Skyward Dreams

[Zypher]

Greystone Empire, a land filled with many magical creatures, from the great walled cities of the Elves to the magically powered riverboat cities of the Halflings, the great forests of the Dwarves and the desert cliff dwelling humans everyone could find a place to live.

It had been a dream of the Greystone Empire for some time now to create entire cities on great flying parcels of land and for years there had been no success until one day, out in his laboratory on Cloud Lake a spark of genius hit Dr. Moba, he had it. It was all so simple! Crying out his victory to the heavens he began his arduous work gathering people from all over the empire to finish his work.

This was fourty centuries ago, now Greystone Empire circles their globe on great floating floes of earth. Travel is fairly simple, having airships being a commonplace occurrence even before Dr. Moba had created the floes. Now with easier exploration lots of chances for adventure have cropped up, not only on the motes but on the planet as well! Of course one must be careful as reports of more and more sky pirates have been cropping up as of late!

One such adventure found a small group summoned by the Empress, who commanded them to find all the pieces of a very rare medallion that belonged to her ancestor, pieces had been scattered on all ten floes as well as two pieces on the planet itself.

---

Mist Darkflame, halfling, expert archer and airship pilot had answered the Empress' call and stood outside the door, waiting for any other people who dared answer the call. Her airship, the Heavenly Maiden, had been docked further down in the city towards the edge of the Empress' floe, but she hadn't fully trusted the guard but the threats of an arrow from her bow in their direction stopped any thoughts they had.

So with a sigh she sat and waited patiently.

 

[PhoenixArrande]

Kaijan Trimora ran quickly through the docks. His incredibly swift movement had been long renowned so when people saw him coming they knew to move quickly out of his way. The wind whipped sharply, blowing his short, blonde locks wildly around. With his double-bladed sword strapped tightly on his back, along with most of his belongings, Kaijan was excited and ready. When the Empress had sent out her decree about the ancient medallion, he knew that this was it. This was the long-awaited adventure he had dreamed about. Finally, he had made it to the Palace and his heart beat inside his chest faster than ever. Seeing his best friend, Ruka standing near the door, he stopped dead in his tracks. "HEY, STRONGBLADE!!!" he yelled to him across the lawn, waving. Kaijan took a seat on the ground underneath the nearby tree a little far away from the Palace doors. All he could think about was this Summoning and how out of all the young men in his village, he was picked to come.

It's safe to say, this is probably the most exciting day of my life! Kaijan's father had been skeptical about letting him go so soon. He had only celebrated his Rite of Manhood a few months ago, and he had rather him help him out with the Smithy Shop. The 19-year-old Elvish-Human (half elf, half human) had begged and pleaded with his parents to let him go, and, finally, they agreed. It was very odd to some of the people in his village that his parents were so strict with him even though he was practically a man. But that was quite obvious since they lived in a human village and their beliefs were a lot different from the elves. Kaijan didn't mind his parents' way of raising their children, though, in fact, he had only left home a few hours ago and he already seemed to miss his father. Deep in thought, he suddenly noticed something he had missed through all of his excitement. A girl, and a very beautiful girl at that, was standing on the other side of the walkway behind Ruka. Ruka was so tall he hadn't seen her behind him. Kaijan quickly made it his duty to walk on over and introduce himself. As he got closer to her, he realized that she was a lot shorter than she looked far away. Only 4 feet, really, and when Kaijan was standing next to her, it was like he was standing over a child since he was 5'10. This didn't phase him, though. He was too busy looking at her and admiring her weapons. "Hello there.....I'm Kaijan, but everyone calls me Kai......and you are....?"

 

[Dawn]

Summoned by the Empress herself. What an honor, most would agree. The invite for her newest quest had been left open but just days ago, a letter had reached him in his base down on the planet. The Empress specifically wanted him to go along with whomever decided to join up but for what reason, he couldn't be sure. Was it because of his connections that she assumed he was the man for the job? Or was she trying to keep an eye on him?

