Elementals: The Black Beast (IC, Sign-ups only)

[Constaniana]

"Well, it happened ten days ago. Heilaga was serving in a tavern back home called the Galloping Mare. Queer folk from a cult called Watchtower came in, demanding she come with them, and some old man named Nryoko used darkness magic to disappear after grabbing her. You wouldn't have heard anything about Watchtower in your travels, would you?" Aldraniri enquired, trying to keep his expression calm and focused, putting aside the gloominess Heilaga's kidnapping inspired in him. And the anger. So much anger.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan nodded back at Lisoette and turned to look for the place where Aldraniri had gone off to, trying to spot the building among the mass of, well, other buildings. One of the good things about growing up in a frozen island was that everything was so god damned white, you had to have a simply wonderful eyesight in order to be able to tell when, say, there was a big angry roar-roar rushing towards you with murderous intent. That they had white fur didn't help matters in the slightest, and while he didn't really find himself alone in the wilderness all that often, sometimes he was kicked out of the castle for some trivial matter, and that was when the predators came into play. It was probably a good thing that he too blended in well enough, though. The Gallians who found him even commented about it once, how he coulld easily hide in the snow since his hair didn't give him away.

All of that nearly irrelevant stuff is to say, he spotted the building with zero trouble. However, when Lisoette's question came, Tristan didn't really know what to say. He knew that it was a place where lots of people went, and some ate and drank there, but then, that was about it. And inns were like that too. So, he didn't really have any idea.

Eric's description didn't really fit what he had seen so far, though.

Either way, he simply nodded at Eric. "Alright." He said, before taking Lisoette's hand and leading her over to the tavern where he supposed Aldraniri was. Maybe he'd left by now, but probably not, so he stepped in and began looking for him.

[Minroz]

"Well, it happened ten days ago. Heilaga was serving in a tavern back home called the Galloping Mare. Queer folk from a cult called Watchtower came in, demanding she come with them, and some old man named Nryoko used darkness magic to disappear after grabbing her. You wouldn't have heard anything about Watchtower in your travels, would you?" Aldraniri enquired, trying to keep his expression calm and focused, putting aside the gloominess Heilaga's kidnapping inspired in him. And the anger. So much anger.

“Watchtower…” Temujin reiterated. Aisha frowned even further at the serious of the situation.

“Truthfully, sir Aldraniri, we heard little about this ‘Watchtower’. But my brother and I do know they’re seemingly against Elementals of all kinds and anyone they perceived to be one. And by the gods, crazy and dangerous too. Did you have any clues on the whereabouts of your friend? And not to mention, this man ‘Nryoko’, you make him sound like he’s dangerous. If this fellow is with Watchtower, we should be tread carefully.” She cautioned at the last part.

[Constaniana]

“Watchtower…” Temujin reiterated. Aisha frowned even further at the serious of the situation.

“Truthfully, sir Aldraniri, we heard little about this ‘Watchtower’. But my brother and I do know they’re seemingly against Elementals of all kinds and anyone they perceived to be one. And by the gods, crazy and dangerous too. Did you have any clues on the whereabouts of your friend? And not to mention, this man ‘Nryoko’, you make him sound like he’s dangerous. If this fellow is with Watchtower, we should be tread carefully.” She cautioned at the last part.

Aldraniri could only shake his head in response to Aisha's question.

"I don't really know where she could be. It would be different if Nyroko had escaped on foot, or horseback, or by boat, or something mundane that could be tracked, but...how are you supposed to follow someone who teleports? There's no footprints, there's no way of knowing how far he's gone. Maybe he's in Norenhall. But maybe he's in Galdenton by now. That bastard might have taken Heilaga out of the country. For all I know, he could have poofed off to another planet!" the Northemen lad seethed, looking downward with a forlorn look on his face. He brightened up a tad when the serving girl from earlier tapped his shoulder and handed him his ale, and he then noticed Tristan and Lisoette had entered the tavern as well. Aldraniri gave them a wave, and Lisoette dragged Tristan through the crowd to Aldry.

"So, did you find the Walter?" the blonde asked, reminding Aldraniri of the initial reason he had come into the tavern.

"Oh, er...not yet. But I got us some help. Tristan, Lisoette, these two are Temujjin and Aisha of Sahranjja," the redhead replied, pointing to the foreign boy and his guardian sister.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan spotted Aldraniri rather quickly amidst the crowd, and was about to head towards him to ask him what he had found out so far, when Lisoette suddenly began walking towards him, dragging him along to where he was apparently conversing with two other people he hadn't seen before. It seemed that Aldraniri had spent his time talking to these people, since he had apparently found nothing about Walter so far, but at least he managed to get some help instead. That was good. The more people looking for Walter, the easier it should be to find him.

"Ah, hello. I'm Tristan." The white-haired young man declared, introducing himself, before speaking up once again. "Also... What's Sahranjja?" He asked afterwards, somewhat confused. He had never heard that name before, truth be told.

[Constaniana]

Aldraniri had forgotten that Tristan probably wouldn't have known about that empire. The Ice Elemental was frequently confused by everything around him, so it wasn't too difficult to believe that geography was another area the white-haired youth knew next to nothing about. And Lisoette was almost certainly sharing Tristan's confusion.

