Elementals 3: The White Rose (IC, Sign-ups only)

[Ameriganastan]

The casual crude iconoclasm did not surprise Himegawa, but she was shocked (and revolted) when the drunken swordsman patted her... down there. She stood absolutely still for a few seconds, feeling slightly violated and uncomfortable. An infuriated Nekoyashiki, cheerfulness evaporated at the disrespect shown to his liege's favorite, was about to start something violent between him and Eric before the soft voice of Belle Lame caught him off guard.

“I'm sorry for him. He had a bit of a night...um, Princess. If I may ask...do you think I have pretty eyes?”

“Uh....” that was something that Himegawa did not expect to be asked by a sword-spirit. “I'm not a princess... and yes, you have marvelous eyes.” a part of her instantly became jealous that Eric had the beautiful woman as his sword. She would have to steal the blade when the bandits killed this vulgar ape. Maybe the two of them could enjoy the beaches of the continent together -

The voice of said vulgar ape interrupted her, and she scowled in his direction. Meanwhile, one of the others who saw the event ran to the inn where the shōgun was stationed to inform her about what happened.

“He did what!!?”

---

Fumi stormed out of the room she had stayed in the previous night and down the stairs, her harsh expression more than enough to scare the courtiers who were not accustomed to seeing her express strong emotions. They quickly covered their eyes and pretended not to see her as she marched to the tavern where the event had happened.

The palanquin bearers were surprised when they saw her marching toward them. “Uesama...?” one of them asked, not used to seeing their liege dressed in a plain hakama. The wrathful girl ignored them.

“ERIC RUMEN WHERE ARE YOU?” Fumiko roared in rage, fires starting to literally erupt from her arms. “I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU MISERABLE [expletive deleted]. YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET THE DAY THAT YOU DARED TOUCH A WOMAN OF MINE.”

The now shocked norimono bearers quickly rushed to try and talk her out of her course of action. “Your Majesty, please think about this rationally.” one of them begged. “What about the sword that the swordsman carries?”

“I'LL KILL IT TOO IF IT GETS IN MY WAY! I'M NOT AFRAID OF SOME BARBARIAN GOD!” Fumiko roared back, managing to shake them off of her as she stormed into the tavern, flames becoming even hotter. “Where is he?” she barked at them, and the four quickly scurried out of fear to find Eric before she sent them and the whole establishment up in smokes. “I'LL MAKE WHOEVER TELLS ME WHERE ERIC RUMEN IS THE DAIMYO OF RINKOKU!"

Eric's ears perked up.

"Woman of mine? Oh, crap. Madame Desiree must have tracked me down. I should have known better. Trying to skip out on paying your tab with her is impossible. Like a money bloodhound that one."

He fished inside the Fanny Pack Of Wonder, pulling out a few sacks of gold.

"Yeesh. Not even half of what I racked up last night...well, only one thing to do. Belle, I advise you avert your eyes for this. Lest you lose your respect for me."

A few moments later, Eric skipped downstairs. Holding a mysteriously procured rose. And, to the horror of all there, wearing nothing but his infamous banana hammock. Only this one was red. His wooing thong.

"Madame Desiree, I'm sure we can...hey, you're not Madame Desiree...damn it, you know how much baby powder it takes to get into this thing? A lot...like, a lot a lot. I tried going in dry once. Woo, chafe city."

He tossed the rose aside, but seemed in no rush to get dressed.

"So what's all the hellraising for? And be more specific. I have a lot of people come after me for doing something to their women...hey, aren't you the princess? You look different from a few minutes ago."

[Kassaran]

Watching as the woman from the alleyway, slowly stood on her own two feet, Erosen gave an inward sigh of relief. There was much to be said of her overall resilience and as her sword arm steadied itself, he felt himself tense in anticipation of a potential strike that never came. The blade fell from the threatening posture she'd assumed, only to leave it unsheathed by her side. It was a relatively reasonable choice of actions, and Erosen took a moment to reflect in the magnitude of the actions he'd taken and her own responses. He'd not figured her to be a bad person by many, if any metrics, but it was nice to see she wasn't going to be belligerent about it all.

As she seemed to straighten herself within the shadows of the room, her eyes cast glances about the room as a cordial tone of voice addressed Erosen and Catrin," Thank you for the... experience, now could either of you direct me to the door?"

For a second, Catrin seemed to pause, and Erosen cast a questioning look in her direction as well. To be honest, he'd almost forgotten about the door to the place... in fact, when was the last time he'd used it?

The fluid movements of the drider as she moved up and over Erosen and the woman caught his attention, watching her flowing and graceful movements carry her over to where a pair of rectangles sat in the wall.

Oh. That's where they were.

Smooth movements of Catrin's hands brought attention to a small cupboard beside the door that revealed itself to be the resting place of her room's key and watching as she undid the lock to the door, he listened to her speak as the door slowly swung open...

"Don't go screaming into the streets on the way out. I'm no demon, but the agents of the fire 'god' and I tend not to get along."

For all intents and purposes, the phrase was hardly anything to cough at itself, he'd heard her have to explain many times before that she was, indeed, a natural-born resident of Gaiaca and not a demon. Surely there was some ironic comedy to be had in this exchange as she gave him a look that would have forced him in most circumstances to avert his gaze. That is, if his gaze had even been still fixed on her. Instead, he was currently in the middle of sidestepping what appeared to be a battering ram that was flying towards his head. Dark Element leaped from his body in purple tendrils as he cast a material manipulation spell upon the breaths exhaled between the hellish expletive he uttered.

With the immediate threat recognized and dealt with, the battering ram freezing mid-air as it was gripped and pulled to the ground by gravity. The thudding of the solid chunk of metal and wood filling the room for a brief moment as Erosen suddenly kicked his right leg back and lowered his stance. Standing there before him in quarters-closer-than-ever-before-realized-by-he-who-avoided-socialization-on-principle, was a full party of Watchtower cultists with the one responsible for having hefted the offending tool into the room and towards his face still locked in mid throwing pose. Surprise registering momentarily on the faces of each one of the cultists as they adjusted the aim of what must have been no less than two crossbows upon each of the occupants of the room.

There was a second that hung awkwardly in the air as both parties registered the other, before a man stepped forward and announced himself,"In the name of the Watchtower Society I order you three to stay still. This part of the building was suspiciously abandoned-looking, and citizens were concerned about it being used for drug peddling and assorted degeneracy. We have been deputised to assist the city in clearing out such riffraff, and we'll need to take photos of the scene in case we find any evidence of drug paraphernalia, criminal plots, contraband, and so on and so forth..."

Erosen's hands were slowly curling into fists, shadows beginning to elongate as his eyes hummed to life, flaring bright lavender in the darkness of the room as behind him his own shadow stretched and warped. This was a raid, and while he'd never been through one, he'd seen the aftermath of enough of them to know this was about to turn into the hairiest fight he'd been in on the surface since three years ago... or at least that was his thinking as the Watchtower Squad Leader droned on,"And, really, we were most intrigued by the rumour we heard of inhumans making a hive here. You're a most...unique specimen, I must say. Bringing you in will get me the biggest promotion of my life! Now, men-"

His fists clenched and less than a hairsbreadth from engaging the Dark Element now fully activated within his body and filling the room about him in an aura that would have been palpable by even the most insensitive of Elementals, his rage was staunched mid-step as he moved forward to engage the cultists as a woman stepped forward. She seemed pale, almost sickly and her voice gave him pause as she spoke four words that brought a chill to his spine," Thou Elemental-"

A soft voice in comparison to the haughty demeanor of the Raid's leader, it was nowhere near being Gallian in origin. Guttural noises, accented by a primal tone that punctuated her voice, a clawed hand focused itself on the direction of the woman he'd brought into the attic space. It was not all she said though, as the last two words she uttered came as she shifted her focus on him, Dark Element leaping across his skin as he felt something entirely reptilian seep into his brain. He felt not just fear, he felt a palpable rage that seethed through him as he recognized the threat she had to be," Dark Elemental."

His feet were rooted into place, his disgraced status being lent words, and his eyes widening as he tried to understand what it all meant in the context of her accusation. No, it wasn't an accusation, it was a revelation to everyone in the room besides Catrin and himself perhaps as the man with the pompous attitude spoke up again,"Hah! There must be some god out there who likes Watchtower, as it's clearly blessing me tonight!"

