[IC] Defiance

Nadska

For Nadska, it’s just another lazy Tuesday. The small town rarely is the site of any big events, and today is shaping up to be no different.

Due to not being a very rich town, most of the buildings in Nadska are made out of wood, with only the most important buildings being made out of stone. The town is divided into three districts; the Harbour District, which lies adjacent to the river. Most of the buildings here are warehouses or shops so goods don’t have to travel as far to get to the shops. The other two districts are the Church District and the Market District, with the landmark in each being the local Church and Market respectively.

At the river harbour, a merchant ship is busy unloading goods. While overland travel has almost completely grinded to a halt thanks to the monsters, brave sailors still risk their lives by sailing between cities, well aware that they could be sunk by some aquatic terror at any given time.

In the town square, children are playing around the fountain in the middle of the square while people are busy setting up market stalls. Every Wednesday and Saturday there is a large market here in Nadska, and people are already busy setting things up, and merchants are arguing over who gets what spot.

At the church, people are busy praying to the local Harvest God. There used to be fewer worshippers here in Nadska, but with the upcoming harvest, people are hoping for a blessing from the Harvest God. After all, several farms have already been torched by rampaging undead, so people could do with a good harvest. The church itself is rather small, but it is one of the few stone buildings. It houses a large statue in honour of the aforementioned Harvest God, and space to house a few dozen worshippers. It does however have a large clock tower and a very loud bell, meaning people can use it to know the time.

Meanwhile, at the northern town gate, the guards are having a slight issue; the gate is stuck. The massive wooden doors refuse to open, so people hoping to get into town are redirected to the eastern and western gates, which fortunately are open, meaning that the guards there get to relax. After all, it’s not like anyone would be smuggling goods into town nowadays, and the guards are of better use at night, patrolling the town’s perimeter to spot any potential monsters hoping to attack the town.

At the local library, a librarian is busy waking up someone who apparently spent all night reading books - even after closing time. She eventually manages to wake up the bookworm, who soon leaves the library in search of a tavern to eat at.

In front of the town hall, the largest stone building in Nadska, the town crier announces the upcoming public hanging of a notorious criminal, accused of stealing a large chest of money from the town bank - something the criminal denies. So far though, nobody has actually found the chest despite thorough searching efforts and a big reward for whoever returns the chest to its rightful owners.

And in the town’s many taverns, the local drunks are busy getting… well, drunk. Nadska has several taverns, more than one would expect from a town of this size. Some of the taverns even serve as Inns, meaning people can rent a room for a night. In most, a payment of two Silver Coins would get you a decent room, though that doesn’t necessarily include a meal…

[Hokum]

---

The Chant of Despiun

Said to be created by winebibbers in the city of Masuta soon after the Massacre at Despiun,
and is now often celebrated in the form of song throughout the land of Akripola.

~.~

𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖚𝖓, 𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖚𝖓, 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖒𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖛𝖎𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖚𝖓,

𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍 𝖔𝖋 𝕬𝖌𝖑𝖎𝖆 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕾𝖔𝖚𝖙𝖍 𝕰𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖋𝖆𝖎𝖗 𝕸𝖆𝖘𝖚𝖙𝖆,

𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝖙𝖊𝖆𝖒𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖛𝖎𝖛𝖆𝖈𝖎𝖔𝖚𝖘 𝖑𝖎𝖋𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖑𝖚𝖘𝖍 𝖒𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖔𝖜𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙𝖞,

𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖆𝖞𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖜𝖆𝖗𝖒 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖒𝖎𝖑𝖉,

𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖕𝖊𝖔𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖎𝖔𝖚𝖘,

𝖜𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖕𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖋𝖚𝖑 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖋𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖎𝖓 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖔𝖋 𝕬𝖐𝖗𝖎𝖕𝖔𝖑𝖆 𝖋𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖘 𝖆𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞…

…𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖘𝖔 𝖙𝖔𝖔 𝖉𝖔𝖊𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉.

~.~

---

The Massacre at Despiun

---

To say this particular day in Dispiun started out like any other would be unconscionably insincere, because it actually started out really bad. At the break of dawn, over two years ago, the residence of the tiny village of Despiun were rudely woken from their slumber by an invasion of disfigured humanoids - or were they mutations? No one really knew which, but that didn’t really matter since no one there lived long enough to appreciate the knowledge in any case.

The horde of heinous beasts made short work of the village, and no one could have called it a battle, it wasn’t, which is why it went down in history as The Massacre at Despiun. These beasts were powerful, without morals and void of discretion, mutilating and dismembering the men, the woman, the elderly and the young alike, and destroying any home that may have stood in the way of the obvious good time they were having. Even the local witch, known for her prowess in combat magic, was apparently caught by surprised and, oddly enough, defiled in her bed before - or possibly while - being ripped asunder. It was said all forty six members of Despiun met their unlikely demise that day, but that wasn’t altogether true. There was one survivor, number forty seven; a part human teen by the name of Devlin.

Devlin was fortunate enough to suffer from insomnia and left her bed to go for a walk, still some distance from the village when the event took place. From her position in the woods she heard the cries of her people, which provoked a hasty retreat to the village, only to discover the aftermath of death and destruction that awaited her.

---

Trauma

---

Trauma affects each person differently. In Devlin’s case, the initial and overwhelming horror of what she witness soon gave way to emotional death, like a part of her soul had been ripped away. She went numb, standing amid the ruins of her home, the tears on her face becoming dry while the empty glaze of death stared back at her from the decapitated head of her father. She stood there all day utterly unmoving, though eventually her eyes shifted from the gaze of her father and dispassionately observed the shadows of day move across the bloodstained ruins of the village, until eventually the spectrum hues of sunset faded to the black velvet blanket of night that gradually scrolled across the world, before the depth of the universe then yielded to the pastel hues of the following dawn.

It was the glare of the morning sun striking down from above the treetops that finally had Devlin budge from her daylong stance, yet by this time her state of being had well and truly established itself as something more than emotional death. Sure, much of the numbness remained, only now it carried with it the disturbingly bitter taste of disdain, mingled with the curios sensation of being in a dream.

She wasn’t fully aware of her actions. Everything seemed distant. Her memory of events became fragmented by her disjointed consciousness while she commenced to sifting through the ruins of her home, yet somehow managed to gather a few important items before making her way out of town. At this point she felt weightless, as if she were floating, aimlessly wandered the countryside in her dreamlike state for several days before inevitable collapsing in the Western foothills of the great mountain range of Epir.

Several hours followed before someone arrived to Devlin’s aid. They were tall individual adorned in a patterned black and purple vestment that covered the entirety of their person, allowing nothing more than the emerald glow of their eyes to shin though a slot in the vestments granite-like mask. For a small while they stood motionless, looking down upon her strewn body among the leaf litter and dirt of her landing before stooping low and turning her over for long, curious study of her features.

“Infant….” Their thick, gravelly voice seemed to cause a small breeze to stir the leaves of the surrounding trees, as one slender and leathery grey finger protruded from the cuff of their sleeve and pressed in on her neck for several seconds. Retracting their finger to the confines of their sleeve, they continued to loom for a while longer with a soft rattling sound being emitted from their person. Then, as the rattling faded, they reached out with both arms and lifted her gently from ground, cradling her close as they straightened their posture and carried her away up through the foothills.

---

Devlin woke to find herself inside a room with rock walls and dimly lit by the flames of a fire burning within the artlessly constructed barrier of a fireplace near the centre of a smooth, stone floor. By all accounts the place looked like a well-kept cave, swept, furnished and the dark opening of an archway at both ends. To her left on the far side of the room was a long wooden box stuffed with dry grass, which was much the same as the makeshift bed she found herself lying on - but to her right, close by, and making her rise in alert to a seated position - was a tall individual slumped in a chair at a crudely crafted timber table.

Remaining on the bed, Devlin fastened herself back against the wall, eyes widening with trepidation at the sceptical she was witnessing. It could have been a man, had it not been for the large, glowing emerald-like eyes, the small slot for a mouth, the softly quivering flap that covered a small hole in the center of its face, the two gill-like slots on either side of its bald head, and the coin sized protrusion in the center of its forehead that moved in a slow pulsating rhythm. It’s arms, like its legs, were slender, yet the dense fibres of their muscular tone could be seen pressing tautly beneath surface of it’s thick and leathery skin, which over all of its body was a greyish blue color with faded markings like the speckled bands of an aging snake.

She opened her mouth to announce her concern, but her voice got lodged in her throat as the recollection of her father’s dead eyes flashed like a clip from a horror movie through her mind. She was suddenly at an impasse, utterly unaware of what to react to; the freak seated before her, or the heavy memory of the terror she had left back in the province of Despiun. Her hands clenched tight to the dry grass of her bed in a display of her anguish, as her eyes became heavy, her face paled, and the sound of her grinding teeth grated the atmosphere of the room with discomfort.

Raising gradually one arm, the individual at the table extended three of its bony finger, pointing them at her in the company of a light and somehow comforting breeze that circulated the room while the small slot of his mouth parted to pronounce the gravelled, though gentle tone of his words: “Will not hurt you…. Infant.”

Against all probability, Devlin felt her anxiety lessen, if only a little, yet enough to have her stop grinding her teeth, relax the grip she had on the dry grass, and formulate a coherent response.

“What are you?”

Having already lowered his hand back to the table, the strange individual releasing a purr like sound, as if pleasured by her young, slightly rasped voice, and then replied. ‘’I am one.” They paused, and added; “I am Madasincori”

“Madasin….” Her voice trailed off, either she was having difficulty pronouncing the name or she lost her ability to want to.

“Ma… da….” They said, the grate of their voice clearly denoting the more convenient form of their identity.

She stared for a moment, eyes seemingly out of focus like she may have temporarily been thinking of something else before, almost abruptly, she repeating the name in its shorter form.

He gave a slight nod to confirm.

She continued to inspect their person, as it now occurred to her that they were mostly void of clothing, besides that of a small patterned loincloth that closely matched the tones of their skin.

“Are you…” She paused to reflect a note of caution for posing the question, “…a man?”

They shifted the tiny black pupils of their large green eyes to one side considering an appropriate response, then peered back at her diligently. “I am he.”