"Sahranjja was an old empire when Adrathur the Great first brought Albrion and Aurenia-Erid together, and sits down in the south of the world. The only things she borders is the sea and a dirty great desert full of savages, bandits, scorpions, serpents, lost ruins from the days when the whole eastern chunk of their continent wasn't exclusively giant piles of sand or scraggly, cracked earth, and possibly demons. But they've got a giant wall that's 900 feet high and all made of metal with thousands of their giant crossbows along the top that got put up by Elementals thousands and thousands of years ago, so they generally don't have to worry about things getting through. Generally the only time things from the desert get through is when the Sahranjjites want it to, like slaves or exotic animals to sell, and whenever some adventurer comes back claiming to have found wondrous lost artefacts. But I've heard the actual country itself is much more hospitable once you head more westward, where the cactus gets swapped for olive trees, the sand dunes become rice paddies, and every living thing isn't trying to kill you or feast on your soul or whatever happens in that cursed desert. They used to rule Yuelkelu and Beiriuk, but that was hundreds of years ago. And they're reputed to be quite good with mechanical and alchemical matters," Aldraniri explained, before realizing Tristan and Lisoette probably had no idea what those two words meant either, "You know, like building crossbows and clockworks, or brewing potions and stuff. And they invented gunpowder, if I'm not mistaken," he continued, glancing over at Temujjin and Aisha to see if they had anything to say.

[Minroz]

"Ah, hello. I'm Tristan." The white-haired young man declared, introducing himself, before speaking up once again. "Also... What's Sahranjja?" He asked afterwards, somewhat confused. He had never heard that name before, truth be told.

"Sahranjja was an old empire when Adrathur the Great first brought Albrion and Aurenia-Erid together, and sits down in the south of the world. The only things she borders is the sea and a dirty great desert full of savages, bandits, scorpions, serpents, lost ruins from the days when the whole eastern chunk of their continent wasn't exclusively giant piles of sand or scraggly, cracked earth, and possibly demons. But they've got a giant wall that's 900 feet high and all made of metal with thousands of their giant crossbows along the top that got put up by Elementals thousands and thousands of years ago, so they generally don't have to worry about things getting through. Generally the only time things from the desert get through is when the Sahranjjites want it to, like slaves or exotic animals to sell, and whenever some adventurer comes back claiming to have found wondrous lost artefacts. But I've heard the actual country itself is much more hospitable once you head more westward, where the cactus gets swapped for olive trees, the sand dunes become rice paddies, and every living thing isn't trying to kill you or feast on your soul or whatever happens in that cursed desert. They used to rule Yuelkelu and Beiriuk, but that was hundreds of years ago. And they're reputed to be quite good with mechanical and alchemical matters," Aldraniri explained, before realizing Tristan and Lisoette probably had no idea what those two words meant either, "You know, like building crossbows and clockworks, or brewing potions and stuff. And they invented gunpowder, if I'm not mistaken," he continued, glancing over at Temujjin and Aisha to see if they had anything to say.

The Sahranjjite duo gave the polite bow to Tristan and Lisoette in response. It’s normal back in their homeland to bow when greeting someone, stranger or not.

“Nihao, like Sir Aldraniri said. We’re from Sahranjja, a might realm ruled by His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, May He reign for Ten Thousand years! And we’re pretty good with mechanical and alchemical matters. I’m proud to say we are. Oh, I am Temujin of the Jinmao clan, the scholar.” The bespectacled boy introduced himself.

“I’m Aisha, the warrior, I worked in the Imperial Army back in my country. It’s pleasure to meet you two.” The Black-haired girl greeted. “And I’m this lad’s big sister. Ye gods, sadly to say, he is a whiner in the fight and I have to come and save his butt many times over.” She playfully jerked her thumb at her foster little brother.

[“I’m strong enough to take care of myself, big sister. Must you embarrass me in front of strangers.”] Temujin made a mock pout. [“At least, I don’t have a big sack over your chest.”]

[“Eeeh~”] Aisha poked his head in the playful manner. [“That’s sexual harassment. I thought you’re supposed to be a scholarly gentleman, ah.”]

[“I would if you don’t make fun of me!”] He retorted.

It’s clear to the adventures that these two are bantering a bit with each other. It’s nice to see a good sibling bonding even though the two aren’t related by blood.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan simply stood by idly as he listened to Aldraniri go on a small rant about Sahranjja, its lands, its defenses, its talents and part of its history. Quite frankly, he didn't understand most of what he said, for rather understandable reasons. He didn't know who Adrathur the Great was, for example, or what Albrion and Aurenia-Erid were. Or what a cactus was, for that matter. A good thing too, since being in a place where those things could grow would likely take a lot out of the youth from the northern islands made of ice and snow.

Either way, the white-haired Elemental simply nodded idly at Aldraniri as he explained and then at Temujin and Aisha as they introduced themselves to him and Lisoette, trying to make a little bit of sense from what he had learned, just in case. As the two foster-siblings bantered, Tristan attempted to put two and two together.

"So..." He began, thinking. "This Sahranjja... Is in its own... Continent." He said slowly, nodding to himself. He paused for several moments, before suddenly appearing somewhat shocked, holding his head with his hands. "There's another one?" He asked, before looking around. "...I need to sit down." He said.

[Constaniana]

Tristan simply stood by idly as he listened to Aldraniri go on a small rant about Sahranjja, its lands, its defenses, its talents and part of its history. Quite frankly, he didn't understand most of what he said, for rather understandable reasons. He didn't know who Adrathur the Great was, for example, or what Albrion and Aurenia-Erid were. Or what a cactus was, for that matter. A good thing too, since being in a place where those things could grow would likely take a lot out of the youth from the northern islands made of ice and snow.

Either way, the white-haired Elemental simply nodded idly at Aldraniri as he explained and then at Temujin and Aisha as they introduced themselves to him and Lisoette, trying to make a little bit of sense from what he had learned, just in case. As the two foster-siblings bantered, Tristan attempted to put two and two together.