They looked like a cat that had cornered a mouse, the cultists leering and showing a near-predatory instinct cross their faces. This was their quarry they sought and they now had it. He'd been stopped twice before now by their actions, held only in the slight by his refrain from wishing to kill Human lives again. His body ached to fight, but the dark urging of Tenaembra to kill was kept tempered only by what he could describe as perhaps divine intervention as the one photographer towards the back seemed to look directly at the Dark Elemental beginning to move forward to meet their assault.

"Sir, we need to leave. Now! The one in the back is one of the ones at the top of the Revolutionary Enemies List! The fiends that destroyed our base at Bracksbure, and followed us to Fair HIlls! I know I've seen that picture in our base, and in the book that sycophant Charlie Kones wrote about them after the war stated, I know it! We don't have the firepower to bring him down!"

It was a complete surprise to Erosen that perhaps he was far more notorious than he'd given himself credit for, and as he faltered in his sudden advance, the leader also registered a look of recognition that likely saved his life. His smirk dropped from his face as he seemed to rear back, catching himself upon the threshold of the room,"Fall back!"

As the group burst into motion, a sudden motion caught the attention of the entirely readied Dark Elemental, the pungent odor of smoke pouring from it as it hurtled into the room. He'd heard of explosive balls much like this one, and fearing the worst, his hands raised themselves. Dark Element now unleashed itself as it rose in a wall to engulf the iron device, and as it began to flare up, was pulled into the Void by the hastily summoned portal. Somewhere in Hell, a Toilet of Darkness was exploding in putrid and acrid black smoke as the bomb exploded, much to the dismay of an unfortunate lesser demon.

On the surface, Erosen simply stood, panting and sweating profusely. Listening to the sounds of the Watchtower cultists flee down the stairs, the threat of their return wandered back up the halls of the building and into the ears of the three denizens of the room left standing in shock at the nigh frenzied retreat of the raid party," We know where you are! We'll be back!"

His eyes shifted from the door, still standing ajar, to the spider-woman whom had opened it, the look on his face slowly shifting from a look of shock, to one of incredulous disbelief as he gave a soft laugh that carried from the back of his throat. Tendrils of Dark Element retreated across his skin and from the shadows that littered the room, the portal he'd opened for the two others in the room closing itself as his eyes ceased in their glowing and faded back to their familiar flat mauve. It wouldn't be more than a second after that his hands dropped to his sides and his chuckling erupted into full laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation that had resolved itself before even the first injury could be wrought.

[Hanafuridake]

"hey, aren't you the princess? You look different from a few minutes ago."

Had she not been in a fit of blind rage that made her impervious to even the most horrifying of sights imaginable, Fumi would have stopped to renounce belief in any merciful god. Except, in this instance, she was steaming mad, and the moment Eric quit talking, she hurled several balls of fire at him. “I hope you're prepared to die today,” she roared, glaring over at her servants. “What are you waiting for? Kill him.” the four reached for whatever could be used as a weapon and rushed at him, now incensed at the Rumen man out of a mix of anger at his lèse-majesté, horror at the ungodly image he made them gaze upon, and fear of the woman behind them.

[Ameriganastan]

"hey, aren't you the princess? You look different from a few minutes ago."

Had she not been in a fit of blind rage that made her impervious to even the most horrifying of sights imaginable, Fumi would have stopped to renounce belief in any merciful god. Except, in this instance, she was steaming mad, and the moment Eric quit talking, she hurled several balls of fire at him. “I hope you're prepared to die today,” she roared, glaring over at her servants. “What are you waiting for? Kill him.” the four reached for whatever could be used as a weapon and rushed at him, now incensed at the Rumen man out of a mix of anger at his lèse-majesté, horror at the ungodly image he made them gaze upon, and fear of the woman behind them.

"No, no. You're doing it all wrong. Look at the stuff you're grabbing. If you wanna improvise weapons, you gotta think about it."

He grabbed a full bottle of booze off the bar and smacked one of the guards upside the head with it.

"Now normally you'd think grab an empty bottle and break it. But a full bottle is a surprisingly effective blunt weapons...uh, sorry for the possible concussion by the way."

He ducked one of them swinging a stool at him.

"No, no. Don't use the whole stool. That's just dumb."

He socked him in the breadbasket, shoving him back and ripping the stool from his grasp.

"Break one of the legs off and use it. Like so."

He tossed the stool leg to him, inviting him to use it. He did, and quickly got kicked in the nads when he tried.

"Of course, fighting dirty works as well. Now, you two. Bar games can make for effective weapons. Tiddlywinks, cornhole, and today..."

He ripped a few darts out of a nearby board and tossed them like weapons, catching one guy in the cheek and the other in the forehead.

"Also, you're shitty at guarding. Cause while you all come at me..."

He leaped over them, landing a scant few inches from Fumiko's face.

"Your princess is left undefended. Now, you maybe wanna take it down a notch? I'm not afraid to sock a woman."

He grabbed the sleeve of her kimono thingy, giving the fabric a feel.

"You know, this is awfully cheap material for a princess. I know this one eyed Naga who makes far superior ones..."

[Woodstovia]

He knew what he was about to do but every fiber of his being hated it and a great fire roared through his veins whenever he thought of the prospect. A turncoat? He had been outmaneuvered, trapped by a small army sent by the Northerners to stop the bleeding Aerion had inflicted on their countryside. Aerion was obviously a peerless competitor and he knew his men could take 10 of any other armies but... They were outnumbered. Hopelessly outnumbered. Much of their former strength had melted away into the Northern Wilds and he'd never thought about reinforcing his men. Now any semblance of "formations" or "uniforms" or "tactics" was long gone. Still though, his opponents needed all they could muster for the coming battle, the one that would decide the war. So they offered a deal. Fight with them, turn on your employers and you'll recieve a formal pardon, any booty you procure during the battle and a very generous sum of money. Aerion had gritted his teeth and taken it.

Now they were on the long march back. A message had been received, they'd been called back to reunite with the Southern army who had now graciously decided to overlook their past behavior in return for a few more swords. He'd remembered the laughter and joy when he first marched off. Now everyone was so serious, so desperate. Aerion could see the fires in the distance, the camp the Southern army called it's home. He remembered his hand shaking and how he'd tried to hide that from his men. He remembered pulling his cloak around his body, telling himself he was just trying to keep warm but knowing he was trying to hide, to find some escape from what he had to do...

"Ay. You. Aryon. Wake up. We're leaving today."

A hunk of metal skidded across the floor and Aerion leapt up, grabbing his sword in anticipation for a fight. Instead it was a metal cap.

Aerion frowned.

"I don't wear armour on my head, if I did how would people see my hair?" he questioned the man before waving him away. Aerion was utterly meticulous about his morning routine, every inch of his skin was scrubbed and washed, oils and perfumes were than generously allowed to grace his body, his armour was purified of any imperfections or dirt and prayers were dolled out to all the gods, excluding Froenstia for her hatred and betrayal of him. By the time he met up with the others at the bottom floor of the tavern he was the very image of beauty, much more refined than his drunken self from last night, a blue cloak hanging proudly from his shoulders.

[Lazarian]

“Why do we have to be the ones to do this?” Yamashiro muttered to Yamada in their native tongue, although anyone could tell from his tone that he was displeased with the task they were given. “Why can't Himegawa do her own dirty work? That's the only reason we're doing this isn't it?”

“Shut up and knock on the door,” Yamada snapped, uninterested in debate. The old courtier who had served as regent for three shōguns, minister of rites, and finally steward, had no more time for arguing or discussion. The only thing that Yamada wanted was to live the remainder of his life in feeble luxury. He had such little time left, what was the point wasting it?

Sulking but obedient, Yamashiro knocked on Alexei's door. “Sir,” he spoke, switching to the Gallian speech. “We have been authorized to fetch you. Her Majesty wishes to review some issues with you.”

The door opened, revealing Ivan's surly face instead. He was halfway dressed, halfway hungover, and was clearly bruised from the night before.

"The blyat do you want, cykas?" he growled, looking over the old man and the younger courtier with disapproval. "Alexei's not home right now. He's downstairs."

Suddenly, there was the sound of pounding footsteps up the stairs below, and Alexei emerged, breathing heavily.

"My apologies!" he said, horribly butchering their odd bowing custom as he did so. "I saw you two come upstairs, and I meant to say something. Was halfway through delicious biscuit, though. What do you want?"

"Their queen has some issues with you! So much for your commission, eh?" Ivan said, looking pleased at Alexei's presumed misfortune.

"Damn it." Alexei swore, crossing his arms. "Well, lead me to her, gentlemen."

