Skoggr's Story

Skoggr was old. How old, he could not say. Ancient was a safe bet. He sat up on his rock-hard bed, feeling his joints ache and hunger claw at his emaciated frame. Looking around, he saw that he was in his home--a small shack with a dying fire and nothing else but a heap of tattered clothes and the bed. There was no food, but the old man knew there rabbit traps outside even his battered from could use.

Had any visitors today?

As he knew there must, a spider cloistered itself in the dark corner opposite the bed. Skoggr closed his eyes, and opened them again. With a feeble grunt, he struggled to his feet, the wolf skin cloak covering his body parting to reveal a near-skeletal body.

"No, but you knew that already." He said to the spider, his voice raspy and paper-thin. For a long moment, it sat there in the shadows, silent.

Then it's legs twitched, and it crawled up and along the ceiling.

You do so love to spoil the fun, don't you?

"You don't control me." Skoggr said, more than a little horrified that his voice held a faint edge of feeble defiance. In response the spider laughed, and dropped down from the ceiling on a thread of web, stopping in front of the old man's face.

Not yet, not completely. But here I reign, old man.

As the spider spoke, it began to grow. Eventually, it grew so large, the thread snapped, and the arachnid slammed onto the floor. Eyes wide with fear, Skoggr stumbled back, only to fall to the floor. His hip broke, and he felt the pain shoot up his side, and he whimpered pathetically. More profound than his fear of the creature before him was the bottomless terror that know one would come to save him--or care if he died. The spider's eyes became more visible as it grew, and each one was a leering face, visages of men he'd killed. It spoke, the faces talking for the mandibles, a chorus of disjointed voices.

That time will come soon enough, it began, savoring Skoggr's horror. Until then, it is time for us to wake up. We are thirsty. Thirrrrrsssssty...

----------------

Skoggr almost fell out of the tree. Stifling a scream, he managed to right himself before plummeting to the ground. He had forgotten that he'd fallen asleep astride a large tree limb, just as he'd forgotten what time or day it was. Waking up usually left him confused these days. The Jackal had that effect--well, that and the lack of companionship to offer a point of reference to his periods of unconsciousness.

Good morning, Haakon.

The voice had followed him out of his nightmare. It always did. Despite his pounding heart, Skoggr managed to sigh. "Don't call me that." For all intents and purposes, he was talking to himself. Yet the voice--the Jackal as it liked to be called--laughed in response.

But we do so love the old names. Ever considered using them again?

"And cede control to you? I'm no fool." After a moment, he glanced at his companion, who had been watching the self-conversation with wide eyes. "What do you think? Should I take his advice?"

His companion wouldn't, couldn't answer. The corpse hung by it's ankles from a limb higher up the tree, a man by the bared torso covered in lacerations. Ribbons of torn clothing clung to the body, the color denoting him as a now-former Solarian soldier. The face, in death bled from the mouth and retained a look of horror.

Skoggr shook his head, and waved a dismissive hand at the body. "Of course I shouldn't. So Skoggr it remains. Why did you wake me up?"

Enjoying your nap, were you?

"You know the answer to that. But clearly you want something. You usually take your time when I sleep."

The Jackal giggled, and Skoggr almost felt it caress his mind with broken claws.

Too true, I do enjoy your terror. No one else gets to see it, so I feel all the more privileged. But yes, Skoggr. We are thirsty. Your parched throat would agree, yes? I want you to keep your body in good shape, otherwise, what's the point?

Skoggr couldn't argue with that, though he wouldn't relinquish his body to the malevolence that stalked his mind. So he tossed his gear to the ground, climbed down to the ground, and with gear in hand, went off to find the nearest tavern. Behind him, the body hung abandoned. Ravens had already gathered, ready to feast.

----------------

The place was called Ashlain, and Skoggr gained access easy enough. Security at the entrances to the town were lax in their duties, and a hooded cloak was enough to get him in. After a number of inquiries, he found a decent enough tavern and stepped inside. It was busy, though the Nord was unsurprised. The sign proclaimed it as The Silver Gazelle Inn, though Skoggr doubted much silver had been paid to build the place. It looked like the thousands of taverns he'd passed through--or burnt to the ground.

Inside the atmosphere was cluttered and the atmosphere rich with conversation, each group trying to talk over the others. Skoggr ignored it all, as he forced his way to the bar. Anyone who took exception was rewarded with a glare baleful enough to stifle any defiance. The bartender asked for his order, and the Nord requested a mug of ale and some bread. After a moment to inspect the authenticity of the gold scrap Skoggr had paid with, the man went to fill his order.

And that's when he heard the young man. At first, he ignored it. Someone looking for a quick grab at glory, he supposed. Then he noticed the youth in the voice, followed by the mention of a magical vault. It sounded ridiculous. He was about to wish the foolish man ill luck when the Jackal decided to offer unwanted advice.

A vault...this could be good for us Haakon.

Skoggr snarled, but remained silent. It wouldn't do if he were caught talking to himself out loud. Instead, he stared pointedly at the mug of ale that had just been set down in front of him.

Perhaps a win-win? Wealth for us both...perhaps freedom for you? It crooned.

That, was intriguing, and a possibility too good to pass up. Skoggr looked over at the young man, and found that he'd already been accosted by the unemployed. He noticed a couple women, a man, and--he noticed with a scowl--a dwarf. That alone almost kept him at his drink. Yet the echoes of the malevolent voice in his head forced him to grab his axe and approach the youth.

