There and Back Again.
Down by the docks, Niallus blended seamlessly in with the workers. He was big and strong and perhaps he just had that rough charm about him, or maybe it was the fact that nobody could take an Eskandr seriously as anything but a poor labourer.
Meanwhile, Lunara soon drew attention. The sight of a noble - and clearly somewhat foreign - young woman was not a common thing. In Ersand'Enise it might've been but, here, it made people nervous. Was she from the school? Was she overseeing them? They seemed to work harder in her presence.
The dockworkers, meanwhile, were a roughly equal mix of yasoi and humans and each group seemed to mostly be keeping to itself. Before long, however, there were raised voices and people began to cluster.
Those soon turned into shouts and a crowd grew. A group of humans were beating a yasoi woman. It was only the few human women present, of course. Even these rough men had their standards.
Helping a few dockworkers by lifting some crates, the create had some quantites of fish. They weren't that heavy, the smell from the fish, was a different matter. His outfit was more of a basic look of a dockworker. a white tunic, that was completely damp around the troso and the sleeves. Casual black trousers, and his Indomitable Stompers.
Placing the crate down where the other workers put their crates, Niallus didn't really get much of a problem off people, in fact, the person who hired him just said "You look strong enough, get your ass in gear and help with unloading those crates."
"That's the last crate off...." his voice trailed off as the other people he was working with seemed to be occupied in something else.
"Where is everyone?"Niallus raised an eyebrow, as he went over to see what they were gawking over. Upon looking at the events that were ongoing, Niallus leaned into someone next to him.
"What did she do to get this sort of treatment?"The three of them were rough and common and one had to be pried off.
"You fookin' bitch! 'ave another taste o' me shoe!""Come on, Sammy," A man was saying as he wrenched her away by the shoulders.
"It's not worth it." With one last glare, she led herself be pulled off.
All three of them and many of the men regarded Lunara with thinly veiled hostility.
"We're oh so very sorry, milady," She replied, curtsying poorly in rough patched dress, making eye contact with Lunara all the way through the gesture.
"Didn't mean to upset our betters."A couple of others just about managed to suppress their snickers.
The humans seemed particularly sore about it, though they dared not say anything. The yasoi hung about awkwardly, only a couple moving to help the slightly injured woman up. She regarded Lunara with wary gratitude as she rose to her feet.
"Fckin grifter," One of the human women mumbled, under her breath.
"An' now she gets away with it." Had she meant for Lunara to hear the comment, or not?
This opportunity was good for him to keep himself blended in. Niallus walked up and managed, sliping into the group helping the injured woman to her feet.
"Lets try and find someone who can check on her?" He said to the others, who were also helping move the injured woman. He bowed in Lunara's direction
"Forgive us for this display." avoiding eye contact with her.
"Hey! What the hell's got into you, man!?" shouted one of the other workers: a tall possibly Belzaggic man.
"We don't help the enemy!""It's a good cause," growled the yasoi woman, wiping blood from her nose with the back of a hand. er eyes darted around warily.
"Just wait until they come for *your* country next." She took a couple of steps
"Thanks," she grunted in Lunara's and Niallus' direction, shrugging off the helping hands and starting to retreat from the crowd. Some of her fellow yasoi parted for her and a few went with her, but others didn't.
"It's fuckin' extortion is what it is!" shouted the man who'd helped 'Sammy' up a minute ago.
"Yea, ye keep your problems to yerself!" shouted the woman who'd bowed sarcastically to Lunara before. The noble girl appeared to be momentarily frozen in indecision by the group's reactions.
"We don't want yer trouble 'ere!"Ignoring what the Belzaggic man was saying. He watched the Yasoi woman leave through the crowd, when the yasoi parted for her then closed once more.
"Do you have any idea what caused this fight?" He asked a Yasoi that was helping him.
"Hey, you!" shouted the man he'd ignored.
"Yeah, you! Don't you walk away from me!" The man reached for him.
"Yeah, what company do you even belong to?" one of the women enquired.
"Yeah," interjected another.
"Say, I ain't seen you around here before."The yasoi he'd pushed for help spun on his heel.
"Listen, Moila. We are not need this problem. She is just young and..." for a moment, he struggled for a word.
"enthusiestick. Luuca?" He twisted to Niallus.
"This is our problem. She is -""Collecting tithes in support of the Resistance against the Tarlonese invasion." She glared at the all challengingly, fists balled.
"Suunei," the yasoi man hissed at the prickly little woman.
"Nax el'yim joi wiip a'laz!""More like forcing us to pay or you start leaning on us!" one of the men who was suspicious of Niallus shot back.
"They're doing it all over the city!" a woman exclaimed.