"So..." He began, thinking. "This Sahranjja... Is in its own... Continent." He said slowly, nodding to himself. He paused for several moments, before suddenly appearing somewhat shocked, holding his head with his hands. "There's another one?" He asked, before looking around. "...I need to sit down." He said.

"Several, actually," said Aldraniri. "There's also Elcrescia to the east, where most of the different countries are. Yuelkulu is in the south, in the sea between Galllia and Sahranjja, and it's considered a continent too, albeit a broken one. Some say Halvefor is part of the Galllian continent, like Eresiln, but the Halvefori insist their island is the remnant of a much larger continent comparable to Galllia that was destroyed by Demons or the wrath of the other gods upon the decadent inhabitants there, depending on who you talk to. It happened thousands of years ago, before even the Sahranjjite's empire began, so there's no way of really knowing what happened," the lad continued, recalling as much of Master Jarnsmon's travel stories as he could.

[Kassaran]

Trish simply let the cub she held fade into another heap of vines as the creatures that Erosen controlled did exactly the same, falling limp and lifeless for a moment before taking on different forms, some ressembling birds, some ressembling trees, and some ressembling houses which then fell apart. The scene was... Bizarre, to say the least, if one looked at the facts with objectivity, but Trish knew that he was trying to convey something, and thus looked for the meaning instead, observing the portrayal before her with much concentration, missing or at least ignoring Eric's clapping, not wanting to look away just yet, when the scene was not yet over.

However, it seemed that the rest went by rather quickly. The green figure was chased away and through... Was that... The sea? It probably was. What else would be so vast and blue? The sky, perhaps, but that would imply that the green thing could fly, which was doubtful. Either way, the vines stopped moving and died out, and Erosen himself began gesturing. It was a short one, but it was clear enough. This was something from his mind he wished to tell her, apparently. She didn't catch exactly what he wanted her to understand, but it was close enough.

Figuring that she should in turn convey something as well, she thought of simply telling him of her journey, since it appeared that he had told her of his. Her powers would probably suffice for that. She couldn't color ice at will like he seemed to be able to color his vines, but no matter. She hardly needed the color anyway. Focusing, she caused a mass of ice to manifest. Part of it was shaped like the island she had grown up in, though much of it she had never explored, and thus was generated at random. On this island, there were two figures, made of ice as well, though their shape was easily distuingishable as human-like. One was much larger, and was lying inert on the ground, while the other moved around. The smaller ice figure grew and wandered, leaving the inert one behind, eventually coming upon a castle. It never approached the castle, but it always observed it for long periods of time, until, eventually, something of no concrete shape seemed to leave the castle and head away. Thus the figure followed, eventually reaching the edge of the island. The figure hesitated for a long time, before finally boarding a circular vessel made of ice like everything else, and hovered away from the island.

After her small representation, Trish dissipated the ice with a wave of her hand and then looked back at Erosen.

It had indeed been a wonderful display, and Erosen enjoyed watching her memories manifest in the crystal ice before him, and it was incredible to think she did it all so calmly. He decided here would be his best bet at trying to communicate with the girl, and he gave her a rather curious look cocking his head to one side as he brought a hand to his mouth, then bringing the tips of the fingers together, he then let his hand fly out and away while slightly opening his mouth in an attempt to pantomime talking, hoping the girl might understand what he was getting at. The lack of vocal communication thus far had been making Erosen wonder what exactly her language sounded like since it didn't appear to hold any similarities to those he'd heard previously in and among the group or in his old forest back home.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan seemed to listen to Aldraniri for the most part, though in reality he was just trying to cope with the distress that this revelation was causing him. Now it turned out that, aside from his cozy little white rock in the middle of nowhere up north and this enormous place that was called Galia, there was another huge chunk of land somewhere else in the world and people lived there too! Now, he had nothing against whoever lived there, he hadn't even known them for long enough to have anything against them, but his small perspective of the world had just sort of gotten a massive hole blown right into its side.

And yet he managed to catch enough of what the Fire Elemental was saying to start getting dizzy. There were even more of those things!

"Someone hold me..." He said, feeling faint and slumping down on a nearby seat.

---

Trish observed Erosen carefully after her display was over, in order to see his reaction to it. He didn't seem to do anything for several moments, though, and while he eventually did something, it didn't seem related to her act whatsoever. This irked her a little, as she had done all of this in order to see what reaction it prompted, but she decided to simply ignore it. He probably couldn't tell what she was thinking, anyway, and he was one of the denizens of this apparently savage land, after all. It would be simply unfair to judge him with the same kind of standards she held for herself, and so she simply brushed the event aside and focused on what he was trying to convey at the moment.

However, it wasn't something that pleased her very much, either. The servant Eric gave her appeared to be questioning her ability to vocalize. By the blizzards and snowstorms, what was it with the people on this land and their obsession with animalistic noises? Truly, she didn't understand it, but she decided to humor the man nevertheless, her expression remaining neutral throughout all of this.

She brought her hand up to her mouth as well, and then let it fly out and opened her mouth, just like Erosen had done, though with a difference, which was that she did actually speak. She didn't speak any language, or even anything coherent. All she did was say "Aaaaa" for a bit before closing her mouth. Her voice was soft and clear, but it seemed to tremble ever so slightly, not because of any sort of fear or hesitation, but because of the simple fact that she didn't use it very often. After closing her mouth, though, she shook her head, as if to convey that she couldn't actually communicate with him this way.

[Kassaran]

Trish observed Erosen carefully after her display was over, in order to see his reaction to it. He didn't seem to do anything for several moments, though, and while he eventually did something, it didn't seem related to her act whatsoever. This irked her a little, as she had done all of this in order to see what reaction it prompted, but she decided to simply ignore it. He probably couldn't tell what she was thinking, anyway, and he was one of the denizens of this apparently savage land, after all. It would be simply unfair to judge him with the same kind of standards she held for herself, and so she simply brushed the event aside and focused on what he was trying to convey at the moment.

