The Kingdom of Evertrue

[Blood Lightning]

King Phillippe Claude Charmaine & Queen Clarice Angelina Charmaine | Sapphire City Castle | Dining Hall

Seated in the dining hall, gazing affectionately towards one another, the King and Queen waited for the servants to arrive and to serve them. Sure enough, it was but a matter of minutes before a servant came in with a smile on his face to ask what they'd like to eat. Clarice typically preferred to let them just prepare whatever they wanted to eat and to serve her some as well, but Phillippe was much more particular about his diet. It was also important that the vitamins prescribed to him by the doctor wound up in his food somehow, so the servants had to make sure they knew which medications to put in his food. That information could only come from Phillippe and Clarice themselves - before Kiera came along, his doctor had been directly involved with the food preparation to ensure that he was only given food that would benefit him, as well as food that he'd be able to eat.

Phillippe politely told the servant what he'd like for breakfast - speaking, of course, for both himself and his wife - and then informed them that he'd like them to use whatever vitamins they'd been using before. Though they hadn't been much help, he could use the extra vitamins regardless. They'd help his body to recover faster and they'd help him to keep his strength. The servant left with their order, headed to the kitchens through the little side door, and left the King and Queen to make small talk about how they slept and gaze lovingly upon one another.

Clarice was surprised when the door opened and Sylviana came in. Clarice didn't mind being interrupted during her meals, knowing that the welfare of the Kingdom had to come first, but she knew that Phillippe wasn't a big fan of it. Servants were typically banned from the dining hall when they ate, unless for an emergency situation. She could see the irritation in her husband's eyes, as they'd both forgotten to mention that the open dining hall rule was no longer in effect now that he was up and moving around again. When Sylviana spoke, though, Clarice knew he'd forgive her words. "Do you know where Ashley was?" Clarice asked softly, frowning. That she had bruises and cuts on her didn't bode well. "Assign an extra guard or two to the infirmary, and until we know what's happened, make sure there is a guard accompanying her at all times."

Sylviana Fireheart​

Sylviana was still kneeling and looking at the floor, not daring to look at the King or Queen as she had interrupted them and that the King was most likely furious with her. However, Sylviana would not burst in like that without a good reason and in this case, she did; with the queen's Lady-In-Waiting and Lady Yandell in the infirmary due to their injuries, though the queen seemed to be more concerned about Lady Malota then Yandell. Sylviana on the other hand, was concerned about them both, as Lady Yandell, a Mercenary, went out of her way to help the Queen, but did not do as well as she had hoped. When asked if she knew where Ashley was, Sylviana just shook her head. "No, my Lady. But I only found her injured in an alleyway on the Western Side of Town. I didn't really pay attention to my surroundings, as Lady Ashley's safety was more of my primary concern. And I know how much she and her child mean to you. If I had not brought her back, my failure would only bring you my head." Sylviana replied, still saddened by what happened to Ashley. When told to assign an extra guard to the infirmary to the infirmary and to make sure that there is one accompanying her at all times, she nodded. "At once, your grace. And what of Lady Yandell?"

 

[Radio Jelly]

Carla

"Are they really that sturdy?"

Carla laughed under her breath. "Absolutely not. I don't possess any explosive magic though, so we have to settle with melting it." The assassin gripped the grate and began to super-heat the metal until the bars began to transform from dull, grey links into luminescent, orange noodles in Carla's hands. The metal fell away in her hands, breaking apart with minimal force. She let go of the limp 'bars' in her hands, and let the hot metal sizzle on the damp sewer floor.

"Alright Miniel, this is where we part. I suggest buying--or at least stealing--a weapon soon enough. Those guys will be back, I'd wager."

Carla pulled herself out of the sewer gate and into what appeared to be the outskirts of town. The air was noticeably cleaner outside, and the gross humidity of the tunnel peeled away at the first clean mountain breeze that rippled through her crimson locks. She turned a last time to Miniel: the girl was old for sure, and no doubt a proficient killer with a weapon. Carla was still taken aback by her appearance, however. Miniel still looked like a child in need to her, which pulled at all the wrong emotional strings.

"If you really do enjoy death, then you'll be like a kid in a candy shop here. Farewell, Miniel." Carla turned away, scurrying up the side of a nearby shack, before using the rooftops to head home. Nearly a month would pass for her in relative obscurity, with only the odd assassination job to keep her entertained. Of her friends, neither seemed readily available: Aros was off somewhere probably looting something, and Jagger had made a trip of his own to Vastwater. Increasingly, Carla began to feel bogged down by Eastway; her cynicism compounded and deepened by the darkness of the city.

Aros

The Dark elf's first stop after leaving Charlie was to the thieves guild location near the eastern markets. As per his expectation, they were surprised--yet appropriately frustrated--to find that he had not died somewhere but, instead, was pursuing treasure on his own expedition somewhere else. Understandably, they had withheld his salary in his absence. Alas, the charm and brilliance of Aros Vilren won over the motley fences in charge of the administration, and they again re-instated him.

