Kallen stared at the wolf-girl with a neutral expression, but he felt nothing but disdain for the creature. While it was clearly not the thief it was in fact protecting it intentionally or not. The sudden appearance of Kistal only added to the complication. It also only added the frustration he felt. The beastman at least had the decency to make his presence known as it was quite startling to be snuck up on so easily.

His eyes settled on the movement behind the wolf-girl where his magic told him his eyepatch was. At this point the effect of his spell was fading as he was within range of finding it unassisted. "You hiding behind the wolf-girl," Kallen decided to project the disdain he felt toward the thief. "You have stolen an important item of mine. An eyepatch. A simple item, yes, but the enchantment upon it is not so easily replaced. I would like you to return it while I'm still willing to be civil, and if you cannot return it you be prepare a replacement."

__________

Allanon put his hand out to signal Bidzil to wait when he heard Meave venting about her stolen ribbons. "Hold on, before we go train this is something important." He told Bidzil before turning his attention fully on the Isoli. "You were robbed as well? A belt of mine was stolen last night. I did not take part of the festivities, and I thought if it was just me the thief was probably long gone, but perhaps they're still in town."

He picked up both his sword and his wife's sword as he stood fully from the table. "My name is Allanon Valentis. Perhaps we can work together to find the culprit?"

Kistal let Kallen speak, but he also silently and switfly moved past him, into the shop, jumping the counter if need be. He made a beeline towards Nix, kneeling down in front of the girl and offering a hand to her. He looked back at Kallen then at the jar that the creature went into. "I highly doubt you will get very far with complex explanations. Whatever it is might not even speak our language, let alone have a concept of property like ours. Perhaps figure out something to trade for it. It will get everyone out of this without any harm done." The satyr then turned his attention back to Nix, a light, almost musical note to his voice, his tone and posture trying to keep her from turning the shop into an ice cube. "Hey there wolfgirl. I missed you at the inn last night. I gotta teach you a couple things about this town, alright? Also, you hungry? I can make you some breakfast at the inn."

By the time he began his attempt to soothe her, the gem suddenly appearing and then erupting into a lightshow made Kistal bounce forward and wrap his arms around Nix, his first instinct to protect her, her agitation secondary now. His previous calm demeanor split into a vicious snarl, his nose catching a new scent. He had mana to use and prepared to blind everyone around him if he needed to get Nix and himself out. He looked at Kallen, ready to leverage blame depending upon his reaction.

Suzune's words and wink got a light laugh out of Chihiro. "I won't turn down extras. It will let me pamper her a bit more. I do have a bit of a private question to ask once you get a free moment, though. About Hilde, nothing bad I promise." She occupied herself helping out Suzune get any materials from the back as she waited her turn. At this point, she knew the inn about as well as anyone given she had been here since before it was even made.

Tali perked up suddenly when addressed, causing a bit of jiggle in certain places and a light oh to come from her mouth. "Oh yeah, that. Well, I didn't get hurt during the attack. I was killed before that. Some...less than savory people came in and decided I had to die. Luckily, I can't. Well, not permanently." She smiled and straightened up before getting into a strong stretch. "Had I been able, I would've helped out in the attack. I am quite good in a scrap. Though, waking up after being dead and not getting any good meals has left me very hungry. A couple buns and some coffee or tea would be nice, but it won't do anything about me being hungry, sad to say, Lady Suzune."

---

Due to having slept more than she usually did, thanks to last night's festivities, most people were already eating their breakfast or were getting ready to go out when Maeve got down the stairs, complaining about her ribbons.

While the pleasant smell of food did help to appease her mood a little bit, enough to make the cold air emanating from her subside but not enough to make her forget about the stolen ribbons, nor enough to warrant the cold stare she was giving as the looked around. Amidst known and unknown faces, many of the guests were at the counter, either talking with Suzune or waiting for their breakfast.

"Good morning." Maeve said, greeting Suzune, Tali and the others around with a rather flat tone, which coupled with the cold stare in her eyes was a dead giveaway she wasn't exactly in the best mood.

Just after she approached the counter and was about to ask Suzune for some breakfast, one of the two guests whom apparently were getting ready to go training, judging by the swords they were carrying and the bit of conversation Maeve had caught when she arrived stopped her, after complaining about her ribbons.

"Unfortunately, yes." Maeve said when the man asked if she was robbed, mentioning that he was also a victim, despite not having participated the festivities.

"I am sure they didn't disappear during the celebration too, since when I took them off to sleep last night, they were still on my shoes." she explained.

"Why would someone want to steal the silk ribbons that decorate my shoes?! Even if they're made of expensive silk, I doubt a thief would recognize their value or even be interested on them instead of jewels. Unless they were trying to provoke me or something..." Maeve said, in a cold, annoyed tone.

"Greetings, Allanon, my name is Maeve Orzhov. It is a pleasure to meet you." Maeve said, in a polite and dignified greeting, despite her mood.

"I have no problems with working together. The faster we find whoever was responsible for these pranks, the sooner I can show them that they messed with the wrong woman. Not only they entered my room while I was sleeping, but they dared to put their filthy hands on my clothes." Maeve said, accepting Allanon's proposal for them to work together.

“She will be fine, have some faith in her,” Jeevak said as he sat down in a rather simple wooden chair next to a fireplace. He held his hands close to the fire to heat them up a bit before he sat back. The inn room they were in was a modest one. Nothing fancy, but it had all the basics covered. “Didn’t expect it to be so chilly. We haven’t even passed the ice mountains yet.”

A woman was pacing around with a maternally worried look on her face. Jeevak’s last statement made her cut her eyes to him, “That’s precisely why I told you not to let Gadman make the arrangements for us. He’s a cheapskate. We should be happy we have a fireplace and beds…” She continued pacing a bit more in silence, her open front dress lightly trailing behind her. Normally her long white hair was pulled up and pinned, but right now it trailed nearly down to the floor as well. Her arms were crossed as stopped once more. “What if she got lost, or slowed down, or captured? I really wish you didn’t let her go on her own, she is still just a child.”



“Fiera, you should have some more faith in her. She is young, but I doubt thee is a person alive that can catch her. In fact…,” Jeevak started as he looked to the window and stood up. He slid the window open and then backed up as a red blur flew it, rolling on the floor and then popping up, hopping up and down.

“HI HIIII! Kitchi made it back! Safe n’ sound!” the little Kobold said triumphantly. “All the way to Midrill? So far, is cold! Why here?” she asked excitedly.



“Now now, Kitchi. Rest first, then we can get on to business,’ Jeevak told her, trying to keep her calm and still. He gave her a few scratches behind the ear which summoned a rapid tapping from her foot. He reached for the soul gem she held and sighed as he looked at it. “Well, that's another one down, only a few left.”

Fiera quickly knelt down and scooped up the small kobold child in a hug. “Kitchi! You had me worried sick. Why didn’t you wait for me to go with you? What if you had crashed while you were on your own?”

“Kitchi fine! Found strange sand boat in desert, people on it feed Kitchi sweet things! Really good sweet things! So Kitchi make it back super fast!” Kitchi’s tail wagged side to side even when held up in the air. Fiera sighed and sat down on the side of her bed, setting Kitchi down next to her. The girl could sense something was wrong and her head tilted back and forth periodically in response. “What wrong, not do good!?” she asked, momentarily sounding distressed.

“No-no, you did very well, but you need to be more careful. What have I told you about taking sweets or any other food from strangers? They could put something very bad in it for you,” Fiera scolded. The Kobold looked a little crestfallen, and Fiera couldn’t be mad at the girl. Drawing her in for another hug, patting her on the back she then continued. “But you still did very well,” she continued, playfully poking the nose of Kitchi’s mask. “how about I make something for you before I retire for the night, hmm?” she asked with a gentle smile.

“Ah! Please, please!” Kitchi begged, though Fiera was already up and preparing to make a small meal for her. Jeevak watched as Fiera took care of the kobold as if it were her own child. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, but now wasn’t the time to reflect on the past. They were a small step closer to his goal, and he was in a rather good mood. He clapped his hands together and stood up.

“Alright then, I’ll try to help, I know she can have a big appetite. Tomorrow though, I’ll leave you two to stay here while I try to talk with the current queen of Tundral. Maybe there won’t be as much conflict here as the Crystal Sea.”

“And if there is?” FIera questioned, lighting the stove.

Jeevak stood there quietly for a moment in thought. He took a deep breath. “How many people have we gathered in Grandis?”

“Roughly thirteen-hundred.”

“Willing to fight?”