However, it wasn't something that pleased her very much, either. The servant Eric gave her appeared to be questioning her ability to vocalize. By the blizzards and snowstorms, what was it with the people on this land and their obsession with animalistic noises? Truly, she didn't understand it, but she decided to humor the man nevertheless, her expression remaining neutral throughout all of this.

She brought her hand up to her mouth as well, and then let it fly out and opened her mouth, just like Erosen had done, though with a difference, which was that she did actually speak. She didn't speak any language, or even anything coherent. All she did was say "Aaaaa" for a bit before closing her mouth. Her voice was soft and clear, but it seemed to tremble ever so slightly, not because of any sort of fear or hesitation, but because of the simple fact that she didn't use it very often. After closing her mouth, though, she shook her head, as if to convey that she couldn't actually communicate with him this way.

The small sound the woman made almost let Erosen know the problem right away. He hadn't been listening for it before, but now he'd caught on to the idea that she often didn't use her voice, but looking around puzzled, he tried to think of how to possibly convey what he wanted to know. Seeing her obvious displeasure at having to speak to him, he brought both of his hands up in an apologetic manner while also letting his head fall low as though bowing out of obeisance, yet he cut short the gesture to stand straight up again and kind of make gestures to his sides, as though inviting her to stand beside him, but then shaking his head as though to cancel that, he waved his hands in the air and gestured at the water. All he simply wanted was for her to try to communicate with him, he figured he might be able to understand her, but the trick was to get her talking, or perhaps mind-speaking? He had no clue what he was expecting, but he hoped to have it worked out soon. He needed to find a medium to discuss with this girl her language, and given that it appeared he could understand languages easily, he should be able to speak them as easily.

Little did he know, he failed to actually gain the ability to use what he could understand, and he'd have to learn how to use his new-found gift, but already it appeared to be proving worthless, and Erosen was beginning to come up dry on ideas on how to get the girl to speak to him. It fancied across his mind that she was communicating rather well with her hands, but no creature he knew communicated with its hands, so perhaps it was simply because neither could understand what was happening that they had deferred to this form of such communication.

[Ameriganastan]

"Hello, gorgeous."

Eric, dirty old hippie he was, was ogling a passing girl while Erosen and Trish had their 'conversation'

"They get prettier every time I come here. Probably why I drop by here so much...was I supposed to be doing something?"

He looked over at Erosen and Trish.

"...Eh, I'm sure they'll be fine. What trouble could they get into alone?"

Smoothing his hair back, he drifted off in the direction of the nearest pretty girl.

"Hey baby, wanna see my sword?"

[Minroz]

“Is he going to be alright?” Temujin asked with concern.

[“He’ll be fine, Temu. Judging by the looks of it, the information is too much for him to handle.”] Aisha said, patting her little brother. She then looked at Aldraniri with the smile. “Sir Aldraniri, my brother and I can promise you we’ll help find your kidnapped friend whatever we can. I swear to the gods, we will. I can’t stand-by without bringing justice to the villain responsible.”

Temujin gave an affirmative nod and pushed up his glasses. “So do I. Anyhow, don’t you have a place to stay. We’re planned to stay in this tavern for one night. And then we’re going travel out of town to explore this land to satisfy my curiosity. At least that’s the plan before we met you.”

[Constaniana]

Tristan seemed to listen to Aldraniri for the most part, though in reality he was just trying to cope with the distress that this revelation was causing him. Now it turned out that, aside from his cozy little white rock in the middle of nowhere up north and this enormous place that was called Galia, there was another huge chunk of land somewhere else in the world and people lived there too! Now, he had nothing against whoever lived there, he hadn't even known them for long enough to have anything against them, but his small perspective of the world had just sort of gotten a massive hole blown right into its side.

And yet he managed to catch enough of what the Fire Elemental was saying to start getting dizzy. There were even more of those things!

"Someone hold me..." He said, feeling faint and slumping down on a nearby seat.

Lisoette immediately granted Tristan's request, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, though the fact that he was against the back of the seat made it difficult to get a good grip. She eventually resorted to simply sitting on him as she tried getting a good grip, earning some strange looks, and a few requests from other patrons of the tavern that she do the same thing to them after she was done, which had the naive blonde confused.

"Thank you so much for offering to help," Aldraniri pleasantly responded, bowing a bit again. "Well, I suppose I should look into getting a place to stay for the night as well. If we're going to be travelling together it couldn't hurt to stay in the same inn."

"Here's your ale, sir," the attractive waitress Aldry had talked to before Aisha and Temujjin said when the lull in the group's conversation presented itself, handing the young redhead man a pewter tankard and rolling her eyes at Tristan and Lisoette. "This isn't that sort of tavern, you two. Keep your clothes on, ye hear?"

---

The recipient of Eric's advances appeared to be barely over twenty, with the curly chestnut hair that seemed so common in the lower north-eastern parts of Galllia and Eresiln. She scoffed and rolled her blue-green eyes at Eric, chortling as she turned to look at him.

"If I wes interested in seein' a floppy wee sausage I'd go find a niggardly butcher's shop, granddad. Your 'sword' is probably too brittle and rusted now after all these years anyway, I'd reckon," the woman replied.

[Agritum]

Charlie gasped, looking at Kroisoto with an apprehensive expression. "What? The Army? But...why would they, Kroisoto? Did something wrong happen between you and the military? Also...are you okay?" she replied, wiping the cold sweat off one of his cheeks. "Anyways....we should get to a more private, secluded space if you want to discuss this, Kroie." she murmured, glancing at the troops of soldiers in the near distance.

