[IC] The Ten Rings

The day was February the 11th in the year 800, a random Tuesday by any means. The northern hemisphere was steeped in winter, while the southern enjoyed a blistering summer. Our story revolves around ten mysterious rings. As fate would have it, on this day, the rings would sit idly in the corner of history no more. They wanted to make themselves known once again. Would they be another catalyst for society? Or would they destroy another civilization? Only time would tell....

Year 800 - Feb 11th - Mid Afternoon...
Year 800 - Feb 11th - Mid Afternoon - Part 2...

(Some optional reading music...)

[Balthazar007]

Lester walked along a cobble stone path in the heart of a solemn city. The children played as they do today, blissfully unaware of the misery surrounding them. Accept in these times, life was not about keeping your television running. It was about keeping food on the table, plain and simple.

Butchers, farmers, and bakers sold their food by the bundle, auctioning off their items to anyone passing by. Tailors sat back behind windows offering glimpses into their shops. Guards patrolled the streets, keeping the peace (and order). Blacksmiths kept their doors open as they crafted their metal works.

It was more of the same. Like always, he pondered on taking up a new life as a blacksmith's apprentice, or maybe he would pretend to be a bank teller for a while. But these thoughts were pointless. He knew where he would end up.

The sounds of laughter peaked his interest first, then a bit of profanities. A clash and a bang could be heard just before two drunk men were both thrown out onto the streets. A small crowd gathered 'round as the two men got up, angry at each other and the man that stood in the pub's doorway, the man that had thrown them out. Unfortunately for the two of them, the man stood, obviously sober and resting one hand on a medium length saber.

Making a wise decision, the two men decided to turn on each other instead of confronting the pub's guard. After only a few unintelligible words, the men started beating on one another. The crowd cheered in excitement, like beasts in heat.

Lester only smiled as he worked his way around the edge of the crowd to the front door of the pub. The guard let Lester pass by, but not without a quick glance at the gold and violet ring wrapped around Lester's finger.

If Lester could find the owner of the establishment and make him a few drinks, he had no doubt that he would be employed immediately. But first, he had to navigate through this rather large pub to find said barkeep. Naturally, this led him up to the bar itself. He sat on a stool, casually looking around as he waited for a bartender. The pub was quite crowed for a Tuesday night, but not horribly.

[Polaris North]

Brandon let out a small sigh. It's time to make another trip to the town to sell some herbs and get some food to last another week. He looked at his right hand where the crystal ring was located. He still wasn't sure what to do with this thing. He loved the prospect of bending time to his will, but so far, he wasn't doing much. He was only able to slow down time by only a little so he guessed he'd have to practice that. But what did it really mean? What was this all for? Was it really just something for anyone to use for their own benefit or would they be part of some sort of adventure like the ones in the storybooks? He shook his head and put on some gloves.

Ah whatever, if it comes, it comes. He packed everything in some carry-on bags and then placed some on a basket. He whistled. "Shawn, come here boy!" The black labrador came up to him and then wagged his tail. "Okay boy, let's go to town." Shawn barked and then bit the handle of the basket. Brandon then took hold of two more bags. He visited the two graves and prayed before leaving the area of farm. He followed the dirt path that cuts through the forest and then to the road. The town wasn't very far from here but a carriage usually came through so he'll try to ride from one of those. But for now, they were walking. True to his thoughts, a carriage passed by and he got to ride on it with Shawn.

The brown haired male and his dog finally arrived at the town. He frequented three towns actually which surrounds the farm but this was the closest one. He then entered the local medicine shop that is usually his number one customer in town... in every town actually. Medical shops like that usually need a lot of herbs after all.

"Ah, Brandon! It's good to see you again. Do you have what I need?" The shop owner asked. She was a middle aged woman. She was a very kind woman with a heart of gold... and an eye for herbs. "Ooh, Shawn's here too. Do you want some food boy? Hm?"

Shawn's tail wagged excitedly. He placed the basket he was carrying on the counter and then barked. The shop owner took out some beef and then offered it to Shawn who immediately ate it up. "Thanks Mrs. Torres." He then placed the two other bags on the counter. "That's everything and I pitched in a little extra."

"Oh thank you Brandon!" Mrs. Torres exclaimed. "So how are you holding up with Mr. Euan's death?"

"We're doing good. Master already told me all about taking care of the herbs and we could travel to towns by ourselves." Brandon replied with a smile.

