Drei Loraene's Story

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Okay guys, this is just an insight to what happened before the plug was pulled on the world. Think of it as... a Prologue to Drei's story. I didn't have time to write the rest of the post to go with it, I split the post into two. Right? K. Enjoy the gibberish.
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Drei dropped down to her knees. Sweat trickled down her brow and her ears rang; dust not yet settled stung her eyes and clung to her like a cloud. A solitary pebble rolled down from the rubble and came to a stop at the hilt of her sword. Her attention turned to the weapon in her hand and she let out a gasp of shock as the realisation hit her.

The blade. Where was the blade?

“No,” Drei uttered. She scanned the ground, pawing at rubble and darting her eyes over every surface, “No, no, no, no, NO!” Drei's cries of despair turned to vile curses as she heaved a rock off a large shard of her blade. Splinters of the ebony metal were scattered around her and Drei swooped them up, numb to their sharp edges biting into her fingers. She could feel the power of the shards pulsing even through her gloves, getting weaker and weaker as the magic left them. They clattered to the ground and she began hurriedly rearranging them like a puzzle. Maybe it wasn't too late. Maybe she could still save it, but she couldn't do it alone...

“Sibas!” She called out, but only the echo of her own voice responded, “Finch? Finch! Hey, old man, you still alive? Ugh, f**king elf... Dantis! Dantis, I -” Drei stopped. A dark stain leaked out from underneath the rubble not five feet from her, spreading through cracks like a web. The tomb became deadly silent as the echoes faded and Drei reclined, one hand over her mouth. She was alone. No enemy, ally nor friend could have survived the disaster. Only she had been granted protection, but why? A small choking noise caught in Drei's throat and, for only a moment, she thought that she was about to cry – but her tears lost to rage as the blade continued to lose its life.

“You wanted me,” she growled, staring at the blade intensely as though it would help the impossible process, “You wanted me, Yril'Olathe! I could feel it, so could you – I am the Shadow, so why don't you answer to me?!” The sword glowed faintly, and Drei persevered. “It is Valhilt that denies me my destiny, right? Ha! Even a God fears what I could achieve with true power in my hands!” She looked up to the sky, clear and blue, and stood, raising her fist challengingly. “I know you watch me, Valhilt! I am telling you this now – you cannot control me forever! I will make sure Amtophia forgets your name, I swear it on my honour as an Auvyrunden!”

She stayed standing as the awkward silence crept up on her, still with her fist raised. With one final glare, she flipped her middle finger up at the sky and turned to her sword. It was as she left it, but no more energy was being emitted from its shards. They were dull, dead, and cold to touch. “Don't... you can't, not like... I never...” Drei's fists hit the ground and she screamed – a long, strangled scream of loss and rage that could be heard by the God's above. It was then, when Drei shut her eyes and collapsed, that the world froze. When Drei's eyes finally opened once more, she couldn't remember what she was doing in a fallen tomb. She couldn't remember the importance of Yril'Olathe's shards or what she had sworn to her God. What she could remember was the color of the sky – yet for some reason, the sky was grey and the sun was nowhere to be seen. When the sky started to leak tears, tears of her own streamed down her face – but she couldn't remember why she was crying.

Drei Loraene was dreaming of chickens. It was a fuzzy dream, and she couldn't make out that much, but chickens were definitely a recurring feature. The first shifting object to take shape in her dream was a helmet. The helmet was placed inside of a seemingly impenetrable cage, but the craftsmanship was so wonderful she simply couldn't walk past it. So, quite naturally, she attacked the cage with relentless strikes until it sprung open and she could fetch her treasure. But chickens - chickens upon chickens spurted from the cage, trampling everything in their wake. Drei scanned the labyrinth of streets for her helmet, miraculously avoiding being swept under the flurry of feathers and talons, until at last she spotted it. The helmet was being worn by a mother hen being trailed by four chicks, chirping over the top of each other as if trying to make their voices be heard over their siblings and not realising that their mother was leading them towards another cage. Drei broke into a run to follow, when suddenly Giant-Drei leaned over her to obstruct her path.

"Some people are born to be led," Giant-Drei tutted, glancing over her shoulder to view the chicken family, her expression full of disdain. She spoke in a masculine voice that didn't belong to her, but smaller Drei shrugged it off and sighed deeply, folding her arms and looking up at herself agitatedly.

"They're just birds," she pointed out, turning her head around to look around her dream world in a bored and distracted manner. Some strange things were going on around her. "So, when am I scheduled to wake up now?" Giant-Drei's attention focused on down on her, and Drei felt the smallest she ever had in her life.

"If you try and grant them your rights to freedom, you might as well walk down amongst them." Giant-Drei said in a booming voice, pointing at her with an accusing finger before fading away before Drei could yell at her for being irreverent and not answering her question straight. When Drei looked back down at herself, she discovered herself to be Chicken-Drei.

"What's the point in chasing something when I have no hands to hold it with?!" Chicken-Drei clucked angrily and scrambled off in the opposite direction to the helmet - far, far away from the mass of stupid birds walking straight into the other cage.

"I can always count on you to make the right decision, Berry." Chicken-Drei's feathers ruffled when she heard that god-awful nickname, but she continued to run. Ahead of her she could spy a cluster of chickens in a feeding frenzy, tearing flesh from bone in a manner more wolfish than bird-like. Chicken-Drei only caught a glimpse of red hair from underneath the feasting birds before she fell. As she fell into the darkness, her body morphed into something that felt less like Chicken-Drei and more like normal Drei, and just before she hit the bottom, a cry escaped from her lips - the only words her mind could conjure up as the darkness swallowed her whole -



"Bird feed!" Drei gasped, sitting upright and eyes snapping open. She writhed, attempting to stand, her own hands roaming over her body at she searched for feathers. There were none - she was back in her usual red and leather attire. Her surroundings were peaceful; the cheerful trickling of a stream could be heard from her left, tall trees swayed at the slightest breeze with chittering birds gripping onto their branches to keep themselves steady, and small, scampering critters could be seen gnawing at fruit fallen from a nearby tree. A fat jewel-like beetle was struggling to take flight from a white flower, the smallest of fish were jumping up from the water - causing little ripples appear on the water's surface, and beside the stream was the body of a drow man, coated in blood from neck to torso. Above all of these beautiful sounds and sights was the beauty of the sky; back to its regular shade of comforting blue. The same comforting blue that Drei saw every time she locked eyes with herself in the mirror. Finally having enough of gazing at every little detail in her surroundings in wonder, Drei plonked herself back down on the ground. It was time to think seriously.

