[Calieo]

Nethergate. Cinder. These names were foreign to the gilded warrior, but she could only assume that these places must be nearby. The black iron clad woman's question caught Calieo off guard, and she thought for a moment about how she hadn't yet properly considered what it was she sought after. It's shape was all she knew; an equilateral triangle with the edges of a sphere evenly bloating out from between the three even points.

Returning her attention to the relic peddler, Calieo smiled and put her unshielded arm on her hip. "I know not exactly what I seek, but it's some sort of key, and I know the shape of the key hole," she explained, reaching out her arms to help describe the shape, "It's about the size of a human head, and looks like a circle with three points."

"This Nethergate place you speak of, is it far from here?" Calieo then added, the question occurring as an after thought. The chances of this woman having what she needed was minimal at best, but maybe wherever she came from would be a good place to look if this city proved to be worthless. Falke had been what she'd heard a few people call it.

[Tirñea]

The large, iron gates of Tour de Rouge were impressive to say the least, Tirñea never having seen such an large city before. Nearing the stone and iron walls, Tirñea watched as people walked in and out under the large arch leading into the city. Before she continued any further, the young woman stopped in place and grabbed her staff with both hands. Forcefully she swung it down into the dirt road beneath her, fluidly swinging it into the ground three more times in different spots around her. It wasn't wise to have Sierpe tunneling under the city, so he would remain nearby and await for Tirñea to return.

Briskly the apprentice beast master made her way towards the city, almost skipping as the dirt road turned to cobblestone. The dark stone of the city loomed overhead, depictions of monsters carved atop pillars and walls. People walked past her in both directions along the wide cobblestone street, and Tirñea looked about in awe at the uniqueness of such sights. "What a gorgeous city," Tirñea commented under her breath, grinning excitedly as she further took in her surroundings.

Off the road and nearer the wall, Tirñea could see an armoured figure standing off to the side with two others. The woman in iron looked official, a city guard perhaps, and Tirñea began moving off the street to investigate. Maybe this guard could give her directions, of maybe explain a little about the city. "Pardon me," Tirñea called out as she approached, "are you with the local guard?" As she drew nearer Tirñea quickly realized how tall the knight was compared to her, and her confidence wavered slightly from the slight intimidation it brought.

Serena shook her head as she offered up the money to the hunter. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw someone staring at her, but there was no trace of such a thing when she turned her head again to get a better look. She supposed it could wait for a while, whatever it was. No sense in getting worked up before she even left the city.

“Not unless you have any supplies you would like to stock up on before we leave,” Serena answered, “I’d like to not stay and wait for too long. The hunt waits for no man, does it not?” She had little way of knowing that this man was a hunter himself, but in this city, she doubted that anyone who could fight would be anything else. Even with all her experience, Serena had been fascinated by hunting culture since she first came to the country.

“May I ask you your name?” Serena said after a pause. “I am Serena, and this is Veronica.” She gestured to her student, who nodded back to the hunter. Veronica quickly turned away, however, as she turned to face someone who was calling out to her. The knightess had never seen anyone like this before; the strange ceremonial garb and animal bones and strange staff especially intriguing her. She had never heard of anyone like this, even in her grandmother’s stories. Perhaps she was a foreigner? Veronica smiled as she spoke to her, realizing that she may have come across as somewhat intimidating.

“Oh, I’m no guard,” Veronica said. “I’m with the military here. I’ll be off on a mission soon, but I’d be happy to help you with anything before I go, if that’s why you’re asking.” Veronica supposed she herself might just be pretty glad to be getting the attention from someone in need, but surely Serena wouldn’t mind if she took a bit of time out of their schedule to help one lady.

“Nice to meet you, Rebecca.” Chambala greeted the other woman with a smile now that she was given a name. It was nice to meet FRIENDLY people. The crazy armored lady was simply insane as far as the huntress was concerned. She had her own things to deal with even without having crazy people ruining her stuff.

“Do not feel guilty on behalf of things done by others.” The wild woman added with a smile, but nodded and still took the coin, before pulling the opened leather pouch from the fur, and handed it over to her customer with a smile.” They are made from bone or wood, but each do the same thing – light up in flames.” She explained with a smile.” The activation is set to the breath of a person, like how I blew at the one earlier. It won't interfere with other things and wind won't activate it so as long as you do not blow at all of them you should be fine. The leather pouch will protect them nice and safe. Consider it a gift from me.” Chambala added with a smile as she quickly stood up as she handed over the pouch.

“And now with those cleaned up, I can get going. I couldn't sell the normal trinkets, but it's fine.” She smiled as she put the few remaining talismans into her bag and quickly rolled up the fur blanket, strapping it to her bag.

