Lethal Reword 2: Broken World

"...Yeah... it's handy." She's notably quiet when the second question is asked, followed by a blush and folding her arms over her chest with a 'hrrmph'. "...Since you asked..."

"A few years ago... I met a young man... he was stunningly handsome, and a way with words that could melt the heart of a drow woman... a bard, at that... a human bard. We dated for a time - nothing serious... until he began to... want, certain things that I would not give to him. A few refusals later, and I walked on him and another human woman... So I did what any spurned sorceress would do."

Her eyes narrow, pupils turning into slits. "I froze their lower halves together mid-coitus, then pushed the bed out into the square. I carved 'adulterer' on the ice and left them there. It took three days to chip them out, and the damage was so severe that they had to... amputate... quite a bit." A sadistic look of pride appeared in her eyes. "...There was a court outing for this... brash action. Had I been human, that trial would not have occurred. However..." Her teeth began to grind together for a moment.

"My... heritage... was brought into the whole ordeal. So instead of a slap on the wrist, the entirely human jury found me guilty - I was forced to clean the sewers without pay for a month." Angered near the point of tears and shaking, she clenches her fists.

"Humiliated one way, then humiliated the next... all because of humans. As well as the grief they gave me and my family when we were all growing up... poorer neighborhood, stereotyping, the guards being extra cruel and pointing the finger at us when anything bad happened, mothers and fathers warning their kids not to play with us..." She gestures wildly with her hands as she rants, anger quickly rising as a blue mist began to pass her lips, resembling the white dragon she was kin to. She turns to look at Angela after this whole ordeal - "THAT is why I despite humans. Their ignorance is appalling."
 
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Alexius had departed quickly from where he ran into the woman, but the flicker of a campfire while he wandered lonely the town was hard to pass up. A campfire meant people... not just people to scam. A living was a living any way you got it on these cold, hard streets made not of stone but blood and sweat. People might not be able to see it, but the streets were made on the tears of beaten prostitutes, the blood of beggar children, the sweat of the underpaid. Alex glanced down at his nails, immaculate.
he would never beg, not again. Childhood alone, that was a hell he would never forget.

As he neared the warm glow, Alexius smiled, a line of charm or something witty ready on his lips, a copper between his fingers for the hopeful drink and to put up with his stay.

"Hullo?"
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Quick as a flash, Frost raises her hood, tilting her head forward to cover up her white-scaled face. The action made her glasses fall off, and she feels around on the ground a bit for them before picking them up and holding them in her hand. "...Hello." She states, the petite girl still hiding her face from the newcomer. She couldn't tell by voice alone what race he was, but she wouldn't take the chance.

Coldly, she asks, "Are we in some violation here? Like 'no campfires within so far of the city or yadda yadda'?" The grinding of her teeth could be heard clearly. "Because I'm not moving. This is a good spot, and I don't care how many guards are brought out here to make me go away. I'm tired and I don't have nearly the amount of money I wanted to end the day with."
 
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Alexius' easy manner was frozen at the harsh address of the small woman of some reptilian breed. Raising an eyebrow, he bowed in an elegant and almost foppish manner, saved by the artful delivery from being ridiculous. Alexius quickly recovered his charm, smiling at her.

"I'm no guard, little lady. They happen to be looking for me though, so we'll just call me 'Lix'. I was hoping I could join your band 'round the fire?"
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Frost is quiet for a while, thinking about it... before nodding. "...Sure." She takes off her hood at that point - revealing her full, scaled face. Petite features balanced by the pale white 'skin', which glimmered in the fire. She looks him over for a bit, scowling attractively... until she saw his ears - then she brightened right up. "Oh!"

She smiles, adjusting her glasses. "Excuse my rudeness - I'm Frost. We were just hired to check on the lizardfolk problem..." She shrugs, "Though the town's inn isn't really in my tastes. I'd rather sleep out here. Less insects, I'm sure." Though the 'insects' she referred to were humans, the statement still held fairly true. She gets a sudden, sly look - she could hear the chime of money somewhere on him. It intrigued her - and she very much loved that sound. "You're... not native to the town either, then?"
 
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With a wink, Alexius pulled a few copper from his pouch for a 'magic trick' of sorts. Grinning slyly, he effortlessly switched the pieces between his two hands without touching them. With a final flourish, he handed her two of them.

"For my stay with you, and hopefully a drink. Native? Haha, you're a funny lass. Pretty, though, you are. Anyway, no, elves in this town? We'd have our lodgings burnt to the ground by nightfall if we decided to take up shop in this palce. I'm only passing through, and I found the inn to be less than hospitable."

Plus, in case the innkeeper dislikes me enough to have loose lips...

"What lizard problem would this be?"
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Blushing, she frowns - taking the money - and states, "Don't flatter me. You reek of bard... that silvered tongue of yours will get you in trouble, you know." Crossing her arms and looking away from the man... before hearing his question and giving him a shocked glance.

"Are you kidding? With how they're all acting, how could you not know? They're all so paranoid of attack that you could feel it, easy... the next town over was attacked by lizardfolk. Only one survivor, too." Shaking her head at him, still incredulous at the question. "The mayor wants us to investigate rather than exterminate, so I guess that's a step in the right direction... 'less he knows they're hostile and wants us to approach peacefully so we can more easily be slaughtered." She scowls, frost-breath still passing her lips.

Angry young lass, she was.
 
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Alexius gave the girl one of his more wistful gazes.

"Ah, young lady, I'm not bard. Ask yourself this quandry, though: is it flattery if I speak but the truth?"

Shrugging his shoulders with practiced ease, he turned slightly, eyeing the fire. It cast a warm glow over his features while, with her standing in from of it, she appeared dark. What an interesting turnabout, I'm the one that's dark as night and a thief to boot.