"You have a roof over your head, yanii! You have warm food and a safe family! What do we have!?""I'm sorry it's bad for you, but -""What the *fuck* do we have left!?"||Sis, I told you not to come here!"||
Niallus turned to the people, it seems that suspicion is starting to creep into the masses.
"I work for the small company that was unloading the crates from that boat over there." He said, pointing towards the small boat he was working at before this whole commotion began.
"It's my first day working, so i haven't had time to properly talk to the other workers" He mentioned to another.
Hopefully that small explanation might have defused the suspicious nature that they have on him. With that, his attention turned to a Yasoi male. Whiles listening to what he had to say another Yasoi interrupted.
He folded his arms listening to what the female Yasoi said. Not expecting the Resistance to be mentioned, it was just like yesterday at the warehouse where the Colas fled he heard one mention that was a resistance set up.
If the Colas thought they were going to set up to be taken out by the resistance. They must have severely pissed them off He thought to himself.
Then his pondering came to halt as another dockworker spoke his opinion. Pinching the bridge of his nose, as they fired statements back and forth.
"How much does the resistance control in this area?" ask asks the Yasoi Siblings.
It was far worse than 'suspicion starting to creep into the masses'. His and Lunara's unequivocal intervention on behalf of one side and subsequent refusal to even acknowledge the other as more than aggressors had poisoned these people against them.
One of the workers furrowed his brow.
"So you're with Manzanelli's people?" he said to Niallus' back, as the Eskandr had already turned to attend to more important matters.
Ignoring the humans and their concerns once more, he prodded the two yasoi directly about the Resistance's 'control' of the docks.
"We don't *control* anything," the woman shot back.
"You'd sure *like* to!" one of the humans shot back, but the yasoi ignored her.
"It's my job to come around and ask that these people help in a worthy cause.""By sabotaging us if we don't give you our money!""Filthy lies!" she roared, whirling on the man.
"Filthy *truths* you don't want to acknowledge!""Please, Lasuulii, not now, not here." said the other yasoi.
"We don't want any trouble."She turned her ire on him instead.
"If not now, then when!?" she demanded.
"If not here, then where!?" She shook her head and then pointed emphatically at Niallus.
"Our people did not want any trouble when the Tarlonese came to invade! Clearly, even this ya - huusoi understands the imperative. Why can you not?" She looked to Niallus expectantly, as her ally and perhaps someone who might prove his loyalty right now, by making these stubborn people pay up or by doing so himself!.
Hearing the humans and yasoi accusations on one another go back and forth. He was curious, having to ask the two humans a question.
"What sort of sabotage has been found?"While waiting for a response from the humans to shed some light on the sabotages. The female yasoi points at him. Was she expecting him to help them try and apply pressure to the humans or him to show as a example. Perhaps the second option wasn't bad.
"I dont want any trouble, I just want to work." raising his hand up.
"But i want to help your people." he said to the Yasoi, placing a hand inside his shirt, pulling out a small coin purse, it didn't have much, a few owls and bennies. There was more, but he had to pay for his clothes.
"It's not much but hopefully it'll help." He kindly said to Yasoi. As he offered the coin purse to her, hopefully this will gain her favour.
Once more, Niallus ignored the humans' concerns and refused to reply, so it might not have been surprising when they outright refused to answer him in return.
"I think you should go," advised the man whose questions he'd been putting off for awhile.
"Now." He narrowed his eyes. A few others stood around him, arms crossed, expressions closed. Niallus was not one of them, clearly, but he had been posing as such. To what end, they didn't know, but they knew that he cared little for them and little of any good would come of his presence.
The yasoi man merely looked pained.
"I will handle this. I'm sorry." He made a placating gesture and turned to Niallus, who had just handed his money over to Lasuulii.
"There is very much that you don't know, moila, and you have handled this..." He let out a hiss of frustration, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and took a calming breath.
"Just... give me a moment. You should come -""I think you have handled it perfectly, friend," Lasuulii disagreed, interrupting him.
"These people cannot see beyond the nose of their own prejudices. You, clearly, are a more evolved individual." She smiled, though it did not quite sparkle in her eyes.
"Come with me and we shall speak. The people who I work with could use a man like you."Niallus could have handled with what happened with the humans a little bit better with the dockworkers, scratch that a lot better. But it was too late for that now.
Niallus shrugged, as the humans left him with the Yasoi. Seemed that they had mixture of feelings on his outcome, But one was happy at least. Saying that they could usd someone like him, it could be good or bad. At this point he could be about to learn something about the resistance, only downside was he was on his own. Then again he could just be following a fake lead. Still it was worth a try.
"Lead the way."The man among the pair did not stick around for long. He shook his head and left after about twenty seconds, when it was clear that neither Lasuulii nor Niallus was going to be a problem any longer.
