The clouds were dark and matted like unclean wool, leaving only a few slits for the sun to shine through. Not many knew about the clouds, or understood the finer details of weather. But any old fool could tell that staying outside for too long was a bad idea with weather like this. It was going to be a rainy evening. But the knights passing through Corsa didn't really care all that much about a little rain. If a few kids caught the sniffles, too bad. The greater good called for attention. Lefonderous wasn't too keen on the idea of a greater good though. Just what did those clunky metal-heads have to say that it was important enough to gather the entire town? He quietly trailed past a few citizens that moved further up into the crowd that gathered in front of him. Hundreds of people arrived, he was actually awfully surprised. Who knew this town would have so many obedient men and women, ready to rush to the knight's heels at a moment's notice?

Tall, and writhing about in sturdy, iron armour, stood one of the royal guard's lieutenants, sir Kevin Wiff. His pointed helmet clanged lightly as he struggled to read his summons through the slits in its visor. He relented, and pulled the metal cage off of his head, tossing his straightened ebony hair into a curly mess as people glared at him, standing at the edge of his caravan with several other men and women, fully clad in similar suits. 'engines of dread' Lefonderous thought, eyeing the royal uniform anxiously from the back of the crowd. Those metal suits were scary. Arrows didn't get through that shiny stuff too easily, and taking a gauntlet to the chest hurt like hell. He rubbed his upper chest and managed a lightly grunt, clearing his throat, and his mind, of an unsavoury memory. When were these buffoons going to start their little announcement?

Isolde grabbed the edges of her thick cloak and pulled it tighter around herself, shivering a bit with the chill. The motion pulled the fabric which resulted in the hood coming loose from her head and her messy hair being pulled along with it. Isolde made no further move to adjust the careful arrangement as she finally felt a degree warmer, hugging herself. Perhaps it wasn’t that cold - but Isolde had a chill she’d been unable to rid herself of since she left Arngrim and the dreary sky made it worse.

Isolde had watched the royal guard arrive and had a feeling she knew what the meeting in the town was about. She was one of the first of what would probably become many individuals coming from Arngrim to get away from the aftermath of the attack. The royal family could not turn a blind eye to the blatant disregard for life and the throne. Isolde sat on the edge of the cleared out square and watched as hundreds of citizens poured in for the message. She had decided, upon arriving at Arngrim, that she would keep to the sidelines. That’s what she usually did as a servant, anyway. But here it was different, here she was making the deliberate decision to keep herself separate. The more people arrived, the colder she became. This would be the perfect place and time for another attack, wouldn’t it? Isolde hugged herself tighter as images of the aftermath and of her “family” flickered through her mind.

It came quickly. Panic. She looked around, more and more people, all of them strangers. She couldn’t trust any of them. She didn’t know them. She didn’t know anyone anymore. They were all taken from her. In a crowded city, not much different from this. Her eyes fixated on the makeshift podium as she began to hyperventilate. She was trying to keep herself quiet - to avoid attention. But the strange feelings were consuming. She was unable to stem the feelings of panic.

Yyma awoke as the first rays of daylight greeted his closed eyes, cascading over the wooded campsite. Rolling over in his sleeping bag into a bowed position he recited his daily prayer.

"Aho Pachamama, Great Spirit. Thank you for waking me and allowing me another opportunity to serve you today. Please watch over me and lead my hand to do your highest will and bidding. Heal me, Teach me, Guide me, Know me. Please fill me with your boundless love so that I may share it with those in need and do your work. Help me to remain strong in my virtue and be rooted in the face of the evil. This I ask and I give thanks, aho."

As if to acknowledge the intention, the sun shone brightly for a brief short moment, before becoming enveloped by a blanket of thick nimbostratus clouds. Despite this, the forest teemed with life; birds sang in heavenly choirs offering songs of praise, squirrels skipped nimbly from branch to branch, taking impressive leaps from one tree to another, and ants could be seen out marching at full force, collecting any last minute supplies or rations for the coming winter. The changing of the foliage filled Yyma with great delight, seeing the multitude of hues move in unison to the breeze as leaves performed their final dances of the season. In the high desert mountains the autumunal change was minimal and in the great jungles of the south this did not occur. Having only touched down in Lhivoria such a short time ago this was taken as a great omen, representing the changes that have taken place and those that were to come, Yyma was in a state of much contentment. After completing a rotation of pranayam and asanas taught by a beloved medicine yogi in the desert, Yyma broke down his simple camp and set foot for Corsa, residing only a few miles west of his current position.