"That's good, that's good." Mrs. Torres counted the gold coins and then put them all in a pouch. "Here you go Brandon. It has been a pleasure dealing with you."

Brandon bowed his head and then exited. "Well boy, we have some coins here. Let's buy what we need and let's leave yeah?" And so the pair was strolling around town, visiting stores and the likes.

[Mage]

Arthur Einhart

To walk in the shadow of a name which is known and feared through the Kingdom is something Arthur did not enjoy. Especially because he felt displaced, as if his efforts haven't been rewarded. No matter what he did, he was still a squire - perhaps it was because of his young age, perhaps it was because he wasn't skilled enough as a swordsman to become a full pledged knight... Not that the actual reason mattered, in his head, the only point of valid importance was that he still responded to knights as a squire, and not as an equal. That had to be changed, somehow...

Little did he know that the answer was the shiny looking ring in his left thumb. Strange, he could swear the ring was too big to fit so perfectly into his finger, it was used by his father after all and the man had hands of a seasoned veteran warrior, which he indeed was before his passing. Arthur gently ran his index finger over the accessory, his mind filled with thoughts about what his grandfather said a while ago: The ring would help him carry his family's name forward and bring glory to his own name... How?

Arthur's steps were slow and precise as he wandered through the cobblestone, making path through the city without an actual goal. He was wandering rather aimlessly, left to his own thoughts. The noises of folk and cheering caught his attention however, the young to be knight casting a glance to his side. There were two drunk men trading fists with one another. Arthur exhaled a sigh with a tsk sound.

With a stern posture, the boy turned and began walking in direction of the pub, stopping two meters away from the fighting men. He rested a hand atop his sword's hilt.

"Stop, both of you. Take your brawl elsewhere, the streets of this town is no ring for solving personal issues."
The boy's voice was commanding and particularly imposing even though he looked much younger than the two brawling men - and the fact that he had no actual authority within the town. He was a squire, after all.

[The One]

Rika

Rika walked from the mountain and to the town center in perfect silence. He didn't utter a word as he went past two people fighting while someone else tried to stop it. He walked into a general store and walked straight to the counter. There, he gave the woman a simple note provided by the monks.

"Ah, hello Rika. Nice to see you again. Here's everything on the list, are you alright this morning."

Rika gave but a simple nod and placed the coins on the counter. He then walked out of the store with the bag as she counted the money. Of course, she would find it was the exact change like it was every time. Rika sat himself on a bench for now and held out his hand, staring at the indigo ring. Slowly he faced his palm towards the floor and as he did, it made a very small hand made out of darkness come out the floor but it was gone as quick as it was made. Rika had little to no control over the ring's power, he still needed to control how to use it. He looked in the bag to check everything. It was all fruit and vegetables. No meat at all. It was all vegetarian food. It was what he and the monks lived off.

[Game Maker]

It didn’t take long for Cait to figure out where the best place in town would be to find easy marks, the Pub was crawling with drunkards even on a Tuesday night. She pulled her hood over her blond hair, it tended to stick out in people’s memory if she didn’t keep it covered. The place was crowded enough that she was easily able to use the concealed dagger up her sleeve to cut coin purses from Pub patron belts. She had amassed a rather tidy sum and was headed on her way out when two of the drunks she’d pilfered from discovered their coins missing, obviously upset that they couldn’t buy more drinks as they had no coins with which to buy said drinks.

As the men brawled Cait made another lap around the pub, biding her time to make a clean exit; hopefully, no one else would notice their missing coin purse. She noticed a glint of candlelight reflected off a gem, she was quick to notice such things. A young man had entered after the two drunkards had taken their brawl to the streets, not wanting to mess with the guard standing at the entrance/exit of the pub. He wore a violet ring on his right hand. Cait mused over what a pretty penny she could make off it but thought better of it, it was harder to knick the things people wore on them.

She sidled up to the man at the bar and quickly sized him up.

“Can you believe those two idiots? All riled up over some stolen coin. If you really need it, you shouldn’t leave it in a place so accessible to others. Enjoy your drink, lad,”Cait had hoped the conversation would keep the man distracted just long enough for her to get his coin purse.

When the small cloth bag hit the palm of her hand she moved it into one of the pouches on her belt, far more secure than the typical money purses the common folk carried. She made sure to conceal her dagger again before making her way out of the pub, skipping over the two drunkards still flailing about in the street, no one paying them any mind as the show was now over. She used them to keep from having to step in the mud puddles, it had rained earlier that day but it was a clear night.