---

Katya stared in disbelief as the foreigner princess entered the tavern, yelling at the top of her voice. “I'LL MAKE WHOEVER TELLS ME WHERE ERIC RUMEN IS THE DAIMYO OF RINKOKU!", she screeched, fire covering her arms in rage.

Then, to her greater shock and horror, Eric pranced down the stairs, wearing a bright red thong. The sight of the old man was, frankly, disgusting. He was wrinkly and more than a little unappealing to look at, and she averted her eyes, blushing. She couldn't hear whatever he said to Fumiko, but clearly, it didn't go over too well.

"I hope you're prepared to die today. What are you waiting for? Kill him!"

And to yet even further amazement, Sir Lumen proceeded to...not die. In an impressive show of improvisation, he danced his way around the bar, avoiding all four of the guards, before proceeding to take them out of the fight with bottles, a stool leg, and darts from a dartboard. The bartender looked horrified for a few brief moments, before turning away and shaking his head.

"Also, you're shitty at guarding!" Eric crowed, jumping over a howling guard. "Cause while you all come at me, your princess is left undefended! Now, maybe you wanna take it down a notch? I'm not afraid to sock a woman." he said, grabbing Fumiko's sleeve. He squinted, rubbing it in between his fingers for a second. "You know, this is awfully cheap material for a princess. I know this one eyed Naga who makes far superior ones..." he said, starting to trail off into yet another horrifying story, probably.

Katya leapt up from the corner table nearby where she was standing, as she finished the last bite of eggs.

"Bravo, sir Lumen!" she said, grinning, enthusiastically doing the traditional Garmiccian golf clap. "Vhat a show. Spectacular. But it looks like you've been fired by Princess Squint over here...possibly literally." she joked, attempting to make a pun. She pulled a sack of coin off her belt. "Well, there's good news, sir Eric! I don't care what you did or even about that horrid hammock garment you're wearing - you're hired! You may be a disheveled old man, but you've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve. I love it!" she stated excitedly, holding the money up in the air.

[Olthar]

As both a warrior and an individual who's been on the run for months, Gwen was always ready to expect the unexpected. Except for this time. She was still on edge from the events that had just transpired, so all she was thinking about was leaving and running as far away as she could. Thus, she was quite surprised when the cultists appeared outside the door.

She recognized them as the same folks who were in the square earlier and quickly began working through what was happening. They were human supremacists of some sort, and Ero-san had taken her to the location of a known monster. Clearly, he didn't know how to hide properly, and now his bumbling had become problematic for her. The silver lining, though, was that they were after her for being an Elemental and made no comment on her identity, so, perhaps, her cover wasn't entirely blown. In addition, they likely didn't stick around long enough to see her face with her hood up in the shadowed room. Nevertheless, this was still a problem.

Before Gwen could react, the cultists fled, seemingly in fear of Ero-san, dropping a smoke bomb on their way out. With her free hand, Gwen pulled her cloak up to cover her mouth and nose, but the effort was wasted as Ero-san teleported the device with the same foul power he used on her. She stood there wondering what to do next when the dark Elemental began laughing like a madman. Between that and the fact that the cultists ran in fear from him alone despite outnumbering the group three to one, Gwen became very nervous. The only thing worse than an evil person with great power was an insane person with great power, and she was worried that Ero-san was closer to the second. She definitely had to get away as soon as possible, but if she tried running now, she would likely bump into that group again, and they would surely not run from her. So, for the moment, she was stuck here. She had nothing in particular to say to either of the individuals with her, but she gave Ero-san a worried look as he continued laughing.

[Ameriganastan]

Katya leapt up from the corner table nearby where she was standing, as she finished the last bite of eggs.

"Bravo, sir Lumen!" she said, grinning, enthusiastically doing the traditional Garmiccian golf clap. "Vhat a show. Spectacular. But it looks like you've been fired by Princess Squint over here...possibly literally." she joked, attempting to make a pun. She pulled a sack of coin off her belt. "Well, there's good news, sir Eric! I don't care what you did or even about that horrid hammock garment you're wearing - you're hired! You may be a disheveled old man, but you've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve. I love it!" she stated excitedly, holding the money up in the air.

"...Disheveled? Sure I'm no spring chicken, but I think I'm in good shape for a guy my age."

Before he could flex to prove that and possibly give everyone a case of hysterical blindness, a pair of pants came flying from across the room and smacked him in the face.

"Get dressed you old lecher. And where did you even get that thing? I thought you lost the wooing thong 6 years ago."

He (very reluctantly) put his pants on, thinking back a few years.

"No, you're thinking of the diplomacy thong. The green one. I wore it to mediate that dispute between that nudist colony and the Elves...and then left it behind when their leaders caught me in flagrante delicto with both their wives. For a bunch of Elves, they sure were bad at archery."

He turned his attention to Katya.

"Well, glad I could impress. I mean I always impress myself, but it's fun to impress others. As for Princess Pouty over here..."

He slapped her on the back like they were old pals.

"She's just a little miffed at me is all. I'm sure she'll cool down in time. I mean who could stay mad at me?"

"The 12 people out there who have a reward for bringing your head on a platter for starters..."

[Kassaran]

His fit of laughter had bent over at the waist, the ridiculousness of Watchtower's quick retreat from the area had lent itself almost an air of clown-comedy to the scene. His eyes were genuinely watering as he wiped the tears from the corner of one of his eyes, standing up and trying to compose himself. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice the concerned visage which had taken root on the face of the woman before him. He sniffled a few times more before composing himself and casting a look once more at Catrin to try and determine what exactly the best course of action was here. Obviously the woman had plans to leave the building, but the Watchtower being so close had brought him a great fright in exchange for perhaps the funniest moment of sheer panic he'd seen from their kind in years. Clearing his throat, he attempted to address the joke which he thought was so funny," I-I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've been quite sorely misrepresented and I can hardly discern why it's so funny to me. I've just been slinking around the places I knew they were for the better half of three months thinking they weren't going to act quite that way if they ever saw me."

[Hanafuridake]

Bonk.

Himegawa hit Eric on the head with a frying pan. “There,” she said, now annoyed at the violent fight that had broken out over her. “And if you ever touch me again, you foul smelling ape, I'll ー ” what followed was a harrowing description of what the female courtier was capable of doing with a knife and violent imagination. Once she finished, she huffed and folded her hands in her kimono sleeves, standing next to Fumi, who had calmed down a little, but only enough as to where she could get her bearings.

“You son of a - ” Fumi started, hands steaming, although she was out of energy to continue a new array of attacks. The indolence of the Tsubaki court coupled with her poor health had taken its toll, and she had to support herself with an arm against the table. When he patted her on the back, she snarled. This is going to get me nowhere, Himegawa thought to herself. Although she was happy to have worn Fumi out, it would make it easier for the bandits to capture her, the shōgun suffering a hemorrhage was not in her interest at all.

“Calm down Your Majesty.” Himegawa stopped her, holding Fumiko's hands in her own and looking her in the eyes. “You don't have to fight any more, I appreciate all you've done for me.” she spoke in a sweet and soft voice that made Fumiko want to believe everything she said. “Let's forget this happened and enjoy a nice peaceful day.”

“Mizuki,” Fumi replied affectionately, holding Himegawa's hands and returning the loving look. “You know I'd do anything for you. I don't want that arrogant buffoon bothering you.”

"The 12 people out there who have a reward for bringing your head on a platter for starters..."

“Eleven actually, fair spirit.” Nekoyashiki appeared at the doorway in his usual manner, fanning himself with the same fan he always carried with him. “As much as I would like to claim the title of Rinkoku, there is only one person in this world who I want to kill, and neither of you are her.” the effeminate figure moved over to Fumiko, looking down at the fallen servants with a mixture of contempt and amusement.

"Damn it." Alexei swore, crossing his arms. "Well, lead me to her, gentlemen."

As Nekoyashiki took his place, Yamada and Yamashiro finally arrived with Alexei, the two old men being extremely surprised to see how the bar room had been completely devastated in the fight. “What happened... Uesama, are you alright!!?” Yamashiro stammered, looking around and trying to make sense of what happened.

“It's nothing,” Fumiko replied with a wave of her hand, finally able to stand a little better on her own, although she was still lightheaded. “Oh, yes, Alexei-san. I wanted to see you.” she addressed the sellsword fondly, not least because she could guess that it was probably a sore spot for Katya, who's recent insult had not gone unnoticed by her. “We were going to discuss tactics and recruitment. I got a little preoccupied...” she looked around at the badly burnt tavern.

