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

[Constaniana]

OOC/Signup Thread

---

Prologue
Norenhall
Hooves thundered along the road up to Castle Brackhall, stirring up the drifts of snow that had lingered on into spring, something completely ordinary this far north. Four riders proceeded through the castle gate, one of them dressed a bit more ornately than the others. It wasn't too noticeable, or to the point of detracting functionality from the armour, but there were slight differences-a slightly more elaborate horn on the steel helm, thin strips of gold artfully weaved around the scabbard of the sword at the lead rider's waist. The man dismounted from his steed once he reached the centre of the castle courtyard, handing the reins to one of the servants who had approached the visitor, and the other three riders followed suite. Walking into the keep itself he was surprised when the lord of castle himself approached him.

"Ah, Bismarke, glad to see you're finally here! I was worrying that you'd forgotten how cold the north could be and had frozen away on the roadside!" Lord Brackhall, the Duke of Norenhall said jovially, laughing a bit as he did so. Lord Brackhall was an old man, nearing his 74th birthday, but in spite of the snow-white beard that went from his chin to his collarbone and years of war he had been through he acted just like a small child at times. Brackhall's guest laughed as well.

"I'm not a Southeman, Olgraf, I know what snow feels like. Of course, I'm used to snow that has the proper sense to melt when spring comes," Bismarke replied, brushing off some of the clumps of snow from his heavy fur cloak.

"We'll have that private chat you wanted up in my quarters. Wouldn't want the wrong sorts of people to overhear our discussion, and I only bother using that room to deal with squabbling peasants and arrogant political gits sent up from the capital to poke their noses around the North," said Lord Brackhall.

The two men arrived at Lord Brakhall's chambers and walked inside, Bismarke locking the solid oak door behind them. Olgraf took a seat at his desk while the visitor remained standing, taking a moment to shut the curtains.

"So what was it that got you to ride all the way up to Norenhall anyway? It's quite the journey, even by steamship. It'd be nice if there was a railway up here, but with the state of the country these days putting rails up to Norenhall is the last thing on the Council's mind..." Lord Brackhall said, obviously a tad bitter about the lack of assistance his lands were facing now. The North would continue on fine as it was, but a man could dream of making his home better, couldn't he?

"Actually, that has quite a bit to do with my reason for visiting you, Olgraf," Said Bismarke, grinning a little under his white moustache.

"You came up here to talk about trains?" Lord Brackhall asked, quite puzzled.

"No, no, not the bloody railways. The state of this "united" federation. I have the feeling in my gut, Olgraf, and I've heard things from down in the South. War is coming, I can tell," Bismarke explained grimly.

"Bloody brilliant, we've had enough of those for a whole bloody century. What's it going to be for, hm? Conquering Eresiln? Yuelkelu? Or Host forbid, Halvefor or Elcrescia," Lord Brackhall grumbled.

"I think it's going to be a Galllian affair, just like the last one. Unless, of course, Garamiccia or one of the other militaristic nations decides it's a good time to acquire some Galllian colonies,"

"If this is a prank, Bismarke, it's not a very funny one. Just what makes you think any lord would be willing to start another blasted war, no matter how far his head is up his Southemen arse?!" Lord Brackhall said, fuming.

"I know for a fact that Lord Relden's been stockpiling weapons for some time now. Quite discreetly of course, nothing too noticeable at first-a few dozen swords unaccounted for in a weapons shipment from Beiriuk, or a merchant vessel carrying black powder from Sahranjja gets attacked by pirates, and a caravan departing from Visalheim with ore to be made into armour up in Liefenhall or Kreigpike gets robbed by remarkably organized bandits," Bismarke began to explain, pacing back and forth in the room. "I had thoughts about informing the council on my suspicions, but even if I did it in the most anonymous and discreet manner Relden's sympathizers would no doubt discover it, and claim I was a paranoid Northemen savage, intent on ruining the good reputation of House Relden. And of course, I doubt he's the only one engaging in this sort of thing anyway. The garrisons at Roalphan's Pass have been slowly increasing, as no doubt an fine old strategist like General Farongul can see what's going to happen as well, and being the federist that he is I have no doubt he intends to block off an anticipated marching from Liefenhall or Kotenshire. And, I've heard a few rumours here and there that Lord Kreigen has been building some sort of...super-ironclad."

Lord Brackhall burst into derisive laughter at his guest's suggestion of the new warship being constructed.

"They can barely get the normal ironclads to work half the time, how's Kreigen's big new toy boat going to work any better?" The man asked, calming down a bit. "And even if this wonder-ship of total destruction runs perfectly, why would Kreigen set it on anyone? He was one of the biggest advocates for the formation of the bloody federation, he's certainly not going to start a war. Just who would set off a cruopskastoerm like this, Bismarke?"

The visitor had a solemn look on his face as he pulled out a stack of parchment that had been hastily bound and covered, placing it on Lord Brackhall's desk.

