Drei Loraene's Story

Merrowvale Brainde
Server Down for 3 Days

Even more surprises--it seemed this girl had elven heritage, if she called Crystalden her home. Though Altara still felt it strange she was just offering to help in their very first conversation, the red-haired knight merely continued smiling and replied, "I would be glad to have a guide. Thank you."

Right at that moment, someone else spoke up--good god, how do I keep running into these people?! This new speaker was a tall man with a helmet and steel gauntlets, though he had no other forms of armor, instead only wearing an aging sailor's outfit. He was accompanied by two people--one was a drow elf with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and the other was a lady with pink hair and pink eyes to match, wearing a dancer's outfit. On closer inspection, it seemed her ears were pointed, like an elf...okay, just how many people were at least partially elf around here?!

In any case, the man in the helmet was asking her and that girl in the red cape about joining him on...a quest to save the lands from evil. Uh...wonder what "evil" he has in mind? Nonetheless, Altara turned to face him more directly. "It's an enticing offer, but we're already planning to head to Crystalden."

Thinking about it a bit more, she made a little decision and continued speaking. "I suppose we aren't exactly in a rush, but if it's too inconvenient for you to go in that direction, then we can't join you."

Drei snorted at Revik's reply. "I was thinking more along the lines of getting to an inn to actually rest," she muttered to herself inaudibly. She turned her tired gaze to Sariya, but after receiving no acknowledgement she assumed that her expression simply couldn't be seen from behind the shadows of her visor. Sighing a little, she nodded back at Revik. If she could just convince herself that this all-nighter was to test herself, it couldn't be that unbearable. "Let's get this over with, then." She flipped her cloak back and quickened her pace, walking ahead of the others with purposefully long strides.

Drei's eyes had beheld Brainde a great deal of times in the past, but the memory of the city was unknown to her. Though her body was feeling increasingly heavy and sluggish, her eyes flitted about, taking in every sight of this seemingly new location eagerly. There were people everywhere, and the sounds of their chattering made Drei's heart leap, but they were less exciting than the city itself. They were either slow and dawdling, talking to one another in a lazy fashion as their minds woke, or they were walking briskly with no time to talk to anyone. As far as Drei could see, there were no people of interest to her at all in the streets that she and her companions walked down, but it felt good to walk among them, even if they weren't worth watching. There were only a few frowns directed at her and even less children ushered off the street as she neared them and their paranoid mothers. Everyone else seemed too wrapped up in their own businesses to care.

It was then that Drei passed a corner, looking down at the road that turned off her path curiously, only having time to glimpse two figures when mud sprayed up from out of nowhere and before Drei knew it, she was back next to Revik and Sariya behind a wall. She had teleported, Drei realised as she checked herself for any mud that might have splattered on her emerald cloak. When she had confirmed that there wasn't any, she stepped out from behind the wall. Perhaps she was using too much mana by teleporting for things that could be evaded with a sidestep, but it wasn't entirely her fault. Though she would never admit it, she was still not in control of all of her abilities just yet.

This road was empty compared to the main one that the trio had been walking down, and Drei's eyes immediately flickered to the most interesting people she had seen upon arriving at the city. A woman with red hair and a muscular, melee-class figure and a girl with a scythe and a beautiful red cloak, her favourite color. Drei pushed her cloak-envy aside as she followed Revik, who was walking up to greet the two women. "Them?" She said aloud, frowning. As she drew nearer, the girl with the red cloak seemed to appear more threatening - or so the squeezing in her chest was telling her. Soon Drei could see why, as the girl had the same kind of beautiful and fragile face as somebody else she knew. Drei grit her teeth as she watched Revik extend his invitation. That idiot! What is he thinking, bringing another elf in here when -!

Keeping her body calm and poised, she stepped forward and looked over at the two strangers meticulously. She couldn't help but chuckle under her breath at Revik. ”..to join me in my quest to rid the land of evil..” The heroism is only optional, apparently. Drei thought sarcastically, raising one eyebrow as she glanced over the two girls, bored. Looks like these two tick that criteria however... Oh Drei, you're beginning to look a little out of place. Her gaze hardened between the two elves, but she shook it off and tossed back her head.

"I don't remember going to Crystalden before. Being there, maybe. Going? No.” Drei said strongly, more to herself than to anyone else, and yet loud enough for all to hear, “At least the journey shouldn't be a drag. We'll go, yes?” She turned her head to her companions briefly, blatantly ignoring the strangers themselves.

Revik

Well they had prior arrangements but they weren't so strict that he couldn't work with it. Drei was on board for going along so it seemed the issue was settled. "We've got nowhere better to be. It's settled then! We'll take fifteen minutes or so to prepare and then set forth for Crystalden!" He proclaimed, completely disregarding any prior plans his group might of made before. "I shall go and get a map and compass. If any of you can think of what we'll might need on the road do pick that up before we get going." With that said he strode past them, walking part-ways down the street before he suddenly remembered something. "Oh by the way, We'll meet back at this corner at the given time. Try not to be late, yeah?"

He didn't bother staying to hear a response. If they showed they showed, if not then too bad for them. As for him he had equipment to pick up. It was a lucky break that he was still holding onto the money he took off the slave hunters from earlier because he estimated that it'd cost him the twenty gold he started with for a decent map and compass.