“Hmm paths across the river... hmmm no. I don't know any that can be traversed at this time of the year.” The huntress stated and looked at Rebecca. Seemed the other woman also wanted to cross over to the other side.” At the driest parts of the year there are a few places that can get low enough to ford/swim with danger of the current taking you away. Also at the worst parts of the winters there are a few places where ice can cover it completely, but it's also not certain. The only way I know for sure is to walk the long away around...sadly.” She explained with displeased voice.

“So you want to cross over to the other side of the river also?” Chambala asked Rebecca.” Truth is that I live in the Iron Sap Forest so the bridge burning down caught be by... unpleasant surprise. I'm currently stocking up on last supplies before heading out myself. It will be a long journey, but there's no choice if I want to get home in time to have the chance to start preparing for the winter.”

That said, her eyes got drawn to the golem and it's rather noisy seller on top of it.” That's... a strange thing ... to say the least.” She said with curios voice, she's heard of golems before, but never actually came across one till now.” Wonder how many hits it would take to go down...” Was her next trail of thoughts as a huntress.

Through some stroke of good fortune instead of losing those he was trying to shadow, the golden warrior appeared to have tired of her companions and pushed her way towards the lady on the Golem. She was not subtle with her questioning, confirming Bafford's information that she was after some magical trinket. Cain noted she had yet to mention anything about travelling companions though, which would sort of defeat the purpose of selling his services.

Even then she wasn't overly sure what she was actually searching for, from what Cain had seen thus far she was not overly smart. After all, Cain was a walking social faux pas and even he took longer to get on people's bad sides.

As the warrior and the vendor conversed between each other Cain took the opportunity to work through the crowd slightly further to finally decide if this woman was someone he'd even want to follow, money or no.

Cain gently pushed a shopper to the side which for some reason the shopper seemed to take as an opportunity to strike up conversation, rooting Cain in place so as not to avoid suspicion.

"Crazy times these" he said simply, scratching at his stubble in thought "Guards will just let anyone in these days, oughta be stricter about that sorta thing I think. Two wackos brought in to Falke from the bridge burning is the kinda stuff that leaves me up at night."

Cain was silent for a moment before realizing this was his cue to add something to the conversation. Anything.

"With hesitance. Er, yes. As a law abiding citizen this congregation fills me with fear also. I too would opt for more vigilant security." Cain said in a deadpan manner that made him mentally stab himself. It did not help play to the man's fears and keep his eyes off Cain, instead coming across as more derisive and mocking. Enunciating his emotions as per usual was a tic that Cain could rarely seem to control and at times like this it could become quite the burden.

"Hes- What? Yer soundin' none less queer than the rest of 'em friend..." The man turned to address Cain but trailed off after his sentence concluded, instead he diverted his full attention to Cain and eyed the leather clad bowman with a mixture of curiosity and hostile suspicion. "Those are some awfully strange clothes yer wearing if I may say friend."

"Assuring. I know." Cain couldn't frown but he shifted his body slightly to look the man in the eye, attempting to make the man back down without brandishing one of his weapons, even implying the use of it could cause the man to go into hysterics.

The man was unfettered as he continued staring intently at Cain, a few of the people standing next to the two of them beginning to take notice and stealing aside glances.

The warm smile on her lips faded slightly as the woman described the item in question. Nothing good could ever come from that thing. She hadn't seen the item itself, just heard about it and seen a drawing back in the days. Markings on the walls, an altar. Her father would know what and probably where the item was, and that troubled her. Denise had no intentions of returning to that place for quite a while.

"Neathergate is quite a long distance away. If you walk it'll take a very long time. Especially now that the bridge has been burned down. I've got my means of getting over anyway. Besides, I can travel pretty quickly due to my golem. Cinder is pretty much as far as the bridge, and then the same distance once again. Then you have to travel the seas to get to Neathergate.

Denise shook her head and thought about where she came from. It wasn't really a nice place to be honest. She turned her head towards the woman once again. "I know of it, but; why are you looking for it anyway? And how much are you willing to give up for it?" She smirked as she looked at the woman.

Well, they looked like they knew what they were doing, and at least one of them was older than him. Old people knew stuff, and it was always more than you thought they knew. It had cost him only one month but a small fortune in gold before he'd learned that lesson. Seemed she'd been expecting a hunter, since she guessed correctly what he was, not that there were a great variety of professions to chose from. She was right again though, the hunt waits for no man. Or monster, but mainly man. "I'm Jaime," He grinned, "Jaime Cartarsy, or something along those lines. Been a while since I've bothered to use it." He turned to greet Veronica as well, but she had already gone on to meet someone else. Rude. The newcomer, however, was interesting. She certainly wasn't from around here, not based on the way she was dressed, and she carried a really big stick. As in, really big. Like, if you it someone with it, it might actually hurt, big. He turned back to Sarena.
"Sooooo," He began, "What exactly are we looking for? I mean who, not what. Sorry, most of the time I'm going for monsters, about ten, twenty times my size. Those are the small ones." Looking at her face, he saw that, yeah- no, she wasn't going to be impressed by that. "But seriously, who are we after?"