Immediately, he had a job to do: a wealthy merchant was coming into town from Dekus, and he apparently seemed to be in possession of a sword the guild favored. Evidently, it was some sort of unique rapier famed for its use in slaying vampires. That, or it was garbage with a fancy back-story. Either way, Aros had politely accepted the job, despite it being a third-rate task. Theft had once been an art to him, and though he would've been better suited with a more high-profile task before he left for his adventures, he couldn't help but feel as though he was taking a step back again--a step into an old world he had no qualms about leaving behind.

The dark elf scaled the top of an old tavern on the edge of the market: it was positioned just before the gate into the city, so he waited patiently for much of his after noon there, obscured by a small, crumbling post on the roof-top.

Suddenly, Aros sensed another approaching: their footsteps were light as though they were trained to be silent. He could barely feel their approach, if not for the subtle vibrations over the thatch roof. Suspecting it to be competition for his mark, Aros waited until he knew them to be but several feet behind him, before whipping his rapier from its sheath and leveling it at his would-be attacker's throat. It was no competition, however.

Aros and Carla

"Carla?" Aros lowered the blade. The young demoness wore simple black leather armor, and clutched a dagger at her side. Her expression was firm, yet belayed a look of surprise herself.

"I knew it was you I saw. You've returned again, but after so long? Where did you go?" It was unlike her to care about Aros's movements, and the elf read her tone as one of frustration. New nicks and bruises marked er body from jobs past. He considered making a joke about her new needy attitude, but something about it didn't sit right with him to begin with. "I'm not entirely sure how long its been, actually. I was trapped in some sort of time-void in a place called The Eternal Sanctum. Ended up getting mauled by a werewolf too, so that set back my travels some..." The girl folded her arms in front of her, and gave Aros a disapproving look. "I got a shiny helmet out of it though, so there's that too."

"Enough. Did you hear Jagger left for Vastwater? It's just been me here for nearly a month cleaning up filth on the streets without either one of you to criticize my moral compass." Carla cracked a smile herself, relaxing some in the presence of a friend. "What are you doing up here? Did you get a job?"

"Yeah. A Merchant from Dekus Steppe is coming today with a sword I've been tasked with stealing." Aros showed her the flier he had received with his instructions. "His name is... Vord Leon? I think that's how you pronounce that..." Carla remained uncharacteristically silent, and when Aros looked up he could see some surprise in her eyes. "What? Am I butchering the pronunciation that badly?"

Suddenly, Carla began to laugh before pinching her nose-bridge and mumbling, "I have to kill the same guy." The demonic-looking assassin added. "I suppose a quick team-up will do?" Aros practically was hopping up and down in place at the suggestion, and, seeing his giddy look, Carla quickly added, "but just this once."

 

[OnI6470]

KALIVOS TOREN
EASTWAY BLUFF

The healer kneels beside the darkelf and take off the bandage over his eyes, Kalivos blink a few times, his eyes still sore and his sight its blurry.
"Be still please" asks the healer who hold his eyes open with his fingers. "Good, I was afraid that you would end up blind, your eyes aint used to such bright sunlight, right?, surely you felt like if your eyes were being cooked" with his free hand the healer takes something from his pack, a small flask, small enough to fit in his hand. He takes it and putting it over the darkelf eyes let some drops fall right into his eyes. Kalivos blink even more as his eyes begin to fill with tears.
"It burns, I know but it will help to heal your eyes" the healer now takes a small pot, and after opening it put two fingers inside it, the fingers come out covered with something yellowish, greasy stuff, it smells faintly like oil or grease. Then he begins to spread the stuff around Kalivos eyes "please, close your eyes, I need to apply it in your eyelids" Kalivos obey and let the healer do his job.
"Quiet kind of guy, eh?, I dont mind it, working here you get used to be alone most of the time, the patients only come and go after being treated, but I wanna give you an advice, you better start talking when the captain comes, he aint as kind as me and I assure you, dont matter how tough you think you are, he will make you talk, the captain its very skilled in the art of making stubborn prisioners talk".
Kalivos didnt answer, just nod slightly as the healer begin to put a new, clean bandage over his eyes.
"A few more days and the bandage will go, you are hungry?, thirsty?"
Kalivos its about to answer when another voice its heard "So its awake, good job, I was expecting that he would be out for more time" the voice its commanding, used to give orders.
"Thats must be the so called captain"
"Yes, his eyes are nearly fully healed, maybe two, three days and he will be good as new"
Kalivos feel how strong, hard hands grab his head up "three days, perfect, I can wait... I have so many questions..."