"I imagine you'll need someone to keep your head attached to your shoulders." Skoggr said as he approached the group. The poleaxe he carried in his hand thumped periodically as he walked, using it like a staff. "I can provide that service."

He smiled, though the expression lacked warmth. But his eyes, as cold as they were, held a measure of sincerity.

Miroch woke to his half dressed body standing up in the middle of the room, in the process of pulling on his robes. He groaned inwardly at this.

Gorrjen, you know I don't like it when you control my body in my sleep. At least dream speak this to me before doing so...

I forget sometimes Miroch, forgive me for that. Besides, don't you appreciate my help?

You were putting the robes on the wrong way round. The dragon is on my left, not my right.

In the decades he had been bound to the Dragon spirit, they had developed a certain bond, allowing him to speak silently to him with his thoughts. Despite the spirit being millennia older than he was, the personality he had were if it were a younger brother to him. Their enjoyment of each other's company was mutual. Miroch took off his robes off, leaving him in just his pants, his staff, armored gauntlets and boots still next to the bed. The room he had rented was a little on the expensive side, but his usual habits of living without luxury had made Miroch a small fortune, especially with the money he made in the times where he got paid well. This wasn't the first inn that he had stayed in during his stay in Alshain though. It was his second one. Damned Nords and their drinking habits, getting drunk and starting fights. Despite the fact that he just defended himself, four unconscious patrons, two broken tables, and a shattered mug sealed his case. The fact he was an elf with black hair did not help at all, the innkeeper probably taking that as a bad omen. He was kicked out, but at least he didn't need to pay for damages, probably because the innkeeper thought his money cursed if he took any more from him.

It was a few more minutes before he went downstairs. He noted a strange woman, a Teker from the looks of it, in the corner, a pair of women, one a fox Kindred who dressed rather... provocatively and a red headed Dwarf. Besides those three, he didn't see any noticeable people that were worth thinking about for more than a few seconds. He sat down at one of the empty tables after ordering a mug of water and a simple meal of bread with soup. It was a few more minutes before they arrived at his table and he started to tuck in.

That's when he heard a man's voice cut through the sedated clamor of the inn. He sounded young from what he could discern and Miroch only lifted his head at the mention of hunting for a Magic Vault. It was only recently that he's started to hear prospective adventurers call up expeditions, but usually they preferred hulking Nords and scholarly types to wandering elves who looked like monks, minus the hair cut. The young man was already starting to be approached by various peoples. The three he noted earlier, and two humans, one taller than him, another about the same height, from what he could judge at the distance he was in.

You want to do this?

Why are you asking me? I am merely a spirit bound to you. With you conscious I can't do anything besides bestow you my power or take it away.

Which is what you did the last time I did something you didn't like.

You weren't in any danger. You could have taken that ogre with one arm.

What is your answer?

Go ahead. As long as you don't get us killed I don't really mind you going on this expedition of sorts.

With the mental conversation done, Miroch finished his meal and drink before heading to the small gathering of prospective adventurers.

"I heard you were taking people to search for a Magic Vault, well, consider me one of the people that'd like to be taken with you."

If anyone took notice of his hair color and gave him any strange looks he would look at them, and with a straight face say

"No. It is not painted."

April 9--8:33 AM
Alshain, Solarian Empire

Of course there would be someone trying to dissuade him from going on this journey...Kaus looked at the tall man with light brown hair who commented about how his goal seemed "insane." With a completely serious expression, he retorted, "If that's the case, then believe me--a lot of Tekers probably have gone insane already. And they don't have any clues on where to look to begin with..."

He paused when he realized just how supremely arrogant he sounded, and just pretended to get distracted by the second man who approached him. This man...also seemed like pretty bad news. His ghostly white face was painted in black and red, and the expression he carried seemed a bit colder. Could he be trusted...?

But Kaus had no idea how to refuse anyone without seeming discriminatory, so he forced a smile and replied, "Well, if you want to provide that service, that's fine. Welcome aboard, sir. But could I get--"

Before he could finish, yet another person walked up to him and asked to join. Looking him up and down, Kaus was surprised to see a High Elf...with black hair? As if on cue, this newcomer assured him that his hair wasn't dyed. Hm...maybe I'll ask him about it some time later.

"Alright then. Welcome to the team," he greeted the elf. "But, as I was saying...could I get your names first?" He gestured to both the elf and the man with the painted face.

Miroch looked at the man and inwardly smacked himself for forgetting his manners.

You know, I could have reminded you to do that.

Very funny.

"I apologize, I forget myself. My name is Miroch Vutan, pleasure to meet you Kaus Meridion."

(Sorry for the shortish post, I did put a large one. Please don't murder my soul and eat it for lunch.)

"If that's the case, then believe me--a lot of Tekers probably have gone insane already. And they don't have any clues on where to look to begin with..." The Teker threw a retort, but stopped mid sentence.

He semi-angrily bellowed while forcing a smile "Well then lets stop the small talk and get on with it shall we?" his words interrupted
any other party speaking at the time; unapologetically. He took a seat near the incoming crowd of adventurers and finished off his pint.

He looked especially disfavorably down upon the black haired elf. He said condescendingly "Treerat." although the loud banter of the tavern made it almost impossible to hear, elf ears are impeccably large.

Skoggr waited patiently until the agitated Nord and the strange elf had finished their introductions. Unlike most of his people, he lacked the hair-trigger temper they were so famous for. It often amused him to see it from others, an almost sadistic pleasure in watching others get angry.

