Lumiere

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

@Jojo

He could be following the most direct route and try to find a way through the drainage pipe. While working his way around in a direction he thought Kaite was going, he got schmoozed into an aquifer and then hoisted up bit by bit by Kaite in the efforts to refresh the inn's water supply after using a considerable bit to clean himself and the whole inn's stock of linen.

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

Also I'm trying to decide how Cider got into the city because he's decided to just kinda follow Kaite around. Kaite is a passable human but a 5 foot slime man is gonna have a harder time sneaking around in there lol

@Jojo

Schmooze in through the sewers and be drawn to the blood and singing?

@AtomicNut
Also, glad Kay didn't. Now we have the opportunity to be best friends! :D

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

@Jojo

Its unfortunate for people involved since Kaite already got what he wanted and is going to be on his best behavior unless someone else gets in his way. :3

...Or until he wants something else in an immediate nature that money can't simply buy.

I believe in Arlo. What reason does he have to just show up and start murdering folk?
-If he even knows that kind of pseudo-magic.
-If he was even in that area.
-Unless he was the one to find the mess...

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

@Jojo

Kaite 100% murdered 3 men with wholesome law-abiding intentions who caught him stealing.

Then shadow-sprites messily gorged themselves on their remains.

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

-Whoops-

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

The mysterious 'fancy tatters'-clad foreigner who had introduced themselves as 'Kaite' broke off from the march Sir Kay and Gerard Voss soon after arriving through the gates of the town. Wordlessly, they merely walked off in a different direction at an intersection and off into the night. With the pace, sight was quickly lost but Kaite hadn't given it an ounce of consideration. There were objectives in place and it was best for everyone involved that the world continued to be small and acquaintances would be reacquainted at a later time. A servant should look the part.

Logic Branch

Mission Complete [Did Right] --> Return to designated origin --> [Content Corrupted] --- An irreversible error has occurred ||
|
v
Ascertain Orientation --> Swamplands [85% Likelihood Northern Orientation] -->
^ ^
^ |
^ Report: Survived foreign terrain. Established rapport with local 'CIDER' -- Slime -- ^ Speaks 'Northern Common'..
^ Established association status with local 'VOSS' -- Human --
^ |
^ v
^ Established association status with local associate of 'VOSS', 'SIR KAY OF STONY CROSS BY THE WAY'
^ Both associates communicate with a nearly indiscernible 'Northern Common' dialect.
^ <

Mend Regalia -->

_______________________________________________________

♫"Sew-ing through...hair and braids..."♪

"Y'know ya shouldn'ta be out this late, miss!"
Kaite stands with their back to the three men, his fingers sunk into the sides of a crate lid. Linins held within gated section behind a shop, the lock having made short work of with eyes and hands sensing the details of tumblers pressed and turned with a few articulately bent sections of wire. The man's voice was slurred but authoritative, one drink for the spirit, one more for courage before going out that night with his crew as a sort of neighborhood watch.

♫"Thick bone-y hands...with grief engraved..."♪

"I vahz not aware ouf zeis detail and offer my apologies," Kaite remarked with a deepening smile and a few clicks of eyelids intending to bat eyelids at the men to soften their disposition. The two in back with lanterns and swords drawn looked less than amused, recognizing thievery when they saw it. The first man, a middle-aged human by the look of it with a fairly trimmed and edged beard sighed and approached Kaite who made no motion to evade them as they took their hand. With a pull, the lid of the crate came off, clattering to the ground as Kaite had already gotten it off of this container and had been making to set it back, the nails into the holes they were pulled from.
The stocks of a clothier was the most obvious way to acquire raw materials, though he had specific tastes and while the cloth was of considerable quality, he knew what he was looking for.
"Eit vould be vise ouf you to release me before I am obligated to defend myself, stranger" Kaite politely chirped, being pulled away with ease due to their astonishingly light frame which caught the man off guard from how they nearly pulled what they thought was a woman off of their feet. "Y're welcome ta defend ye'self b'fore the court. Takin advantage 'a crisis t'go looting? Tch-shameful, young lady. Neh, I think ye'll be comin' wif'us n'bein thankful we ain the monst-" which was where the man's words were cut off as a resounding 'THUMP' of mahjikose carved out all but the back of his skull and the connecting vertebra.

♪"Grief engraved...thick bone-y hands...sew-ing hair -- sew-ing land..."♫

The other men stumbled from shock and the surprise of the ruthless abruptness of a what they thought was a mage turning so destructively violent. However Kaite never earned a single name by leaving a job half done. "Mage! Ma-" Was all the one on the left could scream out before a punch to the throat left them choking on their tracheal walls. The indent of knuckles already bruised as if having been mashed in with a hammer for what little give the ceramisteel of Kaite's knuckles had to offer. Grabbing the bladed edge of the sword the reeling and stunned man posessed with their other doll-like hand, they messily sunk the tool of destruction into the ribs of the third man who had enough wind-up to crack their own weapon against Kaite's neck from behind.

Kaite stumbled, having been blindsided, though the man had fallen into the sword, gutturally strangling his own cries with a flow of blood coughed out across the walls of the alleyway. The crumpled against a stack of crates, knocking one onto its other side as they clutched their wound and slowly struggled for each bubbling breath. The thief, this...nameless woman or...whatever it was! It stood, hand outstretched and holding its own head which had fallen into their open palm.