The moon was bright, which made her thieving a little harder as there were less shadows for her to hide in. But no matter, she would just have to settle for moving on to the next city, she had the feeling she’d been made at the pub and not just by the drunkards she’d stepped on.

[Balthazar007]

A beautiful girl shrouded by a cloak started talking to Lester out of the blue. Normally, he would entertain the company of anyone as attractive as herself, but something was off. Women typically let the men speak first, and something else, there was something else. "Yeah... they shouldn't do that should they?" Lester let off an honest laugh that betrayed his suspicious thoughts.

Lester watched as the lady began to cross the room. Without thinking about it, his hand had wandered to his side in search of his money pouch. It was gone. The girl! She had taken it. "... shouldn't leave it in a place so accessible to others." Those were her words exactly.

Lester gave chase as quickly as possible without stirring up a fuss in the pub. On the street, he caught up to the lady. He waited to speak until he was within a few meters. He tried to sound calm, charming, and firm all at the same time. Years of bar talk guided him. "Oi there! Miss! I've got a question. May I have a second of your time?"

[Shaymin]

Jill

Ah! Jill yelped out in pain as a dark drop of blood oozed out of her finger. This was the third time that morning she had pricked herself. She quickly dabbed the site with a scarf that was laying around, careful not to get any blood on the garment she working on. She had been working away for what seemed like ages with little progress to account for. She slumped back in her chair, trying to get a kink out of her neck. How long had she been sitting here? Jill got up to stretch her back but the motion immediately got her back into her chair. Her field of vision was filled with tiny dark blotches that seemed to dance mockingly. I need to lay off the alcohol for a while she thought, as a sudden headache began to make her temples throb. Figuring she wasn't going to get any more work done, Jill got up slowly and made for her bed, almost stumbling over the footstools that encircled a small , round wooden table. Countless playing cards and coins covered the table and in the centre of it all was the fruit of yesterday's efforts: A pearl necklace. It had been ages since she had last gambled but yesterday a couple of drinks with old friends lead the group to a game in a drunken spur of the moment.

Jill plopped on her bed, her head hanging off the other side as she lifted up an envelope to the sunlight. It had an invitation within, one that she had read countless times over the last week. A window remained flung open, bringing in sounds from the bustling marketplace.She closed her eyes momentarily, listening to the voices outside.She could hear angry men shouting, the chirping of birds and laughter.

Laughter? Jill got up as though a bolt of lightning had hit her. She recognized the source of the sound and jumped out of her bed with her pillow. She then rushed to her round table and swiftly picked up her cards, stashing the lot within the fabric sleeve that covered the pillow. Once that was taken care of, she threw the thing in a haste, the pillow only managing to reach the foot end of her bed. She then carefully counted the gold pieces and rounded them up in a small leather pouch which she hid in one of the pockets of her trousers. She could hear footsteps approaching as she grabbed her pearl necklace and darted frantically, unsure of what to do next. As the door creaked open, Jill slung on the necklace and tucked it under her tunic.
"Jill! It's been ages!" A familiar voice beamed as a wide figure filled the doorway.
You saw me just a week ago, Jill thought.
"How's it going?" she replied as she walked up to greet her mother. At that moment, another figure entered the room. It was Jill's eldest sister.
"Katheriiine. How nice it is to see you again." Jill started with a forced smile, barely able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
Katherine only smiled, dismissing her sister's surly greeting as she walked towards the desk,observing what Jill had been working on.
"So what brings you two here?" Jill inquired, hoping they weren't going to get started with advising her to keep her place clean , staying in touch and all that crap again.
"It's ... about my party."
"What about it?" Jill retorted. She wasn't going to let Katherine make her dramatic pauses. She'd barely gotten any work done and was in no mood for tolerating her family's nonsense today.
"We want you to come , of course! I dont care if you have a million dresses to take care of, you're coming tomorrow!" Her mom exclaimed.

Oh.

"And since you're coming to a party, you'll have to look the part too .After all , I can't have my younger sister looking unkempt in front of courtiers and dignified nobles. There's just no way I will allow it." Katherine interjected, suddenly looking more animated than usual.

Oh

In the end it was all pretence after all. It was all about making appearances with her family.