"Don't worry so much, Charlie. I'm fine," The blueblood replied softly, smiling at Charlie. He knew that the prospect of the most powerful army on earth hunting after you was supposed to be a terrifying one, but Kroisoto was more interested in the feeling of the Southemen maiden's gentle fingers caressing his cheek. No scheming highborn or general in the world held more appeal to the lad than her. Lord Kreigen didn't have that soft raven hair he longed to run his fingers through; Chancellor Eldharch didn't have her bright emerald eyes, and he had never met a soldier or politician as charming and clever and pretty as her. Oh, Charlie might not be high-born, but then, neither was he, originally. Duke Bismarke had four sons and five daughters before him properly born to his lady wife; Kroie was certain he wouldn't receive too much fuss for courting a girl from a well-to-do common family. He could gladly imagine doing more with her than occasional awkward or fleeting touches and shy glances. Now that would be nice.

Bloody hell, Kroie. Think with the bit of meat between your ears, not the one between your legs.

"But yes, getting somewhere more secluded to talk of matters like this would be good," the lad added, glancing around for somewhere that might offer some refuge. Softly taking her by the hand he began walking down one of the alleyways, heading away from the direction of the docks and the soldiers. He kept his hood up and Charlie close, trying to speak as quietly as he could in the alley. A quick glance around showed there were only windowless warehouses in the vicinity, and there were no beggars and possible informants in sight.

"I'm not certain it's something wrong I've personally done to the military. Even with the wars over my father's always harboured some mistrust towards plenty of the other lords, and not just Southemen ones. He fought plenty with Erilhall, and I've heard him talk of Kriegen's ruthless determination. My best guess is they thought to make me a possible hostage to ensure my father gave the Federal Council no trouble...though what trouble they thought Auregen might give the Federation I'm not sure of..."

Kroisoto paused to idly scratch at his chest, wincing a bit. "Gods, life never used to be this complicated when I was six. It'd be nice being that young again...."

"Maybe...maybe we should have a nice rest and then dwelve more into the matter, Kroie." Charlie replied, glancing around. "I may be well informed about culture and science as they currently are, but I happen to be quite...lacking in knowledge, when it comes to the complex political and dynastic mechanics of the Federation. Pardon me for that."

Charlie was obviously unnerved. While she trusted Kroie and didn't really doubt his words, she feared that her companion was throwing too much conjectures and hypoteses around, and that he suffered from a lack of evidence. "But...just to know, you're really sure it was the army?"

[Constaniana]

"Maybe...maybe we should have a nice rest and then delve more into the matter, Kroie." Charlie replied, glancing around. "I may be well informed about culture and science as they currently are, but I happen to be quite...lacking in knowledge, when it comes to the complex political and dynastic mechanics of the Federation. Pardon me for that."

Charlie was obviously unnerved. While she trusted Kroie and didn't really doubt his words, she feared that her companion was throwing too much conjectures and hypotheses around, and that he suffered from a lack of evidence. "But...just to know, you're really sure it was the army?"

"You don't need to apologize for that first part, Charlie. That world is something you're born into...or I suppose, in my case, miraculously thrown into after being randomly plucked from what would have doubtlessly been the life of a peasant orphan," Kroisoto responded, trying not to sound snobby about it. "I don't have certain proof like a packet of orders commanding the raid, but...well, they had grenades, and their muskets didn't look too shabby either. Gunpowder is rather difficult to come by, so I would be disinclined to believe my kidnappers were common criminals. And they were well-organized, too. At one point one of them said 'Major', too...I suppose they might have been a band of deserters, but I don't see why they would continue using military ranks. But you're right; a good rest would be good before going into this problem more," he agreed.

"It wouldn't help to keep a bit quieter. You did a good job with trying to conceal yourself, I'll grant, but you could still use some work on it," a male voice said, as a lanky lad about their age stepped out of one of the alleyways. Kroisoto's body moved like lightning; his left hand drew his sword and pointed it towards the stranger's throat, his right arm went back to shield Charlie, his feet dropped into a fighting stance, and his blue eyes locked onto the interloper. He was clad in a faded green jacket, brown breeches with black shoes, with a leather belt slung across one shoulder, scratched-up glasses, and light brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail. His clothes were a bit tattered and patched, thought not terribly so; he had the appearance of a cluttered scholar rather than a pauper. "Easy there, Your Grace, I don't mean you harm. Just a friendly pointer. Though I would have thought a high-born like yourself would be a bit more rehearsed in secrecy and intrigue. I suppose you haven't had as much practise in your years, eh?"

"What makes you think I'm high-born, or that you know me at all?" Kroisoto asked, his hand steadily keeping his rapier pointed at the lad's throat.

"For starters, your accent's posh and educated. Though it does occasionally slip into that charming, rustic Aurennian highland accent, meaning you haven't been always been around the castle or merchant's mansion where you learnt that more sophisticated, urbane way of speaking Galllish. So I can deduce from that fact that you're adopted. That sort of stance isn't the one a commoner is likely to pick up either. Now, what adopted Aurennian noble has black hair, blue eyes and wouldn't want people, especially military people, to be aware of his presence?" the stranger enquired, grinning ever so slightly.

Kroisoto didn't dignify the question with a response, still keeping his sword ready to paint red in the alley. "What's your name, you strange person?"

"Walter Lanmere, pleased to meet you," he replied, cheerfully ignoring the insult and bowing to the two of them. Kroisoto lowered his blade at the sound of Walter, though he still regarded the youth with a wary glance. "Well, I'm glad that's somewhat convinced you that you don't need to kill me. Always a relief not having more weapons pointed at your throat."

