Conscription To The Journey of the Forgotten North.

[Tobin]

(OOC: All whom are interested in roleplaying in "The North" Subforum should post here first before proceeding to make or join any threads. This enables me to keep track of what the "cast" is.

Basically, this takes place in Avon before the venturing up north. The objective is simple; explore and chart out new lands, seek any remaining lander settlements and discover any potential threats to the Forgotten Kingdom.

Otherwise, have fun!
Current list:
Bailin
@blazeedge
Keyala
Icyferno
Tobin
Capsule
Mikoto
@dumah)
WC: 1268 Who do we appreciate?

Stratford was a beautiful town that stood as a bastion of civilisation in what was an otherwise untamed wilderness, great thirty foot walls stood erect around the tall elegant old fashioned houses made it the largest structure present along the Avon River that passed through gateways in its north and eastern walls that served as the artery connecting the town to the cities further south, the cells of small boats passed supplies to the limb of civilisation while guns and other advancements were transferred to and through, the steadily chugging engines of the boats produced a soft ambience that occasionally punctured the idyllic settlement.

It wasn't just a home for the landers that lived this far up north however, but a sanctuary from the mobs that plagued the wilderness as all-round the final plain before the wild north began was the great mountains, crowned with long abandoned fortresses, keeps and towns ravaged by a war long forgotten by the memories of man. These ruins served as a constant reminder of the wilderness that they long sought to barricade themselves against; this mentality was exemplified by armoured wardens that patrolled the walls and the inlets to the town and occasionally the crash of heavy cannon fire, distant explosions occasionally echoed from miles away to signify a kill or a loss.

Stratford was at the frontline of a war against the wildness, one of the last known settlements before the Northern Wildlands begun. It’s boundary spanned just under half of the length of the forgotten kingdom and the maps for the land was lost countless years ago, leaving the lay of the land foreign even to the people native to the Land. The Order of Wardens had been able to account for roughly 20 miles beyond the mountains through winding paths and deep valleys, which was far enough to confirm the presence of the navel settlement of Lune though an impenetrable barrier made access impossible and beyond that there was no maps that covered the regions beyond there, though not from a lack of trying for it was well documented that just shy of 20 years ago an expedition of landers had been mounted. This had been a convey of some of the orders finest wardens and explorers that had been tasked with the discovery other isolated regions much like themselves, they had all been lost like tears in the rain and under the deluge the inhabitants chose to dam off the region beyond there and dwell in isolation.

That was, at least until the adventurers came.


Ewww.
[/hr]

At the outer edge of Stratford, located on the Northern bank stood a great three story tavern, a great oval in shape and with green stain glassed windows accompanied by a steep grey slate slabs, as was typical of the town. Though the building’s white plaster had long began to grey the black painted oak beams still held firm. Immediately upon entering the heavy iron reinforced doors they would find a largely sparse bar, populated only by a stern looking Elven barkeeper and a handful of elder regular patrons, gambling in the corner while spinning variations of stories of local happenings that had been recycled many a time. This was about early afternoon at this point, thus the usual hustle had yet to begin. The ground floor was sturdy and deridingly old fashioned, though fights between locals were rare the furniture had been built robust enough to leave a lasting impression on those that chose to use it in that fashion, lit by fixed lanterns and natural light that streaked through the windows and from the square opening above.

Upon addressing the barkeeper about the expedition, they would be pointed up the broad stairs (somewhat less helpfully, if they didn’t buy food, drink or a room.). Once they assended to the upper bar area they found that, aside from abandoned tables, was a great table close set close to the front window, a great brass distillery softly whistled, groaned and hummed cast a shadow over the table and in that shadow sat a broad, muscular figure stirring a palmed glass of a clear brown liquid. For many, this Dwarf had been the person they had sought.

Tobin had changed little in the months he had been absent, the very front of his beard was saved right down the middle, leaving a stubbled chin exposed with great broad sideburns left in place. Otherwise he seemed the same as rumours or memory recalled, a great spiral tattoo over his right eye and his arms left bare, exposing small scars and great broad muscles that seemed to have the structure of firm steel wires that worked as the paper work was delicately turned over in his hands. Pink shaded spectacles blocked out his eyes though one could imagine where they rested, it was only as the first of many adventurers came to the table that he set the golden framed oddity side, his thick brown brows furrowed into a soft frown as he directed his sharp cyan gaze directly at the adventurer.

For a moment the dwarf said nothing, choosing instead to idly play with a coin he had pulled out of his pocket, flipping and turning the Aeryn crest into a bronze orb as his eyes continued to probe the adventurer. Of course the crest had no significance these days, it was rumoured that when two of the strongest adventurers had disappeared off that he was made in charge; though the rumours of this was scarce as the guild had been disbanded soon after Tobin departed separately; letting other rumours abound at what caused the large guild to disappear of the map. Despite not having the guild behind his name Tobin still had a huge social presence; as one of five slayers of Stonehenge he was subject to great tales, half of which greatly emblazed the Dwarfs own role in the great battle that ended the golem war (which, most who knew him personally would find unbelievable that he actually managed to slay Stonehenge with an Suplex! Even for him that was extreme!), so when signs of his began to show up in many a settlement about exploring the Forgotten North, word spread very quickly.

“Howdeh there kid(s), I’m guessin’ ya ‘ere about the little adventure in scotland, right?” The heavily accented voice carried a hint of humour, the voice was kept low in tone as he flipped the coin, his mouth parted in a grin as he caught it with its desired face up, celebrating with a quick draft of the strong whisky. “I hope ya know tha’ this is gonna be no walk in a Sarfri park, right? I arn’t holdin’ ya hand to the bathroom so if ya can’t do tha’, I suggest ya stick to the easy game of huntin’ pigs or something. I’m sure there’s some glory in that. Gahaha”

He snorted as the low rumble emitted across the table; broad enough to hold around twenty it seemed quite a party had been expected. Naturally he sat in a optimal postion to look outside and down into the bar, though people who knew him better would quickly pick up that he was sitting in a tall chair; at 4 foot 9 inches most adventurers were taller; but at this table no one was gonna Dwarf Dwarf.

“Otherwise, if ya lookin’ for some serious game and ‘re fine being up north fa at least a month, away from all the conforts of civilisation of course, then ya can sit ya self-down and help yaself to a drink. I’m sure ya will have questions ta ask, though answer mine first; wha’ ya lookin’ to get from this adventure? Hmm?”

