[IC] Final Fantasy Crystallum en Absentia

[DruSM157]

The Battle Ends...

The huge Malboro reeled backward from the onslaught of attacks. Its hide was thick and tough like armor, but the collected warriors were able to make a large show of force. It opened it's mouth fully now, revealing the source of its strange behavior: a large black crystal protruded from the throat of the beast. Luna's arrow seemed to hit the crystal as its mark, shattering its pieces, and causing the malboro to groan in pain. Fire, wind, spear, and fist collided into the malboro, and then something shocking happened: the ground underneath it began to collapse, sending the beast plummeting into a large hole in the ground. As the dust of combat began to settle, a peaceful silence began to fill the forest, and the mist began to dissipate.

"Wow, look at this!" Edgar shouted, holding a shard of the black crystal in his hand. The moment he held it up, however, some strange shock of energy hit him, causing him to drop the shard and fall to the ground writhing in pain. He groaned as a wounded Balder ran over to him.

"It looks like those crystals did something to him," Balder announced, helping Edgar up and having the engineer lean against him. "Come now, it looks like the beasts have been dispersed," he noted, motioning to a shriveled up Miniboros body on the ground. It looked like by removing the malboro from the area, the miniboros were beginning to die. "Let's get back to the city. It looks like several of you need some healing treatment, and I can go about grading your performance. Balder grinned at the ground. "You all performed admirably due to the circumstances. Even a veteran hunter would be impressed by your skills."

Time passes, and the party returns to the city.

The team returned to the hunters guild, where the wounded were given treatment. Luckily, Edgar's condition did not seem to worsen. After some time to rest, Balder called the group to the meeting room.

"First, allow me to congratulate you all on an excellently performed mission. You accomplished your goal and even faced a greater threat, overcoming it. That is what true hunters are asked to do daily." He began to hand out bronze badges to the group. "From here on, you are Bronze-Ranked members of the Hunter's Guild. This badge gives you free passage through any border checkpoint. From here on, you are all regarded as agents of the Hunter's Guild." He then began to hand out coin purses to each of them. "This is your bonus for that mission. Five thousand gil for each of you, for your work in eliminating the Malboro threat."

Edgar's eyes widened. Five thousand gil!? That could pay for a month's stay at an inn! Or...it could pay for other expenses, now that he was working as a hunter. He listened to Balder, but his eye was focused on a vial on the table. "Wait, isn't that-"

"I was getting to that, but yes. Some samples of that black crystal were taken from the forest. It seems to react poorly to people, and it drives monsters berserk. We have other reports coming from different branches that more beasts like that malboro are appearing throughout the wilderness. Since you all were able to confront the beast, the Alexandria branch has decided on the missions to send you all on."

He handed the group thick contracts, one for each of them. The rank for the mission was silver. "This mission promises to be as dangerous as the malboro one. Normally we would not send beginner hunters on a mission such as this, but you've proven that you're capable of handling this task. I've recommended that your group travels north, through the border to a city named Belinus. There's a guild branch there who have been dealing with similar monsters."

"Wait, my contract says-" Ianthe spoke up, with a worried look on her face.

"Your skills are needed in transporting a sample of the crystals to a laboratory in the free cities. There's a scientist who specializes in studying forbidden magic that would like to study this sample. The rest of you, you'll travel north in the morning. Get some rest, get some supplies, and say your goodbyes around town. It may be some time before you see Alexandria again."

[Lugubrious]

Artemisia

The black mage kept her wits about her as she descended, but when her slow fall came to an end in the grass she allowed her muscles to go slack. Had the monster slumped over there might have been cause to fret over a fake-out, but a headlong drop into a convenient pit struck her as a little too tough to recover from. Since the hole seemed to be nothing more than that -a hole- she found herself looking around at the foliage. As if in response to the fall of the malboro, the ominous atmosphere of the forest began to evaporate like morning dew. Fog drifted away, shadows crept back to where they belonged, and fresh air filtered through the trees. “A fell aura somehow linked to the creature,” she murmured. “Its abatement must signify its source's demise.” While once again not the most novel information, it meant that the group would not need to worry about the overgrown vegetable crawling up the pit again.