[Tirñea]

The knight's smile eased what slight anxiety Tirñea felt asking this stranger for aid. The people here on Abbaden were all so tall, and pale compared to anyone she knew from her homeland. Her father had been one of the tallest people she knew until now, and he was only about the height of the nearby man who was talking to the woman in the flowing green dress. Though the two others weren't in uniform like the knight, Tirñea could assume the three of them had been discussing something given their vicinity to one another, and as the knight finished speaking Tirñea was already reaching for the bag she kept hidden beneath her cloak.

"Um, y-yes, thank you," Tirñea smiled, realizing she was having trouble getting her pack off with just one arm. Briefly checking to be sure it wouldn't hit anyone, Tirñea let go of her staff and let it drop to the ground with a dull thud. With both arms now free the rope shoulder straps were easy to take off, and hastily she pulled open the drawstring so she could dig about her pack. "I am- uh, visiting Abbaden in search of beasts. Wildlife, not for hunting... maybe," Tirñea began to explain, briefly considering Sierpe's need to eat as she thought about her goal. A moment later Tirñea produced the map from her bag, folded into a neat little square of time worn, stained paper.

The square was soon unfolded to a rectangle, revealing a map of Abbaden and it's surrounding isles. The map however was clearly out of date to anyone that knew Abbaden, one of the most immediately noticeable differences was the lack of smaller towns and villages. The three capitols of Abbaden remained, but many things were unlabeled and the terrain drawn differently as if it hadn't been yet explored. The island of the Foji had no detail, as did Nethergate. Nethren Port and Cinder didn't seem to exist, and a few portions of the Hollow Forest were shaded in red for some reason. "I am correct to say that we are in... Tower dee Rouhge, yes?" Tirñea began, pointing to the city's place on the map as she showed it to the knight.

[Calieo]

Calieo listened intently to what the merchant had to say, displeased as her description of the journey ahead was drawn out longer and longer. How far this bridge was Calieo had no idea, but it already sounded like a lot of work and the knight felt herself tire just thinking about what it could mean. Caught up in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice when the merchant began talking again, her voice nearly lost to the clamour of the market place. The fact that this merchant claimed to know anything about what Calieo sought after brought up many questions, the greatest of which being who had the death wish and why they would steal from the Pillars of Light.

The merchant's smug grin was met with an irritable glare from Calieo, her hand twitching slightly closer to her weapon out of impulse. "Why I need that relic is none of your concern," she began, speaking sternly as if correcting a child, "all you need to know is that it belongs to me, and without it your world will be doomed to fester in it's building pile of failures. Your currency does not concern me, and if it's a problem for whomever has what I seek, I'd like to personally speak with them regarding the importance of my quest." Satisfied with her retort, Calieo returned the merchant's smirk from earlier, her hand now resting on the hilt of her weapon absentmindedly.

Serena laughed. It had been a while since she felt like she was talking to an actual person, instead of some Choir soldier or official. Usually they had all of the quirkiness trained out of them.

“Well hopefully they will be big enough for you,” She said, beginning to count off on each of her fingers. “The one you will probably notice first; tall, with long blonde hair. You might think he looks more like a lady, at first. He has been seen using both light and blood magic. Some of my colleagues insist he has ties to the old government, but he looks as if he is is in his twenties.” It was, of course, twenty five years since The Choir toppled that old government. Few remembered much of it, their rule being best characterised as graceful and delicate, a subtle, guiding hand in contrast to the iron fist that one might expect just by looking at the city.

“The next is a young girl,” Serena continued. “Around fifteen years old. She wears the heavy hooded garb of Loyalitat’s spiritualists, so we do not know very much about what she looks like. She seems to be a non-combatant. After that, there is a golem. It is sleeker than most golems, though it is mounted with weapons, and it can even fly. You will most likely know it when you see it. The last is their leader. He wears heavy black armor; made of sky iron. He carries a shield and a sword that seems to be a replica of Orion’s sword, if it is not the genuine article. Getting him dead or alive is our highest priority.” She took a deep breath, looking to the gate and back to Jaime.

“That is the gist of what we know at the moment,” Serena concluded. “They seem to be travelling South; my guess is that they will make a break for Nethern Port. Do you have any more questions? There is a cart willing to take us a good distance, if you wish.” Meanwhile, Veronica continued speaking with the foreign lady, trying to seem as if she wasn't inconveniencing her.