As Ruka 'Strongblade' strolled across the courtyard toward the Empress' palace, he took his time, not particularly looking forward to facing the only person who had more political power than he himself had. His two lackeys had been held up at the docks and he'd told them just to go back to the ship and continue on with their jobs. Now he was alone, save for the polished steel glaive resting on his shoulder and hand as he leisurely made his way closer to the doors. A little relief washed over him when he spotted another person near the doors and he realized he wouldn't have to face the Empress alone. The more the merrier, right?

Finally reaching the other, he offered her a smile and studied her out of the corner of his good eye. A halfling for sure, though he couldn't say much considering his human arrogance was over-ridden by his elven background. Actually, his grandmother's blood was probably the reason for his fair skin and height of six feet, two inches. Even if the girl before him by chance wasn't a halfling, he still would have towered over her.

"I suppose," he said with an air of slight amusement, "That you're here for the same reason I am?"

 

[Zypher]

Mist couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the two men that had answered the Empress' call. One of them was younger, handsome to be sure but strange. She hadn't had much dealings with half-elves in the past but it certainly was a treat to see one now. The other, well that was an entirely different story, he was rugged and the glaive glistening off his shoulder showed that he probably wasn't a stranger to battle.

Both, she then realized, towered over her, although it wasn't anything that bothered her, after spending as much time flying her airship for various clients and her own gains she had become accustomed to such large strangers. The half-elf politely introduced himself and she bowed, just a little. "Pleasure to meet you Mister Kai, I am Mist Darkflame, a pleasure to meet you." She smiled, turning her gaze to the other, taller man.

"If that reason is the Queen's mission then I think we're in the right place. Shall we go in?" She smiled, heading into the palace chambers where the Empress sat, having just dismissed another group.

"Ah I see you three have come to answer my call. Many applicants have come through but somehow I feel you three are the most likely candidates." The Empress smiled warmly, her gray eyes probing each of them one by one, sizing them up as she looked from one to the next. She waved her hand, gesturing them closer to a table with a rough sketch of a medallion. "This medallion is an ancient family heirloom, and I wish for you to all find the pieces that have been scattered long ago. There is a piece, roughly the size of a human's palm, hidden on each of the floating motes. Time, I assure you, is of the essence! Please, now that you know what I am seeking, be on your way. Should you choose to complete my task or to decline and head off on your own, that is your choice but I assure you, that if you do complete this task you will be greatly rewarded!" She clapped her hands and guards came from the corners to open the doors, ready to escort the small group out.

As they left the palace Mist's determination was apparent. "I don't know about you two but I intend on taking my airship and finding these pieces of the medallion, how about you fellows?" She asked, skittering along rapidly to compensate for even one of the others steps if they had been walking together.

 

[PhoenixArrande]

Kaijan smiled back at Mist not even realizing he was blushing, although he thought he could hear Ruka snickering behind him. Mist suggested that they all go inside, and as soon as she turned her back on them both, Kaijan gave Ruka a quick and painful elbow in the ribs before gallantly walking inside. The palace was beautiful and.......pink! Any girl's dream abode, he guessed. The Empress was very lovely and a lot different than he expected. This was his first time mesting her in person, and he realized that a lot of the rumors he had heard about her since childhood was less than true. Upon hearing that he, Ruka, and Mist were chosen to find the Medallion, Kaijan unashamingly let out a very loud victory yell as soon as they were dismissed. Hopping around and pumping his fists in the air, it wasn't hard to tell that he was more than excited about the trip. "Yeeeeah! This is AWESOME, right, Ruka?!" he said after doing a few backflips across the courtyard. Kai turned around towards Mist to hear her say,

"I don't know about you two but I intend on taking my airship and finding these pieces of the medallion, how about you fellows?"

Kaijan looked at Ruka then back at Mist and said quickly, "Of course, I'll come with you! I don't know about ol' Ruka here, though." He was quite surprised that she had her own airship, and wondered what else this girl could do. Swinging around his double-bladed sword he smiled. And the adventure begins!

 

[Dawn]

From the moment Kaijan joined the pair, Ruka had been amused. Perhaps it wasn't apparent to each other but the pirate had noticed a certain spark between his good friend and the halfling girl Mist and hoped that they would end up on the quest together, if only so that he could tease Kaijan like a good friend should. "Oof!" he gasped from the elbow to the ribs but couldn't stop himself from continuing to snicker immaturely as he rubbed the sore spot with his free hand.