Artemisia took a deep breath of the sweet air, feeling the adrenaline seep from her body, and sighed in pleasure. Another victory, another tale in her life's story, although the events of this morning would need a great deal of embellishment to qualify as a chapter. She looked over just in time to see Edgar grab the crystal and get zapped, which made her shake her head in wonderment. “Such blissful ignorance may have more dire consequences some day.” Balder went over to help him, for however much that counted since he possessed no healing abilities. Artemisia, meanwhile, crouched over the crystal with her head resting on her hand, and the elbow of that arm on her knee. Though it shared some superficial qualities with aldite, it matched up with no variety she had ever heard of. The others would end up disappointed if they figured she might be able to tell them something about it, but it clearly carried some measure of importance. While no botanist, she felt as though malboros did not typically feature such gems, and the thing showed a visible reaction when the crystal received damage. Still, handling it would be foolhardy, so she left it where it lay.

Standing up, she dusted off her dress. Balder appeared to be very impressed, and he wanted everyone to return to the city. Artemisia could definitely get behind that. “Goodness,” she began, primarily addressing Balder. “Either we make for a far more talented company than first impressions would suggest, or you aggrandized that particular bit of vegetation somewhat. Felled by a pack of uncoordinated greenhorns without so much as a bite wound to show for it...it was rather intimidating for a houseplant.” Idly wondering if the black crystal possessed mutative properties, she fell in behind the others to begin the long, long, long walk back to the guild.

---

Soon after the return, Artemisia was obliged to drag herself from the corner where she had plopped, sweating and exhausted, to take part in the hunt's formal debriefing. Looking like she'd just run a marathon or two, she lay with her upper half sprawled across the meeting table. When Balder placed her new badge beside her, however, she revealed that she harbored enough strength to pick it up and pin it on the right side of her collar before resting again. When a sack of money hit the board, however, she snatched it with remarkable speed. Her plum-colored eyes practically shone as she heard the amount held within. “Oh my, oh my! Goodbye hungry nights and empty mornings, and fare you ill! Hello food fit for a queen!”

Balder seemed more intent on dishing out the newly-minted hunters next duties than letting her enjoy herself for once, however. More monsters like that malboro, was it? And as dangerous. Hopefully that meant they would all be this easy, although Artemisia knew she couldn't count on getting lucky again. “We're already leaving?” she wondered aloud. Did that performance really make them an elite force who weren't needed to solve any other problems around here? The prospect of more walking made her want to bang her head on the table, but somehow being rich was making her feel a bit better. “Well, I suppose I should visit the marketplace. After...after some brief repose.”

While a nap sounded good, she wanted to eat more than anything. Hunger had been gnawing at her since yesterday, which in turn made for a fitful night's sleep. After securing her new coinpurse on her person she made her way out of the hunter's guild and to the nearest tavern, where she ordered a whole dish of food that she took to a secluded corner to eat in peace and quiet. An elegant mage she might be, but Artemisia got tired and famished the same as anyone, and she needed to be her best if she was going to work more miracles.

[Savo]

Blaike Fremont

---

Location:: Ferris Woods, Deep Woods => Alexandria Hunters Guild Headquarters, Meeting Room
Date:: 21st Sun of Ondine
Interactions:: Artemisia, Avaddon, Balder, Edgar, Ianthe, Luna, and Mitra

---

Well then, that was convenient.

Blaike couldn't help but elicit a sigh of relief as his hand continued to glow with bright red, flickering flames, only to be snuffed out as quickly as he clasped his hand. Even with their battle against the Malboro in such a tenebrous place, Blaike slowly began to unravel his hand, this time with smaller embers prancing around as he observed the atmosphere with a careful eye.

Only when he saw the plants begin to unravel and return to a lighter and much more natural state of vegetation was when he began to ease up, especially with a beam of line shining through the thicket upon this gaping hole where the creature fell. Eventually, the small embers flickered and died, wasting away like a Minibro as he noticed one falling to his side, practically rotting.

Blaike relaxed, his much more outwardly austere behavior vanishing the moment he witnessed this all; it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders as the once daunting atmosphere of the forest declined. With a smug, self-assured grin the moment he was certain there was no other monsters lurking around, he twirled his sword in his hand before sheathing it, all while tipping his back as his cape flowed as a result of his magical wind.