"Well," Drei said, all events of her dream already erasing themselves from her mind - which for some reason, left her with nothing. Her head felt heavy and dizzy, as she had stood up so suddenly, or so she told herself. Just how long had she been asleep for, anyway? There's a dead man over there. She took a deep breath. Everything was so jumbled. All she needed to do was clear her mind, then she could focus... focus on... He's in armor but that didn't save him... the blood has been long dried by now. The wounds look like they were made from something smaller and thin. Perhaps a dagger? The oozing sores and green discoloration of the flesh suggests poison. Stop. Stop it. Drei calmed herself as she began recalling what happened before... whatever this was. Looks like Grimlich. Easy to brew, easy to come by. But it only causes pain and irritation, not death... unless you leave it in your bloodstream to fester for too long, and the man obviously died of the knives in his throat, not the Grimlich. What sort of moron would waste poison like that? The last thing Drei could remember was crying as the clouds wept with her, a broken blade in her hand and rubble and blood forming a trap around her. That was it. She had no leads but a hunk of metal to go off, no clue of who to run back to and no idea where she was. My knives are clean, but there is a slight green stain at the tips of their blades... it's odorless, but Grimlich is also, which is why it's convenient... I know way too much about this. Oh, come on. I did this, didn't I? Drei rubbed her eyes groggily and groaned, leaning back on her hands to face the sky.

"So what if I did?" She asked in a whisper. The world seemed much too tranquil to care for the lost life of a night creature like a drow, but her brain refused to give it a rest. Drei, did you kill this man?!

"I DID!" Drei barked. Two rabbit-like creatures drinking from the stream fled, surprised at the girl's sudden outburst. Drei grunted as she hauled herself up to take a closer look at the corpse. "Maybe I did," she admitted more quietly to herself, crouching down and tugging at the man's hair to lull his head to the side, exposing his neck wounds. The width and thickness of the lacerations did seem to quite accurately match her own blades - Rise and Shine. Drei chuckled to herself, having no idea why those names popped up in her head. Stupid sounding as they were, she liked them. Perhaps they would stick. Ahem. Drei immediately looked back down to the body. She was told that peace came with death, but its crimson eyes didn't look at peace at all. They just glared at her, as if the man's hatred towards his killer remained even after death. The world didn't feel so beautiful anymore. Even the clear sky felt like it was weighing down on her. What are you going to do about it...? A small voice etched with uncertainty echoed in Drei's mind. Drei stared blankly into the man's hate-filled eyes. She didn't owe this man anything. Nothing at all.

Drei's body moved on its own as she snatched the body's pouch of gold from his belt and hoisted the corpse over her shoulders, ready for disposal. The most obvious way to rid of a body was to bury it, but she didn't want to. Burying a drow was returning him from whence he came. This man didn't deserve that, she could feel it - as though some unknown force was whispering in her ear, instructing her what to next. She threw the body against a tree and drew a long, silver rope from her belt, setting to work straight away at tying a noose. The drow man's feet lifted up into the air as Drei strained herself to lift him, until the corpse was dangling by its broken neck, dried blood glinting in the sunlight. Drei's knife was in the man's gut as soon as she had drawn it, and she had made sure to remove her gloves before she let the man's blood dribble over her hands. Only stopping a second to admire the colour, she set to work at scrawling her message on the smooth, grey bark of the tree. Fingerpainting the sticky red onto the smooth grey felt familiar, and something of a childhood memory came to her - just for a moment, before she shoved it aside and stood back to admire her handiwork.

I AM THE SHADOW

Drei grinned at the scene, but her smile quickly dropped.

"I have no f*cking idea what that means."

After miles of front leftways travel Caesara finally found her escaped slave's trail and had been following it's random meandering and stumbling. Then it became neat, straight, and quite clear. Maybe the trail was a little to clear but that was something to fret about later. The little escapee must have figured out what way to go and so did Caesara. Caesara breathed in deeply to soak up the surrounding area. The wilderness had such wonderful smells, oak, grass, wild pansies, a few bunnies, herself, her slave, blood, Drow. Shit. Caesara stood there frozen in thought. Drows hate Elves. That slave was an Elf. There's blood.

"Oh GOD NO!" screamed Caesara as she sprinted towards the scent. Please let her be alive, or at least let the Drow have the money to pay for damages. Caesara burst from the undergrowth screaming a mighty battle cry, spear raised and bola at the ready. Caesara quickly took in the situation. It was a dead man, not a dead female elf slave. Sure that Drow was probably the killer, but at least she wasn't a slave killer. Caesara let out a large sigh of relief as she lowered her spear and tucked away her bola.

"I'm sorry if I startled you there, for a second I thought that you had slain my property, which would have been terrible for me and you, though mostly you." Caesara straightened herself up as she examined the Drow. "By the by have you so happened to spot or stumble upon an Elf girl around these parts? I'm asking because I'm looking for her and she is trying to get away from me. It's quite stupid of her to think she can get away if you ask me, but what can you expect, she's an elf." Caesara paused and then smiled widely, "Oh where are my manners." said Caesara as she extended her hand to the Drow. "The name's Caesara, Caesara Dominus. I'm finest slaver you can find on this whole god forsaken continent. How would you like to make some coin?"

"NYAAAAAAAARRRRR-!!!!" (Caesara's battlecry. Notice the "nya"? Cos she's Neko? Heheh~)

Drei took up a fighting stance as soon as she saw a glimpse of the steel charging towards her, both feet apart and knees bent, knives held out in front of her face and ready to strike. She had immediately assumed the assailant to be acquainted with her kill; a companion acting out to avenge their dishonoured friend, but the owner of the spear had stopped and had now lowered her weapon to talk with her.

"What's your problem?" Drei asked the spear woman with an annoyed tone. Her speech was clear and arrogant with some sort of regal atmosphere about it that demanded respect - something she projected without even trying. Still with her knives in hands, she placed her fists on her hips and tilted her body weight onto one leg - much like the posture of a teenager who was just disrupted in her own room.