[Lazarian]

As Nekoyashiki took his place, Yamada and Yamashiro finally arrived with Alexei, the two old men being extremely surprised to see how the bar room had been completely devastated in the fight. “What happened... Uesama, are you alright!!?” Yamashiro stammered, looking around and trying to make sense of what happened.

“It's nothing,” Fumiko replied with a wave of her hand, finally able to stand a little better on her own, although she was still lightheaded. “Oh, yes, Alexei-san. I wanted to see you.” she addressed the sellsword fondly, not least because she could guess that it was probably a sore spot for Katya, who's recent insult had not gone unnoticed by her. “We were going to discuss tactics and recruitment. I got a little preoccupied...” she looked around at the badly burnt tavern.

"Good morning, Lady Fumiko. It is pleasure to see your beautiful face again, my lady." Alexei said, dropping to one knee. Royals sure did love their curtsies, and a little flattery never hurt. In the background, Katya twitched slightly, eyebrows shooting into a glare. She was aware that he was probably laying it on to get in the foreign princess' good graces - for a military man, he certainly was quite adept in the social graces. Still, it bothered her quite a bit. She looked away, pretending that it didn't bother her quite a bit.

Alexei stood up, looking around the room. There were burn marks on the floor, the walls, the bar itself, and one of the stools had been ripped right in two. The bartender looked quite distraught.

"A little preoccupied?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "I'll say. I'm assuming you were blessed with being a spellborn? And of the Great Fire, bringer of life itself. Quite impressive. But yes, tactics and recruitment. My area of expertise, if I do say so myself. Let's talk, m'lady."

Katya couldn't hold herself back, unfortunately. This was too irritating to just sit back and listen to.

"Take it outside, would you?" she griped, crossing her arms. "I'm going to talk with Eric and Aerion about our journey and get legitimate work done here."

"Very well." said Alexei, slightly annoyed. "Damn it, girl, don't ruin my chances here." he thought to himself, giving Katya a glare that could kill. "Lady Fumiko, do you mind if we take a brief walk outside? Additionally, I heard you had some potential issues with my service. I'd like to address those. Let's take a stroll around the plaza, shall we?"

Aerion was utterly meticulous about his morning routine, every inch of his skin was scrubbed and washed, oils and perfumes were than generously allowed to grace his body, his armour was purified of any imperfections or dirt and prayers were dolled out to all the gods, excluding Froenstia for her hatred and betrayal of him. By the time he met up with the others at the bottom floor of the tavern he was the very image of beauty, much more refined than his drunken self from last night, a blue cloak hanging proudly from his shoulders.

After Alexei and Fumiko departed, Katya strode over to Aerion, who was watching from a short distance away. She almost hadn't recognized him, which was quite interesting. Instead of the raving madman from last night, this man wouldn't be out of place at her father's fancy court dinners. He was handsome and clean, in stark contrast to her initial impression of him, and he had a dashing smile and stood proud and tall. Perhaps he truly was a legendary hero at some point and...things had gotten out of hand, perhaps. Maybe this wasn't such a bad hire after all. Although he was wearing the cloak, it seemed like he had decided to forego the helmet. Interesting.

"Well, good morning, Aerion!" she said, going over to shake his hand. "You...certainly clean up nicely. Garmiccia's colors certainly fit you well! In just few moments, I'm going to go see if there is ship leaving town soon for mainland. Would you mind coming along? By the way..."

She turned to Eric.

"Eric, this is sir Aerion. He'll be working with me as well. Aerion, this is sir Eric. I know you met briefly last night...but let's put that aside for now, yes? Many things can happen under influence of drink." she said, flashing back to her foolish attempt to flirt with Tristan, and grimacing slightly.

[Constaniana]

"You pompous degenerates better pay for all these damages, or I'll have the guards deport you back to Sahranjja in chains!" the innkeeper shouted at Fumiko and her entourage, "Watchtower doesn't need to bother with angrily ranting in the street about historical problems they blame your kind for, they can just show people how it takes Elementals five minutes to lose their minds and start trying to butcher humans they were designed to protect, and they'd have the whole city on their side! And as for you lot-" He turned to Eric and Aerion, "If you try stabbing people again or resume telling obscene stories that drive away my customers then you're both kicked out! Do you understand that, jackasses?"

The poor man tried sorting out some of the mess that had been afflicted upon him but gave up in disgust quickly. He told one of the waiters to stand behind the bar and keep watch, and then walked out the door, looking very angry indeed.

[Ameriganastan]

Bonk.

Himegawa hit Eric on the head with a frying pan. “There,” she said, now annoyed at the violent fight that had broken out over her. “And if you ever touch me again, you foul smelling ape, I'll ー ” what followed was a harrowing description of what the female courtier was capable of doing with a knife and violent imagination. Once she finished, she huffed and folded her hands in her kimono sleeves, standing next to Fumi, who had calmed down a little, but only enough as to where she could get her bearings.

"...Wow. Just...wow."

Eric very wisely took a few steps away, actually bowing a little as he did.

"Message received. No more unwanted touchy-touchy from me. No ma'am. Consider my hands to myself in your presence."

He shuddered a little in fear, hoping that description didn't stick in his dreams.

"...I wonder if this is how it feels to others when I tell stories..."

She turned to Eric.

"Eric, this is sir Aerion. He'll be working with me as well. Aerion, this is sir Eric. I know you met briefly last night...but let's put that aside for now, yes? Many things can happen under influence of drink." she said, flashing back to her foolish attempt to flirt with Tristan, and grimacing slightly.

"Ah, the off-kilter lad. Welcome back. I knew you couldn't resist the urge to travel with me. I tell you, all that battlefield madness will be far from your mind after a few days partying with me. Reminds me of this one time..."

"You pompous degenerates better pay for all these damages, or I'll have the guards deport you back to Sahranjja in chains!" the innkeeper shouted at Fumiko and her entourage, "Watchtower doesn't need to bother with angrily ranting in the street about historical problems they blame your kind for, they can just show people how it takes Elementals five minutes to lose their minds and start trying to butcher humans they were designed to protect, and they'd have the whole city on their side! And as for you lot-" He turned to Eric and Aerion, "If you try stabbing people again or resume telling obscene stories that drive away my customers then you're both kicked out! Do you understand that, jackasses?"

The poor man tried sorting out some of the mess that had been afflicted upon him but gave up in disgust quickly. He told one of the waiters to stand behind the bar and keep watch, and then walked out the door, looking very angry indeed.

"...Uh, maybe another time. That story probably ranks as obscene."

[Rupudska]

"See, Erosen?" Catrin said out loud as the woman headed for the door. "This is why you don't have any other frie-"

And then stuff happened.

His fit of laughter had bent over at the waist, the ridiculousness of Watchtower's quick retreat from the area had lent itself almost an air of clown-comedy to the scene. His eyes were genuinely watering as he wiped the tears from the corner of one of his eyes, standing up and trying to compose himself. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice the concerned visage which had taken root on the face of the woman before him. He sniffled a few times more before composing himself and casting a look once more at Catrin to try and determine what exactly the best course of action was here. Obviously the woman had plans to leave the building, but the Watchtower being so close had brought him a great fright in exchange for perhaps the funniest moment of sheer panic he'd seen from their kind in years. Clearing his throat, he attempted to address the joke which he thought was so funny," I-I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've been quite sorely misrepresented and I can hardly discern why it's so funny to me. I've just been slinking around the places I knew they were for the better half of three months thinking they weren't going to act quite that way if they ever saw me."

Yet again, Catrin's hand found its way to her face, and once again, it was Erosen's fault. He hadn't completely fouled it up this time - he had stopped both the battering ram and the smoke grenade, thus preventing her from having to blast each and every one of the Watchtower goons with silk in retaliation - the bakers downstairs didn't much like it when she got blood on the walls.

With an aggravated sigh, she slammed the door shut, walked over to her hammock... bed... thing, and flopped down upon it, her legs splayed out in front or behind her as their joints forced them to.

"Alright, listen. I don't have any proper beds, and I doubt either of you two want or should go out anytime soon, with these clowns knowing our faces. Bastards have been stirring up trouble around here for a while, long enough even to bother me. They keep trying to kick me out, but considering how liberal this city is on non-human rights, most people don't give a shit. Besides, I kill the rats and fix anything metal, which is a lot more helpful than this 'Watchtower' group is."

She reached under her bed and pulled out a canister of what soon revealed itself to be black coffee. She took a long drag and leaned further onto the hammock.

"Tomorrow, I'm gonna go to this bar owned by a guy a guy I know knows. I think I saw one of them there before, but I'm not totally sure."