"Quite true due to the phenomenon, but nevertheless, that t'was not a difficult challenge for us; helped that we had quite the skilled mage in this group," he chuckled in response to the other magi's observation, before winking at her with a mischievous grin. "Oh and you as well, Artemesia," he teased with a toothy smirk at the woman before glancing over to the nervous priestess and giving her a much more pleasant smile as he changed up his coy tone for a much more comforting one.

"Looks like you were able to muster up your courage and take the plunge," he gave the girl a soft smile and a light, yet approving sigh, "after all, there can be no courage without fear. Nice work there." While her contribution wasn't as much as the others, at least to him, he wouldn't be the one to claim that.

However, her striking that black crystal did divulge some important information to him, something he would take advantage of in the future, especially since there were no recordings of a Malboro with crystals inside them. Speaking of black crystals.

Just as Blaike was about to check up on the others as he pivoted around, he witnessed something so profusely stupid that it caused the color to drain from his face. "Drop that now! You don't know if it-"

Too late. For all his bluster and serene attitude a couple of seconds ago towards Luna became quickly replaced with a pang of anxiety and worry as his eyes widened and his pupils dilated as he cried out towards the lad. "-sss volatile or not," despite how intense his command was, the damage has been done and he had visibly deflated. Gods, of course Cid's apprentice was just as reckless as him.

Shuffling on over swiftly to the downed lad, Baldur was surprisingly spry for someone who was just knocked out of the fight and injured, and even quicker to comment. Whatever the case was, Blaike, gave the two a cocksure smirk as he held both of his hands out, "Or I could just do this."

Following that statement, the Red Mage murmured something about 'cure' under his breath as his hands began to glow a gentle light, which engulfed both their proctor and the engineer in a soft glow as small twinkles of light formed around their body. In a couple of seconds, most of the injuries incurred, whether through carelessness or a vine whip had all but dissipated.

"Jus' don't forget who healed you both up when you're doing evaluations, alright," he joked with a large grin, warily eyeing the black crystal chunk Edgar had dropped. Part of him wished he could collect a sample, but a part of him couldn't help but worry about the properties it might have on him, especially with his current condition.

"Hah, maybe there's more than meets the eye~." After that comment towards Artemisia, he would offer healing up the rest of the party if any of them were injured before they started the trek back. There was a lot to think about.

---

Blaike flicked the bronze badge up into the air with his thumb as if it were a coin before letting land in his gloved hand as he continued lauding praise to the group, with their oh so great leader soaking it all up. Still, he focused intently on the bronze badge, focusing on it as if it were treasured keepsake and nodded to himself. Now maybe, just maybe he could find away beyond the miasma-laden lands as he pocketed the badge.

Now, the payment. Greasing this group up with a bonus worthy of their success, eh? Well, it was part of the payment as he snatched up his share of the gil before nodding to himself. It was a fair payment. Honest work for 5000 gil, though he didn't look relatively impressed, rather lax about it all as he stuffed the 5000 gil somewhere into his coat and shrugged.

It wasn't until Edgar spoke up about the sample that was on the table. Yes, that. He wasn't surprised and the relative speed of retrieval for this dark crystal; if anything, he was musing to himself about how slow they were this time about gathering this anomalous material with a huge grin on his face.

Still, it was curious that other beasts with black crystals were popping up, making his mind wander on the possibilities of what this material might be, if it wasn't just corrupted Aldite.

Which was his first guess. Regardless, the moment the contracts were distributed, he began reading over his before clicking the roof of his mouth and nodding to himself. Well crap, he was gonna have to report in to be on leave for a while at the labs, unless they had something for him to do up in Belinus. After all, it was as Baldur stated - they could be gone for a while.

Sitting straight up, he murmured the details of the task to himself before storing the parchment with the rest of his gil. As much as Artemisia's idea sounded good, there were more important things he had to tend to at the moment as he glanced over at Ianthe, "Hah, lucky you! Sounds like my type of mission; getting to learn more 'bout these crystals while traveling with a charming girl."

He grinned and winked at Ianthe, "'course, this mission is just as good as well." Sitting up, he glanced over to his other compatriots, but not before his gaze landed on one a familiar dragoon.

"Nice work on the last mission; your skills are sharper than ever Mitra, but more importantly," Blaike stated as he leaned on over, he rubbed the bottom of his chin with his index finger, "it's good to see you again." Yeah, there was that as well. At least they had the down time to talk now without a giant vegetable trying to devour them, as he had a ton of explaining to do as he began to retread the back of his mind over where he would start.