AVRAM STROMM
EASTWAY BLUFF

"Where are we going?, I thought we had finished" Avram asks after Lutter had been pulling him thorugh the back alleys.
"We are going to my home, you need to eat and rest some more, and maybe I can convice you to fight in the tournament"
"I already told you that I dont think I can do this again" before he can keep talking Lutter speaks "not now of course, but you have skill, you just need some more practice, besides you look like you need money otherwise you wouldnt have ended fighting against that guy just because he spilled your drink"
"It wasnt just for that, I was angry, I just found that a friend died here and his body was just thrown to that filthy river, like some stray dog, his place, where I was to live was burn down and nobody knows who did it, my money was taken by the guards when I was coming in, that guy spilling my drink was too much, I just wanted to punch someone and get over with it, I didnt expected that it would turn up in a fight like that"
I see, a bad day I guess, sorry about your friend, things like that happens here all the time, if you are gonna live here you must learn to get used to it, the guards dont don anything unless they have some intrest in the victim or if the attackers didnt give them his share"
"Get used?, how can you get used?, this is wrong, people shouldnt be living like this!"
"Eastway Bluff always has been and will be like this, the king, the nobles, even us, the commoners, we bite each other trying to get what the other have, only the strong survive here"

 

[Boba Fit]

Diodora Warthunder
Royal Guard
Sapphire City

Upon noticing that no one was present in the throne room, Diodora figured that they may be eating breakfast. He knew how much the King hated being interrupted during breakfast, but since this matter dealt with possible war, it was important for it to be shared immediately. Even if his presence angered the King, it was something he must do for the good of the kingdom. He turned around and began to walk through the halls of the castle, heading towards the dining room and preparing for a rather unhappy King.​

 

[Rauzi]

Dekrus Hy'l
Edge of the forest

Dekrus had been making his new pen overnight somewhere in the forest and he had spent his whole morning wandering through the forest towards city of steel. The sight of a man who was missing an arm and wearing ragged dark robes could be quite intimidating to some, especially since apparently. An unstable mind like Dekrus had could be very surprising in a bad way. It was one of those days again... Dekrus felt like he just had to get somewhere to cause chaos. That was one of the prizes paid for the power he had, all for the sake of surpassing the "2nd". Dekrus mindlessly kept on walking towards his destination.

Surpass the 2nd and become the best rune mage of his family, that was the initial goal of Dekrus, and a goal long lost. That goal became unreachable the moment Dekrus made the deal with the devil. Heart filled with darkness can't make such deeds as 2nd did afterall. But Dekrus' lost and unstable mind couldn't understand such simple thing. Only history Dekrus was going to make in his family was the story of first Hy'l that fell into the darkness.

Cathy Marbletree
Plains - Heading to City of Steel

Cathy had walked for days already, her legs were aching, she was starting to run out of supplies already. "Just where the heck am i? How far away is that damn City? I have to survive, if i am to become a professor in Telia i have no time to waste on being lost or tired" she thought out loud. Her dream was the only real driving force that kept her pushing forward afterall. She kept on fighting through the pain and tiredness as she could see a forest in a distance. I've to reach it before the night falls she thought and pulled out the map, trying to figure out where she was. She managed to pinpoint about where she was and fortunately, the forest was the last obstacle between her and the City of Steel.

 

[Unyielding]

Alice

Alice shook her head when Raven started talking about the fairy again. To be honest she did not know what bothered her more, the fact that she continued to speak about these creatures of fantasy or that the girl played a game of chance to save her life. Looking under the table she found a cabinet with a dusty dress. The clothes were unlike anything she as ever seen, resembling the different parts of a flower. However there was a lot of things that Alice had not seen so she chalked it up as nothing important other then being bandages.

"Sure sure, and I am some curse wizard who shoots rainbows from my belly button."

She waved the dress in the air beat the dirt off of it. "Anyway Ray-Cray, that small girl? I don't know. I just stuck a sword to her throat and told her to scram. Something about her just irked me." Alice started walking back over to Raven holding out the dress, "Lets use this to bandage you up and then we can go look for more fantasy creatures that don't exist."

@conman2163

 

[conman2163]

Asaka "Raven"

Asaka gritted her teeth as the other girl placed a slight upon her. Ray-cray? Really? Asaka realized she hit her head, but she didn't hit it that hard.

"Oi, don't be calling me crazy or nuthin 'kay? I ain't done nuffing to deserve that, so jes' leave it alone."

Asaka was surprised however, that the girl had never met a fairy before. It wasn't that they were common or anything, far from it, as far as Asaka knew they had been hunted by humans for generations. Still, Asaka had seen exactly three in her lifetime. It wasn't like they didn't exist.

"Alright then sailor girl, ya realize they do exist same as I or you exist right? Ain't like they all disappeared off the face of the earth or nuffin', I've seen a few in my time. Any case, since were already on the sea, we 'oughta make fer some place we ain't known. I'm sure that the boat were sailin' in isn't jest goin' ter get let go by those people who attacked us, so we oughtta make fer someplace else, like Sapphire City or somethin'. Also, don't ya be holdin' no sword ter the throats a' the little 'uns, they don't try and make trouble on purpose or nothin."

 

[Unyielding]

Alice && Zoey

Alice chuckled remembering when the first time they met. At that time, Alice was called crazy because she mentioned that she was really an adult. She debated if she should push the fairy thing more but, the girl was a kid. Kids have wild imagination and as such can over fantasize things. "Ok ok ya not crazy. You saw a fairy, wagered my life on a coin toss, and the fairy freed me." Alice tried to keep a straight face but a smirk found a way to her face. It was just so ridiculous she could not help but laugh a little on the inside.

