Year 4256
72nd day of the month Auddium
Early Mid-Summer
Nation of Sight
Shimmer Town - A northern lakeside town in the Nation of Sight

The Sun is beginning to set, casting the sky a beautiful assortment of reds, oranges, and yellows. Nearby the modestly sized lakeside town, known as Shimmer Town, sits quietly. A few painters and artists are scattered around the town’s outskirts, lost in the soothing and creative trance that is art. They work hard to capture the image of the setting sun off the glistening waters of the peaceful Shimmer Lake.

Inside the protective walls of Shimmer Town, residents are going about their daily lives. Fishermen are on their way home hauling the day’s catch. The local workers and merchants are closing up shop. Families are preparing and finishing their suppers. Able-bodied young adults, however, are noticeably missing from the streets. The majority of them have been sent off to assist in the war. One thought lingers in the back of everyone’s mind. Will their homes still be here by the week’s end?

The increased amount of soldiers occupying the town and its walls has begun to strain the town’s resources. Food prices have increased while the amount of visitors has decreased. Most of the soldiers are new recruits. Unruly and untrained. Some picking fights in the common rooms of the local inns. Others walking the streets drunkenly, desperately trying to escape the horrors they’ve seen while at war. Morale is obviously at a low.

Disturbingly, a rare sort of people have begun to occupy the city’s walls. The Cult of Insight. They began arriving during the course of the past week. In small numbers initially, in larger groups as time passed. With signed documents from the king, they’ve begun preaching in the streets, promising visions of the future and access to the world’s secrets. A few small nervous crowds gather around to watch the sermons, quickly becoming spooked when the occasional Sightless makes an appearance.

An inn at the center of the town, the more wealthy area, has been procured by The Cult. A few people curious about the The Cult’s offerings have wandered in only to come out changed and claiming to know truth. Since The Cult’s arrival, there has been a slight increase in reports mentioning people attacking one another. The culprits are shown to have no past history of violence. This has only added an edge of unease to the already somber mood.

Whispers and rumors about the king have spread like a rampant fire. Some speculate the King has forgotten them. Others claim the king is a heretic. And then there are the few crazies stating they’ve seen with their own eyes that the king is one of The Sightless. Some have petitioned the Town Lord for an audience on the matter of The Cult, but they are turned away at the door. Lord O’Kal has been reclusive in recent days. Those who have been allowed into his estate never return. This has led the town’s citizens to speculate on what is going on there. None of that speculation is anything good.

Towards the north side of the village lies an Inn which has just begun to age. The Dockside View is it's name. Inside the common room a group of rowdy lowlifes are drinking ale and playing a game of The Senses. A musician plays a lute in the background. He isn't very good. He plays off key, is a terrible singer, and his songs are quite boring. Even the innkeeper is cringing as he stands behind the bar serving customers. He wonders in the back of his mind if the inn would be better off if he just kicked the man out.

It is not these things that are of interest in this little inn called The Dockside View. Within the confines of the inn a group of unrelated travelers begin to gather. They are unaware of the events about to transpire within Shimmer Town. Events that will forever change their lives as well as the world around them.

At the far off corner of the world, The Being of Many Names turns his attention towards this aging inn and the people within. He chuckles to himself and mutters "Let the fun begin."

Chres Sansus

---

Chres Sansus, once a well-respected body guard now just a cruddy wife killer, wandered down the northern outer streets of Shimmer Town feeling dead inside. It was a feeling that he was becoming all too accustomed to in the year since he woke one morning to find his wife dead by his own hands. Since then, he felt as if he lost his ability to care. When the war started about three months back, he felt nothing. When he botched another attempt at taking his life, a month ago, accidentally saving a woman and her child’s life from bandits, he felt nothing. When he woke from the reoccurring nightmares where he watched himself kill his wife over and over again, he felt nothing… Well except the constant self-loathing and disgust.

Chres Sansus was a man who deserved death. He didn’t deserve any old death, though. What he deserved was a cruel death. Preferably slow and painful and most importantly humiliating. His death had to be utterly disgraceful. Only in this way did he deserve to die.

As Chres aimlessly wandered the town streets, lost in his own grim thoughts a gasp snapped him out of it. It wasn’t audible gasp that drew his attention, instead it was a gasp inside his own mind. Chres, Look! There’s a huge puddle! Chres looked up as his familiar, Sil, flew past his head. She glowed a soft green in her fairy form and was pointing excitedly at Shimmer Lake in the distance. it was her first time ever seeing a lake, Chres realized.

It’s sooo big! Sil’s voice exclaimed in Chres’s head. How did it ever get so fat? I bet all the little puddles make fun of it. Hmm… I wonder where the mommy and daddy puddle went. Oh! Maybe it ate its mommy and daddy and that’s how it got so fat. Yes! That has to be it! I have it all figured out now! Sil smiled and nodded proudly as she folded her arms in front of her chest. Happy to have solved the mystery of the giant puddle.

Chres shook his head smiling slightly. He could help but feel mildly amused by the innocence Sil often showed. “It's a lake actually.” Chres said softly.

A… lake? Sil said tilting her head slightly. Well, it's a silly looking lake if you ask me. It looks big and wet... Puddles do feel wet, right?

“All water feels wet.” Chres replied. He heard a long ‘hmmmm’ in his mind as Sil began pondering the concept of water feeling wet. Chres passed her fluttering form as he felt a pang of hunger. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Money was hard to come by without a job. Occasionally, he would do odd jobs here and there, in his travels, so he could line his pockets with coin. It had been some time since the last odd job, however. He was running short again. He would need to make some more money sometime soon if he didn’t want to resort to stealing again.