“Okay….” She uttered, as by some unknown means she found herself unable to remove her eyes from his. They were locked in a silent stare. She felt a peculiar sensation, like an invisible finger was penetrating the bone between her eyes as the pulsations of Mada’s forehead began to accelerate. The rate of its beat steadily increased while the intrusive force between her eyes seeped deeper, applying pressure to her brain like a thick cloud extending its fingers through avenues of her mind. It was then that she inexplicably became aware that this creature… this man, he was entering her thoughts, perusing her memories, invading the sum of her life. Yet, for reasons too peculiar to explain, this violating force did not upset her. She was quickly feeling at ease, relaxed, even sedated as her eyes glazed over and her mouth dropped open, strangely pleasured by this connection he had made with her.

Before long, while she continued to quietly indulge in the pleasure of his intrusive presence, the protrusion on his forehead reached the point of a rapid, uncoordinated rhythm. The sound of its fibrillating beat could now be felt and heard like a disjointed musical dance through the recesses of her mind, as the table he was seated at began to tremble, the room began to quake while shards of rock began to flake from the walls and the flames of the fire rose high, lapping at the ceiling with its upstretched tongues – and it was then that she heard him speaking again – but not with words born of his mouth; the voice of Mada had entered her head, as though his very own thoughts had merged with her own –

…I have witnessed your sorrows… the tears of your heart mingle with my own...

…Your kind is weak… limited...

…Yet… I will restore you... I will raise you up high…

…Behold…

…I will make you all you can be….

---

Two Years Later

Monday Night

---

It had been no less than an eventful journey since leaving the asylum of Mada’s cave several weeks before, an enlightening path of trial and battle that inevitable led her to this point. She had come a long way, not only in her recent trek, but also from the traumatized child she once knew. That former version of herself seemed estranged to her now, like a character from the faded pages of some old book she once read.

Tonight the stars seemed brighter than usual, blazing in a spectrum of dazzling hues and playing host to a swollen silver moon, while the sweet scent of lemongrass filled the air and hairline flickers of violet light danced about her fingers as she stood at a distance, gazing out from her hood toward the charming lights of Nadska.

She’d been standing there for some time, perched upon the rubble of a farmhouse long since destroyed while surveying the area, admiring the view. But it was getting late. She was feeling weary. Regardless of loathing the idea of interacting people, she was looking forward to sleeping in a real bed for a change, and that was something only civilization could provide. With a small flick of her wrist, the strands of electrical current rescinded, fading as they trailed up the leather of her sleeve and disappeared above the crook of her arm. Stepping down from the platform of ruins, she continued as usual to avoid the road and headed down to the riverbank, following the water’s edge until arriving a stone’s throw from the walls of town.

The two guards posted at the gates were wary at first, clutching to the hilt of their swords as they watched her approach, but they soon relaxed when she came to a stop a few meters away and tipped back her hood with one hand to reveal her face. She didn’t however utter even one word as she regarded them both with an even look then took her stare to the doors of the gate itself. For a while the guards remained quiet too, giving each other a few peculiar glances.

“Are you some sort of crazy woman?” One of the guards finally spoke, pausing to deliver a mocking laugh. “You’re either insane or stupid as a bat to be venturing about at this time of night.”

“It must be close to midnight, girl,” The second guard added, glancing at the sky as if the stars were informing him of the time, “The gates of Nadska were locked hours ago.”

Devlin held her peace, absent of expression, giving each guard a second glance and continued to stare at the gate.

“Myti got your tongue?” The first guard asked.

She remained quiet, unmoving, staring at the gate.

The second guard rolled his eyes at the other and added a ridiculing shake of his head. “You really think she’s stupid or something?”

In response to the question, the first guard took a step closer, tilting his head to scrutinize Devlin, who now shifted her eyes to meet his, narrowing her stare with obvious disdain. The look was abrupt and intense enough to startle the man, causing him to step back into position against the wall.

“Wew there, my friends,” The second guard joked, words broken with a hardy laugh, “She might kill you with her eyes if you’re not too careful!”

While Devlin returned her stare to the gate, the first guard overcame his embarrassment with an uneasy chuckle, and turned to his colleague with a heavy shrug of one shoulder. “Now what?”

“How the hell would I know?” He replied, with a shrug of his own.

The two guards fell silent, watching Devlin keenly as she continued to stare at the barrier, occasionally glancing at each other until, at last, and apparently coming up with no better resolve, one of them turned and knocked hard on the gate, calling out to the gatekeeper inside –

“Open!”

With a heavy clunk the doors of the gates shuttered, followed by the grinding of chains that started drawing open the doors. When sufficiently ajar, Devlin returned the hood to her head with the flick of one hand and proceeded toward the entrance.

“Keep your weapons to yourself.“ The first guard warned her. “And enjoy your stay, crazy woman.” The other one added, as she strolled on by and entered through the gates of town.

---

The tavern was a dingy joint, smelt a lot like stale ale and urine, but nonetheless had a cosy appeal. Given the time, there were only a handful customers when she stepped in the door. From the darkness of her hood she assessed the sparse group then headed to the bar to order a meal.

“What would you like, miss?” The barkeep asked benignly. He was a stout little man with beady eyes and perfectly round face, barely tall enough to see over the countertop. “We don’t have much on the menu at this hour, but the drinks are aplenty. Name your poison!”

“Milk.” She said. It was the first time she’d uttered a word to another human in years, and for an instant she found it kind of weird that the first word she’d mention to a man was the name of some dairy product. Still, she kept her voice at a hush, loud enough for only the barkeep to hear. “And something to eat.”

“Buttermilk or regular?” He replied with a gracious smile.

“Regular.”

“And uh…” He said, pausing to deliver a playful wink. “Will that be leftover stew, or leftover stew? I’ve also got a little leftover stew if you’d like that instead?”

She stared at him, unwilling to respond.

“…Then stew it is.” He said, his face drooping a little at her lack appreciation for his joke.

“And a room for the night.” She added, flatly.

“Must be your lucky day,” He remarked, “just so happens we only have one more room available. That’ll be two silver and four copper pieces in total.”

“I have no silver or copper.” She told him, reaching into a pouch on her chest and producing a blue gem that she placed neatly on the counter for him. The sapphire was the size of a full human tooth, reflecting the light of the tavern with a sparkling array of blue and hints of purple and green. “Perhaps a sapphire would suffice?”

The little man went pale, gaping at the stone with his hand reaching up, fingers twitching as they hovered above it, for a moment too scared to even touch such a beautiful thing. “Is that…” He sounded to be running short on breath, “A par…. parti sapphire?” He forced his eyes to look away from the gem to meet with hers once again. “I-I-I I’m sorry, miss, I don’t have change for something like this.”

She grimaced at him, displaying the beginning of her impatience. “I don’t want change. Just give me the food and room.”

“A-A-As you wish!” He said, and quicker than the eye could see, the barkeep snatched the stone from the counter, clutching it so tight in his hand that his knuckles turned white. “Is there anything else you’d like? A hot bath? A massage? A foot rub? Maybe a gentleman caller to your room – I’m available later!”

“No.” She said, curtly.

“As you wish!” He said again, still gripping the gem like his life depended on it. “Go find yourself a table and your meal will arrive momentarily! Oh- and one more thing -” He looked around a little dazed then reaching below the counter. Straightening up he slides a key across to her. “Your room key, miss.”

“Careful you don’t lose that.” She said, glancing at his clenched fist as she took the key and turned to walk away.

---

The meal was disgusting. Tasted like someone literally dropped feces in it, and the smell was the same. She forced her way through a few mouthfuls prior to pushing the bowl to the far side of her small table. Fortunately the tall cup of milk was fresh and she savored the goodness, holding each sip to linger in her mouth before swallowing. Half way through her drink, however, she was taken by the unmistakable feeling of being watched.

While an old familiar rage boiled up inside, a few currents of violet electricity moved over her fingertips as she set the milk down, turning her head slowly to find the source of those staring eyes – and there it was. A Myti. Sitting a few tables away… just sitting there, staring at her with those cat-like eyes and apparently having nothing better to do than not minding his own damn business. Devlin hadn’t had a lot of dealings with Myti in her life, back in her home village they were only seen on a rare occasion when passing through, but her knowledge about the Myti people was enough to understand that this particular cat was a male and therefore, from what she had heard, almost powerless in the ways of magic.

She used one finger to peel back the rim of her hood enough for him to take a good look at her face, then she narrowed her eyes and curled her lip, snarling wickedly as an array of electrical currents flickered wildly around her eyes.

The Myti’s was apparently surprised, but more importantly threatened by her reaction to him. His eyes widened, blinked a few times, his tail swept about in an awkward manner, then he promptly looked away as if nothing had happened.

With intent accomplished, the currents of electricity subsided with the rage that had boiled up inside her. She resumed drinking her milk, finished it, and then got from her seat to head to her room for the night. As she passed the bar on rout to the stairs, the stout little barkeep was behaving erratically, muttering to himself while patting down his person and looking around in a frantic manner. Apparently he had lost something important to him…. But she didn’t stop, she just smirked softly and continued on her way up the stairs to her room. She could really just do with some sleep.

[Polaris North]

Interacting with:
Mentions:

---

Three months earlier

---

Dearest Brother,

I am afraid I have to bear bad news in this latest letter of ours. Our land has been attacked by the monsters that had appeared all too suddenly. We were ill prepared for the attack, as we had eased up our security only days before the attack as we had other businesses to attend to that needed more security. It proved to be a wrong decision on my part as the monsters broke through one of our gates and kept on coming. We fought back relentlessly, but there was no end in sight. Days of fighting ensued until they finally reached the inner circle where our home is located. They also broke through that gate, but we had managed to repel them by then. It was suspicious, it was like someone or something was controlling them. I would have no time to investigate as our family was hit hard, and efforts to shelter those who lost their homes and also rebuilding the facilities from inside to the outside are being done. We have lost many good men. Our parents have also perished, along with Jeremiah. Everyone is pitching in to help with the efforts and we have pooled our many resources to rebuild, but this would stall our progress. We still sent out traders to sell whatever they can to keep the profit going, but if we do not recover soon, I am afraid we would suffer long-term consequences.