That was easy, Haakon. We should place our trust only in ourselves. By which I mean me, of course. That boy may know what he's seeking, but can we count on him to make decisions?

The Nord was forced to agree. Had he not been so desperate to rid himself of the spirit, the idea would have been too ridiculous to even consider. It said something about his situation that he was willing to go against his cautious nature and join the venture.

By the time the two had finished interrupting him, Skoggr's smile had slowly faded into the perpetually grim scowl that was his passive expression. Pale gray eyes measured the young man, and found him wanting. "I'm called Skoggr." he replied tonelessly to the boy.

"I'll be nearby when you're ready to talk more." He stopped himself as he turned to head back to the bar. "And watch the shin-kickers, they're not worth the coin they'll drag from your purse." Skoggr deliberately eyed the dwarf, and then headed in the direction of his fellow Nord. The man moved like a wildcat hunting prey, his steps a careful economy of motion that kept cadence by the thumping of the poleaxe on the tavern floor.

You've always been exceptional at making friends, Skoggr. I'm sure your funeral will drown in tears of mourning. The Jackal snickered.

"I'm going to flay you alive and use your hide to line my chamber pot." Skoggr whispered quietly to himself. He nodded a greeting to his fellow Nord, and took a seat near him, already reaching for coin to purchase another drink.

"I'd wager that i'm mad, but you look like you have some sense. Why are you going with the whelp?" The question was posed to the Nord, in lieu of a greeting.

Back turned to the bar, receiving an incoming drink he turned around to be greeted with a nod from a poorly dressed gray eyed being. If it weren't for his pale skin he'd say a Solarian. He knew from one look at his face however it was an Nord. His dreads, war-paint, gray eyes, and expression all echoed that.

He took a seat next to Sigurðr and was purchasing a drink when he spoke

"I'd wager that I'm mad, but you look like you have some sense. Why are you going with the whelp?" he said in a greeting tone.

Turning his head to meet his gaze he replied

"Look at him. And look at the twats around him. The poor kids wouldn't last a sen-night, let alone to get to a magic vault. If something sounds too good to be true, it is. But, I can't pass it up."

He stopped himself and took a long chug out of his mug.

"Let's stop acting like I care about their well being though, Magic Vault sounds like a place to make a profit."

He sounded a little more crude than he would have liked, because he wouldn't want the kids to get eaten by trolls, but he really didn't care for them too much. The last statement was true although, money was his motivation for the embark.

"Plus I get to exercise this." he caressed his axe which was fastened to his side. He said this mildly joking, the statement had more truth than he'd like to admit although. Killing made him feel good.

As expected, the younger Teker accepted Claire into the group. She did have a few doubts about whether he could do the job of a leader properly, with all the hesitation in his voice, along with his obvious youth. Claire didn't think anything along the lines of 'well, he's a fellow Teker, so he must be a rational person', either. She had seen many of her fellow Tekers act very irrationally during her life. They had condemned her Alchemy, after all. In fact... Kaus seemed to be looking at her newest creation as if it were a bad thing. Claire almost felt annoyed at that, but realized perfectly well that the boy had only seen its results -which were, admittably, rather suspicious- and didn't know anything about the process behind it. Thus, his reaction was only natural, and she couldn't think badly of him because of it. "You don't have to drink it. Unless you want to, of course."

Mere moments after, she spotted a few other people approaching them. Those were... She had never seen a member of either race, as Malera was almost purely populated by Tekers, and she had never left the city before this, but she believed they were a dwarf and a member of the odd group of races called 'the Kindred'. Claire had always found their kind interesting. Before she had found Alchemy, she had once considered becoming a scholar of Kindred, finding out everything there was about them. But that was in the past. She now had far more important things to focus her intellectual efforts on.

"It seems like you will be getting more company, Kaus. I will not be distracting you while you take care of the negotiations for our bodyguards and such." While she would have liked to exchange a few words with the volunteers who were approaching them, she had a few other things to take care of first.

Claire slid a hand under her large cloak, seeking out the sturdily made bag she had hidden underneath. It was a type often used by scholars and the like who often carried books they didn't want getting wet, made from a rare leather that completely repelled water, and designed in a way that took full advantage of this. Unless it was actually dropped into a lake, not a drop would make its way inside. There were even some enchanted varieties that would have worked even then, but Claire had forsaken magic long ago. Although others might have called her Alchemy a type of magic as well, Claire did not consider it such. Alchemy was so much more.

From the bag, she pulled out a small book, along with a carefully sealed ink bottle and a quill. She opened the book at about halfway through it, unsealed the ink bottle and dipped the quill into the ink. And then, she began to write down everything about her experiment with alcohol before the details faded from her memory. The quill moved with an astonishing speed. Even among experienced writers, it was impressive, but to someone who mostly read things without having ever written a book of their own -or at least been writing letters regularly, or kept a journal- it would be unbelievably fast. A few might suspect that she was just randomly moving her hand without actually writing anything, but if they stopped to read what she wrote, they would find that each letter was perfectly clear. Although the message itself wouldn't make too much sense to an outsider, filled with many strange terms and abbreviations.

Once, during her writing, Claire took a longer look at the bottle of ink. It reminded her of something. One of her colleagues had told her about an invention of his when they had exchanged information on Alchemy. A better type of ink. She should try to replicate it one of these days. With all the writing she did, it was of vital importance that she had good ink always at her disposal. But that was for later. Now, she had to concentrate on this.