“Maybe a little over five hundred… But… do you really think that-”

“I do… Fiera… I think they will if it comes down to it. Powerful as I may be, no one person can stand against an army alone or with a handful of people. If we can’t negotiate peacefully… We’ll have to invade.” He took out some meat that was in a special preserving pouch in a bag next to the kitchenette counter. From it he took out some salted meats, placed them in the pan and passed some seasonings to Fiera. He walked to the window and closed it back. “Though, I understand your worry. We may have to bolster our forces beforehand. I just need to find out how…”

---

Lord Vincent Calibris, head of the Calibris family and the Calibris trade company sat behind his desk in his study, leaning back in his chair with one leg folded to rest his ankle on his knee. He held one hand to his chin in thought as the other tapped on his desk. “So, let me get this right…’Captain’. Not only did I lose my prototype rune doll in the field, but I also lost around seventy five capable men at arms, both warriors and mages alike, to some group of sand dwelling neanderthals and a few tourists? And what do we have to show for it? All of that blood for WHAT, Captain?”

A very nervous and confused looking man in half armor shuddered in front of the desk. “M-m’ lord, s-sir. There was an outside force at the town as well, we couldn’t have predicted Their best warrior to stay behind and get aid from-”

“OH, BE QUIET! You act as though none of your men had seen combat before.What the Hell do you think you get paid for? Excuses or results?” Calibris snapped. “All of you have become soft, never leaving this city to get real combat experience… That will change. You should be grateful I’m still in a good mood and won’t kill you for this failure. I don’t care to have to deal with you and we need the numbers. I’ll just have your family work off this failure,” he said as he leaned forward in his chair and started taking notes. “In the meantime, you will make sure to raise a more combat ready unit. The next ambassador assigned will be much stronger and a bit more… lively.”

“My family!? Please Lord Calibris, I beg you, let me work their share, you can even take my life, I’ll do anything! I’ll-”

“I’m not going to kill you you idiot, I just got done telling you I needed more men, not less! Honestly… Hmm, leeeet’s see…,” Calibris began as he thumbed through a folder with the captain’s name on it, rebuffing the man’s pleas. “A wife, two daughters, aaaaaand THREE strapping young lads!? Well, my goodness, you have been an active man indeed.”

“What will… what will you have them do?” he replied worriedly, hoping it was just something as mundane as physical labor.

“Anything I want! Since you seem to be so wasteful with my resources, I may as well use yours. That wife of yours will be quite useful for a full range of tasks. Unfortunately your little whelps are of little use at their age. I’m sure I will get some work out of them, they can fit in pretty small places after all. As for you, however… I am glad you are so willing to cooperate. How would you like to be promoted?” Calibris asked, standing up from his chair and pacing around the desk and circling the captain. He could feel the despair from this man practically radiating off him, it was delicious.

“Pr-promoted? I-I don’t understand m’lord.”

Calibris, from behind, laid a hand on his shoulder as bladed arms started to peek from behind his back, “Why yes… after all, I’m in need of a new ambassador.”

The night was largely uneventful for Tyrael. After taking his bath he simply retired for the night, having not had much of a rest since he had started traveling through the desert. He slept rather soundly, though made sure to keep Zastriel on watch in the event of treachery. He also made sure she was in relatively close proximity to Lynn in the event something happened to her, though fortunately it also seemed as though nothing happened. When morning came Tyrael awoke and ate a a hearty breakfast served by the innkeeper. However as Tyrael gathered his belongings and headed to the Oasis, he heard whispers of concern. Apparently some of the townsfolk were missing items. Tyrael simply assumed it had to do with the festivities from the day before. Tyrael didn't really partake, and certainly none of his belongings were misplaced. Though he was concerned that perhaps someone had robbed Lynn; she didn't seem the type to know better if she ended up drunk.

Tyrael would arrive to the Oasis to check on Lynn. Compared to the day before, Tyrael looked much nicer, since he was able to wash himself and his clothes. He even made sure to keep his armor cleaned as well, though by design it always had a rather muted tone since Tyrael didn't want his armor to reflect light. He also made sure to get used to having his new axe on hand as well. It was odd feeling such a heavy weapon on his person again. Once he found Lynn, Tyrael would knock on a wall to get her attention. "Good morning Lynn. How are you feeling?"

Sightseeing for a while now, and with the streets still empty, it wasnt hard for Ingoleth to notice the commotion near the market stalls while he strolled by, looking for something to do out of boredom. He heard people talking and something crackling, all behind a sandstone wall, no doubt created by a spell. Dix phased through the wall and went inside the room without coming out afterwards. That extra bit of information was all Ingoleth needed to figure out what was roughly happening inside.

He reached for his harp and begun to prepare for a mana infused tune inducing drowsiness, only for a quick and rough awakening, when no resistance was felt where the stolen strings once were. Great. Mounting the harp back on his belt, he tried something else.

He imagined of the most extravagant of gems he had ever seen, locking that mental image in his brain and then projecting it as a palm sized illusion in front of him. Then, he set the condition of it to move forward for 5 seconds -enough to roughly be in the center of the room, if maybe a bit further- before exploding into a miniature sparkling lightshow of all the different colors of the rainbow. It was meant to be incredibly extravagant to say the least. That ought to draw their attention.

-----

"Perhaps," Kallen calmly responded to Kistal's suggestion of a language barrier. "Or it simply could be sh-" He flinched in surprise at the sudden lightshow. He turned around and knocked down the wall of sand with a simple smack with his staff. A gust of wind could probably tear it down since his spell only formed the shape of the sand using the little water that was available. It's effect was symbolic rather than practical. "What the hell?! Who the fuck is stupid enough to do something like this?!" He snapped while scanning the area.

-----

Nix seemed to take note of Kistal's actions. She somewhat trusted him after what he has done for her so far, and he didn't seem to be acting aggressive towards this man either. However, she didn't back down, this man's irreverence to her authority could not be overlooked. One false move from him and she would not be able to permit him to try to shame her further. As Kistal tried to soothe her through words, she dismissed them. "Not now," she simply responded, eyes still locked on Kallen. Could he not see how this was not the time for pleasantries? It was then that the lights flashed before her eyes.

Danger!

By instinct, Nix leapt towards the only threat she knew, still unable to quite see due to the rapid and drastic change in light levels. Something quickly grabbed her and her first instinct was to bite at the arms that grabbed her. With a snarl she chomped down on the first thing she could sink her teeth into, ice bursting from around where the wound would be and away from her own mouth, causing it to affect an even larger area than what a regular bite would be. However, something didn’t taste right. There was fur, and the scent was that of-, oh no.

Nix opened her eyes to realize she had bit down hard into Kistal’s arm, and was instantly taken aback. There was a look of shock and worry for a split moment, her ears perking up in surprise as well. Kistal looked fine, otherwise, the bite being the only wound. Even angrier now that she was stopped and bit him instead, however, Nix’s ears laid back as she growled in irritation, giving Kallen a death glare. She struggled to get out of Kistal’s embrace. “DUMB! Why stop Nix!? Now you hurt! Eerrrrr, will tear him to pieces! LET GO!” she demanded, still struggling. Unfortunately for her, Kistal was quite physically stronger than her, and would be able to keep control even with the frostbitten wound on his arm which still had ice hanging from it. Nix didn’t believe in what she thought was this man’s theatrics. There was nobody else here, so it had to be him that made that light.

-----

Dix was getting excited with the chaos unfolding in front of her eyes, like a long scroll yet to be fully unraveled, yet her excitement only visible to Ingoleth as the sandstone wall became dust.

"Thats a bit rude of you." Ingoleth chimed in with a sarcastic and smile, standing right behind the would be sandstone barrier. "I put a lot of work on these illusions." Now able to observe the situation, seeing the wolf girl with what seemed to be tundral powers, he figured a lightshow wasn't the best of decisions for this particular situation. But Dix was enjoying herself so it was a win win scenario. He could see, and she got chaos.

However, he knew what the right decisions were, through his past. He raised a palm towards Kallen and moved between him and the wolf girl, never directly walking to her but rather around in a circle. He yawned and licked his lips, giving her a side glance, and gave a toothy smile. Finally, he turned to Kallen, his back vulnerable to Nix. All of his actions were calming signals, which he used to trick her primal instincts, effectively using them against herself.

Facing Kallen, he warned him, "Friendly advice between one to another, dont challenge her." Right in front of his face and out of Nix's vision, a small illusion of Ingoleth's face appeared to be shushing him. When it disappeared, instead replaced by the bard's ghost sounds of Kallen's voice saying, "Yeah, okay." It was an approximation of his voice after hearing him speak, but probably good enough to fool an angry wolf's instincts of aggression.

-----

Kallen glowered at the stranger's interference as he approached. Under normal circumstances he would be more than happy to engage in dialogue, but this one had chosen a poor route of introduction. "This is not your business to be involved in, stranger." He kept a discerning eye on this intruder. Part of him considered use of the Eye of Avarice, but he needed his full attention on this spell caster just in case he decided to continue causing problems. The mana cost of the Eye might prevent him from effectively countering his opponent.