Gabriel read and re-read the letter over and over again for the entire ride. The Saldosius land attacked! By monsters! And it yielded disastrous results. This would be a major setback for the entire family. From what Micah wrote, it was so destructive that it would cost them much more money than normal, and would take a long time before they can get back on their feet. Their loss of men - cousins, workers and their very own blood - was certainly a bad thing too. And this was just thinking of the repercussions it had on their business! The emotional scars that his sister would have right now... Gabriel just couldn't imagine the face his sister would make. He sent a quick message that he was on his way back to South Akripola. It took him days of travel, and thankfully someone was willing to let him go along for a ride in exchange for an enchanted dagger.

The carriage pulled to a stop and he heard the stranger speak, "Well here we are. On the edge of Saldosius land. Looks like they took a heavy beating."

Gabriel dismounted the carriage and took in the sights. The entire outside area was ravaged. The usual sight of workers greeting him now seemed like a distant memory. It was empty, and not a single soul was to be seen. He gripped the straps of his bag and then turned to the stranger. "Thank you." He offered the stranger a wave. The stranger nodded his head and then urged his horse to go on. The sounds of hooves hitting the ground gradually disappeared, along with the wheels hitting the dirt path.

Gabriel then moved forward - taking in the sights of his old home. What was patches of crops was now just dirt with the occasional broken hut here and there - and some more broken equipment. He saw the carcass of the animals there, though it was obvious that it had been dead for a rather long time because of how much it had decomposed. The smell of death that had hit him was all too familiar to faze him, but his heart began to hurt. This was his land, and he couldn't protect it. No matter how much he hated being restricted by being in the land, he still cared about it.

He finally reached the inner circle of their land and he could already see the hastily repaired gate and multiple guards posted atop it. Gabriel raised his hand and waved it, getting the attention of the guard in front. Upon recognition of the man, the guard's face softened and he yelled, "Master Gabriel has returned. Open the gates!" There was a resounding cheer after that and the gates opened. Gabriel grinned at them as they greeted him with cheery faces despite everything that had happened.

"Glad you are still well Uriel." Gabriel said as he patted the guard's shoulderplate.

Uriel smiled back at the secondborn. "It will take more than that to bring me down sir!" He boasted. That was when his mood seemed to darken as he relaxed back into his original position. "Lady Micah is in the castle. She's in a meeting with the council about the repairs. I've heard they're considering of asking for help with one of the other families."

Gabriel's mouth formed a thin line as he pondered on the idea. He was not as smart in politics as he is with magic, but he didn't like the idea of showing the other family that they were so desperate that they need help. They might see this as an opportunity to take advantage of them. Then again, it would quicken the restoration of their land. Thankfully, he thought, there were others who were willing to help - mostly renegade travelers whom they have helped before.

Ever since Micah's rule, everyone had started to get along and they even started to treat the workers better than ever; hence why they were always so happy to see each other. Their parents were not happy with this. But thankfully they abolished such horrible treatment, since now they were more willing to help than to simply run away and never look back like what most 'slaves' would do under these kinds of circumstances. "I'll go see Micah."

"Yes sir."

With that, Gabriel headed for the castle which was in the middle of the inner circle of their city. He could see mages of all kinds helping out. Good thing they established a good educational building here too, since it helped cultivate mages. While, yes, they were employed for their own interests, he could confidently say that they would enjoy the studies if they really did have passion for magic. And what better occupation than the one that they thoroughly enjoy?

He reached the castle - which was just a larger form of a house if he were to be honest and much more grandiose in nature - and entered, giving the guards a nod. It wasn't damaged though, so he could assume that the monsters never reached this part of the area. Hopefully the ones at the south end of the inner circle was saved from the fate that befell those in the north, where he had entered. Gabriel turned his head from side to side, searching for any sort of life inside the castle - but there were none. Were their maids and butlers helping out outside? It would make sense, since they needed all the hands they could get. Even the guards seemed like they were only resting while taking watch.

Gabriel showed himself to the private room their family had. He bumped into their head butler, Fir, while heading there. Of course someone was still inside. "Ah, Master Gabriel, welcome back. I wish everything was in better condition for your return." He mused before bowing his head. "I shall alert Mistress Micah that you are here once she is done with her conference with the council. In the meantime, would you like some tea?"

He smiled at the head butler and nodded his head. "That sounds wonderful Fir." With that, Fir disappeared into another hall and towards the kitchen. Gabriel then positioned himself inside the private room's couch - the soft feeling of it making him instantly ease up. It has been a long time since he felt this kind of softness. He looked up to see a complete family portrait of his family - his father and mother standing behind the three siblings while Micah was sitting down in the middle with him and Jeremiah flanking her. The thought that they were dead hit him again and tears started to prick the sides of his eyes, threatening to fall.

That was when Fir opened the door and Gabriel snapped out of his thoughts. He quickly wiped his eyes with one swipe of his arm and then turned to Fir, who was laying down the tea he had offered. "Thank you Fir, you are dismissed." The butler bowed and then headed out. He reached over to drink some tea and it made him relax even further, and yet he couldn't help but sigh in sadness. He couldn't joke around with Jeremiah anymore. He couldn't have rows with his father anymore; as much as they didn't get along, that didn't mean he didn't like his presence. He couldn't have a daily talk with his mother over a cup of tea about his latest ruin he plunged himself in.

He heard the door open again and he turned his head - his sister at the door. There was silence between them as Gabriel stood up. A minute passed and Micah dashed towards him and began crying, gripping onto his shirt tightly, and Gabriel wrapped his arms around his sister. "I couldn't... I couldn't protect them Gabriel!" She exclaimed between sobs, tears flowing freely down her face. "I-I... I was right there when they... they..." She choked up as she buried herself deeper into her brother.

Gabriel patted Micah's back soothingly - but he was noticeably sobbing as well. He rested his head on her shoulder. "It's alright Micah." He muttered. "You did your best."

They stayed like this for what seemed like forever - two siblings seeking comfort in one another. Their family was now no more. The ever prideful Saldosius Family was decimated into near nothingness, with only the effort of the most resilient fighters' efforts that saved it. Everything they had known had been torn down. The places they grew up in were gone - destroyed. After their sobbing episode, the siblings sat down and Micah recomposed herself.

"Thank you for coming back Gabriel. I'm sure you were busy..." She said.

Gabriel quickly gave her a dismissive wave of his hand. "Nothing's as important as my family. Especially considering what had happened." He pointed out before leaning back. "Just our luck huh?" He muttered, facing upward and he gave a long sigh.

"They hit hard and fast. They practically came out of nowhere." Micah said, gripping her shoulders as she began to recount the entire event in more detail than what was on the letter. She almost broke down into another crying session but managed to compose herself again before continuing. Gabriel listened intently, every gruesome detail ingraining itself into his head. His hands bawled into fists as he vividly imagined the scenes she recounted. As she finished up, she buried her face into her hands. "I still can't believe all that happened in the span of three days."

"What I can't believe is how they managed to slip by the other borders without being spotted." Gabriel pointed out. He then began to tap his fingers against his thigh as he continued, "Not a single report right? They just appeared and then we get attacked... It's just too surreal you know?"

Micah nodded in understanding. "Well, like I said, someone might be involved. Or maybe there's some higher power involved in all of this. Smarter than just a bunch of monsters trying to kill, at the very least." She replied.

Gabriel then smiled. "And you want me to find out about it?"

She gave him a sad look. "You're the only one I can trust enough for this. I need the others here too. Can I count on your brother?"

He gave her a chuckle. "You bet."

---

Present

---

Or that's what he said, but three months have passed and he still got nothing. Even before the attack, he's been investigating the monsters as a side hobby, but yielded no results from it. It was odd, and he felt like it was wrong somehow. He doesn't even know how these monsters were made! He'd wanted to capture one just to see its general behavior, but even there he was unsuccessful. He's traded information with others to put some light on the mystery of these things - but still nothing.

Gabriel had entered the town of Nadska without much difficulty - since he was already known for stay here for a while before departing once again. Nothing much had changed in this small town. It was just another day. Maybe it was a good thing that nothing much happened in this place, since that would give him the peace to think without worrying someone would bound up to him to ask for an enchantment. Then again, there were some people who would do that here. He honestly couldn't bring himself to care anymore.

Heading to the marketplace first, he began to stock up on his food for the next few weeks, or days depending really. He managed to talk his way down to a manageable level of money for everything he bought. Thanking his father silently for teaching him how to haggle effectively, he began to walk around with no destination in mind. It still wasn't night so he wasn't keen on entering the tavern just yet, since that would just mean that there would be loud drunk people around him for the remainder of the day - and he didn't really like hanging around particularly aggressive ones.

Gabriel found himself near the Church to see a lot of them there. Last time he's been here, there weren't many people worshiping the God of Harvest. Then again, harvest time was coming around and the surrounding area was pretty damaged - so maybe they were just trying to invoke everything the God had to offer by increasing their numbers. Or whatever. Gabriel wondered if it would work though. He guessed that this wouldn't be the optimal time to check in with one of the worshipers who he made friends with before, to tell him about the various Gods and Goddesses - but mainly this one. He at least wanted to speak to him about things, as she's one of the few people he could really trust, but maybe that could wait until later.

Resigning himself to the fact that he can't do anything else aside from the tavern, Gabriel headed off to the tavern. It was pretty early in the evening and he waved at the barkeep who waved back at him. "Welcome kid, what do you need?"

"Just a room, and a glass of mead." Gabriel requested before dropping the requested money in front of the barkeep and he took it happily.

"Here's your room key, and then your mead." The barkeep said, not paying special attention to the male. Gabriel nodded a thanks and then headed off with mead in hand. He sat down at a table with another adventurer in it. The two spoke and exchanged tales of their adventures.

"You went down with Tujic and his goons to that ruin off to the west?" The adventurer asked, admiration in his voice. "Damn man, heard that place was full of traps."

Gabriel waved his hand dismissively and gave a light chuckle. "Yeah well, it wasn't too hard when you could read the runes that activated the traps were." He bashfully said, hand immediately going to the back of his head as he rubbed it.

The adventurer reached over to pat his shoulder. "Man, you lot must have been the talk of the town back then!" He loudly exclaimed which caught some attention, but once they saw the admittedly unimpressive looking male with the loud, bulkier adventurer, they just turned their attention back to themselves.

"Well, yes, Tujic and the others were at least." He replied with a small shrug as he took a swig of his mead. "Us Runic Mages just get our money share and just leave. Don't take much credit." He shook his head.