[Woodstovia]

Aerion bowed deeply and smiled “as do you Lsdy Katya, your beauty seems to grow by the day, as I’m sure will your reputation and renown. Yesterday was... unfortunate. But that’s not who I am, I’m just a bad drunk and I’d like to offer my apologies, I have no issue following you wherever I’m needed, for you I’d go through hell. Oh! And I agree the blue goes perfectly with my eyes-“ he frowned as Eric adressed him as if he was some madman. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the man. “I don’t have a drop of madness within me and I’m certainly not off-kilter. My adventures are with Katya old man.” Part of him wished Eric would lunge at Katy just so He’d have an excuse to cut the man to pieces.

[Hanafuridake]

"Good morning, Lady Fumiko. It is pleasure to see your beautiful face again, my lady." Alexei said, dropping to one knee. Royals sure did love their curtsies, and a little flattery never hurt. In the background, Katya twitched slightly, eyebrows shooting into a glare. She was aware that he was probably laying it on to get in the foreign princess' good graces - for a military man, he certainly was quite adept in the social graces. Still, it bothered her quite a bit. She looked away, pretending that it didn't bother her quite a bit.

Now it was Himegawa's turn to be jealous over Fumi in spite of herself. “Hey, keep your sweet words to yourself Casanova.” she replied with a scowl, wrapping her hand around Fumi's to emphasize her point. “I can just as easily do to you what I told that man over there.” she looked at Eric, who seemed to have learned his lesson about boundaries for the time being.

Fumi didn't seem to mind the renewed attention she was receiving from her courtier, and replied to Alexei partly out of gratitude. “Yes, I am blessed with the power of the Sun,” the shōgun said, although she had never heard the word 'spellborn,' it was easy to ascertain what he was referring to. “I'm of the Great Fire Lineage after all. It would be scandalous if I weren't endowed with the power to conjure fire.” she frowned when he mentioned she had issues with his service. “Oh no, nothing of the sort. I simply need to cover all bases regarding tactics and the chain of command for when we set sail for Tsubaki.” when he offered to walk out to the plaza, the exhausted and now mild Fumi smiled. “That sounds nice. Nekoyashiki, please pay the poor bartender for the damages we - I - caused in this place.”

Nekoyashiki smiled. “Of course, Your Majesty.” as she walked outside though with Himegawa, his smile started to crack as the internal screaming started in his mind: WITH WHAT MONEY!!?

Aerion bowed deeply and smiled “as do you Lsdy Katya, your beauty seems to grow by the day, as I’m sure will your reputation and renown. Yesterday was... unfortunate. But that’s not who I am, I’m just a bad drunk and I’d like to offer my apologies, I have no issue following you wherever I’m needed, for you I’d go through hell. Oh! And I agree the blue goes perfectly with my eyes-“ he frowned as Eric adressed him as if he was some madman. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the man. “I don’t have a drop of madness within me and I’m certainly not off-kilter. My adventures are with Katya old man.” Part of him wished Eric would lunge at Katy just so He’d have an excuse to cut the man to pieces.

The courtier, worried there would be even more stuff that he would have to clean up should Eric and Aerion break into a fight, pulled his fan out and tried to shew them out of the tavern. “Get outta here all of you!” he yelled semi-hysterically. “The next person who pulls a sword in this establishment, I'll shove it where not even Pryastar can shine!” he looked around dejectedly and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

[Lazarian]

Now it was Himegawa's turn to be jealous over Fumi in spite of herself. “Hey, keep your sweet words to yourself Casanova.” she replied with a scowl, wrapping her hand around Fumi's to emphasize her point. “I can just as easily do to you what I told that man over there.” she looked at Eric, who seemed to have learned his lesson about boundaries for the time being.

Fumi didn't seem to mind the renewed attention she was receiving from her courtier, and replied to Alexei partly out of gratitude. “Yes, I am blessed with the power of the Sun,” the shōgun said, although she had never heard the word 'spellborn,' it was easy to ascertain what he was referring to. “I'm of the Great Fire Lineage after all. It would be scandalous if I weren't endowed with the power to conjure fire.” she frowned when he mentioned she had issues with his service. “Oh no, nothing of the sort. I simply need to cover all bases regarding tactics and the chain of command for when we set sail for Tsubaki.” when he offered to walk out to the plaza, the exhausted and now mild Fumi smiled. “That sounds nice. Nekoyashiki, please pay the poor bartender for the damages we - I - caused in this place.”

Alexei raised his eyebrows at Himegawa's threat. Interesting. The incredibly pale, dark-haired foreigner seemed rather irritated by his flattery. Perhaps she was trying to aim for a high position in Fumiko's future court as well. He was curious as to what value she could possibly provide, though. Maybe she was an administrator of some sort.

"I'm afraid I didn't catch what you said to him, lady. Sure it was real scary, though." he said, smiling slightly, subtly placing one of his hands idly on his handaxe affixed to his belt, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't going to directly affront her, but it was good to stand one's ground. He then turned away from Himegawa, ignoring her. It was unlikely she posed any real threat, unless she stabbed him in the back when he wasn't looking or something. And he doubted that would go well for her.

Briskly, he walked outside, smelling the fresh air of the marketplace, and Fumiko followed along with him. She seemed rather tired - perhaps using her spellborn powers exhausted her? Interesting. Katya's powers didn't seem to operate like that, but every class of spellborn was a little different. Or so he had heard, anyways. Either way, it was encouraging that she was one of the Great Fire's children. Interesting that even the foreigners recognized his might. Pyrastar was one of the few gods Alexei made any supplication or prayers to - he was skeptical of the others' existence or relevance, but his life had been saved by a good warm fire plenty of times.

The market was already starting to bustle with activity, despite it only being around 9 in the morning. He could smell the ocean from here, as the morning mist dissipated. Merchants were hawking their wares, sailors were walking from one place to another, carrying merchandise from all over the place, and the Greycloaks were nowhere to be seen today. Interesting. Perhaps Eric's divine intervention had scared them off into the shadows for a few minutes, or perhaps they had decided upon another recruiting venture. Either way, it wasn't his problem. Lady Katya did a good job of disguising herself and not drawing attention...well, until recently, anyways. They'd have to talk about that.

"So, tactics and chain of command, yes? My area of expertise, if I do say so myself." he said enthusiastically, casually strolling down the plaza at a slow pace, attempting not to leave the foreign women behind. "I'd like to know more about your homeland, your claim to the throne, and the military tactics of your people. Is very important. How large is Tsubaki? What is population? How popular is current regime? How many soldiers can you raise? How large is military opposition? All very important factors, m'lady. Before talking about high command, we must establish the lower forces. Build houses from bottom up, not roof downwards, yes?" he continued cheerfully, taking a deep whiff of the smell of fresh bread.

---

Aerion bowed deeply and smiled “as do you Lady Katya, your beauty seems to grow by the day, as I’m sure will your reputation and renown. Yesterday was... unfortunate. But that’s not who I am, I’m just a bad drunk and I’d like to offer my apologies, I have no issue following you wherever I’m needed, for you I’d go through hell. Oh! And I agree the blue goes perfectly with my eyes-“ he frowned as Eric adressed him as if he was some madman. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the man. “I don’t have a drop of madness within me and I’m certainly not off-kilter. My adventures are with Katya old man.” Part of him wished Eric would lunge at Katya just so he’d have an excuse to cut the man to pieces.

"Aye, settle down." Katya said to Aerion, as she glared daggers at Alexei as he wandered off out of the tavern. "You'll both be working together, so do try to get along, yes?" she continued, patting Aerion on the back. "Not a drop of madness, my arse." she thought, sighing internally. She had watched him nearly try to skewer the bartender last night. Sure, perhaps he was a bad drunk, but even still - there were plenty of bad drunks in the North, and they usually didn't do...well, all of that nonsense he had done last night. Well, it didn't matter at this point. She had to work with him, regardless of whether he was mad or not. And it was better if she treated him as if he wasn't, so that was the plan.

Suddenly, the young man that had attempted to threaten Alexei the previous day came up to them, waving his fan aggressively. “Get outta here all of you!” he yelled semi-hysterically. “The next person who pulls a sword in this establishment, I'll shove it where not even Pryastar can shine!” It would probably have been adorable, if it wasn't so annoying. Aw, who was she kidding? It was a good attempt.

"Well, you heard him." said Katya to her two new companions, grinning slightly. "We've got to leave, or that frail lad will pull an "Upwards Eric" on us." she joked, punching Eric in the shoulder. She had grown to like the dirty old man in the day that she had known him. Certainly was a character, at the very least.