Chres glanced to his left, eyeing an inn called The Dockside View. The sign’s paint was light and faded. He could make out the sounds of people laughing and shouting inside along with the tune of music that was definitely off key. Perhaps he wouldn’t need to do another odd job. Perhaps tonight would be the night.

Chres made his way into the inn and winced at the music. He passed by a group of men playing a game of The Senses and was able to make out a few knife shaped lumps covered by their clothing. Taking in their lowlife demeanor, Chres nodded to himself. They would be the ones to do the job.

Grabbing a seat on an empty stool at the bar, watching the lowlifes play their game, Chres pulled out his flask. This drew the innkeeper’s attention. He eyed Chres’s flask distastefully, no doubt disliking the idea of someone bringing their own drinks into his establishment. Catching the man’s eye, Chres gave him a friendly smile and handed the man a small stack of coins. This seemed to placate innkeeper’s ire.

“What can I get you?” The innkeeper asked. He was a big round man with stubby fingers and graying hair.

“Just a bite to eat” Chres said as he took a sip from his flask. The innkeeper nodded and called to his wife in the kitchen, asking her to prepare a plate of food. Chres smiled gratefully before turning his attention back to the men he eyed earlier.

You’re about to do it again, aren’t you? Sil asked. She landed on his shoulder changing into her ferret form as she did so. Chres simply nodded in response. You should try my plan this time. Pull down their pants and stick your tongue out at them. That will do the trick! Sil giggled softly at the thought of it.

Chres ignored the suggestion. That would take too long. There are much easier and faster ways to get a person to want to stab Chres. Today is the day. Chres thought to himself. Today is the day I die.

Hark ducked the low door frame of the small cottage he was taking quarter in and stepped out into the evening air. He rolled his broad shoulders, let out a sigh and started heading down the small path to the main road. The sun was setting on the lake and making it look like some wealthy lord had dropped a million small crystals into the water. Once he made it to the main road leading into town he made a left in the direction of the The Dockside View. Hunger was starting to grip his stomach and he knew the bar had some of the best quail he had ever tasted.

As he walked past a small church he noticed one of the cult members leaving and the pastor seeing him out with a concerned expression on his face. Hark turned his head and picked his pace a little till the church was out of his view. He and a handful of the Royal Guard had been chosen to keep watch at shimmer town to monitor the progress of the cult who were allowed to occupy the major town.

Hark looked to the glowing gold and orange sky, he was deeply troubled that the king allowed the Cult to occupy some of the towns to spread their teaching. He grew up learning that they should never be trusted and to stay far away as possible from them and now they were in the heart of the Nation of Sight. He had witnessed the King kill his most trusted adviser after the seaming leader of the Cult gave him visions making his eyes bleed and the sight of that still gave him nightmares.

What was even more odd is the King selected over half the guard to start carrying out special missions. They were stripped of their armor and markings that would signal they were part of the guard and were almost being used as undercover mercenaries. Hark knew the king only had the best interests for the people be he feared he was getting himself into something almost evil dealing with the Cult of Insight, but he pushed those thoughts out of his head he was only a lieutenant and was no where near in a positions to ask any questions.

After a short while he spotted the bar and when he came closer he could hear the usual banter from inside of the bar. As he entered he noticed it was at almost full capacity and spotted a empty stool at the bar and took a seat. He waited a moment before a familiar figure came out of the back.

"Ah it's nice to see your face again Hark" The innkeeper asked in a joyful tone, "You want the usual?"

A slight nod was all Hark replied with and tossed him two gold coins and the innkeeper diapered into the back to let his wife know to start on a quail. As he sat waiting for his food he slowly rubbed his silver energy ring he kept on his left ring finger and watched the rowdy crowd going about their evening clearly trying to forget about the current grim situation the Nation was in.

Wars always made his job difficult, luckily though his kind were generally able to pass through any land unmolested. Sure he might be questioned once or twice but once people knew who he represented they tended to let him pass. For you see Atticus was part of a old and ancient group called Witch Hunters. Their sole purpose was to hunt and kill those who had been corrupted by magic or were using magic for nefarious purposes.

Atticus was on the road once again heading to some village in the north. He was sent by his order to investigate rumors of a cult that was out and about. His journey took him through some of the places were fighting was more heavy. Though never on the field of battle he was stopped by both sides; often questioning why a hunter was here, his only was response was to hold up a writ that said he was on a important mission to observe and if possible halt a cult.

A couple days later Atticus had finally reached his destination Shimmer Town. From the distance he could see the bustle of the town, people moving to and fro carrying on with their lives, children playing, farmers working, guards patrol and the odd person here and there preaching or just watching the crowd. Moving closer to the town, Atticus decided against hiding who he was. He wanted the Cult to attempt something against him. It would give him a reason to strike them down all the quicker. Perhaps he would change once he reached a tavern, probably not though. Most people didn't recognize a Witch Hunter when they saw one, since his people tended to be pretty reclusive.

As he made his way further into the town, he felt a few pairs of eyes follow him though none made a move. Moving further into the town, Atticus kept his eyes open for the local tavern. After what seemed like forever he finally spotted the place he was looking for. Upon entering the building, he was greeted with the sounds of conversation and the smell of fresh food and spilt ale. Moving towards the innkeeper who had just returned from the back.

The Innkeeper took note of Atticus attire, since you don't see many heavy armored and armed people unless they were guardsman or mercenaries."Haven't seen you here before. What brings ya to town?" The Innkeeper asked him in his jovial voice. Atticus nodded his head. "Work." Was his simple reply. The Innkeeper gave him a look. "Man of few words, I like it. What can I do for ya?" Atticus looked at the man. "If you have it I'll take a bowl of hunters stew and a glass of ale." The Innkeeper nodded his head. "Aye, we do. Four crowns for both." Reaching into his pocket, Atticus handed the man five coins. "For your trouble." As the Innkeeper disappeared once again to place the order, Atticus sat on one of the stools at the bar and observed the other patrons.