It didn't take him long to find a supply shop which seemed to carry traveling supplies. He stepped through the rickety shop door to be greeted by a well worn out store full of various useful equipment for long trips, complete with a thin scholarly fellow behind the till near the back. The man looked up from his papers and adjusted his glasses, getting a better look at his latest customer.

"Might I help you sir?" The bored balding gentleman had a rather nasal voice.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a map and compass."

Trying to put as little effort into his job as he could the shop keeper limply gestured over towards where the maps of the land to kept. Revik looked over the selection of maps, making sure to find one that was of decent enough quality. He was actually decently qualified to read maps, a skill which he couldn't remember where it had been learned. Evaluating the quality to cost ratios he eventually found a map which was to his liking. With that he picked up a half-decent compass and head over to the shop keeper's desk. Various trading deals and storage tallies were splayed across the face of the table in front of the work weary shop keeper. With little exchanging of words he placed the map and compass down in front of the man as well as a handful of gold coins. After counting the coins the shop keep gave him a nod and just like that he folded up the map, pocketed it and took both the map and the compass out with him.

When he got back he saw that he was relatively quick in his dealings so he was alone for the moment. He stood with his arms crossed and tapped his foot while he waited for the rest of his crew to show back up. The city was little comfort to a free soul such as him and he saw little use in wasting his time there when there was loot to be had. Out there was where he wanted to be right now, the fresh forest air in his nostrils and fair winds to his back.

"Alright," Scarlet spoke up, her voice slightly questioning the newcomers. She had intended to only take one person with her, her choice members being this knight, or the twinblade girl from the night before. It would be difficult to sneak through the Draconian and ogre settlements with this large a group so they would most certainly end up fighting, and Scarlet still did not know if she could yet and she didn't seem to like the way the Drow girl was eying her. She just wanted to get home as soon and as safely as possible. She had to have a mother, or a father there, or at least some sort of family. "You can come as well, but I want to get there as soon as possible and if we can manage, with as little violence..." The half elf was very intent on this, and didn't want to waste any time if she didn't have to.

Merrowvale Brainde
Server Down for 3 Days

"Hey, wait, are you seriously going to..." But the man with the steel gauntlets was already far down the street, leaving Altara to scratch her head with a raised eyebrow and an expression of extreme worry upon her face. Did he seriously just make our business become his top priority? Something tells me this guy is bad news...

Oh well, since he already went off, it was probably too late for her to back out of it now. "I guess the more the merrier...?" the red-haired knight sighed, shrugging. "Anyway, I suppose I'll get my armor and weapon checked up before we head out. Sorry for the trouble...really, it's so bad I don't even know how many of you I'm apologizing to." Turning on her heel, she started walking down the last few meters to the blacksmith's shop. "See you in fifteen."

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As it turned out, all her equipment was still in excellent condition, and Altara left the shop rather shortly afterwards, only 2 gold lost. "There's still the matter of food...wonder what the others would want? Maybe I should have asked them...ah, well."

Really having no good ideas, she went around town and purchased several random pieces of bread, meat and vegetables, not to mention a pack to hold them in. Everything save for the bread was uncooked, and she expected to try and prepare it over a fire or something like that when she got the chance. Though, Altara couldn't remember if she even had any cooking experience. Guess she'd just have to wing it...?

I swear, I am going to cause my own death if I keep thinking like this.

Looking over all the food one last time to make sure she hadn't accidentally misplaced anything, Altara put it all into the pack with a smile, then sealed it and slung it over her back. The person who sold it to her claimed it had two enchantments placed upon it: first, the weight of whatever was being carried in the pack would be reduced by about a quarter, and second, any food in the pack would last about half a day longer before it would normally go bad. So far, the first enchantment seemed to be working...not that she had actively tried putting heavy things into it.

Hopefully, it would live up to what the shopkeeper claimed it could do, and she wouldn't regret spending those 12 gold coins...

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Finally, after all her shopping had been finished, Altara returned to their meeting place at the corner next to the mud-splattered wall. The man with the steel gauntlets was already there and waiting, with his arms crossed and one foot tapping impatiently. Well, with that sort of behavior, it made sense to her why he agreed to coming with them so easily...

...no, it's best not to judge him now. "Hey, I'm back," Altara greeted him, taking a hand off the pack and letting it hang from her shoulder as she raised that hand in greeting. "So, how did things go for you?"

Something else occurred to her just after she finished that. "Ah, and I don't think we exchanged names...or should we wait for the others to get back here before we get on with introductions?"

Scarlet had followed behind Altara for a bit until she saw that she was going to the blacksmith and realized that she didn't really have a need for such a shop. She wore no armor and her weapon couldn't be maintained by anyone other than the creator of it and people listed as their "friends". He remembered looking over the X-Scythe before and reading a strange alphanumeric name inscribed upon it. She now ran her thumb over the engraving as she had done many times before, D34dlyBL4d3z. She seemed to feel a warmth coming from that spot on the long handle that made her feel as though someone was missing from her life and that was all she had left of them. She held the scythe close as she walked about gathering supplies to take with them. She hadn't intended for this journey to take more than 3 days, but she wasn't quite so sure now that their party had more than doubled. Maybe she should have waited for the twinblade girl instead of taking the first option available to her. As she finished gathering a few things, her thoughts cleared up. It was too late now. she had to work with the cards she had been dealt. Making her way back, she saw Altara approaching from her left and made it back just a few seconds after she had. "Sorry sir. I didn't mean to take so long." She curtsied somewhat clumsily, the weight slightly offbalance in her pack as she moved to adjust it.