Lasuulii lead him through the labyrinthine streets that made up Mudville and, soon, Niallus found himself hard-pressed to figure out where they were. Eventually, she twisted on the spot, her eyes darting about.
"Why did you support us?" she inquired.
"I don't see many yanii who do - even a lot of our own people are content to just let our lands fall to the Hax'olopax."||Tree fearers (a derogatory term for Tarlonese)||
Looking around, to try and get a bearing of where he was, then again he hasn't really spent much time in Mudville. hopefully Abdel was still keeping track of him.
"Where are we heading? " He asks.
When he was asked why he decided to help them. He thought about it for a second, trying to think.
"If it was my people who were being invaded, I'd likely be doing the same." "I'm not much help when it comes to fighting but I'd want to do my part to help." He said to her looking at her.
"Most people, human or Yasoi would likely do the same."“Mhm,” Lasuulii agreed.
“But few do,” she admitted, twisting back to glance up at him as they walked.
“That was a good bit of money for a dockworker.” She nodded appreciatively.
“Who'd you say you worked for again?”They were away from the port, now, and warehouses began to give way to inns, tenements, and manufacturers.
He shook his head slightly.
"I only just started being a dock worker. So i never got a chance to get the name of who i worked for." meeting her gaze.
"I used to work in a small stables, but the owner, they died during when thd Rebellion happened in Ersand'Enise." "That money was to help me get by for a bit until i was able to find work somewhere else."He looked at Lasuulii and her brother, while walking through the streets that had inns and other buildings.
"So, how did you end up getting into this, asking people for donations. Did someone come to you and offered you to help?"The man had left some time ago, of course, and it was just the two of them. Niallus could not even see him in the distance anymore.
“I went to a magic school,” she replied,
“like... this one, in Oiyac. I learned all of the Gift, I learned languages, I learned everything needed to make me a proper lady, but then the hax'olop came and I went back home to Parmoy to fight them." They turned down another street and she continued.
“We had fighting spirit, but no training, no weapons, and a government that didnt't care." She shook her head and looked away.
“They forced their laws upon us and murdered my brother when he tried to fight back. I fled.” It was a sunny afternoon, birds chittering from the rooftops, laundry lines, and trees. Gulls circled over the market and butcher's shoppe. Wagons clattered down a larger road that ran parallel to theirs. They could just glance it through the sidestreets that connected the two. Lasuulii turned back to face him.
“I didn't come here to beg people for money; I came here to be a soldier, to train and prepare and retake my homeland, but money is what we need right now, so I will serve however I am needed.” She glanced his way.
“You're Eskandish, aren't you?”Feeling sympathy for Lasuulii
"Im sorry for your loss." but when she asked him about being EskandNiallus nodded to her. But he was more curious about her ability to use magic.
"What about the magic school that's here, Ersand'Enise." He said with bit of compassion.
"If you can use magic, they'll likely accept you, I've heard from a lot of the students i walked past that its a good place for human or Yasoi." He kept walking with her as she kept leading him further to wherever their destination was.
"I dont know how it would work for a Yasoi, but it could bd worth a try. I've seen those students fight, during the Trials events that they have every year."She twisted his way and sighed.
“You can stop pretending, you know.” There was a small eyeroll, but it wasn't hostile.
“Must get teased a bit for being where you're from." She let out a sympathetic snort.
“I think it'd be the same for me. Besides, what kind of person would I be if I was living it up over there, eating caviar and ice cream while my people suffered under the Tarlonese yoke?” She shook her head. Then, they were there, outside of a large bar at the end of a block of row houses.
“Good luck, moila.” She smiled supportively.
“Tell them at the bar that you're interested in the Tansoan Culture Club and Lasuulii sent you.” She reached out to shake his hand.
Niallus scratched his nose, letting out a relaxing chuckle, his entire lie seen through, honestly it wasn't a good one.
"True, I get teased quite a lot by others, but i dont let it bother me, cause it's nothing to hurtful." "I'd still give Ersand'Enise a chance if i was you, like you said, you'd rather be fighting then this. They could give that chance, there are other Yasoi who have the same troubles that you have." when she mentioned what he had to say, he smiled. When she offered to shake his hand, he did so.
"What do you have to lose." He simply said to her, before approaching the door of the bar.
Pulling the handle and pushing the door open. The stench of booze flooded from the draft he created when opening the door. It wasn't awful, in fact it had a nice smell. He crossed the threshold of the bar. There were a few eyes on him as he crossed the tavern. Approaching the bar, placing his hands on the bar table, it was a bit damp and sticky. With a clear of his throat he spoke.
"Hello, I'm interested in the Tansoan Culture Club, Lasuulii sent me."“Tansoan culture club,” said a yasoi man at the bar, busy drying a beer stein.