The dreary sky blanketed over the vast land with a sense of sadness,in which Yyma used as an opportunity to liven things up with music. Thumbing the artefact hanging by a leather cord around his neck it transformed into his beloved charango. Running his fingers across the neck, Yyma began a familiar tune that was taught to him in the jungle. He played for much of the solitary walk until he felt his mood shifted, when simultaneously he overcame a small hill bringing the city of Corsa into view. The sight of his vision manifested sent a surge of energy through his body and he returned the instrument to it's natural state, lounging around his neck. Yyma continued the remainder of the trek in silence, focusing on breathing and mental clarity, allowing the sounds of nature to nourish his being. As he approached the entry gates to the city, the lack of ambient noise from within was a bit offputting. Yyma had imagined a much more bustling environment, pushing these thoughts to the side and maintaining an optimistic approach, he passed through the entryway received by a silent welcome party.

A few minutes more of exploration revealed a rather large gathering of people in the hundreds at the town's square, not his preferred scene. Scouting for the point of focus he came across an armoured man, who appeared to be readying to deliver a decree of sorts. Sight of the polished metal gave Yyma a great sense of unease as it began triggering an internal flashback, grabbing hold of the Blessed Orgonite he whispered a prayer to himself and the feeling and images associated quickly subsided. Maintaining his distance but staying close enough to hear, Yyma strayed the edges of the mass of people when he felt a pang of fear ripple through the air. Taking a deep inhale grounding himself, he focused on the source of the energy, tracing it to a young woman wrapped in a cloak. Physically she appeared to be early in her twenties but possessed an air about her much older, that of burden.

Taking care not to startle the woman in distress, he began walking towards her from the side, projecting an intention of love and healing, while pooling energy into his right hand. He could see that her energy was becoming confined to her neck and head, tell tale signs of oxygen restriction, likely hyperventilation. As he was just to the back left of her within arms reach, Yyma took a deep breath and placed his right hand on her back, centered between her shoulder blades, simultaneously releasing the breath through his nostrils and encouraging her breath and energy to flow down to her feet. As quickly as he had touched her he released, appearing to onlookers and those around them as nothing more than trying to get past her. Taking position to the right of her he spoke just audible enough for the woman to hear, maintaining a forward gaze.

"I apologize for touching you without your express permission m'am, I felt that you were in need and I took it upon myself to administer aid. How do you feel?" @cereline

Yyma kept his eyes level, fixating them on the armourmed man whom was waiting to deliver the message to the anxious crowd, having just taken his helmet off in what looked like a show of frustration, awaiting the woman's response and what the man in the square had to say.

M I A

---

"I know it's dark out, but you can't sleep all day."

Mia reached over and placed her hand on Gideon's broad shoulder. He was a large man and required a lot of rest after a long day's worth of hard work. Mia wouldn't admit to giving the man a bit more chores than the average person, but she had been on her own for so long that another person in the house was a blessing in disguise. Mia smiled at her resting companion. She would let him rest a few more minutes before trying again.

A dark strand of her hair fell as she pushed it back behind her ear, a pout forming on her lips as she peered out the window. The sun could be seen through small openings but not by much. This type of weather was fitting for the current events of the last few days. They were meant to meet in the town for a gathering of some sorts. Most of those were saved for festivals of a great harvest or for some good news, but this was different. Mia cleaned up a bit around her small home to keep her mind occupied as the breathing of Gideon shifted to and from while he moved. If it had been any other day she may have crawled into bed herself and fell asleep next to him, but she yearned to find out what the news was, and she'd be damned if she was the only misinformed in town because of lazy bones.

"Gideon." she said in a more stern tone.

He did not awaken.

Rolling her eyes, she decided she would not baby the man any more. He would have to wake up on his own time and if he did not meet her in the town in time for the announcement it would be his own fault. A small smirk formed across her lips. She couldn't wait to know what had happened and to tease him about it. He would beg and beg for answers and she would just shrug and smile, letting him suffer a bit until further notice. Ah, what a good time to be alive.