To prepare...? Drei thought and watched Revik walk away from them, tempted to follow.

"Hey, wait, are you seriously going to..." The knight called after him, and Drei shrugged at her.

"We seriously are." Drei replied dryly, more harshly than she had intended before turning away and walking back onto the main road, where the people were. After turning the corner, she sunk down against the wall and removed her helmet, shaking her hair out and blowing stray strands from her face. She had nothing to prepare at all. She had her compass, her gold, her weapons... her food? Drei silently mouthed a curse and tilted her head to lean against the wall. They should have discussed what each group member was getting before they split, but Revik's impatient drive had left Drei clueless as for what to get. Drei stood back up and dusted her pants down, when suddenly Prick was back floating by her side as if it had sensed they were alone. She gave it a half-smile as they made their way to where the larger crowds were gathering.

"Stay close to me and don't stab anyone, unless they look like they deserve it." Drei commanded it as she pushed through a small crowd. When Drei had broken out the other side of the crowd, her pouch was a brooch, an ebony comb and a handful of coins heavier than before, and two men were sporting new piercings. It was a small marketplace that was attracting the people, and there were stands littered on the side of the streets with carts filled with fruit, fresh vegetables and interesting objects. Drei grinned at the scene before darting to each individual stand, one by one.

She bought a bag of apples, perfectly red and shaped like hearts, and about a dozen of strange, jewel-like fruit she hadn't seen before. They were small and oddly shaped, glinting in the sunlight and brightly coloured. Drei wondered what the fruit tree would look like when fruiting and how she would like to see it - a tree with jewels hanging heavy from its branches. Carrying the fruit made Drei think of Revik, and how he would have to remove his helmet to eat it. The thought made her laugh out loud, as she began imagining the silly reasons he had to hide his head. He was probably just balding.

After purchasing a bottle that could decontaminate any water source and sacrificing a coin for an orange flower from a small girl, Drei found the elf's pouch nearly empty. It didn't worry her, however, as she could remember having a lot more gold stashed away somewhere - a lot more, and all she had to do was remember where she left it. After another minute, she found herself at the last stand. Cages of poultry were stacked upon each other, each cage small and pressing against the birds inside. Though there were gaps in the bars, the sight of it looked suffocating.

"These are for eating?" Drei asked the young man tending the stand casually as she walked towards him. The boy lifted his face up at her, the bored look on his face changing into something else unreadable as he beheld the drow woman.

"Mm-hm. Eatn', sacrificin', whatever you wants to do withem, drow lady." The boy stood up from his seat and rubbed his hands together, expecting to make a sale. Drei glared at him in distaste, annoyed that he had to bring up 'sacrificing' simply because his customer was a drow. She nodded her head slowly, looking at the crushed birds, unable to move. She stared into the eyes of one particularly helpless-looking bird, and it stared right back at her.

"Interesting. So, you keep them locked up until they're ready to die for the sake of something above them?" Drei mused. Somehow, the chicken reminded her of somebody. She didn't like that. "Do what you've got to do," Drei said dismissively, waving her hand in the air and turning on her heels to walk back down the road to her corner, alone. The boy was left behind, scratching his head.

Drei slouched back down in the shadows, back to where she started. A scream sounded in the direction of the marketplace, followed by much yelling and laughter. Seconds later, a stray chicken strode past her, clucking triumphantly. Drei laughed, not being able to control it.

"Good job," she congratulated Prick as it returned to her, "Stitching and lock-picking. Is there anything you can't do?" Prick returned to its rightful place down Drei's top and Drei's mood took a downhill once more. "That's right... you can't get into your godforsaken bag..." She heard footsteps approaching, heavy footsteps that may have belonged to Revik. She didn't feel like speaking to him, not right now. From her hiding place, she watched him waiting, arms folded and foot tapping. No, she would wait until everyone was ready to set out before getting up, Drei opted sleepily as she shut her eyes and disappeared from view.

Revik

He looked over as the first one to return, the red haired spear-woman, mentioned introductions.
"Let's wait a minute. If the others don't come around shortly I suppose it'd be a waste of our time not at least learning each other's name." He answered her question before looking back out towards the street, scanning for familiar faces.

Soon after her the red cloak wearing girl came around with her supplies, offering a simple apology for her tardiness.
"It's all alright. Just a couple more folks and we can hit the road." He was counting down the people who were with him before he left to get supplies, trying to remember exactly who was unofficially part of his crew so far. He's been through a lot of adventures and seen many faces so a bunch of new ones was something he was so accustomed to that he had trouble keeping track of them. It helped that everyone who was with him thus far had one major detail to identify them by. The bright red girl, the silver armored woman, the black skinned drow, the pink haired elf, all very different colors which separated them nicely.

The silver armored woman brought up a good point, asking about who else they were waiting for and all.
"Well, the only one I can think of that isn't here is my pal Drei." He took another hard look around but saw no sign of the lovely young woman's purple grape colored skin but all for naught. He could only ponder her location, having very little else to go off. "Hm, since most of us are here might as well get started with the introducings. I am Revik, Weapon Master of the Cestus." He began introductions since they were just waiting. "Your names are?" He gestured to the two he hadn't gotten the names of yet, awaiting their responses.

