lucky to have a head or the ability to remain consciousness right now. That was definitely not the best thing to have ever happened to him. He didn't know why but this wasn't quite the welcome he had been expecting when the coffin had finally opened up, though it had been a bumpy ride. Maybe it was a sign.

[i]Load of superstitious nonsense.[/i] As long as he still had a head, and a body. He'd find out who killed him, and find a way to get back. Even if he had to personally beat the living daylights off the so called "god" who had made his coffin into a prison. Then there was a whoosh, an enormous dose of pain a crack and he was flying. In the grips of the beast. [i]Well, I still have a head.[/i] He watched helpless as the creature flew around and his body fell limp onto the ground. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to walk? Any idea?" [i]At least the view is nice.[/i] Well, that last bit was true. At least until he ended up in a nest.

"If you'd just drop me off at your earliest convenience, preferably nice and softly that'd be grand."

The bird had attacked and the moment its beak gripped over the skull, she quickly realized her mistake. She had hoped for a juicy and easy bite size, yet what she got a bone completely voided of anything edible. Even worse was the fact it rolled and lodged in her beak, smacking her tongue repeatedly. She smacked it against the tree as she smacked her wings against the ground. The beak’s harden outside keep the skull from busting yet still made it rather painful. Dust and grass bent at her powerful, panicked motions. On moments, her body rose in short, little leaps and her head thrashed about to dislodge the nuisance within her jaws. Each time her wings darted out more of her body was becoming sky lifted. At about half way, the skull finally slipped from her maul and flipped it about into the wagon. Luckily, Arcadius’s little fall caused a rather unusual chain reaction. 

His head had knocked into the wagon, filled with straw, with enough force short of cracking it, that the wagon shuddered. It inched farther into the downhill slope. It made one last creak before its wheels turned, sending the merchant’s meager cart rolling right at the likely now gathered group. If they didn’t move then likely someone would’ve been pinned between the cart and tree when it finally stopped. 
 

[u]Lyn[/u] 

A spark of relief poured over the child when Mei seemed to note the brooch. Lyn eyed her while Mei reached across the table and picked it, examining it a moment then asked the Merchant its value. The man seemed to smile then rattled the price, a very steep one, immediately. For some time Lyn watched the haggling between Mei and the merchant, the price slowly dropped while each tried to gain the best price. Even if Mei wasn’t the best haggler, she had one thing on her side: time. With the cart nearly packed, the man’s time seemed to be running shorter the longer they were locked in negotiations until finally, he gave in. It seemed he preferred a slight loss then no profit at all. Rapidly he started to put away the rest of his wares when the moon started to rise. Stars twinkled causing Lyn to look up in awe, having never seen the change of day into night before now. Again her expression was filled by wonder and amazement to see the experience causing her to light up in enjoyment. She could’ve stood there all night counting the tiny, shiny fireflies in the sky. 

It was then she felt her hand gently taken, Mei’s word encouraging her along. It broke her attention and brought it back to Mei, her eyes drifted to see the woman’s neck adorn with the small trinket. The brooch seemed to flicker with life and a spark all its own against Mei’s pale skin, giving her a slight haunted beauty, that Lyn felt rather happy with choosing the item herself. Even if she was still unsure the thing did exactly what the merchant had said. Making sure her dagger was in place, she let Mei lead her back to the inn while mindful to stay close enough that her arm wasn’t tugged. Rather hard when her eyes kept wandering over the town’s current scene. People started to shut their windows, lock doors, and disappear off the street during the late hours. This was something rather strange to Lyn as back at the college, she often would hear the steps of others roaming the hallways. The sleepless she nicknamed them, not realizing Mei was one of those restless students that would often lull her into sleep. She glimpsed down to see her bear, it’s arms had latched onto her belt then climbed up using her tunic to reach her shoulders, where it hung like an overstuffed bag. The thing refused to leave her side. 

On the positive side, it helped to keep her warm. The night had dropped the temperature, and with her body being slightly cold blooded, Lyn had started to shivered slightly. Instinctively she huddled closer to Mei in a hope to steal some of the woman’s warmth to stop her teeth from chattering. Thankfully it was a short walk before they entered the inn warmed by a fire blazed within the oven, finding a nice bench sitting in the corner nearest it. Lyn didn’t hate the cold but rather disliked its effect on her. It was part of the reason she avoided the College’s classroom having to do with the Cryomancy students and often brought a coat, or two, when she did. The bear seemed to sense the cold pressing on her skin, its arms rubbed a bit, creating friction while her teeth had stopped chattering. Again, Mei spoke and Lyn perked up. 