"I'm sorry if I startled you there, for a second I thought that you had slain my property, which would have been terrible for me and you, though mostly you." The woman apologised, not really meaning it. The hairs on the back of Drei's neck raised as she felt the woman observe her. With a smirk on her lips and not sheathing her knives, Drei did some observing of her own, walking slowly up to the woman. She was a Neko - white haired, darker skinned, green-eyed and very attractive in a mischievous she-devil sort of way. Drei couldn't help but keep her eyes fixated on the woman's tail, flicking out and twitching now and again. It was just so... wierd. This was the first cat person she'd seen since she had woken, and this was the only reminder she had of their existence. Now being confronted with a Neko, she could slightly remember that she had once been very close with a feline girl, from somewhere...

When the Neko asked Drei whether she had seen an Elf, Drei frowned and shook her head. "The only person I've stumbled upon besides you is the other Drow hanging overhead," she said casually, gesturing to the corpse hanging from the bloody tree and turning away from the woman as though she'd lost interest. Drei stopped when a hand was extended to her. She caught the Neko's name, but something more grabbed her attention.

"How would you like to make some coin?"

Drei's eyes snapped to the woman, looking straight at her face. From her condescending grin to her twitching tail to her darting green eyes to her confident speech... everything about this girl screamed untrustworthy. But am I trustworthy? Drei laughed softly and suddenly, gazing down at the outstretched hand. Well, she didn't have anything better to do.

"Caesara," Drei addressed the slaver, her usual judgemental frown back on her face. Drei turned around, blowing off the woman's handshake and heading towards the stream. As she crouched down by the water's edge, she held up her bloody hands for Caesara to see before dunking them into the water and scrubbing away. Why did blood have to be such a pretty shade? "Need someone dead?" Drei asked, "I'm good at that." It seemed like the most natural thing to ask. She needed to work - to work and forget all about dungeons and blackened swords and shadows. This Caesara seemed like a blessing from the world above to her, though there was no way that Drei was going to readily tell that to the stranger.

Caesara forced herself not to scowl. Who the hell does this drow think she is. Caesara quickly reminded herself that not everyone was raised in the backwoods and not everyone accepts bloodied or muddied handshakes. Eye on the prize Caesara. If she kept the deal sweet and her temper under control she should be able to secure a valuable asset. Caesara awkwardly pulled back her hand and brushed off some invisible dirt and any possible signs of agitation.

"Need someone dead?" asked the drow plainly, "I'm good at that."

"No, I don't need a particular someone dead. I prefer to handle my problems personally and head on. It's sends a much more powerful message that way." Caesara paused, That's beside the matter, I'm in need of a helper of sorts one who could provide muscle without drawing too much attention. Lean Muscle if you will." Caesara quickly eyed the drow to make sure she was listening. "You'll be helping me track down an escaped slave, reclaim her, and find a suitable buyer for her. All done in the most efficient and least attention grabbing manner. The contract will take no longer than two months and will be fulfilled as soon as the slave is sold to a suitable buyer." Caesara pulled out a contract deep from her rucksack "You will be given 25% of the slave's sold price as payment for your services. For this slave in particular that should be roughly ... 500 gold pieces." Caesara smiled and held out the contract, "Signed in blood please. That is if you're interested."

Drei's shoulders hunched up, not turning around to face the slaver and her contract. She dipped her finger into the water, watching a small silver fish peck at it in curiosity. Caesara couldn't see her grimace or her furious eyes.

"Efficient and least attention grabbing manner." She repeated through gritted teeth, "Of course... nobody will see me come or go. It'll be like I never was there. That's what an Assassin does." She flicked the fish away and stood up, momentarily disgusted by herself. She wiped her wet hands on her shirt and took her gloves, folded over her belt, slipping them on. When Drei turned, her grimace was gone, and the proud tilt of her head was back. "I won't argue against the price of this job. If you say it's 500 gold, it's set in stone. I can't stand it when people can't just take things for what they are."

Drei walked up and snatched the contract from Caesara, raising her hand against any protests that might follow. Her eyes scanned the contract thoroughly for any fine print, but there didn't seem to be anything questionable. She was here to help the slaver with the retrieval of the slave girl, so Caesara wouldn't hold full authority over her, thank goodness. There wasn't anything in the contract about Drei having to treat her like a queen either. She paused and glanced over at the neko before nodding her head decidedly, passing the paper back to her.

"I'm in, but don't expect me to call you any title besides Caesara - or whatever else I feel like..." Drei pulled the glove off her left hand and slid Rise from its sheathe, positioning its tip so it was just touching her index finger. "Don't evade my questions and always speak bluntly, and we'll get along fine." Drei added on as an afterthought. The wording seemed familiar to her. She winced as she pressed her finger down on her blade, then against the contract where she had to sign. It left a fingerprint of blood, and Drei sheathed Rise and sucked the blood off her finger before placing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow at Caesara expectantly.

"What now, Caesara?"

Please forgive me for this post. I was bored, it had been over two weeks and I did warn you that this was going to happen.

The point is I got us where we were going. And a frozen Caesara is funny.

Drei trod along the main road, grumbling to herself. She was struggling to walk - although she had been for many miles - and was almost about to give up. At last, she lost her footing and fell flat on her face – Caesara on top of her. Caesara was tied to her back by the same rope Drei had used to yank her kill into the air and was positioned to be piggy-back riding Drei, but she wasn't aware of that. Or anything. Drei moaned and rolled on her back, not caring about Caesara beneath her.

Drei was still standing, hands on her hips. waiting for an answer. Caesara wasn't giving her one. Nothing could be heard but the awkward rustling of leaves in the wind and one twittering bird. Drei growled and stepped forward, snapping her fingers beneath the slaver's nose.

“Oy, I said what now, Caesara? Caesara?!”

She needed to get up. The nearest city couldn't be that far away, she's sure despite neither her or Caesara being in possession of a map. She knew that because she had checked – she had sprawled all of Caesara's belongings in front of her and counted up their value, just to check if tearing up the contract and selling the slaver's things on the black market would be a better deal, but it wasn't. The stuff hardly added up to what Caesara had promised her, so here she was. Giving her frozen employer a piggy-back ride. It had to be the most humiliating thing that nobody was there to see.