Sariya shook her head, not realizing the dancer had completely spaced after entering the town. She remembered sang as the sun rose and not feeling at all tired. She didn't even look tired since she had a long nap before setting out to the town she had spoken about to the others. Though from that point she had no real recollection as to what had happened before she spoke to Revik, with a kind and sweet tone, "If you don't mind, I'm going to gather up some more resources for our travels." soon she turned and hummed a sing as she lightly walked about in the area, absolutely confused what she needed, since she seemingly had enough food and gold in her small bag to keep them going for a while, and topping it off, swhat does everyone like in both food, weapons and all that? Brushing it aside, knowing she didn't think her plan through, since she had no idea of the other's tastes, yet, Sariya had an idea, which she decided to throw into movements.

As she passed Drei she paused, handing her bag over to her since they were close to the main square, "Drei, could you hold this for me please? I'm going to try something to get some more money for the party." she said before walking to the square, as she stood aside from the multiple crowds, she sighed slightly, having never danced without musical accompaniment nor through her own choice, usually she was asked. As the nerves built up as Sariya stood there patiently, her breathing became more calm, and with one step after another, a dance was formed. Though she couldn't see the size of the crowd watching her, she had an idea that there was a small crowd at least watching. She had not cared what Drei or Revik was doing, since the focus was shifted to dancing, and she loved it.

---

Now for something completely different.

---

It was morning, something Amynta was patiently waiting for as she lay restless in her bed in an upstairs room of the tavern. As she lay she watched the sun peek it's head through the window, before fully coming through the window and into her face, what a way to start the morning in her eyes. Brushing aside the fact that she was basically blinded by the sunlight at the moment, she rose from the bed she was resting in, making it and everything before going to her things, which were on the table close to the bed, she grabbed her cloak, which she put over her shoulder since she was still inside, and there was no need for the heavy thing just yet, and soon had her boots on. Sighing a little, Amynta gripped her staff as she went downstairs and talked to the proprietress, paying for last night before turning around to a rather merry bunch of travelers, though she passed them by, putting on her cloak as she exited the tavern into the streets.

Though soon enough she found another group, from what she could tell, there was one in a red cloak, though looked smaller than she was, or about the same height at least, then there was the scarlet woman whom looked much taller than Amynta and the red cloaked one, then there was the pink elf whom had walked away, she guessed to get resources that they could use, and finally, the really big man, she stood there analyzing and thinking of the party as she approached as if passing by in the still streets, not many were in this part at the time, most likely they were either at the square for some reason, or something else. Though few of the shoppes were open, she sighed as she stopped gazing around for some sort of shop for food, though she turned to the party and spoke sweetly,

"Excuse me, but I'd like to ask where an open shoppe is for me to get a little bit of food?"

Merrowvale Brainde
Server Down for 3 Days

Before Altara could even get the first syllable of her name out, she noticed that pink-haired dancer walking off towards another part of the square. She dropped her belongings off into what seemed to be an alleyway...no, wait, there was someone there.

It was the drow who had been that group Altara was now travelling with; it looked like she was resting. While Altara wondered why she was getting some shut-eye in such an uncomfortable place, as well as why she didn't notice the drow elf until just now, the red-haired knight figured there was no point in bothering her, and went back to watching the dancer.

It seemed she was dancing, and a small crowd had formed around her...Putting on a street performance, now of all times? This kind of feels like...really bad timing... Nonetheless, she did seem quite good at it--not that Altara was very interested in dancing, so she wasn't the best judge.

Right then, the man with the gauntlets suggested they start introductions, and began by giving his own name. "Revik. Got it," she replied, standing up and getting her back off the wall. "My name is Altara. I'm pleased to be traveling with you." Right in time with the last sentence, she gave a short bow, with her left arm bent in front of her, as though it were pre-rehearsed...that was odd.

Just as she was straightening up from the bow, some other woman with blonde hair walked up to them, asking if there were any shops open where she could get food. The question surprised Altara, especially because she had no idea why they, of all people, were asked, but she still answered immediately. "There are plenty of shops like that open by now...do you have anything specific in mind?"

Drei opened one eye, annoyed, but before she could say "How in the world did you find me?", the bag dropped to her lap and Sariya went off and started... dancing. Drei could do nothing but stare blankly after her.

"She trusted her bag with a thief," Drei murmured, watching the dancer's graceful movements from her seat, "She trusted her bag, with a freaking thief." Ten seconds of disbelief later, Drei stood up, grabbing both her bags and Sariya's, with her flower tucked into her corset as she had no place to put it just yet, or no-one to pass it on to. She had been planning on sneaking it into Sariya's hair, as orange was in no way her own colour, and she just wanted to see how it would look against the light pink. Her own hair felt free and light, and Drei realised that she had left her helmet on the ground by her seat. She glared at it before tucking it underneath her arm. It was much too stuffy and heavy to wear, and she had suffered greatly by keeping it on for so long. How does Revik do it?

At last she walked over to where her group was waiting. "I bring fruit," Drei announced, holding up one of her bags, "Also, an enchanted bottle, but if you think you're going to be drinking from mine then... another one?" Drei's strong voice faltered, taking in the sight of the beautiful and fragile-looking newcomer. She turned her head from Revik to the stranger, to the other two girls and back to Sariya, to the stranger again, then finally back at Revik, drawing a rash conclusion from what she was seeing.