However, his good mood vanished rather quickly when they all entered the Empress' chambers and he came face to face with the powerful woman for the second time in his life. He wasn't at all surprised that she didn't address him by name, or even acknowledge that they had previously met. The Empress worked in mysterious ways and often made her quests, in his opinion, much more difficult than need be. Before he was able to inquire about his summoning, the three of them were being escorted out, much to his annoyance.

It wasn't Kaijan's voice but Mist's that broke his concentration and he realized he'd been striding quickly across the courtyard. Slowing his pace so that she could catch up to him, he offered one of his charming smiles before turning his gaze upward at the bright sky. "I told the boys to take the ship and continue with the trade. I was always going, no matter what the mission turned out to be," he told her. "And what do you mean by 'old', huh?!" he directed toward Kaijan, scrunching up his nose as if the very thought of being old was distasteful. "You may have grown in age and height since the last I saw you but you still act like a brat!" he accused, grabbing his friend into a headlock with his free arm, bapping the boy on the head with the blunt side of his glaive's blade.

 

[Zypher]

Mist couldn't help but giggle as she listened to the boys tease each other and horse around a bit, it seemed like they were good friends from days past. Subconsciously she led the boys from the palace to the docks where her airship was docked. The docks themselves hung off the cliffside of the particular mote that they rested on. Many ships were docked, hovering at the docks high above the planet's surface.

The Heavenly Maiden was surely a fantastic ship and Mist's pride and joy, harnessing magical fire in a ring to cause it to fly. As Mist stepped onto the dock one of her airship operatives stepped out and greeted her. After exchanging a couple of words with the worker she turned to the others and smiled. "Well it seems like the sky-lanes are open to our leisure, I personally wouldn't mind heading to the Halfling lands and visit the great Riverboats of my people, I'm sure I could find the piece of the medallion rather quickly, we're notorious for being awful with secrets!" Mist chuckled, shrugging. "But I'll give you boys time to decide, I'm going to go change out of this...er, attire and into something more comfortable..." She sighed and crossed the plank heading into her quarters at the back of the ship.

 

[PhoenixArrande]

Kaijan was startled when Ruka turned towards him fiercely about calling him old. "H-Hey! It was a joke!" he said putting his hands in the air, but, apparently, he wasn't taking it without a fight. In seconds, Kai found himself stuck in a headlock and getting pounded on the head with the back of a glaive. Embarrased, he quickly fought back, but it seemed as if Ruka had gotten a lot stronger than he remembered. "C'mon, Ruka! Lemme go! Owww!" he squealed. Hearing Mist giggle in the background made him even more embarrased. He didn't want to look weak, especially in front of a girl so Kaijan kicked him between the legs, and he was instantly free. He laughed and then ran quickly behind Mist just in case Ruka would try to get him back. As they approached the docks, Kaijan sighed. He had always found the atmosphere in the docks quite pleasing ever since he was child. Whenever his father took him there, he would always get distracted by the large airships and the foreigners surrounding him, so much, that his father would say, "Son, if i don't keep a close eye on you, you might just fly away in the breeze, someday!" The thoughts of traveling to new lands and making new friends and finding new things always made Kaijan feel so at home.

Kaijan was astonished when they reached Mist's ship. The Heavenly Maiden! And It looks heavenly, too! Now he was even more excited than he was at first, and ran quickly behind Mist as they boarded the airship. This was his first time on an airship, as well, so Kaijan ran around the ship looking at everything, speechless. He took out the large camera his uncle had given him before he left, and started taking pictures of everything.And I mean, everything. From the deck to the operatives to the toilets, he even managed to snap a picture of Mist while she wasn't looking. Kaijan was so excited he was running around everywhere like a puppy. He didn't even hear what Mist was saying. All he heard was, "Well......sky-lanes.........Halfling......Riverboats............secrets.....decide.....change out of this attire." As Mist left them both on the deck to decide something which he hadn't heard, he got all up in Ruka's face snapping pictures of him, the bright light of the flash, blinding him. If you were to shake him fiercely, Kaijan would still be in a daze-like state. "C'mon, Ruka! I'll race you to our rooms! 1...2...3!" he yelled and was out of sight just that fast. Unaware that he had dropped his sword.