"I dont thin-" Jill started, but was cut short by her mother.
"Oh don't you worry about a thing, we've got everything covered. Katherine and I picked this wonderful work of linen for you ! Now all we need is to look for the right accessories" Her mother described, going on and on in the high-pitched and overly-detailed manner she was used to speaking in.
"I'm pretty sure Jill has some trinkets lying around here" Katherine added as she opened a closet, falling victim to an avalanche of bundled up clothes, a bag, some books and a figurine.
"Kat, I'd rather you wouldnt open my-
"Oh isn't this the figurine you snagged off that poor girl Leslie? I wasn't aware it came with a ring." Katherine exclaimed as she examined the statue before sliding the ring off it.

That was the last straw.

"Enough!" Jill exploded, before snatching the ring from Katherine's hand. She then stormed towards the door, turning back halfway through.
"Look, I don't care about your party! Make whatever excuse you want for your beloved nobles, I'm not coming."
Jill slammed the door behind her and in a fit of fury she walked off into the streets.

She felt like an idiot. She knew she shouldn't have blown off as she had but Jill was already having a rough day and she didn't feel like going back and making nice. She noticed she still had her fist clenched around the ring. It was all this stupid thing's fault, Jill thought as she put on the ring on her left hand, feeling strangely satisfied with how perfectly it fit her finger. Days like these, she wished things would fix themselves. She knew what her quick fix was. Some booze and a gamble. However, Jill resisted the urge to turn for the pub and walked into the marketplace instead. She wandered aimlessly, hoping it would become dark soon and her mother and sister would be gone by the time she returned.

[Polaris North]

It had only been a while but Brandon has nearly filled his bag with all the goods he managed to buy and his gold pouch wasn't very low yet. Maybe he could visit another two shops before leaving the town. So he entered one of the food shops that dot the town.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" He called out. Brandon had only exited a store when Shawn suddenly stiffened and sniffed around. The brown haired male looked curiously at his pet, wondering what had gotten into the black Labrador. It then took off, much to Brandon's shock. He quickly chased after the dog, nearly bumping into anyone who was in the way. For a pretty old dog, he ran so fast. But the only thing he was worrying was why his dog was running away.

Shawn brushed against Jill's legs and barked. However, it was no angry bark - it was more friendly. Its tail was wagging. It was as if it was sensing her sadness and then wanted to see if she needed some help. Though, to be perfectly honest, a dog suddenly charging at you doesn't seem to be the friendliest of sights.

Brandon was close behind. "Shawn, what are you doing!?" He yelled out before skidding to a stop beside the black dog who was still staring at the girl, ignoring his master completely. Brandon frantically looked between his dog and Jill. "U-Uh, I'm sorry! Did my dog do anything to you? I don't know what overcame him. I am so very sorry!" Brandon kept bowing to the girl. He then turned to Shawn. "You should apologize for disturbing the lady too!" It would seem that the two had some form of connection that you would see a master and his pet. Shawn's tail stopped wagging and it looked down on the ground as Brandon reprimanded the dog.

@Shaymin

[Shaymin]

It had been ages since Jill had left for the marketplace, yet nothing among the various stalls had caught her interest. She walked by each vendor lazily, giving their items only a half-interested fleeting gaze before moving on. Since when had business here been so dry? Jill thought to herself. Then again, these were everyday people selling everyday items. It was unfair of her to expect them to have rubies on display when only a small fraction of the populace could afford that sort of thing.

"Fresh fruit! Fresh vegetables! Get them while you can!" An old lady beamed up at the passing by crowd, causing Jill to let out a loud yawn, her eyes now slightly teary. This was much to the old lady's disapproval, who muttered something about rude whippersnappers under her breath, causing Jill to sprint away from her stall.
Jill's thoughts returned to the family drama she had left back at home. She was now having second thoughts. Was she making too much of a fuss about nothing? Would it be better for everyone if she just went along with their plans quietly? What if she was in the right after all? Maybe her family was in the wrong for always deciding things for her. She swept away her bangs in frustration and trudged forward, not really looking where she was going.

She had barely passed another shop or two, when all of a sudden she noticed a dog plunging forward in full speed. Sometimes she wondered where dogs got all their energy from, she herself could barely manage doing her daily chores. She turned around, curious to find out what the dog was after. There was nothing out of the ordinary. No master waiting for it with a treat, no wild animal to give chase after. It took Jill a moment to register that the dog was dashing towards her. When it had finally dawned upon her, Jill turned back at the dog in dread only to find out that it was now only a few steps away from her. Why me? She thought as she shut her eyes and instinctively crouched down; almost shrieking in fear as she did so.