"You'll have to forgive me being wary of a stranger bursting into what I had thought was a private conversation. But you've saved us considerable effort. Tell us what you know about Watchtower." the blue-blood responded.

"What's it to you?" Walter asked, taking his glasses off and wiping the lenses a bit.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Trish continued observing her servant, rather amused at the way he seemed to be so confused all of the sudden, though outwardly showing nothing, her face still as stoic as it had been when she arrived in her spherical vessel of ice. She was glad that he seemed to understand that she found communication via vocalization not only useless for her, but also annoying. He likely didn't know that she found it a primitive thing, but that was probably for the best. Besides, conveying that would be quite a mess and franky she had no reason to bother. The girl's train of thought was cut off, though, and she herself was puzzled when, suddenly, Erosen started making several different contradicting gestures, one after the other, without rhyme or rhytm and certainly without any sort of coherent meaning.

Eventually Trish decided to approach him, not because she had understood the meaning of his first gesture or anything like that. She had indeed understood that, but he had cancelled it soon after, so it didn't matter one way or the other. However, rather than simply stand next to him, she smacked him lightly, as if to get him to stop gesticulating senselessly and begin conveying something coherent.

---

"What are you...?" Tristan began, rather confused by Lisoette's action, before suddenly having her sit on him. Now, it wasn't all that uncomfortable. She was light enough for him to bear without much effort, and soft as well. But it was still really weird and sudden and he didn't enjoy feeling like a chair, and certainly not while sitting in a chair. However, the words of the other patrons only served to puzzle him further. Did people around these places enjoy being chairs to others or something? Was there some sort of reward for offering others to sit upon one? Or was it some kind of social convention of the people of Gallia? Whatever it was, it was really odd, but then again, given that these were Gallians, this didn't surprise him nearly as much as it would have before.

When the waitress approached the group and addressed him and Lisoette, Tristan blinked twice. "...So, now there are taverns where people regularly take their clothes off, too?" He asked, before shaking his head. Oh, Gallia. Really, just how depraved could her inhabitants get? Though, on second thought, he didn't really want to know that. However, this reminded him of the situation at hand and he looked at Lisoette. "And by the way, could you get off me?" He asked, too confused to be rude. "I don't enjoy being a chair. There are others around." He pointed out.

[Minroz]

“I suppose so.” Aisha nodded to Aldraniri. Once she heard the waitresses’ remarks about Tristan and Lisalotte, she giggled while Temu just flushed in embarrassment with the imaginations. It reminded them of the time where the duo are often teased by their friends and family that they’re a couple, much to their mortified denials. Although they considered it as good times of their memories together, nothing worth serious to mention, they’re siblings-in-spirit. Placing her hand on her hip, the black-haired girl looked at her foster little brother. She remarked, [“They seem to be decent folks.”]

[“They are. I know, bigods!”] Temujin chirped.

[“Even though you got scammed once or twice.”] She teases.

[“That’s long ago, big sister!”] He said defensively.

[“Well, at least we’re not mistaken as a couple.”] Aisha stated.

[“Yeah, you’re right. Dear me, why our friends automatically assume we’re a couple? Heavens above, even our father is in the teasing. You’re my sister. There’s no way we’re lovers.”]

[“I guess you’re right.”] She chuckles, for some reason, Aisha felt disappointed and she didn’t know why. As for the boy, he’s also disappointed too and like his ‘sister’, he didn’t know why as well. The two didn’t realised it, they actually secretly long for each other’s company…for very long time when they’re kids. It’s a matter of time, their destiny with the group will changed it.

When the waitress approached the group and addressed him and Lisoette, Tristan blinked twice. "...So, now there are taverns where people regularly take their clothes off, too?" He asked, before shaking his head. Oh, Gallia. Really, just how depraved could her inhabitants get? Though, on second thought, he didn't really want to know that. However, this reminded him of the situation at hand and he looked at Lisoette. "And by the way, could you get off me?" He asked, too confused to be rude. "I don't enjoy being a chair. There are others around." He pointed out.

“I don’t know this. But are you two lovers or something?” Aisha asked with a cheeky smile.

“Really?” Temujin asked innocently.

[Kassaran]

Trish continued observing her servant, rather amused at the way he seemed to be so confused all of the sudden, though outwardly showing nothing, her face still as stoic as it had been when she arrived in her spherical vessel of ice. She was glad that he seemed to understand that she found communication via vocalization not only useless for her, but also annoying. He likely didn't know that she found it a primitive thing, but that was probably for the best. Besides, conveying that would be quite a mess and franky she had no reason to bother. The girl's train of thought was cut off, though, and she herself was puzzled when, suddenly, Erosen started making several different contradicting gestures, one after the other, without rhyme or rhytm and certainly without any sort of coherent meaning.

Eventually Trish decided to approach him, not because she had understood the meaning of his first gesture or anything like that. She had indeed understood that, but he had cancelled it soon after, so it didn't matter one way or the other. However, rather than simply stand next to him, she smacked him lightly, as if to get him to stop gesticulating senselessly and begin conveying something coherent.

It was hardly a smack to the hardened mountaineer, but it was indeed enough to break his own line of thinking. Almost looking back at the girl, upset for her hitting him, he decided that she wasn't going to try to communicate with him if he tried, so thus he'd needed to wait her out and watch her closely and listen for when she did inevitably try to communicate. Looking down at his flask he had tied to a rope around his waist, he watched as his vine coverings sloughed off and away revealing his own ratty clothes underneath and looking up, suddenly embarrassed of his semi-naked form now (his shirt having barely stayed on as a full piece, while his pant legs ripped away to make shorter breeches that seemed to end at a point just around the knees. Indeed he was now terrible looking and his cheeks flushed red in this moment.