---

"As I was saying Lynx, the inn at the center of this place? perfect." Octavio´s stolen lynx familiar plodded along the town road, right behind his eccentric travelling companion. He was used to this man´s recklessness, and did nothing more than lend a pair of fuzzy ears to his schemes. Some might claim that it´s impossible for a big cat to imitate human facial expressions, and yet Lynx carried the same calm and brooding face everywhere. Or, as Octavio liked to put it, his face was the exact face of one who had just heard a bad joke.

There was a nearby inn that in no way, shape, or form resembled the one Octavio was after, yet he stopped to gaze at it anyway. He read the sign and a warm grin crept throughout his face.

THE DOCKSIDE VIEW

"It´s cute and smelly, like a dirty puppy." said Octavio with satisfaction. He turned to the familiar that was now seated beside him. "I bet you were like that as a kitten too!" he said excitedly, now reaching over to scratch the annoyed cat behind its ears. Lynx was practically immune to his teasing and was willing to put up with it if it meant the occasional pampering. His opinion on humans was generally negative, but the cat felt that hands justified their existence somewhat.

If bringing along a beautiful familiar to a place full of commoners seemed like a bad idea, that´s because it was. Octavio´s plan to find this famed and beautiful inn located at the center of Shimmer Town had been going failing pretty consistently. He had a decent amount of money with him, although most of it was reserved towards using it to blend in socialite parties. The thought of having his deception funds whittle away from being spent at dirty bars sent shivers down his spine. And yet, he was very, very hungry.

Octavio entered the bar with an overstated elegance. He reassured himself that Lynx would communicate if someone tried anything stupid. The man progressed without looking back. Although neither would ever openly admit it, they were two rejects who appreciated each other and had no else for company. Lynx carefully weaved through the bar patrons and painstakingly put effort into standing out enough to avoid being stepped on but not enough to call attention to himself. It was a careful balance. His owner, on the other hand, had very loudly asked for the bar´s most affordable meal.

He had heard from a few sources over the other inn´s whereabouts, but had somehow not fully grasped the idea of it being controlled by a cult. His thoughts only repeated the word "money" over and over again, occasionally growing so strong that Lynx received them. Lynx hated telepathic communication. Octavio stared at his food greedily and rubbed his hands together. Both of them wondered about how much it would cost to pay the lute player to shut up.

Karina Frost

Even though the Nation of Touch was in was with the nation of Sight, both Karina and her father, the general, weren't that threatened by it. They were winning the war at a steady pace. The enemy army couldn't compare to the military might the nation of touch had. But even amongst the generals and officers, there was a rather... uncomfortable rumor regarding the Nation of Sight. Rumors of a strange cult that was getting stronger and more influential as the time passes, rumors that even the King of Sight himself was one of the Sightless, serving this cult... Whatever it may be, it wasn't something that could be ignored. After insisting for a good amount of time, it was decided that someone needed to go there to take a... closer look on that matter.

Due to Karina's young and innocent looks, she was the chosen one. Disguised as a courier, she was sent to the Nation of Sight in order to gather information about those rumors. By her own demand, Karina wore clothes that resembled her old military uniform, but without the military decorations. It was close enough to an actual courier uniform so it could easily be dismissed as maybe a courier working for the Army of Sight. Coupled with a small badge she wore on her chest, taken out of the body of an actual military courier working for the Nation of Sight, her disguise was almost impossible to see through if she was cautious enough and even if something went wrong, there was already a small elite unit stationed near Shimmer Town, the town she was currently in, to rescue her.

---

---

"I would like just a glass of water please." Karina said, walking inside an inn called The Dockside View and flashing the badge to the innkeeper, just as she was instructed to do. She had some reasons to go there, but other than gathering information, she was genuinely thirsty, after walking for an entire day.

"Aren't you a bit too young and... Well... I don't want to sound rude but... fragile... to be working as a courier? It's a dangerous job, you know..." the innkeeper said, after finishing talking with a very strange man just near her. Glancing to the side discreetly, Karina eyed the peculiar man, analyzing him.

She didn't know exactly what he was, but she had a faint memory of seeing someone that wore the same style of armor & had a very similar overall apparel. Shaking her head after a brief while, she looked to the innkeeper again.

"It's my first important job... I need to deliver this sword to an officer. They said this sword is worth more than my life." Karina said, laughing as she carefully took out some money from inside the mailbag she was carrying on her shoulder. On her back, a long stick, presumably the sword she was referring to, was carefully wrapped. By the looks of the pommel, which was sticking out of the protective wrapping, it was a rapier, and a very expensive one. Surely it didn't look like something a young, female courier should be carrying by herself.

"Oh, you would be surprised if you knew what I'm capable of." Karina said, with a discreet giggle before putting a few coins on the counter in front of her.

"I hope you know what you're doing... Things are not that tranquil with so many things happening here..." The innkeeper concluded, obviously referring from all the rumors and the war before handing her a cup of ale and taking the money on the counter.

Taking a small sip from the cup on her hands, Karina discreetly took a look around. Other than the strange armored man near her and a very elegant man that had just walked inside the inn with a familiar by his side, supposedly a nobleman or someone important seeing as the way he walked and the clothes he wore, a man that was eating some food and drinking something form inside a flask and a tall man with broad shoulders that apparently was a local, there wasn't anyone else worth noticing. Mostly common folk just eating something, drinking or talking. Maybe she could ask some questions to either the one that was eating or if her suspicions turned out to be true and that flask was filled with a strong alcoholic beverage, to the tall one to gather some information about the town and maybe even some other things like the current political situation that the Nation of Sight was in or even something about the cult and the sightless king rumor.