He knew all the signs of catalysts. He heard no words, so either it was a gesture or an object. As soon as the unwarranted advice arrived Kallen's irritation reached a peak. As soon as the illusion of the hushing face faded, Kallen slammed his staff into the sand channeling his intent to counter magic firmly declaring. "Enough."

Any gestures were too small to notice which likely meant the catalyst in this case was an object. Kallen hated countering this type of catalyst. Often times he had not enough time to study his opponent to figure out the tics that go with that particular object. This made countering more guesswork than anything which meant there was a chance he would waste his mana, but he could not allow for this continued annoyance. This situation was between him, Kistal, and the other two within the merchant's stall.

-----

Kistal's goodwill resulted in a rather nasty bite, which would normally just be annoying, but the added ice explosion caused him to audibly grunt in pain. "Nix, it isn't him making the problems!" Before he could say any more, a hoity toity bard walked in and started to talk about illusions. Kistal responded reasonably for anyone versed in magic, not to trust a single word the bastard said.

His first decision was to simultaneously test to see if the bard was actually real or not while getting to vent some of his well earned anger. Kistal used his naturally thick skull in a headbutt towards the back of Ingoleth's head, following up with a haymaker towards the kidney. As he struck, he growled out a rumbling insult. "You fucking idiotic twat! We were handling it just fine and you practically make a fight happen! Be happy we didn't just try to kill you instantly for putting us so on edge!"

-----



Allanon gestured towards Bidzil after Maeve introduced herself. "This is Bidzil. Glad to have you working with us, Maeve." He turned his head to Bidzil. "There are a few options to find the culprit. We have access to a couple magic users, so it's entirely possible that one of them is capable of using tracking magic which if I remember correctly is best effective based on familiarity with the item. Secondly only the best of thieves leave no evidence behind, I'm not the greatest detective, but the skillset is something an old comrade taught me the basics of. Thirdly, we have manpower. Simply put, three bodies can be fairly effective in searching out an area if we can deduce the best places one could hide at a time like this. Places no one would be at this hour. For example the marketplace as Suzune told me earlier." He glanced around the room. "I'd ask Kistal to help as well, but he already left the building if I remember right."

He had understated his detective skills a bit, but he didn't feel comfortable telling the truth about his hunting down Calabris operations and defeating them in front of strangers and in a public place. Him being open about using his real name in public was simply because he was confident he could defend himself from any bounty hunter, and it even opened opportunities to find Calabris operatives. One of the reasons he introduced himself with his full name to Maeve was to gauge her reaction. If she recognized his name she didn't show it.

”Orzhov,” Allanon mentioned after a few moments of thought. ”That’s a Tundral family.” The last time he had heard anything of his old comrade, Craiv Hallas was when they went their separate ways. ”I used to work with a healer by the name of Craiv Hallas. About eight years ago we parted ways. He said he planned to return his family to its former glory. I haven’t heard from him since we parted ways. Perhaps you know something about him?”

-----

Bidzil gave Maeve a nod and a quick wave as he was introduced. "The markets? Yeah, I guess that would make sense I would have picked something a bit farther out, but if nobody is there, then it would be a prime spot. Plus who knows what wares might still be locked up in there." Bidzil made his way to the front door and opened it, holding it to let them through as well. "Shoot, when I was a kid, there's no way I would have let such an opportunity pass me by. It's kinda is fair game when you think about it."

At that moment, he could hear shouting that short distance passed the square and looked out from the inn. It was a ways off, but it looked like there was something going on over at the market stalls. "Hey, uh.... Either they are reopening the place up, or someone is a step ahead of us." Bidzil said with a smirk. The commotion started to turn a couple heads here and there that had still been milling about, but for now, they paid it no mind.

"A private question, hm? Oh my, maybe I guessed a little too correctly. After we are all cleaned up here, I'll do my best, no promises though," Suzune responded to Chihiro. Luckily, most everything was nearly completed, and it seemed the others were about to make a quick errand, so they will mostly have the place to themselves. As for Tali, Suzune couldn't quite mask the confusion in her eyes. "I... I must say, that is quite the perplexing statement, but nobody in this town seemed against you in any way. Though, we were apparently hosting some of the local bandit tribesmen right under our noses. I’d hate to think it was any of our own.”

She started serving the food once it was done, mostly to Chihiro and Tali at the moment. “Oh, r-right. I forgot. You need a supply of mana instead. Well, I hope this at least takes your mind off it for now.” she said as she set plates in front of the other two women. “I’ll just have to keep their food warm till they return I guess. They seem rather fired up.”

-----

While the naga woman would have been content to wait in the inn and relax, the commotion in the market stalls grabbed her attention. "Ah yes, Suzune, the question is for later, then. It seems I have some more work to do before I can rest." She slipped out, looking towards the stalls to try and get a better read on where to go. She flicked out her fans and then glanced behind her for any additional allies.

Tali smiled at Suzune as she apologized for not being able to restore her mana. "Oh, don't worry, dear. I got my fill after I woke up. Food and drink will be a nice relaxation for me. But, it might be best for me to join the others. They may need my...unique talents." She got up, not missing a chance to plant a kiss on Suzune's cheek, then sashayed out the door.


-----



Just a little below the water’s surface, Tyrael would be able to make out Lynn’s silhouette. Upon knocking on the wall of the bathhouse that half sat on the water, Lynn seemed to stir a little, causing little ripples in the water that distorted her face as she looked up to see Tyreal. She smiled and rose from the water, her staff lifting her out as she sat sidesaddle on one of the paddle-like sides. “Tyrael! Good morning~,” Lynn greeted as she stretched in a way that seemed a bit more appealing than what one would think possible for someone as innocent as her. “I am feeling much better than I was the other day. Thank you so much for helping me get here safely. I don’t know what would have happened if I had come out here on my own.” In her mind she remembered Gossk’s sacrifice, but she tried to keep things relatively cheerful at the moment. Dwelling on it too much now would only breed negativity. “With those ladys’ help, uhm… Valia and Maeve if I remember right, got me back to feeling much better again. I almost feel as if I had spent a day pampering myself at home! I had no idea there would even be bodies of water out here, small as they may be, but still amazing!” Unlike normal, where Lynn would dry herself off by removing water from around herself, she left it so that she could hold onto more water. Out here, she would dry up soon enough anyway. “Alright, so, what should we do today?” she started, crossing her arms. “I still need to ask if they know anything of the trident, but first maybe we should take a look around? Maybe that place over there where people tend to gather for food and drink?”

-----


Bidzil hesitated going out the door for a moment, waiting on the others to gather up as it seemed that they wanted to go check it out as well, letting the door come back to a close. Once all seemed ready, he swung the door back open, but was surprised when it suddenly met resistance and apparently knocked someone over. “Ah! Ohman, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to knock you over! Here let me help you up!” He exclaimed as he rushed around the door. He leaned over and held out his hand to what seemed to be a young woman in a red cloak. His face had a look of worry and embarrassment, he really didn’t think anyone was there when he had opened the door again. When did they even walk up? He hoped he didn’t hurt them too bad with it.

-----



How many hours had passed since Ilren fell asleep? Did it even matter? Upon awakening, Ilren would find herself in a bed of Aliah’s tails, one of the two fox demon sisters that stayed with Sahale. To say her tails were huge were an understatement, that even kept the demon girl from being very active, but the large plush soft fur that adorned all nine of her tails made for a very convenient bed, enough for Aliah herself and two other people to sleep in fact. Speaking of which, if Ilren were to roll to her side, she would see none other than the other sister, Momoki, fast asleep next to her. Perhaps last night saw too many of Vonna’s specialty drinks, and they fell asleep earlier than anticipated. Though all seemed to be fine. Or rather, nobody seemed to be indecent. Aliah usually didn’t drink, so she must have carted them both back to her and Momoki’s room after they passed out before falling asleep herself.

Looking around, Ilren would know that she was in their room by the telltale decorations. Unlike most of the rooms, Momoki and Aliah’s ‘room’ was more like an indoor garden fashioned like the cherry tree forest south of the Scar, their original home. There were furnishings and places for storage in spots, even a little stream that went through the middle of the garden.

Indiscriminate murder is counterproductive, so instead I chose to sleep on fluff.

---

...

It was rare she woke up, not remembering what exactly she did the night before. Aliah's tails though, seemed to have a pretty decent calming effect on her...not that she was ever not really calm, but they definitely made her relax. So relaxed, in fact, she did not want to in fact get up.