"Damn, bad luck. But you guys are still in demand, you know, the ones who actually want to delve into ruins. Ain't much of you guys around." The adventurer pointed out as he crossed his arms. "Say, if you aren't doing anything, you could run with us."

The secondborn shook his head and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I'm on a job right now. Can't put it off really." As much as he loved going into ruins and exploring everything, he still had to find out about the monsters and he couldn't get sidetracked now. "Maybe another time?"

The adventurer clicked his tongue as he began to drink his own beer. "Shame. Next time we see each other though, be sure to stick with our band."

He laughed and nodded. "I mean, sure, if I'm done with my job." Gabriel replied with a thumbs up.

"Good brother! See you next time!" The adventurer finished his entire mug and then swiped off his sword. "Bye then!"

Gabriel cheerily waved. "Bye!: He slouched into his seat and began drinking his mead. That was when a hooded girl entered and had this strange aura about her. He watched her head to the barkeep and then request something before handing her payment - and the barkeep seemed to be so ecstatic about it.

This took him by surprise. What could the girl give that was so important? And the barkeep was even panicking. Leaning forward, he tried to pick off what it was by sight alone - even if he was a little too far back. The glint of blue that came off from the solid was interesting, and he became interested so he looked a bit more.

A parti sapphire.

So that's why. Gabriel sat back down and didn't pay it too much mind. He thought that it was something more than just a stone. While it was something important and actually very expensive, it wasn't something unique in Gabriel's eyes considering hos his father used to flaunt several himself.

Perks of coming from high society.

What was odd was when the woman turned to a Myti and then didn't react positively. She did something that scared the Myti, but Gabriel didn't really notice what it really was. The hooded woman left for her room, he assumed since she was going up, and Gabriel just simply took another swig of his mug. Okay, this was interesting.

[Zyngard]

Aelih whistled a heroic tune as the western gate approached, and the guards looked casually at the cloaked newcomer with dirty blonde hair walks nearby

One of the guards yawned, relaxed, then called down “State your name and business, if you would”

“Aelih, just here for a night” came the response, as Aelih placed a hand over the eyes and looked up through the suns glare at the guards.

“So be it.” The gate slowly opens, and Aelih slid through once the gap is large enough to allow it. “Don’t cause any trouble, but I would suggest keeping that spear close at hand there, um, Aelih, was it?”

“Yes” A simple response. Aelih passed by and later entered a nearby tavern, tired from the journey that would probably never be expanded on, and grateful for the duel purpose Inn and Tavern.

Aelih stepped up to the bar, and sat down at an open stool.

The barkeeper, who seemed a bit dazed, stared at Aelih, and notably the spearhead poking out over the left shoulder, for a moment, before starting over. “So, what’ll it be?” He said, in a tone that underlied joyfulness, although he kept it hidden well.

“Water, cold please.” Aelih replies rather curtly, and hands over a copper piece.

“...waters no cost, you know.” As Aelih does not take the copper piece back, the barkeeper simply shrugs and slips the copper piece into his pocket “I’m afraid there’s no rooms for the night left here, so if you’re here for that, I suggest staying elsewhere”

Aelih shrugged in response, and took the water, sipping it then internally grimacing. Cold enough, yes, but not nearly as fresh as would be preferred. ”Suppose that’s what happens when you get used to river water” Aelih thinks, still drinking. A room would be appreciated, although apparently Aelih would have to go searching for one.

The glass was picked up by Aelih, as the elf went to go find an open spot to drink, and subsequently sat down at a table with a Myti who seemed distracted by some woman. ”None of my business” Aelih thought, while returning to drinking the cool water.

[tex]

What a town! What a boat! What nice people!

Dannisus was aglow with joyous tones as he marched through Nadska without a care in the world. It was the first time in months that he'd been able to walk into a town without getting stopped at the gate for a solid 20 minutes. Some humans had such silly questions for him! They always asked about his weapons, his intentions, where he came from, how he lost his ear, and a bunch of other stuff, while they let their kin walk in and out of town without a second thought. Myti might have been an uncommon sight outside the borders of Sylsashia, but to treat them with so much caution was simply unwarranted.

We're such a peaceful race!

They really were, too. Never had Myti tribes participated in the bloody wars of the humes. They would fight over such stupid things. Dannisus still didn't understand it much- The worldwide obsession with shiny minerals that is. Myti had no need for gold, or sapphires, or rubies, or any other precious gem. Everything they ever needed came from the forest, and with her help, in tandem with their superior magic, survival was never an issue. Even outside the forest borders, Dannisus saw little value in human currency. Occasionally he'd indulge in prepared food, or a soft bed, but there was little a tavern could offer that the wilds could not.

'Mama! Look at the kitty!'

A little girl tugged at her mother's skirt near the center of the plaza, reaching out at Dannisus like he was something to be caught. He didn't mind it. Children were often fascinated by his cat-like features. He'd learned of domesticated felines not long after leaving Sylsashia. Their tongue was rough, and hard to understand, unlike their larger cousins, but they seemed happy, and dearly loved by the humans that housed them. It was no wonder that he garnered such lovely attention. Dannisus turned to the little girl and smiled without a second thought, only to be met with the girl's mother, swatting at the little girl's hand. She glared at him, but the little girl giggled, waving goodbye. Dannisus frowned for a moment, but quickly shrugged it off and made his way out of the market, blissfully unawares of the townsfolk staring at him in partial unison.

What nice people!

He'd long forgotten about the stigma that followed him around. The guards at the gate, the protective mothers, and the sheer bravado of unruly ruffians that saw his kin as less than human. Dannisus was used to it by now. All of the prejudice he dealt with was still worlds better than being condemned to a treetop with menial chores with minimal time allowed on the forest floor. What kind of life was that? He'd learned to hunt just like his sisters! He knew all about the forest! If there was one thing that Dannisus loved about humans, it was the freedom that their people promoted- When they weren't trying to steal from him, kill him, or put him in a cage, anyways. The elders weren't lying when they said that humans could be a crueler than a Lorelei Gnasher. Sometimes they scared him even more than his sister could ever hope to. He turned his head, looked up at the clouds happily and closed his eyes. With a gentle shake of his ears, Dannisus felt fully refreshed in the middle of the bustling little town.

Oof!

A woman crashed into him abruptly, forcing him to stumble backwards while she stood her ground with no issue at all. He'd put his bad ear forward again, like an idiot! The smell of human sweat made it pretty hard to feel his way through the crowd like he usually would. Before he could even apologize, the woman swatted her hand at the air above him and started cursing up a storm. He flinched backwards, nodded quietly, and tiptoed around her, spinning away at the last moment. He could steal hear her spouting profanities as he marched off.

What a mean lady!

She was kind of a bitch.

The taverns he'd passed by looked pretty similar, not only to each other, but to other human establishments. They weren't very creative with their architecture! Something about it made his hair stand on end. Being inside those cramped little rooms was worse than sitting up in a treetop den. Chairs hurt his tail, the drinks tasted foul, and the beds?.. Well, the beds were the only good part! Sleeping in a bed reminded him of the mossy patches he'd nap in back home. It wasn't quite as comfortable, but it certainly smelled nicer.

I could do with a nap!

Twenty minutes later, after he'd reserved a room and sampled the scrumptious food they'd had to offer, Dannisus was sifting through his personal notebook, reviewing the notes about his most recent venture. It was written in Myti Script, similar to the human alphabet, but much smaller, and less varied. Words were longer, and sounded out with audible chatter that most would recognize as mewls. His book's most recent entry was almost barren, though. Nothing of importance to note, aside from the arcane conduits he'd found. They were good for making more mana spheres, but not much else. His ears lowered flat against his head and he scowled. What a bust!

Myea?

Dannisus was taken aback as he smelled a familiar scent. He couldn't put his nose on it at all, but he knew it from somewhere. Not long after, somebody new made her way across the room, and towards the bar without a second thought. Cloaked people were always so weird. It wasn't that hot, and it wasn't raining! Why did they need to hide their faces?

They always have something to hide!

People who hid things were suspicious, and usually, not very nice. The ones with hoods, especially. Most of them tried to take his stuff without asking, and a few were mean enough to scar his body! He stared at her without thinking, and placed his book flat on the table in front of him. The smell was stronger now she was inside, it had to be her! But what the heck was that smell? It became very apparent when her fingers emitted the tiniest bit of light. He remembered it in an instant, and his mind went blank. It was the smell of his sister's mana.

When she looked at him, Dannisus froze. It wasn't a Myti, after all. The relief was quickly pushed aside by a pang of fear as she shot him a menacing look. He pushed himself back into his chair, rubbing the base of his tail against the wood. He jerked his tail sideways in pain, and looked away from the girl hurriedly, diverting his attention towards the entrance. Electric mana, just like Lani had. The smell was too vivid to mistake. She used to tease him with it all the time, shocking his tail at random. Dannisus pulled his chair forwards and clasped his hands together, resting his chin on them carefully while still staring at the door. Being reminded of his elder sister wasn't all too comforting. He jerked his tail further to the left, lifting it so that it rested on the opposite side of his chair. He glanced back at the girl as she took her leave, and then lowered his eyelids. His ears flicked downwards and he let out a lonely sigh.

She looks even meaner than Lani...

Somebody sat down next to him without a word. Dannisus' ears perked up and his eyes sprung open. "Hello," Dannisus said quietly, staring at the elf curiously. It wasn't often that anyone would willingly sit near him, even when he was being extra kind. Perhaps it was because they were an elf? Regardless, he looked at Aelih with a blank expression, still on guard after his earlier scare.

[Valkon]

Early Monday afternoon. Jack stood before the entrance to a cave, hidden within the forests just east of Nadaska. All the evidence and rumors he had collected thus far led him to this location, and by the look of it- and the twinge of magic energy he could feel leaking from the c ave's entrance- he knew it was the correct place. Delving into the cave, Jack came face to face with a group of armed thugs- it seemed the mage who had made this place his home opted for a bit of security.

Two oversized brutes of men, armed with equally-brutish swords that looked like they hadn't been maintained since the day they were first smithed, rushed Jack while a scowling woman stood back, nocking an arrow onto a makeshift bow with enough wear that it seemed more likely to snap in two than release anything. The two men, lifted their swords above their heads, bringing the blades down upon Jack- or they would have, had he not simply sidestepped their attack. "You know, I can't help but wonder," Jack states, delivering a punch to the side of one of the men as he continues, "where do people like you even come from?"