“The people here love hunting beasts more than bothering to do much else with them,” Veronica explained. “But there’s still a lot left, at least from what I hear. And that’s not counting the demons and such.” She watched as the other woman unfolded her map. It looked pretty old and out of date, maybe because she lived so far away. She didn’t know why some parts were red, though. The knight nodded when she was asked if they were in Tour de Rouge.

“Tour de Rouge,” Veronica said. “Yeah. One of the biggest cities on the island. If it’s beasts you’re looking for, the hunters here might know something.” She adjusted her hold on Maugris, holding the shaft closer to the hammer while letting the rest of the pole rest more comfortably on the ground.

---

Rebecca smiled back at Chambala before she examined the devices. Their design was rather simple, but that was what made them interesting to her. Perhaps The Choir might benefit from having more items like these, instead of the more complex and flashy design philosophies that had always been prevalent in Tour de Rouge. It was something she was guilty of herself, if she was honest. She explained a multitude of ways that one might bypass the river, but none of them appealed to Rebecca. It probably wouldn’t do her any good if she tried, especially if they stationed soldiers along the riverside.

“You live in the forest?” Rebecca asked. “That explains a lot. N-nothing bad, that is. But anyways, I grew up in the Twilight Fields. I was hoping to head home before winter. I guess it’ll be a long trip…” She turned her attention back to the golem and its master. The lady in the golden armor was speaking to her, as if there weren’t enough indication that she was trouble. Rebecca personally envied the good old days when she could count on golems to do most of her work, though the way Chambala spoke about the one in question gave her enough cause to abandon her reminiscing.

“Don’t you go picking fights with any golems,” Rebecca exclaimed sternly. “Okay? At least not without a good reason and a good plan. You can hit one of them as many times as you like, but I don’t want to see whatever’s left of you after it hits you once.” She turned her attention back to that armored lady, not sure whether to continue seeking her out.

“Yes, I live in the forest. Is that a problem?” Chambala asked, slightly tilting her head in curiosity. She found it so odd how people were always so surprised or shocked that she lived in the forest. Granted she never had seen anyone live in the forest beside herself, but it still was her home since she was a child. She even had taught the hunters that sometimes entered the Iron Sap Forest to avoid certain areas if they wanted to live cause well her traps were placed at those and her traps were incredibly deadly. She had to bail them out not once before they learned. It was lucky no one lost their lives. Now they knew and what's more she had even placed up warnings at certain places where her traps were located such as small signs or things written into the bark of the trees. She missed her home.

“So we are practically neighbors!” Chambala said with a smile when the other woman said where she was from.” Great, we can travel together then! If we are lucky and no problems arise on the road, we should be there before winter starts to settle in.” She nodded in pleased manner and stretched now that all her things were gathered. She was ready to leave the market square and head back to that inn she was at. Nice enough place, where she could leave her provisions and other random things she has been buying for a few days now in preparation to leave.” Yes, it will be a long trip, but if we leave tomorrow morning, we should get there in time. Hopefully unless winter starts early this year which is definitely a possibility. Have you stocked on traveling supplies? If no, I can show you a few good shops to buy provisions.” The fur clad woman said with a smile, turning towards Rebecca. She didn't know why, but she found the woman pretty good company quite fast. Maybe she was missing interactions now that her trusty friend died and craved company.

“Hey, I have my ways to fight such things...” Chambala replied in almost pouting manner.” And I've not tried fighting a golem just yet. I was just wondering in case I ever had to. If such thing tries to fight me at my territory in the forest, I'd tear it apart with my traps. There are a few traps I specially made to fight beasts and other things that are too big or sturdy to fight from up close.” She stated with a smirk.” You should see them, they can take out a bear in just a moment. Anyways, do you plan to talk to that... goldy thing or do you want to leave now?” She asked.

"I would recommend ye take yer leave as quick as ye can friend." The man said with a slight snarl that offset his previously polite responses.

Cain was at an impasse, he was here to collect information and make an informed decision on what he wished to do next, but staying would certainly cause this man to alert the guards and the surrounding crowds, Cain probably could escape them with his knowledge from the city but that in itself would be a major inconvenience and would keep guards on the lookout for him. Yet even despite all these variables, from a sense of annoyance Cain really did not want to let this guy talk down to him with no issue.

"With further reassurance. Why don't you-" Cain was interrupted when the man grabbed a handful of the back of his hood.

"I said you'd best leave, friend! Or perhaps take the consideration to dress with much less-" The man himself was interrupted with a savage punch to his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending the man hunched over on the ground. Cain readjusted his hood.

"Enjoyment. As a professional, am ashamed to admit it but; did enjoy that much more than should have. Please refrain from harassing citizens in the future." Cain said quickly, as if to conclude his turn in this petty battle of one upsmanship.