"It's some sort of...I don't know what to properly refer to them as. A cult, a paramilitary order, a philosophical movement, I don't know. I just know that revolutionary idiots like this are far too dangerous to have mucking around in dire times like these," said Bismarke.

"Hmm...." Lord Brackhall murmured, lighting a candle on the desk to see better and putting on his thick reading spectacles. "Watchtower...." the duke said, his brow furrowing in displeasure as he began reading the report Bismarke had put together on the group.

---

Haventown was nice, tranquil place, with a population of 24,700. It prospered with the river trade down the Albras, bringing ores and metals to Carogne and Erinhall, and sent the goods of the caravans of Galabow down the rivers as well to the ports. Located in a valley formed in the mouth of a massive, ancient volcano that had died millennia ago, it had been always been a natural fortress as well, defying every besieging army during the Great Galllian War. The townspeople lived orderly, content lives, as Northermen have always done, far removed from the greater level of instability in the southern parts of the continent. And what better place to start off a story? A story about good and evil, love and hate, friendship and betrayal, destruction and renewal, the return of the Daemons and the Elementals, and the unlikeliest of heroes saving the world....

---

Haventown, south of the Albras Mountain Range

Aldraniri Alsvidster had been at the forge for the last three hours, pumping the bellows and shovelling in coal like he usually did throughout the morning after breakfast. Taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, the boy leaned on his shovel to rest his tiring arms from the heavy labour, when he began hearing bells toll outside. After the eleventh ring a grin spread across Aldraniri's face as he put the shovel down against the wall and began walking towards the door of the smithy.

"Boy, get me some fried chicken!" Rolphus Jarnsmon barked out over the noise of his hammer striking the blade of the longsword he was forging. "And don't spend too much time talking to that Heilaga girl, I don't want to have to re-heat my food in the bloody forge. My teeth are old, the last thing they need is to have to chew through soot," the geriatric blacksmith added on, knowing full well that his apprentice would ignore it. Aldraniri shut the door behind him and began walking down the cobblestone street towards the Market Square where he usually bought lunch. As he passed by the inn The Galloping Mare a blonde girl stepped outside, holding an empty basket in her hands.

"Hullo Aldry, off to get lunch as well?" The girl asked cheerfully, fully knowing the answer was yes.

"Of course! I'm bloody starving. It's a shame Master Jarnsmon doesn't let me eat on the job," Aldraniri grumbled, causing the lass to giggle.

"Well, I don't think you could shovel coal very well if you had were chomping down mutton and had greasy fingers from some fried fish, could you?" She said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right Heilaga...." Aldraniri admitted. "Now I'm really hungry, from talking about mutton and fish..."

"You sure do like eating, don't you? Cooking for you when we get older is going to be rough, isn't it, my Rosen?" Heilaga replied, taking a few moments to realize what she had said aloud. "Uh...I mean...if you...uh...come by the Mare...sometime or..." She stammered, her cheeks flushing as red as her barmaid's dress, her eyes nervously looking down at her feet. Of course, Aldraniri was being as shy as Heilaga, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah...dinner with you sometime would be nice ," the boy responded, although that certainly didn't do anything to help the situation. Thankfully, the couple arrived at the Market Square, giving them a chance to escape their awkward situation.

Market Day always brought in a mass of travelling merchants and travellers, and today there seemed to be even more people in town than usual. The multiple bakeries were all cooking away, their chimneys releasing smoke that seemed to carry the scent of the bread loaves, rolls and all sorts of sweet confections with them. The blacksmith Ysdaun was hammering away, crafting yet another short sword to sell to people wanting an adequate weapon for fighting off footpads. Travelling traders brought in their foreign wares, directing interested customers to their caravans parked outside the walls of Haventown, promising all manner of exotic spices and trinkets, while the local farmers tried convincing shoppers that their cabbages were much better than the rotting green hunks you'd find at Farmer Jimberly's stall, or that Alguo Farm cheese was infinitely superior to the rancid butter that Cransworth was selling. Northemen farmers could sometimes take their friendly rivalries a bit too zealously. Heilaga looked around at all the different people and shops, wondering about which shop to get groceries from for the inn, as Aldraniri gleefully began buying up fried chicken, sausage rolls and cake.

"Come on, I'm still on lunch break, let's find something to do," Aldraniri told Heilaga after she finished buying some bread loafs, sausage chains, carrots and cabbage heads. Nodding in agreement, the girl followed the blacksmith's apprentice as they began wandering through the square.

[The Inritus Extraho]

In one corner of the square - well, probably under an alcove, or in some other half-shadowed spot - crouched Amata. He frowned, tapping a few separate cobblestones, then stood back up, his complement of slowly-orbiting semiprecious stones moving with him. He was used to the furtive glances, the outright stares, it was fine by him. Not like he had anything to hide... these people simply hadn't seen one of his kind before, which wasn't surprising.