Nngh~

Ilren would yawn, blinking tiredly as she'd briefly sit up, noticing the other sister sleeping next to her. Well, at least she had all her clothes this time and there wasn't a dead body. Should she get up? She probably should. There was probably something she could be doing, but on the other hand...nnhn, the archer would collapse backwards into the tails, looking up at the 'ceiling' of their room. Part of her just wanted to stay here, lounge the day away, not thinking about anything. Wasn't like she had to do anything...hm...

Maybe she should go mess with Aliah.

...

"Hn..what sis...?" She'd groggily say, seemingly having thought she had heard something, but whatever the case was she'd sigh heavily, "Haaa, nope, getting up it is." Ilren would get up off her bed. "Morning Aliah...annnnd morning Momoki." She'd say, impishly grinning as she'd give the other one a shove, hoping to roll her out of her furry bed.

Kalla, a small oasis trading town by the edge of the Killiman desert. Small, square buildings of hardened sandstone, marble temples, and a busy, bustling marketplace anointed with brilliant, bright colored flags. Despite its rather the town's relatively small size, it was still fairly well known and well travelled, and was the primary stopping point for trade caravans headed in and out of Varuk territory. As such, there was also plenty of room for strife, chaos and cutthroats. Not a lawless town, but not an entirely peaceful one either, be it infighting or marauder raids. All in all, a pretty average town in Hitala. It wasn't nearly as nice as Portea, but at the same time, it had its own quaint little rustic charms.

These rustic charms were more or less lost on Elena, as she rode into town. The sun was bright, it was hot, and had she not worn her traveling cloak, her fair skin probably would've been burnt a long time ago. The Isoli people were resistant to the cold, not so much the heat. Thankfully, she had traded out her heavy travelling cloak, for a lighter one- this red and white hood draping to just past her shoulders as opposed to her whole body, its light fabric and colors reflecting away the light and heat, without weighing her down too much. The cloak billowed in the breeze as the staff Elena sat upon carried her in.

The Red Saints had a small presence in the town of Kalla, currently only her friends Neev and Vog had been assigned there. The town was small enough that the two of them should've been enough to take care of it, but there must've have been some trouble on the winds, as Cinclaire had sent Elena there directly. Reluctantly, but obediently, Elena was now in Kalla, bearing the desert heat for her dearest sister. Elena caught some strange glances as she arrived in town. Her hands quickly shot to her hood, afraid that it had somehow fallen off, but it hadn't. The stares were probably at the fact that she was riding a staff instead of a horse.

Sliding off her staff, and taking it back into her hands, Elena took stock of her surroundings. She'd just arrived, so she'd best check in at the temple- or at the tavern where Neev and Vog were. Though, if she had some free time, perhaps the marketplace would be a nice place to check out- she could buy some gifts or supplies there. The marketplace would also be a decent place for her to start gathering information as well.

Deciding she'd at least drop her stuff off and secure lodgings for the near future, Elena approached the inn. It was one of the larger buildings in town- fitting as Kalla had a decent amount of travelers coming though. Reaching for the door, Elena had placed her hand on the door before it suddenly swung out, knocking her off her feet.

"Ah!" Was all Elena got out as she hit the ground. Her hands went for her head instead of trying to brace her fall, grabbing at the edges of her hood as she landed. Coughing from the dust and sand that picked up as she landed, Elena looked up to see a rather tall man standing over her. He apologized for knocking her over and reached out to help her up.

"No its okay, I just wasn't expecting the door to swing open so suddenly," Elena replied quietly, taking the man's hand as he helped her up. "Thank you." she replied softly as she dusted herself off the ground, finally looking up to get a better look at the man.

He was a taller man- taller than she was, broad shouldered and dressed in bright red, with the look of a fighter about him. Cocking her head, Elena noticed that he also had a few companions following behind him- one of which she recognized as an isoli woman, not unlike Elena, their manner of dress and look were fairly different when compared to other cultures. Behind the isoli woman was another human man, slightly older, and also surprisingly recognizable. Elena had to study him for a moment before recognition fully clicked: the narrow face, greying hair,

"Oh, Sir Allanon!" Elena called out to the older man in surprise, her melodic voice picking up as she waved to him. "I wasn't expecting to find you in Kalla!"

To be fair, Elena wasn't expecting to find Allanon anywhere. While very kind and helpful to the members of the Red Saints around Portea, Allanon came and went fairly regularly, and never really said too much where he was going.

---

Maeve gave a small, polite bow as Allanon introduced Bizdil, the other swordsman who was going to work with them to catch the mysterious thief.

"Pleased to meet you, Bizdil." she said, before turning her attention back towards Allanon, who began explaining them the possible alternatives they had to begin their 'investigation'.

"Ice magic is my specialty, so I don't believe I can be of any help in magically tracking the lost items... After all, if I could do that, I would already have my silk ribbons back and the culprit's body would be frozen, slowly thawing under the desert sun." she said with an angry tone.

After a few moments, Allanon mentioned her family's name, recognizing it was a family from Tundral. Maeve silently heard, interested as Allanon began talking about a healer he used to work with eight years ago named Craiv Hallas, inquiring if she knew about him.

"Craiv... Hallas... The heir of the Hallas family... I've heard they were once a great family but they've been in a steady decline." Maeve said, touching her lips with a thoughtful expression.

"I don't know much about Craiv or his family other than the rumors that are sometimes said by the high nobility. Although the nobility mostly speaks of the Hallas family with pity, as an once great family and nothing more, they say that the family was able to stabilize it's situation thanks to him back when it was on it's lowest and now it's even showing signs of steady recovery." Maeve said

"It's not like I had that much time to deal with lesser families between being the 'face' of the family by going to balls and events from the high society, trying to defend myself from being offered as a prize in a political marriage, thanks to those greedy old mummies that are the current elders of the family and trying to save the family from falling into the hands of my incompetent older brother, despite being simply better than him in every aspect..." Maeve said the last part with disgust in her voice.

Just as she was talking about that though, particularly when she was remembering the times she duelled with suitors the elders kept throwing at her, she remembered of a particularly annoying one, that kept boasting about having met a particular duelist that was among the top ten in the world.

"Wait a moment... You said your name was Allanon Valentis?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It seems I've found myself a worthy sparring partner." Maeve said with a mischievous smirk, provoking him.

Just as she said that though, Bizdil alerted them to the commotion going on in the market stalls, just outside of the inn.

"Judging by the shouts... I don't think it's just them reopening... That would be a good place to start playing detectives." Maeve said as she finished eating, getting up and walking towards Bizdil, who was already near the door.

When Bizdil decided to open the door, a loud thump of something hitting the door could be heard, together with the sound of someone falling to the ground. Bizdil quickly apologized as he extended his hand towards the young girl. Much to Maeve's surprise, the moment she approached Bizdil and the girl to see what had happened, she immediately noticed that the girl had a much paler skin than people would normally have at Kalla. A single glance at her hands was enough for Maeve to say she was definitely an Isoli.
Surprisingly enough, the very moment the girl saw Allanon, she immediately called for him, making it clear that they knew each other.

"You should be more careful Bizdil." Maeve said as she approached them.

"To meet another Isoli on Kalla of all places. Such a coincidence." Maeve said, with a curious expression as she looked at the girl.

"Maeve Orzhov." she said, with a polite, much more formal bow as she analyzed the girl's posture, the words she would use to greet her. While for most people, greeting someone and introducing themselves was a simple thing, for the Isoli nobles, even such small acts were a complex social dance and could say more about one's standing and even their own personality than people thought.

Nix was not happy with the outcome. Her authority was challenged, and she had no real way now to right the injustice, and her lone rebuttal to the act only ended up injuring the wrong person. When Kistal fussed at her, telling her it wasn't Kallen, not only was she more confused now, but she was now antsy since someone else came into the picture. She simply huffed irritatedly. So what, was it this guy now? There was no sense in all of this. She would have to check on Kistal after the others left them alone. That bite would be nasty and she would need to try to bath it to keep from infection. 

She crawled over to where the small vase the little thief was hiding in, circled it twice, and sat down with her legs crossed and the vase in the middle. If one took the time watch her, they would notice now that things were calmer that Nix had strips of various cloth as bandages wrapped around her ankles and wrists where the cuffs from the other day had been. She sat there indignantly, watching with her ears back and eyes narrowed. Her tail did swish a couple times, thumping on the ground when Kistal struck the strange man. If he was the actual culprit of that flash that made her bite Kistal, then it was more than alright by her. However, she was still much more wary of the human that first woke her up.

Ingoleth had seen his fair share of mages to know that standing in front of one when casting magic was dangerous. He immediately skipped backwards and away from him, his back towards the wall, just in time, as the horned one's horn lightly scraped the side of his skull in an attempt to headbutt him. Good timing, me! he thought as the beastman then moved to punch him.
Unfortunately for him, close combat was never his thing, so instead, he deliberately sat still, the strength of that beastman knocking him a step back against the wall, to which he straightened his back and fixed his posture, revealing a toothy, cocky smirk, his longer canines visible. He was in pain, but he was also a good performer. Good enough to fake his death twice. This small task of fooling these two was a piece of cake.