Standing upright he rolled his wrists around in a circle before pointing to the door, "I've got some errands to run, as well as shopping to do to before the morrow; care to join me?" Blaike gave the girl a polite, inviting smile as he stood there, awaiting her answer.

Knowing her, she would probably decline or something, but the Red Mage could only pray she agreed to this excursion. There was so much to catch up on after all and so much he probably had to explain.

[Hero]

---

---

It hit? It hit! But what did it hit?

There was no missing the black crystal, although even if Luna were blind, she would have noticed--she could feel its aura, the source of her discomfort practically screeching at her as the malboro sank into the hole. Slowly lowering her arm, she exhaled a sigh, unsure if it was relief or nervousness. Why did it show up here, of all places? She couldn't fathom why, but she did know that it was a bad sign. The forest wasn't too far from the city--had they not exterminated it, she was sure that its spawn would have attacked the walls. Seeing how quickly they multiplied, that would have been an issue, but what truly bothered her was the mist.

Rubbing the back of her neck, she noticed the pain had waned. She missed Blaike's comment, too lost in her thoughts to register anything that happened, including Edgar's unfortunate encounter. It wasn't until the group started to move that she realized she had missed the events, quietly cursing herself. Despite suffering no physical wounds, Luna felt drained just looking at that black shard, although she was determined to take care of it sooner than later.

---

The talk of gil and contracts didn't interest Luna much, though she remained quiet throughout Balder's explanations. At the very least Edgar suffered no lingering effects--that was a relief. She felt restless, all too happy to hear that they would be taking a short recess. She eyed the samples warily, the temptation to snatch them and run rising with every minute, but she needn't be so hasty, nor was she willing to have the entirety of the guard brought down on her.

Once Balder mentioned they should say their goodbyes to the city, the girl nodded. "Please excuse me, then," Luna bowed deeply to the group, and without offering any explanation she walked out of the building. She wasn't the only one to walk out, seeing Artemisia walk away, but she tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as she walked around to the side of the building, ducking into an alleyway as she hastily made her way towards the back.

Trying to work as quickly as possible without anyone seeing her, she pulled out the pieces of aldite still in the bow and pocketed them, rummaging around her bag until she pulled out what looked like a clear glass marble. She bit down on her lip as she checked once more to make sure no one was around before cautiously sliding it in to the slot, watching it emit a soft glow. Hoping that the weapon would pull it off, Luna strummed the harp, watching as a large pulse of magic swelled out. It was as if a refreshing breeze had passed through the building, but as quickly as it came it left--and what was more, it was followed immediately by a crack as wood and metal both bent, unable to contain the magic in her hands.

Luna couldn't react fast enough before the bow in her hands promptly summoned back the pulse, overloading the weapon. In a panic, she threw it aside, but not before the spell rebounded and sent her flying backwards. She landed on her back, quickly curling up as she threw her arms over her head. Bits and pieces of the weapon flew over her, a few stinging her arms, but after a few seconds, all was quiet. Slowly taking a peek, she realized she was laying in what looked like a massacre for the poor bow.

"Oh..." She sighed, sitting up. What a disaster. A small sparkle of light came from what was left of the aldite slots, the stone within dissipating into light. Getting to her feet, she brushed herself off, wincing a touch as she noticed the few cuts she had. Well, she did just get paid. Maybe it was time for a new weapon. With that in mind, Luna cautiously walked back to the common streets, taking another look around to make sure she wasn't followed, and then decided to look for the closest weapon shop.

---

[Obscene Symphony]

Alexandria Markets

---

Of all the fare in all the places he’d been, the food J’torha was consistently most impressed by was fish. Unavailable back home in the Fabul Desert (short of those gristly, spiky sand-dwelling things that were hardly fit to save a starving man), they were new, exotic, and even five years on never ceased to impress. There were endless varieties, some strong in flavour and some mild, some hardly big enough to chew and some the size of caravans (or even ones that lived in shells), and every locale had their own unique ways of preparing them. Lemon, saffron, butter, cayenne, rosemary, onion, even cinnamon once in that outpost in Bellas; some prepared in cream, some in tomato sauce or fried in oil, some simply roasted on planks or skewered with vegetables—the possibilities really were endless. From the first time he’d tried seafood on his first foray out of Fabul, J’torha had fallen in love, developing an awfully discerning palate and sparing no expense for the best each town had to offer.