"Would you like some soup Lyn? I smell something really good, and I bet it's a chicken soup... With barley." Mei asked, her head tilted up to sniffle causing Lyn to mimic.

The girl’s eyes closed while she inhaled, a warm, savory scent filled her nose making her mouth salivate. Followed shortly by her rumbling middle. Lyn let out a small, amused giggle when her arms wrapped about her stomach, and nodded to answer. Lucilia’s snacks were delicious but it wasn’t as filling as a good, hot meal was. Then she recalled what Lucilia wanted her to do and that was to attempt to speak. She took a word she often heard some students as well as teachers used before. “T-t-t…” 

The tee sound was the most she managed, looking rather annoyed at her fruitless and difficult word choice. She could manage the sounds, but for some reason putting them together and establishing words had escaped her understanding. Then again, so did a thing called numbers Lucilia had tried to show her once. At the mention of Lucilia in her mind, Lyn also recalled another thing, namely the purse Alaira had slammed down on the desk before she left her in the teacher’s care. Gingerly Lyn reached into her belt pouch and dig out the rather decent sum to show Mei. It won’t be too hard to tell whom it was at one time though Lyn, at least she hoped, Aunt Alaira won’t mind if she used it to gain both Mei and her something to eat. From what she witnessed, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. She sat it on the table top for Mei to determine what to do with it when Ssarak came up to stand beside the table, his figure easily stood out as he was the tallest around, and well armored Esyire (well the only one) around. 

 "I took Alaira to the local physician. He agrees that she has blood sickness, and he seemed familiar with the condition. He agreed to a reasonable price to care for her for the night; I believe she will recover by morning. After that...I believe we will need to exchange some words. For now, though, I am ready to help with the rune. I recall the basics of how to use one, though it may take a few hours to complete the healing, given the apparent extent of your injuries. Shall we use one of our rooms?" He asked, though Lyn was sure he didn’t realize they hadn’t eaten yet. 

Unlike most children, Lyn had some surprising patience and merely sat there while her middle seemed rather irritated at being denied a meal. She clamped her arms tighter in hopes to silence, even when her teddy had still cling to her shoulder and seemed to glare back at the two, expecting them to fix the hunger problem some way. Any farther thoughts over food were scattered when a loud bang was heard, the night’s cold drifted inside along with Alaira causing Lyn to slightly shiver. Instinctively she pressed closer to Mei once more, leeching off the warmest thing next to her, and kept her teeth from chattering. Part of Lyn wished her mother was here. Her mother was easily over aware of her little gestures and clues, often wordlessly covering her into a blanket then held her closely. Slowly Lyn tilted back on her benched seat to see Alaira rubbing her head while she was shoving through the others crowded at the bar, partly expecting to see the Halfling flinch with each rough treatment, gaining dirty, soured looks at her behavior. Lyn continued to watch her Aunt pull up two piece gold, then order a mead pint from the grunting bar tender. The man shoved a mug under a tap, twisting the wooden handle until it was foaming at the time and slapped it down before he scooped up the payment. 

“Enjoy…”He grunted gruffly and returned to his work, his stout body pulled about the bar. 

The man hobbled past Ssarak, Mei, and Lyn until he reached the source of the aromas, an enormous cast iron pot cooked and shimmered over a fire. In the second opening was bread, sitting on an out jutted shelve, and several chickens roasting on a spit beside it. He pulled the bread out, stoking the fire a bit, and rested the bread flat upon the table beside a collection of wooden bowls. While he cut, some customers has started to gather which he rattled off the prices for the meals. The chicken varied, a small slice ranged from three gold pieces to eleven for a whole chicken. The cheaper and temporary filling soup bowls, without bread, were about four and an addition three silver with a bread chuck about half the size of the bowl. 

Again, Lyn’s middle roared for something to fill it. She gave Mei and Ssarak a sheepish, innocent look, seemingly to apologize for her noisy need.