Chres Sansus

---

Chres ate his meal quietly as people started gathering around the bar area. It was starting to get rather crowded with quite a few interesting looking characters. A courier, a man in armor, another man eating some Quail, and.... a noble? In a place like this? Maybe he's a poor noble, Chres figured.

Sil was back in her fairy form, fluttering in front of Chres's face. Head tilted to the side with her right index finger on her lip. Something appeared to have caught her attention. Chres raised an eyebrow questioningly and glanced at what she was looking at. Oh, the nobleman's Familiar.

What is that? Sil asked in wonder. I want to say it's... yup! It's a dog. Definitely a dog. It almost looks like a cat, but cats are teeny tiny. So it's definitely not a cat! Hehe, I'm so smart. Sil nodded to herself, smiling happily.

Chres put his hand over his mouth and gave Sil a look. Sil... really? He said with his thoughts. It would be weird if he starting talking out loud in front of all these people. He had a familiar yes, but it still felt weird to him when he spoke out loud in front of people nearby.

Sil turned her head at Chres and smiled. Really what?

Sil... it's a Familiar.

It's a familiar with what?

Chres removed his hand from his face, arched an eyebrow and stared at her flatly. Was... was that a joke?

A... joke? She asked, cocking her head as she did so.

Aaaaaaaand facepalm. Chres shook his head and sighed. Your innocence never ceases to amaze me, Sil.

And your big nose never ceases to amaze me! She said giggling and turning her attention back to the other Familiar. I'm going toooooo... There was a short pause. Chres tilted his head expectantly. Wondering if she was planning on finishing that senten- poke it. -Ah. There we go. Sil flew off to go poke the poor Familiar.

Chres didn't bother to watch. He turned his attention back to the three men and their game, took another sip of flavored water from his flask and then got up out of his seat. In the back of his mind he could hear Sil's giggles and her childishly voice saying, Poke. Poke. Poke. each time she poked the noble's familiar. Chres paid her no attention as he approached the three men, walking as if drunk.

Chres purposefully bumped into one of the three men, knocking the man's drink into his lap. The man jumped out of his seat, his pants soaking wet. The other two men stopped their game and stared at Chres.

"Watch where you're walking! Drunken fool..."

"Drunk?" Chres said, slurring the word on purpose. Chres slowly looked up at the man doing his best to look out of it. He then looked down at the man's pants and chuckled. "Aaaaaahhhh, I see. That's why you peed yourself."

Chres laughed out loud and grabbed the mug of ale from one of the man's companions. Chres raised the mug to his lips. S'pose it doesn't matter anyway. You already smelled god awful. The man's companions began to rise from their chairs as Chres took a sip of the ale, cringed, and then spat it back out to his right. The man, whose drink Chres just stole, got sprayed in the face. He responded reasonably though. Chres got punched in the face.

"Hey!" That was the innkeeper. Probably not too happy to have a fight break out in his place of business.

The three men began to approach Chres. Chres! The punch had sent him backwards, against a nearby wall. You forgot to stick out your tongue at them! One of the men took out a knife. Chres smiled slightly at the sight of it. His death has been long overdue. Also Chres, I believe their pants are still on. Chres closed his eyes in acceptance as the man raised his knife to strike.

"Well this has been a waste of time..." The young man thought to himself. Shimmer Town was pretty, with the lake looking quite nice under certain times of the day. Also it was a good source of free food. Still, what he was here for was a bit more than simple sightseeing. It had seemed he had arrived too late for that which he was here for.

This town as nice looking at it was, had lost its color as it got ground away by the rigors of war. It was calm, but a dying calm like that of a suffocating flame. The ruin was setting in and things looked grim. Those weirdo cultists are running rampant and cramping his style. He was curious as to why they were allowed to flourish given they are bad news, but it's not going to concern unless they do something at him. He got up from the patch of wildernesses and made way into town.

"HEY COME BACK AND PAY IN FULL! YOU-YOU DIRTY ROTTEN BASTARD!" A man's voice rang in the distance. It was already too late as he was off running into and alley way and vaulting effortlessly over any obstacles. He smiled mischeviousy as he made off with the bun. He knew times were rough but such prices were robbery, especially for such a mediocre bun compared to back home. He could get something better for cheaper, and for that price some extra food.

He made his way to the inn that he saw up ahead. It would do for what he'd do next. Although the situation was a bit bad and made stealing a bit unsavory and useless, parting the foolish of their money was something he had no qualms with. Unfortunately such plans were temporarily put on hold. For the moment he entered he saw a brawl in progress. This would not do. He strolled into the men ready to kick this guy's ass and said, "Hey if you're gonna kill each other at least have the decency to do it outside."

As Hark sat eating his quite delicious quail he casually observed the bar and noticed what appeared to be a witch hunter enter in and not long after a young girl who was apparently carrying sword for an officer. No one of importance He thought to himself as he ripped the second leg off the small bird and began to take a bite.

"Watch where you're walking! Drunken fool..." Hark paused mid bite and looked around to see what was going on and he spotted a man who was about to get his face stomped in by three men. One of the men drew his dagger and before he could end the poor drunk bastards life another man entered the bar who clearly had been running for a while as he was sweaty and dirt. The strange low life stood in front of the three men in an attempt to stop the fight. "Hey if you're gonna kill each other at least have the decency to do it outside." He exclaimed to the the three.

Hark almost dismissed the near brawl until he noticed who the three men were. He recognized them from the capital, they were greedy spice traders from the Nation of Taste who tried selling overpriced goods to the almost desperate people of the Nation of Sight. He quickly got up and walked over to the men not caring if the lowlife who just entered the bar would have actually broken up the fight and as soon as the man wielding the dagger looked at him Hark spartan kicked him square in the chest send the man stumbling over knocking into a nearby table.