"If by 'handling' it, you mean create a commotion, attract a fox spirit obsessed with mischief, then proceed to engage in an ego battle with a proud wolf girl, then yes. You were definitely handling it i'll give you that." he paused, taking a good look around and processing everything happening. "Wait, i caused the fight? God.. are you all scared of pretty lights? The mere thought of you trying to kill me is amusing."

At first glance, his appearance would signal a half Beastman, or to the better versed, a Grusk, particularly his unnaturally colored, sharper features. His illusions being cast without any visible catalyst could be seen as supporting the Grusk theory.

"Either way, i dont recommend approaching the vase. If you knew anything about wolfmen you would know that's her territory. Most actions are seen as hostile."

Allanon listened as Maeve explained what she knew of the Hallas family's recovery. Since it had been so long since he had heard from his former comrade it was a good thing to hear that he was successful in his endeavors even if they were slow. He had little interest in visiting Tundral, but if his adventures took him there in the future he would try his best to meet Craiv. He understood how closed off Tundral was to the outside world.

"Thank you," Allanon said. "Of my old friends he is one of the few left alive. I'm glad he's doing well enough for his family to be back on the rise. I can relate to your feelings in regards to politics. My own family wanted to use me for political marriage as well." He turned to head out and deal with the commotion outside when he heard her repeat his name making him pause in his movement. When she said "sparring partner" he realized exactly what she was and chuckled. "Perhaps at some point later we can exchange pointers. Even though I've long since left the dueling life I'm always willing to take on challengers when they find me."

Then he heard his name again from a different voice from a young woman that just entered the bar. He looked at her cautiously, but after a few moments recognized the Red Saints attire. The girl herself looked familiar as if he had met her somewhere, but her name entirely evaded him. Not all that surprising as when he brought in people needing the Red Saints' help he never asked for names although he heard several of them often enough. The Saints were the only organization he trusted to protect the victims he brought in from the Calabris family. He was pretty certain she was from one of the Portean locations.

"I could say the same thing to you," He responded with a kind smile. "We can talk another time. It appears there's a commotion not far, and there is a thief about."

With that he marched out the door and to the marketplace to witness what clearly looked to be a dispute between Kallen, Kistal, and a stranger right in front of a stall.

Kallen blinked incredulously at Ingoleth. "Ego battle? What are you talking about? My interest here resides with the thieving creature in that jar. Why in the hell would I waste my time engaging in an ego battle?" He sighed in frustration. As he did he noticed Allanon approaching. So much for discreetly finding a thief and getting recompense of some sort.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Allanon demanded with his arms crossed. "'Thieving creature in that jar'? Some questions need answering here."

----

"Tinker," Nix interrupted, glaring at Kallen. "Not thief, [i]tinker[/]. Is imp. Nix will not give to one eye," she stated matter-of-factly. She huffed air as if to finalize the statement and turned her head from him.

Bidzil caught up with the others, apologizing once more to Elren and hurrying to the market. "What'd I miss? Oh wow, there's a lot more people here than I thought," he mentioned looking around at the large group forming. Oddly enough, all foreign to Kalla, including him. "What is… a 'tinker imp'? Never heard of that before.

Nix's ears perked up as she looked to Bidzil. She remembered him from the desert, much like this other man, but other than that, she didn't know much about him. With Kistal there, she felt more at ease despite the growing number of people. "Tinker just is. Take things, make things, share with pack, pack share with tinker."

At that point a familiar voice was heard calling to them as they approached. "Well, aren't all of you drawing a nice little crowd this morning?" the voice called out. The group would be able to turn and see Hilde walking up in her full gear looking better than ever after being healed and given a night to rest and freshen up. She had a big smile on her face like her father as she looked around at the how they were pulling attention to the curious townspeople either stopping to see what was going on or slowing down to rubber-neck as they passed by.

"What's with all the commotion? I heard shouting all the way from the temple. Anything wrong I can help with, or a good drink at the inn might solve?" The last suggestion seemed a bit more like a request the way she said it. Which it was, in hopes to get them away from the stalls and in a place that could calm their nerves over a nice relaxing drink. Not to mention cooler temperatures tend to make cooler heads. Despite her objections at being a temple guard, she seemed to still like the position.

------



Both the girls woke up with a yawn and a stretch, though Momoki was cut short as she felt a push, causing her to tumble over to another of Alia's tails, sweeping the blanket that was Momoki's tails off the three of them. She yipped in surprise but relaxed as she practically melted into the plushy tail as well. "Oh, Elren," she said, pausing to get focus. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She didn't even remember when they got back here. Her eyes then widened as she perked up. "W-wait, Elren! O-oh my. We didn't... do you still have all your mana? you aren't feeling woozy are you?" she asked, afriad of what may have transpired in her drunken night before.

Then Aliah stirred once more, more sluggish than her sister. "No, everything is fine. I watched over both of you," she spoke slowly and dreamily, as if trying to shake off a still lingering dream. "Vonna stopped putting alcohol in your drinks after you two stumbled to your chairs," Aliah explained. "It seems you are getting better around my aura. After all, you were the first to wake."

Momoki sat up and pondered for a moment. "Hmm, now that I think about it, you haven't seemed effected by my scents. "Maybe I need to amp it up a bit later~" Momoki giggled mischievously.

Indiscriminate murder is counterproductive, so instead I chose to sleep on fluff.

---

Ah yes, if there was one thing Ilren disliked about the two sisters...their ability to nudge people into certain emotional states. They couldn't really help it, considering their nature and what little she knew of them. A brief thought of wondering what sort of tests she could run on them, but quickly moved the thought aside. No sense in letting a stray thought get her on her current benefactors bad side.

"Was I? I thought I heard my sister talking, but she's still sleeping herself." Ilren would say with a small smile. "So maybe I just heard Momoki talking in her sleep." She'd say, returning an impish giggle. "Dreaming of me then? Hehe, you know if you want to do something like that, you just have to ask ya know." Before they could pursue that topic further though, Ilren would hop off the large, fluffy bed that she had been sleeping on, stretching lazily. "Maybe later. I'm getting a bit restless. I should probably find something else to entertain myself with."

Allanon listened as Maeve explained what she knew of the Hallas family's recovery. Since it had been so long since he had heard from his former comrade it was a good thing to hear that he was successful in his endeavors even if they were slow. He had little interest in visiting Tundral, but if his adventures took him there in the future he would try his best to meet Craiv. He understood how closed off Tundral was to the outside world.

"Thank you," Allanon said. "Of my old friends he is one of the few left alive. I'm glad he's doing well enough for his family to be back on the rise. I can relate to your feelings in regards to politics. My own family wanted to use me for political marriage as well." He turned to head out and deal with the commotion outside when he heard her repeat his name making him pause in his movement. When she said "sparring partner" he realized exactly what she was and chuckled. "Perhaps at some point later we can exchange pointers. Even though I've long since left the dueling life I'm always willing to take on challengers when they find me."

Then he heard his name again from a different voice from a young woman that just entered the bar. He looked at her cautiously, but after a few moments recognized the Red Saints attire. The girl herself looked familiar as if he had met her somewhere, but her name entirely evaded him. Not all that surprising as when he brought in people needing the Red Saints' help he never asked for names although he heard several of them often enough. The Saints were the only organization he trusted to protect the victims he brought in from the Calabris family. He was pretty certain she was from one of the Portean locations.

"I could say the same thing to you," He responded with a kind smile. "We can talk another time. It appears there's a commotion not far, and there is a thief about."

With that he marched out the door and to the marketplace to witness what clearly looked to be a dispute between Kallen, Kistal, and a stranger right in front of a stall.

Kallen blinked incredulously at Ingoleth. "Ego battle? What are you talking about? My interest here resides with the thieving creature in that jar. Why in the hell would I waste my time engaging in an ego battle?" He sighed in frustration. As he did he noticed Allanon approaching. So much for discreetly finding a thief and getting recompense of some sort.

"What in the hell is going on here?" Allanon demanded with his arms crossed. "'Thieving creature in that jar'? Some questions need answering here."

Kistal's gaze become so withering as to threaten reality in that stall. His ire was directed at Ingoleth. The satyr took position between Nix and the rest, the wound on his arm now seemingly forgotten. His voice, normally boisterous but civil, became rough and belligerent. "Enough of this farce! Bard, you have done nothing but ill. Your...help," The word dripped with enough poison to kill a dragon. "did nothing but make the situation worse. She was already cornered." He grabbed one of the wine bottles he carried. He was too angry to care and snapped the neck off with his fingers before downing half of it. His next exhale exuded an odious miasma of unfocused mana mixed with the alcohol. "No more spectacles, no more threats. Move to let Nix and I leave to the inn or I will force you to move. I expected a bard to be more than a pile of verbal diarrhea."