“Eh?” He cracked a smile.
“Not often we see a yanii so interested.” He looked Niallus up and down for perhaps a bit too long, lingering here and there. Finished drying the glass, he placed it on a rack and slipped around the end of the bar, shouting for someone named 'Chad' to take over for him. Surely, it couldn't have been the same Chad that Niallus had met during the Trials.
The man came up beside Niallus and reachedan arm around his shoulder.
“Well, if it's some Tansoan culture you want,” he assured the human,
“You've come to the right place.” He led his charge towards the back of the establishment. There were both men and women there, though each group largely seemed to keep to itself. The bare majority of the patrons were yasoi, but there were plenty of humans as well, and a smattering of hegelans and eeaiko. Niallus was shown to a booth in one corner and instructed to wait there for a bit while the club was just busy preparing some things for an upcoming meeting. Until then, he appeared to have been left to his own devices.
Sitting at the booth that was big enough to fit at least five people, at its center was a big round table with at least a dozen rings of dampness from previous glasses or bottles of alcohol. A waiter came over and handed Niallus an ale, he took it from the placing it onto the table, from the glances around the other booths, the other patrons, didn't seem to make to much eye contact with people outside of their respective booths,
"What in the seven hells have i got myself into." He mumbled to himself. He tapped on the glass of his drink, think now would be a time to try and think of a way to get into contact with Abdel, but he'd keep that as a last resort, for now he kept on his eyes open in cased this something of a trap of sorts while he waited for the meeting to start.
Then, there was a yasoi man there: he was young and handsome and wore a powdered wig. He slid in across from Niallus with something a bit stronger than beer.
“You're Lasuulii's new find, aren't you?” he inquired, smiling and sliding a stiff shot of... something the Eskandr's way.
“Don't be shy,” he replied, following the newcomer's uncertain look.
“It's not poison or something,” he laughed, offering up a playful wink and waving dismissively.
“We're not into that kind of thing around here.” He looked the human up and down, glanced down at his drink, and wet his lips before lifting it.
“Just think of this as a right of passage, hun.”With the Yasoi sat opposite side of the th booth to Niallus, to the Eskandr, somehow he felt a bit uneasy about all of this, as he looked at the shot glass that was pushed to him by this Yasoi, remembering what Lasuulii said about "cutting out the act, she knew who he actually was." Then it hit him, they knew. They could have had a plan ready to deal with the Colas, but somehow the students got involved, so they just sat back and kept watch. In theory.
Niallus pushed the shot glass back to the Yasoi.
"I'm not one to accept drinks." If what he thought was true, seems that they don't want him dead, otherwise they would have done that by now.
"Besides, you haven't even given me your name."The man studied Niallus for a moment and his jovial expression noticeably cooled.
“Ah.” He narrowed his eyes and they flicked to the unaccepted drink.
“My mistaken, then.” he reached out and slid the shot glass back across the table to himself. It wasn't very loud, but the gentle scraping noise seemed to cut through the entire background din of the bar.
It was a gay bar. People up here were reasonably discreet, of course, but that's what it was, and they needed to exercise some caution. The man shook his head.
“I'd thought you were one of us,” he said with a laugh,
“but it looks like Lasuulii decided to play a little joke on the both of us.” He took the drink and downed it himself.
“Ooh, that hits!” he remarked, nodding approvingly and raising it as if in toast.
Then, the yasoi man took both glasses in his hands, slid out of the booth, and left.
“I think you're in the wrong place, moila. Best to get going unless you're looking for... *other* sorts of company.”The Tethered, once ready, stood before the niche establishment. His garments made him indistinguishable from the average Mudville denizen. Completely average, like the commoner he technically was. A few eyes were on him once he stepped foot into the bar, most keen on studying this new face with a healthy dose of caution. Abdel's lanky figure and passive demeanor helped brush off most gazes, although it likely invited others with a more covetous air.
Passing by him was a Yasoi man that had just left the booth his colleague was in, to which Abdel made brief eye contact before meeting Niallus' gaze. By the looks of things, there was no progress.
“Ni-Ni!” exclaimed, although not too loudly, the usually calm tethered.
“I was, like, totally lost with all those vendors. Klutzy me. Heehee.” he channeled his inner Tku with a bit of exaggerated flamboyancy.
“You were supposed to come here with me you silly goose~” he looked the disappointed Yasoi's way.
“Oh my Ipte,” there came the fabulous gestures.
“did he play the strong and silent game on you? I'm soooo sorry! He gets weird without me. Hah. I'm Habibi.”“He's all yours,” the yasoi man replied with a wink and a laugh, and he made his way quickly towards a curtained area at the back that seemed to be the near-exclusive purview of his people.