[Keyala]

The fox-tail red head walks into the quiet tavern, looking around idly, hood pulled up to cover her small, fox like ears, her bushy red fox tail wags slowly back and forth, this was the journey she was looking for. The trip up to Avon was much different than her normal adventures outside the confines of Londinium, but she managed to learn great things from her journey, things which she would need for what would lay ahead of her. The northern journey was something she needed to go on, regardless of her skill level or her ability. In order to find herself in the position she wanted, she had to make a name for herself, and as a scribe and a summoner for an expedition into unexplored territory, she would be able to be the first to map the land, and be able to fight some creatures that undoubtedly lived in the new lands. Turning to the bartender, she would give a small sigh at his reluctance to send her in the right direction, attempting to place an order for a drink first. She would scowl at the response of the tavern keeper, who would laugh, telling her she is far too young to be up at the bar. The red haired fox girl would remove her hood, standing on the tips of her toes to angrily confront the bartender, berating him with a lecture of how she was a college graduate, who was working in an embassy for the United States of America, and that he could not dare turn down someone of her office, despite the fact that she only did data entry, it still proved that she was old enough to drink. None of this happened to register on the Lander bartender, as half of the places and jobs she mentioned did not really exist in this new world, a fact which seemed lost of the angry and oblivious Keyala, as she looked to him, appalled by his inability to understand. Taking a small step back with a loud sigh, she asks the Lander once more where she needed to go to. He reluctantly pointed her to the stairs, still baffled by the child like girl's rant, she nods, giving a loud sigh as she turned towards the stairs, pacing up them to encounter the Dwarf, probably the only person on this expedition who would be shorter than herself, she smirked as she walked over towards the table, sitting down and grabbing the drink, she downs it as Tobin speaks to her, giving a small nod "So, you're the legendary Dwarf that I've heard so much about...Tobin, right? You're a little short to be an urban legend, then again, I wanna do that too, so I suppose you're a good example. So you're the one running this operation then, good. I'm Keyala, summoner, scribe, and I'm twenty three, just to get that one out of the way. I want to go on this trip to explore the unknown, to get more powerful, and to truly make a name for myself, something that I haven't been able to do quite yet. I mean...if I could be the first scribe to map out the great northern lands, that means that I have granted an invaluable service to the other adventurers around here. I also want to be able to rally people when the time comes. I have a belief that this relative peace we live in won't last, and there will be a great conflict, it's what both this game and human nature are based on. So I would like to be able to react to that, and be able to help lead that call. But I can't do that if I'm a weak nobody who knows no one and has nothing to show for herself. This is my chance Tobin, I think you understand. I only have one question, where do I sign and when do I start bud?"

Word Count: 663
Tags:
Tobin
@blazeedge
Bailin
Icyferno
Capsule
@dumah
Mikoto

[Capsule]

[attr="class","solace"]

An expedition. Suffice it to say, Capsule was greatly intrigued at the prospect of going on the venture. Her knowledge of Scotland was rather low, aside from what she had learned from her girlfriend, but it was an opportunity she could hardly afford to miss. She would also be lying if she did not admit she had grown weary of doing research back to back. A break was well deserved at this point, regardless of the fact that she would technically be doing work… and socializing for the first time in ages.

Capsule dismounted from her Crystal Reindeer, Kasper, and dismissed the great beast outside of the large tavern. There was no point in leaving the reindeer to sit outside, where the commoners and scrubs alike could pet and fondle it without her permission. There was no telling how he would react to strangers, and she would rather not have him assaulted for properly defending himself.

The woman paused to make a few adjustments to her current attire before stepping into the tavern. The goat mask she habitually wore was pulled free from her face, and twisted around to rest on the side of her head. It might have been better to remove it altogether, but where was the fun in that? At her heels, a young Malinois still in the loose clutches of puppydom trotted. The dog was not quite full size, but still big enough to make those afraid of dogs very nervous. He could not be left alone, either, because the odds of him snapping at or biting anyone who got too close was over one hundred and ten percent.

She smiled weakly at the scowling bartender and elderly patrons, who were silently judging the Animal Trainer. Yeah yeah, some had a bad habit of bringing animals or monsters into areas they did not belong. Capsule just did her best to ignore it while she asked about the meeting room for the expedition. With a sneer, the bartender gave her the directions, and casted a final glare at Bosco. Bosco sardonically wagged his tail and grinned at the old fogeys, before scampering after his swiftly retreating mistress.

The meeting room in question turned out to be a bar, complete with a noisy distillery that loomed over a large table near the window. A familiar stature called out to her, the face of its owner almost unrecognizable without the trademark beard. It was Tobin the Dwarf, with whom she had wrestled a villainous pedophile, and sort of abandoned during the big Stonehenge battle. She almost called out to him, but stopped when she remembered that her appearance was completely different now -- aside from the height and voice, anyway.

So Capsule just sat down and instructed Bosco to sit. The gangly dog chose to lie down behind her chair, lips pulled back to gently snarl at the people sitting on either side of her. He did not seem particularly fond of the red haired woman, probably due to the fact that she was a fox tail; a trait that was not expressed to his owner. She was too busy amusing herself over the tall chair the dwarf was sitting on.

The albino took a glass in hand, lowering her gaze to the clear liquid within. The last time she indulged in spirits, she ended up getting drunk and making a fool of herself in front of the inexperienced tailor she commissioned for a plushie. That was not a mistake she would be repeating here. While the red haired woman talked, Capsule took a few cautious sips of the drink, an experiment that resulted in a brief coughing attack. Whatever it was she was drinking, it was strong. Her experience with liquor was with strong drinks diluted with sweet mixtures, so that they were much easier to swallow for the newbies.

She stared bleakly over her drink at the girl, who had given one hell of an introduction -- a real mouthful, in other words. Capsule turned her gaze from Keyala, lips quirking up at the corners as she addressed Tobin. She did not feel comfortable talking candidly in front of a group of strangers, so her introduction would be kept brief. "I am Capsule, Enchanter, Pharmacist… Animal Trainer." She tapped her foot, and Bosco gave a sharp bark on cue. "I am mostly just interested in exploring unknown lands, and learning about their local fauna and flora. Ist klar, ja?" She tipped her glass up for a few seconds, as if giving a cheer, and then lowered it again.

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∝: 761
♫: Bittersweet Symphony
✏: ---
@: Tobin & Keyala

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[Mikoto]

She cast a wary eye out the window she sat near. Bellow, Bedwyr stamped his foot and shook his head as the digital flies swarmed about him. Other horses were nearby, though they belonged to NPC's, and were no where near being as big as her blossoming steed. He was still cowardly but he was beginning to show a brave streak. Perhaps a warriors heart beat inside his broad bay colored chest yet? Good, for this excursion she'd need him to be a solid mount beneath her as they thundered into battle.

Two females spoke to the dwarf known as Tobin. She'd watched them both enter having wanted to be hear to scope out the possible companions she'd have for this event. So far the dwarf seemed to be the organized of this particular outing. There was a female foxtail. Young, twenty three, she'd heard if she was not mistaken. And albino named Capsule. Odd name, though with the news of of the pharmacist sub-class it fit perfectly to the light skinned female. The foxtail and the albino we're both mage classed characters. A summoner and enchanter respectively. Both would have their uses in this fight but if she and this beardless dwarf were the only fighter classes to have the stomachs to stand tall and battle on this expedition to Alba would be... short.

She'd tucked herself back away from the bar enough to not seem overly involved in the ordeal. She wanted to keep the option of simply standing and leaving without a word or them knowing she had been interested in this idea an option to the last moment. A fighter she might have been but she wasn't one even with her classes substantial hit points pool about to get gang mobbed by more than a dozen enemies at a single time.