Grabbing a cloak from her wares, Mia covered her head and walked out of her home towards the large gathered crowd. The chatter was intensive, but Mia tried to focus on the people surrounding her as well as what was around them. She couldn't help but be very aware of her surroundings. To the right of her, a woman seemed panicked with what Mia would assume a problem with crowds. "Poor woman, she should not have came if crowds bothered her so." Mia assumed, noticing a man come to her aid. Nodding to herself, she kept a steady eye on the woman in case she needed help but continued to observe her surroundings until they were to speak of why the meeting was to happen.

"Where is Ferdinand?" Sir Wiff whispered, tapping one of his attending knights lightly. The gentle tink caught an armoured woman's attention. At the mention of Ferdinand's name, her head snapped towards Kevin at breakneck speeds, and she flinched at the sudden jolt that shot down her spine. "Ease up. You're going to hurt yourself even more, at this rate." The woman he spoke to nodded once and cleared her throat, but had nothing to say. Kevin curled his lip. "Do you not know?"

"It's not that-" She hissed quietly. Kevin glared at her and shook his head.

"It's fine, Linda. Keep an eye on the horses. We'll leave as soon as I'm done with these peasants. If he's not here by then, he can walk back to the castle for all I care." Linda nodded and stepped away, circling the Caravan to where its horses were resting. Sir Wiff let out an irritated sigh and ran one of his armoured gauntlets through his hair. A chink his in left hand-plate pulled at a few strands, tearing them loose and making him twitch. "Bugger," he groaned, plucking the curly intrusions from the gauntlet with his teeth.

Lefonderous thumbed his many rings patiently, waiting. His eyes glanced from person to person, briefly towards the west-ward buildings, and then back into the crowd. He didn't take note of anyone in particular. It wasn't his job to keep track of every last tom dick and harry that prattled about. A man and his son, no mother in sight. Two fidgety girls who didn't seem to be paying very much attention to anything going on around them. A woman huddled inside of her little cloak, gravely affected by either the wind, or the crowd. A vagrant that moved in on the first woman to show any signs of vulnerability. Stray kittens, chased by the local children through the forest of legs that their elders created. Lefonderous sighed and reached up to button his shirt, straight up to his neck. The temperature was dropping. Soon enough, the rain would make that worse. What a disgusting day.

"Attention, civilians!" Kevin shouted, his voice crisp and overbearing, like a winter squall. Lefonderous flinched at the man's surprising presence. He must have been used to giving these little speeches to have a voice like that. Kevin continued as soon as the crowd quieted down, "We've summoned you this day, to address the sudden influx of refuges that hail from Arngrim." Kevin paused and racked his brain for the next phrase. 'I should have spent more time on that stupid parchment' he thought to himself. Lefonderous huffed with a smile at the boorish oaf's forgetfulness. Kevin's chin dropped, and he give a quick little nod. "Right" he said quickly, under his breath, "The past days have brought turmoil to the neighbouring town. Day after day, its citizens have been living in fear, dreading the possibility of dangerous terrorists bringing further destruction to their humble homes." Kevin paused again and looked the crowd over before continuing. "This terror has followed an explosive incident that occurred five days ago, at the city's grand library. A fire- rather an explosion tore through half of the building, and destroyed most of the tomes they had been keeping safe there. Fortunately, there were no casualties. The only things lost, were the books." Kevin spoke with a lack of concern. He didn't really care for reading, anyways. The only use for the written word, was for keeping track of important matters. To him, fiction and history, did not fall under that category. Lefonderous let out a sigh of relief as Kevin noted the lack of death following the attack. The next pause lasted a short while. Sir Wiff sighed lightly, keeping his head held high. "Fortunately, my fellow knights were alerted to this incident forthwith. Supplies are being transported to Arngrim as we speak. Books, stone, and lumber- The damage in Arngrim will be dealt with. But the impact, as you may have inferred, still presses deep onto the hearts of her people. They speak of magic, and mayhem. They speak of these terrorists, as if they are some ever-present force, but I am here to assure you otherwise... Usually, we would not share information regarding the weapons of our kingdom, but to quell the worry of its people, I have been instructed to do just that." Lefonderous bit his lip. "In the days leading up to this attack, our knights had reported a discrepancy in our private caches, a barrel of explosive powder, designed to defend our castle walls, had gone missing. It is believed, both by me, my superiors, and the king himself, that somebody has betrayed the throne. They have used this stolen material to try and spread panic, perhaps even convince the public of things they know not to be true."