As the brute Jack had struck fell to the ground, agonizing over his now-shattered ribs, the second growls with anger as he goes in for another attack. Swiping his sword horizontally while stepping towards Jack, who counters by blocking the blade with his gauntlet, the brute's forward motion neatly brings him into the path of the arrow that had just been released by the woman, piercing the back of his skull and killing him. Jack watches as the man collapses to the ground, looking up at the woman after a brief moment. "You've really got your team coordination down, haven't you?"

She scowls again, fumbling as she moves to nock another arrow onto the bow. Her focus set on her weapon, she loads it and looks back up just in time to see Jack standing in front of her as he delivers a punch to her stomach, eviscerating her. Jack looks down at her as she slumps over, collapsing at his feet. Shaking the wet blood off of his gauntlets, he moves deeper into the cavern.

After making his way through the small labyrinth of tunnels that made up the caves, and fighting his way past more small groups of pitifully underwhelming thugs, he makes his way to the final chamber of the cave, in which the rogue wizard he has been searching for stood. The wizard, in the middle of performing some sort of ritual, turns to the invader, his voice carrying his anger as he shouts at Jack.

"So," the wizard begins, "You've come to take down the mighty Fodrin, have you?"

"That about sums it up, yeah," Jack replies.

"Fool! You may have made it past my guards, but I am stronger than you could possibly imagine!"

"I guess we'll see."

With that, Jack approaches the wizard, who- somewhat perturbed by Jack's nonchalance- quickly prepares a spell, launching a volley of fireballs at Jack. His confusion turns to fear as Jack simply catches the fireballs, absorbing the arcane energy. "W-What the hell kind of power is that?!" he shouts, turning to flee. He realizes too late, however, that the chamber he is in only has one way out, and Jack stands between him and it. As he turns back, Jack is already standing over him, answering. "It's my power."

"No!" The wizard shouts, his fear turning to anger, "No, no, no! I cannot die by your hand!"

"Very well then," Jack states as he kicks him to the ground, stomping his chest in and ending the rogue wizard's life.

Jack knelt down, searching the wizard's corpse. Locating the amulet that had been looking for- along with a handful of golden coins, some stained with red by the wizard's blood- he pocketed his findings before making his way back out of the cave and into the forest.

Some time after he leaving cave, Jack approached the eastern gates of Nadaska. As much as he didn't like spending time in places he didn't need to be in, the journey back to turn in his bounty was too long to make on foot before nightfall. Monster attacks in the region had grown, and while he could fend for himself, being killed in his sleep wasn't something Jack was particularly interested in. Besides, the owner of the amulet had waited for it to be returned this long already; surely they wouldn't mind waiting an extra day or two...

"Halt." The command of the guard at the gate brought Jack out of his thoughts and back to reality. "State your name and your business."

"Jack. Hunter."

"Right," the guard answered with a tone of suspicion, "And I suppose that's your explanation for that, then?" As he questioned Jack, the guard indicated towards the blood that currently stained his gauntlets and the right side of his torso.

Jack answered with a simple nod, adding, "Occasionally a hunter of men," and retrieving a bounty, showing it to the guard.

"Ah, one of your types... well, I don't expect you'll find-"

"The hunt is over. Just need a place to stay until tomorrow."

"...right. Well, I suppose we can let you in." The guard steps to the side, allowing Jack to pass through and into Nadaska. And, before a minute even had time to pass, he had already managed to make his way onto the roof of the town hall unnoticed, observing the activity in the town. Below, he could hear the announcement of the hanging, and- more importantly, at least to Jack- the mention of a large chest and a reward for finding it. "Could make for a good supplement to my income," Jack muttered to himself, "if I happen to come across it."

Next, he turned his attention to the church, and the growing numbers of people around it. Jack's opinion of religious folk had never been too favorable- too dogmatic for his tastes; little more than glorified servitude, from what he understood of it. Not his idea of an ideal life in the slightest. As he was about to move on to other things, however, an individual exiting the church caught his eye- while he didn't look like much more than any typical traveler, something about him stuck out among the crowds of Nadeska like a sore thumb.

Jack narrowed his eyes, trying to focus better on the man. What was it about him? Not his general appearance... something he was wearing, perhaps? Nothing really stood out about that either, though he knew there must've been some reason the man caught his eye. He didn't have much time to think about it before another indivudal caught his eye- one he recognized as one of the Myti. It wasn't hard for Jack to determine what caught his attention for this one, though- it was a male Myti, seemingly traveling by himself. "Did he reject the place his kind would put him in...?" Jack's blank expression turned to a slight smile. "Good for him." Given his own past, Jack didn't particularly care much for the Myti culture's view of their males.

Following the humanoid feline's movements, he realized that the Myti had ended up passing through town into the same direction the man from earlier had- right into a tavern. And, after a brief period of time in which Jack observed the activity in the market, he found his attention drawn to yet another individual who, inevitably, ended up in the same tavern. This time, a hooded figure. He couldn't be certain, especially since night had already fallen and their dark clothing tended to mix into the darkness when it wasn't making a harsh silhouette against what scattered lights there were in the town, but from what he could tell by their figure, Jack surmised that this one, unlike the other two, was a female. "Three unusual individuals, all heading to the same tavern... I don't suppose..."

Sure enough, a brief look around town revealed yet another individual that stood out to Jack making their way to the tavern. This time, an elf. Gender... Jack had enough trouble telling what elves were up close, it'd be impossible to discern it from his vantage point. Regardless, at this point four strange individuals had made their way into the same tavern. As soon as he started heading there it'd be five; a decent size for a party of adventurers for any story. Of course, Jack knew this wasn't some run-of-the mill fantasy story; this was reality. In any case, though, something had drawn these individuals to the same place, and Jack was curious was fate would have in store for them.

Besides, he needed to get down from the roof of the town hall before someone noticed he was up there. And, more importantly, to get something to drink. Making his way down from the roof unnoticed- a feat made easier than his climb up to it by the cover of night and gravity working in his favor rather than against it- he walks to the tavern, arriving as the hooded woman was making her way up the stairs. "Suppose that's one less person to observe..." he muttered to himself as he walked over to the counter, staring down at the barkeeper, who seemed to be in a panic about something.

"Barkeep."

The barkeeper continued to frantically search himself, apparently not having noticed Jack's presence.

"Barkeep." Jack strikes the counter with his palm for emphasis, shocking the barkeeper out of his panic.

"H-hu- oh... Welcome," the barkeep states with a sigh, his earlier frenzy apparently having left him sweating. Whether it was from nervousness or brief physical exertion for such a man, or even both, Jack didn't care. "What'll it be? Afraid we're out of rooms for the night."

"That's fine. I just want ale," Jack states, moving his hand to reveal three golden coins, two of which are stained with a faint red. "Don't worry about change yet. Just keep the ale coming. I have more gold if it comes to that."

"Yes, sir." The barkeep takes the coins, seemingly still disappointed about something enough not to notice the red stains that covered the coins- or Jack himself, for that matter. He solemnly moves to serve Jack, who takes the mug of alcohol and moves to one of the empty tables, positioned such that he can periodically observe the three unusual individuals who remained on the ground floor of the tavern.

Jack takes a swig of the ale before reaching back into his pack, removing something large and wrapped in cloth and setting it in front of him. Unwrapping the object, it reveals a large chunk of venison, the ends of a long bone jutting out of opposite sides of the slab of meat. Lifting the raw meat with both hands, sparks travel between the red-tinted crystals attached to the bracers of his gauntlets as flames emerge from his hands, engulfing the venison long enough to roast it. As the flames cease, the sparks disappear with them, the reddish tint of the crystals having reverted to a dull light grey color, and Jack begins to consume the now-cooked meat.

[Candy]

~ Just Another Day ~

....

Whenever possible, stowing away on ships was the way to go in Fauve’s opinion. Why the hell deal with the prospect of getting ass whipped by some screwball monster on land when you can just avoid the issue by taking to the water? It wasn’t the perfect solution, everyone was still aware of the looming prospect of being capsized by an aquatic beast with a hankering to make a drip of itself, but at least sailing lessened the threat to a degree.

The merchant ship rocked up at Nadska landing pier late Monday night, but the crew wouldn’t bother unloading any goods until daylight came around. She’d been down in the cargo hold hunkered between two storage barrels and grazing on a crate of fruit when she heard the ship drop anchor. Clambering to her feet she commenced maneuvered her way through the other cargo containers and paused at the foot of the stairs to listen real careful to the activity up on deck. There were a few distant voices of crewman hollering at each other, but nobody seemed to be within immediate proximity of the cargo hold doors. It was no doubt time to make her break for it, and up the stairs she went.

Not caring too much about getting caught, just plainly finding it easier to get away with mischief by acting casual about it, she threw open the doors and strut her way to the ramp that had just been lowered for ship access. A young deckhand was still securing the rope for said ramp and she gave him a good spank on the rear end as she passed him by.

“Much obliged for the hospitality, Stupid!” She yelled back while tramping her way down the ramp to the pier.

....

She traipsed her way through town with a hemp shoulder bag swinging at her side, tattered canvas shoes, grubby baft short sleeve top, and one butt cheek hanging out from a tear in the rear of her skimpy trousers. Along the way she managed to belch in the ear of a passing nobleman while picking a fine gold locket from his pocket, and shortly afterward arrived at the tavern to quench that longstanding thirst of hers.

Throwing open the doors she stopped to give anyone eyeballing her a good taunting sneer. She took note of a Myti who had apparently seen better days judging by the state of his ear and tail, and was sharing the table with an equivocate armor wearing Elf who she felt the urge to slap for the hell of it. A human was sitting nearby where she stood, who she only bothered to notice on account of the sickening glimmer of joy in his horrid blue eyes. There was also another human looking customer of interest, and that particular person was probably the only one in the whole damn place she felt the slightest inkling for. He instantly struck her as a bestial sort, and those types of bastards suited her just fine – but he was wearing a pair gauntlets that took her fancy – and ohh yeah, what she wouldn’t do to get her hands on those lovelies! She didn’t really give too much of a care for the others in the room, besides an elderly man sitting and making love to his jug of wine, that same man being the one she instantly aimed to relieve of the coin purse he had laying out on the table next to him.