Forgetting what it was he was going to do with his flask in the first place, he simply moved to back away from the girl who controlled ice to try and re-conjure up more vines. Needless to say, he was quite frantic to try and hide these parts of his form that usually sat beneath his clothing, scars and markings from years spent learning how to hold his own in the woods.

[Constaniana]

"What are you...?" Tristan began, rather confused by Lisoette's action, before suddenly having her sit on him. Now, it wasn't all that uncomfortable. She was light enough for him to bear without much effort, and soft as well. But it was still really weird and sudden and he didn't enjoy feeling like a chair, and certainly not while sitting in a chair. However, the words of the other patrons only served to puzzle him further. Did people around these places enjoy being chairs to others or something? Was there some sort of reward for offering others to sit upon one? Or was it some kind of social convention of the people of Gallia? Whatever it was, it was really odd, but then again, given that these were Gallians, this didn't surprise him nearly as much as it would have before.

When the waitress approached the group and addressed him and Lisoette, Tristan blinked twice. "...So, now there are taverns where people regularly take their clothes off, too?" He asked, before shaking his head. Oh, Gallia. Really, just how depraved could her inhabitants get? Though, on second thought, he didn't really want to know that. However, this reminded him of the situation at hand and he looked at Lisoette. "And by the way, could you get off me?" He asked, too confused to be rude. "I don't enjoy being a chair. There are others around." He pointed out.

When the waitress approached the group and addressed him and Lisoette, Tristan blinked twice. "...So, now there are taverns where people regularly take their clothes off, too?" He asked, before shaking his head. Oh, Gallia. Really, just how depraved could her inhabitants get? Though, on second thought, he didn't really want to know that. However, this reminded him of the situation at hand and he looked at Lisoette. "And by the way, could you get off me?" He asked, too confused to be rude. "I don't enjoy being a chair. There are others around." He pointed out.

“I don’t know this. But are you two lovers or something?” Aisha asked with a cheeky smile.

“Really?” Temujin asked innocently.

"Now there's those sorts of taverns? Have ye been sleepin' in a magic tomb a while, lad? Pillow houses have been around for ages, they have. You do know what I'm referring to, don't you?" the waitress asked, raising an eyebrow at Tristan and cocking her head sideways.

"Not...really..." Lisoette replied, mumbling apologies to Tristan as she clambered off the Ice Elemental and back onto her feet. "And lovers? Wha...what do you mean by that?: she enquired of Aisha, terribly confused.

"Mia, stop quizzing the boy about bed-dancing and get back to work!" the innkeeper barked, as the number of patrons in the tavern had slowly increased as the party's conversation had gone on, and most were thirsty for alcohol. She grumbled under her breath, but went to comply with her employer's request, winking at Aldry as she walked away. The redhead had stood there awkwardly drinking his ale as the conversation veered from a subject he had was familiar like geography to brothels and lovemaking. His knowledge of the latter only came from grumbled warnings by Master Jarnsmon to make sure he didn't catch a pox or seed a bastard, and that one time Darris had unsuccessfully tried convincing Aldraniri to go peeping in one of the "Fun houses" in the less-reputable corner of Haventown.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Trish noticed Erosen looking down and then immediately looking back up, his face all red for some reason. She looked down as well and noticed that the plant-clothes he had been wearing had come off, letting her see the clothes he wore underneath, which were in a poor state, to put it kindly. A result of living in this society of savages, no doubt. Her own clothes might not have been elegant, but at least they were in one piece.

His clothes weren't what grabbed her attention the most, though. That honor went to the scars he tried to hide from her by backing away and trying to summon more of his plants. Seeing him attempt to do that, she approached and held up her hand as if to tell him to stop or wait, and then continued examining his scars for a few moments, before looking back up at him. What she did next was raise her hands and act as though they were claws for a bit, before now adopting the position that an archer would take while firing off an arrow at the distance. After doing this, she merely stared straight at him and tilted her head to the side slightly, as if to question him. What she was trying to do, basically, was ask him if he had been, or was, a hunter, as his scars had sparked her curiosity.

---

"Err... No...?" Tristan said confusedly to the waitress, both at her mention of a magical tomb and at the question of whether or not he knew what she was talking about. He definitely didn't, and she was only confusing him even further, but she didn't really do much, as she was soon called away by the innkeeper, though the mention of bed-dancing just made him feel even more puzzled. Did Gallians have some sort of custom in which they waltzed on their beds before going to sleep or something silly like that? Because frankly, at this point, it wouldn't surprise him. The two people from god-knows-where, Temujin and Aisha, seemed to make much more sense than Gallians.

"Thank you." He said to Lisoette when she got off of him and then looked at the others. "What was all that about, though?" He asked, scratching his head. He was really confused by this point, by which I mean more so than what was his usual state. "And what is a lo-bear?" He asked afterwards, now looking at Aisha.

[Minroz]

"Thank you." He said to Lisoette when she got off of him and then looked at the others. "What was all that about, though?" He asked, scratching his head. He was really confused by this point, by which I mean more so than what was his usual state. "And what is a lo-bear?" He asked afterwards, now looking at Aisha.

“Oooh, nothing~ It’s not something you should worry about.” replied Aisha as she rolled her eyes playfully. Even though the black-haired maiden may be one of the strictest officers in the Sahranjjite army, outside her duties, she’s a lively young woman. Although her earlier protectiveness of Temujin might cause her to be suspicious of strangers, but she relaxed in the foreigner’s company, now knowing they’re alright folks in her book.