On some unknown imperative, he stepped forwards, shrugging out of his bandolier-shirt-thing, wow I need a better name for that, and hung it on the top of his staff, before sitting on one edge of the pool, his feet in the water, naked as the day he came from the Great Underground. What? Problem? Golems went nude all the time; they didn't have anything to cover, like the odd fleshlings.

[Olthar]

"Boop! Boop! Boop! Boop!" a cheerful voice playfully called out as a small puppy was being repeatedly tapped on the nose.

The nose tapping was being perpetrated by a rather bizarre individual who seemed to be entirely composed of a translucent, gelatinous ooze. The being looked like an idealized image of feminine beauty with an impossibly thin waist, unbearably large breasts, and an absolutely adorable face. Currently, she had no legs, however, as they had been dissolved into a globular orb so that she could get low enough to boop the dog on the nose, a dog which didn't seem to be phased and just blankly stared at her as she continued playing with it.

If other people were staring at the slime girl, and they surely were, she didn't seem to notice, being too wrapped up in her own enjoyment.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Into the Haventown Market Square walked Tristan Frost, carrying a backpack that contained his scarce belongings and some of his ice figurines. He looked around, not quite sure why this place was bustling with so much activity. There were still many, many things about... Gallia? Yes, Gallia, that he didn't know. He recognized this as a 'marketplace', because of all the 'stalls' around, as well as the buildings that seemed to have a trading purpose as well, but the ones he had seen before weren't quite as... Full. There was even a rock formation with water emanating from it, and though he could understand that it was artificial, this only made him wonder what its purpose was. There was a rock protrusion with a vaguely human shape sitting next to it too, but it didn't look like a part of the first formation. And so Tristan continued to wonder about the fountain.

That all went away, though, when he caught the scent of freshly baked bread coming from a nearby bakery. Tristan turned to it, and began walking towards it, but stopped once he realized something. He took a moment to feel the numerous pockets of his clothes. Nothing. He then looked carefully into his backpack. Nothing there either, save a piece of stale bread that he was convinced could not compare to whatever was being made in that bakery. With sadness he realized he had none of the funny little metal bits that people traded for food and other items in Gallia. He must have used them all up on his journey to Haventown, he reasoned.

But then he quickly cheered up again. At least he had food, and besides, if he could sell some of his figurines, then he would probably be able to buy some more. Probably. He wasn't sure. There was such a thing as offering too little metal bits, apparently. Oh well, people not from the white land and their strange customs, Tristan thought.

With the promise of food in his mind, he looked around and then walked across the market to a place that seemed good enough for him to sit down and sell his figurines, idly nibbling on the stale bread as he moved, passing by a strange blue creature touching a small furry one and giving them a long curious glance. Once he arrived at the desired place, he sat down, put his bread in his backpack and then took out his ice figurines and placed them neatly in front of him. Currently, the only ones were a dragon, a horse, a crescent moon on a pedestal and a sword in a stone, though he could always make more if he needed them, which was why he wasn't concerned about there only being four figurines at the moment.

And then, with all of that done, the white-haired youth began calling out to potential customers, trying to attract their attention to his figurines.

[Agritum]

The market square was bustling with activity, as expected for the main trading grounds of a community such as Haventown. Given by the large quantity of merchants in that square, and of all the shops placed around it, the town was quite well off in matter of economics. The presence of what seemed to be a blacksmith hinted at the presence of mines around the area, and given that the wares he sold seemed to be mostly weapons, it dawned upon me that the travelers passing through that town preferred to do so with some way of defending themselves. Given that however the place seemed quite a rich one, I guessed that their want of a weapon was more due to the fear of thieves and raiders outside the city walls, rather than in the city proper.

---

Charlie finished writing on her notebook, raising her eyes to give a general look at the market square. Her eyes accurately scanned each prominent building or stand, cooperating with her in brain in trying to decide where to head over. They both seemed to have quite an interest towards The Galloping Mare.

---

It was there that my eyes felt over the village's inn, which bore the peculiar name of "The Galloping Mare". I guessed that it was either due to horse taming being a profitable industry in the town, or maybe only due to the owner's affection to equines. It was an interesting thing to deduce about, I must admit.

---

Charlie finished writing and walked in the tavern building, gently pushing the door forwards, as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light of the locale. She could easily feel the unmistakeable smell of beer, mixed with the crusty and warm odor made by the fuming bread loaves on the tables of the patrons. Quite a folkloric place it was.

The girl climbed up a seat near the bar, and gently tapped with her hand over the wooden surface, trying to get the innkeeper's attention. "Good Sir, I'll be honest with my intentions: I come here mostly for want of information, and less due to hunger. Specifically, I'd like to know if you have ever witnessed something weird, out of place, happening in your town. Something like furniture spontaneously catching on fire, tremors, small floods. If so, did these happenings always take place in the presence of a certain person?"