(Sorry, for some reason my last post deleted the rest of the post where Zoey cried about Alice finding her clothes which Raven is using as a sling so just pretend Alice just heard someone whining)

"Look here matey," Alice froze and her eyes darted to the door. Then she quietly walked too the door. "Ya kiddies need to learn to mind their own business!" She opened the door and the white hair red eye girl who helped Raven fell down inside. Alice picked her up watching her dangle and struggle to break free. "Ye be that brat who annoys me. Lucky for ye, Raven is looking for ya."

"Wait I was uhh... looking for uhh... my-" Before the girl could make up something, her stomach growled something fierce. Alice laughed and poked her in the stomach.

"Awww The little girl is hungry... OUCH!" The girl bit Alice's finger causing her to drop the girl. The girl then ran into the room crying and rubbing her face on Raven's good arm.

"Ye little brat. How dare ye bite Captain Alice Cross. I oughta make ye walk the plank as shark chum!"

 

[conman2163]

Asaka "Raven"

Raven stayed where she was as Alice tied what looked to be a sling into position, before hearing a slight whimpering noise coming from behind Alice and beyond the door. The little girl had watched everything apparently, which made Asaka glare at the little girl with a disappointed look. However, when Alice picked her up and made her struggle to break free, Asaka stood and glared at Alice, holding on to the little girl with one arm.

"Ya ain't oughta be doin' anything Alice. Ya brought that bite on yerself, pickin' her up like that ain't nice. Wat I just say about the little 'uns? Back off and go sail yer ship while I go figure somethin' out about food fer this little un' 'kay?"

Asaka continued to glare, hoping that Alice would simply buzz off and leave her to tend to the little one.

 

[Unyielding]

Alice && Zoey

Alice clenched her fist as Raven started protecting the brat. She is only a kid, they are only kids. Let it go Alice. She took a deep and glared at the tiny girl only to see her make a face while Raven was not looking. There only kids. They are only kids. Alice quickly turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind her. To think that she was letting these kids run all over her. She has sunk dozens of ships, yet she is force to baby sit these brats.

Alice quickly called out to a few kids while pulling out her golden map. "Lookie here, we be leaving ya home port and heading for Sapphire City. I think tis be the home of the King and Queen. I need yea all to sail in this direction using this." She pointed to the glass orb with the compass in it. "It always points North. Anything left of it be West, anything right be East, and below it is South." She then explain the map and hung it next to the wheel. "Do your best to stay on course. If you have any problems. Notify me IMMEDIATELY. I will be in the room at the top." Then Alice marched up to the captain's quarters which had a window overlooking the bow of the ship.

Meanwhile

The girl continued to pretend to whimper while clinging on to Raven.

 

[OnI6470]

KALIVOS TOREN
EASTWAY BLUFF

Kalivos anger flares as the captain lift his head up, it reminds him his childhood, the way his father, mother, teachers treated him, he jerk his head trying to shake the captain hands off.
"Why wait? why not now? I can talk and Im also intrested to know how the hell I end here..."
The captain smiles as he release the darkelf head, their eyes locked into each other.
"A bold one, eh?, good, good, I like that, what about if we introduce ourselves?, I dont want to be calling you greyskin all the time"
Kalivos also smiles, he knows he should be careful, but the manners of the so called, captain, annoy him, it reminds him of the nobles at his homeland "good enough, I also dont want to be calling you, hairless monkey or something like that, I could use some word from my homeland but primitive ears like yours wouldnt understood it, so allow to introduce myself, my name, roughly translated to your primitive ears its Kalivos of House Toren"
The captain face remains calm, but the healer knows that hes getting angry each time the darkelf says -primitive-.
"... Kalivos of House Toren, I said it right?, so, you are some kind of noble?"
"House Toren is a very minor house, you think that if I was a noble from the High Houses I would end in that desert?, so no, having me wont do you any good, I runaway from my own parents, they must have disowned me by now"
"Really?, too bad, for you!" the captain kicks the darkelf head nearly knocking him, he lands hard on the ground while the captain push his head down with his boot "I want you listen very carefully, Im gonna repeat myself twice, if you understand me move your head"
Kalivos clench his jaw as the weigth of the captain seems to be about to crush his skull. As hard as he tries to endure the pain he has to give up and move his head as the captain ordered.
"It wasnt so hard, isnt?, the sooner we understand each other the better for you, you must adress me as Captain Lucien or Sir, call me -Lucien- and you will regret it, understand?" once again the captain push his boot down.
"Yes! Yes Captain Lucien, Sir!"