"So you come from a neighboring nation and you have the balls to threaten someones life over a little accident?" Hark asked in an emotionless tone as his blue eyes seamed to burn a hole right through the man. However what the man did next surprised Hark, a slow grin crossed his face, "I know who you are, you're one of the kings lapdogs; the mighty Royal Guard" He said in a mocking tone before he readied his dagger. Hark was taken back by what the man had said, he wondered how he could have known this. Surly the man couldn't have recognized him from the capitol, was it the cult that had shared a vision with him? Well none of that mattered now and he noticed some of the people in the bar were now looking at him with curious gazes probably all thinking the same question; Why was a man in the Royal Guard in a small bar like this?

The man didn't give any second thought and lunged at Hard with his dagger but Hark easily dodged the attack and countered by grabbing his outstretched hand with the dagger and dealing a heavy blow to the mans gut with his knee. He didn't hesitate and threw the man against the near wall and with the dagger he pinned the man to the wall by the cartilage of his ear. The man yelped in pain and reached up for the dagger trying to pull it out but before he could Hark landed a hefty right hook to the mans jaw ripping his ear. Red scarlet drops of blood spattered around the floor almost glowing with the light of the lanterns that lit the bar.

The man stood there trying with all the strength he had left to keep himself up clutching his torn ear. Hark looked at him nonchalantly, "Well what did you expect would happen when you got into a fight with the Kings Royal Guard?" Over his shoulder he noticed the two men he were with were slowly drawing their blades.

He could roll his eyes as soon another man entered into the conflict and kicked that man. He let out a quiet sigh as he was annoyed at how things were turning out. He took the seat that was freed by this brawl and sat down. In a mildly exasperated voice he ordered, "One beer." And put down the proper amount of coin on the bar and chugged the beer with a bored expression on him. He pretty much dropped out of this encounter the moment it was revealed that guy is a Royal Guard.

Emptying his cup he then undid the gourd from his stick, took the cork out, and began drinking from it slowly. He scanned his surrounding as he looked at the fight from the corner of his eye and then rolled them up far into his skull as he took another drink. This evening was off to a lovely start. The bronze lining to this cloud was that at very least, the crappy musician stopped. He clutched his bamboo staff nearby just in case the brawl got too close to him.

Chres Sansus

---

Chres waited patiently for the blade to stab him and the chest. Yet, nothing happened. Chres opened his eyes and frowned. A man had interrupted them. He mentioning they ought to take the fight outside. Chres sighed wondering how he was going to fix this. It probably wouldn't be too hard. That is until the man with the knife got kicked in the chest by the man who was eating Quail at the bar.

Ah crud. Chres thought, banging the back of his head against the wall behind him. Ow. Chres rubbed his head as he listened to the newcomer's conversation with the three men. Apparently he was a member of the Royal Guard for King Y'lleant. What the hell was he doing here? And why did he get in the middle of Chres's well deserved humiliating death?

Chres took out his flask of flavored water and took a sip, grimacing as the Royal Guard ripped off one the man's ears. Oh, that was lovely. Chres simply shrugged. He looks like he's got this. Chres thought to himself strolling casually back his stool at the bar.

The innkeeper was staring at the fight in disbelief. "Not again." He heard the man groan. Chres guessed that this wasn't the first fight to break out here.

Chres simply took a seat and watched as the other two men drew their weapons. Chres took another sip from his flask as Sil flew to his side. Looks like they are having fun. She said giggling. She had a weird idea of fun.

Well, it looked like Chres wasn't going to die today after all. "My life..." Chres sighed silently.

Aw, cheer up Chres. Sil began. I'm sure there are many people who hate their lives just like you.

Chres gave her another flat stare. And?

And I'm sure they live happily ever after! Sil smiled as she leaned forward, her hands clasped behind her back.

Chres groaned as he glanced to his side. The man who had interrupted the fight initially was now sitting down next to him. He had gulped down a drink from the bar and then proceeded to drink from his gourd. Chres arched an eyebrow at him. "Most people take little sips when they drink." He said to the man. "Perhaps you ought to... slow down..."

"That's a good joke..." He said to Chress as he continued to drink. He wasn't even buzzed yet much less drunk, not that it would matter if he did. He gave the man a glance and realized it was the guy getting beat up. "Hey is that fairy your pet or somethin" He asked as he noticed Sil flying around.

He was more immediately interested in his familiar than the man himself, although he'd be paying attention for any trouble. "Hey you, fairy come here." He then ordered some fried snacks from the bar. Wasteful to his plan yes, but also possibly amusing which would be worth the money spent. He then crumbled up parts of the snack into small morsels and poured some his wine into a small vessel. "I got a special treat for you." He then offered to her a small enough chunk of food and the "cup" full of wine to her. He was both eager and curious to see what would happen.

The two other traders who pulled out their daggers kept staring at Hark not sure of what to do and after a mement he let out with a sigh, "You two seam smarter than your friend here so why don't you get lost before i give you all matching ears." Then the two slowly started walking around Hark as if they though he would lunge at them at any moment. They picked up their injured friend and without any last words left the bar. Hark stood there watching the door for a moment before heading back to his seat, but before he sat down he reached into his coin sack and threw the innkeeper 3 gold coins. "For your troubles." He said simply before taking a seat. He noticed the innkeeper was clearly taken back as the coins were easily worth 3 times as much as the damages to the table.

Hark gathered his plate up and walked over to man whos life he had just said and sat down casually eating the quail leg he had started on before the scuffle. After he finished he looked over at the man, "Well you clearly don't seam half as drunk as you were acting over there" He started, "So what was the deal with your little stunt there?"