Swiftly and before the man could even start alerting the guards, the immediate surrounding crowd had turned their attention to the two, Cain began pushing his way through the mass of humanity. Blending in was finished but if he was quick the descriptions of him may get jumbled up and wrong.

"It was him! It was the freak in the leather armour!" A woman helpfully pointed out from one of the crowd, prompting others to yell out vague pieces of information on Cain and others to call for the guards proper.

Amass the sea of angry faces trying to push him back or hurling insults in his face, Cain kept his head down and continued pushing and squeezing his way to the edge of the crowd.

The golem under Denise shifted uncomfortably during the conversation. The fundamental difference between soulbound golems and normal ones, this one had a mind of it's own. Denise's former sister was like any other person, so to speak, however she could not go against anything that Denise said, or do anything to harm her. She was a slave, no more, no less. But now this slave was getting uncomfortable.

Denise patted the golem's head. "Oh, but it might turn into my concern. Because if you want to go there, you'll need me as a guide. And that place is incredibly deadly, and the person who might hold the information you seek is not kind to strangers. So...currency does not concern me too much, my life however...is a very different matter."

She paused for a while. "So..how much are you willing to give up? Your life? Limbs? Your soul, cast to eternal damnation?" Denise chuckled. "Because there's no way I'm going back out there without knowing your commitment, and what's in it for me, of course."

[Tirñea]

Tirñea listened intently to everything the knight had to say, only catching a few snippets of the conversation directly beside them. Mentally she ran over the correct pronunciation of the city a few times, then took a moment to consider everything she'd been told to keep her next question from sounding foolish. Was everyone in this city a hunter? The knight had spoken of such an activity like it was a common pass time, the idea worrying Tirñea since as far as she knew the beasts in this land could be very dangerous.

"The hunters?" Tirñea questioned, still unsure who the knight was directing her towards. Quickly she looked around at the people walking in and out of the city, nobody in particular standing out other than what few individuals carried weapons. Looking back to the knight, Tirñea noticed as the woman adjusted her hold on the hammer she carried, then realized the other two nearby were also carrying weaponry. Though she looked most like what Tirñea could imagine a hunter as, the knight had already explained that she was military. The other two weren't wearing any uniform by the looks of it though, and since they were close it was a fair guess. "Those two," Tirñea started, lowering her map and looking towards the woman in green and man in red, "are they hunters?" She spoke softly enough to try and avoid being overheard by either of them, but since they were so near it was a little obvious that her attention was now on them.

The man in red's response caught Tirñea off guard, though his cheerful demenour elicited a smile from the startled girl. "Tirñea, it is nice to meet you too," she replied, fairly pleased that this Jaimie fellow had introduced himself as a hunter. He spoke cheerfully, introducing the other two he was with but omitting their names. If the woman in green was paying Jaimie to kill something she might not be a hunter after all, but rather than assume Tirñea stayed silent to see what she or the knight might have to say.

---

[Calieo]

Calieo's grin deflated the moment the merchant began to explain her tedious demands again. Still though, the knight listened to what ashen skinned woman had to say. The idea of a guide was insulting at best, even if Calieo knew absolutely nothing regarding the place she wanted to travel. Still though, she'd known nothing of what the mountains would be like to navigate, and here she was without so much as a few bruises. An informed decision just might be beneficial this time around though, if all that the merchant was saying had even some truth to it.

"I know not what this 'soul' you speak of is, but you should know that I'm not only willing, but eager to give up life and limb to find what I need," Calieo proposed, hoping the answer would somehow please this uncooperative fool. Whatever sacrifices needed to be made would be done, and though Calieo truthfully meant what she'd just said, there were far more expendable lives and limbs than her own. After thinking for a moment though, the knight considered that these things might not be enough still. These people were obsessed with currency, such a wasteful practice, but still perhaps it could serve a purpose.

For a moment Calieo looked around the market, her eyes watching as people exchanged handfuls of metal discs. Dull browns, soft greys, and the heavily contrasted glimmer of gold. A short ways away, the sight of someone pushing their way through the crowds amidst angry shouting brought a slight grin the Calieo's lips, then she finally returned her attention to the merchant standing above her. "Perhaps, if you would be willing to aid me in such a noble cause, there would be plentiful compensation of the- shiny variety," Calieo proposed, failing to recall a word for valuable things. "Though I carry nothing with me, with my influence I can ensure whatever amount of monetary compensation you require will be fulfilled. That is, if you're willing to help me reach my goal," Calieo went on, putting on a more sincere smile this time and raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

Seeing that no reply had been immediately forthcoming, the foreign travellers enquiry caught his ear. He turned and flashed her a smile and a wink, "Jaimie Cartarsy, monster and demon hunter," he gave a slight bow, "Pleased to meet you, miss..." He wondered if she had a foreign name to match her look, or if she'd just chosen a more local one. He hoped she hadn't, he quite liked the way a lot of foreign names tended to roll of the tongue, those of his own country always seemed a bit blunt. She did look foreign, though, and he'd certainly not seen many people who looked like her before. Her eyes in particular, a deep shade of green, were very interesting. He'd have to ask her about where she came from at some point, you can't travel everywhere, and hearing about it was the next best thing.