Drei walked a full circle around her. Her tail was frozen in a curl, her ears pointing in different directions and, when she observed her face more closely, it looked like she was half-blinking. Drei forced down any uneasiness about this she had and instead flicked her ponytail agitatedly.

“I know what this is,” she said with her nose up in the air, “You just don't want to answer me until I call you 'boss', is that it? Well, forgive me, YOUR MAJESTY,” Drei spoke her words dripping with venom and sarcasm as she dropped down into a low, childish mock curtsey. “I'm aware that I'm not the most preferable companion but if you take 2 months to tell me what the plan is, then this is a waste of both of our time!” Drei spat out the last sentence, glaring up at Caesara with her teeth bared in a cat like fashion. Still, Caesara did not answer nor flinch. Drei's eyes flashed and she struck out at the woman's face.

Drei screwed up her face in distaste. It wasn't that the neko was that dirty and it wasn't like she smelt that bad besides the damp earth and scent of scorched flesh that hung on her clothes. In fact, she was much more appealing to look at and to be near when she wasn't speaking or sneering, but that was beside the point. Drei's lean muscle was simply not cut out for carrying larger loads over very long distances.

“Alright,” Drei said determinedly and rolled back onto her stomach. She pushed herself up from the ground and stood, securing Caesara's legs by looping her arms around them. “It's just a challenge. You like a challenge. On the count of three, you put one foot in front of the other and start walking again. If I fall down once more, I'll jog the rest of the way. One...” As soon as Drei made her way up to three she began hurriedly walking down the path once more. She didn't know how much further she had to walk, and she needed to get her employer into some place safe before night fall, which appeared to be soon. As she continued to walk, she spotted four figures walking towards her which made her heart leap. Perhaps she could ask them how far the city was? Her optimism died down and she stepped off the path and hid in the shadows. She couldn't go just asking anyone. Her eyes scanned through the small group as they approached near her.

“Slavers are bullies,” Drei whispered to herself, “They pick on the weak to insure that they won't fight back – against themselves and against the monsters they sell them to. At least... that's the case with female slaves. Monsters like their women submissive.” She mused, remembering that the slave she was looking for was a girl. Her eyes darted between the silver-clad spear woman and the small, nervous looking blonde girl. She looked human from where Drei could see her. Drei clicked her tongue and locked her gaze onto her. “Got 'cha... ugh...” A painful ringing sounded in her ears and something flickered in her mind. Her hands immediately went up to her temples and she rubbed them, trying to calm her throbbing head. She could see something in front of her, she just had to reach for it, try a little harder to unlock it... a memory? Drei's vision went blinding white and she inhaled sharply as the memory started to play.

An elf woman loomed over her. She was beautiful, with fine lime green hair with gold woven through her braids. Her eyes were hazel and glassy, with no warmth nor light reflecting in them – her fire had long since died out. Her clothes were kept to the bare minimum and though she was tall, her posture made her seem smaller, more insignificant like she had been defeated. Her body was illuminated by a single torch, but despite that her surrounding were pure darkness. The elf held a large silver goblet in her slender, scarred hands. She bent over and brought the goblet to meet Drei's lips, at first gently, but as Drei reclined the woman suddenly grabbed the hair tied into a thick bun at the back of Drei's head and yanked her head back with surprising strength. She forced her mouth open with the goblet and tipped it, pouring its contents into Drei's throat. Drei choked on the thick, slimy liquid as it clogged up her throat and squirmed inside of her mouth. Her small hands clenched into fist as she thrashed, swinging an arm at the goblet.

It was smacked from the woman's hand and clattered onto the ground. Drei immediately dropped down to her knees and lurched over, retching. The bile splattered on the ground and she stood up shakily, staring down at the thick black worms writhing and screeching in her vomit. With her small, child-like bare feet she stomped down on them, mashing them into the ground until they were they were black and yellow paste. She turned her head to see the elf woman cowering on the floor, picking up the goblet with her shaking hands. Drei walked over to her and shouted something in drow, and despite the words being aggressive they were trembling, afraid. A drow man had stepped out from the darkness and Drei immediately pointed to the slave woman accusingly, speaking desperate words so fast they melded into one another. The drow paid no heed to her words as his iron-clad hand rammed into her cheekbone and her tiny body slammed into the wall.

The memory changed. She could no longer see. In a hand that felt bigger from before she held a knife, and in her other hand she was feeling a face. A face she could recognise from touch, however, this time the face was wet from tears. Drei could feel the cold wind against her skin and sensed her city's eyes on her and heard the beautiful sound of a melodic voice pleading. She could 'see' her face, see the fear in her eyes as she neared her end. Drei kept herself composed as she tilted the elf's head back to expose the woman's throat. She grit her teeth as she brought the knife to rest beneath her chin.

“Torturer,” she hissed for only her victim to hear and slit her throat.

The crowd cheered.

Drei's eyes snapped open. She felt queasy, like she was about to throw up again, but she swallowed her breakfast down.

“What the heck was that?!” She whisper-yelled to herself, horrified at the twisted things she had just witnessed. That could not have been her memory. It had to not be. She glanced back over at the possible slave-girl candidate and shook her head. There was no way to tell if it really was the one that Caesara had described in an incredibly loose fashion and besides – Drei thought as she sized up the giant rock golem tagging along – it wouldn't be the best time to try anything if she was. Not with Caesara in the state she was. Drei impatiently waited for the four travellers to leave before she stepped out onto the path to continue her journey. Her journey didn't take long. Before she knew it, she was outside the gates of Brainde.

Here we go, Drei thought sarcastically as she entered the gates and passed a merchant with his wares, Oooh, look out for the big scary drow, everybody. Hey drow, what you doing out from under your rock? Stop drow, we're adventurering heroes and we thought we'd might march up to you and ask for your life story while we size you up and figure out whether you're here to bury our fair city beneath an earthquake. Oh no a drow, hide the elves before she runs rampage and murders everyone because drows have absolutely no self control over that! Oh shit a drow, keep your chickens cooped or- Drei's mind continued like this as she walked through the streets ignoring the looks she was getting. A concerned looking red haired man passed her and Drei raised an eyebrow, pausing shortly and looking after him. He seemed familiar to her, or at least his hair did. At that exact moment, a stray chicken strode past her and her eyes widened. She stormed up behind the man and kicked him gently in the back of his legs.

"Bird feed?"