[Constaniana]

"Heilaga, you see the blue woman petting that dog, right?" Aldraniri asked, tapping the girl's shoulder to turn her attention from the jewellery stand she was browsing, despite the fact that she couldn't afford most of what was for sale anyway.

"Yes...and that stone man as well, sitting on the fountain," The waitress replied, pointing at Amata.

"Foreigners, no doubt," remarked the jewellery vendor, a short, middle-aged man named Eruke.

"You say that about everything odd," Aldraniri replied, rolling his eyes.

"Because foreigners are an odd lot, they are!" Eruke called out as the two teenagers began walking away. Looking around the busy square, Heilaga heard someone calling out about figurines. Hoping that they cost less than Eruke's wares, the blonde girl walked over to the young man offering the sculptures.

"Excuse me, sir, how much does the moon statue cost?" Heilaga asked politely.

---

The innkeeper of the Galloping Mare balding man in his fifties, with bushy red mutton chops and the wide gut that seemed so common for men of his profession. He looked at the young woman that had taken a seat at the bar, raising a thick eyebrow at her question.

"That's quite a question to come up this far north to ask. I've been around long enough to know a Southemen accent when I hear one. Hm, that's not Kreigpike...Villdernheim, perhaps?" He said as he cleaned one of the mugs.

"Quit asking the lass about where she came from and just hurry up and tell her the same bloody story you love regaling us with whenever it rains at night, Berike," one of the other patrons grumbled good-naturedly, before finishing the pint he was drinking.

"Oh, alright. It's not the best weather for this story, but I'll go ahead and tell it. Well, let's see..." the innkeeper began, setting down the now-clean mug and scratching his balding head for a moment. "Twas about sixteen or seventeen years ago I'd say, on a dark and rainy night. I had been down in the nearby village Kneilhom, visiting my younger sister, and was coming back up here before my wife wrecked the inn too much. Lovely pillar of feminine beauty and all that she is, but a goat would be better at running an inn than her," said Berike, as some of the patrons laughed.

"Anyway, I was on the northbound road, about a league or two away from Elhann's Viaduct, when I heard swords ringing and two people arguing or talking quite loudly or something of that nature. I approached the source of the noise, carefully being sneaky-like so as not to be seen, although I doubt the people fighting would have taken much notice of me. And that's when I saw it," the innkeeper paused for dramatic effect. "One of the people fighting was a young man, probably only a few years older than you, with red hair, or at least that's what it seemed like with the bit of moonlight I could see by. He had this great, magnificent longsword, golden handle and cross-guard, a ruby embedded in the pommel, and these strange red runes running down the length of the blade. Anyways, he was fighting this woman who didn't look too much older than him, only by four or five years I'd reckon," Berike took an empty glass from one of the patrons further down the bar, resuming his story as he filled the mug from the casks of ale.

"At first I thought it might be some violent lovers quarrel, since the woman was absolutely gorgeous-not that she was prettier than the missus, of course-long, bright red hair, and quite the figure, especially her mountains, although as I got closer I saw something I would never have thought I'd see in my life: horns. And that wasn't all, the next second the woman started shooting balls of fire from her hands, and you know what the man with the sword did? He ate it! Sucked the flames right up like cider from a mug, and then started throwing balls of flame right back at the Daemonness, and swinging at her with his sword that he had set on bloody fire!"

"Being the sensible bloke I was, I simply hid for a while, hoping I didn't get accidentally cooked, although thankfully after about half an hour or so the noises of their fighting stopped, and I looked out from behind the fallen tree I had been sheltering behind, and neither of them were there anymore. I wasn't close enough to hear them talking, so I have no idea to this day what they was fighting each other for," said the innkeeper.

[Agritum]

"Heilaga, you see the blue woman petting that dog, right?" Aldraniri asked, tapping the girl's shoulder to turn her attention from the jewellery stand she was browsing, despite the fact that she couldn't afford most of what was for sale anyway.

"Yes...and that stone man as well, sitting on the fountain," The waitress replied, pointing at Amata.

"Foreigners, no doubt," remarked the jewellery vendor, a short, middle-aged man named Eruke.

"You say that about everything odd," Aldraniri replied, rolling his eyes.

"Because foreigners are an odd lot, they are!" Eruke called out as the two teenagers began walking away. Looking around the busy square, Heilaga heard someone calling out about figurines. Hoping that they cost less than Eruke's wares, the blonde girl walked over to the young man offering the sculptures.

"Excuse me, sir, how much does the moon statue cost?" Heilaga asked politely.

---

The innkeeper of the Galloping Mare balding man in his fifties, with bushy red mutton chops and the wide gut that seemed so common for men of his profession. He looked at the young woman that had taken a seat at the bar, raising a thick eyebrow at her question.