The two other females, this was beginning to feel more and more like a harem recruiting meeting than a recruitment to go into the unknown, had spoke their reasons for being here. One felt similar to how she felt. That something was building on the horizon. War would come eventually and knowing more than they did about these lands they called home now, and what had always been her home in reality and the sounds of it the dwarfs too, could only help them. The other was purely scientific. Wanting to study the flowers and fauna. Learn more and more about these lands. Mikoto, that was her name as she cast another glance down at her horse, wanted something similar. She wanted to expand their dominion. To form a company of people who wanted to make this foothold they had into something more than that. To carve out a kingdom. She'd devoted much time to these thoughts and pulled on her history lessons about the Romans and other civilizations and conquerors. Rome always offered the chance to surrender and join the empire peacefully. Those that did lived on and prospered under the rule of the emperors. Those that forced the hands of Rome's legions to clasp that cold steel of war suffered greatly and few were sparred in the onslaught. On of the Khan's had handled things much the same way. It may have even been Atila himself. She'd need to think about it a bit more but one of the numerous Asian steppes dwelling warlords had done much the same. Those that joined peacefully or surrendered early in war were spared and given a chance. Those that did not were shown no quarter and nations were toppled by the roving bands of barbarians. She'd handle the landers much the same. They could join and be protected from war and strife with their neighbors or they could feel the undying wrath of motivated adventurers and their various killings arts. The choice would fall to them in that decision. She would merely bring the message to them in both parchment and hurled boulder.

But first she needed to know a route to the North. That's where this expedition would come to use for her. By joining this one she could scout talent for her own later expedition into Wales and other ares on the island. And she could save herself a bit of money and possibly make some in the process. She'd have to wait and see who else came and who else she should pay attention to should she come along on this journey. Bellow Bedwyr snorted loudly and kicked the water trough trying to dislodged the dust film on the water surface before he drank. Finicky horse.

(WC- 763)
Tags: Tobin Bailin @blazeedge Icyferno Keyala Capsule @dumah

[Deleted]

Klide had been walking for a while now, several days at least, and he finally got into town to find that it was already the middle of the day. He had expected to be their either the night before, or early in the morning. He passed through the great thirty foot walls of Stratford. Or all sides, there stood tall buildings, old in style but also very elegant. He walked past a dock filled with many different ships of various shapes and sizes. Even after he had left the port, he could still hear the steady chugging and humming of the steam boats transporting goods down the river. Off in the distance could be seen a serene mountain range that Klide would soon be crossing. The mountains wore a cloak of dense trees. The area Klide was heading for was a tavern and inn that stood three stories up. It had been chosen by Tobin, and Klide could now see why he had chosen this location. It was very aesthetically pleasing to look at, with gray stone slabs and green stained windows. The Oak beams in the building still seemed to hold their beauty, despite the obvious wear of age they have been met with over the years. Klide walked up to the doors and pressed his hands onto either one of the heavy iron slabs. He pushed them apart and walked in to be met with a rather empty bar. There were a few elderly men off in a corner, drinking merrily and playing some sort of card game, or at least they had been up until Klide had entered. Now they sat in silence and looked him over. They could not make out his features as he was concealed in a long cloak and hood, and what could be seen of his face was covered in stubble. Whether they could see any more than his stubbly chin or not did not really matter but it seemed they did not like what they saw. He walked up to the Elven bar keep. He leaned an elbow on the counter, and from his hand dropped several golden coins. His voice was rather raspy from a dry mouth caused by his thirst. He should have looked more closely for a stream to drink from, but to late now. He had not drunk from the Avon river because he was not sure how clean it was with all of the traders and ships pasting through. The bar keep put a few bottles of ale and a glass of water on the counter, and then pointed to the stairs. Klide drained the glass of water, placing it with a firm thump on the counter. "Third floor bud, second door on the left. And I will make sure that the one next door is reserved too. Who did you say it was for? Byron?" At those words, Klide shook his head at the man. "No no, Bailin. He should be here late tonight. As for the drinks, keep them here for now. I will be back later to pick them up." Klide walked up the stairs and on his way towards the second flight which led to the third floor, he passed a distillery, humming and hissing as it did its thing. It cast a long shadow on an equally long table. He then made his way up to the third floor. He went into his room and dropped his swords on the bed. "That about does it." he thought as he stretched his legs and shoulders. He was stiff and weary, but he decided to go out anyway. He walked back down to the first floor and then out into the town. He wandered around and explored what he could as a stranger in a new place, not sure where he was in the city. He finally made it back to the bar a bit after sunset, and wandered up to the Elven bar keep. He picked up the bottles he had bought earlier and went up to his room. As he was about to enter, he places a bottle of ale outside the room he had reserved for Bailin. "He will probably want something like that for when he gets here." He thought to himself. After the drop off, he went into his room and placed two of the three remaining bottles on a bedside table. He held the third in his hand and opened his window. It was early night now, and the city was dark from Klides height. He took hold of the window sill with one hand and swung up onto the roof, finding that he had no other means of doing so, and no balcony to rest on. He sat, straddling the edge of the roof over the window. He took a swig of the ale and looked up at the stars.

He awoke in the bed he had rented and found that he was still fully clothed, a good sign. He washed himself and then made a march down to the bar keep to get a breakfast, wearing only his towel. He was surprised to hear some voices on the second floor. he made his way down and found that he was now standing before the dwarf he had met briefly a little while back, and a few woman, only one of which he knew. "Oh... it would seem my party has arrived" He thought as he looked at them. He made eye contact with the dwarf and waved. "Hello all! Welcome to our adventure. I will be down in a mo' just need to slip into something a bit more... well actually I just need to slip into something in general." He said before walking back up the stairs. He quickly dressed and knocked on Bailins door. "They are here Bailin." he said before marching down the stairs. "Hello, once again. I am Klide. Bailin and I are the orchestrators and architects of this adventure. Tobin over there was ind enought to accept the role of leader for it on account of levels." With that, He took his seat across from the only person he knew well-ish "Hello Keyala" He said with a grin.

Word Count: 1038
Tags: Tobin , Bailin , Keyala , Icyferno , @dumah , Capsule , Mikoto

[Bailin]

[nospaces]

HP: 100% MP: 100% RH: Saurum Progressive Riffle (lvl 20) LH: Sarum Progressive Riffle (lvl 20) QS: Golden Hilt (lvl 21) AR: Flak Jacket (lvl 21)

WC: 786 TWC: 786 Tags Tobin @blazeedge  Capsule Mikoto Keyala Icyferno @dumah Myrddin @eleri  Theme Song TS Credits Cortana