 

[Dawn]

Quite aware of the Halflings and their loose lips, Ruka merely smiled at Mist's comment, looking forward to seeing the Riverboats again. The Halflings had always been useful to his trade enterprise; most of the information he sold had passed through their lands at some point or another. But as the lovely Miss Mist left him alone with his friend Kaijan, he finally let himself nurse his injured groin with a hand, making a face at the younger man as he did so. "Still fighting like a girl, I see," he grumbled though when Kaijan started taking photos, he straightened up and crossed his arms over his chest in an attempt to look unimpressed.

About to give the boy a swift kick to the rear for being annoying, he was interupted. "C'mon, Ruka! I'll race you to our rooms!" And away Kaijan went while Ruka simply cocked an eyebrow and snorted. "Just as hyper as I remember..." he sighed, scooped up Kaijan's weapon, and followed at a leisurely pace. "Hey airhead~" he teased once he'd caught up to Kaijan in his room. "Forget something?" He held out the impressive piece of weaponry at arm's length, a cocky smirk plastered across his lips.

 

[Zypher]

Mist sighed as she closed the door to her room, the large windows looking out over the back of the ship, a desk set in front of that, behind another set of doors on the wall the door she entered led into her private area, her bed and wardrobe sat inside. That was where she was headed. She checked once again to make sure she wasn't followed before closing the second set of doors and quickly changed into another outfit and headed out to the main deck where she was sure she'd find the boys or at very least she could announce to the ship that they were leaving.

On her way out she grabbed her bow and with a smirk shut the door behind her. As she stepped out on deck she noticed that the boys had gone off elsewhere, probably to find suitable traveling quarters so instead she headed over to her steering wheel and grabbed the speaking tube and opened the hatch. "All crew report to your stations, we will be disembarking for the Halfling Island, the Riverboat City of Talenta! Boys, if you want a good view of the flight I'd suggest getting up to the deck." She closed the tube and placed her bow around her and smiled, waiting for everyone to get into position for flight.

 

[PhoenixArrande]

Kaijan Trimora ran into the first bedroom he saw, and obviously it was the largest one. Luxurious, yet, accomodating, the whole room was stunning. From the beds to the bathrooms it was all so beautiful and comfortable. Dropping all his things, Kaijan sighed and plopped on the floor. He opened up his camera and took out the film, holding it up to the light. Gotta get these developed! But he'd deal with that later. He looked to the side and noticed the large red notebook that must've fell out of his backpack that had "Kaijan's Adventures!" written on it in large green letters. He had had that empty book ever since childhood. And now, he was finally going to have the chance to fill it up. He had promised his father, Ceresbain that he would, and he wasn't going to let him down! Just the thought of his father started getting him thinking about home. Ceresbain, the Late, Great Weapons Smith teaching him to fight. His mother Theresa beating him with a broomstick whenever he walked in the house all muddy or got into trouble. His uncle and all his crazy inventions. This is part of what Kai knew as home. Home.......I miss them.....A lot.

Just as quickly, he lifted his spirits by thinking of this trip to lands unknown, finding the pieces of an ancient medallion, winning the Empress' honor, and becoming famous across the world! Yeah......YEAH!!!! Kaijan hopped up off the floor and jumped onto the bed, bouncing up and down wildly. "GONNA BE FAMOUS!!!! YOU HEAR ME?!?!?! THIS IS KAIJAN TRIMORA!!!!!! LENGENDARY WARRIOR AND FAMOUS ADVENTURER!!!!! WOOOO!!!!!" he yelled. This was definitely going to be the trip of a lifetime. As Kaijan practically jumped his fillings out on the bed, Ruka came in carrying something very important to him.

"Hey airhead~" he teased, "Forget something?", a cocky smirk plastered across his lips.