"That's quite a question to come up this far north to ask. I've been around long enough to know a Southemen accent when I hear one. Hm, that's not Kreigpike...Villdernheim, perhaps?" He said as he cleaned one of the mugs.

"Quit asking the lass about where she came from and just hurry up and tell her the same bloody story you love regaling us with whenever it rains at night, Berike," one of the other patrons grumbled good-naturedly, before finishing the pint he was drinking.

"Oh, alright. It's not the best weather for this story, but I'll go ahead and tell it. Well, let's see..." the innkeeper began, setting down the now-clean mug and scratching his balding head for a moment. "Twas about sixteen or seventeen years ago I'd say, on a dark and rainy night. I had been down in the nearby village Kneilhom, visiting my younger sister, and was coming back up here before my wife wrecked the inn too much. Lovely pillar of feminine beauty and all that she is, but a goat would be better at running an inn than her," said Berike, as some of the patrons laughed.

"Anyway, I was on the northbound road, about a league or two away from Elhann's Viaduct, when I heard swords ringing and two people arguing or talking quite loudly or something of that nature. I approached the source of the noise, carefully being sneaky-like so as not to be seen, although I doubt the people fighting would have taken much notice of me. And that's when I saw it," the innkeeper paused for dramatic effect. "One of the people fighting was a young man, probably only a few years older than you, with red hair, or at least that's what it seemed like with the bit of moonlight I could see by. He had this great, magnificent longsword, golden handle and cross-guard, a ruby embedded in the pommel, and these strange red runes running down the length of the blade. Anyways, he was fighting this woman who didn't look too much older than him, only by four or five years I'd reckon," Berike took an empty glass from one of the patrons further down the bar, resuming his story as he filled the mug from the casks of ale.

"At first I thought it might be some violent lovers quarrel, since the woman was absolutely gorgeous-not that she was prettier than the missus, of course-long, bright red hair, and quite the figure, especially her mountains, although as I got closer I saw something I would never have thought I'd see in my life: horns. And that wasn't all, the next second the woman started shooting balls of fire from her hands, and you know what the man with the sword did? He ate it! Sucked the flames right up like cider from a mug, and then started throwing balls of flame right back at the Daemonness, and swinging at her with his sword that he had set on bloody fire!"

"Being the sensible bloke I was, I simply hid for a while, hoping I didn't get accidentally cooked, although thankfully after about half an hour or so the noises of their fighting stopped, and I looked out from behind the fallen tree I had been sheltering behind, and neither of them were there anymore. I wasn't close enough to hear them talking, so I have no idea to this day what they was fighting each other for," said the innkeeper.

"Based on the information given to me by the barkeep, I came to the conclusion that he was mot likely speaking about an elemental, specifically, a fire one. Given that said elemental most likely was in his late thirties, at the time I wrote this note, it dawned upon me that he may have possibly fathered a son or a daughter during his travels, given his age. And maybe he had did so i the surroundings of Haventown?"



"Thanks for the information, good sir. However, this may not be the last question I'll ask to you. I hope you'll understand. By chance, do you know someone with the same physical characteristics of this individual, but much more younger than him?" Charlie asked, while opening a blank page of her notebook.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

As Tristan continued calling out to potential customers, trying to sell his statues to buy himself some food later, the youth from the northern isles also observed the strange Gallians with much curiosity, trying to learn more from them, so that he could better understand their customs and survive in their lands. And such was his concentration in this endeavor, that even though he was still trying to sell his figurines, he wasn't paying attention to the girl who was approaching his spot, and only when she spoke to him did he turn his attention towards her, not without some fright at suddenly hearing a voice next to him, though he calmed down quickly.

When the question registered in his mind, he smiled, and then spoke, giving the girl a suspiciosly low price and referring to the coins as 'metal bits'.

"Is that an acceptable price, miss?" He asked, addressing the girl politely as well.

[Constaniana]

"Based on the information given to me by the barkeep, I came to the conclusion that he was mot likely speaking about an elemental, specifically, a fire one. Given that said elemental most likely was in his late thirties, at the time I wrote this note, it dawned upon me that he may have possibly fathered a son or a daughter during his travels, given his age. And maybe he had did so in the surroundings of Haventown?"



"Thanks for the information, good sir. However, this may not be the last question I'll ask to you. I hope you'll understand. By chance, do you know someone with the same physical characteristics of this individual, but much more younger than him?" Charlie asked, while opening a blank page of her notebook.

The innkeeper thought over Charlie's question for a good bit, scratching the mess of hair on his cheeks.

"You know, I always thought the bloke with the sword seemed similar to the blacksmith Jarnsmon's apprentice, Aldraniri. The lad came into town a few years after I saw that fight, when someone dropped him off at Jarnsmon's shop in the middle of the night when he was a wee baby." He said.