It was not long ago since Bailin had ventured forth to some distant place; however, never did he go as far as he had gone now. Stratford, a place he had never visited, though he was somewhat familiar with the stories regarding the place and especially the Warden presence there. It was a nice enough place, as far as possible with a town that appeared to be more like an army base or fortress than your average town. The warden would probably have gotten lost in the streets of Stratford, had he not marked the tavern they had decided to gather on his map, it made navigating a lot easier. Bailin had arrived early in the morning, as to avoid the most traffic going to and from the town, as well as being able to get a feel of the town before the meeting. He also had agreed to meet with Klide before the meeting would start, both renting a separate room as to avoid too many suspicions. [break][break] Groups of armed to the teeth Wardens patrolled the streets, ships lay in the port of the town and slowly more and more people came out of the town or tried to get in, with wagons and carts or on horseback. As the warden finally passed through the gate he had found himself in a town with a huge wall and a lot of armed Landers and with lengthy stride the warden marched on, onward to the tavern that had been set as the meeting spot. There had been some advertising regarding the expedition yet Bailin had no idea how many people would actually show up, an expedition with just three members would be rather problematic. Too many people however would mean they’d set out with an army rather than an expedition on an exploring tour of unknown regions. [break][break] It took a short while for the warden to find the tavern in the streets of Stratford, a three story tavern with green stained glass windows and grey slate slabs and now disappearing white plaster which revealed the oaken beams that held the place upright, much like the rest of the town, though it was not unlike what the warden had expected from a military town. As far as he was aware, uniformity was something that went hand in hand with the military. The door of said tavern was made reinforced iron, as if made to withstand a battering ram. With a small amount of effort the warden pushed the door open and entered the bar, a stern looking elf standing behind it, with some elderly folk sitting at a corner table, gambling, drinking and telling ever growing tall tales. With large strides the warden approached the bar and asked about a man by the name of Klide, whom might have already rented a room, at which the warden was directed upwards, the third floor, with a stern look which would be at least equal to the warden’s own stern expression. It appeared Klide had already arrived and once the warden came to the room the bartender had told him to go to, Bailin found that there was a bottle standing next to the door. ‘My, my, you suck up, Klide.’the warden thought grinning in regards to his friends caring nature. Picking up the bottle the warden entered the room, took a sip out of the bottle and locked the door. The room was simple enough, just how Bailin liked it. There was a small chair and table, a wardrobe and a bed, as well as a small window. ‘Well, I guess there is not much more to do but wait’ the warden thought as he lay down upon the bed. It would not be until the next morning that he was disturbed by Klide calling for him. Quickly the warden rose to his feet and opened the door to meet with his friend, whom he gave a curt nod and they proceeded to walk towards the second floor where the meeting was, Klide heading there a bit before Bailin. [break][break] As Klide introduced Bailin and himself, Bailin let his eye go over the company seated at the table. Once Klide was done Bailin clicked his heels together and gave a curt nod and bow as greeting and proceeded to sit at one of the empty chairs. “I am Bailin, Warden, Mechanic and Accountant.” He introduced himself after he had seated himself down. “Whom might we be missing or whom are we expecting to join us?” he asked, cold as ever, his hands folded in front of his big beard, eye looking at all gathered around the table, giving a curt nod as he saw Keyala had joined them. [break][break]

[Verin]

Seeing Black and Red words: 665. tag: Bailin, @blazeedge, Keyala, Icyferno, Tobin, Capsule, Mikoto, @dumah. notes: ADVENTURE! Dry wind battered a slow marching figure named Verin’s face he gritted his teeth and thought of his goal he marched to, the town called Stratford upon Avon. Having marched from London, up the almost vanished path which had once been a motorway in the real world England called M40. After making it around three fourths of the way he came to a spot where M40 and the elongated curving Avon river crossed paths with the M40. From that point on Verin journeyed off the beaten path into deep forest which had grown rapidly due to the Avon and also was home to many monsters. At first it started off easy with hidden garden snakes that were predatorial, wary pitted boars that were only trying to protect their young ones, dumb but curious green slime, man eating nepent snatchers, and even aggressive golems made of soil and also sap spitting trees along with their even more aggressive sycamore cousins. It did not matter whether it was day or night, rain or shine, or if Verin was sleeping or not. Cuts and bruises had become the norm while ambushes and plans had to be thrown out to survive. When attacked by monsters around level 50 the best choice was not to attack like he used to it was to run as fast as he could. Trying to survive Verin used his Acrobat Sub-Class to his advantage and from the very tips of trees he would map out the land in front of him. With little food on hand Verin had to live mostly off of water, but with the water being rather improper to drink Verin used his clothes as a filter and sucked the moistness out of them to survive most of the way to Stratford. Now on the final stretch Verin marched on the road he had found and made it through the entrance on the North side of the town and made it to the only tavern in town, a grey building with green tinted glass, and hobbled over to the counter on his last legs. Placing down a plentiful amount of gold Verin spoke to the bartender in a weak voice, “Give me the best food and drink this can buy. If that there is too much I’ll take whatever food the rest can buy.” With the last bit of willpower he could muster Verin watched as the bartender scooped up the gold and started to the kitchen and then Verin fell asleep. The smell of the food woke him up a few minutes later and seconds later Verin looked at two large plates full of chicken, pork, and beef in front of him along with bread rolls lathered in butter. After looking at the bartender with a smile he proceeded to scarf down the holy food from above. About midway through eating the food he heard the booming voice of a dwarf that was music to his ears, the bombastic dwarf’s words immediately made Verin think he was the one proposing the deal. Next three women made their way over to the dwarf and gave basic information about themselves. Finally as Verin was drastically scarfing down his food two men, one in a towel and another had an eye patch over his left eye, and from how they moved and what they said it seemed that the bombastic dwarf was the spokesman and the two men were the makers of the plan. Thankfully before they did do their selves the man in just a towel went back upstairs and when he came back down to the group he had obviously changed Finally finishing his food Verin made his way to the rest of the group and said, “I’ll join, the name is Verin and classes are Sorcerer, Alchemist, Acrobat. You shouldn’t expect crafts from me, I’m only level 6 in Alchemist, but I’m more of suited as a Scout due to my Sub-Class Acrobat allowing me to get to high places."

ⒶⓀⒾ

[Deleted]