Well? Was the dog going to bite her? Jill wondered,as she slowly mustered the courage to open her eyes. The dog was there alright, brushing against her, but it didn't seem as hostile as she had feared. It gave a friendly bark, dissolving any qualms Jill had had about the dog's nature. Jill laughed nervously, falling back in relief. She hesitated for a moment, but ended up petting the dog. It seemed nice enough, now that Jill was calm and collected. For some weird reason,she felt a tad bit better. It was probably swell being a dog Jill thought as she petted the dog. Dogs don't have any worries...do they?

She heard someone shouting in the distance, the sound bringing her thoughts back to her surroundings. She looked around and saw a few kids who had stopped to stare at her, while some adults went about their business but only after giving her a condescending look.
She had freaked out completely, after all. Talk about an over reaction, her inner voice criticized. Jill immediately got up, dusting her self off, making up her mind to never again let a dog get the better of her .
The shouting figure was that of a boy, who stopped abruptly beside the dog. Jill figured out that he was the dog's owner. Before she could gather the energy to get furious and go on about how the owner should've kept his dog on a tighter leash, he had already started apologizing. In fact the more he apologized, the lesser she felt like complaining.

"It's alright,you don't have to apologise!" She exclaimed; and she meant it.

"Your dog's done nothing much,that is, besides almost scaring the daylights out of me" she added with a grin.

[Game Maker]

"Oi there! Miss! I've got a question. May I have a second of your time?"

Cait swore under her breath, the man at the bar had obviously figured out that she'd taken his money. She thought momentarily of running but a quick glance around told her there were city guards nearby and so far the man wasn't making a fuss. She pulled her hood a little lower over her eyes, trying to obscure her face a little more in case she was going to have to make a run for it. The man would have to make a very convincing argument for her to part with the coins.

She whirled around and shot him a charming crooked half smile, "I suppose I can spare a moment, but just a moment. I'm afraid I'm not local, if you're looking for directions." She was momentarily distracted by the man's ring again, something about it called to her. She grabbed the ring she wore on a chain around her neck. "Interesting piece you've got there. How'd you come by it?"

It couldn't be like hers...or could it?

[RoccanIronclad]

Orgin stood overlooking a small stand of his wares, the day had been dragging on and the small things he had for sale at this point were not selling well, however the hope of a sale vanished from the mind as a small brawl in the street broke out. He looked on silently as the men got to their feet and dusted off. This seemed to start a chain of events that led to quite a commotion, he watched as a rather large dog bounded after a woman, he watched as two more people leave the pub as well, seemingly with intent.

What on earth is going on in this town today, it seems it may be a hair lively for what I need. He thought as he began to reconsider having stopped here. The only reason he had even come to this town in the first place was to speak with a scholar or a dealer of antiquities in order to glean some sort of idea what kind of ring it was he now wore, but the strange bustling that was occurring it couldn't be coincidence, could it?

Orgin began to pack away his goods for the day not before strapping a strikingly heavy short sword to his waist, he figured that this would be a good a time as any to either look about town, perhaps even speak with some of the locals about the ring. Before Orgin could even take a few steps, he noticed the second pair to come from the pub, now speaking to each other in the street, more peculiar was that both of them sported a fancy ring, of which seemed to be the topic of their discussion. Orgin tried to inch closer, not wanting to outright jump into a strange pairs conversation, however he did want to see if he could hear them and learn if perhaps this was the day he learned something about the ring.
@Game Maker
@Balthazar007

[Polaris North]

Brandon's tense muscles relaxed when she hadn't responded with a shout. This came a little bit as a surprise since a lot of people got angry when this happened. It didn't happen frequently, but it still happened. He really should have bought a leash for him. As well-trained as Shawn is, he was still an animal. He guessed he should have taken the advice of every other person he talks with when it came to handling Shawn.

"I'm really sorry for that. He doesn't usually do this..." He said with a sigh. He then whistled and Shawn padded over to his side and then sat down beside him with his head still down.

He then gave her a silly grin and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm just as surprised as you." He then looked around, as if avoiding eye contact with the girl, and then noticing that there were some adults who just left but was really looking at them with a look that made him uneasy. He didn't really see her when she was down so he didn't really get why.

