[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/7iJKKu5.png[/img]
[color=FIREBRICK][b][h3]MALAKAUS FIREBELLY[/h3][/b][/color][/center]

[color=firebrick]"Understandable, Knight Commander Maria. I have no intentions of endangering the lives of your young wards either, I merely felt that this quest may be a good experience for them to realize a knight's duty in practice. With all that said, I have nothing further to report. If you have knights to spare they would be very much appreciated in anticipation of this threat. However what these villages truly needs are not knights, but a scholar or magician who may be able to restore the crystal that once protected them. I understand that our ranks are low at the moment and we simply do not have the manpower to assign guardians at every outlaying village. Now if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave. Farewell, everyone."[/color]

Drinking his last refill of tea, Malakaus stood up from the table, bowed, and walked away. He had faith in his ability to slay demon beast and any other monster that arrived, but alas, what the village needed was a more permanent protector. If they had no crystal, then they would need guardsmen or militia. And of the villages Malakaus went to, only one had a "militia" that consisted of a gang of youth armed with farming tools with more strength then skill. Barely warriors, however it were these very youth that allowed Malakaus to consider their village not a lost cause. The other villages were, while not content, uninterested in trying to muster any sort of defense for themselves without the crystals, relying solely on traveling guardsmen or errant knights such as Malakaus. Such villagers Malakaus looked down upon, not for their weakness, but cowardice. How could Malakaus protect someone who had no interest in protecting themselves, or were even endangering their own lives under the impression that he is obligated to save them? He wouldn't. But those youth, as crude and unskilled as they were, at least showed that they wanted to protect their village and would risk their lives to do so. Such bravery was what Malakaus sought and appreciated.

Malakaus returned to the armory to find Atisha, and when he couldn't he was going to leave. But before he did one of the smithing assistants called out to him and told Malakaus that his armor was ready. [color=firebrick]"Is it now? I have not even been gone for an hour and you've already repaired my armor?"[/color] The assistant explained that they didn't actually repair the armor he gave them, but thanks to his many generous payments, they had the funds to create an extra set of identical armor for Malakaus while his old one was undergoing maintenance. While his new armor lacked any notable upgrades from what he's used to, it would at least allow him to be properly dressed while out and about. Malakaus himself was somewhat apprehensive, but he would not deny their good work. With the assistant's help, Malakaus don his armor, fitting him just like his old one. It was cleaned and comfortable, literally brand new. He was also given his axe which the assistant had maintained himself. He admitted that aside from a few knicks the blade was well kept and there really wasn't much to do aside from changing the shaft and a polish. Regardless Malakaus handed the young lad a silver coin for his troubles and headed into the city. As he left, Malakaus also took a [url=http://i.imgur.com/PrIFeDa.jpg]shortsword[/url] and had it sheathed onto his belt, just in case. While the blade was broad, the length was relatively shorter than most of the longswords here, and may be helpful if Malakaus finds himself in a bind. 

Most knights may stay at the castle for it's luxury and company, but Malakaus had no friends aside from his coworkers up there. But in the city, he was more likely to run into familiar faces such as those from the Great Swamp Tribe. He remembers fondly back in the day where he fought that grand battle for a noble family, where only he and nine others were the survivors of one hundred orcs who fought against and army one thousand strong. Since then the survivors had made a better name for themselves, mostly knights like Malakaus, but quite a few becoming governors and administrators in their own right. Now that he thought about them, Malakaus was certain he could have recommended one of them to Eris if she wanted a comfortable occupation. Her skills at art and intelligence would have made her a great boon for one of the more decedent orcs. And aside from his kin, Malakaus would occasionally have the pleasure of seeing old faces from his travels, such as merchants he had saved or villagers who remembered him. These moments were rare, but it always made Malakaus feel good that he had helped them in the only way he knew how.

Ah, but there was one place that Malakaus loved to go to: the local tavern. While Malakaus was not a drinking himself the tavern often had pleasant company and the chance for a friendly brawl. And if anyone wanted to make it less friendly, Malakaus could certainly oblige. However before he could get there, he heard a commotion distressingly close to the castle. He went to investigate and saw that there was some sort of wizard duel going on. Magic was flying and people were running off to safety. Malakaus didn't like mages precisely for this reckless endangerment. He especially hated the mages who felt they weren't responsible for the collateral damage their magic did, and he was quite straightforward with those types: one swing and judgement would have been dealt with. So the large man in steel walked calmly towards the scene of the battle, no weapons drawn, his blatantly ignoring all the debris and shrapnel that was hitting him. He even walked undaunted into the writhing mass of stone tentacles that would likely try to beat on him, grab him, and even try to trip him, but nothing would slowed him down.

Once he got close enough he spoke clearly, loudly, over the two combatants. [color=firebrick][b][i]"Stop this right now!"[/i][/b][/color] He roared at the two. He didn't care why they were fighting, and frankly if they weren't doing it in the city he wouldn't have interrupted. But so long as they were here, Malakaus is going to keep the peace.