AVRAM STROMM
EASTWAY BLUFF

Avram and Lutter stops at a house, bigger than the others that surround it, a low, wooden fence runs around it.
"This is my house, want to come in?, we can have breakfast and maybe I could convice you about going to the tournament"
Avram looks at the house and then to Lutter, he wonders what to do, he has work to do but hes still wounded and his stomach has begun to growl, he hadnt eaten nothing since the last day, all he had was only beers and his own blood.
"Ok, Ok, I take your offer, but this didnt mean that Im saying yes to do the fights, Im just hungry, I would be a bigger fool turning down an offer to have free breakfast"
"Good, good, come in, come in, just watch your head" Lutter open the wood fence and then the house door. As Avram get in he has to lower his head since the ceiling its a bit low for him. Lutter go to the back of the house leaving Avram alone. The house its clean, well cared, a simple set of table and chairs, a smaller table with several glass colored flasks over it. Avram takes a chair and sits on it, the wood chair whines under his weight.
"Im making breakfast! sorry for leaving you alone!" Lutter yells from the other room.
"Dont worry, Im fine, you live alone Lutter?, no wife?, childs?"
"I had a wife but she left me years ago, lucky me we didnt had any child while we were together, that woman was a real witch!, I thank the gods for taking her off my back, I have been alone since then, much better, at least for me"

 

[conman2163]

Asaka "Raven"

The Urchins Alice called over nodded, and they all set to work. Each and everyone of them started doing something to help keep the ship on course. When it came to teamwork, they knew how to do it best. Down below decks Asaka turned to the girl and gripped her by the shoulders, taking a step back and squatting to look the girl in the eyes. Her head was much clearer now, and she recogonised that the girl wasn't one of the urchins.

"Right then, were the 'ell did ya come from? Ya ain't one of me urchins, 'an I know ya ain't one of Alice's friends, so what are ya? Some kind of runaway?"

 

[Unyielding]

Zoey Gem

The girl looked away from Raven's face and tried to make up a lie. "I-uhh" The girl started to tremble and her stomach growled more. "I was uhh kidnapped by Fredrick and one of the Urchins found and freed me." Then girl returned eye contact and forced a smile, "Please don't return me to Alice, she is so mean and has this weird evil magical presence about her."

 

[conman2163]

Asaka "Raven"

Raven scratched her head and thought about what to do for a moment. She couldn't exactly just turn away the hungry little, especially since the Urchins saved her. The little girl was the Urchin's responsibility as a whole now. Asaka sighed, then stood up.

"Well, I ain't knowin nothin' about evil magical presences from her or nothin' but I do know she ain't the nicest person around. Givin' ya over to 'er ain't gonna mean nothin' but trouble."

Asaka thought for a moment, then grabbed the little girl gently by the arm, pulling her out of the room and into the underdecks. From there Asaka set about searching the ship, and it wasn't long before she spotted a kitchen of sorts. It wasn't the best one in the world, but when Asaka rifled through the barrels nearby, she found it stocked with unspoilable foods such as hard tack biscuits, dried fruits and vegetables, and dried meat. There were also things like apples and oranges, cheese, and a few loaves of bread. Grabbing one of the loaves of bread and a chunk of the wheel of cheese, Asaka gave half of the loaf and a piece of cheese to the girl.

"Go on an' eat up. Ain't much, but it'll tide ya over 'till we figure out who's gonna make the food on this friggin' boat."

 

[Unyielding]

Zoey Gem

The girl stared at the two pieces of food. Despite the size of her body, she still had the appetite of her fairy form. She could not possible eat the half of loaf of bread without feeling sick from eating too much, let alone the cheese. However that would look weird to only take a few bites and become stuff. Taking a small bite of both the bread and the cheese, she felt her stomach swell. She was definitely stuffed. "Thank you elf." She smiled and then tried to walk away before Raven would suspect anything. Her magic energy surged through her body now that she had a new fuel source and it radiated from her body. Now all she had to do was making it above deck and she would be free from pretending to be this little weak girl with these measly creatures.

 

[conman2163]

Asaka "Raven"

Asaka's eyes narrowed when the little girl called her an elf. It was something that she had also been called by the fairy, the one that Alice seemed to not believe existed. Another notable feature that Asaka remembered about the fairy was the surprising red eyes.

"Oi, little girl, wanna turn 'round an' look me in the eyes?"

If the little girl had red eyes then Asaka would definitely be taking her to see Alice. It was no coincidence that the little girl had appeared in the same time that they had ended up on the ship, and the girl would definitely have questions to answer if what Asaka thought was true was true.

 

[Ythania]

"Dearie, I haven't seen you in ages! What have you been up to? You're-...you're covered in cuts!"

Charlie stood with her arms out at either side, grinning to herself. The elderly woman who was taking her measurements happened to be Mrs Kirkway, perhaps one of the sweetest seamstresses this side of Eastway who seemed curiously oblivious to the horrid rate of criminality in the city. Of course, Charlie had her suspicions; she somehow managed a constant supply of high quality materials and every so often there were hired thugs in her little shop, both of which couldn't be explained unless she had a lot of very intimidating grandchildren. Charlie knew she had at least one; when Mrs Kirkway knocked on her door and explained that her grandson got stabbed, she wasn't expecting the brute to be around 40 and have more tattoos than Charlie could count.

"It's been a long...uh, how long has it been?" asked Charlie distractedly, looking down at the shield. She knew time had passed without her knowing; after checking all of the labels on her medicine she was certain of it. Mrs Kirkway bit her lip anxiously, her trembling hands fitting the armour around Charlie's form. "It's almost been a month, dearie, how couldn't you know?" she responded.