More people came to them as she wrote, and she paid little heed to them, noting a few things about each one. A Nord. One of those huge people. During what little time she had spent outside the United Teker States, she hadn't met many of them that appreciated fine scholarly pursuits. Of course, that might have had something to do with the fact that she had spent most of her time in taverns instead of places of higher social status, so she couldn't say anything for sure. Regardless, so far her impression was hardly of people that she could engage in scholarly debate with. But that wasn't really that important. While she preferred company with interests similar to her own, Nord did make for fine drinking companions, and often had interesting stories to tell. Therefore, she intended to socialize with the man had some point.

Next was... another Nord? A rather short one, though still taller than Claire herself. This one was a bit interesting. What was the purpose of that paint on his face, she wondered. She noted how very pale he was. What was it with Nords -well, most non-Tekers, actually- and their almost white skin? To her eyes, they seemed like they were suffering from some kind of deadly illness or the like, but she knew that it was natural for them. It made her a bit interested, actually. she should try studying the skin at some point, see if she could find out the reason some had light skin and some had dark skin. She made a brief note at the edge of the book so that she would remember that idea.

Then came an elf. With black hair. How curious. Didn't elves usually have very light hair? How curious. It reminded her of the idea she'd just had. Maybe she should try studying hair, too. She made a note on that, then sighed. So many projects to do, so little time. It seemed like she would need a potion of immortality or something if she wanted to learn everything she wanted to learn. Elves were long-lived, were they not. Another note: 'Research on elven life span, possibility to extend human life span?' So much to do, so much to learn.

It seemed like all three were accepted into their little group as well. So they were now seven people strong. It seemed like this expedition might actually work. Claire memorized the names of the new people as they introduced themselves, making sure she'd remember when she'd speak to them later.

Once the two Nords left to drink together, Claire ceased her writing for a moment, turning towards the elf man -Miroch Vutan, he'd called himself- and the dwarf and Kindred women. "My apologies for my rudeness earlier. I am Claire Lucion, and I believe I will be in charge of this group's healthcare. If you find yourselves getting wounded or ill, do seek me out. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miroch, Hela, Ruth." She should introduce herself to the two Nords later as well.

"Now then..." She turned towards Kaus. "It would seem like you have gotten quite a few volunteers in a short time. Since this seems to be succesful so far... I will be looking forward to your leadership." At that moment, she caught sight of something. Most likely, most others in the room also did. It would have been very hard to miss the Nord. While Claire had thought one of the Nords earlier had been huge... This one was positively gigantic. Very... very impressive.

"...What do you say? He seems like he would make for a good addition to our bodyguards. You should try recruiting him." With that, Claire gave Kaus a push towards the enormous Nord that had just arrived. "Go on, do your thing, great leader." She wanted the Nord on her side, but wasn't about to approach him herself. Recruiting new people was one of the leader's duties. It definitely had nothing to do with his intimidating size. Though she wasn't heartless enough to send him in unarmed. "Wait. It's dangerous to go alone, take this." She handed Kaus her own 'specially made ale'. It was still an unfinished product, but a single mug had still been enough to down a formerly sober Nord... Although that Nord hadn't been nearly the size of this one.

April 9--8:33 AM
Alshain, Solarian Empire

When that tall man who had called his expedition "insane" cut into the conversation again--not to mention insulted another one of his new companions--Kaus had to try hard not to glare in his direction. That guy...the way he talks, he's not saying he's interested; he's forcing himself into the group! I shouldn't accept him at all. "Miroch and Skoggr, then...got it," he replied to the other two men, making a great effort to smile. Attending to so many people at once was starting to tax his mind.

Skoggr, who already seemed disappointed in his new employer, told Kaus to let him know when they could talk some more, before going off to have a drink with that tall man. Come to think of it, he didn't know that man's name...and wasn't sure if he wanted to, either.

At that moment, he heard Claire talking to him--something about looking forward to his leadership. Just after she said that, however, she looked to another part of the room, and noticed something. "...What do you say? He seems like he would make for a good addition to our bodyguards. You should try recruiting him," she urged, before pushing Kaus towards a certain part of the tavern.

"Whoa!" Kaus yelped, quickly managing to regain his balance. "Hang on, who are you talking ab..." His words trailed off when he realized which direction she had been pushing him in. Oh my god...that can't be a person, that's a GIANT! "No, wait, Claire, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, he doesn't look li-"

"Go on, do your thing, great leader," Claire insisted, as if oblivious to his protests. "Wait. It's dangerous to go alone, take this." The next moment, she handed him...that deadly concoction. Yep, that one with which she had sent some man off to presumably some (un)pleasant dream.

Somehow, the drink didn't give Kaus any more confidence than if he had been walking towards this absolute titan with a set of full armor. "Uh..." At this point, though, he didn't know if he could even argue his way out of this anymore. Swallowing down a huge gulp of air, he slowly approached the giant, cringing in anticipation.

He didn't even get halfway across the room when something else crazy happened (at this point, Kaus was wondering if he had disturbed the balance of the universe merely by walking into this tavern). The shrill notes of a flute sliced through all conversations in the room, followed by a heavily-accented voice calling out to all of them. "Ladddis..spirits and gentlemenn...t'night, wee havin dee greit honorrr of havin' sevveral spirrits of note amongst usss...sss...ss..."