Some time after the Warden walked into the room, joining the group, they were all joined by an excited man, who at a glance could be mistaken for a simple civilian if one did not know any better. The man had nothing indicating he was an Adventurer; he wore a modern hooded jacket and jeans, and he seems to have no weapons on his person. He walked in with a small bag in his hand and an excited, happy expression on his face. His black ponytail hair was swept over his shoulder, bouncing ever so slightly as he spoke, his head bobbing gently with each word. "Klide! You will never guess what I found at the nearby-" it was at this time that the man realized the familiar faces in the room, along with some not-so-familiar faces in the room. Dumah put the small bag into his jacket pocket before throwing his arms wide in excitement. "By the gods, look who it is! Bailin and Verin! I have not seen you two in quite some time. Especially you, Verin! I believe I have yet to see you since the days of the Boston Tea Party." Dumah sighed a nostalgic sigh, smiling a bit, closing his eyes to visually remember the old days of his Raid Party full of level one Adventurers. A few seconds later, he snapped back to the present, taking a seat near Klide and Bailin. He noticed some other folks he had not recognized, and did not wish to seem rude by openly whispering 'Who are they,' or something similar. Instead, he merely waited for someone else to begin speaking. Perhaps everyone would introduce themselves? As Dumah was late to return to the group, he figured that more than likely, Dumah had merely missed everyone's introductions. As such, he thought he may wish to introduce himself; if nothing else, it would get the introductions started if they had not already. He stood with straight posture, quickly changing into his custom made Dumahim Tuxedo to seem more presentably official as he introduced himself; he held his hands behind his back, his left hand holding the wrist of his right hand. He had a very official air to him as he introduced himself. "My name is Dumah Exilium Iino. Some of you already know me, but this introduction is more to introduce myself to those of you who do not know me. I am a Swashbuckler, and as such my primary abilities are those that allow me to fight and hinder my enemies with debuffs. Outside of combat, I am a Tailor and a Courtesan. I can repair any cloth or leather items brought to me, and as a Courtesan I can use my charisma to negotiate with locals and - should all go well - win them over with words, be it for whatever reason we may have." Dumah kept his left hand behind his back, but held his right hand, with his fingers straightened together, over his heart, bowing a bit. "I look forward to working with you all." He stood straight again, bringing his right hand back to the position it was in before he bowed. "I also have experience as a tactician, and as such, I can offer tactical advice and strategic suggestions." Dumah then sat, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, supporting him; he interlocked his fingers, bridging his hands in front of his face. "With my experience in organizing raid parties, I know it can be disastrous to party up with strangers. It is important to know a bit about those you will be working with, especially what motivates them. As such, I believe it would be important for me to share my own motivation for coming here today: I am an Adventurer, and I take my title seriously. Adventuring is what I love to do, and what I came to this world to do. However, I wish not only to explore, adventure, and discover that which has yet to have been uncovered by other Adventurers, but I also wish to leave my mark on the world, something to be known for. A sort of noble immortality, as it could be described." He let out a small chuckle, smiling gently and handsomely. "I suppose it is merely human nature -- or in my case, Half-Alv nature -- to desire a place in the history books, even in this world." The Half-Alv finished his introduction to the other participants of the expedition, allowing others to speak.

- 750 Words -
- Total: 750 -
--------------------
Note: I'm SO sorry this took me FOREVER to post! At least it's finally here, right?

[Deleted]

Klide sat at the table, Bailin on one side, and Dumah on the other and across from him sat Keyala. He was surrounded by the only people he knew so far in this party. "Dumah... Good intro!" He clapped the Swashbuckler on the shoulder. "What is it in that small bag of yours? What did you find" He said, going off on a slight tangent, but asking rather quietly to his friend after he finished his introduction. He then returned to the topic of the introduction and the others. He summarized the other party member's introductions and told the Swashbuckler the info so as to inform him of who they were with. after he finished the introduction and informing Dumah, He stood. He wore long, black, loose fitting, samurai style pants, a long black cloak, a thin linen shirt, and long gloves that went up to his mid forearm. "As I have already said, I am Klide. I am a swashbuckler like Dumah, and smithing steel, iron, and other metals is my craft. I do apologize for how poor my first impression may have been. Walking down here in nothing but a towel was foolish, and I suppose the only justification for my action i have is that I was a bit too excited to eat a decent breakfast, and did not expect any of you to be here until later in the day. I am glad to see so many have showed up. I believe there is a chance that two more will be joining us a bit later, and I would like to take this time to explain what our goal is. We are not here to raze any villages or slaughter any innocents, so if anyone here has any twisted ideas along those lines for this trek, I am sorry to disappoint. We are gathered here to explore the lands to the north, to reach for Scotland, and find a world beyond the one we already know. It will be dangerous, it will be difficult, and in all likely hood, some of us will die. I am not here to coddle you or lie to you. The truth is the truth, and I do not want any of you going into this not knowing exactly what you signed up for. That being said, it is not all bad. We suspect that the landers up north will be a very interesting bunch, and may be willing to do some trade with us. The People of the Land, and Adventurers who focus on being merchants or traders may for great trade lines thanks to our endeavors, and if all goes well, we may even plan some more modern technology into this world. Pardon me, I am getting ahead of my self. Anyway, I assume you will have some questions and may have some comments as well. Bailin and I will be more than happy to answer any you may have." Klide bowed low and sat. He had held a rather serious expression through out the entire speech but now that he sat between friends again he loosened up and gave a slight smile to all of the members around the table. "I wonder if they see me as a leader or as some random nobody who had an idea one day and decided to humor himself with it. For the most part, these people all seem pretty strong and independent, so I do not even know if they need a leader like me... oh well, I guess time will tell" Klide thought as he sat in silence and waited for any questions or comments directed at him.

Word Count: 608
Total Word Count: 1038+608=1646
Tags: @dumah , Bailin , Tobin , Keyala , Capsule , Mikoto , Verin , @eleri , Myrddin
Notes: OOC: Bailin, Tobin, & I may pop in at random times in the post order if we feel there is something we need to say/do. It will likely be Tobin under his mod account "Dwarf" for the most part, roleplaying as Higher level mobs and such.

[Deleted]

Jacoben HP: 100% MP: 100%

"Any treasure you obtain without ever having to work for it is no treasure at all."

When he had heard of the expedition north, Jacoben had felt conflicted. Part of him wanted desperately to go out and explore the regions of his homeland in this new world, while another part was so sure that he wasn't going to be able to be of any help and he should just stay home and not bother anyone. This conflicted feeling is what kept him from leaving for Stratford until the very last possible moment. He had bid his friends farewell, taking off almost too quickly for them to even register what it was he was going off to do.

Having spent a fair amount of time in Stratford it didn't take the small Foxtail too long to find the location of the meeting place. Paying for a small glass of liquor he obtained the directions to the meeting for this expedition and headed upstairs as quickly as he dared. Knocking as firmly as he dared he waited to be acknowledged before entering the room. "I apologise for my lateness," the Sorcerer stated with a gentle bow as he made his way to the others and tried not to stand out too much amongst them. Muininn the Raven flapped his dark wings agitatedly as he tried to remain balanced atop the shoulder of the silver haired male.

"My name is Jacoben, I'm a Sorcerer, Artisan, and Animal Trainer, and this is Muininn my familiar," his introduction was shy and he fell silent as he looked around the room to see the sorts of people he would potentially be working with. Most of them were complete strangers, though Bailin was one whom he was familiar with. With his introduction complete Jacoben waited among the other adventurers to see what would happen next. While he did have some questions to ask the apparent leaders of this expedition he couldn't bring himself to be the first one to begin the querying process, so he remained quiet and watched the others carefully.

OOC NOTES:
Word Count: 329
Tags: @dumah , Bailin , Tobin , Keyala , Capsule , Mikoto , Verin , Myrddin @blazeedge

Made by Sifr of GS, Synesthesia and Adoxography.

[Franny Stein]

Of Avon and more specifically these days Stratford, Franny had heard quite a bit through the bits and pieces of overheard conversation gleaned here or there from the various adventurers she had passed through and about in the last few weeks. In her experience, adventurers were typically a chatty sort and the most successful of these personalities seemed to make it a habit of theirs to be particularly outgoing. A smile could be contagious and courtesy in attitude and information tended to be the norm when livelihoods depended on it. A lot like various vagrant cultures back in the real world.