Esk

Esk had been walking for quite a while now, moving slowly so that he could check out the sights. Not too much was happening apart from a few merchants selling their wares to interested buyers, and Esk ignored them, instead setting his mind to memories the layout of the area. The streets felt familiar, as though he had been here before, and Esk idly wondered if he had visited Briande in the past. He couldn't really remember, but now that he thought about it, the place was really familiar, and Esk frowned, trying to see if he could remember what had been done. Something about chickens...

Esk had been so focused on his thoughts (he hadn't exactly forgotten about the sharpening steel, but it had definitely drifted to somewhere at the back of his mind) that he hadn't noticed the people around him reacting to the newcomer going in the opposite direction beside him, instead strolling forward on his increasingly vague search for Zeebarl. If he had, Esk probably would have noticed the dark skinned elf(?) carrying a female neko storming up to him and would have avoided the kick to the back of his legs. Sure, he'd have turn his head towards the dark skinned elf at her words, but that was probably to ask why she was calling him bird feed and to apologize for not being the one she was looking for. Alas, he did not, so the kick connected with a small thwack, which seemed to cause a small twinge of pain in his left leg, much to Esk's surprise.

Esk felt himself wince in surprise at the pain, then turned around, quickly schooling his features back to expressionless. He faced the dark skinned elf and placed his hands in his pockets, confused at her question. Sure, she looked vaguely familiar (the neko she was carrying on her shoulders weren't) but Esk didn't really know why or how. Maybe she had gotten the wrong person? Esk didn't remember being anywhere near seeds or live birds, except for the occasional chicken in the market place.

"Birdfeed? My name is Esk." Esk said apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I think you've got the wrong person."

"Esk." Drei repeated back, then snapped out of whatever trance she had fallen under. What was she doing speaking to this man again? She looked straight into his emotionless blue eyes as she searched for any recognition in them, or anything recognisable in them for herself. She couldn't find anything. Instead, she found a complete stranger in front of her looking at her with the first non judgmental gaze she had received upon entering the city... almost as though he had no knowledge of what she was. A little smile tugged on her lips at that but quickly faded as she spotted the slight point of his ears. "Of course you're half elf," she sighed, her face scrunching up in distaste. The first person she had been urged to speak to, and they were an elf. She averted her eyes from him, looking up at the space of air beside his head.

"I don't have the wrong person; there was never a person to have wrong." Drei explained indignantly, blowing a stand of hair from her face. It had been annoying her the whole trip, and she had no hands to tuck it away with. She then continued as though she were speaking to herself rather than the boy, "I just remembered a dream I had where someone like you was eaten alive, that's it. You'd better pray that I'm not a prophet, or..." Drei noticed the man's torn pants and the blood on his legs which appeared to have been made by scratching talons. The prophecy appears to be already halfway to fulfillment. I'm going to start growing feathers next. Drei sniggered in amusement at the coincidence and looked back up to the half-elf boy, Esk.

"What am I doing? I'm not here to make useless small talk. I need to put this down already," she said to herself and turned without a "Sorry to bother you, bye." However, she didn't start to walk. The street's population had tripled without her knowledge, full of people making the most of the last hour of daylight. She scanned the street for a tavern but couldn't see one anywhere and began to wonder how long it would take to find one. A sudden wave of exhaustion took over her at the thought of getting somewhere to eat and rest and fix her annoying hair after travelling with a Caesara backpack all day.

Esclava

Esk stared back curiously, wondering what the dark skinned elf was looking for. Sure, she looked familiar, but that was it. Other than that, he had absolutely no clue, and as she stared into his eyes, the dark skinned elf didn't seem to find what she was looking for either, meaning that this was the first time they had met each other as well. A common case of mistaken identity.

When the dark skinned elf scrunched her face up in distaste and said "Of course your half elf," while sighing, Esk frowned quizzically and reached a hand up to touch his ears. Half elf? His frown turned into surprise when he realised that his ears were, indeed, slightly pointy. It was strange considering that he should've known what he was, but then he hadn't the time to look at his reflection and that, along with the amnesia, had left Esk with the impression that he was a human. Strange, but why would the dark skinned elf have a problem with it? Was it bad to be half elf?

Well, no matter. Esk paid attention to the dark skinned elf talking, wondering if he should offer to help carry her load when she blew a strand of hair out of her face, subtly shifting his legs to free them from the pins and needles as he did so. The pain was gone, but Esk wondered why there was pain to begin with. The kick was gentle and meant to attract his attention; it shouldn't have caused that much pain. He'd check it out later. When she mentioned that she had a dream about someone being eaten alive, he vaguely wondered if that was the same reason the elf looked familiar. Maybe he had a dream about someone resembling her as well?

When she glanced at his legs and sniggered, Esk looked down as well, wondering what had made her laugh so. Much to his suprise, Esk found his pants torn and his leg injured. His eyes widened in shock, and he stared at his leg in bewilderment. The wound had already closed and it was close to the edge on his boots; which was why he hadn't noticed it, but it looked recent. It was probably the reason why his leg had hurt so badly upon being kicked. What happened?! More importantly, how on earth did he even get it? Was it related to his amnesia? But how -

Esk was snapped out of his increasingly confused thoughts when the elf spoke again. He looked at her, wondering whether or not to respond. She didn't seem to expect any, so Esk kept his mouth shut. Now that he was paying more attention, Esk noticed that the looked exhausted, as though she had been carrying the unconscious neko on her for a long period of time. Her hair was in disarray and she seemed new to the area too. She looked perfectly capable to beating multiple people up without a hitch, but maybe she needed help? He'd been here for quite a while, maybe he could be of assistance to her.

Shoving the thoughts about his leg injury and racial status away for the moment (that could be handled later), Esk walked up to her and asked concernedly, "Are you ok? You seem tired. I could help you carry your friend, if you want."

Drei snorted loudly. "She is NOT my friend," she scoffed, not turning back to the boy. Feeling slightly suspicious of a half-elf offering his help to a drow, she was reluctant to accept anything from him. But, after she gave the street one final look, she looked back at Esk in defeat.

"But, if you want to be useful, you can show me to the nearest tavern." She said in a tone that almost ordered him to do as she suggested.