"My sword!!!!!" he exclaimed leaping off the bed immediately, and grabbing it out of Ruka's hand, "Thanks, Ruka! Take a look at this room!!!! It's cool isn't it?!?! Definitely not like my room at home!!!! As soon as I develop the film from my camera, I'm definitely gonna take more pictures!!!" Kai swung his sword around like a baton in front of him and behind his back while walking in circles around the room, singing off-key. "Fallin in looooove! For the first tiiiiiime!!! With YOOOOOU!!!! And It's so----" Suddenly, he was cut off, by what sounded like an intercom all over the airship. It sounded as if Mist was making an announcement.

"All crew report to your stations, we will be disembarking for the Halfling Island, the Riverboat City of Talenta! Boys, if you want a good view of the flight I'd suggest getting up to the deck."

Of course, Kaijan wasn't going to miss this! He ran out the door quickly, his camera and extra film in tow, but, before he left, he turned towards Ruka and said, "Don't be a slowpoke! C'mon! I'll beat you again if you don't hurry!!!" And Kaijan was gone again quickly taking his place next to Mist to watch, and, of course, take pictures of the epic take off.

 

[Dawn]

With a very pronounced 'what the hell?' look on his face, Ruka smoothly leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest. Kaijan's excitement had always reminded the pirate of a spunky little puppy and it was no different now as he watched the boy pace and move about. If he tried hard enough, he could even picture cute perky ears and a fluffy tail on Kaijan! It made him smile sincerely, a little warmth fluttering in his heart as he looked on.

"As soon as I develop the film from my camera, I'm definitely gonna take more pictures!!!" the boy was saying when Ruka decided to tune him back in. "And next time, maybe you won't expose the film to sunlight and ruin it," he replied with a smirk. So scatterbrained. So cute. Ah~ When had the clumsy, dopey half elven boy turned into a loveable airhead? Ruka was sure it was while he'd been away on his trade runs. Kaijan really had grown a lot since then. He was probably better with the sword now, maybe even better a fighter than Ruka.

At the sound of Mist's voice, he regretfully left memory lane and rolled his eyes as once again, Kaijan raced off ahead. By the time he dropped his pack in his own room and returned to the deck, the ship was just about ready for takeoff. He hadn't been concerned though, having flown on ships like the Heavenly Maiden his whole life. His flying legs were quite sturdy.

With his glaive resting on his shoulder like usual, he stood next to Kaijan and told Mist, "Ready when you are, Captain." And not without a grin.

 

[Zypher]

Mist noticed Kaijan make his way rapidly to the deck, she couldn't say that she was surprised, he seemed so exuberant. She was, however, surprised when Ruka joined them, he seemed to be the type to have traveled a lot, especially on airships so it didn't seem like he'd be interested in seeing the launch. With a sigh she shrugged and let it go.

"Ready to disembark!" She cried out to her crew and with a shudder her men grabbed the ropes and tugged them free from the moorings on the dock. As soon as they were free the airship pitched down and fell from the sky, a grin wiping across her face as she tugged the wheel making the ship straighten out with extra speed and shot off away from the Empress' island. "Off we go!" She cried out happily, turning the ship towards the main skylane between the island motes, an excellent view of the Empress' Palace could be seen as well as a good view of the planet below. "We won't be there for a day or so fellas so if you want to make any stops let me know otherwise we will be heading there directly!" She smiled to them and traded places with one of her workers who took control of the wheel.

"Now, shall we have lunch and discuss our plans?" She smiled, gesturing towards the middle of the ship where there was a lounge area complete with dining tables. "I think we can decide on what to eat there." She chuckled, walking away regardless of what the others were doing.

 

[PhoenixArrande]

Kaijan was exhilarated! The epic take-off was about to happen, and he was going to be flying for the first time in his life! Camera at ready, he stood beside Mist waiting for her final call. Ruka came along finally, and stood beside him saying, "Ready when you are, Captain." while grinning. Kaijan shook his head and laughed, "Second place, yet, again, Ruka! You know, this is starting to feel a little one-sided! Hahahahahahaha!"

"Ready to disembark!" Mist cried out.

