Second Horizon IC

[Astoria]

At Arbour's laugh and initial comments, Liese only shrugged. How would she know exactly how influential a certain noble in Illiserev was, anyway? She'd never been to the country. She supposed she was a bit presumptuous in assuming any method of acquisition would be a forced or covert one, but she had a tendency to fill in the blanks, and it generally wasn't a bad one.

As Arbour continued on, it became even evident that this particular nobleman completely lacked any sense of tact at all, on top of being rude. The reason she shrugged however, was that his horrible persuasive speech had done its job of convincing her more than the shady and ill-dressed Tanya. If the trip was an all-expenses paid trip where she could stay in a nice place and be wined and dined by noble patrons, then she'd take it if it were offered.

"Nobody needs or cares about where the king keeps his old carpets, kid," commented Liese, dryly. "Does that mean you will be covering our travel expenses and accommodations in Illiserev if we choose to help you, noble sir Arbour? I might be amenable to it."

 

[Voltin]

Arbour coughed and hooked his finger around his nose before adjusting it upwards; an old tick from when he wore glasses. The young noble knew when he was being admonished -- it happened frequently when he was still at home -- and this particular case was not new to him either. He always was his mother's son, or so he has been told.

"I apologize for the lack of social graces, my lady. I've always been one to lock myself inside the library in the stead of attending the galas that were occasionally thrown, and after one particularly noteworthy evening, my father had decided to just leave me to it. Not to mention my etiquette tutor's consistently frayed state...

"But, you do realize that if I were to pay for the rest of you out of my own personal allowances, that you would be further employed under my tutelage, and not just the dear lady Tanya's?" Arbour cupped his chin again. "Hm, yes, I suppose I could afford that and still have enough for my own meager living expenses... I further suppose that if the rest of you could perhaps provide your services in a more, shall we say, 'mercenary' of fashions, I myself would not be adverse to having you along. Morta," he gestured to the standing aberration before them, "is more than enough protection for myself, but having more blades, per se, never hurt... Not that I'm expecting resistance," he said this last sentence more hurriedly compared to the rest of his barely audible mumblings, "but who knows what could happen along the way.

"And, as they always say, the more the merrier." He gave a gentle smile.

 

[Skyswimsky]

Alicia fixated her gaze onto the red-hair. "I'd rather not, Master told me too much money makes corrupt! And that is a bad thing." Surely, a woman who thought a house is not that expensive was wise at spending money. "And yes yes! From midnight to morning!" She continued before looking a bit confused. "Why should that be brutal?"

 

[ERode]

Talze Utera Illiserev Astopol Dansila

• 
  Well, things were developing in quite an…interesting fashion. Tanya was aware that the Sain family had some political weight back in Illiserev, but the way Arbour spoke of it, it was quite apparent that the Sain family was much more than just a rich one.
  
  Still, was there a reason why Liese was so adamant on asking for 'reasons' to accept her request? Did the young woman operate on the assumption that she'd be killed if she didn't comply, because she 'knew too much'? Was she so bored that she'd put up with an argument that had no point? The inner workings of that stubborn girl interested Tanya, but it wasn't intriguing enough for the witch to act on it. Instead, she opted to clap her hands together, signalling an end to the discussion.
  
  "Well," the silver-haired woman began, "if all this is enough to satisfy your abject boredom or curiosity, I suggest heading out now. With the festival in Cykes, I'd imagine that travel by air would be a service that's heavily in demand."
• 
  The red-haired man nodded slowly at this, before shrugging. "Normally, I'd say that little girls like you should be sleeping from evening till morning, but it looks like being 'normal' isn't your forte. Graveyard shifts are a pain, though, because you either spend the night bored out of your mind, or you spend the night paranoid at every single sound. Have fun though."
  
  He walked out of the smithery, calling, "Go get yourself a book or something, kiddo. Those are usually nice for passing time."
• 
  The meat-vendor, a man of similar girth to the pie-lady, looked down upon the midget, his expression filled with a teensy bit of relief at what he thought would have been a new customer. Instead, she asked for eating utensils. Eating utensils for a pie that was much too big for her. As a matter of fact, it was probably big enough that she'd be better off using her spear to cut it up than a set of wooden knives and forks. For a moment, the vendor narrowed his already-beady eyes, a frown on his face. Then, he let go of all his jealousy and disappointment, before handing over a worn set of knives and forks.
  
  "Return it after you're done, missy."
  
  With a grunt, the vendor got back to reading his book.
• 
  As the two figures began to approach Eile and Elizabeth, it became increasingly obvious that it was not men or women, but beasts. Shifting into their more combat-ready form, the two werewolves bared their teeth, but did not attack. They bore the symbol of the Dansilan military on their intact clothing, and, outside of the coarse hair that sprouted from their skin and their too-long teeth, they had yet to complete their transformation. The taller one spoke first, in a reasonable tone that did well to hide its feral origins, "Drop your weapon. We'd prefer not to harm you."
  
  As if those words were a signal, the clattering and scrapping of boots against ceramic roof tiles could be heard. More appeared, soldiers dressed in light armor, ready to descend in an instant.
  ~
  The Templar crossed the stand, and found herself in front of a man with ash-blond hair and red eyes. He wore civilian clothes, but in his hands was a sword, its blade sheathed in a fine leather scabbard. A mild expression was on his face as he said, "Has justice failed so easily?"
  
  There was nothing in his tone to suggest mockery, nothing in his tone to even indicate that those words were meant for her ears. But if Christy had chosen to meet that young man's gaze, she would have realized an abnormality. The pupils of his red eyes weren't completely black, but were instead magical circles, so small that it was barely readable.