"Don't be daft, Berike!" one of the patrons barked. "You said it yourself that ye could could hardly see anything about the pair of 'em in the moonlight. Just 'cuz that lad has red hair doesn't mean he's your magical swordsman's son! Heh! Going on that logic, my son could have been fathered by whoever it was you saw."

The innkeeper scowled, doing his best to ignore the comment. "Don't you pay him any mind, miss," he said. "Fraderick's just had a bit too much to drink this early in the day. Thank the Nine his job is just sweeping the streets at night, where he can't cause too much trouble," the man continued. "So will that be all, miss? Will you be wanting something to eat too? It is about lunchtime, after all."

[Constaniana]

As Tristan continued calling out to potential customers, trying to sell his statues to buy himself some food later, the youth from the northern isles also observed the strange Gallians with much curiosity, trying to learn more from them, so that he could better understand their customs and survive in their lands. And such was his concentration in this endeavor, that even though he was still trying to sell his figurines, he wasn't paying attention to the girl who was approaching his spot, and only when she spoke to him did he turn his attention towards her, not without some fright at suddenly hearing a voice next to him, though he calmed down quickly.

When the question registered in his mind, he smiled, and then spoke, giving the girl a suspiciosly low price and referring to the coins as 'metal bits'.

"Is that an acceptable price, miss?" He asked, addressing the girl politely as well.

Heilaga was quite pleasantly surprised at how cheap the merchant was offering his figurines. She was sure that she had misheard the young man, although he seemed quite sure in the way he stated the price.

"Really? Are you sure? Thank you so much!" the young woman said cheerfully, handing over a tad more money that the young man had asked for. It wasn't that much, since a serving girl at an inn didn't have much pocket money to throw around, but it was a simple gesture of kindness. "Aldry, doesn't it look nice?..." said Heilaga, trailing off as she looked around for her friend, not seeing him near her. After a few moments she spotted the apprentice smith, walking over to the blue woman they had seen earlier.

Aldraniri's curiosity about the strange woman petting the puppy had gotten the better of him, and besides, it would be more interesting than waiting for Heilaga to finish shopping.

"Excuse me, miss," said Aldraniri, walking up behind the puppy. "Pardon me for asking this but....what are you?" the young man enquired.

[Olthar]

The slime girl was quietly giggling to herself as she continued poking the dog when she suddenly heard a voice near her. She began looking around before finally noticing Aldraniri standing next to her. The glob of slime she was sitting on quivered slightly before her torso shot up, now being held by two thin legs that were attached at a now fully-formed and luscious rear end. The girl silently stared at the red headed boy for several moments, smiling blankly before she suddenly reached her hand out and poked him on the nose.

"Boop!" she called out before bursting out into loud giggling.

She clutched her stomach as she continued laughing louder, eventually falling over backwards as she lost motor function. When she landed on the ground, her body fell apart, splatting into a large puddle, though the laughing did not cease. Moments later, the slime recollected itself into a globular ball and grew upwards, reforming into the girl who finally started to calm down a bit. She looked back at Aldraniri and raised her hand up to poke him on the nose again but stopped as she burst out laughing once more before even reaching him.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan noticed that the girl seemed to be rather pleased by the price he had asked for the moon figurine, and had even said 'thank you so much' for it. He wondered why she did that. As far as he could understand, 'thank you' and its variants were used to express gratitude, and as far as he knew this had been a simple... What was it called? Transaction? When gratitude was only to be expressed at a person who had done a good action towards one. What, then, had been his good action? Perhaps his art was a good action in itself? That was certainly an uplifting thought, and the youth smiled softly to himself as he thought about it, even though he knew it was possible that this was just another case of strange Gallian customs.

He then looked at the metal bits the girl had handed him. Unless he had mixed up the numbers again, which he was fairly certain he hadn't, she had given him too many metal bits, which he found strange. She had thanked him, and then given him too much money? That certainly wouldn't do. She had been polite towards him so it only made sense that he should be honest towards her.

The young man then leaned in closer to his figurines and opened his mouth to breathe over them. The white mist he breathed over the figurines froze them to the ground, so that he was certain they wouldn't be stolen, though he couldn't think of any reason someone would try to do that. He remembered what happened when he tried to steal a bit of food from the alchemist, and shuddered, immediately pushing that thought out of his head.

Either way, now that his figurines were relatively safe, Tristan stood up and walked over to the girl, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, miss, you gave me too many metal bits." He said kindly to her as he offered her the extra money she had given him, oblivious to the reason she had done it.

[Agritum]

Charlie shook her head at the barkeep's question, while getting out of her seat and heading put of the inn. "Not now, good sir. Maybe later. Now, excuse me, but I have to resume my search again." the girl politely waved off the barkeep, exiting the building.