That is, when it wasn’t flagrantly overpriced.

“I didn't fall off a chocobo carriage on my way into town, madame,” J’torha chastised loudly, leaning one arm on the stall’s canopy beam and earning an incensed look from the woman sitting behind the market stall, displeased either at the negotiation or the fact that the Seeker’s bulky, rust-coloured cloak—which may or may not have been a scrap from a textile vendor artfully wrapped to hide the raw edges—was blocking the goods from view by passerby. “You know as well as I do that fifty gil for a lousy pipira skewer is highway robbery.”

“I told you, the price of paprika went up when the borders closed!” The saleswoman repeated, crossing her arms. “And if they’re so lousy, you can just take your business elsewhere. My prices are non-negotiable.”

Ugh, great, yet another reason to despise this gods-forsaken city. Honestly, who closed their borders just for a little political tension? J’torha didn’t know a lot about these things, but he was pretty sure an invading army wouldn’t re-route themselves to official ports of entry. And now they had overpriced fish.

For a moment, the two were at a stalemate, J’torha’s mismatched eyes boring into the woman’s, searching for any sign of weakness. But the dame was no novice, and it was clear she wasn’t budging; after a long moment J’torha eventually conceded, dropping his head in defeat and heaving a dramatic sigh. “Fine. I’ll take the perch then, thank you kindly.”

The saleswoman was all smiles as J’torha handed over a much more reasonable sum of gil for his purchase, the tension of their exchange dissipating the moment a deal was struck. Such was market culture, the only fight to the death in which both parties could walk away happy; it was one thing that didn’t seem to change no matter how far one wandered. Somewhere off in the back of his head J’torha noted he must have sounded just like his sire arguing like that, but that ridiculous notion was brushed off with an exaggerated roll of the eyes as he finally departed from the stall.

At least not all was lost. While it certainly wasn’t pipira, the perch he’d purchased was nothing to sneeze at, roasted whole on a stick with crispy skin dripping in butter and blackened with spices. The potent aroma was heady and alluring, and while it wasn’t the kick of heat J’torha had been hoping for today, it was still enticing enough to get him eating as he walked.

Of course, therein lay yet another of Alexandria’s glaring flaws. Namely that somehow, some way, there was nowhere to sit! Honestly, if tavern owners were going to get annoyed about a paying customer hunkering down for an hour or three with a pile of food but no ale, and the merchants were going to throw derisive looks and garbage at a man just for peacefully loitering on the streetside, the very least the city could do was build a couple of benches. Eating on the move was what people did when they were fleeing for their lives, and in J’torha’s opinion, that kind of last resort is what it should have remained.

But of course, nothing in Alexandria could be ideal, so J’torha was stuck wandering the city’s marketplace at a snail’s pace, glancing around half-interested at passing stalls as he attacked his meal. The perch never stood a chance against any hungry feline, let alone one of his size and ferocity, so it didn’t take long to reduce the poor thing to a skeleton and complete the disappointing meal with a dragonfruit pulled from his pack. There, he would have preferred his dinner about three times as large and ideally somewhere he could rest a while after - or ooh, even better, shared with a comely female companion - but at least he had something sweet to finish it off with. But what to do now?

Once more he surveyed the market, this time from the opposite end, though he still found little of interest. Food vendors? He’d had enough disappointment for one day. Bauble hawkers? Nothing caught his eye. Weapons shops? He’d never been much for aldite, and any cocky little blacksmith’s apprentice trying to get his hands on sharpening fodder would get a kick between the eyes before laying hands on his chakrams. He supposed he could start looking around for another inn, seeing as his ‘first thing in the morning’ plan had transitioned into ‘once it gets a little warmer’ and then ‘sometime after lunch’, but as a pleasant breeze washed through the market, J’torha found himself disenthused with the idea of heading indoors just yet. What to do…

He openly laughed when it finally came to him, amazed he hadn’t thought of it sooner. Dance, obviously! What else could he do? His first few days in Alexandria had received him well enough, with deep-pocketed crowds enthused by exotic art and people, but he’d been so ragged and antsy trying to get out of the city since the borders closed that he’d gone nearly a week without ringing a single bell. Seriously, this closed-borders business had him all mixed up. He shook his head at himself as he broke off in a jog to a modest square at the end of the market; with dinnertime fast approaching, foot traffic was high, and while he wasn’t really hurting for gil, a few more tossed his way would never go unappreciated.