She walked up to him, sizing him up and trying to find anything hostile in his body language, facial expression or overall image, but she couldn't. She sighed out of relief, feeling somewhat safer. Perhaps the boy was really just clueless... an elf clueless to the rivalry between the drow and their race! It made her happier just by thinking about it, but her cold eyes didn't show it. "Do you think you can handle that?"

Esclava

Esk raised an eyebrow when the dark skinned elf declared the neko on her shoulders wasn't her friend. If the neko wasn't her friend, then why was the elf bothering to carry her around at all? She had to at least cared on some level to carry her out of harms way instead of dragging her like a sandbag on the ground. Then again, dragging the cat girl on the ground might cause the dark skinned elf to be mistaken for a kidnapper... Esk moved away from that train of thought, dismissing it. It wasn't his place to know, and she would tell him if she wanted to.

"But if you want to be useful, you can show me to the nearest tavern."

At the word useful, Esk's ears pricked up, and his mind sifted through what little he had of his memories to see if he could help her. Although his face remained emotionless, an aura of happiness radiated from Esk when he realised that he knew of one - the Minstrel's Mug, and that he could indeed aid the dark skinned elf. He felt pleased as well - although the words were phrased like a request, the tone the elf adopted was more like a command. This felt like the first time in a long while that someone had given Esk an order... Did this mean that his master had been missing for a long time?

Well, no matter. It just meant that he had to look for his Master. When the dark skinned elf asked him if he could handle it, Esk replied simply, as though he was stating a fact. "Yes, I can." He said, a hint of happiness in his tone. His mouth shifted to an almost imperceptible smile, and he continued to radiate gladness (he was being useful, Master liked it when he was being useful - wait, Master wasn't here now). "I know of a place. Follow me, please."

He began to walk through the crowd, taking the shortest way he knew towards the inn. Esk made sure to adopt an acceptable pace so that the dark skinned elf could keep up and so that he wouldn't lose her in the crowd. While walking to the Minstrel's Mug, he questioned her again. "My offer to carry your travelling companion still stands, if you wish to rest your arms for a while."

Esk's reaction to her request pleased Drei, as she wasn't used to strangers not being put off by her confronting personality. But as she managed to push through the crowds to stay at Esk's side he asked her again if she would like to hand over Caesara to him, which made her twitch in agitation. She glared at him from behind that stupid chunk of hair on her face. She didn't look like she was struggling, did she? She rolled her eyes as she picked up her pace to match his.

"You're too persistant. You doubt that I can do this myself?" She asked rhetorically, her drow elf pride kicking in. She raised her chin, trying to keep an air of dignity. "All I need from you is direction. I can take care of these... other... matters..." she grunted the last two words out as she shifted Caesara to rest more comfortably on her back. "... by myself. Besides, she's been hanging there all day. What's another couple of steps..."

Torture, her exhausted back told her, but she ignored it. Instead, she looked up at the tavern they were approaching, The Minstrel's Mug. As they walked up to the door, Drei kicked it experimentally and groaned. "It opens outwards..." She couldn't just kick it open, she needed hands... She rolled her eyes again and looked up at the sky, waiting expectantly for her escort to open the door in an escort-fashion. If I had a bag, I would've just chucked the fuzzball in it and tossed her over my shoulders to keep my hands free...

Esclava

"You're too persistant. You doubt I can do this myself?"

A look of surprise briefly crossed Esk's face pun hearing the question. Completely missing the fact that it was rhetorical, Esk waited for her to finish talking and answered, in a slightly surprised tone, "I do not doubt your strength, ma'am. I offered my services in carrying your travelling companion as I believed that you might have wanted a rest, considering that you have been carrying her for the whole day."

Truth be told, Esk didn't really see how he was being too persistant. It felt natural and right, offering to help, and he had a feeling that it had been ingrained in him to offer his assistance whenever he could. It seemed that he had offended the dark skinned elf by doing so, however. Esk's tone turned apologetic, and he continued "I'm sorry for offending you, and I apologise for being too persistant as well."

Walking towards the door, Esk was about to reach for the door knob after the elf kicked it, opening the door and standing aside to allow the dark skinned elf and her load to enter first, before going in after her and closing the door behind him and looking for a place to sit.

While Esk had been gone, the inn had gained more people, who had decided to stop by after a hard days work to relax and release steam. The place had become more rowdy, and there seemed to be a drinking competition going on at one corner of the room. Looking around, Esk spotted three empty seats at the bar, beside two other Nekos and a... Deer? An animal, at any rate. Pointing towards the seats, Esk turned to the dark skinned elf.

"There are free seats there." He said, raising his voice to be heard over the din. He started to walk towards the seats, indadvertedly clearing a small pathway behind him as he did so.

Drei kept close behind Esk as they approached the spare seats, glaring at everyone in the room as her eyes discreetly darted to their weapons, coin pouches and anything else shiny that caught her eye. She spotted two elves sitting on the opposite side of the tavern and turned her head back forwards, ignoring them. She didn't mind them just being there, as long as they didn't look at her the wrong way or come and confront her about who-knows-what, she didn't have an issue with their presence - exactly in the same way as she wasn't bothered by the others around her. When they were all distracted and talking to one another, it was quite comfortable to slot in among them.

The seats that Esk was leading her towards were beside two Nekos - one exotic and feminine and the other scruffy and tomboyish - and a little, adorable faun.

When she reached the seats, she untied Caesara from her back and slumped her over the bar table, propping her up on the stool between her and Esk and taking the right seat to her. When Caesara awoke and by the extremely probable off-chance that she acts out violently and punches the nearest person to her, Drei would most likely be safe and Esk would take the blow, considering that most people are right handed. An evil grin stretched across Drei's face as she stared at Esk and a brave bartender came right over to take their order.

"Well, for this one right here..." Drei spoke loudly and distractedly over the noise, gesturing to the frozen Caesara, "... A bucket of water. Oh, and something strong for after, I bet..." After ordering a meal for herself and a bottle of red wine (for herself also), she turned to Esk and raised one eyebrow, a slight smirk tugging on the corner of her lips.

"What, you're still here?" She said mockingly, wondering why the boy hadn't made his leave yet. He should have just opened the door for her then bid her farewell already, after all she did only ask him to show her to the nearest tavern, not come in and sit to have a meal with her. "You could just leave if you want to, but if you want to order something I'll let you know that it's not on me." Drei made sure to tell him that, just in case he got any funny ideas of "well I did something for you, so you can do something for me". However, Drei did feel slightly indebted to him now...