That was enough. He'd heard enough. Lefonderous whipped himself around and began making his way towards the alleys the lined the western side of Corsa Plaza, lightly pushing aside anyone in his way as he did so. Kevin paused once again, lost on what he was supposed to say next. For a moment, the knight felt as if he's already made a serious mistake. Was he even supposed to mention the gunpowder? Or magic? His lip quivered for a moment as an autumn chill found its way into his suit. What was he supposed to say next?

"He's lying." Levan muttered to himself, though as happened more often when he did that, it was loud enough for people around him to hear. As usual though, he wasn't paying much attention to the people around him, his own thoughts needed to be voiced.

"The aftermath clearly showed evidence of of magigal residue." He continued undisturbed, paying little attention to his surroundings even as someone leaving the crowd bumped in to him. "The destruction was vast. Gunpowder... Gunpowder, fireworks, they are destructive..." He mused over that word as it was claimed to be the weapon, but quickly shook his head. "No, that can't be right. That leaves residue, it does not destroy so clean. There's no evidence supporting the claim of gunpowder. It looked just as the tales describe destruction by magical means."

He rubbed his hands and a small smile crept appeared on his face. To be so close to magic. And the elders called him a fool for believing magic existed. Perhaps he might find one of the rumoured artefacts soon so he could really start his study and write his book. Oh this was so exciting!

As the stranger placed his hand on her back, Isolde's first instinct was to jump away. However, after a moment passed, her panic subsided and he removed his hand - as if the touch had been accidental. She looked over at him as he spoke. It had been no accident, then. Although it was strange of him, she felt it necessary to acknowledge the kindness "I...," she started, unsure of what to say, "better, thank you." She may have spoke more, but the gathering had begun and an official-looking man was addressing the crowd about the attack on Arngrim.

It quickly became clear that the official would not be telling the truth of the attack - he says it was insignificant and no lives were lost, but Isolde knew that was utterly false. She clenched her fists. She had been taught all her life to keep her mouth shut but she was struggling to do so at this moment. It seemed like an injustice for the government to ignore what had actually happened, and even more so to be so disrespectful when refugees were likely already present.

The calm that had overwhelmed her after the stranger had helped her, somehow, was quickly turning to anger during the speech. The rapid emotional swings were almost overwhelming for Isolde. She stood up, fists clenched at her sides, and began walking closer to the podium. She was prepared to speak her mind about these lies.

The howl shook gideon to the bone. It was a howl unlike any other and could only come from one wolf he was fabled among the clan and went by the moniker BOTUM each letter bore its own meaning (Born of The Undying Moon) This wolf in and of itself was massive and sported fur as black as the night sky but still bore a radiance all its own he was a sight to behold. On this day though Botum was to be respected as any other day however he was now considered prey. Gideon knew he set his sights high but what point was there in one day leading your own Clan of barbarians if you werent ambitious? gideon pulled his cloak close and looked to the top of the mountain where Botum resided, he took a deep breath and began his trek up the mountain. The walk was long not to mention this was but a fools quest. Gideon could have set his sights on something anything smaller and less ferocious and still been considered a mn but it was almost as though he was pulled to the mountaintop.

Arriving at the top Gideon looked out and as able to see more of Lhivoria than he had bargained for. In the moment that Gideon had become enthralled with the view A deafening howl was heard from behind him...

"GIDEON" he tossed a bit and turned facing a wall in the much larger Bed that he had bought in awhile back. He was Perfectly happy sleeping on the floor but Mirage wouldnt allow it, hence the purchsing of a much larger bed. Gideon rarely complained though i mean all he had to do was heavy lifting here and there and help around the house, From time to tim they would take on a job to keep a form of income and had today been like any other thats what they would have done. This day however was the day she had been telling him about "Something something something meeting announcement."

He heard the door close and it was that, that caused him to awaken. Moments later gideon found himself getting up and readying himself and grabbing his armor and wolf cloak Gideon followed behind he couldnt have been more than an hr behind.