Chres Sansus

Major interactions with @Elevation and @Jerkchicken
Minor interactions with @13Org and @RangingWolf

---

"More like an annoyance than a pet." Chres grumbled in response to the man's question.

Sometimes, Chres, I think you're the pet. Sil said in response. Chres rolled his eyes.

He turned his attention back to the man with the gourd as he offered Sil some food and a small vessel of wine. Sil put both of her hands to her mouth and gasped. Audibly this time, not in Chres's head. She had watched Chres eat, with curious eyes, many times before. Chres could only imagine how the thought of eating food must make her feel giddy inside. Of course she couldn't eat food, though. She was a Familiar after all. The real question was, did she know that?

"For me?" She asked out loud. "You shouldn't have!" She exclaimed, clearly excited at the prospect of being offer food.

Sil zipped over to the food and drink happily. Well, that answers that question. Chres thought to himself as Sil began examining the food curiously. Chres simply shook his head as he took another sip from his flask and turned his attention back to the Royal Guard from earlier.

Apparently, the Royal Guard had scared off the traders, which Chres had pissed off earlier. The man then made his way back to his seat. "Well you clearly don't seem half as drunk as you were acting over there" He said to Chres. Chres swished around the recently sipped flavored water in his mouth as he listened. "So what was the deal with your little stunt there?"

Chres swallowed the water, glanced at the Guard and shrugged. "You could say I was merely testing the mortality of my own life." He replied like it was no big deal.

Chres glanced back in Sil's direction. She had finally picked up the morsel of food and had begun smashing it into her closed mouth repeatedly. Chres guessed it was her attempt at eating the food. Grimacing, Chres turned his attention back the Guard. "So tell me, friend. What's a Royal Guard doing so far away from the king he's supposed to be protecting anyway? Seems, contradictory if you ask me."

"So that's what delicious tastes like!" Chres heard Sil's voice off to the side. She had stopped smashing the piece of food into her face and had tossed it to the side. It hit the female courier, with the large sword, in the face. Chres winced. Perhaps allowing Sil to play with food was not the best idea.

Sil then moved on at the small vessel of wine before glancing up to the man who had offered it to her. She smiled at him and said, "Mister, you're so nice. I always wanted a hat."

Oh no. Chres thought, as Sil grabbed the "cup" of wine and tossed it's contents onto the warrior, with all the armor, sitting nearby. Sil then placed the "cup" on her head, giggled and looked up at the man with the gourd. "So? How do I look?" She asked innocently to the man, clearly unaware of the people she just disturbed.

The man only let a suppressed a smile but he found the whole thing pretty amusing. He laughed at the antics of the creature before stopping. He took a swig from the gourds and took a bite of the snack as he looked at the fairy. He knew there might be trouble coming from the fairy's antics, but he was currently amused and could probably handle whatever little conflict may arise. Still what a strange companion. He wasn't quite familiar with magic user's and their familiars but she was amusing enough. It seemed his little experiment had failed, but there was still plenty of time to retry. "Yes it's a quite charming hat, but you didn't seem to eat your treats."

He said to her as he extended a hand towards her to give her a head pat with a finger and then gently grabbed her moving her towards him. "Eating is one the best things you can do. You seem to have a little trouble with the concept. Eating and drink is easy all you gotta do is open up your mouth and let it slide down your mouth-hole. Now open your mouth super wide and tilt your head back." He then raised the gourd and tilted it to create a skinny trickle of wine straight into her mouth. "Now let it slide back into your belly." He said reassuringly as he continued pouring before stopping.

Attius was quietly sitting at the bar eating his stew and listening in on the conversations happening around. From the 'courier' that entered with her delivery. Probably a spy of some sort or maybe a mercenary, with the way she was eyeballing everyone and looked ready to fight at a moments notice. One of the others that entered was a odd sort of noble with a familiar nothing of interest regarding him.

He ignored the fight that broke out since it wasn't worth his attention. Though it did reveal that their was a royal guard here. Perhaps he should talk to him later about the cults activity? Something to think about at least. For now he would enjoy his stew and ale. Wasn't that bad actually, most of the time finding decent food far from one of the capitals was difficult. Atticus suddenly felt colder and smelt wine. All he had wanted to do was enjoy his damn meal and plan his next. But no, some damn familiar decided to throw wine all over him. Turning around faced the group that had the familiar with them.

Standing up he from his chair, Atticus approached the group, anger shown clearly on his face. Slamming his fist into the table, spilling one of drinks. "Control your damn familiar, Mage. Your lucky I'm one of the nicer hunters others in my order wouldn't accept this slight." He said with contempt in his voice.

---

It was slow going for Álmos. He'd somehow managed to get some manner of detritus caught in his robes, and it was driving him positively mad.

With his senses dulled by his outerwear, it had slipped in through the crease of his hood - a bit of dry leaf that felt to his skin like a shard of glass - and had worked it's way down to the collar of his undershirt. From there, it had tumbled beneath the collar, and was currently resting against his breast - pressed into his skin by the tension in the fabric.

Currently, the man was standing stock still by the entrance of The Dockside View, pressing a hand against the wall for support as he leaned forward and plucked at the fabrics that covered him. Garments meant to protect him from undue distraction brought on by his abilities, which now served as the source of prolonged, intense discomfort.

Finally, he found a bit of relief. Dipping his head down, to the point that his ears were nearly level with his knees, the dry bit of plant matter came tumbling back up from his shirt. He pulled his face wrapping away to ease it's passage, and the leaf fell free of him - quickly to be caught in a light breeze and carried onward.

Thank the gods! Álmos thought, with nearly enough relief to bring tears to his eyes. He breathed deeply, overjoyed that he had managed to find some reprieve from the discomfort, basked in that feeling for a moment, and then turned to finish his journey.