Abdel found himself alone with Niallus amid the swirling colours, lights, and bodies of this place. If he was playing his part well, then his 'partner' needed to catch on quickly. A few others glanced their way, some giving those tight friendly smiles or nods that people do when caught glancing at another, others quickly looking away.
Once out of the booth and walking up to Abdel, seems that there's a lot going on considering Abdel was here in person rather than using his tethering to communicate with him.
"Well, I came here because we were wanting to come here later. I figured you'd turn up eventually." He said with a little smile.
“Ni-Ni, be a doll and get us some refreshments. I think we were rude to our new friend.” to achieve his targeted level of flamboyance, he needed to have some sass added too. With the hulking Eskandr made to take a brief step aside, the most inconspicuous tethered teen got a little nosy. His own, slightly larger than average nose poked out the curtains with a whole justification revolving around the 'handsome' Yasoi he had crossed paths with. If unaccosted, he'd downright step in there and act like he belonged.
Niallus, meanwhile, found himself waiting at the bar for his drinks. He couldn't quite see Abdel from here, but there was a dessert buudvuud laid out for anyone who wanted a slice. There was also a small band playing in the other half of the bar and a handful of women dancing with each other. Among them was a red-haired yasoi woman who he
*swore* he'd seen before. She seemed to be trying to make her way out a side entrance.
Where did he go? He thought, looking around to find his friend. His eyes shifted towards the towards the band. Their music wasn't bad, it was enough for Niallus to tap the bar table with a finger in rhythm to the music.
A kaleidoscope of various colors shined from the lights on a group of people that were dancing along to the band. From their expressions and how they swayed with rhythm, they didn't have a care in the world.
The Eskandr's eyes doubled back on themselves on one part in the crowd, it was a Yasoi woman with red hair. But, this one felt familiar to him. It surprised him by surprise so much his tapping wasn't in sync with the music.
I know her, but from where. He thought. She could have been from Ersand'Enise, there are quite a few redheads there.
She could be that one from the Colas... He pondered, since she did manage to escape before. But why was she here? From the looks of it, she was trying to make her way out. Niallus stepped away from the bar, hoping to follow her.
It was almost as if the woman sensed it. She twisted on the spot and now he was almost certain that she was Cherii. She pushed her way through the last few people between her and the side door, grimacing at their alarmed and indignant reactions, and bolted outside.
This was it: Niallus would either have to chase her down or go find Abdel. There was no 'option C'.
Seeing Cherii bolt, it confirmed that it was the Cola who tried to trap Niallus into the chimney. He was still pissed about that. Niallus cursed to himself under his breath, hoping that he'd at least get closer to her, but that was impossible at this point. If he could catch her, he could bring her back to the others for questioning. Hopefully Abdel would be fine, while he does this.
There weren't many people in his way as he chased after her out of the club.
Cherii was nearly out of sight by the time that Niallus spotted her. The red-haired woman was dashing down a busy street, slipping through a crowd and merging into the bustle of the Searoad this close to the city gates. He struggled to keep up, weaving his way through the swirling mass of people, jyst on time to catch a flash of red as she plunged through the gap between a couple of large wagons. One was headed up the street, towards him and the gate, while the other was headed away.
Niallus skidded to a stop having lost sight of her.
"Where did you go?" he mumbled to himself, looking around for a a hint of her, luckily he did. Niallus wasn't going to let her get away that easily, he gave pursuit of her once more, quickly following where he say her last, wanting to try to pick up the pace in his pursuit of her, he began to draw manas to use Kinetic to help boost his movement.
Then, she disappeared. She went between the large market wagons and... didn't come out the other end! While Niallus had made up ground, she'd been out of his sight for a crucial few seconds. Where could she have gone!?
Niallus was confused at first on where she could have gone too. He looked around to see if she was for traces of her, then thought that she might be hiding in one of the wagons, with that he tried sensing to see if he could detect her hiding in one of the wagons.
The Eskandishman neither saw nor sensed anything, and that was his clue that it had all been an illusion. Once more, Niallus had been chasing ghosts. He stood outside in the middle of a busy street. Yet, if there had been an illusion, it naturally followed that someone had been responsible for making it: an illusion of Cherii specifically, who he had a less-than-wonderful history with. He cast about once more with his energy sense, hoping to find the culprit: someone who was carrying more energy than they should - a telltale sign of magic use. There, still inside of the Cryin' Cyan itself, he sensed three such figures: one in the basement, a second somehow...
*lower* in the basement, and a third... right there on the dance floor.
Once the illusion subsided, he was alone
"Jävel..." He exhaled. He was positive that she was real, after she pushed people out of the way to try and escape. Unless they were part of it too. He retraced his steps to the Cryin' Cyan, using the magic as a way point back.