[@ADamnFiddle][@liferusher][@Rune_Alchemist][@Lunarlors34][@FamishedPants]

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[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/ivrDE41.png[/img]
[color=FORESTGREEN][b][h3]ATISHA ELUVIAN[/h3][/b][/color][/center]

Atisha had been spending some time trying to get a handle on the various polearms the castle had to offer. While she wasn't trained in all their uses, she felt that by adapting what she did know of spear fighting, she could adapt to using these other polearms. First and foremost, she needed a polearm with length. While she didn't need a pike, she did need something longer than your average longsword. Atisha fought with range and could easily defeat any opponent both at the tip of her spear and beyond it, though she preferred to keep them a safe distance away regardless. Second, the shaft must be flexible. Atisha often uses her weapon for mobility, and hard staffs were more prone to breaking. A flexible staff was more accommodating to her highly acrobatic fighting style. And lastly, versatility. She needed a weapon that could not only slice and dice, but hack and slash, smash and crush, trip and disarm, sunder or throw. But nothing was for free, and for all she knew there could very well be a weapon she was looking for, and Atisha just hasn't found it yet. Thus she needed to continue testing the various weapons until she felt comfortable with one of them.

What she ultimately chose was a partisan; a sort of longspear with sharpen edge to allow slashing, as well as a crescent shaped hilt to give it the appearance of a trident and parrying capabilities. Having used an actual trident before (Atisha did grow up at a fishing village after all) the weapon felt familiar to her, and she was glad to be using something that reminded her of home. She tested the abilities of this particular partisan, using it's tip to pierce through a wooden dummy with a fair amount of ease (In both stabbing and retrieving her spear), as well as leaving sizable cuts and being of decent range. While too heavy to throw, the bottom end of this particular partisan had a weighted cap allowing for a quick blunt strike, as well as bracing the polearm against an incoming charge. As for the shaft, while one preformed fairly optimally all things considered. Atisha had used it to vault herself around the courtyard and on top of various buildings, and despite it's weight being unwieldy for throwing it wasn't so heavy that she couldn't carry it with her while hopping around the castle.

As she was training she was inevitably approached by unfamiliar guardsmen who demanded to know who she was. She turned and glared at them and simply showed Malakaus emblem at them. They were hesitant at first so Atisha had to explain who she was. [color=forestgreen]"Gods above, I'm Malakaus's squire! He went to the Iron Bell headquarters to talk to whoever is in charge there. Why don't you go and get her if you're so worried?"[/color] One of the guards did do that, leaving the other behind to watch Atisha. She was told that she wasn't allowed to leave until her identity had been verified. Sighing, Atisha did not feel like causing another scene and merely waited. The guard was obviously nervous, perhaps expecting some sort of witchcraft. And while Atisha could certainly do something to him, once again she chose to simply wait.

As she waited Atisha took the time to look into the city from the top of the castle walls where she was stopped. This city was vast and, from this view, quite magnificent. From so high above she could see that the walls glowed with a brilliant light from the sun's reflection, and the hustle and bustle of the city reminded her of life back at the village. Those were sweet memories where she was still an innocent youth hoping to one day lead the village herself. She remembered the smells of apple and cinnamon being traded for their fish and alcohol. The sounds of seagulls and the waves crashing against the coast. Seeing people busy at work, some struggling and others rushing, but regardless they were satisfied. They had only a handful of warriors to protect the docks and patrol the village, but it was mostly her mother's magic that protected that village. The demon beasts could not get pass her wards, and no bandit or thief could escape their arrows. It her thoughts slowly drifted towards that one horrible night, where it wans't bandits or monsters that destroyed her home, but men on great warships.

Letting out a sad sigh Atisha did notice something off. She wasn't sure how common it was in the city, but typically she doesn't consider the rooftops to be a road. Thus, it wasn't hard for Atisha's keen eyes to notice someone running across the rooftops. Not too much further away she also saw smoke rise from a building which presumably was on fire. It didn't take her long to peice together the simple conclusion that this person running across the rooftops had just set fire to a building and was now heading in the direction of the castle. Why the castle, she wasn't sure, but she supposed that considering how easy it was for one street rat to break into the castle, now other madmen were going to invade.

[color=forestgreen]"Someone approaches the castle from the rooftops. I suspect that he isn't here for tea and cookies. If you are even slightly competent, I suggest that you gather some men and arm yourself for battle. Take ranged weapons and be wary of magic. I will stop this person myself."[/color] The guard of course wasn't going to take answers from the elf, to which she gave him a cold stare. This was a familiar paranoia that had claimed the lives of many before, so Atisha had to compromise. And she would spite this man for it. [color=forestgreen]"So be it. I will go with you, if you distrust me so much, and prepare the castle for yet another break-in that you guardsmen are too incompetent to stop in the first place. Surely you were there when chaos erupted from out first uninvited guest? You'd do well not to repeat it!"[/color] The guard sized himself up and stepped towards Atisha, saying that he doesn't follow her orders, and that she is to come with him. Rolling her eyes Atisha did follow, and sure enough he was going to get a few guards together while Atisha explained her plan.

Meanwhile back at the conference room where Maria and the others were at, a slightly panting guardsmen arrived for Maria. He waited patiently for permission before asking Maria about a elf who was on the castle walls. She had Malakaus's emblem, but none of the castle guards were informed that he had arrived with an elf of all things. Current she was being watched by a guardsmen, so hopefully they could get this all sorted out before anything extreme happened.

[@ADamnFiddle]