But now that he was aware of the loads of people around them, he suddenly got a little bit embarrassed as shown by a light blush on his cheeks. Oh but he shouldn't leave just like that. He looked back at Jill but still somehow avoiding direct eye contact. "Oh, uh, I have to make it up to you somehow..." He softly said, fiddling his fingers.

"This would be the perfect time to make a friend!"

Euan's words rang in his head. As one can tell, he wasn't much for interactions. He always stuck by Euan, and even way back when he was living in a village, he only ever really interacted with the two other orphans and the mother. Maybe he should snag this opportunity to actually get to know someone besides the people he barters with. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. Euan always says that a lot of acquaintances would pay off.

"Uh, would you like some food? My treat." He suggested with a small smile. He was pretty hungry. Even if she would decide not to come with him, he would still have to eat. Shawn would have been pretty hungry too anyway.

@Shaymin

[Balthazar007]

..."Interesting piece you've got there. How'd you come by it?"

@Game Maker

A creepy crawling feeling ran up Lester's spine when the hooded woman pointed out his ring. She was changing the subject multiple times. She was looking to make a quick escape. And she was eyeballing Lester's only remaining object of value. Everything about the woman made him uneasy, but none of these thoughts leaked out of his voice:

"Yeah, I found this ring at my last job. It's all I have left after loosing all my money to a crafty yet beautiful pickpocket." He let these words sink in for a split second before coming in with the punch line. "But honestly though, all niceties aside, I need that money to survive. I don't know what kind of financial bind you may be in, but if you can spare it, would you mind?"

Lester let off the most comforting smile he could muster. His best hope was to appeal to the woman's human side. He didn't want this to end in some sort of fight or footrace. His wit was his best asset, not his fists or his feet. His heart pounded as he tried to remain calm. @Game Maker

To complicate things further, Lester had begun to feel the gaze of an extra pair of eyes. What this new person wanted, he did not care. He would not look away from the woman. His calming, pleading stare would not be broken. @RoccanIronclad

[Shaymin]

Jill noticed the boy color up but she wasn't too sure why he was embarrassed. She saw him looking around at the people who had been staring at her and wondered if that was it . Maybe he was just introverted, she thought. Only now had she taken a good look at him, noticing that he was carrying a bag almost filled to its maximum capacity, threatening to burst open any second. Was he travelling? she wondered.

As she made note of this, the boy started again , fiddling with his fingers. I have to make it up to you somehow he had said, but she didn't really feel that way. After all, she was safe and sound and it was just a silly incident that he couldn't have seen coming. She had made up her mind to refuse any money or items the boy was about to give her. Would you like some food? My treat. Food was okay, Jill decided. She could accept that. In fact it was about time she ate something, she was starving. Jill had been working since the morning and after the ruckus at home she had forgotten completely about eating. This often happened with her. Whenever she got too absorbed in her work or upset, she'd ditch meals. Not on purpose entirely,however, as she was a complete foodie and could wolf down a worrying amount of food within a minute's notice.

She beamed up at his offer and nodded. "I'd really like that! I haven't had a morsel since the morning and its already noon!" She complained with a dramatic show of clutching her empty belly and staggering as if she had no energy to stand.

'I'm Jill by the way, Jill Wayland. What's your name?" She asked with an extended hand. She was a social butterfly who had never had much difficulty getting on good terms with most people. Her chatty personality helped her with this, as she was the kind of person who'd never run out of things to talk about.The downside however, was that sometimes her mind-to-mouth filter was almost nonexistent.
"What's in that bag?" She asked him straightforward, unable to hold back her curiosity. "Are you travelling?"

@Polaris North

[Polaris North]

Brandon's eyes lit up when she had agreed and then laughed at her little dramatic display. "Well, good thing Shawn found you huh?" He said with a grin, the red tint on his face now disappearing as his focus was solely on her. Hey, this just might be a good time to make an acquaintance. This was a good thing for Brandon. He decided to see this to the end.

"Brandon Deschnik. Nice to meet you." He said before wrapping his gloved hand around hers and then shaking it. After a good shake, he broke the contact and then started walking, gesturing for her to follow. Shawn had also stood up and began following his master. Much unlike Jill, his social skills were no greater than mediocre. He hasn't exactly gotten a lot of practice in that particular field as he normally exchanges talking with reading. It led to him being a lot more awkward than he should be.