[“Aisha, aren’t you to explain something to him? What is it you’re trying to say?”] Temujin now asked his foster sister innocently, exhibiting his naivety.

Flushing with embarrassment, Aisha made a nervous chuckle in response. Even though the boy is hitting his puberty years, he’s still naïve when it comes to the ‘adult’ world. In other words, Aisha is not sure how to explain it to her little brother. But she wanted to protect his childish innocence, believing Temujin doesn’t need to be exposed to such ‘indecencies’ which will ‘corrupted’ his mind and soul. Aisha is trying her best in sheltering him from the ways of the ‘adult’ world.

“By the way…” Changing topic, Aisha asked Aldraniri. “Sir Alsvidster, I must say you’re quite a knowledgeable person. I was under the impression you’re not the type to be well-read because of your looks. You struck me as a swordsman earlier until now. Forgive me if I doubt you about it.” She chuckles.

[Kassaran]

Trish noticed Erosen looking down and then immediately looking back up, his face all red for some reason. She looked down as well and noticed that the plant-clothes he had been wearing had come off, letting her see the clothes he wore underneath, which were in a poor state, to put it kindly. A result of living in this society of savages, no doubt. Her own clothes might not have been elegant, but at least they were in one piece.

His clothes weren't what grabbed her attention the most, though. That honor went to the scars he tried to hide from her by backing away and trying to summon more of his plants. Seeing him attempt to do that, she approached and held up her hand as if to tell him to stop or wait, and then continued examining his scars for a few moments, before looking back up at him. What she did next was raise her hands and act as though they were claws for a bit, before now adopting the position that an archer would take while firing off an arrow at the distance. After doing this, she merely stared straight at him and tilted her head to the side slightly, as if to question him. What she was trying to do, basically, was ask him if he had been, or was, a hunter, as his scars had sparked her curiosity.

It startled him, her sudden movement asking him to stop, and that one he heard as clear as day though he had moreover seen it, and he decided to affirm most of what she had asked, if he was a hunter and, since she didn't truly ask fully where he'd obtained the scars, he might as well tell that story as well. Her attempt to communicate had been enough, but it hadn't been over what he'd rather talk about, he began to shake his head no, but then let his shoulder's slump and nodded yes, gesturing towards the vines he'd begun to summon to clothe himself he rebuilt the forest, except this time it came back in fuller detail. He was indeed fuzzy on the general idea of what had happened in the memory he was about to show her and reaching back into his mind, he brought forth the very information he believed she wanted to know.

A small human figure, almost like a child, running amongst the trees -or rather stalks of vines seeing as how those were what were in use for this little demonstration-, suddenly from among the deeper thick parts of the jungle came two massive beasts, six-legged with long stinger-like tails. These, to anyone whom had visited Erosen's homeland before, would be an unfamiliar animal, but to those whom lived in the backwoods, they'd be a dangerous threat. These are the Dilic Treecreepers, extremely venomous, extremely fast, and very territorial. Doesn't help the fact that save for a little hissing inside their dens, when they hunt, they hunt in perfect silence. Surely as the small child ran, they soon overtook the creature, and as they lashed out, one stung the child across the left arm and front of the chest. The second slammed it's stinger through the small being, impaling it through the abdomen into the tree behind it.

The vines played havoc below as the story began its tale, and Erosen looked up during this moment, almost to emphasize his point that he was the being by lifting up his shirt and revealing the great mass of pink skin that had indeed filled back into place signifying that indeed it was he who was being portrayed in the image below. Then cutting the focus of his gaze back to the fight he was controlling below, he let it continue on exactly how it had happened, letting his hands fall back to his sides and likewise letting the shirt fall back down over his chest. The small being writhed in agony, a small mouth opening in the face, becoming horrifically distended in simulated pain, yet something changed suddenly and the two beasts disengaged Erosen and ran, for from behind the tree he had been stabbed with, came two massive figures, tree-like themselves, but mobile, and animated. Pulling the small boy from his place in the tree (for the sting of the Dilic Treecreeper sloughs off when used to grow back sharper and newer) the two treants lowered him to the ground and set to work removing the large stingers from their positions, but then something happened as the boy appeared to whither. The venom was working against him, but in a strange turn of events which Erosen nor anyone else could have foreseen, the trees around him leaned over his body, and encased him, almost as though building a cocoon -or a coffin- and then lifted the boy into the air.

Letting the image sit and then whither, Erosen turned to the girl and shrugged as if to say he had no idea what happened from that point on, but he then gestured to the rest of his scars and pointed to the image, conveying hopefully the point that he had received the majority, if not the entirety of all his scars, living life in the forest, not just through hunting which he'd doe simply to stay alive. This was something rather traumatic for Erosen to remember, and the hurt showed in his eyes, but it was a dull sort of pain, nothing like he remembered from the Dilic beasts and shook his head and continued to clothe himself, mostly ashamed at the pitiful state of his clothes if not for his skin. He'd noticed how most everyone had little-to-no scarring, and he didn't want to be excluded, so he simply kept himself covered. He'd seen these 'civil' types exclude others for worse clothing and he'd personally seen such happen in the shop not ten minutes before. He figured he might as well just continue on, but as the vines recovered himself, he did reveal one thing in particular.

The inside of the left thigh was coated in runes and inscriptions, tattoos from a way of life he'd never experienced. Yet the glimpse would have been fleeting if at all apparent to anyone even looking at him at this point.

[Ameriganastan]

"Damn, that was a fun story."

Eric, with a fresh slap mark on his left cheek, had been watching from the side.

"Showing off your scars, eh Casanova? The ladies do love them some good battle scars. You might get to thaw the icicle if you get my meaning."

He let out a bellowing laugh and gave him a friendly smack on the back.