"Anyways," she continued, putting jokes aside, "I think we should go look for cart or wagon of some sort. I've been checking the docks frequently, and there are no ships going directly to North Gallia for next couple of weeks at very least. In all time that I've been here, there has been...possibly one, and it wasn't accepting passengers. There seems to be unofficial embargo between Southern Gallians and Northern Gallians. Our best course of action is to travel south to the town of Redbeach and see if there's any ships travelling to the North from that harbor. We can take a vessel to the South in either port town, but I believe it'd be worthwhile to check Redbeach, as it'd save us much time if we could just directly sail to the North. Let us go, yes?" she finished, starting to walk out to the door, to the relief of both the foreign lad and the workers of the establishment.

[Ameriganastan]

Aerion bowed deeply and smiled “as do you Lsdy Katya, your beauty seems to grow by the day, as I’m sure will your reputation and renown. Yesterday was... unfortunate. But that’s not who I am, I’m just a bad drunk and I’d like to offer my apologies, I have no issue following you wherever I’m needed, for you I’d go through hell. Oh! And I agree the blue goes perfectly with my eyes-“ he frowned as Eric adressed him as if he was some madman. His eyes narrowed and he glared at the man. “I don’t have a drop of madness within me and I’m certainly not off-kilter. My adventures are with Katya old man.” Part of him wished Eric would lunge at Katy just so He’d have an excuse to cut the man to pieces.

"Okay, no madness. I'm sure there's a more PC term for it. Let's try...mentally hilarious. Yeah, that sounds about right. My mentally hilarious pal and me. I'd read that book...in fact, I might write it."

He rustled his hair like he was a kid.

"You may be travelling with her, but I'm a happy bonus. Wait til I show you this boffo cathouse in Redbeach. Women there practically have no bones. I'm talking circus flexible. You'll love it."

The courtier, worried there would be even more stuff that he would have to clean up should Eric and Aerion break into a fight, pulled his fan out and tried to shew them out of the tavern. “Get outta here all of you!” he yelled semi-hysterically. “The next person who pulls a sword in this establishment, I'll shove it where not even Pryastar can shine!” he looked around dejectedly and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

"Hang on, before I go..."

He pulled a business card out of his pants pocket, sitting it on the bar.

"These wood nymphs owe me a favor. Just drip a little drop a blood on that card, tell them Eric the Savior sent you, and they'll have your bar looking like new. Some stellar carpenters those guys...also, watch out for the one named Vasily. He kinda has this habit of drinking a place dry. Big liver for such a tiny guy."

He winked and finally left the bar.

Alexei raised his eyebrows at Himegawa's threat. Interesting. The incredibly pale, dark-haired foreigner seemed rather irritated by his flattery. Perhaps she was trying to aim for a high position in Fumiko's future court as well. He was curious as to what value she could possibly provide, though. Maybe she was an administrator of some sort.

"I'm afraid I didn't catch what you said to him, lady. Sure it was real scary, though." he said, smiling slightly, subtly placing one of his hands idly on his handaxe affixed to his belt, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't going to directly affront her, but it was good to stand one's ground. He then turned away from Himegawa, ignoring her. It was unlikely she posed any real threat, unless she stabbed him in the back when he wasn't looking or something. And he doubted that would go well for her.

Briskly, he walked outside, smelling the fresh air of the marketplace, and Fumiko followed along with him. She seemed rather tired - perhaps using her spellborn powers exhausted her? Interesting. Katya's powers didn't seem to operate like that, but every class of spellborn was a little different. Or so he had heard, anyways. Either way, it was encouraging that she was one of the Great Fire's children. Interesting that even the foreigners recognized his might. Pyrastar was one of the few gods Alexei made any supplication or prayers to - he was skeptical of the others' existence or relevance, but his life had been saved by a good warm fire plenty of times.

The market was already starting to bustle with activity, despite it only being around 9 in the morning. He could smell the ocean from here, as the morning mist dissipated. Merchants were hawking their wares, sailors were walking from one place to another, carrying merchandise from all over the place, and the Greycloaks were nowhere to be seen today. Interesting. Perhaps Eric's divine intervention had scared them off into the shadows for a few minutes, or perhaps they had decided upon another recruiting venture. Either way, it wasn't his problem. Lady Katya did a good job of disguising herself and not drawing attention...well, until recently, anyways. They'd have to talk about that.

"So, tactics and chain of command, yes? My area of expertise, if I do say so myself." he said enthusiastically, casually strolling down the plaza at a slow pace, attempting not to leave the foreign women behind. "I'd like to know more about your homeland, your claim to the throne, and the military tactics of your people. Is very important. How large is Tsubaki? What is population? How popular is current regime? How many soldiers can you raise? How large is military opposition? All very important factors, m'lady. Before talking about high command, we must establish the lower forces. Build houses from bottom up, not roof downwards, yes?" he continued cheerfully, taking a deep whiff of the smell of fresh bread.

---

"Aye, settle down." Katya said to Aerion, as she glared daggers at Alexei as he wandered off out of the tavern. "You'll both be working together, so do try to get along, yes?" she continued, patting Aerion on the back. "Not a drop of madness, my arse." she thought, sighing internally. She had watched him nearly try to skewer the bartender last night. Sure, perhaps he was a bad drunk, but even still - there were plenty of bad drunks in the North, and they usually didn't do...well, all of that nonsense he had done last night. Well, it didn't matter at this point. She had to work with him, regardless of whether he was mad or not. And it was better if she treated him as if he wasn't, so that was the plan.

Suddenly, the young man that had attempted to threaten Alexei the previous day came up to them, waving his fan aggressively. “Get outta here all of you!” he yelled semi-hysterically. “The next person who pulls a sword in this establishment, I'll shove it where not even Pryastar can shine!” It would probably have been adorable, if it wasn't so annoying. Aw, who was she kidding? It was a good attempt.

"Well, you heard him." said Katya to her two new companions, grinning slightly. "We've got to leave, or that frail lad will pull an "Upwards Eric" on us." she joked, punching Eric in the shoulder. She had grown to like the dirty old man in the day that she had known him. Certainly was a character, at the very least.

"Anyways," she continued, putting jokes aside, "I think we should go look for cart or wagon of some sort. I've been checking the docks frequently, and there are no ships going directly to North Gallia for next couple of weeks at very least. In all time that I've been here, there has been...possibly one, and it wasn't accepting passengers. There seems to be unofficial embargo between Southern Gallians and Northern Gallians. Our best course of action is to travel south to the town of Redbeach and see if there's any ships travelling to the North from that harbor. We can take a vessel to the South in either port town, but I believe it'd be worthwhile to check Redbeach, as it'd save us much time if we could just directly sail to the North. Let us go, yes?" she finished, starting to walk out to the door, to the relief of both the foreign lad and the workers of the establishment.

Eric actually grimaced.

"Yeah, the 'Upwards Eric' was...let's say a failed experiment. I never wanna see my legs bend that way again. Or have rope burns on my...hey, where's Belle?"

He looked around, catching his companion trying to sneak off in the direction they'd returned from.

"Belle..."

She went stiff as a board, quickly returning to sword form on his back in embarrassment.

“Turns out I'm susceptible to flattery. What of it? You never said I have nice eyes..."

"That's cause the last time I complimented you, you stabbed me in the neck with a pen. So I got drunk and said you had nice cans. Some people would find that flattering."

[Woodstovia]

Aerion grimaced And his skin crawled, he was slowly finding that he hated everyone here apart from lady Katya who at least attempted showing him a minute amount of respect and reverence. “I am not “mentally hilarious.” Or Whatever other term for “madman” you can think of. I am a perfectly fine, perfectly normal Gallian okay? And I don’t like women that way!” He snapped, sounding very offended as his face turned red “brothels are the most insulting and degrading thing imaginable, inhabited only by the lowest of the low. Do not even think of mentioning one before Lady Latya again!”

[Lazarian]

"Okay, no madness. I'm sure there's a more PC term for it. Let's try...mentally hilarious. Yeah, that sounds about right. My mentally hilarious pal and me. I'd read that book...in fact, I might write it."

Aerion grimaced and his skin crawled. He was slowly finding that he hated everyone here apart from lady Katya who at least attempted showing him a minute amount of respect and reverence. “I am not “mentally hilarious.” Or whatever other term for “madman” you can think of. I am a perfectly fine, perfectly normal Gallian okay? And I don’t like women that way!” He snapped, sounding very offended as his face turned red “brothels are the most insulting and degrading thing imaginable, inhabited only by the lowest of the low. Do not even think of mentioning one before Lady Latya again!”