Confused, Kaus looked around for the owner of this voice, before realizing it was coming from barely a meter next to him. Realizing he was a bit too close to the performance for comfort, he rushed to the other side of the room, careful not to spill Claire's ale.

"Without furrther delay'a, ill'a begin," Three loud knocks, the sound of wood against wood. "Isss there any one der?, Oneo knock forr no, two knockss for yesss." When Kaus turned around, he saw that the owner of the voice was a ferret-Kindred garbed in a faded blue coat and light brown pants, carrying a wooden staff.

"Ha! Anyone can do that sort of trick, furball!" a voice called from another corner of the room. However, the ferret man merely smiled and raised his staff, somehow conjuring up the image of a man Kaus didn't recognize. This image then proceeded to dance around as though it were controlled by the most incompetent puppeteer ever, to the delight of the onlookers.

As several other images of different people joined this one, the ferret man walked up to Kaus proudly. "Well sirr, did I passs de qualifiers? My spirit and'I would vverry mucha'lik ta join yur adventurrr," he drawled.

Unsure of what to say about the display, Kaus had difficulty finding his voice. "I...didn't really need 'qualifiers,'" he managed. "But yes, we'd appreciate it if you joined." The people he was attracting were getting stranger and stranger...

Well, now for the elephant in the room. Quite literally, in fact. Turning back to the enormous man Claire had scouted out, Kaus approached him slowly, tentatively. He cleared his throat, before looking up with the best smile he could produce. "Um...hello," he greeted, trying not to let his nervousness show. "I'm Kaus Meridion. I'm recruiting people to search for a Magic Vault. Do you...think you'd be interested?"

He prayed desperately that this man wouldn't reward his efforts with a punch in the face.

The welcome was nice, but didn't really lift the dwarf's skepticism. Didn't protocol call for a contract? A summary of the task at hand? Heck, the kid hadn't even bothered to ask the two women about what exactly they'd bring to the team -- Although in hindsight they could've mentioned it beforehand. The thought lingered that this was still someone's idea of a joke, and even if that wasn't the case there was the fact that they've just pledged allegiance to someone half their age. Regardless, she nodded her head in thanks and decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth.

As much as she wanted to, anyway...

Not long after their brief exchange, the group suddnely got swamped with nearly a dozen other adventurers eager to take a bite out of this job. Some good, some bad, some... better left unmentioned. It was safe to say that the bulk of the arrivals weren't exactly doing a skeptic such as Ruth any favours in actually changing her initial thoughts.

Meanwhile, Hela had taken note of Kaus' reaction when he first noticed her. It wasn't all that surprising, given his age, but the fox Kindred kept it in mind for when she might need to call upon the ol' Alyndra charm to work its magic. She looked round at all the assorted would-be adventurers who gathered round like moths to a street lamp, noting with some displeasure that there were a few Nords among their number. Well, they were probably going to need some dumb muscle at some point, right?

Thankfully, the two Nords decided to bugger off and probably get shitfaced together. Wouldn't put it past them to do so. Hela turned her attention to the Teker girl and the elf with the rather stylish black hair. These two looked to be a lot more tolerable. Perhaps even Ruth would get along just fine with them.

The presumptious and racist remark from the Nord wearing face-paint had been dully noted by the shin-kicker in question, the irony, perhaps, being that he too was now kicking shins. Ruth didn't bother to waste her breath, and settled with raising an eyebrow before promptly turning focus to people that were much more deserving of her time.

"Likewise, lass. It's good t'see we've got people besides these kill-crazy barbarians who can only communicate in belches." She paused, thought for a moment. "And, ya know. Lookin' forward to workin' with ya."

Hela nodded in agreement. "With any luck we shouldn't need patching up too much, but I wouldn't mind a chat while we're out on the road, maybe a game of cards if things get boring." She then glanced at the elf and gave him a friendly smile. "Nice hair, by the way." In all her travels Hela had never seen an elf with hair that dark. Probably just a quirk of birth, but it looked at least mildly interesting to her.

Miroch watched as the two Nords wandered off to, presumably, get a drink. At least, that's what Miroch expected of them. As much as he did not like the idea of placing stereotypes on people, the fact that most of the Nords that he met fit the stereotype of hulking masses of muscle, with a brain the size of pebble, an ego twice the size of their bodies and a penchant for strong drink. While there were variations here and there, the one thing that usually was constant was their love of drink. Then he watched as the Teker woman, Claire Lucion, spoke to him and the dwarf woman and the Kindred then turned to Kaus, speaking before pointing out the giant Nord that just entered. After Claire put something in Kaus's hands before pushing him off towards the gigantic Nord. Then he turned as the dwarf woman spoke, and then the Kindred. When she mentioned his hair and how it looked nice, Miroch felt a trickling of anger slipping past his guard, but that was quickly quashed by Gorrjen.

Miroch. You're getting sloppy.

I know.

You're still going to say something.

Yes, I am. Not in anger, but for knowledge.

He turned to the Kindred woman, whose name he still hadn't caught yet.

"Well, I thank you for saying my hair looks 'nice', but none of my brethren would agree. Besides that, I didn't catch any of your names. You already know mine, but what are yours?"

April 9--8:36 AM
Alshain, Solarian Empire

With fingers about as big as salami rolls , the giant man prodded Kaus in the chest multiple times while expressing...a lot of doubt, to say the least...about his quest. Grabbing onto a chair to steady himself, Kaus made a second attempt to sound more convincing. "But you can't have searched the entire wilderness, can you? Besides, it's more likely the Vault will be underground, and I doubt you could find anything like that so easily, even if..."