Arriving in town there was already a lrge gathering, and there on the podium did the tin foil guard stand as he began spouting bullshit but backpedaled trying to cover his ass. Looking around and sniffing the air it was faint almost impossible but gideon caught Mirages scent and positioned himself to keep an eye on her although he kind of stuck out like a sore thumb there werent too many hear that stood 6ft 7in and whats more he was clad in Obsidian wolf fur. Out of the corner of his eye Gideon saw a woman approaching the stage. "This could get ugly" Gideon Said as he continued to look on to see how the scene would unfold.  

"better, thank you."

As the words left her mouth the man behind the podium began his delivery. "We've summoned you this day, to address the sudden influx of refuges that hail from Arngrim." So this explains the crowd, Yyma thought. The man continued on, his obnoxious tone and loudness was to Yyma a rather poor attempt to feign deceit, but he listened on intently until, "They speak of magic, and mayhem.." the man continued on but Yyma began to spin, magic and mayhem, magic and mayhem, the phrase caused his mind to spiral. Why was this so familiar, what was this feeling, an existential dread came over him.. magic and mayhem, magic and mayhem, darkness creeped about his mind's eye, over and over the tapeloop ran. Visions began manifesting themselves within his mind, the reflections of metal, fire, fire everywhere, a woman, who was that woman. "That woman, who was that- the thought was interrupted as the visions intensified, the smell of blood, bodies littered across the earth, armoured men hacking and slashing at anyone within reach. Fumbling for the artefact around his neck his fingers finally managed to grip the magical heirloom, immediately dissolving the daymare and bringing him back into his being, albeit disturbed. He remembered something, that woman, a tale his grandfather told, it was slowly coming back to him, but as it was he saw the woman he assisted marching fists clenched towards the man delivering the speech. "Oh no" he thought silently, she must be from Arngrim.

Not willing to further expose himself if anyone did notice the interaction earlier, Yyma instead took position to maintain a clear line of sight of the girl, he would ensure her protection. Inhaling deeply he grounded himself and using pranayam unlocked internal gates to heighten his awareness and focus. Playing out a multitude of scenarios in his mind with renewed focus and keeping both hands together on the center of his chest for ease of access to the artefact, Yyma awaited for the unfolding of events releasing all internal resistance for what was to come.

Kevin took a step back and sighed as a man in the crowd began to relent against his message. Following her, several others began to speak up. Shouts of irritation and disbelief, one after another, they built into a slow roar. Although the majority was silent, and seemed more than willing to believe his news, a great enough crowd of naysayers was beginning to rear its ugly head. "Drat," he grunted, turning to one of the two guards at attention on either side of him. "I owe you a coin, Erik," He whispered, turning to the opposite guard while dragging one of his armoured fingers across his neck. The guard nodded and turned towards the caravan. From inside of the open backed cart, another guard stepped forward. She grabbed one of the banners above her, at the lip of the cart's back entrance, and hung over Kevin like a hawk.

"Tough crowd," She groaned, audible enough for her commanding officer to hear. Kevin spun around and motioned her back into the cart, swatting at the air.

"Come off it," Kevin insisted, "I'll be finishing up quicker than expected. Tell Linda to prep for departure. We're leaving."

"Ferdinand still isn't here."

"I don't bloody care. Ship up and ship out. The yokels are getting restless, and I'll not be ending up like Johan today." The armoured woman granted him an irritated glare that burned through her face plate, but nodded and pulled herself back with a hefty tug of the banner above her. The entire cart shook slightly from her overwhelming stature. Kevin shuddered. He hated having that woman around. She wasn't much for following orders quietly. It wasn't very becoming of a lady knight, especially not one that towered over most men. Kevin turned back to the crowd and motioned his hands downwards, in front of him, like he was lightly patting the side of an angry horse. "Settle down," he commanded, "I'll have no talk of magic-"

"Then how about a show?" Lefonderous shouted, hanging from the side of a nearby building, where he clung tightly to a second story windowsill with his right hand. "I'm sure they'll grasp the thesis of your little announcement if you'd be willing to just show them."

"Who in blazes?" Kevin whimpered. Lefonderous motioned towards the sky with a sly smile. Kevin hesitated for a moment, and then looked upwards. There was nothing there. Lefonderous quickly stuffed his index finger and thumb between his lips, and let out a deafening whistle. Kevin's neck darted back towards him, but the man still offered him an index finger that pointed towards the sky. Kevin grunted and pointed towards him. "Would you?" He asked, looking towards Erik expectantly. Erik didn't respond at first, but when Kevin smacked the side of his helmet, the man looked to him, and then to Lefonderous.