Curses, Drei. This is why you don't ask for help from strangers... Her gaze slipped down to the rips in his pant legs. Perhaps there was another way to pay the man without emptying out her pockets for him?

Esclava

Esk took a seat beside the unconscious cat girl, shrugging off his pack and placing it behind him. He looked at the dark skinned elf in confusion when she grinned at him. He wasn't really sure why, but something about it reminded him of his Master. Maybe it was the grin; Esk had a feeling that his Master had often grinned like that. Or maybe it was Robin?

At the mention of a bucket of water for the unconscious cat girl beside him, Esk made a note to avoid the area she was in when the water arrived. They would probably splash it on her at the back of the building, but there was a chance that they would do it here as well. Humanoid or not, cats didn't go well with water, and Esk had no desire to be scratched and caught up in the fray when the unconscious cat girl woke up.

After the dark skinned elf had placed her order, Esk got the bartender's attention and ordered a meal himself, with a glass of water. Although he had already eaten, that was lunch. It was now dinner time, and the walk had burnt off most of the energy he had gotten from the food he had eaten, leaving Esk famished. The bartender took down his order and left, and Esk turned to face her when he heard the dark skinned elf's question.

"Yes," he said, radiating genuine confusion at her words. "I plan to get something to eat as well. I did not expect you to pay for my meal. Why would you think that?"

The dark skinned elf was really confusing. She seemed to be thinking that Esk expected her to repay him, but that wasn't the case. Esk had helped her out only because she seemed to have needed it, and because he wanted to. Nothing more, nothing less. Wasn't that what normal people did? Or was Esk the abnormal one? Well, even if it was abnormal he would still be like that anyway, so best not to think about it.

Now that he was seated, Esk bent over to examine his pants. They were ripped just above the knees, and although the holes really weren't that noticeable Esk knew that he should sew the rips in his pants together before the holes got larger. With a sigh, Esk sat up and turned around, reaching for his pack. He rummaged inside, trying to find the needles and thread he had bought from Zeebarl earlier.

Nyaryssa checked out the three newcomers out the corner of her eye, swishing her wine around in her glass as she did. Another neko. Damned things seemed to be everywhere today. She bumped her hand against the Drow which had taken the seat beside her, trying to get her attention. Wasn't much else worth talking about right now, might as well be a little nosy.

"So uh," she began quietly, trying to keep from breaking face in front of her companions. "What's with Whitey over here?" she gestued to the neko in question, then thought to rephrase her question. "Is your friend alright?" She'd never seen a white-haired neko before. Granted, she'd never seen any neko in the past... what? Ten, twelve years? Even so, the white hair was new. She'd never really seen anyone but drow and old people with white hair before.

Hope Froloss

Hope blinked, and the world came back into focus. He stared at the area around him, confused.

What was he doing here? And... It was sunset?! Ok, just what the he -

Oh. Right. Axel and Cato.

They had disagreed to his terms and left the room, probably to look for a more trustworthy job, and... He couldn't really remember anything else beyond the point when they'd close the door behind them. Not good. Hope clutched his head with his hands, and he suddenly felt like laughing even though there was nothing funny about the matter, and geez he'd already forgotten his memory once not again -

"Ok, self, calm down." Hope muttered, grinning mirthlessly at the sound of his own voice. He quickly rechecked his memory, a wave of relief crashed down on Hope when he realized that they were still there. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and crouched on the ground, suddenly feeling tired from the relief. For a while, Hope just sat there, gathering energy to make a move.

Hope wasn't sure whether or not to feel relief or upset over Axel and Cato not accepting his offer. On the one hand, Hope didn't need to get two hundred gold to pay them, and he didn't have to worry about how to communicate. He also felt a bit bad about lying to them, and wasn't entirely sure what to tell Richard and the others if he has succeeded. On the other hand, no outside information about their enemies to give them a edge, which could obviously be done without but would've still been useful. Also no way to keep someone who was obviously their enemy under watch, and to prevent him from being used by the enemy. People getting paid won't get paid if their employers are dead.

Hope sighed and scratched his head, forcing himself to stand. He probably should be happy, since it made things more simpler to deal with and revealed that he was apparently a great liar. Not good enough to seem unsuspicious, but ok enough to not raise any big alarms. Sure, it was a loss, but not a great one. Still didn't really reveal why he had suddenly shot forward in time, but that could be dealt with later. Picking up his pack and making sure that the key for the room was with him, Hope left the room and went downstairs.

The place was packed. A lot of the townsfolk had came to relax at the inn, and there seemed to be a drinking contest going on at one corner by suspicious looking people. The bar was filled with people as well - neko's, elves, a drow, a faun and what seemed to be a half-elf. Hope raised an eyebrow at that, it was rare to see a drow sitting in the same place as an elf. Then he turned to leave the building, handing the key back over the counter before he did so.

Just as he made his exit from the front door, he remembered about Richard and his other traveling companions. It seemed to be getting dark, and he didn't know where they were, so with a sigh Hope gave a call.

"hey, Richard. I'm done. Sorry for taking so long, it was pretty hard to wrap up. Um, where are you guys?" a thought occurred to him, and he added "Do you guys need food? I'm still at the inn, so I think I can get some."

Drei's head snapped around to the red-haired neko that sat beside her when she felt the tap.

"What." She stated blandly, looking the girl up and down. Something sparkly caught Drei's eye and she spotted two golden ornamental bells hanging off the neko's outfit, tied to two long pieces of ribbon.

How odd... but, it is pretty. Drei's thoughts continued before she could silence them, If they sparkle so much in the dim light, imagine them in the sun! When the girl runs, it'll look as though she has little orbs of light trailing behind her... Her hand subconsciously reached out and grabbed her larger pouch. The pouch wasn't filled with coins, it was filled with pointless, shiny trinkets of various values that Drei felt no attachment to - yet, for some stupid reason, she had a collection of these things to begin with. It appeared that Drei was either an avid collector or a failure as a thief, which sounded familiar. Her brow knitted as she glared at the shiny bells. Did she want to steal them and add them to her treasury? No... a child's voice whined in her head and Drei could have sworn that if her inner child were beside her, she would be pouting. I wanna wear something sparkly...