"Hey, settle down, settle down!" Katya said (slightly frantically), patting Aerion on the shoulder gently.

This was going to be a real struggle. For a servant of Froenstia, he sure was hot-blooded. It would have been easier to send him along his way, but frankly, she knew he'd probably go straight to the authorities, and her party was in no shape to deal with that. Besides that, she didn't trust Fuming-coat or her followers for a minute, and having Aerion around was an...effective deterrent to violence, in her opinion.

"It's okay." she continued quickly, as they walked through the market. "Relax. I understand that nobles here are delicate and soft, like overfermented cabbage. Status is carried through bloodline, yes? Not where I am from. Only strongest rise to top." she said, echoing the words of her father. Internally, she winced a little bit - while he was definitely right, she really hated sounding like him.

"I'm not the kind of prissy fragile lady that the Gallians have here, no offense. Or like Princess Squint from earlier. I know what a damn brothel is. Will not kill me to have it mentioned in my presence. Otherwise, I'd have thrown out Ivan and Timur a while ago." she continued, cracking a joke. Speaking of Ivan, where was he? He had slipped out of the bar during the commotion earlier, and he certainly hadn't said where. Well, he did that from time to time. She'd figure it out later. Suddenly, Belle returned to Eric from...somewhere or other. For a being of the divine, she was surprisingly good at not drawing too much attention.

"Besides," she sighed, slightly depressed, "I'm not even really noble anymore. I suppose since you're going to be following me for the next month or so, you two deserve truth. After I refused fifth arranged marriage, my father threw me out of his lands. I cannot return home until I complete this journey. Unless, of course, I wanted to visit gallows or executioner's block, and neither seems particularly appealing to me at current time. Maybe later." she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"So, Eric," she continued, turning to the old man, "you've been to Redbeach as well? I'm afraid I'll have to pass on circus brothel, but I'm curious - have you been everywhere in Gallia? And you certainly seem to know many folks and places. Know any sailors willing to attempt landing in North Gallia? A friend of a friend is a friend!" she said enthusiastically, punching him in the arm. Traditional Garmiccian sign of excitement. Most of the folks she had met here didn't care for it, for some reason or another.

[Lazarian]

Ivan ducked around the corner, hiding his face. He had slipped out of the bar during all the commotion that occurred when the courtiers had attempted to take on the dirty old man. The baron's bitch hadn't assigned him any real work for today, so he was off to do whatever he pleased, for the most part. He was wrapped in a dark grey cloak he had picked up from earlier, when Eric had scared all of the Greycloaks off. Sure, it was dirty, but it beat the hell out of wearing the Garmiccian blues. It would be best for him not to be identified. He was in a few of the alleyways of the city. They may have been dangerous to the commonfolk, but it was early in the morning and the sun was shining. Besides, they had been in Carogne for a while, and he knew his way around the city.

He was even starting to get to know a few useful people. After a few minutes, he arrived at a relatively unassuming storefront, and walked around to the back door of the establishment. He attempted to open the door, but it was locked, so he knocked a couple times. A slot in the wall opened, and a pair of eyes gazed back at him.

"Yes, Ivan? What are you here for today?" the man behind the wall said, in an inquiring tone.

"C'mon, Greycloak, you can let me in." Ivan whined, crossing his arms. "You know who I am."

"Yes. A low-level pickpocket that's made a charitable donation or two to our organization. Doesn't mean you can come into the station and do official business." the voice continued, sounding rather bored. Ivan scowled.

"You folks hate the spellborn, right? So do I. That outta be good enough for you."

"Many folks do, Mr. Ivan. Doesn't mean I can let you in." the voice continued, a little annoyed.

Ivan grinned, flashing a gold tooth at the man. "I got the location of a whole bunch of em. All bunched up in one place. I know what kinds they are too. Knowledge is power, right?"

The man's tone changed quickly. "Well, Mr. Ivan, we would be happy to learn these things! Watchtower would be very grateful for your additions to the registry."

Ivan crossed his arms, making a sour face. "You think I'm giving this out for free? Fuck no. Let's make a deal. You give me coin and I give you what I know."

"Mr. Ivan, I'm afraid I can't verify whether what you have to say is true or not. Watchtower doesn't just hand out money, friend. Besides, who's to say we don't already know what you have to say? We've got information on most of the Elementals in this city. I really doubt you have that much of value to add."

"Damn you!" swore Ivan, glaring at the man. "Fine. I'll tell you what I know, and if it's valuable, you'll pay me for it. Fifty Danethrums per new spellborn."

"A day's worth of work, Mr. Ivan? Those are some high prices you're asking for, friend. Let's try twenty five." the voice replied smoothly, without much emotional inflect whatsoever. Ivan balled up his hands into fists in frustration. "Thirty." he snapped irritably, looking into the man's eyes. "I'm not going lower than thirty."

"Very well." the man behind the window said, chuckling. "Thirty danethrums for each new Elemental you identify and report on. That's a fair deal, Mr. Ivan. Now tell me what you know."

Ivan grinned. Finally. He hadn't expected to negotiate them up this high, really.

"Alright, sir. Here's what I know. I'm with a spellborn na-"

"Correct terminology please, Mr. Ivan. We don't know what a spellborn is." the voice interrupted, as a pen being quickly scraped across paper could be heard through the window. Ivan swore, shaking his head.

"Okay, so I'm with an...Elemental." he griped, rather annoyed at the interruption. "Her name is Katya Kuznetsov. She's a wind Elemental. Staying in the Dragon's Draught tavern on the other side of town. She's a young woman, blue hair, but usually hides it with a hood. Real short. Yesterday she met up with this other Elemental. Man's name is Eric Lemming or something along those lines. Not sure what kind of Elemental he is, but he has powers of some sort. He's the old man who handed you folks your arses yesterday. I assume you know about him already, but never hurts to be thorough. Next ones are two ice Elementals. One is this fellow named Aerion. Tall bloke, rather handsome looking, wearing Garmiccian colors now. This one's dangerous. Got some real fight in em. Probably some demons up in there too. Hah." he joked, laughing to himself.

"Real demons, Mr. Ivan, or is that an unprofessional joke?" the voice interrupted, pen screeching to a halt.

"It was a joke, you humorless bastard. Demons aren't real." continued Ivan, frowning. "Anyways, the other one is this man named Tristan. Ice Elemental. Seems to be fresh off the boat. Didn't catch much about him, but he created ice behind him to drag his suitcase behind him. Probably isn't that powerful, honestly. The last one is this foreign bitch named Fumingcone. Fire Elemental. From some place called Tsubaki or other. Real troublemaker, that woman is. Nearly burnt the whole place down. I bet you folks would get some good reputation from stringing her up. That's all I've got right now. Five Elementals, though. That'll be a hundred and fifty danethrums, please." Ivan said confidently, grinning.

"Ah, Mr. Ivan, I'm afraid it'll only be sixty."

"WHAT?" growled Ivan in disbelief, shaking his head. "Only sixty?"

"Well," said the voice through the wall, "first off, we're aware of both Eric Lumen and Tristan. They've had interactions with us before and they're in our records. Secondly, your intelligence was way off. Eric Lumen isn't even an Elemental, so I don't know why you attempted to report him as one. And Tristan is highly dangerous, so your assessment of him as weak based on a casual use of powers was foolish. Thirdly, we had an informant stick around after Eric's demonstration to gather intel. Eric is useful to us, Mr. Ivan. He seems to attract Elementals and other creatures to him like a magnet. And as for miss Kuznetsov...you really think that she slipped under our radar for a year, Mr. Ivan? Watchtower has more eyes and ears than you would think. We have men in very high places."

Ivan sighed. "Well, at least you owe me sixty. I'll take em."

The door opened, revealing a rather plain looking man, wrapped in a grey cloak. "On the contrary, Mr. Ivan. I think we have more to talk about." the man said cheerfully, smiling devilishly.

Ivan suddenly felt a chill running down his back - and a swordpoint at the back of his head.

[Ameriganastan]

Aerion grimaced And his skin crawled, he was slowly finding that he hated everyone here apart from lady Katya who at least attempted showing him a minute amount of respect and reverence. “I am not “mentally hilarious.” Or Whatever other term for “madman” you can think of. I am a perfectly fine, perfectly normal Gallian okay? And I don’t like women that way!” He snapped, sounding very offended as his face turned red “brothels are the most insulting and degrading thing imaginable, inhabited only by the lowest of the low. Do not even think of mentioning one before Lady Latya again!”

Eric threw an arm around him like they were old pals.