---

As he stepped over the threshold and into the inn, Álmos froze.

It was fairly busy - something he didn't necessarily mind, but certainly had his reservations about. With more people came the increased risk that he might be forced to come into contact with them. Nonetheless, he had business to tend to. So, he began making his way towards the bar.

Approaching the counter, he lowered his hood and unfastened his face-coverings. After a moment of closed-eyed contemplation, he opened his eyes and turned them towards the bartender. Once the worker met his gaze, the robed man spoke.

"Greetings." Álmos said with a placid grin. "Might I trouble you for a cup of wine and some soft cheese?"

Chres Sansus

Major interactions with @RangingWolf, @Jerkchicken, @13Org

---

Chres's demeanor changed the instant the man with the gourd grabbed Sil and began pouring wine on her face. It was a pointless action. No matter how hard the man tried, Sil simply was unable to eat and drink. It was just something about the way light constructs worked. Perhaps simply because light constructs were merely captured images given life. Chres honestly didn't know, but what he did know was that Sil was Chres's Familiar. Their year long companionship had made Sil feel almost as much a part of him as his own hands and feet.

The protective side in Chres instantly kicked into gear the moment this man grabbed Sil, despite it being gently. Chres's immediate reaction was to thrust his right arm toward the man and Shape a dagger into his hand. As he shaped, Chres sensed some of the body heat, which he had stored in his shirt earlier that day, leave his clothing immediately. He felt the stored body heat travel from his shirt, through his extended arm and to the palm of his hand. The heat then formed into the dagger he shaped. It's tip stopped an inch away from the man's gut. Chres could feel the heat, from the heat constructed dagger, slowly dissipating into the air as he maintained its shape.

Normally Chres would avoid maintaining a heat constructs shape. That was a waste of the limited fuel for his magic. But the point of this action was to send a message: Don't touch my Familiar.

Chres stared coldly at the man as the man's drink poured off of Sil and onto the counter top. She giggled as the drink flowed down her form. Her mouth open wide but to no avail. Chres didn't know what the man's deal was, but he could tell he was instigating her. Chres may have lost his passion for living, he may no longer care for his own safety, but if there was something Chres still cared for, it was his consideration for those around him... well, except when he was trying to get himself killed but that was beside the point. This man had already seen what Sil would do once instigated. He obviously didn't care.

Chres opennd his mouth to speak but before anything came from his mouth, a fist slammed down hard on the counter top between the man with the gourd and Chres.

Time to stop shaping. Chres thought, as he stopped maintaining the dagger's shape and recovered the little heat he could from the heat construct. The heat when up his arm and back into his shirt. His shirt was not as full of heat as it was a moment ago. Chres instinctively began storing his current body heat into his shirt in case he needed to form more heat constructs later. The change in his body temperature was immediate.

"Control your damn familiar, Mage. Your lucky I'm one of the nicer hunters. Others in my order wouldn't accept this slight." The man who slammed his fist fumed. Chres looked up at the man and frowned. It was the armored warrior Sil had splashed with the wine.

That's enough, Sil. Chres thought to Sil, as his placed his left hand over the glass metal pendent.

That's enough of wh- Sil's thought cut off in mid-sentence as Chres surrounded the glass metal pendent with his fist. While in his fist, no sources of light could touch the pendent. Without a source of light, the magic, which gave Sil life, could not function. Sil disappeared instantly.

Chres looked the man up and down. It appeared he came here looking for combat, but his outfit resembled no soldier uniform Chres recognized. The man inferred that he was a hunter. What did he mean by that? Chres had a few guesses, but couldn't be sure without additional information.

Chres paid a side glance to the female courier Sil had hit with the food earlier. A smidge of food still on her face. Chres allowed this to happen by letting Sil play with food. Chres pulled out a handkerchief and flung it over to the female courier. He then grabbed a few nearby cleaning cloths and offered them to the "hunter".

"My apologies, to both of you." Chres said to the man and women. "She literally has a mind of her own, but I should have known better than to let her play with food. Will you be needing a room to stay for the night? If so, I'll happily pay for your rooms. I hope that will be enough to make amends for my negligence." Chres wanted to wince at the thought of paying, but he didn't. Chres would also need a room for himself tonight, and he barely had enough coin to pay for three rooms.

Karina Frost

Karina wasn't expecting something like that to happen, but perhaps she should? Seeing as the man that was eating was obviously drinking some strong alcoholic beverage... Since she had nothing to do with the situation, she simply kept quietly watching the situation unfolding as the drunk man stumbled into the other three man that were playing a game of the senses, spilling one of their drinks.

Instead of apologizing himself, he appeared to want only to further provoke them, going as far as stealing another one's drink and spitting it into their faces. Karina would have done something to stop such unsightly, uncouth and rude behavior, but if she did, she could risk her disguise...

"Ignore it... Karina thought to herself, tightening her grasp around the cup of water, trying to calm herself down, but that would prove to be a bit difficult as things would only get worse, which would happen much sooner than she thought it would after the first punch was thrown, hitting the drunk man right in his face, sending him backwards against a wall.

Karina didn't seem to be the only one annoyed at the situation, as the innkeeper expressed his dissatisfaction with having a brawl happen inside his inn, but it didn't seem to even faze the aggressors as one of them grabbed a knife. Strangely enough, upon seeing it, the drunk man didn't try to run or even defend himself but on the contraire, instead, he simply smiled and closed his eyes. What was that man thinking? It was almost like if he had purposely provoked those men and was literally trying to get himself hurt or killed.

Luckily for the drunk man, another strange low life entered the inn hurriedly. The rough looking man with a hostile stare seemed to be running for a while and didn't hesitate in trying to stop the brawl, much to the Innkeeper's happiness. Karina didn't know if the strange man knew the drunk one, but surely he was ready to fight against all of them if it was necessary.