Entering back inside the Cryin' Cyan. There still wasn't any sign of Abdel or any of the others for that matter. He knew that they were alright. He decided to try to seek out the magic sources, starting with the one that came from where he spotted that Cherii illusion, the dance floor.
Of course, anybody good enough to send him on a wild goose chase like that to begin with wasn't stupid enough to simply be waiting there. There were people about, but none appeared to be Cherii. There was a small plump human woman, dancing drunkenly with another similar-looking woman and a pint of ale. There were two skinny eeaiko men leaning against the bar in deep discussion, and a whole multitude of yasoi. The music was an upbeat number now, and how most of them were swinging and swaying about in the rhythm of it! The only exceptions to this were a hooded figure in one of the booths, sitting there with a tray of dessert buudvuud with apples, cinnamon, and icing sugar, a scrawny white-haired woman crying at the bar, and a tall hard-faced young man with slicked back black hair leaning against it, arms crossed.
Looking around the club, there was still no sign of his friend. There was a hooded figure in a booth, which he made note of. Niallus wasn't worried since Abdel was strong. However there was still that second mana he sensed under this place. There had to an basement entrance, somewhere.
He thought for a moment then had an idea. He took his compass that was attached to his side. With it in his hand, he focused, he wanted to find the entrance to the entrance of the basement of this place. Hopefully his compass will point him to it.
Just like that, Niallus' leads had evaporated. In the area where he had sensed the energy draw earlier, the crying woman continued to cry, the dancers continued to dance, and the two Eeaiko moved into a private, curtained booth. The man with the slicked-back hair joined the hooded woman in the booth. They talked for a minute or two and it looked as if she'd laughed. Then, they left together, never to be seen by Niallus again.
A few other men came up to him, trying to chat or offer him a drink, but he was focused. He took out his compass and it pointed him unerringly in the right direction: that curtained area at the back of the other wing. Along the way, Yasoi narrowed her eyes on him. Another shook his head tightly. Then, he was there, peeling back the curtain. A few booths waited beyond, with a handful of patrons, all yasoi. A couple turned quickly toward him. There was the door.
There was an aroma of perfume and booze in the air, when the barworker explained to Niallus what was behind this door, Niallus politly thanked him. With the barworker going back to his duties, from hearing his name being shouted to help, Niallus stood there in front of the door. His gaze shifted to a small mirror that was on the wall next to the locked door, through its reflection he saw what was behind him, he couldn't see anyone unusual lurking, watching him, just the bar worker's and patrons being merry and drunk. There was a small group making wolf whistling noises towards one of the members of staff. The music echoed from its source.
That's enough time. his thoughts mentioned. With that he turned on his heel, walking away from the door. An odd strategy was being played by the Eskand. Making it seem that he lost interest and decided to do something else. In an attempt to let them walk out triumphant and perhaps lower their guard, making them easy to find. That was his goal to find Cherii, this was a long shot but it could bear some fruit. Assuming that it was her in the hooded robe and created that illusion, as a way to distract him.
A male barworker came towards him offering the Eskandr a drink with a playful wink, this brought Niallus out of his thoughts and into the present. he declined, shaking his head. He refocused, recalling every little detail on his Yasoi target. He looked to his compass,
Now, Help me find Cherii Cola. He thought as he walked back into the main room of the Cryin Cyan, then towards the main door towards the outside. He kept his other senses active, while he waited for his compass to respond to follow it.
Quite a few men had approached Niallus during his time at the Cryin' Cyan, for he was rather the attractive specimen. However, his thoughts remained stalwartly on fine maidens and maidens alone. He soundly rebuffed the male interest and even that of a lone Huulisch girl in a frilly dress, who smiled and winked at him. No, he would remain focused on what he had come here for... whatever it was, at this point!
Ah, yes! It was Cherii Darling.
The compass spun for a moment and then pointed, unerringly at a booth where the man with the slicked-back hair and the mysterious hooded figure were seated, an open case of desert Buudvuud in front of them.
Convinced that the compass was right he reattached it to his waist. He could still feel eyes on him from the barworkers, both male and female.
He approached the booth. He didn't know what tricks were in store for him, but he was ready as he could ever be.
"Hello there." He politly said to both to the man and the hooded figure. Looking at the man, Niallus wasn't even sure if he saw him at the warehouse, then again he was being cooked alive in a chimney for the most part.
"Do you mind if I sit here with you two for a bit?" He motioned to the part of the booth that was next to him.
"If we said it was a private conversation and you couldn't, would you listen?" the man of the pair said. His partner remained silent, considerable magical energies surrounding the both of them. She or he leaned forward.
Niallus shrugged,
"Probably not." He said with a cheeky little smile.