If she replies, Jaimie would smile again and say, "I like that name, far more...imaginative, than some others around here. Sounds good to." He repeats the name a few more times to himself, smiling. "Of the lovely lady in green, I can tell you little except that she has given me money and something to kill, so she is, to all intents and purposes, the greatest lady in this vicinity at the moment." He looked up at the armour clad Veronica who stood behind the girl, "She's cool to. If only because I fear what she'll do if I say otherwise."

Rebecca shook her head when Chambala asked her if she had a problem with where she lived. It wasn’t the type of conversation she deemed to be worth continuing. In fact, she didn’t want to dig herself into some sort of hole. She couldn’t imagine living in the forest, herself. So far removed from civilization and its triumphs, she wondered if she would go bored out of her mind in such a situation. Even her interest in the arts would serve her little in such a place.

“Travelling together would be a great idea,” Rebecca said. “But you’ll probably have to show me around to those shops. I haven’t really gotten around to getting supplies yet.” Rebecca looked forward to having Chambala along on this journey if nothing else. She didn’t think that Chambala was the kind of person that she could have a discussion about animus theory with, but she was otherwise a rather pleasant person who wasn’t hard to look at and could probably hold her own in a fight. Perhaps she would ask if the forest hunter had any interest in music, later.

“Well, if you say so.” Rebecca responded when her friend claimed to be able to take a golem down. It certainly sounded impressive, at any rate. Chambala then asked her if she wanted to resume trying to talk to the woman in the golden armor, and Rebecca was reminded that this was what she meant to do in the first place.

“Ah, yes,” Rebecca said. “I think I’ll go do that no-” She was interrupted as commotion broke out in the nearby crowd. People were calling the guards, intent on stopping whatever irritant was disturbing the relative peace of the market. Rebecca shook her head. She would like to avoid running into anything resembling authority in Falke, if at all possible. The closest thing to help that she would be getting if she got caught would be another agent getting rid of her and whatever valuable information she had left behind.

“By Calieo and Selinae’s light combined this is the wor-” Rebecca started, cutting herself off and calming down with a deep sigh. “Let’s just grab what we need, Chambala. Our path isn’t getting any shorter. Perhaps we’ll run into her again later.” Rebecca had never stuck with the faith of her homeland quite as well as her sister did, but she nevertheless didn't feel right saying such things at the slightest provocation.

---

Veronica was about to answer Tirnea’s question before Jaimie did it for her, at least partially. While she wasn’t too fond of the way that Jaimie spoke of her, she wasn’t sure if Serena was ever a hunter herself, having never gotten the idea to ask. But with the stories her teacher told to her, she wouldn’t be surprised if it was the case at some point. Serena turned her head towards Tirnea, seeing fit to address her now that her dealings with Jaimie had lulled for the moment.

“My name is Serena,” she said, “And this is my student, Veronica. I have experienced many professions in my time, but for now, my only duty is ensuring that Veronica succeeds on her journey. We will likely be travelling across the continent, and you are welcome to join us if you wish. I can reward you if you would be willing to aid us on our mission, but if not, I would ask that you not do anything reckless if we get into trouble.” Serena looked the foreign lady over, something cold and analytical washing over her eyes for but a moment before it receded to her usual demeanor.

“You are Pinuran,” Serena continued, somewhat quieter, but not enough to seem suspicious. “Are you not? If you decline, I would still advise you not stay in this city for too long. The Choir is not so trusting of your homeland, and they are not kind to those who they believe are sticking their noses where they do not belong.” Serena would have preferred it if she were to come along with them, even if it were just for a fellow foreign perspective on events.

Chambala noted the way Rebecca reacted to the commotion that was starting to unfold in the market. It was a reaction of slight concern that clearly meant the woman didn't want to be caught her for some reason. Frankly Chambala was pretty sure it was something connected to the war as the woman was living on the borders, but that was not of the wild woman's concern. She just smiled, nodded and pointed a direction lightly with her spear.” Alright, follow me, the supplies shop's this way.” She stated with a happy voice.” They offer some of the best dried and salted meats around these parts. There's also a stand that sells dried fruits near the butchery too. Makes for incredibly good teas and drinks!” Chambala said as she led the way, nimbly making a path through the people on the market, big enough for her and Rebecca. It wasn't really that hard as most people tried to keep a distance from her, partly for her wild looks and partly for the very sharp looking spear she had. She carried a very ' don't mess with me' air about it.