After giving her exposed butt cheek a good scratching she ambled her way across the room. Along the way she tapped the old man on the shoulder to steal his attention while she swiped his purse with her other hand. The old pervert was strikingly obliged by the view of her exposed cheek skin as she continued on rout to the bar.

She used the newly acquired coins to purchase two drinks from the tubby little individual behind the counter - one ale, one sweet potato moonshine - then headed on over to drop herself down in a chair at Jack’s table. She gave a good snort to clear her nose, dropped her legs open in an unladylike manner, and slid the moonshine over to Jack before slurping back a swallow of ale.

“Stinks of filth in this place, doesn’t it, Handsome?” She said, and while a trickle of over-spill made its way down her chin she adjusted her boobs with one hand. “You got a price on those gloves, or what?” She winks.

[Dartbored Fairy]

Lui groaned again as she got back on her feet and turned around. She'd fallen out of the cart she was riding in and her face was now covered in mud.

"This is what I get for trying to take a nap, huh?" she said to nobody in particular as she rubbed the mud out of her face and picked up her Magelight. "Well, the town can't be far anymore now, can it? Might as well walk."

Turning around, Lui finds herself within sight of the city walls. "...right, so I really was close. Perfect timing to fall off, me." She complains, as she heads towards the town gate. There stood two guards, in the process of inspecting the cart in which she had taken a ride.

"Good afternoon guys, mind if I enter?" Lui said, grinning. She tried her best to sound like a boy, it made people less likely to ask her annoying questions.

"What's your business here, sir?" One of the guards asked her, leaving the other to finish with the cart. Lui sighed in relief as her plan apparently succeeded.

"I'm meeting up with an old pal of mine, we last saw eachother in school years ago and moved apart and stuff so now we decided to meet up again." Lui said, hoisting her Magelight onto her shoulder again. "So, how 'bout it?"

"...right. And why are you carrying a lantern? Are you planning to set things on fire?" The guard asks, suspicious of Lui's behaviour.

"Ah, don't worry. I only carry it around so I can see where I'm going at night. I'm a traveller you see." Lui responded. It wasn't exactly a lie either, that was one of the things she used her Magelight for.

"...very well. Don't cause any trouble or we'll use you as a light to ward off criminals." The guard said, sighing as he let Lui pass into the city.

"Much appreciated, have a splendid day." Lui said, grinning as she enters the town only to be interrupted by her growling stomach.

Guess I need to go eat something, huh? I could go and eat some of my own food, or...

Lui opens her bookbag, and pulls out a small purse. In it are several coins. Smiling, she puts the purse back and looks around.

Or I could buy something to eat. That sounds much, much better.

And so, Lui started wandering down the streets, searching for a Tavern to eat at.

Why are there so many buildings around here anyway? Can't they just build really tall buildings instead? That'd take up less space...

Eventually though, her search paid off, as she found a tavern. Cautiously, she steps inside and looks around, only for the barkeeper to shout at her.

"Oi! No fire in here!" The barkeep yelled, sounding rather annoyed.

"Sorry!" Lui yelped, quickly heading back outside to extinguish her lantern before heading back in and taking a good look around. Instantly her attention was drawn to a man wearing strange gauntlets. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt uneasy at the sight of them. Then, she spotted something more interesting; a Myti.

KITTY!

Barely managing to stop herself from yelling that out loud, Lui manages to calm down and heads to the counter.

"Hey, barkeep, sorry about earlier. Can I have some food?" Lui asks, placing some coins on the counter. The barkeep simply glares at her.

"What'll it be?" He said, sounding rather annoyed. Apparently he was in a foul mood.

"Ehm... nevermind, do you have a glass of water instead? No wait, something else instead, as long as it isn't alcoholic please." Lui asks sheepishly, glancing back at the Myti. His ear seemed damaged, how sad.

"Sure. I think I have something." The barkeeper responds, filling a glass with milk and handing it to Lui, who smiles and pays him before heading over to sit with the Myti, only noticing the other person there after she already sat down.

"A-ah! Greetings. Mind if I sit here with you?" Lui says, blushing. "I-if you don't want me here I'll go away..."

[Zyngard]

Aelih gives a nod to the Myti, sipping the iced water “Hello to yourself as well” came the response, in a bland, tired tone.

“Hope you don’t mind that I’m taking a seat here. Need somewhere... quiet to sit, and I figured sitting with someone like yourself would work pretty well for that purpose.”

Aelih looked up as a girl approached the table, eyes only for the Myti, and sits down, yelping something out, and Aelih raised an eyebrow high, examining the newcomer.

Intriguing...

Aelih’s attention was drawn to the girl’s face, or more specifically, her eyes. Or eye anyways. The other eye appeared to be... not an eye, to put it simply. The other eye simply seemed to be a gemstone of some kind. Now that... that would be interesting. This girl seemed to be the kind with experience beyond her years. Aelih smiles, sipping the water again.

“Well I personally don’t mind” Aelih says to the girl as she sits down, “But I’m unsure of what he’ll say” Aelih says, head tilting towards the direction of the male Myti, leaving the choice of whether to allow the girl to sit or not to him.

Of course, the response would probably be positive, given how he seemed to accept Aelih’s presence, so... Aelih doubted that he would reject the girl.

[tex]

Dannisus' ears flapped happily when he wasn't scolded or ignored. He didn't know much about elves, nor had he visited any of the Elven settlements in Akripola, but this one seemed nice, and perceptive as well! They caught on to the fact that he wasn't one to make a whole lot of noise pretty quickly, even though that wasn't all to difficult to discern about a skittish Myti. Dannisus thought higher of it anyways, thinking back to what his mother used to tell him about elven lore. Well, what little of it he could remember, but was immediately distracted by Aelih's ears. They reminded of his own- Minus the fur. Pointy! Even the elf's body looked similar in structure to his kin's, albeit much taller, and lankier. He caught himself staring, and nodded, picking up his little booklet in a hurry. Before he could say anything though, a girl approached their table. The hair on his tail prickled outwards for a moment, and he turned to look at her. Aelih seemed fine with the girl, and he had no reason to object either, so it was decided!

"I'm fine with it as well," he added, gesturing to one of the empty seats "please feel free to take a seat." He paused for a minute, still perturbed by the sudden influx of visitors. For the first time in a while, he seemed awfully popular. He couldn't remember the last time people were this eager to- "Aa-" Dannisus let out a small mewl on reflex, but cleared his throat and smiled, adjusting himself in his seat.

Of course he remembered! It happened less than a year ago, where a few nice young humans approached him with a happy invitation- Something that quickly turned into an unsavory ambush. Were these people trying to skin him alive? He looked them over quickly. They seemed nice enough, and smelled like... Huh? His nose twitched and he looked over to Lui again. Then it hit him. He was acting really weird right now.

"Ah! Um... My name is Dani!" He blurted, moving his eyes between the two awkwardly. "Forgive my quirks. I'm not used to having people approach me so casually." He looked a lui again, scanning her face with his eyes. "There aren't many willing to talk to Myti outside of the forest. Not unless they want them in a cage..." He breathed a giggle nervously and tapped his booklet against the tabletop. You'd think that 5 years outside of Sylsashia would have made him well versed in the art of conversation.

It did not.

[Polaris North]

Interacting with: Jack, Fauve
Mentions: @Valkon @Candy

---

As Gabriel waited for time to pass by, more and more interesting people popped up. There was the elf who entered; while the elf didn't exactly do or say anything special, just the mere sight of one got Gabriel all riled up. First it was a Myti, and now an elf? This tavern was attracting all sorts of people, it would seem. Gabriel wondered what these people were doing here and why. Nadska wasn't exactly a town known for... well, anything really. He was only here because he needed a place to stay for the night before moving on. He even thought that he might get lucky and get some information, but no such thing happened and all he got was another potential job once everything was sorted out - whenever that may be.

Next up was someone he really couldn't put a name to. You see, while he could put it off and say that he was human, somewhere inside him doubted that. He didn't even get to a conclusion to that as not even a second later, he felt a very familiar pull from the man's gauntlets. These were no normal gauntlets, that was for sure considering the appearance of it, but it was certianly something else. Something different from normal enchanted ones. Was it even enchanted or was there something else powering that thing? Something about him did give Gabriel second thoughts about approaching the guy. Maybe it was because he seemed a little asocial?

Before he could even move to finally talk with the man about his gauntlets, someone else beat him to it. A woman sauntered in, took a seat, bought some drinks and then began speaking with the man. Wow, where cna he get confidence like that? Gabriel finally stood up after that, but then noticed someone... no, rather something else enter. A magical construct. Gabriel could spot one immediately in a crowd because of how used to them he was. They were the kinds of things that flew out of the shelves once they were put on trade, something his father used to dabble in before Micah ultimately put a stop in what she personally sees as slavery. Up to now, Gabriel still wasn't sure whether or not that was such a good idea.

Nevertheless, he gave the construct a small wave of his hand and a smile.

Proceeding, finally, to the rough man and the confident woman, he took a seat beside them and waved the bartender another round. "I'm just plain curious where you got them. They're unlike anything I've ever seen, and I'm in the business of collecting magical items." He said after he got his drink and then taking a swig from it. His tone was particularly excitable with curiosity mixed in, but it seems that the man's general aura kept him from grabbing his hands and examining it. Raising his hand slightly, he continued. "Sorry for the sudden entrance, really, I'm just curious."

[Dartbored Fairy]

Lui happily smiles as both the Myti and the other person - who on closer inspection seemed to be some sort of elf? Probably an elf, they're the only species with pointy ears that gets that tall.

So yes, the Elf and the Myti both seemed very nice to Lui, who sat down with a big happy smile on her face. "Thank you so much!" She said, failing to keep behaving like a boy.

And so, Lui happily began drinking her drink when the Myti made a strange noise, and Lui started looking at him.

Hey, he's only got an ear and a half, do all Myti have that? I should ask him maybe...

Lui hadn't actually seen a lot of Myti before. She'd heard about them, yes, but this was the closest she'd ever gotten to one.

So naturally, she was curious about them. Did they like getting their ears scratched like cats? Do they dislike water? Do they chase mice? Is their favourite food fish?

Before Lui could ask any of these highly scientific and totally useful questions, the Myti blurted out an introduction, causing Lui to giggle.