"Oh!" He grumbled, "Oh, oh dear, uh..." Erik froze for a moment, but then turned to the knight on Kevin's left and beckoned him to follow. The two men headed towards the building quickly, all while Kevin was left to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Lefonderous didn't move. How were the two armoured knights going to scale a vertical incline? They weren't. Whatever they planned on doing was probably stupid. "You there!" Erik shouted, "Get down at once, by the order of his royal majesty's armed guard!" Lefonderous rose an eyebrow.

"You're rather ill-equipped to make me," He taunted, pointing up at the sky again. The two men looked at each other, befuddled. Usually people just listened to them. They weren't very well prepared for somebody to just say... No. Kevin's frustrations were beginning to get the better of him. They were only a 6 person squad. They were suppose to be in, and out.

"Sod it," Kevin grumbled. He was about to call back his men, realising that this entire quarrel was a waste of time. But as he rose his arm, something hit his shoulder. A heavy splash of water struck his face and drenched part of his curly hair. When he looked up again, the clouds that had once been a warning of bad weather, had amassed into an unnatural black vortex above them. And then, it started raining. But it wasn't any ordinary rain. The drops came down hard, and in great volume, like cups of water, and began to bombard the entire crowd. Although they were relatively harmless, the spiralling storm clouds above them were beginning to amass an alarming crackle. Kevin looked to Lefonderous again, who was shrugging off the water striking him. The hanging man offered Kevin his index finger again, pointing upwards and smiling with his eyebrows raised.

'See?' He mouthed, chuckling to himself.

M I A

---

The man's loud voice was boisterous as he spoke the tales of what happened in the neighboring town. The crowd was bustling with many emotions. Some sheep, just nodding and agreeing with whatever the man was saying while other's began speaking up. "Liar!" could be heard from a few voices. "Tell us the truth!" another person called as the crowd began to become a bit more rowdy. Mia felt a twang of nervousness. When crowds became angry they turned quickly into mobs, and mobs destroyed things faster than any magic she had seen, whether it was real or fake.

The young woman Mia had been watching earlier began to make her way through the crowd and Mia then put together that she was a refugee from Arngrim. "Now I understand. She will tell the truth, hopefully." she thought to herself as she watched the woman make her way through the unrelenting crowd. Her attention was only then taken away by a man up on the building yelling something to the officers. Mia was just in earshot to hear the conversation but not entirely sure as to everything being said. "He's going to get himself killed!" Mia said out loud to the people next to her as she shook her head. This was no time for games as he pointed crazily to the sky.

Then the rain came.

Could it be?

Mia pulled her cloak tighter against herself as the rain pelted her. She looked around to the faces of her neighbors as they looked back in shock, awe, confusion and everything in between. It was there she caught sight of Gideon, as she pushed her way forcefully through the crowd. "What is the meaning of all of this?" she asked to him in a hushed tone once she reached his front side. She turned back to the man to see what he would do next, in hopes that he was not going to make anything hazardous fall. "The least he could have done was made sweet rolls fall, we're all hungry as well." Mia said to her companion a small smirk on her face. She was still in a state of disbelief but of also awe.

The uprising startled Levan from his train of thoughts. It took him a moment to gather what was going on, but then found everyone's eyes focussed on the man hanging from the side of a building pointing up at the sky. What was that man thinking, shouting those things from such a position? The guards would be on him in seconds, or at least beneath him waiting for him to come down. What was he going to do from up there, wait until they whithered away The rash behaviour of some men baffled the scholar sometimes.

And then the rain came pouring down. Not just a few drops, but like entire buckets being emptied over their heads. Strange. While the weather was not all that great today, a bit on the chilly side, there had been no sign of rain. Yet the man had predicted it -promised it even and now it was pouring.

Could it be? Could that man posess what Levan had been looking for? Could he have an artefact, one that could actually allow the practise of magic? Levan had to find out. But to do that, he would need to get closer to the man, preferably at a time he was not persued by guards.