"As I said, just passing through this area. I'm an Evoker looking to hone my skills," he replied smoothly, brushing a strand of inky hair from his eyes as he smiled warmly.

"Let's go sit?"
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"Yes, it is still flattery... and I don't trust people who flatter upon meeting me." She shakes her head with a frown. "I don't like it." She simply said it without even fully going through the motions of thinking of it. She clearly felt strongly on the subject. "Feel free to sit where you like. I've got a nice spot here." Looking at the nearby grass, she nods.

"Evoker, huh? Fancy wizard name for 'I make things explode'... something we have in common, I guess. I'm a sorceress... I channel the power in my blood to create effects related to the cold... mostly, blasting and freezing opposition to pieces. It's quite relaxing."
 
Angela thought carefully about frost's actions while Alexius introduced himself.
"...I don't think you should have done that, Frost..you did ruin the reputation and seriously injure two people, one of whom was probably in the same position as you. And even if she did know about you two, I would hardly think she was trying to hurt you. People aren't half as bad as you make them out to be."

Her attention then turned to Alexius.
"Sorry for not greeting you right away. I'm Angela, Alexius. Personally I splice souls to my own. Makes it harder to keep control of myself, but you get better by practicing."
 
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"Sounds like the conversation before I interrupted was a very severe one," Alexius murmured, ignoring the chiding in the voice of the reptilian woman. He settled in comfortably, a yawn on his lips as he nestled in near the fire.

"Interesting specialization that, sounds like something I could have had fun with if my turn hadn't come into Evocation. My mother was pleased as anything when I blew up her pillow, I've been an Evoker since. How many people've you got here, anyway?"
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Rhidel was silent a few long moments, even after Lix's arrival. When he finally spoke up, all traces of humor were notably absent from his deep, booming voice. "You should count yourself lucky that your heritage was brought up, Frost," he rumbled. "In the hands of a human court, it saved you from execution. If you had been tried in Mir El Bar, you would have been drawn and quartered in the civic plaza regardless."

"Lix," he said, noticeably breaking from the previous topic. "It is, I think, good to meet you. I am Rhidel, and the closest individual to a guard that is present."

He stood, unbelting his bedroll from the pack and unrolled it by giving it a solid nudge with his foot. "I will take the second fire watch," he said to nobody in particular.
 
"It was my draconic heritage that made it go on so long. Had I been fully human, I would have been slapped on the wrist and sent on my way in my hometown." She turns, frowning with a glare towards Angela. "Why should I care if I ruin the reputation of people who've hurt me? It's the least the deserve... though I guess you're right..." She nods, folding her arms with a thoughtful look. "The merciful thing would have been to kill them outright." The firelight glistens off of her scales, and she shrugs. "I'll keep that option in mind from now on. Thanks, Angela!" Taking something completely different from what Angela was saying, she turns on her heel and walks to the other side of the fireplace, leaning up against a rock. "I'll take first watch, then. I've got a date with the stars that I simply can't miss."

--------

The next morning came about with very little problem, save for possibly the nervousness a few party members might have felt being watched over by certain other party members. Most were awakened by the sun's rays, while one other was awake at the time, having been awake for the watch.

Frost, it seemed, had left the campfire after her watch, sleeping under the tree where the lizardfolk she had met earlier slept, hood up. She wasn't cold at all - her bloodline made sure of that - but sleeping outside of a bed or pillow made her spine hurt a great deal. She blearily awoke to the sight of the sun, cracking her back once... twice... three times before rising to her feet, stretching a bit and smiling. "Alright! Who's ready to check up on some lizardfolk!"
 
Sunrise found Kunxaar sitting cross-legged facing west. He blinked as the light touched his face but otherwise didn't move. Frost's greeting of the morning bought her a look but no more. It was clear he was thinking... At last he stood picking up his bag and his shouldering it.

“One man does not sum up his race....” he said, almost to himself even though his eyes where on Frost, “Every race has the power to destroy itself with enough time...... and arrogance.” he hands brushed together is he said this as if it carried more meaning than he was letting on.

With one last look at the sun he dusted off him cloths, ridding them of most of the grass that clung to them. “But you are right, our journey awaits...”
 
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Through some trick or other, in the night, Alexius had acquired a pillow and a light cloth to serve as a blanket. Waking up refreshed, he considered whether he should stay in the town - the money he had won seemed to be substantial, or move on to wher ehe had been headed - he did need training and most of those blokes would not only not return, they'd tell others the game wasn't fair.

Alexius shrugged. It wasn't his fault if they failed to see the real game, too focused on the mundane as everyone was. He was easy to catch, flamboyant. Sometimes he took pleasure in making it almost a mockery to discover his ruse. No one ever did. Not his fault, but people wouldn't come back, would they?

Hmm... Alexius wasn't keen to get in on this lizard bit, but, "Will there be treasure?" he inquired curiously, a rogueish smile on his face as he woke Angela.
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"...clearly, you're going to need a remedial course in ethics.."

Angela took the time that morning to go about her rituals; praying to the gods, focusing inwardly to shape soulmelds, picking what she wanted for the day.

When she was done and ready to go, her skin resumed the purplish tint from the previous day, but a chimeric mask also floated around her head. Strange, to say the least.

"I'm ready over here."
((Angela has +3 to AC and immunity to flanking!))
 
Feeling the warm glow of the sun upon his scales, Noise began to wake up. He stretched out his stiff arms, legs, and tail, getting the sleep out of them. He gave a big yawn once, then once more. Finally, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes before opening them. He looked down at the base of the tree and saw Frost there. Waking up more and more that longer he was warmed, after all, lizards are cold-blooded, he finally jumped down, removing his camoflage during the fall, landing rightnext to Frost. Looking up at her, he smiled. "How did you sleep last night?"