“There it is.” She said when they finally left the market and nearby was a building that had the distinct smell of meat about it.” You can buy meat provisions from here and over there are the dried fruits.” Chambala explained with a smile and once more led the way forward thought more slowly this time now that they were outside the market.

“After here, we will only need to pass by the tavern I was staying at, so I can grab the rest of my things.” She added, throwing a curios look at Rebecca.” Ahh yeah, fresh fruits and veggies are better to be bought directly from the farms on our way. Prices will be about the same if not cheaper and we will be able to pick the best produce.”

Denise could not help but to laugh at the knight in front of her. She was amusing to no end. No idea of how the world worked. No interest in it either it seemed like. In that regard they were quite similar. She did not care about the world, but about herself, mostly anyway. The grunt of the golem called her back to reality and she patted its head. They had a weird partnership, Denise and her golem, the sister was always the voice of reason and calm. But Denise could not tear herself away from this intriguing woman.

"Well, monetary wasn't the biggest concern that I had, but I'll take it anyway. Resolve however is different. Where we are going there is no room for doubts." Well, if the knight wavered, at least she'd get a good meal. If her father did not take her for his experiments. She smiled before she looked around the crowd and noticed the commotion. The figure really stood out to her. The emotions of fear and rage around him washed over her. But he himself was calm....dead. That gave her pause for a moment.

"Interesting," she said with a wide grin on her face. "Be a good golem and collect him for me. But leave the stuff behind," She patted its head and jumped down in front of the knight just as the golem dropped the backpack and saddle it was carrying with a heavy thud which cracked the stone on which it landed. It roared and took off towards the man with heavy footsteps, causing people to flee it's path.

Denise closed the distance to the knight and started inspecting her. She sniffed the knight, ran a hand along the armour. Delicious...was her first thought. The pious always tasted better... She wanted to gobble her up.. She stared hungrily at the knight's face for a few moments until she caught herself and cleared her throat. "I guess we should get going once my golem returns with that man.." She said and looked around.

Cain continued pushing his way through the crowd of people however they began readily moving out of his way, some even fleeing in the opposite direction, for a moment Cain wondered about this but then the ground shook below him as he received his answer. The giant golem was approaching with unknown intent, Cain very quickly recognized it as being the companion to the strange merchant women, chiefly because he hadn't seen many other golems around recently.

With the crowd now separating Cain was standing unopposed as the golem continued charging towards his position, Cain briefly considered running now and eluding the lumbering creature but some of his clients may be looking on and that sets a rather poor impression. The golem was too close now to fire any sort of arrow at it that'd do some real harm so instead Cain opted to outmaneuver the beast and get into a much more advantageous position.

In a move that seemed to surprise onlookers and see the hooded man as having quite the deathwish today, Cain began sprinting towards the golem, approaching rapidly as the two picked up more and more speed from across the market place. As he drew close Cain unexpectedly dropped underneath the massive golem into a sliding motion, flying by the speed of his forward propulsion under the golem's huge legs. With any luck the golems momentum would continue it forward and cause it to stumble as it got its bearings. Cain hoped anyway, today had not been overly fortuitous and Cain would prefer it not to conclude by being smacked around courtesy of a steel golem.

[Tirñea]

       When Serena introduced herself Tirñea smiled and nodded in her direction, listening as she began to shed light on the reason these three had been gathered near the gates. The fact that she was a teacher caught the Piñuran girls attention, Serena and Veronica looking to be about the same age which was somewhat suprising. Perhaps Veronica was new to whatever trade they were participating in, which could explain why she was the only one in armour.

       The offer to join these people was tempting, and Tirñea looked down at her map again to better grasp what traveling across the continent would be like. Though she didn't know these people in the slightest they all seemed polite and respectable, and while their destination was a mystery Tirñea knew she had to start her adventure somehow. Then there was the added bonus of being 'rewarded' should she be able to aid them in whatever their mission was, the nature of which also unknown but would more than likely be explained. It all seemed like a good idea, and worst case scenario if they turned out to be dangerous people Tirñea figured they could all be worm food.

       Upon returning her attention to Serena, Tirñea was met with an empty and serious pair of eyes looking her up and down. The woman's earlier personality returned after a moment, and she continued to explain her offer by outlining the possible downsides of declining. Tirñea thought about all that had been said for a moment, then nodded to herself before giving an answer.

       "I think," she began, starting to fold her map into it's compacted little square, "If you would not care that I join you, I will be happy to come along." With that Tirñea brought herself to smile again, and she quicky put her map away so she could slide her pack back on. Lastly she knelt down to retrieve her staff, pulling the cudgel upright and leaning into it a little as she stood up. "I have only just arrived at the city, so I am ready already to leave again," she smiled, letting the weight of her staff gently tilt itself back and forth in her grasp.