"Magic, huh, what are you going to do about it? Nothing, that's what. Just hope it doesn't kill you." Charlie looked down at Mrs Kirkway and smiled, but the smile died a little when she saw the look on the old woman's face. "Is-...something the matter?" she asked tentatively, only to receive a shaking of the head and a nervous grin.

"N-no, you've never been so...conversational before. Looks like whatever attacked you managed to, eh, beat some life back into you! You needed this armour, I'm sure of it. Where are you headed, then?" asked Mrs Kirkway as she started sewing the leather and shifting the chainmail. Charlie thought about it for a while before simply shrugging. "I've got no idea. I'm either headed out again with a new friend of mine – if I can catch him before he leaves – or I'll go over to Vastwater Basin and check out the libraries. I'm leaning towards the former...there's nothing in Vastwater that can help me." The seamstress finished her work and helped Charlie out of the armour before leaving her to put on her rags.

"Come back in a few hours dearie, I'll get this fitted up for you." Charlie smiled and waved as she strolled out of the shop. With armour underway, Charlie knew that she'd need to put in an effort for this next trip. She wandered over to the stables and bribed the stablehand to get in without buying anything, pulling a scrap of paper out of her pocket. She went to the end of the musty room and wasn't too surprised (but incredibly relieved) to see Aros' Pegasus in its stall. It whinnied at the sight of her and Charlie stepped back warily, before sucking in a deep breath. "Alright horsie, sit still-..."

Charlie approached the beast carefully and pinned the note onto the winged horse's blanket before swiftly evacuating the stall and briskly exiting the stables. She didn't trust that horse an inch, especially when it was capable of breaking a few ribs or taking Charlie on a surprise flight to who-knows-where. The note in question was scrawled on the back of an old page of a book about astronomy, in all capital letters: "AROS - YOU'RE ACCIDENT PRONE. YOU'LL NEED A MEDIC NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO: COME FIND ME BEFORE YOU LEAVE. NO CHARGE." She signed it with a quick drawing of a paw print, even initials were dangerous in Eastway. Still, there was only one medic who may or may not be a werewolf, which made it easy enough to guess.

Let them find me, I don't care anymore, thought Charlie to herself. She hadn't smiled this much in a long time. Shoulder-barging the door open to her house, she immediately started the fire and pulled her heavy cauldron out of the way to place several smaller ones full of water onto the burning embers. The potions would take a fair bit of preparation, but luckily they were the easiest ones to make with the materials on-hand. Charlie started cutting off pieces of herbs and plants scattered around her home, watering the ones that needed watering and leaving the ones that didn't. It was nothing short of a small miracle (and some very handy alchemy) which kept them alive for a month without water.

Charlie had done this before, but never so quickly. The idea was to create a sort of...anti-werewolf medicine kit to have on hand just in case things got hairy (literally). Any spare material would be preserved and used on the road for makeshift potions if needed, and she'll pack at least three decent bottles of healing potion as well as a proper first aid kit. Given Aros' track record, Charlie wasn't taking any chances. Besides, if Remsworth came back to say hello, she won't leave him for dead this time, concluded Charlie. I won't give her the chance. This time it's war.

Within an hour, Charlie had to wrench open the grimy window to let out a thick plume of steam in the room. All of the cauldrons were bubbling with different coloured liquids, and Charlie was packing whilst stirring and adding all sorts of weird and wonderful items into the little pots at regular intervals. She hid the gold under a fake tile, just under her potions cupboard, and pushed an old crate on top of it to dissuade any thieves. Charlie rubbed her hands together and shook her backpack violently to give it a stress-test before fitting in small bundles of clothes, several socks, a spare pair of boots, a sleeping roll, her tent and a linen-wrapped bundle of that horrid dried boar jerky which seemed to last for decades without going mouldy.

The Eternal Sanctum had certainly taught Charlie never to leave under-prepared again. She shook her head a little as the memories came back at her fiercely, those purple tapestries seared under her eyelids and the banquet taunted her from the back of her mind. It was nothing short of a living hell, and yet here she was, only barely returning to Eastway just to set off again on another mission – quite possibly even more dangerous than before. She thought back to Aros, however, and became determined to prevent such injuries from being inflicted on him again. Not by me or anyone else, decided Charlie as she emptied an old courier's satchel into a box and started sterilising some needles.

She set out the syringes on a plate and took the cauldrons off of the heat to cool before returning to Mrs Kirkway's shop. The armour looked fantastic; the hardened leather was bolted on top of the chainmail, and the decorations weren't too opulent or stylish. Still, at Charlie's request, the bracers were emblazoned with a crescent moon that would sit just above the back of her hands. In fact, looking at the bracers when she tried on the full set in the changing rooms triggered a train of thought that Charlie hadn't bothered to think about in decades; what if I actually find a cure? She knew that it was impossible; she was most likely burdened with the curse for her entire life, but she had only ever explored a tiny portion of the world.