The scholar looked around and saw that the mob had made way for the guards to approach the building the stranger was hanging from. He decided to move closer, to the front of the line of people. Levan was no hero, though. He preferred to sit back and observe and find a way around all the muckus. That was what he was doing now, observing the situation. If the man was caught, he could probably bribe the guards into letting him interview the man -the right guard at least. Which one would that be? If the man got away, though, Levan would have to find a way to follow him or locate him again. He looked like the type who wouldn't think beyond his own moment of fame, the type who would not have a getaway plan, but Levan had been wrong about those things before.

So he did what he did best and studied what he observed. What did the man look like? What did his surroundings look like? Was there anyone on the ground behaving oddly, suspiciously, like they were about to help him? How was he hanging up there, how could he have gotten up there? So many more questions and it was uncertain which ones would need answering before he could achieve his goals.

The situation had begun to get ugly, Just as Gideon had inwardly predicted. The scene that was beginning to unfold caused a rising excitement in him but it was quickly quelled. If the scene was to get ugly there were children present and amidst the confusion they could get hurt. It didn’t help that there was a man hanging like a spider of sorts from the top of a building and riling up the guard. Gideon felt a slight chuckle come about anything that got under the skin of the guards always made him laugh. “Whats this now” Gideon said as he felt someone dump what felt like a small bucket of water on him. And then another hit him as he turned his direction to the sky ”What sort of rain was this?” This was not the first time Corsa experienced rain but rain of this variety was definitely new.

Moments later Gideon felt a smaller yet familiar presence near him and as he looked down he saw her, His Mirage so long as she was safe amidst this chaos there was no need for casualties. What was the meaning of this she asked.

“As expected they wanna cover up what happened in Arngrim as though people didn’t get hurt, You know the greater good bullshit. The Tin Mans only fuck up was that there are refugees from Arngrim standing right here amidst the crowd. And like the lady that approached the stage they were pissed.” Gideon said as he shook his head. “And I’m not sure about the sweet rolls ill ask him” Gideon said as he drew in a massive breath and shouted to the man on the roof.

”THANKS FOR THE DRINK BUT HOW ABOUT SOME SWEET ROLLS MAYBE SOME WELL DONE BOAR MEAT”

Gideon said followed by a hearty laugh.

The crowd was starting to whip up into a frenzy, the good thing was no one drew a weapon or assaulted a guard it was just growing from dull roar to loud shouts not including his own. At any rate Gideon shifted the placement of his hand inside of his cloak so if it got to bad he could grab mirge and get her out of harms way…not that she needed he had yet to meet anyone more nimble than her.

Watching the crowd begin to roar around her, before she had even gotten close enough to shout her personal protests, Isolde suddenly felt less alone. Her fists un-clenched and before she could back away again, she began being jostled by the angry crowd. Her voice was no longer needed and the anger, instead of escalating, deescalated as though it had been absorbed by the crowd.

Isolde looked up, as many others in the crowd did as well, at the man who was on the side of the building. She watched. There was not much else she could do. Then, the rain began to downpour. The crowd grew more restless around her with people either continuing their protest or rushing too get out of the rain. Isolde, being smaller than most other people, was easily pushed with the flow of the crowd. As she tried to get to the edges, she found herself tripping over others pushing their way through. Before she could reach the edge, she was pushed to the ground.

Kevin grit his teeth hard enough to crack the muscles in his jaw. This had been a righteous disaster. "Back into the cart!" He shouted, donning his helmet again, "We're leaving." Both of the knight below Lefonderous looked backwards, confused and irritated. Erik looked back up at Lefonderous for a moment, only to see the man smiling, and motioning his head towards Kevin.

"Back to the stables, ye old ass," He mouthed, pulling himself back into the building. Erik's partner has already made his way back to the caravan, but something in the absent-minded soldier's mind clicked in all the wrong ways, forcing him into the first floor of the civilian building. He charged towards the door, and slammed it with his shoulder, knocking it wide open with ease. The back door, Erik thought, rushing through the messy living quarters with little regard for the dining room setup in his way. The table and chairs crashed to the ground as he stampeded forward, waiting for Lefonderous to find his way down the stairs.

The crowd had begun to disperse quickly as the water fell. Nothing squelched mild unrest quite like magical rain. Especially when it dropped in particularly massive bunches. Kevin had already made his way to the front of the caravan, forcing the horses into action. In only a few minutes, the massive wagon was moving, and headed for the town's main road. Erik and Ferdinand, along with the sudden influx of heavy rain, were left behind.