Filled with new vigour at the very prospect, J’torha bounded into the square, sitting himself down on the edge of a fountain at its centre. From his pack he drew a number of accoutrements; loops of jingling pyrite coins were fastened around his wrists and ankles and strings of bells tied around his waist and tail, and once all was secure he jumped up on the fountain’s edge and cast off his cloak, revealing an open blue vest and sash, each trimmed and adorned in eye-catching gold.

Taking what looked like a black stick in each hand, J’torha slid easily into a starting position, holding still a moment to draw a long breath. The hustle and bustle of the square and nearby market faded into silence; after a moment there was only him and the breeze and the sun on his skin, his heart steadying to beat his own perfect rhythm. One, two, three…

Stillness gave way to movement, arms and legs spinning fluidly as the dancer skipped feather-lightly along the edge of the fountain like a leaf skittering in the wind. A deep calm settled into him, and a sense of tranquility permeated the square. A few eyes were drawn, but not too many just yet, though something of a hush did fall around the fountain. Despite it all, a sense of giddy anticipation built up in J’torha’s chest, each graceful, fluid motion laced with barely-contained energy, a hopeful tension just waiting to be released.

Suddenly, an explosion; the ‘sticks’ in J’torha’s hands each whipped open to reveal brightly coloured, shining silk fans. The eye barely had time to catch them before his body whipped into motion, turning and kicking and flipping like a whirlwind, playing at the edge of the fountain on the precipice of falling off. But that wouldn’t happen; no, to the crowd it looked like the dancer on the ledge rode the very air, body no more than a feather in a hurricane as he whirled about, fans opening and closing in rhythm like the plumes of a magnificent bird. They could feel it now, too; the energy of the square rose to match J’torha’s own, eyes drawn of their own accord to the spectacle at the fountain and spirits raising at the heartening display. What began as a wave of bolstered self-assurance intensified to energy and excitement, passing interest in the demonstration turning to awe. There was no music - no sound aside from the flapping of fans and the jingling of coins and bells to the rhythm of J’torha’s dance - but they didn’t need it; every onlooker could feel the beat, and even if their ears wanted for music, their hearts and minds would rise to fill in the rest.

---

_{Enchanting the masses - literally}

[Bounce]

_{[ Streets of Alexandria ] [ Nyan's Theme ]}

---

The streets were said to be unforgiving.

The streets were the repository for the trash that was cast out by society, become the last refuge of the downtrodden and the damned. Oddly enough, the young kit had always found that the people living on the streets were often far more welcoming than those who held themselves as society's betters. Those were unmistakable fixtures in any city anywhere. People passing by, wearing clothes that cost more than any one of these beggars might see in a year, or even a lifetime, with noses upturned and their gazes diverted.

What an eye sore, that people might have such poor taste as to be poor in their presence.

To be completely honest, the young Miqo'te wasn't even certain from just what city he'd even arrived. He'd hopped from one merchant caravan to another on the road, passing through what had seemed like more of a trading post than an actual town, and then arrived at the gates only to discover that this was the storied Kingdom of Alexandria.

The white haired kit was resplendent in the finest cloak no money could buy -- stitched together from stained and discarded sackcloth. It was not much to look at. Neither, for that matter, was he. But it suited him well enough. Seated an upended, broken pull-cart, the boy's tunic was similarly the mark of a pauper, being a patch-work garment. The black tips of his ears were not the only dark marks, as soot and dirt clearly betrayed the fact that the youth had been traveling for a bit and not seen a bath in as many days. If not weeks.

As it had happened, the kit had stumbled upon a boy perhaps two summers younger than he, who had belonged to a family that was turned out on the street. While they hadn't had enough porridge for themselves, let alone to share, but they had broken bread with him. It was stale, with mold that had to be scraped off, but they'd shown him a baker in town who could be relied on to make available what he didn't sell.

The kit had an eye on several carts that seemed to be getting loaded. There were likely to be one or more caravans that would be departing for destinations unknown. The boy didn't know that he planned to stay in Alexandria long enough to appreciate the baker's stale gift to the city's poor, but it was still nice to know where there existed the option of a free meal. Even if one had to scrape the mold off it beforehand. That was certainly preferable to rummaging a meal from out of the rubbish piles, which the destitute were apt to due when all pride had left and there remained no alternative.