There was something else that spurred her on, towards Aros in particular – He said something about having to do research into his past, something to do with the death of his parents. If there was anything Charlie couldn't stand, it was the thought of being orphaned; despite having a very brief childhood, they were the most precious memories she had. If Charlie could help him out with finding out which soulless bastards killed his mother and father, she might be able to repay him for the whole 'werewolf attack' business. Hell, if we stumble on the monster that did it, I'll make him into Remsworth's new chew toy. Charlie peered down at Mrs Kirkway and paid up front for the armour, simply walking out of the shop with it on. "Keep safe, dearie!" she called out cheerily to Charlie as the werewolf shut the door, trying not to feel guilty at the fact she was intentionally flinging herself into danger.

The sun started to set as Charlie locked the door to her house and hid the key. She had her backpack, her armour, a small satchel and her shield weighing her down. As an afterthought, she decided to buy dinner before leaving, instead of going hungry. A loaf of bread and a couple of pastries were more than enough to settle her stomach, especially since she wasn't a fussy eater. Charlie made her way to the inn she met Aros in for the first expedition and sat in the same booth she sat in beforehand, surprised at how much more confident she felt. "I'll give you an hour, tops," she whispered to herself, setting aside the food on the seat next to her. Now it was time to wait.

[-60g: Chain Chestplate]
[-60g: Chain Leggings]
[-20g: Leather Boots]
[-25g: Leather Bracers]
[-5g: Bribe]
[-4g: Loaf of Bread]
[-10g: 2 pastries]
[Total Gold spent: 184g]
[Current total: 944g]

 

[Unyielding]

Zoey Gem

The girl froze after the elf called her. She was so close to being free, she could run for it now and nobody could stop her. In fact, she did not even need her disguise. This gave her an idea. "I am sorry Elf." She turned around slowly with her eyes closed. Once she was facing the elf, she opened her eyes which started glowing green. Then her body rose from the ground. "I have no use for you anymore nor your stupid urchins." Then she giggled and shrunk into her original form. The cover which she wore to cover her human form did not shrink and drifted down to the ground from out of the cover came a tiny girl with reddish brown transparent insect wing and the same snow white hair and red eyes as the human form. She laughed puffing her chest out at her superiority over the broken elf.

"You think I would let-" The fairy looked down to see that she was nude. "My clothes!" The fairy shriek and covered up her chest and groin with her hands. Then she dived under the cover which was on the floor. The cover flashed several times as the fairy tried to shrink it. "You evil Elf, to think you not only beat me in the game but also have that cursed human infused her magic into the cover!" The fairy ducked under the cover trying to think up a plan. "And then you use my clothes for your puny arm! Give them back!" She was going to have to get her clothes from the Elf or else she would be stuck walking around as a little girl.

Alice Cross

A knock came from the door. Alice opened up to see one of the smaller kids claiming they heard a scream coming from down below. Alice debated going down there. Ray-Cra wanted to just baby that girl. She folded her arms but ultimately decided to go down there. This time though, they were going to do things her way or else!

 

[Radio Jelly]

Aros and Carla

Thick, hairy fingers battled the strawberry tart with unrelenting force: despite a complete lack of room, Vord pulled off the impossible. With a triumphant grunt, the merchant began to reach for another confection from the dainty silver platter before him. He already had five--or perhaps it was six--different breakfast desserts in his mouth, and through labored chews, he called out instructions to his coach driver who was maneuvering through the streets of Eastway. The horse-drawn carriage moved nearly as slowly as Vord himself as it attempted to cut through the throngs of peasants moving to and fro the East market.

"OY! Move this damned cart faster, or it's half ya wages you blithering fool!" Vord screamed through the linen cover between him and his driver. Chunks of pastry flew from his face as he spoke, and despite making perfect sense to himself, the driver was able to discern little more than a loud grumbling from behind him over the morning noise. Even if he could hear Vord, he wouldn't have been particularly phased: the old merchant had a despicable penchant for arbitrarily firing staff on the spot, only to re-hire them every time he realized how inconvenient manual labor was.

In particular, this driver--a stocky man by the name of Breal--had been fired and rehired nearly thirty times. Truly, Vord's temperament was known to none quite so well, and it was for that reason that Breal had first fostered the idea of killing off the morbid creature. Sure, Vord was one large ball of screaming blubber, but Breal was no criminal, which had been his excuse the first twenty nine occasions when the thought crossed his mind.

"EH! I gave ye a damn order! MOVE FASTER!"

Unfortunately for Vord, Breal didn't worry so much about his moral conscious on the thirtieth firing. Given his lord's penchant to move remarkably slow, Breal would often live in poverty for whole weeks before the merchant rehired him at meager pay, only to drop him again at the earliest convenience. Such was the tale that Breal wrote in his letter to Carla's killer organization--a letter that the demoness herself decided would be a pleasure to act upon.

Now, as Breal slowed the cart evermore, he felt a swell of anxiety--and exhilaration--in his breast knowing that his lord would never leave the city of killers.

Above the slow moving transport, two hunters remained perfectly focused. Their glowing irises watched their quarry with a determination found only in the visage of professionals. For Aros, a sword needed stealing. For Carla, a man needed killing. The two remained in the market, although they had moved from the edges to the center of the avenue. Now disguised as mere city folk by virtue of their Eastway-born complexions, they were invisible to the merchant lord in his chariot.

