Time: Evening
Location: Forest clearing, campfire
Interactions: Aurora/Rowan @mole Zora
Mentions: None
Equipment: Longsword and Plate Armor

---

"Hmmmm..." Following these people around weren't the satisfying answers Barrock wanted, but it was what he expected. He wanted to see something a lot more reassuring, something that felt like rebel activities or that he was working towards a goal. But he'd take that answer for now.

"Nothing happened." He grumbled. "I caught sight of my kinship several times, and nothing has changed in my absence. The same gluttonous beasts I left behind."

Most orcs never learnt. Some like that clan that favor peace and cooperation were the only exception, but even he couldn't stand them. They often fancied themselves as enlightened orcs, which he considered self-congratulatory nonsense. Some looked at him no different from the orcs of his clan, which told him all he needed to know. They might be more civilized than normal orcs, but they weren't anymore than the rest, and would be subjected to just as much biases.

He noticed Aurora saying something was approaching, and while Zora joked about her brother's controlling tendency, Barrock could sense something too. Not physically, his danger senses were tingling. He clutched his sword close to his thighs, one hand on the hilt and one on the sheathe. "Ready your weapons..."

ᴛɪᴍᴇ | Sunset
ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ | Northbound on the Eastern Sea
ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ | Mister Luum @FunnyGuy
ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ | Bardulf @Lava Alckon, Masako @dreamingflowers
ᴇQᴜɪᴘᴍᴇɴᴛ | Travel bag with essentials (money, rations, first aid, etc), sapphire pendant, twin daggers.

---

Zeva tried to trace her gaze to what Luum was looking at in the horizon, finding the magnificent silhouette of Rue’s pegasus soaring across the skies. Its wings flapped in smooth curves, catching the illumination of the setting sun like a paint brush softly dipped into orange and pink pigment. She envisioned for a moment what it would be like to fly as freely as the pegasus. There would be no worry about getting to class on time, dealing with customers at the Oak Tree, evil dark elves, or political revolution – only the wind beneath her wings. But the thought was fleeting, and Zeva quickly returned her attention to Mister Luum.

As he spoke, imagery of consecutively larger beasts cycled in her mind. Zeva was growing used to being confused when Luum spoke. Regardless, she understood he was telling her the hefty weight of acquiring this information, though the elf never granted explicit details on this mentioned ‘price’.

Luum continued, a brilliant orb of light appearing in the palm of his hand; a mastery of light magic that Zeva had yet to achieve. The light stretched across the wooden deck, casting harsh contrast against the grainy details and damp algae crusted onto the ship’s planks. As marvelous as this demonstration was, it could not distract from the worry of learning that the fate of the mission rested in Bardulf’s hands. Zeva found it hard to place her trust in the novice stranger – or at least, she didn’t get the impression he was particularly strong. Train him indeed…that much is necessary. Then, the orb of light in Luum’s palms swelled until it burst into a dazzling array of stars and sparks, reflecting a galaxy in Zeva’s widened eyes. The spectacle faded, and darkness fell upon the two again.

Zeva grinned. “Well, I guess that’s all I need to know for now. Train Bardulf, huh? Definitely. Guess I’ll ask him about his weird ea-” Zeva stopped abruptly, remembering the shock of her horrid nickname from earlier, but quickly regained her composure, “-ears, later.”

She looked down at her own hand, curious, and began to collect light at her fingertips. Her rough, calloused palms faintly glowed, somewhat visible against the darkening sky. Only the edges of her fingers seemed to conjure enough energy to be truly called ‘light’. The light surged and flowed like calm waves to the ends of her hands, until a marble of luminescence finally formed above her index finger.

And with a strong shake, the light dissipated into the air. An aggravated sigh huffed out from Zeva’s chest. “I should probably train more too…ha ha.” She switched her attention to the two figures that had entered their view on the deck – Bardulf, and a peculiar warforged with intricate blue patterning interrupted with some streaks of gold. The latter’s appearance intrigued the young elf, finding a foreign kind of beauty in her craftsmanship. She turned back to Luum, “Wow, I haven’t seen a lot of warforged but this one’s so pretty! Wonder if she’s strong too…”

Time: EVENING
Location: EXT./INT. THE TIPSY TAVERN - RIVER PORT
Interactions/Mentions: The guy cosplaying as an elf @princess; The golden lion furry @Helo; The lady in a purple dress @Tae; Tavern patrons
Equipment:

---

Jun stood at the entrance of The Tipsy Tavern, his heart doing a weird jitterbug. He wasn't exactly a fan of places like these (too loud, too much going on). But as much as he wanted to leave River Port and put as much distance between Malachi and the others, he knew wandering around in the dark wasn't the brightest idea. Plus, he had zero clue which way to go. And, as any seasoned RPG player knows, a tavern's the best place to gather info. Biting the bullet, Jun pushed open the creaky door.

Immediately, he was hit by a wall of laughter, chatter, and all-out party noise. The air, thick with the scents of spilled booze and tobacco smoke, carried an undercurrent of musky, not-so-charming hint of BO that really, really needed to be aired out. He grimaced as his shoes stuck to the floor with every step – when did they last mop up this mess? The combined heat from all the bodies and fireplace only made things even more unpleasant.

The place was rammed with clientele from every corner of life. Around scattered tables, weary travelers and townsfolk were kicking back, offloading their day's burdens. Some were all about that drink in hand, others about the company they kept. Over in one corner, a bunch of regulars, still in their work clothes, were going hard at a darts game. The thud of darts hitting the board mixed with cheers and groans, as bets were won and lost. In another corner, an orc and what looked like a minotaur were locked in an intense arm-wrestling match, surrounded by a shouting crowd. High above, a bard was trying their best to strum out a tune on their lute, which got pretty much lost in the racket.