"Huh? Oh this?" He looked at his bag and then back at her. "I'm stocking up. Some food, some supplies, the usual." He replied with a shrug. Brandon does admit that it looked like he was packing up for some sort of voyage considering it looked like it was going to blow at any second. "Nah, I live at a clearing in the forest just an hour away from here." He said, gesturing to the direction of the exit of the town.

"Well I used to travel but I have some business now." He continued as he rubbed the back of his head. He did promise he would protect the farm so unless someone else takes up the offer of living there, he's stuck. "How about you Jill?"

@Shaymin

[quietkid13]

A horse drawn carriage cobbled past the city entrance and halted to a quick stop. A hairy, surly man holding the reigns whispered through his remaining teeth of their arrival, as a leather boot burst through the carriage's side door. The driver cursed about wood value while said boot dove out, dragging behind a skinny, cloaked young man with a big, fancy hat. This brunette boy carried a small side bag, and a small, sturdy case strapped to his back. For a moment he stood and took a breath, taking in all the surroundings. Particularly a beautiful set of pink flowers right beside the gate, one of which he plucks and places securely in his hat. The driver took an abacus out and started making calculations.

"Alright so where's this Aunt that's gonna pay for your trip. That'll be-"

The passenger turns his head towards the driver, takes in one breath, raises his finger, begins to speak his answer, aaaaaaand proceeds to bolt in to the city streets like his life depends on it. For all we know it might. The first test is whether that driver would even bother to run after him for the debt. And he would. Well surely this young man is much faster and agile than an old, geezer driver. And he is...for now. Next comes the real challenge, either losing him in distance or line of sight. Both should be easy in such a cramped and crowded city market. If only this kid would stop running away in a straight line! But yet another flower seems to have caught his eye, a young maiden walking through the city.

The young man almost passes the girl immediately, slowing to a stop just past her and backing up in a jog to stand next to her. He reaches up to his hat, plucks the pink flower from it, and stands it up in front of the lady. He even gave a small bow, causing a yellow ring on a necklace to fall out of his shirt. Meanwhile the raging driver still closes in.

"A pretty flower for the pretty lady. Lorenzo Martine, at your service."

Lorenzo looked up just in time to see the fuming driver just a few feet away. So he jumped away, barely escaping his vengeful clutches. With a wave goodbye he set out on his escape again, zig-zagging through stalls and people. After a few turns it looked like he finally lost the crazy fool. Lorenzo would honestly pay him back once he was able, he just wasn't able to afford it right now. And who's going to give you a ride across the country on an I.O.U. alone?

Winded, hot, and sweaty, Lorenzo Martin found the one place in town that felt right at home. A small tavern with a good crowd. No shows would be happening anytime soon, but he was definitely going to scope out the joint. Maybe he should lay low till that driver stopped looking for him.

@Shaymin
@Polaris North

[Balthazar007]

Year 800 - Feb 11th - Mid Afternoon

The skies were especially dreary, but not enough to cause alarm. Children played in the streets, while adults toiled away to earn a living. Beggars searched for food; elites planned their parties. At the end of the day, families would rest their eyes and drunks would leave the pub. It would be just another day. Nothing special was going to happen. Or so the ignorant people believed...

Little did anyone know, just beyond the horizon, a storm of epic proportions was approaching uncharacteristically fast. It was destroying entire towns in mere hours. Survivors were being left in shambles, staring at years of hard work, gone in mere instants, lives changed forever.

Our tale begins in a special village. Yes they would recount the destruction of the the horrible storm. But among these recollections are stories unique only to this particular village. For never in history had all ten of the "Legendary Rings of Power" been conveniently gathered in one place. Stories spoke of witches, demons, angels, and more. We now believe that these stories were actually first hand accounts of those that saw a "Ring of Power" at work.

But lets not get too ahead of ourselves. The leading men and women of our tale did not hear of this storm right away. Like all other villages before them, there would be no time for warning. When the storm would hit, everything would be thrown to chaos. Until then, it was business as usual.

Note #1: A link to this post now lives in the 0th IC post.
Note #2: Next entry will take place after a minimum of 5 more IC posts and a minimum of three more days.