The two slowly strode towards the moving caravan, upon which the driver seemed to be scouring the crowd himself. Aros noticed this, and internalized the notion that he had been the one to call the hit. A quick nod towards the driver from his companion seemed to confirm this theory.

"The door is on the other side of the cart. I'm re-positioning to the left side."

Aros nodded absentmindedly, his eyes locked on the large loot crates haphazardly tied to the back of the transport.
The dark elf quickened his step at the sight of a bundle of sheathed blades, of which he hoped his mark resided. In front of him, a sea of stalwart sellers and consumers stood: despite his best effort to move with lithe grace, he still found himself pushing and shoving strangers just to keep the cart in sight. After a couple moments, he was not but ten feet from the caravan, and although he had split from Carla some time before, he figured she was not far behind.

First step to a good thievery in a public place: create something to capture the audience's attention.

The dark elf whipped his saber from it's sheathe as he approached from behind the cart. The small act alone drew no suspicious looks: a brandished weapon in Eastway was not just a commonality, but rather something to be expected--especially in a market with thieves abound at every corner. The cart had slowed to a crawl at this point, and despite the fact that Aros himself could hear the outraged screams of what he supposed to be Carlas target, blabbering about executing his coach driver, the elf doubted that the driver cared much what the merchant had left to say.

Aros didn't kill, and he didn't like murder either. Unfortunately, he had long since accepted it as fact. He had criticized Carla's choice long ago, but it had estranged them to a point where Aros just decided to overlook it for the sake of his friends. People died all the time after all.

While he couldn't see his assassin friend, Aros went ahead and slashed the mess of roped holding the tower of crates to the back of the cart. Expertly, he leapt three feet to his right, before a tower of cargo came crashing down where he had been standing before. From the shattered wood, a sea of trinkets, furniture, and apparel exploded forth, suddenly drawing the attention of everyone in a fifty foot radius. Like a pack of ravenous wolves, the commoners were upon the cart at once, effectively halting whatever progress it had been making.

Number two rule of successful thievery in a public place: Don't lose sight of the mark.

Before cutting loose the ropes, Aros had tucked the bundle of blades under his arm, securing his mark somewhere inside long before causing mayhem. Did he need to have caused a scene to escape with the blades? Probably not, but the distraction was less for him than it was for his companion. From the sea of scrambling commoners, a single, static woman remained stoic--her whole body frozen in wait for the inevitable emergence of her prey from its tacky, pinstriped carriage.

The two shared but a fleeting glance between the horde of thieves, publicly ripping into wares that had been secure moments before. Despite having no taste for murder himself, Aros couldn't help but be morbidly fascinated in watching his friend apply the skills she developed as a street thief to take life. In moments, he knew he would watch her in action again; like a vulture the demoness waited at a distance for her prey, ever patient with the knowledge that she would have the last laugh.

 

[OnI6470]

KALIVOS TOREN
EASTWAY BLUFF

The captain Lucien at last lift his boot releasing Kalivos head, "it wasnt so hard greyskin, right?, you need to learn manners but dont worry I looove teach manners to tough guys like you, and dont think that because I have an interest on you Im gonna stay my hand, no, my friend here its quite good bringing dying men back to life"
Kalivos wish that the could hold his head with his hands but the shackles stop him, blood drips from his nose and ears. Hearing Lucien he just nods at his words.
"Good, good, I like fast learners, a bit boring but less tiring to me, I want him ready tomorrow, he looks healty enough to answer a few questions, see you tomorrow greyskin" Lucien painfully pulls at Kalivos ear and then let it go. The captain turns around and leaves leaving the healer and the darkelf there.
"I warned you, captain Lucien isnt a patient or kind man, you better learn to be respectful of him or you are gonna feel a lot of pain in the next weeks"
The healer try to approach to Kalivos to check him but the darkelf shake him off.
"Respect?, to a human?, hardly, he may think that hes good at inflicting pain but I have endured much more than you or him could imagine, Im not afraid of him"
The healer wipe his hands against his legs "stubborn and stupid, just the kind of men that captain Lucien likes to break, I feel sorry for you, the captain hates men like you and since you aint even human I can only imagine what kind of tortures he will inflict upon you, better rest greyskin, I will bring your dinner later".
The door its closed leaving Kalivos alone once again.

AVRAM STROMM
EASTWAY BLUFF

Avram and Lutter eat almost silently, only chatting sparsely about small things, weather, rumors, etc., both men avoiding speaking about what really brought them there, the local fight tournament.
"Want some more Avram?, theres still some" Lutter asks Avram offering him what lefts of the breakfast.
"Oh no, Im full, thanks anyway, want to start cleaning the dishes?" Avram stand up to pick up the plates but Lutter stop him "no, no, you are my guest and Im used to do this everyday at my own way, you stay here, I will finish in a moment"
Lutter pick up the dishes and goes to the back room, soon Avram hears the sound of water and the clatter of the dishes.
As Lutter does the dishes Avram feel uncomfortable being there, alone without nothing to do. Mostly he feels bad because he knows that hes gonna reject Lutter even after he has helped him.
At last Lutter returns drying his hands with a piece of cloth. He grabs another chair and put it next to Avram.
"Ready to talk about business?"