He looked behind him at Nix. "Nix, if you would, please come with me and bring your friend to the inn. We have much to figure out, without the presence of this insufferable fool." His eyes fixed upon the people at the entrance. Everyone simply got a cold glare except Ingoleth, who received a glare that could only be forged through decades of hate and pain.

Chihiro saw the young woman get knocked down but left it alone. Bidzil was handling it. She instead was hot on Allanon's heels and saw the spectacle. Kallen and some newcomer seemed almost pitted against Kistal and Nix. She heaved a sigh, hearing how angry Kistal was. Obviously, something happened before they arrived for the satyr to be hurling insults at the newcomer. "Alright, alright, explain later, get this back to the inn. This place won't help any of us out."

She was about to begin trying to usher people back towards the inn, but Hilde came in and interrupted.

Tali followed the main group, though not without ogling the new Isoli a bit. At the situation, she crept on the sideline, letting the group say its piece. If anything explosive happened, she would be happy to step in. However, for now, she was content to make sure everyone got back to the inn in one piece. Had she known the situation, she likely would have sided with Kistal and Nix, regarding Ingoleth as an unnecessary meddler rather than any sort of assistance. Regardless, she didn't know the situation yet and was withholding judgement.

Alright, let’s head that way,” Hilde started with a smile, glad that it didn’t have to escalate further. She watched Kistal storm by as Nix followed, walking on her two legs so she could hug the vase close to herself, which, after seeing her move around normally, was a bit odd compared to how she kept low and on her haunches regularly. She wanted to ask if they were alright, seeing Kistal’s wound and Nix’s bandages. “Uh, w-wait. Kistal, y-you’re arm, what happened? Maybe we should swing by the temple first instead? Neev might be up and able to help heal that, if Vog allows it anyway. He’s been very particular about her magic use since the attack.Either way, that needs attention.” It then dawned on her that there was a new person in their midst. As they were walking and talking and approaching the inn, Hilde saw a girl in a red cloak.

    As for Elren, the group that walked away from the inn seemed to already be headed back, though with another familiar face other than Allanon’s in the form of a certain infamous, to Calibris anyway, satyr. 

"Oh, hey! You must be the one Vog was talking about. Elren, right? He said if I see you that he and Neev are in the temple. Poor girl has been sleeping since the other night after the raid the other night. I'm sure they'll be happy to see a familiar face. I’m Hilde by the way", Hilde said to Elren. She looked the part of the Red Saints girl Vog described, anyway. “So I guess if we go there instead, that will be two birds with one stone.”

Nix gazed a resentful glare at the others clogging up the stalls before clutching the vase close to her and walked only a step or two behind Kistal. Her ears were laid back as she looked at Kistal’s arm, not too happy with herself about it, secretly blaming herself. She was silent, though that was probably not surprising. Some chittering could be heard from the vase once in a while, and Nix would look into the vase to check on whatever it was inside. “Peach… Need one,” she finally said. 

“A peach? Hmmm, I don’t think we will have those any time soon. We can only get those in trade normally, sorry,” Hilde mentioned.

 Nix only seemed to huff once more, growling in frustration, though it didn’t seem directed back at Hilde.

Bidzil stared and watched, relieved that everything seemed to settle itself in the end, though maybe not as smoothly as one would hope. He rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, that could have gone smoother. Not much we could have done though it seems.” He sighed and brought his hand down to rest his left knuckles on his hip and his hand on his hilt in a casual stance. “Hmmm, maybe we should hold off on that training idea until  we know a bit more. Besides, I still got a bit of a road trip to plan out, ya know?” he chuckled.

At this point, it seemed the aformentioned red saint duo was walking out of the temple, headed toward the inn anyway. Vog was carrying Neev like a parsnt taking their child to bed, she seemed to still be in the middle of one of her 'cat naps'. Whether she had woken up from her initial one or this was her falling asleep again, even Hilde wouldn't know. Vog, however, knew that unless she was needed or actively doing something, she tended to sleep the day away.

-----

“Momoki! Aliah!” a young woman’s voice could be heard coming down the hall from outside the room. Both the sister’s ears perked up when they heard it and Momoki was able to leap from where she was to the door right as someone frantically started knocking on it. 

    “It's unlocked, Erida,” Momoki stated as she opened the door for her, revealing a young pale girl with long  wavy light blonde hair that nearly brushed the floor. The most notable thing about her, however, were the weathered draconic features marking her as a half dragon beastman. She had frail looking horns, tattered wings that constantly drooped low, and a tail that drug behind her. She was breathing heavy and trying to catch her breath, her face flushed. Momoki quickly took her hand and led her to Aliah, resting her on one of the fluffy tails. “What’s wrong? You shouldn’t work yourself up like this,” she continued, sitting next to her and brushing the girl’s hair behind her ear for her. She looked rather shaken.

    “O-oh, Ilren, you are here too. I was looking for you as well,” Erida started, Aliah’s aura helping calm her down. “Its Teeva. She’s gone, and with one of Nina’s small crystal orbs as well,” she said with a worried look on her face. 

    “Crystal orb? What was she doing with that? I thought only Nina and Cros were allowed to use those? Where did she go?” Momoki asked.

    “We… we don’t know. Teeva isn’t tagged like Sahale is, so Nina is having trouble finding her. As… for what she was doing… She told me not to tell, but-” Erida stopped herself and was on the fence about continuing, not wanting to break Teeva’s trust.

    “If you think it was important enough to come this far, surely it's important enough to tell us,” Aliah stated.

    Erida took a few deep breaths, “Alright… Teeva somehow managed to learn the spell Nina uses to have one of her crystals watch over Sahale while he is gone, just as Mr. Cros does. While watching it though, something spooked her. W-well, not in a frightened way, but more of a surprise. I wasn’t able to talk to her much afterwards, and I don’t know what she saw, but she told me not to worry about it. This morning she was gone and Nina said one of her orbs was too.”

People kept on coming and coming, and Ingoleth's curiosity kept growing. Did they all know each other? Quite an adventuring party! Though what kept him interested even more was that beastman. He seemed very passionate. He hadnt seen such rage, such intense hate in a while, he couldnt help but smirk at his directed verbal and somatic threats. Intriguing... Maybe he could use that. But for now, he simply moved to the side with a chuckle.

"Verbal diarrhea? I dont even talk that much! Unless you dont know the actual definition and just mean that i talk shit, in which case, stop it you, im blushing!" Using his ability, he made his cheeks red like he had make-up on to go along with his sarcastic comment before everyone left for the inn, which he also did, because fuck it. What does he have to lose anyway? Its not like they would kill him. Hes smarter than that! "Come on dix, you dont wanna miss all the fun." he said out of everyone's earshot before moving.

At the inn, he just sat as close to Kistal as possible without being in range of any more melee attacks, and ordered a simple meal. If asked which one, he would of replied with "Surprise me."

---

Following Allanon and Bizdil to the marketplace, even before they arrived, it was clear by the commotion and the loud voices that something was happening. Fortunately, it seemed like they wouldn't have to search much longer as one of the people who was involved in that heated dispute was mentioning something about a thieving creature in a jar or something.

"'A thieving creature in a jar...' Is that some kind of local idiom or something?" Maeve asked, raising an eyebrow at the strange sentence as Allanon demanded to know what was happening.

As she got closer, walking around Allanon to get a better view of what was happening, she had the unfortunate surprise to see that the rude satyr from before was, of course, part of the commotion.

"I should have expected it would be in the middle of this commotion..." Maeve said with a frustrated sigh as she saw the Satyr.

Unsurprisingly, what came next was a fantastic display of hostility and barbaric behavior coming from the Satyr. Not only his words, but even his movements were uncivilized and repugnant. A complete lack of class and civilized behavior. So much it was deeply offensive to even be nearby, especially when he snapped the neck of a wine bottle and drank it, letting out a putrid mist from his mouth after drinking half of it.

"Ugh... How barbaric..." Maeve said as she gave a few steps back, trying to avoid the foul miasma that got out of the Satyr's mouth after he drank his wine.

Fortunately, before the situation could become any worse, Chihiro and Hilde were quick to move the group inside the inn, where they would be able to hopefully, avoid any more conflict. Still confused, Maeve begrudgingly followed Allanon, Bizdil and the group back inside the inn, extremely annoyed to the idea of being nearby the Satyr, especially after his little display.

"I don't care what's happening, I just want back my things." She said, sighing.