"These sorts of places are more for when you want to be sociable and meet new people." He could sense their strong magic energy, he will need to be careful, since they have the numbers. He turned to the hooded figure.
"Is your friend not sweating underneath that cloak, its rather warm in this place?"They glanced at each other and, though Niallus couldn't see the expression of the one under the cloak, her or his partner's said that they knew he was trouble and wouldn't be taking 'no' for an answer.
"No need to be unfriendly then, friend," he offered.
"Why don't you sit down and enjoy some buudvuud with us." Grudgingly, his partner held out a slice.
"Thank you." Niallus responded. He sat down at the booth, opposite the man and the hooded figure to his right. When the man offered him to try some Buudvuud. He pulled away a small piece.
"I've only had Buudvuud once, but it was nice." He simply said to the man, he glanced at the hooded figure, in an attempt to get a look at the person's face, but then went back to facing the man. Niallus leans forward locking his fingers together as he rests them on the table.
"I want to know something. It involves the Colas, have you heard of them?" He asks them.
The hooded figure shifted so that Niallus would have to all-but invade her or his space to see much of anything, until he laid off on the attempt. His words had... perhaps not his expected impact. The pair looked at each other, the man finishing a bite of his food. He arched an eyebrow and leaned back.
"Never heard of 'em," he answered, deadpan.
The other figure shook slightly with what might've been laughter. They were clearly messing with him, trying to get a rise. Then, there was movement in the background. Led by an impressively tall older man, five burly yasoi emerged from the curtained area at the back where Niallus had not been allowed. They headed unerringly for the side door, not rude to the other patrons but very much authoritative. They were going somewhere, and with purpose. It appeared that, once more, Niallus would need to choose a path.
Niallus sat there, his eyebrow arched. Their little games were going to get to him. He let out a little sigh.
"Look, what happened to your family a mistake. My condolences." his tone was sympathetic towards them, then he took a small bite from Buudvuud before continuing.
"One that could have been prevented. My group was set up, you were set up.", he spoke to them as if they were the Colas he was after.
"Join us." He stated,
"Resistance, Tarlonese. to them, it doesn't matter who any of us are, we are just pawns in their little games. Something that can be thrown away, once their use has come to an end. That proof was shown yesterday."The man blinked and the hooded figure shifted. The seemed to regard each other.
"Wait wait wait," the former said,
"Run it back a bit." He arched an eyebrow in uncertainty.
"Who's 'us', here?""An who's 'them'?" This time, the hooded figure spoke. Energy swirled faintly about the both of them and the voice was unmistakably a woman's.
Feeling only little hints of a small amount of energy, seems that the two were feeling themselves threatened. Niallus didn't really get to see how strong they were, because they ran away. Niallus tensed a little, he wouldn't want a fight to break out between himself and these two people.
Raising a hand up towards the man,
"Please, there is no need for that. I mean you no harm." in reference to the small amounts of energy.
Placing his hand back onto the table next to the other, to show that he wasn't up to any tricks. He coughed, clearing his throat.
"By us, I mean me, my group. I'm from Ersand'Enise." He explained to the before his attention turned to the hooded woman.
"By them, i mean the people who set you up." He paused, remembering yesterday then continues,
"When I escaped the trap that Cherii lead me into. One of the siblings, based on their tone and how they spoke to everyone else they seemed in charge. They mentioned how they thought our attack was part of a Resistance setup." Looking at the hooded woman.
"You dont need to hide, I won't hurt you." He spoke to her.
The man and the woman shrugged in unison.
"Listen, kid," said the former,
"I don't know why you're talking to two random people in a bar about this. Maybe it's just bugging you, but whatever happened between you and the Colas happened. It's done and there's no undoing it.""Sounds like both sides took their shot and one shot harder. Now it's up to the other to either run and salvage what's left or seek their vengeance.""The Colas lost. You won. Maybe you and your people didn't need to kill everyone there, but sometimes that's the way it is." There was still almost a...
*shell* of arcane energy surrounding the both of them, but there was no surge in it, at least.
"The strong grind up the weak. Circumstances turn good people into bad people, but it don't work the other way."The hooded woman rose, her hood falling back, and there was Cherii.
"Just remember that. Don't become one yourself." She and the man began edging out of the booth.
When the two started to get up, Niallus followed suit. What the man said to him, it rung in his mind. While sensing the Arcane energy surrounding the both of them. He noticed that his group were converging on a specific location. While he stood with both the man and Cherii. His attention went to man, then he spoke.
"I wished that peoples deaths could have been prevented, I do." He said.
Upon seeing Cherii's face, mixed emotions filled. This was the person who almost led him to his death, she tricked him. Now, he just felt sorry for her. She lost her brothers and sisters because of what happened in the warehouse. When she mentioned, don't become one yourself. Implying that she is convinced that she herself is a bad person.