[Calieo]

The merchant's laugh suprised the gilded knight, and she immediately took offense to her response. If it weren't for her perch atop that stone beast Calieo would have gutted her for such disrespect. Her armour left her stomach exposed, an appealing choice from a stylistic point of view, but moronic given how weak mortal flesh could be. Not wanting to allude her violent intentions Calieo kept her expression stern and unamused, waiting for a proper response from the merchant.

When she did speak again, the fact that she wasn't overly concerned with currency was a bit of a surprise but beneficial considering Calieo had none. Her informal agreement to the knight's offer was of greater interest however, and brought the slightest grin to Calieo's otherwise serious visage. The merchant seemed to lack confidence in Calieo's request though, another insult, but she'd learn respect if the two were to travel together. "Doubt is for those with trivial goals in life. I know what I want and will have it, I need you only to show me where to go," the gilded warrior explained, her temper being tested again when the merchant's attention went elsewhere.

While the merchant had her eyes elsewhere, Calieo blew off a little steam by raising her shielded arm and dragging the sabre through the air in line with the woman's neck. Necks were vulnerable, something she didn't appreciate about her own armour, but she'd done the best she could crafting it with all the information she could compile. Calieo lowered her arm as the merchant returned her attention to where it was deserved, and briefly thought about gutting her again now that she'd sent her rock creature off to do something. Such ideas were reinforced when the merchant drew closer, and her invasiveness had Calieo about ready to try bludgeoning her to death. The only indication of displeasure she let through was the slightest twitch of her lip, and she inhaled deeply when their faces drew close together. When the merchant didn't move away Calieo took a step back herself, bringing her new guide back to reality and eliciting another response. "The sooner we depart the better," Calieo muttered, her attention being dragged to the commotion only a short ways away.

Before Rebecca turned to follow Chambala, she noticed that the monster of a golem that they had their eye on before was pursuing someone. He was putting on a good show of evading it, but she doubted it would stay so self-contained if it went on much longer. Things would probably get hairy either way.

“Hold up for a moment, please.” Rebecca said to her friend as she took the large case off of her back and laid it against the ground. Her hand moved over the combination lock on the side, flipping the numbers to the correct combination and resetting it incredibly quickly as the case made a bizarre hissing noise. She undid the latches on either side of the lock and opened the case, withdrawing her invention and throwing the strap around her back. The brass pieces of the weapon glistened softly in the partially obscured sunlight as Rebecca closed the case and slung it back over her shoulder. She stood up, re-adjusting her balance slightly.

“Okay,” Rebecca decided with a smile. “Just needed to make sure I'm ready in case things start going sour. Let’s go.” She appreciated the way that Chambala could get people to move out of their way. She hoped that she would have that kind of influence someday, at least among her peers. Another thing to look forward to, she supposed. She took Chambala’s advice to heart and bought some smaller items, enough that she could fit them in her bottomless bag without her worrying about it. If she remembered the maps well enough, there were enough towns along the way that she wouldn’t have to worry too much about running out of food until they got to the forests. She wasn’t too picky about what she bought as long as it would last a good while, not considering herself a gourmet or chef by any stretch, and refrained from any small talk.

“Got it,” Rebecca said to Chambala once she was done. “How long have you been doing this sort of thing? It sounds like you’re pretty experienced with your route.”

---

“Very good,” Serena said. “We will be departing shortly, then.” She leaned down to pick up her bag and slung it over her shoulder, holding her naginata in her other hand. She made her way to the main gates, with her student following closely behind. Veronica’s positive attitude began to fade somewhat as she passed the city’s threshold, the cloudy expanse of the outside world reminding her of the weight of her mission.

“Veronica,” Serena said suddenly. “Are you truly ready? I can still leave you in Glint’s care while I finish the mission. I do not mind the extra burden.” Veronica nodded.

“I’m going to uphold Aegea’s honor,” Veronica declared. “It’s what she would have wanted of me.” Serena sighed and shook her head. In her mind, what Aegea wanted was not always best, but she wouldn’t tell Veronica that. She eventually found what she was looking for. A bearded older man sat at the front of a simple wagon, attached to a couple of horses and filled with a few wooden boxes of varying size, though there was a fair amount of space in the back for a few passengers. Serena gave him a simple wave to catch his attention, and he looked towards them.

“I was told I’d be getting paid extra if I gave a few Choir folks a ride down South to the logging village along with the usual shipments,” He said, to which Serena nodded. “I won’t be going any farther than that, and you’re hoofin’ it if I decide you’re attracting too much trouble. Got it?” Serena nodded once more, offering a quick “thank you” before turning back to her student. She and Veronica threw their bags onto the wagon and waited for the others to board it.