"You're adorable. I felt that way my first time at Big Bessie's. Then 9 Finger Mavis made me into a man. What a day. Oh, and by the way..."

He pinched his cheek like he was his grandchild.

"Keep up with the implied threats, and nice Eric will be replaced by Sensei Eric. And I'll beat you into the ground like a tentpole before I give you a much needed haircut. Just an FYI."

He patted his cheek and released him.

"Hey, settle down, settle down!" Katya said (slightly frantically), patting Aerion on the shoulder gently.

This was going to be a real struggle. For a servant of Froenstia, he sure was hot-blooded. It would have been easier to send him along his way, but frankly, she knew he'd probably go straight to the authorities, and her party was in no shape to deal with that. Besides that, she didn't trust Fuming-coat or her followers for a minute, and having Aerion around was an...effective deterrent to violence, in her opinion.

"It's okay." she continued quickly, as they walked through the market. "Relax. I understand that nobles here are delicate and soft, like overfermented cabbage. Status is carried through bloodline, yes? Not where I am from. Only strongest rise to top." she said, echoing the words of her father. Internally, she winced a little bit - while he was definitely right, she really hated sounding like him.

"I'm not the kind of prissy fragile lady that the Gallians have here, no offense. Or like Princess Squint from earlier. I know what a damn brothel is. Will not kill me to have it mentioned in my presence. Otherwise, I'd have thrown out Ivan and Timur a while ago." she continued, cracking a joke. Speaking of Ivan, where was he? He had slipped out of the bar during the commotion earlier, and he certainly hadn't said where. Well, he did that from time to time. She'd figure it out later. Suddenly, Belle returned to Eric from...somewhere or other. For a being of the divine, she was surprisingly good at not drawing too much attention.

"Besides," she sighed, slightly depressed, "I'm not even really noble anymore. I suppose since you're going to be following me for the next month or so, you two deserve truth. After I refused fifth arranged marriage, my father threw me out of his lands. I cannot return home until I complete this journey. Unless, of course, I wanted to visit gallows or executioner's block, and neither seems particularly appealing to me at current time. Maybe later." she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"So, Eric," she continued, turning to the old man, "you've been to Redbeach as well? I'm afraid I'll have to pass on circus brothel, but I'm curious - have you been everywhere in Gallia? And you certainly seem to know many folks and places. Know any sailors willing to attempt landing in North Gallia? A friend of a friend is a friend!" she said enthusiastically, punching him in the arm. Traditional Garmiccian sign of excitement. Most of the folks she had met here didn't care for it, for some reason or another.

"I've been everywhere but the very top and bottom of the world. And a few places you won't find on a map. Sunken cities where mermaids live, mountain villages full of living rock people, the secret undead necropolis of the Lich Lord, etc. Nice guy by the way. Offered to rise me from the dead as a zombie when I die, but I turned him down. As for the sailor..."

He racked his brain, trying to recall someone who could do just that. Only one came to mind there in Cargone. And he didn't wanna see her right now.

"Well...there is one. Actually a group she's a member of...actually, the leader of last I heard.

He rubbed the back of his neck, scanning the streets like he was being watched.

"You ever heard of the Basilisk Pirates? Most feared, ruthless and numerous guild of pirates on the seas? Their leader will take you anywhere if the price is right. Just one hitch: She really hates me. I kind of slept with her to steal a treasure map when she was first mate...and about a day or two ago I kind of sunk one of her ships to steal a diamond..."

"Yeah, a diamond currently sitting at the bottom of the sea. Great plan there, Captain Moron."

"Oh, hush. So...yeah. She'll take us there if you need. I can take you to their outpost here in Cargone if you want."

[Woodstovia]

Aerion breathes in... and out, he had been around nobles before but none of them had seemed as “normal” as Katya. This’ll be okay. He told himself, breathing deeply to try and cool the blood pumping through him. He still couldn’t however shake the feeling that there was something off about the swordsman. He’d heard someone call his weapon Daemon if but it wasn’t that, it didn’t feel off really, but his endless bragging and bullshit was irritating Aerion for all the accusations and finger pointing about his “madness” Eric seemed to have lost his wits long ago.

“Apologies Lady Katya. I should have known a daughter of the gods as forceful and true of mind as you would be resilient about these sort of things. I hope we can find a man worthy of your-“ he was interrupted as Weic began spouting off more bollocks and pinching his cheek. The blood in Aerion’s veins may as well have been hot magma as Eric went on and on...

He firmly eased Eric away from him, shooting the man a clear “I’m not your friend” sort of glare which dissolved into an easy smile as he returned his gaze to Katya “Forgive me but Liches? Cities of the dead? Rock people? Mermaids? Next he’ll be trying to convince us of the Sanguilana Bunny as well. If I’d have to guess he has a group of ruffians ready to slit our throats as soon as we follow him. I’ve crossed true border before, we can simply take a boat to the mainland and sneak over on foot, much more reliable than a boat, never mind a boat captained by imaginary pirates.”

[Ameriganastan]

Aerion breathes in... and out, he had been around nobles before but none of them had seemed as “normal” as Katya. This’ll be okay. He told himself, breathing deeply to try and cool the blood pumping through him. He still couldn’t however shake the feeling that there was something off about the swordsman. He’d heard someone call his weapon Daemon if but it wasn’t that, it didn’t feel off really, but his endless bragging and bullshit was irritating Aerion for all the accusations and finger pointing about his “madness” Eric seemed to have lost his wits long ago.

“Apologies Lady Katya. I should have known a daughter of the gods as forceful and true of mind as you would be resilient about these sort of things. I hope we can find a man worthy of your-“ he was interrupted as Weic began spouting off more bollocks and pinching his cheek. The blood in Aerion’s veins may as well have been hot magma as Eric went on and on...

He firmly eased Eric away from him, shooting the man a clear “I’m not your friend” sort of glare which dissolved into an easy smile as he returned his gaze to Katya “Forgive me but Liches? Cities of the dead? Rock people? Mermaids? Next he’ll be trying to convince us of the Sanguilana Bunny as well. If I’d have to guess he has a group of ruffians ready to slit our throats as soon as we follow him. I’ve crossed true border before, we can simply take a boat to the mainland and sneak over on foot, much more reliable than a boat, never mind a boat captained by imaginary pirates.”

Now it was Eric's turn to look annoyed.

"Now look here, you impudent little whelp. I'm many things. Whore-monger, booze hound, hash smoker..."

"Deadbeat father to dozens of kids..."

"Deadbeat father to...oh, shut up! Anyway, I'm a lot of unsavory things. But I'm no liar and I'm no brigand. There are countless retired soldiers out there who trusted their lives to me. And I return that battlefield loyalty by never deceiving those I consider friends. Infer something like that again and so help whatever Gods you believe in..."

Belle sprung from his back, quickly getting between him and Aerion.

"Easy, Eric. Just let it go."

He glared past her, but turned away. Producing the aforementioned hash pipe and lighting it there in the street.

"While his stories may sound fantastical, he does not lie about them. I've been strapped to his back for all of them."

He blew a few smoke rings in the air.

"Little bastard..."

[Lazarian]

"Easy there, gentlemen!" Katya said, jumping in between the two, next to Belle. Although neither were really gentlemen, this seemed like a good place to stop their bickering. It'd be bad if it got worse. "I'm confident that I'll get across that border one way or another, and I'm villing to try out whatever opportunity presents itself. Yes, land route would work, but I am fine vith finding ship directly there as well. Aerion, I trust the gods, and thus, I trust Eric. Please do try getting along. Eric, please don't touch Aerion. I don't think he appreciates."

She paused, taking a deep breath, and then continued. "Did you say the Basilisk Pirates? I swear I heard my father mention them at some point. If I remember correctly...they vere an issue off the Garmiccian coast a few years ago. I think the emperor paid them off to go privateer against the bastard Yelhennians at some point?"

She crossed her arms.

"I'm not so sure about the rest of all those places or things, but you know, Aerion, there are strange things out there. My father told tales of burials gone wrong leading to dead men valking through the night. Or river spirits that would guide men along, promising warmth and shelter, leading to naught but a watery grave. Of course, I haven't seen many of these things myself, but I vas taught that the more advanced a city or settlement becomes, the rarer the olde magic and creatures become. Or they're just driven off by the locals. They're bad luck, anyways."

Turning to Eric, she raised an eyebrow.

"Although, you said you...attempted to steal a diamond and sink one of their ships? Sir Lumen, I doubt that she'd be too happy to see you, and by extension, myself. Regardless of your prior connections, honestly. How many folks are after your head, anyways?"