“Information is, after all, crucial to the success of the adventurer-culture…” Franny sighed before adding internally “Vagrants indeed…” Franny was not a particularly successful adventurer. She lacked such an easily forcible outgoing personality. Furrowing her brows, Franny tried briefly grinning into the mirror of the tavern’s restroom. “I look like an idiot…”
Out of season was another thought that occurred to her as she realized that she was still wearing her pumpkin themed attire from last Halloween’s event. “More a Wicked Witch than a Cinderella…” Franny mused before jumping with a start, she had noticed in the reflection of the mirror the door behind her opening. Someone else was coming into the restroom. Quickly checking herself with a start, Franny hurried back into the growing commotion of the large tavern and bar.

Really, up to this point, she had been content at moving at her own pace but even her own small ears had perked up at the audacity of the news of an expedition north to Scotland. Certainly it was an ambitious undertaking, but could it really succeed?  For this reason Franny had decided to make way for Stratford; to scout her chances for a caravan north. North as possible, she figured, before seeking some hint of a way west. “Home…”  Franny thought to herself with a grimace, or at least the semblance of home. What would be waiting for her if she managed to make it? Ireland was so very, very, far away in this ridiculous world.

Utilizing ‘Silent Move’ as was her nature, Franny followed the general commotion of the stronger Adventurers up toward the growing mass at the table. Franny clicked her tongue. “Everyone already seems so friendly already, figures, and here comes Maleficent to crap all over everyone’s happy little meeting party…” Sighing, the little but not so young girl steeled herself in resignation. It was like one of those coombiyah feel-good seminars she had attended for training oh-so-long ago. “It is what it is…”

Seeing that everyone had more or less already begun to splinter into their little groups, turning their eyes and shoulders either left or right in dividing cells of casual conversation, Franny, who had thankfully found a seat closer to what looked like the leader of the operation settled in. He was a stout dwarf with a sort of regality set to his shoulders “Probably well earned”, Franny decided looking him over with a studious eye from beneath her hood. Sipping her apple juice, which in retrospect she was glad to have purchased as a prop to give her hands something to do, she let the drink slide down her throat before clearing it with a tiny “hm hm~!”

Filling to max capacity her tiny lungs, Franny was about to begin speaking before the man who identified himself as Kilde began briefing the group. Raising an eyebrow she held her tongue and listened. So the burly Dwarf wasn’t the leader of the operation as she heard? Or is this a collective? Guh….


“……”


Pursing her lips in thought she heard another adventure fire off an introduction only right after. “So I’m not the only straggler then… for better or worse.” The mood of the table was rippling as the brief quiet was beginning to break. Franny grasped for this sliver of opportunity...

Placing one hand on her chin coyly she allowed her full gaze to turn toward Kilde, the man who had just taken the lead, while raising her voice just enough to make it clear that she was speaking so all could hear: “Apologies on my lateness, I’m not familiar with the area.“ Smiling a somewhat exasperated smile, the tiny girl introduced herself: “Franny, Necromancer and Support; a pleasure. I can’t say Scotland’s my dream destination but I’d be a liar to say that I wouldn’t like to head in that general direction. That’s fine, yes? I figure the more’s the merrier. I notice we lack a healer at the moment so having a plethora of disposable bodies for scouting and what have you couldn’t hurt, right? Count on me for territory control and general camp management, well...” Franny used her left hand that had been before tracing the rim of her mug to make a wishy washy gesture of nonchalance, “if you’ll have me that is.”

Stretching her neck opposite the way it had been leaning during her little speech, Franny made a lazy salute to the tall, tanned, youth. Having done more than the bare minimum she leaned back into her chair letting her back conform to the fine craftsman ship like a slinky cat. Her wide grin quickly fell like a pancake into a more serious, thoughtful, frown as she let her eyes sweep just once round the oversized table. Had anyone else been paying attention? “Just as well”, Franny shrugged inwardly, the little cowl-robed pumpkin witch wasn’t here to make friends.

NOTES- Arrives late


WORDS- 916


TAGS- @dumah  Bailin  Tobin  Keyala  Capsule  Mikoto  Verin  Myrddin  @blazeedge

[Tobin]

(OOC: It's so big! Sorry if I have not responded to everyone, but replying to a lot of people is a mannoth task. XD)

WC- 2022


The Dwarf for most part maintained his even headed composure, only a slight grin played on his lips as his eyes disappeared back behind the pink lens of the pimping spectacles, after all he was trying to be moderately respectable for a change; only a slight grin dawned when one of the “newbies” choked on his beverage. Though one sentance in particlar drew a rise of the brow and slight chuckle.

-She opened with a short joke? Didn't even get past the first bloody sentance.-

"My height is ta onleh thing short 'bout me. Ya can trust me on tha'."

The comment was given with a slight shrug as he reached to his chin, immediately missing the beard he was used to grooming. It was a curious experiment to change his image and be recognisable over the Dwarf Landers. Instead it had given him a slight itch that was difficult to stifle, how Tovrin from Shadow of Mordor could pull off these sideburns was beyond him. Eventually the introduction had ended before he could consider the implications of a lawsuit, a polite enough smirk crested his lips, exposing the pearl’s of his teeth.

-Then again, most people are anti-social these days and consider anything more then a sentence a wall, so it’s a refreshing change.-

“Well, I ‘sked fa a introduction, nut ya date match profile lassie.” The rumble erupted from his stomach as he reached over the table with his long, muscular arms to shake the hand. The gauntlet he wore was cold to the touch, yet smooth as though it was manufactured to feel much like a palm; well, if a palm was around 20^oC below body temperature (about 54F for you foreigners. THIS IS A BRITISH SERVER YOU KNOW.). “All jest ‘side, it’s gewd ta hav’ ya aboard lassie. It would be pretteh pointless explorin’ widthout a makin’ a map oaf our exploits.”

Even as a beaker of his potent whisky was shoved toward the first, Tobin felt his gaze drift toward the next woman that had sat at the corner of his gaze patiently. White hair, red eyes, a slight, confident grin. This proved to be an interesting distinguished appearance of a looker, though what captivated Tobin’s lax attention was not so much what she said next, but rather the voice that said it.

"I am Capsule, Enchanter, Pharmacist… Animal Trainer."

The cresent bushy eyebrows of the Dwarf sharply rose up, the swift removal of his leasure glasses meant that he couldn’t hide the curiousity of his scrutiny, after all he remembered as a red head, extremely tall, gangly and flat as a board, infact he would have assumed at one point that she was a bloke, and he did for a good 40/50 levels or so. Now, at the very least she was still tall but everything else had seemed to have been tweeked, fleshed out (punny) and even now sporting a fastionable scar that sat proud on the left cheek. Now, he wasn’t always observant but all these changes were quite obvious considering they had quested together on at least a couple occations (though, he never found out what happened during Stonehenge incident, due to being turned into an IDP (Improvised Dwarf Projectile).)

Seconds passed as Tobin blinked and tilted his head to a side as he took a draft of the clear liquore, noting how the appearance didn’t seem to change seemed to confirm his hypothesis, one that was accompanied by his own smirk his palm extended to his old friend. A friendly enough gesture, though a glint in his eye spoke of a desire unvocalised at this table.