"Well, Revik." Drei said offhandedly, rolling her eyes. She really couldn't care less about the man's motives, though after just picking up in it she couldn't help but have something to say. "Looks like you're quite the charmer."

Scarlet didn't seem to have much of an interest in anyone in the group other than the young knight, and didn't quite feel comfortable with putting herself out to any of them either. She thought, only for a short moment on a nickname, and settled upon Red It would work for the time being, for she didn't plan to stay with the group very long. "It's a pleasure Mr. Revik, I'm sure, but we shouldn't waste anymore time here. If we attempt to pass through Caleah after their curfew, we'll be forced to stay there over night, and that's time we can't quite afford. So introductions on the way?" She didn't quite know why they couldn't waste any time, but she knew they must at least pass through Caleah before nightfall. Something seemed to happen in the small town at night, and she didn't care to remember what it was.

Revik

While he waited for Sariya to return from the supply trip he listened as Altara introduced herself. He nodded in turn after she had bowed. "A pleasure to have you along Altara." He welcomed her just before looking over to the red hooded girl. Instead of giving her name she instead urged haste if they were to make it to Caleah before nightfall. Now that was puzzling indeed.
"You mean New Caleah right? We wouldn't make it to Caleah before nightfall even if we left town right this instant."
He mentioned, straightening out what she just said. There were two cities by the same name, Caleah located in Albia and New Caleah in Merrowvale. Both cities were named Caleah but people all generally call the one in Merrowvale New Caleah since it was built after the one in Albia.

"Assuming you mean New Caleah we wouldn't be passing through there anyways if you wanted to make it to Crystalden in a timely manner. New Caleah is east of here and we'll want to go south." He pulled out his map and traced out what he knew as the fastest route with the least amount of obstacles between them and where they wanted to go with his finger tip.
"We'll want to go around Cabaea, Continue south along the mountain path along the cliffs until we hit Pwllhyre Harbor and sail straight through to Crystalden. All goes well and it should be around about a month and a half's travel." After illustrating his plan he rolled the map up and stuck it back in it's container. "I'm not sure which way you were planning on going but given the distance unless you're planning on using magic to teleport there or something the fastest way to get there is my route."


And speaking of magic, a most serendipitous encounter had occurred just as he was just finished talking. A young woman who was quite small in both height and frame had come up and asked them about where to find a place to get some food. Looking at her a number of details stood out. Firstly, she held a fairly interesting looking staff. He could tell that it was a magical foci as certain attributes were present in it's design which made it ideal for channeling certain schools of magic. How he knew that, even he didn't know. He didn't even know where he could of even picked up that information since he's never read any books on magic as far as he can recollect.

Secondly, She knew a bit of something about hand to hand fighting. There were ways a good fighter could tell another fighter apart from the rest, certain behaviors developed from training that could be picked up on by a watchful eye. He'd keep a close eye on her as long as she was around, not that difficult given how she was quite attractive.


"Say... You wouldn't happen to know magic now would 'ya?" He asked after Altara was finished answering her query. He didn't peg anyone in his current crew as being a spell slinger with the exception of Sariya to a limited extent. If this girl could cast spells she'd be a useful addition to their cast.

Drei finally came around and remarked about how he was most definitely charming, or at least that's how he heard it. It didn't strike him as strange at all, most beautiful women found him irresistible and he came to expect as much generally. The only thing that came as even remotely surprising about her observation was that it took her that long to realize it.
"Of course I am. It comes naturally." He stated it as though it were an undeniable truth like the sun always rising in the morning while still keeping that charming swashbuckler flare in his tone. For him, life was all about being either out in the battlefield laying waste to his foes with a flurry of blows or in the bedroom with women clad in jewels that he took from his enemies not hours ago.


Well, perhaps all about wouldn't be putting it right. Very little of his life was quite so easy or simple despite him. He took his pleasures where he could, be it flesh or flattery.

After the next morning came, Zeebarl knew he was going to have to just give up on getting the neko girl her trousers and change. It was certainly more trouble than Zeebarl thought was worth as he simply plonked the pair of items on a nearby table in the dining area with a small note attached simply saying; "For neko girl", his grumpy mood he wasn't sure if it was created by his frustration of getting these items to her, or that he simply woke up extremely early, seeming that even the colossal clerk he had seen yesterday was asleep at the counter, leaving him the gold coins he owed the inn. He didn't bother to wake him up, he had business to attend to, or more accurately, a space in the market to nab before any of the goods spots were taken.

After leaving the inn, but not without going through the painstaking process of getting his cart through the door again, he began wandering down the streets of Brainde, eyeing up the early bird locals around him, as well as any competition, as he wolfed down some bread, cheese and a pint of milk from his cart, that were going to be past their selling point soon. He stared in puzzlement for a few moments after he finished his meal as realized he didn't know how he knew they were beyond sale. After-all, the man was no chef. He batted his mild puzzlement aside however as he saw that he arrived in the market square, with only a few other local stands beginning to set up. Zeebarl quickly decided to follow suit as wandered a little further down the street, positioned his cart with a bit of space away from the other merchants, and setting up a battered old sign that simply said; "Weasel Eye's Wares", then proceeded to wait for opportunity, trying his best to entice any passerby to browse his wares.