"Look, Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start." A warm smile came to him.
"Anyone can be redeemed."Cherii bit her lower lip.
"I'm sure they'd be sorry too, Niallus." She stepped out of the booth, regarding him for a long second.
"Don't eat the pizza." She laid a hand on his arm as he was about to take a bite. She shook her head tightly and walked quickly away, the unknown man following in her wake. Perhaps he'd been a brother of hers.
He looked towards Cherii and unknown man. He wondered if he'd ever run into them again in the future, its possible. Following her advice he put the Buudvuud back on to the table. There was no purpose for Niallus to be here anymore, so it would be best to leave the Cyan and meet up to the others. Sensing the magic of Abdel and others.
As he was getting ready to meet up with the others. Confused by this, but he had feelings about it, but best to say anything about it. There was one more question he wanted to ask, wanted to know.
"Cherii wait." coming up to her.
"Before I go, Answer me this. Who did the Colas work for?"She was almost at the door. Her eyes darted about, avoiding his.
"Ourselves," she mumbled,
"What do *you* think?" Her gaze went back to the table with its cheery worn upholstery, mismatched coasters, and the apple-cinnamon dessert buudvuud with its icing sugar. Then, she rolled her eyes, pivoted on a heel, and reached forward to push the door open.
"I hope we meet again, hopefully under different circumstances." letting out a light chuckle. He stood up out of the booth, his question was answered, so it was time to catch up with the others.
"Exi elar." He said to her before leaving the Cyan.
Once outside of the bar, looking around to see people staring at him, but he disregarded it, he had a lot of ground to cover, so he took off running down the street to where the others were.
Cherii and the Apple Seller disappeared through the door and were gone. Niallus, meanwhile, hurried out the front. He knew the others had been headed for Miller's Hook and he employed all of his formidable kinetic magics to give chase. It was not long before he sensed a large gathering of energetically powerful people in front of a row house west of the Seagate.
In particular, there seemed to be something of a chase: two yasoi women, barreling through the streets at high speed in his direction. The one in front, he might even be able to ambush successfully, but... he did a sensory double take. Did she have one leg!?
Making good time as he ran, he wasted little time, going past citizens with ease, some even tried shouting thing to him to distract him, one even shouted "Trip!"
Ahead of him he sensed two people coming towards him. From a long distance, the first looked like they had a jolly hop in their step. The second, it felt familiar to him, but he wasn't too sure on why. He slowed his pace to that of a light jog, waiting to get a look at the two as they came past. However he was curious about the latter, and who that familiar energy belonged to.
Elsewhere, Thantra raced through the narrow streets at a breakneck pace... at least by her standards. Seviin gained slowly on her and Lunara even more so. She blew past Niallus and, when he spotted the other two, it was clear that they were chasing a bad guy who was trying to make her escape through the Seagate. In the distance, he could sense at least three more yasoi starting to give chase, but they were well back.
The one-legged woman was almost within his reach at this very moment. She slowed momentarily at the foot of an apartment above a shop. A kinetically powered lunge would nab her! Otherwise, he'd fall behind as well.
Lunara, meanwhile, had gained ground with surprising ease. Seviin was surprisingly slow, hardly even gaining on a monoped! Then, the yasoi reached an arm out.
"She's on our side. It's a trick," she panted, still running. Meanwhile, Thantra leapt onto a low-lying awning, clambered onto a windowsill, and took off across the roof of a house.
Seeing the Yasoi run slash hop past him, she was remarkably agile. But his attention shifted to the second person, It was Seviin, then Lunara and her Goma Cat. Something was off, if she wanted to catch the other Yasoi why didn't she shout Niallus to help, unless she doesn't, he'll have to ask as she comes past.
As Seviin started to get closer to him, he matched both hers and Lunaras pace.
"Funny running into you two like this. Are we trying to catch this person?" He asked Seviin as he watched Thantra climb to the rooftops.
Seviin, breathless, turned to Niallus, slipping her arm under his, for they were the exact same height.
"Niallus, moila." She reached for Lunara's arm as well.
"Lunii suunei." She slowed them both down.
"It's all a trick. She's good people, trying to do the right thing, and I think we have, today."Thantra bounded from one rooftop to the next, but all of her pursuit seemed to have fallen off. She slowed. She slid down an eavestrough, and dropped to the ground. There, she dusted herself off, rose, and walked over to the Seagate, finally free.Niallus raised a brow a bit confused by this, but then again, he had been gone for a while.
"Ok, I trust you." going along with what his friend has mentioned to him.
"You'll have to catch me up on what's happened." He asked her, as the group slowly came to a stop.
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