But, life was all about capitalizing on the alternatives.

And with a city this size, there were apt to be merchants of all manner. Who likely had things of value, which could get misplaced or otherwise become both lost and found. Yes, maybe before he had to leave the city, he'd have the opportunity to make a slight withdrawal.

After all, where he was going, it never hurt to have some capital.

...even if he had no idea just where he might be going.

Details. He'd figure it out when he got there. Wherever. Maybe even home to Bellas, though that seemed a more fleeting possibility the more he hopped from caravan to caravan.

[Hero]

---

---

The streets of Alexandria were a lot different than Luna had imagined, albeit she blamed her uneasiness on the day's events. It didn't seem like her attempt at her spell had caused much of a commotion, fortunately, so that was one less thing to worry about. Still, there was an uneasiness that gripped her, like a cold chill had draped itself around her. She supposed it didn't help that she felt like she was being buried in her thoughts, a multitude of possibilities running through her mind. The rise in monsters, the black crystals--this one was so close to Alexandria that it worried her, but what could she do?

Letting out a sigh, it took Luna a moment to realize she had completely bypassed the shops. Oh, how careless of her, she really needed to pay better attention. As she looked around to see where she had ended up, she noticed the crowd had gathered by the fountain. Strange, she didn't think there would be any proclamations today. But the sound of bells and coins clinking together made her think they were watching something interesting, and she ended up quietly making her way around to get a better look.

A blond miqo'te stood out among the citizens, striking out among his surroundings in a blaze of blue--though she couldn't help but think he would have stood out even if he wasn't the one everyone was watching--dancing with such fluid movement that it reminded her of fabric fluttering in the breeze. A lame comparison, sure, but in the moment she really couldn't think of anything better. The way he moved was mesmerizing, the way he manipulated the fans adding a sort of zest that captured the attention of the people watching. Luna blinked slowly, admittedly drawn in by the style--that was nothing like anything she had ever seen before.

That said, she was so drawn in that only when the crowd erupted into applause did she realize she was still staring at the miqo'te, jumping slightly but hastily clapping along as well. What a show!

---

[Lugubrious]

Artemisia

With a contented sigh, Artemisia sank back in her chair. This was no high-brow establishment, the food wasn't anything special, and the furniture was leaning toward shoddy, but right now it felt like heaven. She couldn't remember the last time she felt full. The budget of a traveling sightseer seldom impressed, and fewer people bought her food than one might think, so despite the appearance she groomed of a sophisticated mage, she missed meals with regularity. Looking at her situation realistically, one could be forgiven for labeling the woman a hobo. Now, however, she felt like a queen. And with all the money she raked in from monster hunting, she didn't just need to get by, no; she could afford to spoil herself.

In no kind of rush, Artemisia took her time raking up every last crumb of her meal before draining her cup and heading for the door. Nobody seemed to pay her much mind aside from the usual looks and such, which sat just right with her. If she didn't need anything, the particular attention of strangers spelled nothing but trouble. As she rejoined the bustling throng of folk making their way through the streets, she became aware of some sort of commotion a ways off. A crowd gathered, but there didn't seem to be any sign of violence. Curious, the black mage made sure her coinpurse was well covered before setting a course for the assembly.

Well before she saw the source of the intrigue, Artemisia could hear his sounds and feel the energy. Some manner of wizardry? she wondered, her interest piqued all the more. Bit by bit she worked her way into the crowd, and before long she spotted the source. A whirligig of silks and coins, frolicking upon the precipice of the square's fountain, lighter than air—a dancer was hard at work making grace look easy. A male dancer. Most of the dancers she spotted in the Free Cities had been winsome females, prying coins from the hands of men with lecherous eyes. Now, however, Artemisia found herself hard-pressed to look away. Unlike the hapless commonfolk clustered here, she could sense the magic in the air to an extent and knew there was a little more going on than met the eye. A long as she didn't start feeling inclined to start spilling the contents of her purse over the cobblestones, though, she figured there wasn't much harm. Besides, I came to this city to see the sights. It would be wasteful if I failed to check out all of him—them, rather. She crossed her arms and watched on, clapping when necessary, unaware of Luna's presence.