Right in the heart of it all, there was a wild party going on. It gave off major frat party vibes – the kind Jun always steered clear of back in uni.

As Jun tried to navigate through the crowd towards the bartender, he got a sudden shove. The burly, scar-faced dude in mismatched armor who bumped into Jun shot him a stink eye, clearly miffed by Jun's failure to dodge.

"Hey, watch it!" he slurred as he swayed on his feet.

"I-I'm sorry, I did-di-di-didn't mean to—" Jun stammered, backing away.

The guy squinted and studied Jun's appearance. "You're not from around here, are you?" He leaned in close enough for Jun to get a whiff of his last few drinks. "Hold up… You... a Human?"

"N-no!" Jun blurted. If he remembered Avalia's setting correctly, 'humans' don't naturally exist. The only ones that do were the summoned 'chosen.' Meaning, it'd be easy for The New Dawn to track Jun down if he said he was human. Safer to pretend he was roleplaying as some other race. "I'm… um… uhhh…" His eyes zipped around and landed on a group of dwarves. "A dwarf!"

For an awkward beat, the guy said nothing, blinked, then frowned. "A dwarf?"

"Y-yes. A very tall dwarf." Jun quickly added. "With giantism."

The guy just stared (and Jun could only return the look) until he cracked up. "A giant dwarf, you say! Haven't seen those before." He slapped Jun on the back. "Sit your giant dwarven arse down, boy, and drink!" Before Jun could protest, he was dragged into the thick of the party and pushed onto a seat. A massive jug of beer thudded in front of him, its frothy contents sloshing over.

"Uh… thank you, but I just wanted to ask if anyone knows the best way out of River Port," Jun tried to explain but wasn't sure if anyone could hear him over the noise. "Or if there's anything dangerous out there I should watch out for..."

"You want answers, giant dwarf? You drink with us!" declared the guy and the table roared in agreement. "Bottoms up!"

Feeling the weight of dozens of eyes on him, Jun hesitantly lifted the jug to his lips, the heavy scent of beer filling his nostrils. With a deep breath, he took a careful sip.

Time: Evening
Location: Cargo hold of the Righteous Tern - main deck
Interactions: Bardulf
Equipment: Oil-paper parasol

---

Masako regarded the stranger in front of her with curiousity. His demeanour reminded her of a skittish wild animal, meeting with something unfamiliar. He was handsome despite his scars, maybe it even added to his looks. It was comforting to see that there was beauty in brokeness, even in Avalia's other species.

She answered in a melodic voice.
"I am Masako, warden of the Altmer elven family who reside in the Ironhold. I was..." She stopped her well practiced recitation of her purpose in this world. There it was again. This strange and uncomfortable feeling, like something was stuck in her throat. It made her otherwise unwavering delivery sound much more emotional. The blue glow filling up her eye sockets flickered.
"I mean, I am the caretaker of their children, my wards"

"It is my purpose to find them and return them home safely."

Time: Evening
Location: Flying above The Righteous Tern
Interactions: @Helo Bowyn ❄ @Lava Alckon Bardulf ❄ @FunnyGuy Mister Luum ❄ @Tae Brigette ❄ @Pink Khione Zeva
Equipment: Small backpack, two knives, bow and arrow, rations, water flask, hygiene products, polearm, outfit

Rue nodded. She agreed he was strange and there was indeed something off and could feel it in her gut. Nonetheless, there wasn’t much she could do. ”I agree and sadly, I can’t put my finger on why I feel this way as well. I just… I just do. I guess my gut’s hyperactive due to the arena. I’m more wary than I used to be of others.” Rue considered what else he said, and gleaned over her shoulder at him. ”I’ll protect you, and Bardulf, always.” Starfire whinnied in agreement and she laughed. ”Guess she will too. That makes two.”

When the topic turned to Zeva, she exhaled loudly. ”She’s too young to be involved. If she has a family, I then feel bad. She should be back with them and not with us. I have an eye on them all, really. Poor Bardulf, he didn’t ask to be here either.” Rue flapped her wings to continue her momentum and stared forward.

”That woman’s an oddity. There’s something going on with her and Luum, I can feel it. All secrets come to light eventually, right?”

Rue shook her head. It felt like old times with Bowyn and her flying together and it was something she would cherish forever.

_{T I M E : One Week After Human Arrival
L O C A T I O N : Riverbloom, The River
I N T E R A C T I O N S : @JJ Doe, @Conscripts , @Lava Alckon
T A G S : @JJ Doe , @Conscripts , @Lava Alckon
E Q U I P M E N T :}




Rowan’s eyes shifted from Aurora and straight back to Barrock. His head nodded in understanding. “You become more interesting by the second, my friend.” The orc definitely had intelligence. There was no doubting that. His lips were as sealed as his own. His shoulders relaxed a little.

Why was he doubting his sister’s insight, again? He took a sip from his drink and glanced back over to her and Zora. She did look weary. He was about to ask about her well-being, but a ruffle through the forest jostled his senses. It was nothing like a small animal making an accidental big scene among the brush.

His hand went to his weapon.

A dark elf sprung from the tree-line. His white hair glistened in the moonlight as he charged towards Aurora and Vasco.

“AURORA!” Rowan shouted.

The jingle of her earrings chimed through the air as Aurora’s swiftly shifted her body to the side, twirling her cloak as she rolled towards Vasco. When she sat upright again, her staff was held prominently in her hand, guarding the human.