Kistal led Nix and the little tinker imp to the inn. Despite his injury and anger, his expression softened as he saw a familiar face at the inn. He stopped in front of Elena and ruffled the top of her hood, and by extension, her hair. "Hey there, Elena. I didn't expect to see you way out here. Is everything alright back at base? Did something happen?" He flexed his fingers on the injured arm, testing the pain. It still hadn't fully hit him yet, so he could stand a little more time before seeking medical attention. It only smarted thus far.

As much as most of the others probably considered him relatively unapproachable, he normally was much less so. Things had just been the worst possible brew for his ideology and soft spots. Now, Elren was here and he had to keep an eye on her to make sure she stayed safe. It seemed he had become the caretaker of a few of the group now, so he had to work harder. Luckily, he never slept and could fight and eat, so he was confident he could keep them safe and happy if he had the means.

Kallen let out an exasperated sigh when Nix said it was a tinker imp not a thief. He was losing the energy to be angry this early in the morning. "The... tinker took an important item from me. Therefore while it is in fact a tinker imp, it is also a thief." He could only guess that the beastgirl's definition of thief was different than others, and likely the imp was very much the same. He grumbled to himself. "Why in damnation does beastman culture vary so much?"

Then the words "tinker imp" settled into Kallen's mind as Kistal led Nix and the thief away. "Hold on... Tinker imp." A wolfish grin showed on his face. "I may be able to resolve this problem, yet. If I remember correct... I need to get to my room first." Without another word he jogged ahead of Kistal to get to his room and his collection of books. So he could pull a bestiary he gathered in his travels.

Allanon stood still for all the while that this happened observing the situation as it unfolded before him. Kallen didn't really answer his question, but perhaps it didn't really need answering anyways as he watched Kistal leave with Nix and the tinker. Then Kallen ran off. "What the hell?" Allanon raised his arms in an expression of his confusion. "I... I guess we're back to the inn?" With that he started walking back to the inn.

Kallen opened his chest once he got into his room, and immediately found the bestiary he was looking for in his well-organized chest. Flipping through the table of contents he found the page he was looking for and bookmarked the page before heading back down the stairs. He waited for everyone involved in the theft to arrive and sit down before he opened the bestiary. "Alright, so thanks to Nix informing me of what particular type of beastman we are dealing with I remembered something in regards to the tinker imp. I never expected to actually come across one of these creatures. Let's see..." He traced through the book's lines. "Well damn." He looked back at the various victims of theft. "Odds are whatever was taken has already been used as materials to craft... something. Tinker imps are notorious for their compulsion to create things. However..." Kallen looked straight at the tinker imp with a neutral gaze. "If we can figure out how to communicate, and even come to an agreement. We may very well have ourselves a very competent smith."

Allanon was quite impressed by Kallen's last statement. The wolfish grin earlier had him nervous, but for him to hear a branch member of the Calabris family speak of cooperation with a non-human rather than domination of a non-human without any sign of disgust caught him off-guard. He had little experience with negotiation, so he had nothing to contribute to the conversation, but hopefully others had ideas. If this situation could be resolved amicably and quickly they could head off to their next destination.

To anyone that arrived back to the inn, Suzune would welcome them back, breakfast now ready. The meal consisted of As for breakfast it was as she described earlier: Flatbread filled with falafel, humus, black beans, cucumber sauce, and potatoes, with sides of eggs, sausages, cheeses, and steam buns with a sweet date paste in the center. Though she would give a worried look to Kistal with his injured arm, before Suzune could express herself about Kistal, Vog seemed a bit startled as Neev went from seeming dead asleep to hopping out of his arms.

She was already over next to Kistal examining his arm. “Oh my, oh my! This is curious indeed! Where could you have gotten a bite like this all the way out here?” she started, her tail whipping back and forth. Nix didn’t seem enthusiastic about the girl running up to him and bared her fangs at her with a low growl. Neev’s ears perked up and she took a step back waving her hands. “Don’t worry, I won’t harm him, in fact,” she said folding one arm around herself and resting her chin on her index finger and thumb contemplatively. “I think I remember the right spell for this. I used to see this seldomly in Midrill, but I never thought that I would see it out here. You are a long way from home, missy,” she told Nix, who only huffed in response and looked away as she settled back down. A book then lifted from one of her pockets and flupped through the pages till it landed on the ome she was looking for. “Alright, here it is! let's get this arm fixed.”

Neev lifted Kistal’s arm up and out. “Alright, hooooold here,” she said as she held both hands over the wound, just a few inches from it. Chanting under her breath and with her eyes closed, the ice around the wound started to dwindle into nothingness and the wound itself started to glow as it closed up, leaving a scar. “There! How does it feel? It may still be sore for a few days, as it was rather deep.

Vog simply sighed and found a place to sit down, as did most of the others. Even Hilde found a comfy place to sit near the bar where her mother was. Bidzil found a center table and sat, getting started on his food, chuckling to himself about how confused Allanon seemed to be to go back and forth. Seems like they could have just stayed here and it would have sorted itself out, but better safe than sorry. He looked around at everyone, something obviously on his mind, and when his eyes settled on Chihiro, a question came to mind.

“Hey Chihiro, if you don’t mind me asking… That Jeevak guy everyone was mentioning at the bandit camp. Kallen called him the ‘enemy of man’, but you mentioned having to see him again… as enemies? What do you know of him? I mean, I was kinda trying to gather the treasures as well, but… I don’t know quite how I feel about it if it’s something that will get others hurt. Though, then again, if this guy is as bad as he sounds, maybe trying to get them to keep his hands off them is a better reason to try to get the treasures. I know it’s an old tale, but if anything, these last few days seem to tell me the legend of the oracle and the Vanishing Kingdom are as real as any of us in this room,” Bidzil said, looking a bit more serious than his usually carefree and loose persona painted him as. “I don’t want anything like what’s happened to my town to happen anywhere else.”

“Jeevak? That name is familiar,” Neev interrupted, her ears twitching over to Bidzil’s question. She quickly turned to Vog, and looked between him and Maeve. “He was here after I had started to rest, right?” she asked, partially to both of them.

“Yes, was able to clear your early mana sickness signs, and from what I heard, he helped the fair Isoli and her friend settle a matter outside in the square,” Vog recalled, little pieces of what he saw and rumors he heard while staying by Neev’s side.

In the meantime, Nix took it upon herself to check if Kistal’s arm really was well. She sat next to him, cross-legged with the vase in her lap, and took his arm in her paws. She looked it over for a moment, unsatisfied with the strange magic the girl used and started licking it to clean it. She gave a half hearted glance towards Kallen when he mentioned her by name, but quickly went back to work, ignoring him.

The tinker, curious as to the smells in the room and the calmer atmosphere, poked its head from the top of the jar, the webbing ‘lid’ pushing slightly out of place as she did so. Whoever was to look towards it would see two beady golden eyes peeking at them. Hilde tilted her head slightly and squinted in thought. “A smith? Something that small? I mean, I never heard of any such thing as a ‘tinker imp’ before, but how could something like that possibly make anything comparable to a smithy? Especially larger items,” she said, voicing her disbelief.

Kallen’s book excerpt from Merryfeather's Encyclopedia of Humanoid Creatures:

Kistal followed Neev's directions and stayed still as she did her work. Once she finished, he flexed his fingers and twisted his wrist around a bit to test the muscles. "Yeah, well soreness isn't much to me. A life of being whipped and hit will do that to you." He was about to start o move when Nix grabbed his arm and started licking the scar. He knew she was just trying to help, so he calmly let her follow her instincts. "I'll be alright. No long term harm done. First things first, though. Let's make sure no one here is going to antagonize the tinker or Nix." He glanced over the rest of the people there. "I imagine most of you wouldn't, but I would like a verbal agreement. I won't let any of you harm an innocent, let alone a fellow Beastman."

Chihiro watched Kistal being healed and picked at her breakfast a bit. Despite her age, she was still nervous about Suzune's response when they had her conversation. Finally deciding to eat something, she ate one of the dumplings, savoring the sweet flavor. She then nodded to Kistal's request. "I won't cause any trouble for anyone here as long as they aren't doing evil. I'm an inquisitor that roots out evil, so stay out of that and we can get along nicely."

Bidzil's assessment of the situation was surprising given how air headed he seemed at times, but the naga simply ate another dumpling and then started to speak. "Well, seeing as you all saw me in my true form, I guess no harm will come from me talking about it. So, let's start about...two hundred years ago, give or take a decade or two. Jeevak and I traveled together, fixing problems and making friends. Over time, he became increasingly more fixated on revenge for the genocide of his people, the Grusk. Eventually, I decided to part ways with him before getting caught up in his madness. I kept an eye out for signs of him either improving or getting worse, but nothing happened. Fast forward to today. Now, he has not only shown interest in relics but has also shown up. As of right now, he is assumed to be antagonistic. He may not quite be evil, but he cannot be allowed to exact revenge. That would result in innocent life lost on an almost unseen scale at this point. At least, that is what I can imagine he is after."