As day wore on, Zeebarl managed to sell a few basic wares, some spare clothes to a rather overworked mother, a few pieces of food to a kind seeming old man, a barrel of ale to a shifty eyed elf, and a new hammer for the local blacksmith. All in all, despite it being a bit of a slow day, a tidy profit so far, even if he did have to slap the hand of some street urchin that wanted to nick a gem, who Zeebarl managed to convince to keep away from the stall. Thieves were everywhere these days, and were getting younger by the second. Kind of depressing, really, Zeebarl thought to himself, with a look of distaste upon his face, pondering if he should hire a guard, though wasn't sure if he was willing to pay such a steep price as he had heard before of other merchants hiring them. There was always the risk that they too were a thief, which didn't help Zeebarl with a decision. He decided to shelf the idea to mull over later, as decided to root around his collection of goods, before pulling out a dull kukri, before giving it a polish, keeping his eye out for any more customers.

Instead of customers however, he saw a small crowd gathering nearby around some pink haired, scantily clad dancer, performing her trade in the middle of the street no less, to which even the rather business minded Zeebarl admitted was rather mesmerizing and impressive with her graceful and energetic movements, the crowd certainly thinking so too. He watched her for a few moments, placing the kukri in the pile, clapping along with whatever beat she danced to in her mind, seeming to enjoy the free show until he realized this crowd would be probably dishing out cash. The greedy merchant than grabbed his cart before dragging it along with him, feigning to still watch the dancer with interest as he moved, eventually settling not too far off from her, next to a girl clad in a red cloak with a large scythe, a man wearing a sturdy helmet and steel cestuses, a drow woman in a rather slim fit outfit, a beautiful blonde woman in ornate robes, and finally a red haired knight carrying a spear. Zeebarl froze in place for a moment when he saw the last one. It was the same knight that went in to The Minstrel's Mug. They had not actually met, but still, the merchant never forgot a face. Well, until the recent amnesia induced incident that had begun happening however. That was not the point in his mind however, as the point was, if she had heard bad tales from those from inn earlier, after that damn swordsman's protests against him. He decided it be best not to approach her yet, and continue watching the dancer, cheering along with the crowd at the performance, deciding to take the moment to finish polishing the kukri from earlier.

---

As Sariya danced she noticed the crowd began throwing some coinage to her as the song kept going in her mind. Though soon the sing began reaching it's finale, this had to be good or she'd most likely hurt herself as her dance had began to amp up in the danger. Soon enough she had began her final routine, which she knew had hurt her during some practice runs. Though this time, it went off without a hitch and soon she landed on her two shaking feet with steady grace, and a gentle smile and bow. As the small audience applauded and dispersed a bit, Sariya began collecting the coins, noting that a few merchants had set up their carts to sell goods to the people gathering around the little dancer.

Though soon she walked back to Revik and company noting the new face along with Drei having joined them with both bags in hand, of course, she had blindly trusted her companion as she counted the coins with a small amount of grace, "35... 36... 37... 38... 39.... 40..." She mumbled before stopping, seeing the other two coins in her hand, it wasn't a big amount of money that she had gotten, but for the spontaneity and the time, she was content with the forty-two coins. She looked at Drei with a kind smile and spoke to her, "Thank you for holding my bag. I thought it might help to get a few more gold coins before setting off." she said before bowing to the others slightly, shifting her attention to those whom didn't know her,

"My name's Sariya Yotamaru, I'm not sure of my knowledge of dancing, but I am a dancer, and the wielder of a Snake-sword."

---

---

---

Amynta looked at the man, whom still had his helmet on as he talked to the women in his small group before the Drow came back talking about how the man was a charmer, Well. He seems to have little in the way of manners. One should remove his helmet when addressing a lady... she thought before brushing the thought aside before replying to the man first, whom inquired about her magic, which she knew plenty of spells of varying strength that tend to counter the dark arts and even darkness. Though what made her different, was how she had learned how to heal wounds without any process, having the skills in her first magic allowing her spell incubation be near instant as her staff offers some assistance to cast spells, it was what she focused the main armament of spells into, though she did finally reply to Revik, "Why, yes, I can cast white magic and healing spells. Though I'm no physical person, since I'm well.... Yeah..." she said looking down at herself since she was so small, and she knew it.

Though she noticed a small cart set up nearby as the pink half-elf had come back from what she could tell was a dance routine. Counting coins none the less, which she figured she had received from the crowd whom watched her dance with such grace. Though Amynta brushed the thought aside as she looked to the red-haired knight, "Nothing in particular. Just edible food that will sustain me for some time."

Merrowvale Brainde
Server Down for 3 Days

While the others were talking, Altara bent down and sifted through her pack one more time, just to make sure she had everything she needed. From the looks of what the others got, we're all set in the way of food, but...why do I feel like we're missing something?

Hearing Revik detail the route they were taking, she straightened up to look at the map. "Have you ever been on that route before?" she asked. "Just curious." Really though, she hoped there didn't just happen to be some huge obstacle right on that exact route...

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see someone pulling up a cart...at a second glance, she could see it was the merchant who had set up shop in front of the Minstrel's Mug last night. Honestly, he looked more like a thug...but, well, that wasn't the sort of thing you could get just from looking at a person's face. But he seemed to be watching that pink-haired dancer, so Altara didn't really pay much notice, and just went back to looking through her pack.