Actually, wait...do I really need to bother with this guy? I've already got...uh...Miroch, Claire, Hela, Ruth, Skoggr, that ferret man...six people who agreed to come with me without arguing too much. So even if this guy doesn't want to join us, we should be fine, right?

Slowly, Kaus made a decision. "...actually, never mind. If you're really not interested, the deal's off," he declared, stepping away. He tried not to look too angry, but the words were bitter in his mouth. Ah, well...it was bound to happen eventually.

Turning to the ferret Kindred, he added, "Better come with me. Let's get you introduced to the others." Quickly, he strode to the others, who were still standing at the bar--it seemed they were introducing themselves to each other. Well, except for Skoggr, who was currently having a drink.

"Okay, guys," he called, looking over each of them. "We've picked up one more member..." He gestured to the ferret man at that point. "...so, I think we should be fine heading out with these numbers. Is there anything you guys think we need before leaving Alshain?"

Ice looked around him grinning broadly from whisker to whisker towards the newly created band of adventure. He gave them all a professional bow, holding his right arm above his chest. Lore silently applauded him for getting into the band, eager to learn more about the past she could barley recall. Ice thought to say goodbye to his former troupe, but smiled slightly remembering that goodbyes where simply not the Ferret way, they would always meet again ether in the flesh or the spirit.

Human lands had really started to make him sentimental...

"Ello, Im's glad to'a being picked'up by neww humi bosss-man. Amongss me kin people, i'a got callerd Emaki-blizamin-spwara, 'maki knows'a find Ferret-kin hard'un yur speek, so 'maki calls him'a Ice in humi lands - Im'an Ice Ferret kin yu'seee".

Turning to the boss, Ice looked curiously and thought of what humi's might need traveling around.

"Humi boss-man might wanna buy'a some warm'a fur clothes, weather can'una all cold like real'a quick. Humi knows!". said Ice, hoping to be helpful to the poor humi's who didn't have their own fur.

April 9--8:36 AM
Alshain, Solarian Empire

Frowning slightly, Kaus tried to make sense of what the ferret man said--his accent made it a bit hard to understand his words. "...so...you want us to call you Ice, and you recommend we get fur coats?" he asked, just to be sure. "Not a bad idea, but the Heartland gets pretty warm at this time of year, so I don't know how much we'll need those coats...nonetheless, we're traveling out to the wilderness, so I guess we should prepare ourselves for any scenario."

Just as he finished speaking, that one Nord cut in again, introducing himself as "Sig", before standing up and walking to the doorway. Just perfect. So he's coming along after all. Wonder if I'll have to keep him in check...? Aw, geez.

Hela explained that she and Ruth had all their gear ready, before leaving to get their drinks which were still at their table. As she returned, however, Ruth looked straight at Kaus with an even more serious expression (how was that possible?!)."Just one more question, lad. I'd like to think ya got yer head screwed on right. So before we go, I'd like some insight on yer plans. Findin' a magic vault's a big claim after all."

Considering for a moment, Kaus rummaged in his satchel before bringing out two books--one was covered in unfamiliar glyphs, while the other was in the language used by all three human kingdoms. "I don't know how much more faith you'll have in me after this, but here we go," he warned. "In fact, the rest of you probably should listen..."

He repositioned himself to stand closer to the center of the group, beckoning the others to get closer so they wouldn't miss a detail in the noise of the tavern. "You all remember that one Vault was found about a year ago, right? I went there myself while they were trying to break it open. And when we finally did open it, there was magic, yeah...but not just that. Among other things, I found a number of books inside, like this one--" He held up the book with the strange glyphs here. "--and my family was allowed to bring some of them home with us, in order to discover more about the Elder civilization."

Flipping open the book, looking through the various slips of paper he had put in as bookmarks, he continued, "I'm afraid we still don't understand much about them, especially their language, but there was one interesting thing I discovered." Finding a certain note, he opened it up to reveal a map which spanned two pages. "This appears to be the continent on which the Elders lived...well, part of it, at least. But...do you see this?"

His finger pointed at various lines running across the map to various dots, as though they were constellations. "Yes...if these dots are cities, then they had some...paths or something running between all of them. It might seem crazy, but...oh. Sorry, I need this briefly."

Taking Hela's mug and putting it down on the book so it'd stay open on that page, he raised the other book--the one belonging to humans--and flipped it open, revealing a map of the Heartland, Alne, and the various Teker city states. "Here's the strange part. The landscape in this book is different from what the Elder map showed, and the coastline also doesn't quite match. And yet...and I pity whichever cartographer had to add these in..."

Surely enough, the exact same paths were carved into the human map, in the exact same patterns and the exact same scale. There were no longer dots appearing at every intersection, but it still matched almost perfectly. "About two months ago, I even followed some of these paths myself to see if it was true. There are...dried river beds, or something of that sort, following those exact patterns," Kaus continued, quickly building towards his conclusion. "I don't know if this plan completely works, but I'm guessing if we try and find those Elder cities...that might lead us to a Vault!"

Finished talking, he waited for a response, hoping his claims didn't sound like hoaxes.

Skoggr listened to the young man explain himself, finding his enthusiasm somewhat amusing.