"Nice to meet you!" Lui says, perhaps a bit too loud. "My name is Lui! Sorry for looking at you weirdly, I was just being a curious construct!"

Wait, did I just reveal that I was a construct to them? Stupid!

"Ehm! I mean! ...sorry I'm not very good when it comes to talking, I tend to make mistakes when talking so ignore what I just said." Lui says, putting up a fake smile. "B-but don't worry! I don't want you in a cage! Cages are bad! Do people really want to put you in a cage?"

[Valkon]

Jack's observation of the others was interrupted by the sudden entrance of another individual; this one, a young woman. As she went about her business, he returned the majority of his focus to observing the others, but she once again interrupted this- this time by taking a seat at his table. It seemed, more or less, that she had taken an interest in his gloves- she wasn't the first individual who had, and she certainly wouldn't be the last.

Jack, ignoring the moonshine for the moment, responds, "About as much any other tavern. As for the gloves, they're not for sale." As he finishes his brief answer, another individual- the first man Jack had noticed enter the tavern- had taken a seat at the table as well, also inquiring about the gloves. It seemed indirect observation was out of the question now. "Hm. Fourteen years ago," Jack answers, "I met a traveler. He gave them to me. I can't say I have any idea why he did, but I'm sure had his reasons."

[Hokum]

---

Insomnia

---

It was unfortunate the anticipation for sleeping in a proper bed for the night resulted in one with uncleaned sheets. Still, the straw padding was pleasant, despite the smell of body odor and other human fluids left behind from previous tenants. She opened a window to let the air circulate, removed her weapons and clothes to the space on one side of the bed, then lying down it didn't take long to fall into a dream….

…The dream started out as they always do. She was standing amid the ruins of her childhood home staring down at the dead glaze of her father’s eyes when something interrupted the moment. This grim moment was normally interrupted by something different each time, yet this time by a low, familiar reverberating growl.

She raised her eyes to see what had caused the disturbance. In that instant the landscape had transformed into a barren wasteland of old, brittle bones stretched out far as the eye could see beneath a deep, crimson sky. On the sea of bones, not far from where she stood, sat an old decrepit dragon with its head hung low, eyes half shut as blackened blood dripped in slow motion from its serrated jaws. The old dragon had clearly endured burdensome ages of turmoil and violence, no longer sustaining the strength to carry on. It paid no mind to Devlin until she stepped closer. The sound of crushing bones beneath her feet echoed across the grim landscape, to which the beast merely lifted its weighted eyes in lax regard.

“You return.” She called. Though she had audaciously lifted her voice with hard clarity, it was born as little more than a murmur, the strength of tone suppressed by the morbid thickness in the air.

“I come to meet my fate.” The dragon replied, its graveled, vapid voice breaking through the atmosphere as he lowered his eyes to the bones at his feet. “You should depart this place…. Be it not enough you bring me to naught, that you must desecrate my ancestors beneath the tread of your feet?”

“I was defending my life!” She said, recalling a day she had slain the dragon in the company of other warriors. “It was not you I sought – and was my blade alone the one to pierce your flesh? Why blame me for what I must do?”

“You misunderstand. I am not what you think.” The dragon slowly raises its head, its eyes now beholding her with a vibrant, emerald green. “I am the last of my kind. You can not kill that that is already slain.”

“Then make me understand!” She insisted, the fear of ignorance swelling in her chest.

“Nay…” The dragon lowered his look once more. “I have taught you all I can…. but alas, take heed to my final words. The puppet master cannot be slain by cutting the strings of the puppet.” In the last of his words the dragons legs gave out beneath him. He crumbled, breaking into pieces, his flesh flaking as it dissolved into the air and leaving only its bones to join the remnants of his ancestors.

It was then that Devlin realized his identity – but it was far too late. She attempted to cry out his name, to call him back from the binds of death, yet her voice did not come forth. Straining to so much as even make the slightest sound, she dropped to her knees in a flood of despair while thunder did clash and tears of blood began to rain from the crimson heavens –

“Mada!” Devlin cried out, her voice finally breaking free as she woke with a start. Seated on her bed she was cold with sweat. The cool breeze from the open window was like fingers of ice upon her skin. It took a moment to remember where she was and that the dream was but only a dream. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help but feel that dream was much more, she had never before encountered Mada in her sleep, in the form of a dragon or otherwise.

Is he dead…? She wondered, turning eyes of dread toward the small segment of stars visible through the window. It wasn’t necessarily true, and she certainly didn’t want to believe it, that her only friend had died. It was so; Mada was old, even ancient in years, and he was also the last of his species, but such knowledge didn’t confirm a thing. After all, it was still just a dream, and very rarely could she say that her dreams were anything more than a jumbled mess of erratic and unreliable information. Yes, this particular dream had an unusual clarity to it, but the fact remained that the dream was grossly symbolic, and symbolism could be construed in a world of different ways.

As she continued to sit, staring out at the stars, attempting to convince herself that the dream was no more than a random convergence of knowledge, a shimmer of light caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She looked to see the sword on her bed, the antiquated steel of its blade partially exposed and glowing an emerald green beneath the stack of her other weapons and clothing. It had never glowed before.

The sword was a gift from Mada, presented to her on the day she departed his company and set out on this current journey. She watched it for a moment, holding her breath before - accompanied by a sense of relief and yet a lingering knot of anxiety - the green glow of its steel faded into the darkness.

She dropped back on her bed, eyes open to the night textures of the ceiling, no longer knowing what to think. If he was dead… she had no way of knowing unless by returning to his cave to see. But no, She couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t have wanted her to. She had her own path to find. Following what seemed like hours, but was more likely only a few drawn out minutes, it was clear the state of her troubled thoughts wouldn’t allow sleep again any time soon. Sitting up again on her bed, she considered returning downstairs for a stronger drink to tame her anxiety.

[Candy]

....

She wasn’t expecting more from Jack. His premeditated and calmly eviction of the proposal was befitting his roughhewn propensity. Fauve was already showing her guff intentions with a sharp sloping grin before he even finished replying. She didn’t really have more to say on the topic. Like most things in her life the novelty of the gauntlets soon took a back seat – scratching her crotch with hand and picking fruit from her teeth with the finger of the other, when the man with that nauseating glimmer in his eyes turned up at the table.

Gabriel may have presented himself with an almost engineered scruff, but the subtleties in mannerisms and mild texture of his skin removed all doubt of his high society or possibly even noble heritage. Hell, those bogus commoner types were more common than the commoners themselves. That said, it did make Fauve wonder just what valuables might be concealed on his person.

Digging in deep, Fauve’s mouth stretched open wider than what might seem humanly possible, advancing her search for food scraps stuck in her teeth while at the same eyeballing Gabriel. He had finished with his predictable and already mundane curiosity about the gauntlets, and Jack responded with his obvious nonsensical lie when – there’s about that time anyway – she closed one nostril with her thumb and shot out a stray chunk of snot to the floor, narrowly missing Gabriel’s foot.

“Fourteen years ago!” Fauve blurted out at Jack with a laugh that carried across the tavern. “– You met a traveler who just handed them over for what appears to be no God damn reason at all!” She went on to cackle so loud that no one else in the tavern could have possible been able talk over her. It didn’t take her long to settle down, though, just as precipitously as she had started up, kind of like she might have been staging it all. She retrieved what was left of her ale from the table and tipped the mug in Jack’s direction.

“Cheers to that, Handsome.” She said, and took a quick swig. “Funniest crock of shit I’ve heard in my life.” Swinging the mug then in Gabriel’s general direction, she added; “But I don’t at all doubt this fellow believes it.” Following that, she finishes her ale and holds the empty mug to the bartender, reminding him of his duties. “And bring another moonshine while you’re at it!”

....

[tex]

His nose twitched again.

"Yes," Dannisus mumbled, "It happens all too often. Myti are rare, and males are especially valuable as slaves outside of Sylsashia." His eyes wandered off to trace the crude carvings in their table. Eager to change the topic, he tapped his book against the tabletop once again and inflated his expression with an air of joy. For some reason, addressing Lui's earlier comment seemed like it would be an awfully obtuse inquiry. She'd seemed even less at ease around people than he was, and even managed to upset herself. He looked at her lone ruby eye for a moment before returning a small smile and glancing at Aelih once more. He couldn't get a read on the elf, much less infer their intents or cause of their quiet nature. But that didn't bother him. Not nearly as much as as Lani- "Mya-" He mewled unintentionally yet again. "What brings you two into this, um- To Nadska?" His hand fell limp on top of the little booklet he'd been holding with a little plop. "I'm only passing through myself- I'm sure you've heard the same from most Myti." His right ear spun around, and quickly after, his entire upper body. The feet of his chair ground against he hardwood with a loud squeal as he jerked himself towards the source of the noise. Taverns were always full of the drunk and disorderly, or a few overbearing presences. Fauve's laughter shouldn't have taken him by surprise. He turned back towards his new acquaintances shaking his head in disapproval. "Sorry," Dannisus hissed, "I'm not overly fond of abrupt noises." He pulled his chair back towards the table and waited patiently for either Lui or Aelih to respond, or shrug off his question, with his hands flat against the scratched wood. He mouthed the word 'irritating' while motioning backwards with his eyes quite quickly.

His nose twitched once more. He couldn't help but stare at Lui's eye, shifting occasionally to Aelih's spear. They seemed like nice enough people, surely.

[Zyngard]

Aelih looked at the girl curiously as she spoke ”...construct?” Aelih has a bit of experience with constructs due to living in an elf city, but hadn’t ever interacted with them much. Aelih curiously examined the eye that wasn’t an eye again. ”Some kind of... marking, maybe? To state that it’s a construct?” Such a construct would be... intriguing.

Aelih had, quite frankly, never seen a construct that lifelike, but again, hadn’t had much interaction with constructs or golems in general, due to training as a fighter and not as a mage. But anyways... the girl, Lui she had said, asked a question to thy Myti.

“My name is Aelih.” Aelih smiles slightly, almost a smirk. “And to add onto what he said, yes, most people don’t treat... male Myti well. Males are hardly the highest in their hierarchy, or in the inter-species heirarchy in general”

Aelih turns sharply at the sudden loud noise, hand reaching for something at around the waist, under the table, before relaxing as it cut off, although still glaring at the woman. Aelih has seen her walk in earlier, and had marked her as a troublemaker. Better to ignore her. Aelih turned back to the table and sighed slowly.