-Either my beer goggles have deceived me; ‘ard considerin’ I don’t get drunk, or I have found a way to ensure no one will overlook me again! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!-

“Crystal clear. Glad ta hav’ someone oaf my level ‘ere, provided ya dun’t go all phantom on meh again.” He chuckled. Though he lacked the gift of the linguistic tongue, Caer had been a native German so he had caught the occasional phrase uttered by Capsule. Well, at least when she wasn’t turning him into an IDP.“Though, ya did something with ya hair? Nevar knew vanilla extract would be so potent, Nien?” The irony was strong with this one.

Naturally speaking many more adventurers came as the Dwarf put his glasses back on, and many more greetings were exchanged that day, the fierily liquor distributed as a currency for conversation. Naturally speaking Tobin couldn’t remember every word he spoke to those that followed though the variety of adventurers, though none matched the calibre of himself before (keeping in mind that Tobin is a proud level 85 bastard, with a roleplaying class of Dwarf maxed out.), though time would tell whether they had the stuff to stick with the task at hand. Though with this number of animal tamers they seemed well equipped to possibly use the wildlife, though it seemed likely only Capsule had invested significantly in that skill to tame beyond simple things.

-I have to correct that sometime.-

The nod extended to Klide as he arrived; as though he barely noticed the towel initially (the goggles didn’t do anything.) from his recollection of him, when the Dwarf was approached many moons ago he had seemed a pleasant chap. though as the afternoon wore on his grandiose speeches already made him feel like dozing off; a quality of Kumori’s that Tobin hardly; no he really didn’t miss that.

The other organiser, Bailin, struck him as quite a stiff fellow that he knew little about, beyond that he was the co-guild leader of an academy guild from a lass famous for instructing many uncertain adventurers. In the past Tobin had little reason to deal with them; much of the administration had been left to Kumori while Dwarf much preferred the trill of adventure. Much had changed since then; Tobin now lacked the backing of a guild and had spent time away from civilisation to formulate his blends and charting the fringes of Avon, what hadn’t changed was his confidence. Capsule of course had her own guild, though that he had heard even less of.

“First oaf all Klide, add spacin’ ta ya speeches, I dun’t read walls. Same with all ya paragraphs, all of you.”

A silence passed, a soft rumble erupted from his throat before the glasses came off again and he brushed the fourth wall off as he rose to stand on the stool. Now he was about to be a hypocrite and make a speech of his own.

“I hav’ something ta add mind ya. Quite simpleh I am a monk, the reason I am ‘ere is ta kill things width mah bare hands. Tha’ happened ta include’ Stonehenge, a dragon, a couple of lander’s infected with meisma, needless ta say it’s because I’m ‘ere at all tha’ makes this trip possible because I’ve found few things I can’t deal width. Ya followin’ so fa?”

A glance around the room was enough to gauge interest, though after havin’ another swig for dutch courage, he pressed on.

“We dun’t hav’ anythin’ on up north aside from we dun’t know whats up north. Tha’ means ya might face things ya can’t kill ‘n’ heck, some things I might not be too keen on tusstlin’ width, which Considerin’ our neurest spawn point is ba’k in London might be a lot oaf things I’m not exactleh keen losin’ people over. ‘side from us, wha’evar pets ya bring and resources we hav’ If ya wonderin’ wher’ I’mma goin’ with tis, it’ realleh quite simple.”

“This is a exploration mission first ‘n’ foremost, ya job isn’t ta tame the entire north ‘n’ with our limited resources we wuld be pressed ta do tha’, even if there were mor’ oaf us. Basically, dun’t engage wha’ ya can’t handle width out, giv’ me a holla first and I can help ya width it, maybe write my exploits a favourable light.” A slight rumble escaped the deep throat. “‘n’ under no circumstances should ya lead a big mob ba’k ta the main camp. If ya do tha’ some oaf ya may be killed befor’ we git it undar control. Needless ta say it’s a long hike ta catch up again.”

“If tha’ happens,” The Dwarf scratched his chin as he left his gaze drift across the room, a glint of menace in his eye as his neck tightened and he rambled on, his voice tense as passionate anger seized his tones. “even if ya survive I might bloodeh kill ya myself fa endangering this operation ‘n’ if ya bugger off, I’ll make sure tha’ every lander in the nation know tha’ ya deserted. Same if ya start hording artefacts, slaughtering landers without good reason, or god forbid ya start going all backstabby over some agenda ya respective guilds has. I might not be head of aneh alliance, but I’mma the final Arbiter on this trip, so if ya cross me ya can bet ya mothers life I’m gonna take it ****ing personally.”

Tobin felt his teeth grind as he gave a pause, only now he became aware that he was panting as he his face burn red and war drums pounded in his ears. A loud rush of air was forced out of his lungs as he forced his heart to steady; this time the tone had subsided as Tobin pressed on. It wasn’t so much that betrayals and the like was expected, but rather it was important that it was established WHO called the shots here.

-Perhaps it’s just as well I don’t give speeches often, I get too carried away. Though having power… Is quite a rush.-

“After all, all our time is precious. If any of ya are panikey enough ta do somethin’ like tha’, do me a favour ‘n’ buggar oaf now before we start gettin’ serious. Anehone wanna back out befor’ I giv’ ta briefin’? I’mma gonna give ya 5 seconds.”

Tobin paused as he gave ample opportunity for any cold footed adventurer chance to back out, satisfied with the response, almost immediately his locked jaw erupted into a great toothy grin as the Dwarf reached under the table and unflurried a large scroll of parchment; what was immediately apparent that the Dwarf had drawn it himself thus the map had more in common with a duck then the actual shape of England. Still there were some markings, of a couple of cities he remembered back in the other world, and a great thick boarder at the neck leading up to Scotland.

“Ahh brillent! Good ta see ya serious ‘bout tis. In any case the journey plan is simple; we ‘re gonna head up ta scotland in a few planned steps.First, we go past the boundary of Lune an old city called Manchester. A city of industry tha’ were lost in the third darktide ‘n’ the onleh city I could get info oaf, we will spend 72 hour’s thur’ gatherin’ wha’ we can about tis area before we move on north, settin’ every 20 mile oar so ta make note of any landmarks ‘n’ get the lay of the land. By the second week, we will have reached oar destination.”

“Hadrian’s Wall, in real life it were used ta keep the savage scots out by ta Romans ‘n’ I ‘eard it mentioned in some legend’s ‘bout it being first erected when the Tryent King oaf Socts first sought ta invade England. If it realleh is as mighty as they say there ruins might stand still. Thur’,” Tobin took a glass and poured it’s contents along the broad line that represented the great wall, before using a touch to set the line ablaze! “..is where our real base camp, and our journey will begin. Now...”

The Dwarf scooped the map out and chucked it out of the window, the flames quickly consumed the paper, leaving behind red cherry blossoms that fluttered off on the breeze and with a loud clap, the Dwarf dusted himself off as he turned back to the party.

“Keylana, draw me a new map! Some prick set this one alight.”