"And now, where is this Aldraniri the barkeep was speaking of? He said he was the apprentice of a blacksmith, so he may be carrying metal objects around....or maybe a weapon? Would make sense, given his possible parentage...". Charlie strolled around the square, before noticing the sharp sound of Blue's laugh.

"Oh, there he is."

The girl approached Aldraniri from behind, unseen, before swiftly putting an hand on his shoulder. "Is your name Aldraniri? If so, perfect. You'll have to answer some questions quite soon."

[Constaniana]

Aldraniri was having a great deal of trouble understanding what the slime girl found so funny. Of course, it stood to reason that since women were strange, complicated things, as were foreigners if you listened to Eruke, then a foreigner woman like the one poking the lad's nose must have been especially bizarre to the Galllian.

"Is that your name, Boop?" He asked, looking rather confused. He thought about simply heading back to the shop, since Rolphus would certainly be wanting his lunch by now. The redhead was about to do just that, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head from the blue woman, he was surprised to see a girl about his age, wearing a brown coat and a funny hat. "Well, yes, my name's Aldraniri, and I don't think anyone else in this town is called that. What questions did you have, exactly?" he said curiously.

Heilaga was surprised that the white-haired boy had offered to return the extra money she had given him. Most people would be quite glad to somehow find they mad gotten more money than they had expected, but it was nice that this merchant was such an honest person.

"Oh, really? My mistake," The girl replied. "But are you sure you don't need the money more? I get room and board with the job I have at The Galloping Mare, so I don't really need that much pocket money. And surely your figurines are worth a bit more than the price you said?"

[Olthar]

"No, silly!" the slime girl called out, "Boop is the sound a nose makes when you boop it! See?"

Reaching her hand out, she poked Charlie in the nose.

"Boop!"

The gelatinous woman burst out laughing once more, unable to contain her amusement at poking people in the nose. As she shook from her riotous laughter, she stumbled around and ended up tripping over herself, falling forwards into the other two and splashing over them, covering them in slime which continued giggling as it stuck to them.

[Constaniana]

Gooey women laughing their heads off at the idea of touching people's nose and then exploding or something of that nature was not something Aldraniri was used to, to say the least.

"Is this something...normal for you blue ladies?" Aldraniri asked, wondering whether he should try wiping the cerulean slime off his jacket. Hopefully this wouldn't somehow get him sick with some strange disease.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan listened to the girl as she spoke. When she asked him if he didn't need the money more than she did, he wondered if she truly didn't mind losing that money, which he assumed she had worked to earn, or if she was just trying to act nice. What she said next cleared up that she did not in fact need that extra money she had given him, since she did say that she had a stable job and a place to stay, and he didn't have either of those things, though she probably didn't know that, and didn't need to, either.

He was about to thank her and take the money, when she made another comment. And it was this comment that made something click.

"...They are?" He asked her. If they were, then that might have been the reason she had thanked him earlier, because he was selling his figurines at a cheap price. And even though he didn't want to make them expensive or anything of the sort, he did need money, after all. There was also the fact that, apparently, his art was not a good action in itself, which was a bit disheartening, though he said nothing of it.

Either way, he stood there for a moment, thoughtful, wondering what price to give his figurines, before realizing that it might be easier to simply ask. The girl seemed honest, after all, so it wouldn't hur. Thus, he addressed her again.

"Well, thank you for telling me! But, what price would you give them, then?" He asked her.

[Agritum]

Charlie nonchalantly produced a tissue from her cloak, and used it to wipe the slime off her face and hopefully the rest of her clothes. That said, she wuickly realized that a single tissue wasn't enough and, lacking another one, she just wiped off the remaining slime with her hands.

"Good to know that you are the Aldraniri I was searching for, then." she replied to the red haired boy, taking a pipe from her pocket and putting it in her mouth. "But here's my question, mister: Have you ever felt in your life a particular affinity to the natural element of fire? And no, good mister, I don't mean a particular liking for its heat or seeing it burn, but rather, something more deep than that..."

Charlie blew out some bubbles from out the pipe. "I hope you understood what I meant, mister."

[Olthar]

As the giggling subsided, the slime from Aldraniri and Charlie pulled itself off of them and coalesced back into its feminine form, though there was now a tissue suspended in the middle of the slime girl's chest.

"Are you talking about fire?" she interrupted, "I don't like fire. It makes me all bubbly, and it doesn't feel good. I don't like the bubbling. It hurts. I don't want to go to fire."

The slime girl then noticed the soap bubbles that Charlie was blowing out of her pipe and stared at them wide-eyed.

"Those bubbles are different, though! I like those bubbles!"

She quickly pulled the pipe out of Charlie's hands and stuck it in her own mouth. She then accidentally sucked in, causing the pipe to be absorbed into her head.

"Oopsie!" she said as several bubbles flew out of her mouth.

Noticing this, she began giggling, causing more bubbles to escape which made her laugh harder.