[Dartbored Fairy]

"Oh... People are jerks to almost everyone then, aren't they?" Lui says, sighing as she rests her head on the table.

She'd experienced firsthand how terrible humans can be, and had a general disliking for humans ever since. Fortunately, neither of the people she was sharing a table were human, so Lui was a little more confident about talking with them.

The Myti then asked a question that made Lui remember why she even came here in the first place! She'd already forgotten why she came here in the first place!

"Ah! I'm supposed to meet up with someone... I think. I kinda forgot the name of the town we arranged to meet in but I'm decently confident that it was a place called Nadska or something so I'm hoping I'm at the right place..." Lui says, glancing around. "And if I'm not... well then I'll just have another issue that I need to solve one way or another..."

Then, the Elf introduced himself. Herself? Lui honestly had no idea. Do elves even have genders, or was that just a weird human trait?

No, wait, other species have genders too. So maybe it is just elves that don't have genders?

"So... even Myti are jerks to other Myti? So it's not just humans who do things lik-" Lui starts, interrupted by a sudden loud noise that startles her, causing her to almost fall off of her chair.

"...sheesh. Noisy people. Is this normal for taverns?"

[Polaris North]

Interacting with: Jack, Fauve
Mentions: @Valkon @Candy

---

What really surprised Gabriel was the fact that the man was actually accomodating - answering the questions without getting all defensive. You don't get to see that many people here. Usually, people who own such high profile magical artifact need a lot more persuasion and a lot more bribing before they answer questions. That or they just flaunt around what they have so that they would be regarded as 'cool' or 'awesome' or something close to that. Gabriel wasn't sure if he was glad or wary that this person wasn't like that at all.

Of course, it may be because the man was lying all about it with a straight face. That was always an option. But Gabriel always gave people the benefit of the doubt. After all, if there was none, then he wouldn't have any sort of information that he believed was true. Then, he'd actually be royally screwed. Besides, he wasn't alien to lying about how he got things. After all, putting an exaggerated story along with an item always increases the chance of it getting sold. Gabriel has firsthand experience on that, along with acual teachings from his sneaky father. But what would this man gain from lying to them?

As Gabriel wasn't really paying much attention to Fauve, given how she didn't exactly have anything of interest and seemed to be just your run-on-the-mill traveler, he was taken by surprise when she suddenly burst out into laughter and called him out on his lie. Wow, she really was shaping up to be one of the noisy ones. Gabriel didn't mind as much as others - especially since they are in a tavern and taverns usually attract these types of people. She's a very boisterous person, that was for sure. Gabriel turned his head when he heard a loud 'squeal' coming from behind him to see the Myti, along withe the rest of the group, looking towards Fauve but then turned back to do what they were doing earlier.

Fauve mentioned how Gabriel would have believed that tale and he let out a small laugh of his own. "I've heard more outragous stories than that." He told the girl with a smile, not even taking a small offense to what she said. "Not saying I fully believe it. Must be more to the story. But really, it's best to give the benefit of the doubt to all the stories you hear. Way before you wouldn't have believed monsters would be walking around, and here we are now." Giving the girl another grin, he gulped down the rest of his mead before asking for another one.

He then turned to Jack and gave him a shrug. "Must have really been quite the eccentric traveler. You wouldn't normally give out something like that for free."

[Hokum]

---

Second Thoughts

---

Devlin didn't know how long she'd been asleep before waking, probably not very long, it just didn't feel like she'd properly rested. At the same time she didn't feel like sleep would be taking her again any time soon. After a while of considering her two current options, an outburst of laughter that managed to carry up from downstairs made the decision for her. It wasn't that she was attracted to the sound of laughter, nothing like that, but at this point she was willing to use any excuse she could find to get a stiff drink into her and relax. The curiosity of seeing who the annoying bigmouth was seemed a good a reason as any.

She got from her bed, dressed herself, adorned her weapons - taking a moment to curiously regard the sword that had been glowing a few minutes earlier - then headed down stairs.

When she reached the foot of the stairs, she paused to survey the new arrivals for a few a seconds; a shabbily dressed young woman being the most likely of the few to be responsible for the unnecessary outburst of laughter. She obviously had no decency or respect for herself, no less anyone else. After taking note of the new arrivals, Devlin headed to the bar where the barkeep was in much worse of a mood than he had been earlier. Apparently losing valuable gems can do that to a man.

They stared at each other a moment, his look being one of a man about to confess his darkest sins to a priest, which Devlin had a feeling was indicative of his overwhelming need to tell her about his misfortune.

“Something wrong?” She asked, voice emotionless as her face.

His bottom lip began to tremble as he worked up the courage to tell her. “I lost that Sapphire!” He confessed, screwing up his face like he was holding back tears. “Even after you told me not to – what do I go and do? I go and lose the thing anyway!” He hung his head in shame.

“It doesn’t look lost to me.” She said, unwavering in her emotionless tone.

He lifted his head, widening one eye with conjecture. She gave a little nod, eyes darted to one side in direction of the floor behind him. Pivoting quickly he looked down and saw the Sapphire on the floor by the cupboard, and releasing a small squeal of relief, mixed with that of certain delight. He scooped it up off the floor before stuffing it into the buttoned pocket of his shirt.

“It won’t be getting away on me this time!” He assured himself, as he turned to Devlin and grinning from ear to ear. “Now, what can I get you, young miss – another milk?”

“No.” Her voice remained flat, staring at him for a moment while procrastinating the decision she had made. “Give me something strong. Something to help me relax.”

“Troubles sleeping?” He gave a hardy chuckle, took a bottle from the top shelf to his right and placed it firmly on the counter in front her. “A few swallows of this and you’ll soon forget all about those things that keep you up late at night. Believe you me, I’m a man of my word! And don’t you worry!” He added, rolling his hands down the front of his attire as if wiping them dry, “You don’t owe me a penny, take the whole bottle! But would you like a cup to portion it out just a little?”

“No,” she replied, with a nod, “The bottle will do just fine.” She took the bottle from the counter, turning to walk away as she advised him once again; “And don’t lose that Gem this time.”

At least the bartender was happy again as he went about pouring another round for the awaiting customers in the room, while she stopped by an empty table wondering if maybe she should take the drink to her room. After all, she wasn’t exactly a social butterfly and she could have done without the obligation to converse with people if they happened to come her way. But then…. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she didn’t really feel like being alone either. It wasn’t like Devlin to be indecisive, and it was no doubt a side effect of the disturbing dream that was causing her current imbalance. The petty conflict kept her standing, bottle in hand, just staring at the empty table from the shade of her hood.

[sempis]

---

Barnaby Eyre

---

Barnaby would never forget the sight of the land he'd come home to when he'd returned from the couple days' trip to Nadska to sell the vegetables and latest works from his forge. Everything, burned, smashed, demolished, level to the ground. He'd sunk to his knees, his hooves digging into the earth. He'd closed his eyes, opened them, and then closed them again. Still, the barn, his home, all of it was in shambles on the ground. Nothing had survived.

Desperately, Barnaby called the names of his employers, the people who had treated him so much like family, that they felt the part. He even called the name of the old sheepdog as he tossed his pack to the ground, the bedding unrolling into a heap on the ground. He raced to the barn, only to find the overpowering stench of death too much for him to bear. He promptly leaned a hand against an infirm and disintegrating pole, and emptied his stomach. He'd had to turn away from the barn, surely the sheepdog was in there. Giving up his search, he could feel his eyes stinging, tears threatening to spill over. He didn't even want to look in the residence, surely Mr. and Mrs. Thompson had met a even more gory fate than dying in a collapsed barn.

He'd heard about the monsters attacking farms, worried that one day they would come for his own home. Now that the day had finally come, he realized that he had no idea what to do now. He was positively terrified, and had no where to go. His best option right now was to go into Nadska and see if he could find some kind of work to try and keep his head above water. Within a couple of hours, he'd recollected himself, and resolved to put the skills he had to use in Nadska.

He traveled another couple of days back into Nadska, each day even more depressing than the last. Now, he was only a night's run from Nadska. He'd unrolled his bedding, and was now trying to start a fire with wood that had been dampened from rain the nights before. Finally, he'd found some tinder that was dry enough to light, and chased a spark into a small flame. He sat back on his hooves, slowly feeding in the smallest, driest sticks he had, until the fire was big enough to put in some larger logs. Satisfied that the fire would still be alive if he returned from foraging soon, he set into the woods, bringing his hunting knife and a burning stick with him. It was always good to keep those on hand, never know what, or who, you might meet in the woods at night.

A rustle in the branches alerted Barnaby to a squirrel, sitting in a tree, chewing on some kind of nut. Quietly, Barnaby drew his hunting knife, and threw it. The knife hit the squirrel, knocking it from the tree. Barnaby rushed forward to catch it, and pulled his knife out of the animal, wiping it on the grass and resheathing it. He trotted back over to his makeshift campsite, picking up a stick and sharpening it as he went.

Soon enough, the squirrel was skinned and roasting over the fire, and Barnaby was watching it, his stomach growling. When it was ready, he took it off, quietly ate his dinner, and let himself rest an hour before continuing on. Dropping to all fours and shifting to his faster form, he threw the bag that could function as a back sack or a saddle bag onto his back, before continuing on his way to Nadska.

It was easier to travel in horse form, not only could he travel slightly faster, but he had more stamina that way. Within another three or four hours, he had arrived in Nadska. Thankfully, he got to a gate with a guard that was willing to let him in. Heading for the nearest tavern and inn, he shifted back to bipedal. Too many times he had been mistaken for a stray farm and animal, and someone had tried to lasso him and lead him to their farm. Too many times he'd shifted back and scared the wits out of somebody, who promptly got a firm talking to on taking the first animal they saw.

He hit his head on the doorframe as he came in, cursing quietly under his breath and stumbling loudly on his hooves. He rubbed his head, frowning slightly, and headed up to the bar. He towered over most people, who muttered under their breath. He'd learned to ignore the stares, and began to assume it wasn't something on his face, just someone who hadn't seen an elusive ipotane before. He settled into a bar chair, the poor thing creaking under his heavy weight. "I'll have a strong whiskey, please."