[Shaymin]

Jill looked in the direction of the forest and let out an ohh before listening to what else Brandon had to say. She wondered why he was living at a clearing instead of the town like everybody else but then decided that it probably had something to do with his "business". When it was her turn to describe what she did, Jill didnt' hold back at all in the beginning.
"Well I'm a seamstress. I put together dresses for parties, fix up hats, that sort of a thing. It can get mundane at times but at least I make enough money." Jill started, realizing how it wasn't really a job that she had been proud of so far. She was awfully slow and would sometimes procrastinate and end up with a pile of half-finished pieces and others that were stitched to the wrong sizes; and then she would scream. She was grateful for it, however.

"It may not be the best job, but it helped me move out into my own place. Faar from my siblings" Jill added, with a sigh of relief. She would have vented more about her family if she didn't know better. From past experience, Jill had learnt that people found it very off-putting when she kept on ranting about her family problems and she wasn't going to scare away a potential friend with that mistake again. She redirected the discussion towards Brandon. "So do you live alone as well?" Jill inquired.

Before she could listen to what he had to say, Jill was startled by a racing figure that sped past her; and then to her amusement, jogged back to give her a flower.
"Why,thank you!" was all Jill managed before accepting the flower. Modesty was an alien concept to Jill and there wasn't a shy bone in her body, but she was still a bit surprised by the sudden happening of things. Before she could say anything else, another man, and an angry one at that, caught up with the boy who barely escaped his attack before running off again , waving as he did so. A very confused Jill reciprocated the wave, before the figure was gone. Jill stared into the distance, only now focusing on the trinket that had flashed before her eyes momentarily. It reminded her of her own ring and Jill flexed her fingers, reflecting the pale afternoon sunlight off the ring.

@Polaris North@quietkid13

[Polaris North]

Brandon nodded his head as he continued to listen. A seamstress huh? It was honest work at least. Oh, wait, that reminded him of the cloak he accidentally ripped. Maybe she could work on that. As he continued to listen, he noticed that she wasn't exactly fully enjoying the job she had. Maybe she had some other passion? It didn't seem like she wanted to quit either. Huh, he probably wouldn't understand how she feels. Upon hearing about her liking the fact that she wanted to be far away from her family, he couldn't help but ask. "Why do you want to be far from your family?" It was the same curiosity that drove him to read more about quite a lot of things. This time, it was because he never really got the whole 'family' thing.

He opened his mouth and closed it again, trying to find the right words for her question. Should he just tell the truth that he hasn't been living alone for a long while or should he just tell the half truth? Well, it shouldn't be too bad right. Before he could say anything, a man came running towards them before giving a flower to Jill. He seemed to be in a hurry. Looked like a flirt though, but that was another thing. Brandon wasn't focused on the flower though as a yellow ring on a necklace slid out of the man's shirt and into their sight. It looked familiar. It looked a lot like the ring he was wearing now that they got from the dying farmer. Did that mean that there were more rings like this? Ring with power? Oh my...

He looked back at Jill after the interruption and continued to speak. "Oh, the person I was living with died a few days ago. So, yeah, I guess I'm living alone now." Brandon didn't actually sound all too sad. That was just life and he couldn't do anything about it. Everyone would die at some point. Euan did say that he had lived his life to the fullest so he was prepared for his death. Brandon didn't grieve much for him.

He then stopped, blinked and then looked down only to notice that she had a ring around her finger as well. The same kind as his and the man's. Brandon looked back up. "Um, this might be a bit personal but where did you get that ring?" He then removed his glove on his right hand and then showed the Clear Crystal Ring to her. "I don't think it's just me but... don't they look alike?" It was a gut feeling but he couldn't help but ask. This was the first time he's ever seen anything like it so he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to find out more about it.

@Shaymin @quietkid13

[Balthazar007]

Lester's attempts at retrieving his money had fallen through. After only a short conversation, the lady had ran off. With a deep sigh, Lester decided to chalk that one up to a loss. "It's okay." He told himself. "Some people don't tip. Some people steal money. They all have an especially warm place waiting for them in their future."

@RoccanIronclad
Lester had almost completely forgotten about the white haired man that had apparently moved closer in order ease drop. In one deep breath he thought though his options. He could try and engage the man in conversation to find out why he was listening in. Or he could just move on; if the man wanted to talk, surely he would have said something by now.

Going with this second assumption, Lester turned and began to walk back toward the tavern. Now more than ever, he needed a job. It had been a while since he was completely without money. The only thing of value he owned at this point was his violet ring. And judging by his conversation with the thief, it could be even more valuable than he imagined.