♫"Hay-ho! The ri-ver is low... Hay-ho! The sky is gold!"♪

Turning the head in their hand to look between the choking man clutching their knuckle-stomped throat, their eyes bulging and mouth foaming and the bleeding, drowning night watchman, the head opened its mouth. "Eit did not haf to be like zeis," They chirped, the polite tone having left along with their pleasant smile, replaced with a disappointed half-frown. It seemed almost comedic in a way as if this was as much of an accident as bumping into someone in the market and dropping something as a result. Kaite set their head back onto the neck-stump which clicked and creaked as their neck turned and arched to accept it.
With these final words, Kaite swiftly grabbed the handle of the sword still embedded in the third man's chest, putting their weight into driving it further before twisting and tearing it up at an odd angle which sent a smattering of blood both from the wound and the human's choked, gurgling screams. The blade held high, in one full motion, Kaite drove the blade into the second man's sternum, impaling him to the corner of the alleyway and the filth it bore host to.

The two groaned weakly, sobbing and kicking as they felt life drain their bodies.
With business concluded, Kaite turned and walked back to the open crates to quickly continue sifting through the contents...while ominous skittering and chattering cacophony of tiny jaws slowly grew to echo off of the walls of the claustrophobic hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaite held up a hand, needle pinched between their thumb and index to draw a string, catching the glint of the morning sun. "Sew-ing szro-o-o-ough -- Ha-ir ehn braids - szik bone-y hands vith grief en-graved!" he sang, weaving vibrant strings into his old tatters to give it restored look. With the money in the men's pockets, he was able to reason a price with an inkeeper to use their washroom for the night. Behind him sat stacks of washed, wrung, dried and folded rags and towels for the week's use. Truly, service could be its own payment in the degree that Kaite simply enjoyed keeping his hands busy...in one way or another.

Three chewed corpses, gnawed and slashed to nearly unrecognizable degrees in a back alleyway could attest to this, if the sprites hadn't horribly defaced them so...given the so opportune meal.

The work concluded, Kaite gave himself a twirl in their restored attire. The fabric flowed with serviceable excellence. A delight for a tailor some so many centuries ago, to know their teachings would prove so effective to be replicated with such unnatural perfection.
Kaite agreed.
The Innkeep did so as well and even offered Kaite payment for doing such a degree of laundry; money which the construct immediately returned as payment for allowing them lodging and a place to recompose themselves. Harsh chemicals as they were, it had been a while since Kaite's chasse shined so.

In celebration of his fortune, during the morning bustle, Kaite obliged patrons with a serenade on the old piano stuffed in the corner of the room up on a small platform for acoustics to better resonate throughout the hall. While they may not have been songs the locals had heard before, they were well composed with deliberance and intent while the construct considered its next moves.
While serving was what made them feel whole, they ultimately needed answers to their thoughts and direction for a path. Standing idle for so long would earn them little favor...

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

Sorry for multiposts, but do you think Inns would possess pianos in this setting?

Blah blah blah, I'm going to write it, anyway. :x

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

If the crew ever visits Ispar, I have oodles prepared. Especially in the monster department. >_>

I'll probably post the next morning for Kaite, tomorrow.

Isle of Atria (Open World, Always Open)

@AtomicNut
A timeskip for Kaite would probably be following the crew to town and spending the night doing laundry. Not much else to do unless theres stuff to discuss.

Trios

@Dartbored Fairy

Ahnciel observed the device the girl held, unwilling to believe that the region could be so different that even cardinal directions varied wildly seemingly depending on the time of day by the way a few of the pointers moved. "Zee guards seem not to fancy inquisitive types ehn I vould be loathe to drag anohzer into my business. I understand if you vould not want to accompany me, zough directions, even, are a different beast in zeis place" the knight said, looking off the way she had indicated and softly musing.
"A city ouf bandits, a mistress ouf crows, a murder mystery...I feel like I should be writink zeis down," accented with a soft chuckle and an amused smirk as they let their hood down, the rain having subsided by now.

Keepa raised her head and stood up on Ahnciel's shoulders to stretch before noticing the girl and chirping a soft 'oo-roo-roo...' which was answered by a gauntlet gently mooshing their face and scratching behind their ears. "Adventure, Keepa. Adventure~" Ahnciel sang before remembering they had an associate to address. "Miss...hm...If you are certain zeht I can reach agartha in zeht direction, I vill be off vith my thanks, unless you vould suspect I vill need your aid" Ahnciel began, offering a small bow with a hand over their chest as their companion maneuvered themselves to face the other direction and nestle down once more. "...However, eit iz rude to expect a name from someone vithout offering your own in return. Iz how introductions should verk, ah?" the knight remarked with a slight turn of their head, hinting to perhaps having winked if it weren't for the veil having obscured such a gesture. Simply put, the paranormal notion of strange crows having a mistress that they answered to redoubled the paladin's enthusiasm and they were still hardly in a mood to press for more information, assuming nothing but more cryptic remarks and childish sass. There was only so much mystery that Ahnciel had the patience for in a single sitting before it was all merely riddle-speak and answer-less questions drifting from haughty lips. Ahnciel was all but certain that the girl was keeping information from them, but it was going to be quite a walk, from the sound of it, and there were only so many hours in the day.