Then, jumping over Mist and climbing to the very tip of the front of the ship, Kaijan stood up holding his arms out (and nearly falling down), as the airship began to move. The airship took off, and Kaijan snapped a bunch of photos while struggling to keep his balance on the bow. The wind blew briskly, blowing his hair in his face, as the airship started moving with extra speed and shot away from the Empress' Island. "Woooooah!!!! WOOOO!!" Kaijan yelled from the bow. Turning towards Mist and Ruka, he screamed over the blowing wind, "THIS.......IS......AMAZIIIING!!!!! THE VIEW HERE.......IS EVEN BETTEEEER!!!!" Kaijan jumped off the bow and back onto the deck, running towards the edge of the ship to take more pictures of the Empress' Island at a distance in the air.

"Off we go!" Mist cried out happily. "We won't be there for a day or so fellas so if you want to make any stops let me know otherwise we will be heading there directly!" "Now, shall we have lunch and discuss our plans?" She smiled, gesturing towards the middle of the ship where there was a lounge area complete with dining tables. "I think we can decide on what to eat there."

Upon hearing this, he looked down at his grumbling stomach. He had been so excited about everything he had totally ignored his growing hunger! For once, he slowly sat at the table across from Mist, his hair was kinda crazy since he had subjected himself to such high winds, so he licked his hands ans smoothed it out. "Sooooooo, what plans? And where are we going again? And what kind of food?" Kaijan asked inquisitively,"Oh.....and, um.....I like your outfit, Mist. Uh! I mean........Captain Mist?" At this point he really couldn't tell left from right. Just babbling with no significant reason. He was actually deep in thought about other things, looking alert, but really not paying too much attention at all. He slowly put his head down on the table, and waited for the meeting to start.

 

[Dawn]

Three...two...one...

Ruka knew exactly what to expect from the takeoff and he couldn't help the excited jittery feeling in his gut as he waited. When the ship dropped like a stone, he forced back a childish giggle but was unable to keep from grinning like an idiot. This feeling never got old, no matter how many times he'd experienced it. For a moment, everyone who wasn't anchored to the ship floated in mid air until Mist gave the wheel a good crank and the floor came rushing back under his feet. Thoroughly practiced, he met the floor with bent knees, absorbing the shock, gracefully straightening back to his full six feet and two inches as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

I like this chick! he thought with a grin as the rest of the crew settled and they followed Mist to the lounge. She had guts and obviously a need for adrenaline - two things they had in common. Kaijan on the other hand was just full of piss and vinegar, roaming around the deck like a dog on stranger grounds. When Ruka thought the youth had finally settled, on came the questions and the rambling and then finally, thank the gods, finally some silence.

It was a full minute before Ruka turned to Mist and said, "Don't worry. He won't be so hyperactive once we get him neutered~" Jokingly of course. But quickly his grin faded and he took on a seriousness Kaijan had never seen before. It was the kind he used while dealing with his buyers. "So the plan. I have this to offer: using logic and what we already know about the medallion, researching in The Great Libraries to see if it's been mentioned, and of course asking the right people always helps."

The latter, of course, almost always involved some kind of trade and this was most certainly Ruka's area of expertise.

 

[Zypher]

Mist couldn't help but chuckle as she watched Kaijan run around like a chicken with his head cut off, exploring the deck a bit, while Ruka stayed by her side. It was clear that he was prepared for her wild launch as people hovered just above the deck and slammed down again, as she had left for the room she was happy to see the other boys had followed, closing the door behind the boys and sitting down at the table. A smirk crossed her face as she heard Ruka's remark.
"Well I don't know if we should do that, just yet..." She giggled, patting Ruka's side.

She pulled a map from a cabinet from underneath one of the benches and laid it out on the circular table, rolling it out for the others to see.

"So once we get the piece of the medallion we can mark each island mote off of the map here, the tricky part will be getting the pieces from the planet, after all, the Empress didn't give us any hints or clues as to where those pieces will be." She nodded, before placing a small model of the airship on the map itself, denoting their location. "But at least we're on our way to the Talenta, just be prepared. And the chef should be in here soon to take orders, feel free to order whatever you'd like."