Like what, a f***ing tiara? Drei smacked herself in the forehead as punishment.

"... over here? Is your friend alright?"

She growled, not even bothering to try and stifle it. "Look," Drei blurted, sticking her thumb back at Caesara, "This chick is not in any way my friend. I've known her for longer like... like that," she gestured all over the slaver, face scrunched up in distaste, "... than when she looked alive. Honestly, I'm still trying to work out which version I dislike less. At least when she talked she bloody walked." Drei rolled her shoulder back, narrowing her eyes at that stupid neko, still frozen in place. Her chest raised up and down heavily, but it felt like something had been lifted from her... almost. Her rant was done, but she had one more thing to do before she could feel satisfied. Revenge shall be sweet. She turned back to the conscious neko and shrugged, her steam blown off. "I don't know if she's alright," she said casually, and though she didn't say it, it was evident that she also meant "And if she's not alright, then tough luck."

Now ignoring the neko, she glanced down at Esk who was searching for something. She had caught him observing his pants before from the corner of her eye and realised what he was after. She leant over the bar with her arms folded, looking down at him.

"Can you even sew?" She asked, then admitted flatly. "I can't. I've never even had to try." A little smile played on her lips as she tugged her pouch from her belt, setting it out in front of her. She dipped her hand inside and wriggled her fingers around, searching for her little handy item and bracing herself to have her fingers pricked. Nothing jabbed at her. "Now that's odd..." she muttered and emptied her gold, mostly worthless (some things being priceless) junk onto the bar, shifting her hands through it. Her black sword shards were there too, but they were not what she needed. She began to panic.

"Prick?" Something wiggled beneath her shirt. Drei's eyes slowly widened and she looked down at her bosom. "... Prick?" Wiggle wiggle prick. "Ow!" Drei brought her hands up to her chest. Her eyes flashed in anger and suddenly, it felt like she was the only person in the room. She didn't even notice the looks she was getting from her bar companions. "Please tell me that you can get out yourself." The movement felt almost as though the thing was shaking its... head? Drei's cheeks flared up. "Please don't tell me that I have to fetch you." It nodded. Drei grit her teeth and stuck her fingers between her cleavage to retrieve the pest. It was a glowing, golden needle that trembled between Drei's index finger and thumb, looking at her furiously blushing face with its 'eye'.

"You little bitch!" Drei snapped, "That is the last time you go anywhere near that place! Do you want to end up giving me a third ni-" Her crude accusation was cut off by Prick zipping out from her fingers and jabbing her in the lip before whizzing around the entire tavern as though singing "I'm free, I'm free, I'm free!" Drei sucked the blood from her lip and pointed to Esk's pants, swearing profusely at the enchanted object. "Do what you ****ing are here to do, you twerp!" Prick settled down at the tears and started to do what it did best - besides annoying Drei to the point she wanted to throw the insolent sliver of metal into a furnace. She huffed, glaring at the thing as it did its work. Though it was hard to tolerate, it did obey her - and in a minute, it would be done with its work, without even stitch marks left behind. Drei's eyes slowly raised to meet Esk's. She just humphed and turned her head away, willing the embarrassment to leave her.

"... I know. It's time I learn how to sew."

Esclava

Esk looked up at the dark-skinned elf in surprise when she asked if he could sew. Before he could answer, she pulled her pouch out and searched inside it. Esk sat up as she started to empty the items inside the pouch on the table, and he pondered on how to answer her question.

He was snapped out of his pondering by a waiter, who nervously approached them with a tray full of food. Esk looked up at the waiter with a neutral expression as a young waiter placed utensils and a bowl full of steaming hot food in front of him with a trembling hand. "Ah, thank you." Esk said monotonously, raising his voice to be heard over the dark - skinned elf's talking in an exasperated tone into her bosom at someone or something called Prick.

The waiter nodded and turned to give the dark-skinned elf her bowl of food, but just as he was about to approach her, she plunged a hand into her cleavage with a blush. The waiter's face immediately turned red and he abruptly did a 180 degree turn, walking towards Esk, who had refrained from eating and was searching through his pack for his sewing case again. He looked up as the waiter placed another bowl of food and the utensils required beside his own.

"Please give this to your companion beside you, thanks," the waiter pleaded defeatedly. He was new to the job, and although he could deal with rowdy drunkards, flirting ladies and bar fights, he just wasn't equipped to deal with a lady pushing her hand down her cleavage.

Esk nodded, his face still neutral.

"Thanks," the waiter said, and escaped with a relieved expression on his face. He probably shouldn't leave it to a customer, but said customer had agreed and he could still feel his face burning and well, he couldn't get the picture out of his mind for some reason. The waiter resolved to dunk his head in ice cold water as soon as he possibly could.

Esk looked at the young waiter's retreating back for a moment before he turned back to the front, pulling his bowl of food in front of him. He ignored the dark-skinned elf's snapping at the golden needle (which was whizzing joyfully around the tavern) she had taken out of her chest area and carefully took the steaming bowl the waiter had left him in both hands, turning to face the elf.

"Here's your meal. Careful, it's hot." Esk said to her, his face neutral as always. He treated the incident which had just taken place (pulling live needles out of cleavage) as though it was as normal as a worker getting a drink of beer in an inn. He placed the bowl of food he was carrying down in front of the elf, turning to grab the utensils and place them beside her bowl of food. Esk made sure not to move his legs as he turned to face his own bowl; Prick was sewing up the tears in his trousers with almost supernatural efficiency.

Once Prick was done, Esk examined his pants, pleased to note that all of the tears were finished in such a short time. It was as though the tears hadn't even existed at all. Esk turned to face the needle and it's mistress with a faint smile on his face. "Thanks for fixing my pants." He said, giving out an aura of happiness.

At the dark-skinned elf commenting that she might need to learn how to sew, Esk looked at her quizzically, his happy aura growing into a puzzled one. "But you have Prick." He said, confused. A magical needle was good enough that she didn't need to learn, and Prick seemed nice... Then again, what happened if she lost her living needle? That must have been what she had thought of... She seemed wise to think of that, and Esk could help her out with that endeavour.

"If it doesn't offend Prick, I can teach you how to sew." He offered. "I cannot sew anything skilful like embroidery or as fast and efficient as Prick, but I know enough to mend clothes reasonably well. Will that be alright?"