[Constaniana]

Aldraniri would have said something to Blue when she started talking about bubbles and ate the Southeman girl's pipe, but it seemed like every time the boy asked the blue stranger a question she managed to give him a dozen more questions instead of actually answering him. Instead he decided to talk with the girl his age, since she seemed to have her head on her shoulder better. It helped that her head wasn't liable to burst all over the place as soon as she started laughing.

"Well...I spend most of the day pumping a forge, and I think I'm okay at it, so I suppose that might count as an affinity," He replied, although it seemed like she was getting at something a bit more complicated than that. What it was, he wasn't sure, since working out metaphors and cryptic questions from Southemen lassies in big coats wasn't an everyday skill used in a smithy. After a few moments of quiet he spoke to the gooey woman. "You're not going to choke on that or something, are you?" he asked with some concern, as well as general puzzlement at the gel person. Can she even choke on things? I can see that tissue and pipe floating around in her, but I can't see any organs or bones or anything like that. the lad thought.

Heilaga wondered about the question the artist had asked her, having a bit of difficulty since appraising figurines wasn't something she was accustomed to.

"Well, I guess the amount I gave you might be fine. Perhaps you could make the bigger, more complicated sculptures like that dragon cost a bit more, since I imagine it must take quite a bit of skill to make ones like that. I'm probably not much help though, since I don't usually get nice things like this," the waitress admitted, looking down at the figurine and basket of groceries she was holding.

[Agritum]

Charlie smiled in a resigned but accepting matter, both at Blue stealing her pipe and Aldraniri not answering what she was searching for. Taking her cap between her hands and rustling her fingers over it, the southerner resumed speaking to the boy.

"Well, I guess that I'll have to be more verbally blunt, then. My question, in simple words, is this one: are you an Elemental, specifically an Elemental of the element of fire, Aldraniri, or are you in any way connected with an Elemental of said element?" Charlie asked, whipping out her notebook.

[Olthar]

"Ooo! I'm an elemental!" the slime girl suddenly spoke up, raising her right hand up and jumping excitedly while more bubbles popped out of her mouth, "But I'm not a fire one. Why do you want fire, anyways? Fire is bad. Are you a bad person? Do you want to do bad things? That's not very nice, you know! You should be nicer to people!"

Frowning, the slime girl glared at Charlie, standing with her arms crossed over her chest. She was clearly trying to look intimidating which wasn't working very well with her less-than imposing figure and the objects still floating in her body. She was trying, though.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan listened to Heilaga as she told him that the total ammount of money she had given him for the figurine might be a good enough price for the less elaborate figurine, and then a bit more for the more elaborate ones. Truth be told, it didn't take him a lot of effort to make his ice figurines one way or the other, even with the complicated ones, but this was a Gallian he was talking to, and he figured the wisest thing to do was to follow her advice. He looked at the money he had and counted it, to know what to price his figurines in the future.

"Well, it doesn't take me that much effort, but I guess you must be right. I should probably be going back now, miss, but if you know of anyone who would be interested in my figurines, can I ask you to please direct them to me? Oh, and thank you for everything." The young foreigner said to the girl.

[Constaniana]

Aldraniri gave the Southemen girl a bemused look when she asked if he was an Elemental or knew of any Elementals. What a silly question. Elementals hide in the wilderness, not live regular, boring lives in cities and towns, don't they? After all, if I could shoot fire out of my hands I'd be off doing more exciting things like killing monsters and saving attractive women from burning villages or something. Although I suppose those sorts of things don't really happen much any more. the boy thought.

"No, I'm not an Elemental...or if I am, I certainly didn't know," The Northemen lad responded to Charlie, before speaking to the slime girl. "You know, fire can be good too, depending on how you use it, like cooking or metallurgy...oh, speaking of that, Master Jarnsmon is going to be wanting his lunch by now. Look, I have to get back to the shop by now, before my boss's lunch gets too cold. You can come by if you want, since Rolphus doesn't mind visitors talking to me...I think so, at least. It's not like you could learn some hidden ancient trick Jarnsmon may or may not use by watching me shovel in coal," Aldraniri said, waving briefly to the two girls before beginning to walk back to the smithy.

"I certainly will. And it was no trouble at all helping you," said Heilaga, nodding and smiling sweetly. The girl then waved at the white-haired boy before walking away, intending to finish up her grocery shopping before heading back to work.

[Agritum]

Charlie sighed, putting her hat back on her head. Her possible lead for finding another Elemental had been most likely proven wrong, and her failure in finding an alternative to it just made her feel quite miserable. That's it, up until Blue eagerly declared that yes, she was an Elemental of water.

Her eyes lightning up again, Charlie opened another page from her notebook, preparing her pencil. "Oh, perfect, Miss. What's your name, again? Your occupation? Where do you live? When did you discover you were an Elemental? Would you like to be interviewed by me? I can omit some personal details if you want privacy."