The rain didn't stop falling, even after Lefonderous had left. Although it wasn't obvious, the real culprit hadn't been the boastful man, but rather, an accomplice of his, hiding in they granary that sat on the opposite end of the plaza. He watched carefully from a crack in the wall, drinking slowly from an ornate silver cup every few seconds. When he caught a glimpse of the knights taking leave though, the man quickly propelled himself from the wall, and casually made his way into the crowd, using the panic as cover. Hopefully nobody would take notice of the man, sipping away at his little stemless cup, as he moved to notify somebody else at the gathering. But as he moved forwards, he was pushed aside by a panicked civilian. He spun around, caught himself, and began stepping backwards cautiously... Only to trip over Isolde's body, landing hard on his back with a loud thud. He dropped his cup, and it rolled away with a series of metallic clinks, as he rolled over and clutched his head with one hand. He landed awkwardly, and bruised his skull. The sudden disorientation kept him from doing much of anything. He wobbled in place, in a daze, waiting for his vision to reorient himself, but the rush of footsteps and falling rain did little to help the process along.

Levan watched the knights preparing to leave. Then the man dashed inside again and the crowd began to disperse. He waited for a little longer, seeing how one knight actually entered the building to go after the rain maker.

Levan swore. He'd hoped this would have been easier, but with those knights just giving up an leaving he guessed he had to find that man himself. He waited a few more moments, trying to see if someone exited the building, then entered after the knight. He wasn't very athletic, but he had no choice. He had never been this close to an artefact. Not that he knew of, at least. He had to find it. He just had to!

The scholar decided to just follow the knight's footsteps. The man was trained to find people on the run. If he was any good at his job, why would Levan doubt his methods?

M I A

---

"You're a jester and then some." Mia spoke back to Gideon returning his hearty laugh. The rain continued down with heavy blows, soaking the young huntress to the bone. In the corner of her eye she watched the woman from earlier get pushed down to the ground. "That woman just got trampled!" Mia exclaimed as she began to make her way through the crowd. Some people had began to leave, wanting to get out of the rain. Others stood around, arguing or gawking at the scenes going around them. Basically, they might as well been turkey's ready to drown their selves at any moment.

Swift movements Mia made her way quickly through the crowd towards the fallen woman. Arriving at the edge of the bustling crowd more closer to the stage in which the knights had been speaking Mia noticed another man looking lost and confused on the ground next to her. "You didn't offer this woman help?" Mia asked, an askew smile across her lips "Too busy taking a cat nap I take it." she teased as she grabbed the outsider (Isolde) by the arm. She hoisted her up, and on to her feet. Examining her briefly, she didn't see any fatal wounds besides a hurt pride. Once she steadied the woman, she took the man by the wrist and offered him an up and off the floor as well. His skin was slick with rain but sticky with an essence that Mia could not quite place.

Waving Gideon over, she turned back to the two. "It might not be too safe here anymore, we should find some shelter out of this rain."

He found the knight and the rain maker in a standoff and quickly hid begind a wall. He had to think quick now. If the knight caught the rain maker, he'd bribe his way to talk to him, but the rain maker would never reveal his secrets to someone who helped catch him. On the other hand, if he tried to help the rain maker escape, who was to say he would ever see the man again?

Levan peered around the corner, trying to see if he could reason out which would be the better option. Then he noticed the sword on the rain man's belt, and in particular the emblem. Of course! It made sense that someone with skills to hang from a window like that had a connection to the gleeman's guild! He could use that to track him down. There was actually a small guild post in this town. If he still practised, he probably would visit there, or they would know about his presence. If he didn't practise anymore, well, Levan would just have to ask around. Since that man chose this area to out himself with an artefact it stood to reason he must know the area rather well. And if he knew the area well enough to risk this, it was highly likely people knew him in return. There was a really good chance the guild would know him.

But what to do? Levan quickly looked around. The rain man was near an open window facing him and the knight had his back towards him. Considering the acrobatics he'd seen, rain man could use that window to escape, if only the guard was distracted for a moment. And Levan just happened to be next to a coat rack. He reached out with his hand, toppling the coat rack, which made a loud *CLANG* as it connected with the tiled floor. Rain man saw it fall, but the knight, having his back to Levan, jumped at the sudden noise.