When the first book--the ancient tome--was revealed, he scowled, and touched the iron blade of his axe to avert bad luck. Some folk weren't sure what to make of the 'elders', and Skoggr, like many of them believed their strange language and symbols were the basis of malevolent magic. The thought never occurred to him that he himself had dabbled in fouler magic in his younger days. And now he was stuck with the Jackal.

...who seemed to have a different reaction upon seeing the Elder tome.

Words from the old ones! Yes, yesssss! This one holds the key to riches and power beyond your wildest dreams, Haakon! We will keep this one alive, yes?

Skoggr scowled, at no one in particular, and rubbed his temples. "Now is not the time for words." He hissed to the spirit.

It giggled, but remained silent after that, allowing the Nord to focus once more on what their leader--or as Skoggr preferred, his charge--was saying. Which, as it happened, was when the second map was presented. He saw the excitement in the young man's eyes, noticed the glimmer of greed and fantasy in some of the others. But none of them looked the least bit worried. What was out there, far out there in the wilderness? What lurked in silent cities, aeons rested, mute witnesses to ages and beings from a time barely understood?

The Jackal might have a better understanding, but Skoggr suspected the little bastard wouldn't willing part with it's knowledge. The expedition sounded all fine and dandy, but it was the journey he was worried about, not the plan. After all, how many people had ventured deep into the wilderness? He'd heard stories throughout his life about horrors that lurked in lands untouched by men. Though he considered himself well traveled, his prey had always been human--or dwarven, or elven, or--or anything else in the known territories, leaving him with little experience of the uncharted lands.

After waiting for the boy to finish, he rapped the haft of his poleaxe on the floor to gain then attention of his charge. "So you have a map, good. But have you paid mind to what stalks the wilds out there?" He paused to sweep his icy gaze across the other adventurers. "Perhaps we'd do well to gain a better understanding of what we might come up against. There must be someone here amongst us who has ventured into true wilderness?"

Skoggr took a seat, his expression cold. "I like to know as much as possible about what I have to kill. I think we would all benefit from any knowledge amongst our little...expedition. I'd also suggest that if you're not armed, you do so before you leave."

With that Skoggr gestured toward Kaus to comment or continue.

April 9--8:40 AM
Alshain, Solarian Empire

The noise of something striking the wooden floor caught Kaus' attention. Looking up in that direction, he was met by Skoggr gazing at them with a stern, cold expression. The Nord with the painted face pointed out how they didn't really have a good idea of what sort of creatures they might encounter in the wilderness.

Right away, Kaus could feel the wind starting to leave his metaphorical sails. Already, there was a great deal of unexplored territory, even between different kingdoms. But the wilderness to the east and west of all the kingdoms--which, combined, basically stretched from north to south for a few kilometers--was an even bigger mystery. No one wandered through those areas; no one had any reason to go there. Yet he hadn't thought once about this problem.

"Well, uh..." He found himself at a loss for words. This was bad. He had to find a way to save face quickly. "Um...yeah, good call. And, um, even among those of us who are armed, we probably should also make sure our weapons are in good condition. Probably best to find a blacksmith...yeah."

Even though Kaus tried to look at least a bit enthusiastic while saying this, he knew he hadn't addressed the main problem that Skoggr had highlighted, and he felt even more worried now.

Miroch nodded in acknowledgement of Hela's and Ruth's names before looking at the new arrival. It introduced itself as Ice, an Ice Ferret kindred. Miroch nodded to him.

"My name is Miroch Vutan."

Then he kept quiet as Ruth asked Kaus what his plan was, and also while Kaus explained it. He understood what Kaus was saying, agreeing that it would be a sensible to try. Something tugged at the back of his mind however, but he ignored it for the moment. Then the skinny Nord spoke up, questioning Kaus's plans more, wanting to know more of the wilderness that was where they were to be adventuring. Miroch had some experience venturing out into the wilderness, though he'd usually have been accompanied by a ranger, whether a mercenary or one of his employer's own men. The jobs he had there usually involved capturing some manner of strange beast, with Miroch serving as one of the restrainers as Gorrjen's power granted him greater strength than the average elf.

"I have gone out to the wilderness a few times, though I am no ranger. I can tell you about some of the beasts we may face out there. Some have skin tough enough to ward off a blade, some have claws and tusks as sharp as any blade, others have the strength of five men but all of them are more than enough to kill any wandering traveler. However, all of the beasts so far have been beaten by the intelligence and teamwork of a small team, about the same size as us. Though, I recommend that the best fighters among us deal with them. Their physical prowess is beyond the average man's, but only the most dangerous can defeat a party of elite warriors. What we should face should be a challenge, have no doubt, but we should be fine. What I have found, is that while their skin may be tough enough to resist a blade, if for a short while, blunt force can still break their bones and damage their organs. With enough strength, we could crack their heads open internally. That can be as deadly to them as a sword through the belly."

April 9--8:40 AM
Alshain, Solarian Empire

To Kaus' good fortune, Miroch chimed in with the most impeccable timing and told the others about a few times he had gone into the wilderness. But why would he need to go in there...? Eh, I can ask him some other time.

"Intelligence and teamwork, huh..." he murmured, looking down at the floor, with one hand on his chin in the "deep thought" pose. "Right, then. Let's figure out what all of us can do once we get out of the city, so we can cover each other's weaknesses if we have to fight."

Thinking back to the suggestion he made a little while ago, Kaus decided it was probably best to go get their weapons checked. Just to be safe, of course. He knew his own weapons were still in fairly good condition, but a little maintenance never hurt. "Hey, if you guys don't mind, shall we head to the blacksmith now? We can keep talking on our way there."