Speaking of the pink-haired dancer, she came back with quite a few gold coins and took her bag back from the drow. She also introduced herself as Sariya Yotamaru. Snake sword...? Thinking hard about it, Altara couldn't remember any weapon like that. Nonetheless, though she was still bent over her pack, she gave a respectful nod, and replied, "It's an honor. Though, I'm not sure why you're questioning your dancing skill so much; those people seemed to like it."

The blonde woman who had only just joined them, upon Revik's inquiry, revealed herself to be some sort of magician--one focused more on healing. "Well, then you don't really need to look hard for a shop selling food," the red-haired knight spoke up. "There should even be people selling food in this market square itse-"

Right then, Altara realized she had no tools whatsoever, bar her weapon. Oh, dear...what can I do? I suppose I'd need a hatchet and a knife at least... Closing the pack, she looked around at the others. "Sorry, I just thought of something else I might need. Can you guys hold tight just a bit longer?" Turning to the blonde magician, she added, "You might as well come with me; perhaps we'll find a good place to eat along the way."

Just when she turned around to leave, however, she found herself facing that merchant's cart again--and in fact, her eyes focused on the object in his hands. It was a long knife, around 40 cm in length and bent at an angle between the blade and the hilt. At present, the merchant was running another tool along it to sharpen and to polish the gray blade.

Somehow, Altara could recognize the tool--it was a kukri. It might look like a weapon to most people (and it certainly could serve as one, too), but she somehow remembered it could serve as a multipurpose tool. "Actually, hold that thought...I think I might have found something that'll do just the trick," she muttered, heading over to the cart. "Excuse me, sir...how much will you charge for that kukri you have in your hands?"

Drei frowned deeply at Revik's reply to her, but she didn't feel angry. "You know what I mean," she said defensively, wondering if he took it as a compliment. He knows what I mean, right?

When Sariya arrived and thanked Drei for holding her bag, Drei seized her chance. As she handed the bag out to her, her eyes flashed, and suddenly, everything moved slowly, except for Drei. Her heartbeat sped up and she could hear her blood pounding in her ears - all other sounds had ceased. With a flick of her hand, her flower was out of her corset and tucked tucked into Sariya's ponytail. Two seconds later, everything had fallen back to its usual speed, as though nothing had even happened.

Drei's inner self cheered when Sariya didn't react, which she knew she wouldn't, as she was good at this sort of thing. The flower looked not as good as she imagined it to against the pink, either the pink too light or the orange too reddish. Shrugging to herself, she turned her attention back to the mage girl.

"Edible food is the only kind," she stated not-so-helpfully, then pointed over to the marketplace she was at 15 minutes ago, "There's a market over there. If you get there in time, you can snag a live chicken - for free. Some sort of deal they have going on at the moment." She said with a little pleasant laugh that she didn't know she possessed.

Revik

"I know what you mean." He answered Drei in a playful tone, still not entirely cluing in to what she was actually meaning. He looked over to Altara when she questioned his knowledge of the route they were to embark upon. "I've been all over the lands! Wherever adventure lies I'm never far!" He proudly proclaimed both loud and proud.

He looked back over to the newcomer who just confirmed that she was a healer, the most valuable of magi. Well, it would be a real shame to let a talent like that slip through his fingers. He resolved to bring her along, a benefit which would make their trip so much easier than he'd of estimated. She did seem to have doubt in her physique, seemingly a little self conscious about her size.

Just as he was about to speak Altara spoke with the white mage on the matter of food. Now that she mentioned it he couldn't remember eating anything since he left the docks about a day ago. "Now that you mention it, I think getting a bite to eat before we head out would hit the spot." He spoke to Altara as she turned to leave. He dwelt on the matter a moment longer before coming to a solid conclusion. "Alright my bold and brave crew! We get some food so we're not walking hungry and then we set forth to Crystalden!" He announced his new brilliant plan before striding ahead of both Altara and the white mage. He walked a few feet only to stop as he realized nobody else was with him. Looking back he saw the two stopped at the first merchant's cart looking at knives. Well, this is certainly an auspicious start to this cash run He rolled his eyes even though they were concealed behind the dark mask which hid his face quite excellently.


Of course that is when he saw it coming from beyond the street corner on the other side of the street. People running in panic in their direction, numerous voices shouting and yelling in panic as civilians rushed their direction.

"Look out! Get out of the way!"

"They're coming!"

"Run! Run while you still can!"

A number of people from the market district cried out while running through the streets. The panicked citizens attempted to push right through him and his group, not caring about how rough they are acting in their hysteria. As a man attempted to tackle him out of the way he just stuck a foot forward and leaned out of the way. When the man's front foot met with his own the guy tripped, bouncing harmlessly off Revik's shoulder and falling roughly to the ground.

"Hey, what's going on?" He demanded an answer from the fellow who just attempted to bowl him over.

"T-they are coming..." The man shivered as he spoke, fear clear in his eyes.

"Who?"


"THE CHICKENS!" The man screamed in horror as from beyond the corner of the wall came a flood of rampaging chickens. There were at least fifty chickens and they had all managed to escape. The chicken that ran at the very front of the herd was the very same chicken that Drei had released earlier though that was unknown to Revik. It was complete chaos.