It was hard for Autumn to tell the time from the small underground room, but the sound of small feet and giggling of small children running down the halls was a telltale sign of morning. The room was small and narrow, but comfortable enough for one person. There was a bed with a trunk at the foot, a bedside table with a lamp, a dresser with mirror, a heater, and a small table with two wooden folding chairs. It was cozy, and much safer than the swamps and forests to the southeast. The faint smell of breakfast would waft into the room. Smelled to be the basics, with the unmistakable scent of eggs, bacon and sausage being cooked.

As the hideout started to stir, there was word that Khatia was soon to arrive, and Linoa was hard at work making sure everything was in tip top shape to welcome her. Knowing Khatia, she was most likely coming down to relay a mission, along with her usual staffing, so there would be at least four to five guests on the way. Outside of the room would be a hallway with the other barracks, and at the end of the hall was the commons area, where the hidden entrance would be. Passing that, there would be another corridor that would lead to the mess hall, training areas, and meeting room, and a few cells. There were only a handful of people here. Including Linoa and autumn, there are Yiris and Maple here, along with a few other volunteers that show up when they can.

“Yiris? Yiris, where are you?” Linoa called out in the commons. Just then a young looking half cat beastman rose out from under a bunch of miscellaneous tools and boxes.

With a yawn and a stretch Yiris looked around the room as if taking in her surroundings. “I’m here… apparently. Funny, I don’t remember dozing off here,” She looked around dreamily until her eyes settled on a strange ticking device in her hands. “YIKES!” she yelled out and quickly cut a wire in it. ”phew, close one,” she remarked.

“What was... No, you know what, I don’t even want to know. Anyway, Yiris, have you made the arrangements for Khatia’s order for the mission that she requested?” Linoa asked.

“Oh, that stuff? Well, yeah. Got that done last night… I think.”

“You think?”

“I… well, I should probably go check on that.”

“Please do,” Linoa finished, brushing some hair behind her ear with a sigh. She looked down at a clipboard with a to do list on it. Other than Yiris, all seemed about in order. “I swear, it’s the formal work like this I just can’t stand,” she said, tossing the clipboard on a nearby crate. She looked down the hall to the barracks, noticing she hasn’t seen Autumn up yet. Walking on over, she decided to give the door a gentle knock. “Autumn, are you still sleeping in there? Won’t have much time till Khatia gets here ya’ know.”



“Alright kiddo, I can let ya take this quest, but just be careful. I hear those bandits are nothing but trouble, have a few tough ones in their ranks too,” the older bartender told Ren as he unpinned the bounty from a corkboard behind him. “Use this as your proof of acceptance with the caravan, they should be leaving in a few hours from that location,” he continued, handing her the flyer. “Anything else I can get for ya?” The bar Ren was in was about on the southwest side, on a border between the Lonnette district and Calibris. The bar was fairly close to the southern gate, and acted as an inn on the upper floors.

Oddly enough, Sahale had gone silent since Ren last saw him in Kalla. Having left before anything happened, she may have still been unaware of what transpired just yet. Thus, her main source of bounties was halted and she had to rely on local bounties to get some money in her pocket. The mission seemed simple enough. It was caravan guard duty for a route from Portea, to Creston, and then to Midrill and back. It was a common trade route, and the merchants seemed to be low to mid tier as the payments weren't especially high, but it seemed to be the best one available at the moment.

---

“Yo, Copy, come check this out,” Zeph called to Zephel. He was standing at his desk slapping his hand on a large binder. The hangar office was cluttered with parts, notes, random scribblings, some adult reading material, and food wrappers. It was obvious that Zeph had another binge session of drafting from the bags under his eyes and stupid grin. “I think we’ve about got it. In this binder right here is all the blueprint material for the Grande Dame. If we are lucky, we can have an airship by the end of the year now! It’s just… well… we lack materials, and the budget is nearly all burnt up.”

He turned around and looked at other blueprint books. “I mean, we can try to build smaller personal craft to start, but I want to build the Grande Dame as my flagship. Uhg, Yiris always knew how to get some cash, but since she’s left, I’ve come to find out I’m not so frugal. If you can, could you find a few bounties to knock out? You are used to doing all that adventuring stuff, I can get us a head start while you are out.”



“Eight dead, twelve injured, damage to one of the rice fields. Culprits have retreated into the caverns even farther beneath the forest,” a man’s voice reported. The only thing visible of the man was the black cloak he wore, drooping hood hiding even most of his face. Sitting across from him in the meeting chamber was Seiryu, leader of the reapers sworn to serve the Scar. He sat on a lone cushion, the only furnishing in the room, with his blade beside him and the insignia of the reapers on a tapestry behind him, a black cloth with white ink painted on it in the form of crossed sickles with sylph in the middle, arms crossed in an ‘X’ and wings outstretched to the sides.

Seiryu sighed, shaking his head. “I imagine that they live in those caverns, but trying to get down in there would be near suicide, even for us. They know the tunnels and have probably made every trap imaginable in there. I’ll think of a way to flush them out, but to cover the whole of the caverns at once would be near impossible.” Seiryu rubbed his chi in thought, looking down at his blade. Maybe he will have to personally get involved.

The reaper bowed, though he had more to say. “Sir, there is one more piece of news that we have acquired, before my report is finished.” When Seiryu nodded for him to continue, the man took a deep breath. “Renestrae Vesperr, sir. She’s been spotted in Portea. Should action be taken?”

Seiryu’s eyes widened at the mention of the name. “So… She’s slipped up and got herself noticed. I half expected Sahale to have whisked her away by now. We need to capitalize on this before she slips away again.” Seiryu stood up and paced the room trying to think of what to do. He then sharply turned to his informant, “Summon Akarui and Tsukihana. If anyone can track her down, It’s those two. I must prepare a mission briefing, so go ahead and bring them to me,” he finished, waving the man off who simply bowed and soundlessly left the room. “I’m going to put an end to this… all of this…”

He looked over to the rock garden just outside. There was a large red gate that led to a graveyard, and while there seemed to be nothing wrong with it, Seiryu knew better. Two guards stood at either side of the gate, making sure nothing unauthorized made its way through. “Sometimes I wonder… If those graves were your punishment, what should this traitor’s be?”

It was about Mid-day when Akarui would hear a knocking at his door. All reapers were required to stay in the reaper’s fortress dorms unless tending to a family. Depending on your rank, your room would be better or worse. Akarui, much like his brother, nearly had his own studio apartment. Tsukihana’s room, however, was a decent sized room that held all her essentials. It was far from cramped, but it was still quite basic and shared a bathhouse which was separated for men and women, a kitchen, and a common area with the rest of the reapers in that formed floor. The dorm buildings themselves were in the classic Sylve style, using wood and tatami floors, wood framing with rice paper walls and dividers, and sliding doors.

There was a faint knocking on Akarui’s door frame. Tsukihana then took a step back, casually crossing her arms and standing outside waiting. Being on a lower floor, she got the message first and told the messenger that she would let Akarui know for them.

Ren was thankful for finally landing a somewhat decent paying job. Smiling to the older bartender she nods reassuringly. “Thank you sir, I really needed some work. I’m alright, no need for anything more an ale would be nice, however I must be level headed for work in a few hours. Goodbye good sir.” She bowed respectfully and trudged upstairs to to the room she had been staying in.

Sitting on the bed and crossing her legs she peers out the window in thought. “I wonder what Sahale is up to what may have happened. After separating in Kalla no contact…” This was never a good sign as Sahale always seemed to check up on her every so often but never a silence this long. Shaking the thought Ren refocused on the task at hand, laying out a map she traced the route with her finger until she landed at Creston.

Speaking aloud to herself she murmurs, “Never been there, and there is some bandits who seem to run the show. This can’t end well for these merchants” Shaking her head in frustration. “If only I wasn’t so strapped for money, I wouldn't have to do these jobs that put me in risk.” A shiver running down her spine as a flash of the reaper’s insignia invades her head. Sudden paranoia overtakes Ren as she jumps up and closes the shades only to peer out a crack and look out onto the street.

“I’m fine… I got to calm down its been 4 years! And they send fodder to get me. It can’t be that serious” Ren was only trying to fool herself as she knew the last attempt on her life she had just barely got out of the situation. They were serious and Ren had fear. She was only deluding herself. With a huff Ren recollected herself. She geared up packing all her things and set out of the inn/bar.

Ren read the job listing and arrived at the location of departure. Asking around Ren located the head of the caravan and used the job listing as proof of acceptance. Asking one of the merchants if she could ride with them. They comply and Ren hops in the back of the wagon, sitting down Ren lays her bow on her lap. The caravan sets off shortly thereafter, and they set off to Creston.