As Kaus walked towards the door, he glanced briefly on that gigantic man in the corner--the one Claire had recommended that he hire. Wait, Claire? Oh, that's right...I'd probably better tell her I couldn't do it. "Yeah...you probably can tell, but I didn't manage to get that guy you saw to join," he told her. "Sorry about that. Oh well...come on."

He pushed open the door and stepped back out into the cool morning air. There were still plenty of people around, rushing to their jobs around the city, but the flow of people had diminished ever so slightly. Definitely better than inside the tavern, that was for sure.

"I haven't been in Alshain very much," he admitted. "Anyone know a good place for armor and weapon repair around here?"

Having pushed Kaus into motion, Claire watched the younger Teker move towards the huge Nord with hesitant steps. She wondered how the recruiting would go. Before she could witness that event, however, something else drew her attention. A member of the Kindred had begun some kind of show, conjuring images of some people Claire did not recognize. Judging by the reactions of others around her, however, the locals did know who those images were of. Claire found the distraction somewhat amusing, though she was more interested in the one behind it. It was one of the Kindred, right? They were of quite a wide variety, as this one was far more animal-like than Hela, with whom she was already acquainted. Her heart of a scholar made her curious, but she shook her head after a moment. She was already devoted to Alchemy. Unrelated distractions were unwelcome.

Suddenly, Claire realized that she had fallen into thought, with many events having taken place during her momentary stillness. After some observation, she deduced that Kaus's negotiations with the giant of a man had failed, and instead he had brought with him the Kindred from earlier. What kind of animal was he based on, actually? Claire had never really studied biology that much, and had not seen many different animals back at Malera. Well, other than fish. She'd have to ask someone about it later. But then it turned out that there would be no need to do so, as the Kindred man introduced himself as an 'Ice Ferret'. Emaki-blizamin-spwara. A rather interesting name, one that wouldn't exactly come out naturally if she tried to pronounce it. She did, however, remember it. For a while, at least. The details would fade from her memory soon enough, since it wasn't related to Alchemy, so she decided to write it down before she forgot. 'Ice', however, was something she could remember perfectly well even without taking notes. "Claire Lucion. It is a pleasure to meet you", she briefly introduced herself.

The dwarf woman, Ruth, raised a wise question. How was their leader going to find a magic vault? As this subject was directly related to Claire's own objective, her attention was quickly focused onto Kaus as she waited for his response. And the boy brought out books. The first thing she did was read the titles of the books, which happened in an instant. Next, she listened intently on Kaus's explanation while eyeing on the books. She decided that she'd ask Kaus if she could read them later.

After the explanation was done, Claire decided that it was good enough. She was not fully convinced, but she had been planning on following him even if he hadn't told them about this. Sooner or later, they were bound to run into one of those magic vaults, since they knew what to look for. If Kaus was telling the truth, he had been to one of the vaults himself. He knew what they were like.

Next came the topic of possible obstacles for their expedition. Namely, the dangers of the wilds. That wasn't of particular interest to Claire, so she let her consciousness wander elsewhere. She did catch a few words before that, however. Blacksmith, good condition, weapons. Interesting. Maybe there was something she could do... She did not know the method for it yet, but she was certain she could somehow take care of the condition of weaponry. A protective layer placed on top of the weapons? But that would only be a preventive measure. She'd need something that could also repair any damages already done. There was much research that needed to be done.

While she was still thinking, Kaus approached her, informing her of his failure to recruit the Nord she'd suggested earlier. She shrugged. "Well, it wasn't particularly important. Do not worry about it." The younger Teker then left the tavern. Claire immediately followed, as she thought of something.

"Wait. There is one thing that needs to be done. We will need horses and a wagon. If we are to to travel long distances, we will need plenty of supplies. Foraging, hunting and fishing can provide a part of what we need, but there are some things necessary that cannot be gathered from the wilds. Also, if we are to bring back whatever we find at the magic vault, we will need something to carry it in." Also, if they had horses and a wagon, she wouldn't need to walk. And she would have an indoors location to do her experiments in. But she didn't say that out loud. She also conveniently decided to forget about the fact that they were going into the wilderness, where one wouldn't have easy-to-travel roads. But they'd deal with it when the time came. She wanted her comfortable wagon. "If you agree, I know a person we can buy both things from, and will have them ready by the time you return from your trip to the blacksmith." She'd just need to go get her things from her room at the inn first, and then she'd be ready to go buy them. The man who was willing to sell those things was close by, so she'd be done with her business quickly.

A large group passed by, coming from some tavern or another. Looked like a popular one-- the paint on the sign was actually fresh, so someone was maintaining it. The group looked armed. Might be some adventurers-- they didn't really look like guards.

Varghos was still nowhere to be found, but that was typical. He wasn't the type to stick close. Maybe Kav could be the one to get the work for the two Shadehands this time. He walked toward the group, trying to eavesdrop and hearing nothing specific. After a couple minutes of very conspicuous tailing, he caught something...

"...whatever we find at the magic vault, we will need..."

A magic vault? This could be interesting...

He walked up to one of the group members at random, figuring the Ferret-kin would be able to provide some information.

"Hey. You the leader of this group?" Kav asked the Ferret-kin. As far as Varghos had taught him, there were some pretty competent Ferret-kin mercenary leaders, and some famed warlords as well. It seemed a good guess for the leader.