 

[PhoenixArrande]

Kaijan rolled his eyes at Ruka's comment. Neutered, my ass! Looking at Ruka, he had definitely never seen that expression before nor did he know what the hell he was talking about. He just waited for him to stop talking so he could say, "Whaaaaat???". But then, he figured, Why even bother to ask?!, and just waited for Mist's response. Looking at the map closely, he realized it looked much like his father's. Ceresbain never let him look at it, though, so he would always wait til late at night and sneak a peek at it then. Her's looked a bit newer, though, and the color wasn't as faded.

"So once we get the piece of the medallion we can mark each island mote off of the map here, the tricky part will be getting the pieces from the planet, after all, the Empress didn't give us any hints or clues as to where those pieces will be."

"So, I'm guessing, as far as....enemies.....go, we'll be doing all the dirty work ourselves, huh?" he replied. Not that he was scared or anything. He just wanted to make sure that there would plenty of action! He wanted to use his sword in a real battle anyway, instead of with those dummies and his Sensei. And the other kids in his village and the other surrounding villages were waaay to easy for him to beat, he always beat them to bloody pulps in tournaments until they disqualified him for being "too talented" and a "slightly dangerous opponent", which was probably why they picked him to go on the trip in the first place. Leaning back in his chair, he sighed. Maybe he was strong or maybe he wasn't, either way, he couldn't wait to see what kind of enemies they'd run into! The thoughts of fighting, battles, and all things adrenaline-packed ran through his mind, but then stopped again at Mist's comment about.....food! Turning towards the chef he cleared his throat. He wanted to make sure he got his order in clearly! "Ahem! Ok, sir! Brace yourself cause this a looong order! I want 2 steaks, one medium-rare the other well-done. 2 racks of ribs; take it easy on the sauce, 5 crab cakes, 3 chickens---WHOLE, spaghetti with meatballs, 4 sausages, boiled lobster, a nice big bowl of boiled shrimp, some yeast rolls, some turkey legs, and a glass of water, PLEASE!" he stated, smiling. He was ready to eat!

 

[Dawn]

Ruka was quite content to let Mist lead the expedition. It seemed she knew just as much about the motes as he did, probably even more, which was definitely a good reason to leave her in charge. His skills lay more with his basic knowledge of the several languages and dialects they would no doubt encounter, and of course his ability to make a near irresistable deal. He was, after all, a businessman.

"You'll definitely need my help for the pieces on the planet," he voiced, unbuttoning his jacket and putting his feet up on the seat directly across from him. "It's my home. I know it better than anyone else." But he didn't offer any more information than that, closing his eyes and pretending to snooze a little in his reclined positon. At the sound of Kaijan's massive order to the chef, he cracked open an eye to see if the guy was joking.

Apparently not.

He wanted desperately to make a mean joke about Kaijan's weight but the chef caught his eye and he was forced to sit up straight and order his own meal instead. "How about a nice pasta dish?" Then he reclined again and went back to 'snoozing'.

 

[Zypher]

Mist raised an eyebrow at Kaijan's large order but she let it slide, surely they could stock up again when they landed in Talenta. Ruka's order was more sensible, and when the chef got around to her she simply nodded and smiled, "The usual." She chuckled and the chef quickly exited the room to start preparing for the feast that Kaijan desired.

"Well, since it will take the chef quite some time to finish our meals," She shot a grin over to Ruka, "I suppose that will give us some time for you two to explore and I can send a letter ahead to my contacts and we can start the search for the halfling piece of the medallion. Any ideas as to where it might be? Something tells me we might have a bit of swimming to do, that is, of course if you pay attention to my people enjoying the waterways of our island mote." She shrugged and smiled, adjusting her skirt as she sat.

 

[PhoenixArrande]

Waiting patiently with everyone else for the food, Kaijan swung his feet in his chair and twirled and pulled at his hair. There wasn't really much else to be said, but to just stare at each other pretty much, and Ruka was doing his usual "Bad-Boy-Pretend-To-Sleep" thing again. So he just sat back and waited. Mist began to talk about where the Medallion piece might be and swimming. He was pretty good at that! But right now, all he really cared about was food and his growling stomach so he plopped his head on the table in silence.