Chickens all ran in one large swarm, scrabbling over merchant carts and wagons, sending hundreds of articles of various items and produce scattering to the ground in their wake. The man who Revik had tripped was already back on his feet, clutching the tomatoes concealed in his coat close to his chest even though a number of them had already been squished by his fall.

As the parade of panicked poultry rushed them in their bid for freedom Revik could only stand dumbfounded by the spectacle of it all. His mind raced to wonder what chain of events could have started this bizarre avian assault.

"What the hells?"

As Zeebarl took out a small blunt knife from his pile, and began sharpening the now slightly shinier kukri, he noted that one of the adventurers, a young and beautiful woman who Zeebarl thought he heard mention of them being a magic user, was interested in some edible food, something which Zeebarl knew for a fact was the best feature of the food he sold, though joking aside he could make a very easy sale with such a vague requirement, a thought that stuck in his mind even if he felt puzzled at the drow's comment about chickens. He began pondering to himself, lost in the rhythm of the sharpening he was doing, on how he would lure the possible adventurers to him. Perhaps offer some fine weaponry and armor? There was always the risk one or two prideful types would be offended at any insinuation of needing replacements. Maybe food as the young mage wanted to find? Certainly an easy way to aim for, but of only the one customer possibly. Perhaps simple enchanted trinkets and potions? They tended to sell well to these brands of customers, simply functional and easy to carry.

Before Zeebarl could decided on his sales pitch however, he was startled at the sudden request of the kukri he was sharpening by the red haired knight. As quickly as the surprise came, the vendor regained his composure, turning to the red haired knight with a wide smile he always used with customers.
"Well madam, i'm glad you asked, for you are very lucky to come to old Zeebarl 'Weasel Eyes' today! For you see sir knight, this grand kukri blade, a valiant weapon and reliable tool in equal measures, does not come alone. Oh no, with it's purchase, I shall thrown it's smaller cousin, the karda for half-price, and this tool skillfully crafted for maintaining these multipurpose blades, the chakmak, for completely free!", the half-dwarf babbled excitedly, acting as if this was a once in a blue moon offer, when in truth it came up any time someone asked for weapons he tended to have counterparts of maintenance tools for.
"You are probably thinking to yourself, how on earth can I afford this tremendous offer? But worry not my friend, for this immensely advantageous combination is yours for the low and lovely price of 25 gold coins!", he exclaimed enthusiastically, hoping the quick fire words would of convinced her leaning towards purchase, though due to her being a woman of adventure no doubt, it was very unlikely.

Just in case it didn't work however, he turned to the blonde magic user openly announcing; "I heard there was also some mention of food? Don't be shy, feel free to request whatever quells your appetite! We have your fruits, we have your veg, we have your breads, we have your meats, we have your cheese, we have all kinds of drink, including those of the alcoholic variety if that takes your fancy, and we even have some rare dwarven and ogre delicacies! Take your pick now, anything at all!", he then threw his arms open as if he was greeting an old friend, which quickly lowered down as he saw the stampede of people barging past them.

Zeebarl almost immediately began protecting the cart, hoping atop his hoard and defending against any panicked idiots who though it was a good idea to mess with his wares along the way, often being met with a strike to the hand with Zeebarl's blackjack, which he continued to aggressively chant at them. "No purchase, no touching!". That was when it appeared. The chicken flock, swarming down the streets like a typhoon of clucking feathers. And beaks. And other chickens parts. The lack on analogy did not matter to Zeebarl at that moment as one simple and immensely unexpected sentence burst from his mouth.
"Oh by the god's not this again!"

Merrowvale Brainde
Server Down for 3 Days

That's definitely gotta be a scam. Gazing at the kukri with eyes narrowed in suspicion, Altara just couldn't make herself believe it costed 25 gold. Sure, it looked quite a bit shinier now that the merchant had sharpened it, and he was including both of its companions, but...it just didn't look high-end enough for 25 gold. At most, it looked to be worth 18...

Even worse, she only had 4 gold left in her pockets right now, after buying all that food and the enchanted pack, as well as getting her armor and Acubens repaired. Geez, how was she supposed to handle this...should she just decline?

Right at that point, chaos erupted from the far side of the market square. Her head snapping to point in that direction, Altara couldn't help but stare in disbelief. "Chickens...?!"

Yes, the flightless birds were stampeding through the square, knocking down stalls and carts and scattering goods of all sorts everywhere. People ran away from the feathery carnage, screaming and shielding their belongings. It was so bizarre, Altara almost immediately raised her spear...

Just as she was getting ready to take the leather wrappings off the blade, however, a new image entered her mind--for once, it didn't have that blue magician girl in it. Instead, she could see herself attacking some random chicken, the look on her face suggesting it was just for some childish form of amusement...but almost immediately, she got attacked by 20 more in retaliation.

Uh...forget it. Sidestepping a fleeing man, Altara glanced over to the merchant, who looked horrified by the chickens coming in. With him paying so much attention to the chickens and the people retreating towards him, could she...just take the kukri from his hands right now?

No, it probably was best to just get out of here. The blacksmith's shop wasn't too far from here anyway...moving her head to the right and letting a chicken fly past, she looked to the others. "It's kind of pathetic that I'm suggesting this, but we probably should get out of here quickly. Come on!"