Their lack of discipline and decorum made Karina sigh heavily. Something like that would never happen in the military. At least not if she was on duty. Such behavior would be dealt with swiftly... She secretly hoped that the tall and broad man wearing armor would deal with that. He did seem to be someone from the military. The way he walked, his stern look... Somehow he made her remember her father...

Much to Karina's surprise, the one that would start a fight wasn't the low life with a hostile stare, but the tall, armored man... She watched silently as the man approached the others, accusing the three other man from being from a foreign nation. Apparently, he knew very well who they were. He did seem to be defending the drunk man, but at least for Karina, he was the one who started all that by provoking them, so he was at least partially responsible for all that.

"I know who you are, you're one of the kings lapdogs; the mighty Royal Guard" Karina heard one of them saying to the tall, armored man. That surely changed everything... Him being from the Royal Guard could prove to be very beneficial to her. He probably knew more about the current situation and even about all those rumors more than anyone else on that inn. But the three troublemakers didn't seem to be afraid of him...

Everything happened in the blink of an eye as the one with the dagger lunged at the Guardsman, only to see his attack evaded effortlessly by the man. His movements were precise and swift, he knew exactly what he was doing when he quickly disarmed with a series of blows, ending on the floor dirty with splatters of blood and a troublemaker without half of his ear.

Everything ended as quickly and suddenly as it began, leaving behind only the blood on the ground and a lamenting Innkeeper.
Just like she had previously thought, all that thing about being drunk was just an act as the man approached the rough looking one advising him to slow down on his beer... Quite an ironic thing for him, who was drinking so eagerly from the liquid inside the little flask, to say...

As the situation seemed to get a bit better, Karina heard a delicate, female voice. With all that happening, she didn't see her, but just after one of the other clients offered her some food, she saw the owner of such voice: It was a small fairy, that was flying around the 'drunk' man. But before Karina could even do anything, she felt the piece of food the fairy was playing with hit her in her face.
Karina didn't seem to be the only one affected by the fairy's antics, as the armored hunter nearby her was also hit by the contents of the small cup the fairy had on her hands a second ago.

Karina was tolerating all that, trying her best to not do anything, but the second the rough looking man grabbed the little fairy, trying to help her drink and the drunk man shaped a dagger with heat pointing to his gut, Karina finally lost her patience... Was wanting to find a calm and tranquil place to gather information too much?

Karina started emanating an incredibly cold air from her as she abruptly stood up, with her hands on the counter and her eyes closed, clearly trying to hold back her anger. The weight of the rapier, wrapped on her back did seem to be a bit heaver on that moment, almost as if it was asking her to use it to ensure everyone there would act in a civilized manner but as the drunk man apologized to her and the hunter, she realized what she was doing, as both her breath and the air around her were already visible due to how cold they were.

"If you want to throw your life away this badly, the war is happening just a few kilometers away..." Karina said, wiping her face with the handkerchief the drunk man had thrown to her, handing it to him shortly after with a cold stare, both figuratively and literally.

"There is no need to pay for my room. I will just ask you to not use tempraisionism carelessly like that." Karina said, sighing deeply as she calmed herself down, the air coming out of her mouth just barely visible as the air temperature started to go back to normal.

Drinking the rest of the water in one long gulp, she looked at the Innkeeper again, with the same smile she had on her face when she arrived. The transition from the cold and frightening stare to the warm and calming smile on her face was almost like she was an entirely different person.

"I'm sorry, I just lost my composure for a second." She said, mostly to the Innkeeper, but to some of the others who had nothing to do with the situation as well.

"It's been a long trip and I don't know almost anything about this region... And with all those weird rumors that I've been hearing, it's even more difficult to discern what is truth from what is merely well fabricated lie." Karina said, sitting down again.

@Pezz570

The man's sense of fun was dulled by the knowledge gleaned from his little "experiment", that this tiny could not consume. He was also acutely aware of the man leaning towards him trying to threaten him with his magic knife. His only recourse should he try and strike was his own leg dangling close his chair in a manner that with one movement would send him on the floor, but even then it was something he wasn't quite taking it seriously.

After all was not being beaten up some moments earlier? This would not ruin his mood as it was still jovial and lively. He'd promply stop attempting to feed the fairy his wine after it was apparent nothing would happen. He gave the fair a consolatory pat, despite knowing she didn't particularly care either way. "What a shame about your pet mister, but I guess that's what these things are, fancy imitations of living beings." He said to him calmly.

A fist pounding the bar between the two interrupted his next words. It seems the shenanigans caused the by the fairy was causing displeasure among some of the patrons affected by it. He drank quietly as the man voiced his threat and displeasure at the guy. The man recalled his familiar and apologized to the angry guy and then the annoyed woman.

He continued drinking while giving her some attention, as she was interesting. Both heat and cold in the same room, this was an interesting situation. He hid a small smile as she told the fire tempraisionist not to use his power again. After she left to go back to her seat he addressed Chres with a smile, "I did not mean to instigate that much trouble onto you. That being said, a paper tiger should be more careful standing so close to fire."

He then bent backwards as he rocked his seat precariously backwards yet with good balance. He then said to the woman, "As payment for you concern Lady of the winter's touched blade, I shall advise you to keep an eye out in this town. It reeks of rot and these cultists are part of it, that much is certain." He smiled slightly amused at the elaborate nickname he had invented.

He then snapped up back into a regular position without breaking a sweat. "Such talk is too depressing though." He said producing some dice in his hands. "Come let's have some fun and maybe make some coin by joining me in a game of dice!" He said speaking loud enough to be heard by any interested patrons.