[Capsule]

[attr="class","solace"]

Capsule could not resist grinning at the dwarf, who was finally recognizing her. It was lovely to see that he had not forgotten about her, even though the two of them had not quested as much. "Oh, I do not intend on bailing on you this time." She liked to think that she was stronger than before, and the opportunity to explore unknown terrains was impossible for her to ignore. Unless the going got extremely tough, she planned on seeing this adventure through. "I just allowed it to grow out some," she responded with equal humor. Given how unfamiliar everyone else was to her, it was safe to assume that they would not understand the little exchange.

The woman fell silent as the others began introducing themselves… minus the blonde woman who remained quiet. The system interface identified her as "Mikoto," a Guardian. So far, she appeared to be the only tank, Tobin aside, in the group. Everyone else were Swashbucklers or mages, and there was the one odd Warden among them. She, Franny, and Keyala were supports, but none of them were traditional healers. The only healing summon Capsule knew for sure that Summoners had was their Unicorn… which also required them to be at least level thirty. So far, this meant that Capsule would be the one supplying the expedition with means to heal themselves. Having a dedicated healer would be much more effective, in her opinion.

Her impressions of the group were all over the place so far. The women seemed an all right bunch, but the men… that Klide fellow seemed to lack professionalism; he had sauntered on in wearing nothing but a towel. Why he would walk around half naked like that was beyond her, but it gave her the impression that he was either an exhibitionist, or a total ditz. Bailin, on the other hand, was the serious sort. Capsule was glad not to have invited Mute along; Heretics and Wardens did not mix well. Verin claimed that he would be best suited for a scout because he could "jump high," to which she could not help but interrupt.

"If all you can do is jump, then I am not so sure how valuable a scout you would actually be. Do you at least have the Hearing Aptitude skill? If not, I could possibly offer my assistance in that department." She had both the skill and the means to tame birds to scan the area around them. "I do have the skill, and can entice a few birds into helping us. The local wildlife will have a better grasp on the comings and goings." She did not mean to belittle the boy’s abilities, but they could not afford to leave room for error. Forearmed is forewarned.

Dumah was obviously a hoe, but a respectable one, as far as Courtesans go. And Jacoben… Jacoben was kind of cute, as well as being a fellow Animal Trainer. He even introduced his familiar, which Capsule had neglected to do with Bosco. The dog shifted at her feet and yawned. Bosco was… Bosco was pretty useless in the grand scheme of things. He was just a common animal, and could only be used as a makeshift guard during night shifts.

As Tobin began to address the group as a whole, Capsule allowed her mind and eyes to wander. They sure were an odd bunch, but Franny in her witch attire probably stood out the most. Dwarf came second because, well, dwarf. Said dwarf may or may not have been referring to her when he mentioned they should not tame everything in sight. Capsule casually sipped her drink. She supposed she could only tame a few things. Or maybe just make a log book of what she ran into or heard about.

She sat up straighter in her seat as Tobin whipped out a map. The name "Lune" meant nothing to her. It was probably just another ruined city, ransacked long ago by Landers for resources. She leaned slightly back in her seat as Tobin set a trail of liquor on fire, almost expecting the flames to jump out at her. She stared in disbelief as the rest of the map went up in flames, and was discarded through the window.

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∝: 712
♫: Intro; Keyala, Franny Stein
✏: Bailin @eleri, Mikoto
@:@blazeedge, Verin, @dumah

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[Mikoto]

So the dwarf wished to head north via way of Manchester. That was fine if you had intents of dragging persons hundreds of miles out of the way for some unknown reason. And while she was Welsh she was well traveled enough to know how to get about in her own country. And true you could get north from Manchester via the M6 but it would require a bit of back tracking to get back on it after diverting to Manchester. Which she supposed would be fine but she valued fewer detours and more efficient travel. So she'd speak up....

Rising from her chair she clears her lithe neck with a soft cough before poceeding to speak. "Good day to you all," inside herself she cringed at the polite tone she took, "I am Mikoto and I am a Guardian Cavalier , I do wood working and I have a cart which I haul small loads at present with. Its a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances." She could spit with how sickeningly polite this tone she had was. Years of lessons on etiquette and how to be a proper lady were hard to simply shove off even when in a game world. Whatever...

"Sir Tobin, might I make a small suggestion?" The urge to vomit at the sweetness of her voice was growing with each passing syllable, "Your route North takes us to Manchester as you said however upon reaching Manchester if we want to remain on main roads we'd need to back track to the M6 vie the M61. While this is a fine route that would give us many opportunities to see whats become of this land there are several more direct routes. The first being the Old North Road as known as Ermine Street and the A/M1 which would send us through the middle of the country. Ermine Street would send us closer to the eastern coast of the Isle and we'd pass through Lincoln, York and New Castle. I feel the more chances we have to sell our own wares plus purchase the wares of other peoples along with the ability to gain knowledge of what other towns remain would be greatly beneficial."

She paused for a moment, "It might also be wise to spend as few nights as possible camping in potentially hostile territory when we are so few in number and so few in warrior classes." Retaking her seat without another word she crosses her legs at her knee and folds her hands atop them. Casting an eye out the window to check on her ver bored noble steed bellow she swallows the feeling of sick in her throat. Soon enough she'd be clear of this company and she'd  be able to spit out the honeyed tone she took whenever she was around other people.

(WC: 473)

[Keyala]

The fox tailed girl gave a small nod to Tobin's acknowledgement, her aptitude as a scribe was exactly what she figured would be useful on this expedition, and would surely make her a valuable asset. She would watch as everyone arrived, giving a small nod with a smirk to Klide, she seemed satisfied in the group, despite the lack of healers, turning to the other summoner that had just arrived, she brought her hand up to her head, giving her a short salute "Nice build, I considered doing that one, but I ended up with the build I have now, which is the versatile elemental summoner build. I gathered a lot of different types of summons and things to support those summons with. I'm not as much of a support anymore, since my Golem can deal damage and draw aggro like a tank, and my Phantom and Harpy can do damage and can scout, thanks to eye in the sky. So to be honest, I'm more of a flexible offensive and defensive class, and I can also monitor how my party members are doing, and I can even heal a bit with my Sylph, although she can't do too much. Having two scouts would actually be really good, so two summoners might make this run smoothly, since we can have two scouting parties or she and I can work together, which might work well. And yeah, I can make several maps. I've been grinding out my scribe skill before I came here, because I figured someone would have to record it. I even brought my best pen and paper!"  the foxtail says, finishing her rant. She would reach into her magic bag slung across her chest. Her red fox like tail would make a soft noise as it wagged idly against the chair she was sat in, the small noise might get annoying to those around her, since it was so constant, she would quickly scan through her bag, which in all likelihood was a total mess, pulling out a corked bottle of off blue ink, and a quill pen, made from the feather of a rather nice bird, setting both on the table, and pulling out a stack of paper, setting that also on the table with a soft thud. She would slide the paper off the top, it appears much better quality than the paper of some of her past maps, which is likely due to her training the the scribe skill.

She dipped her clearly new quill pen into the ink, the sharp, clean new feather looking very official in the rather energetic fox-tail girl's hand. She would press the pen to the paper, and as if by some magic, or rather, the game's mechanic, she begins to draw, and she begins to fill out first the points on the map of the Unfounded Kingdom that she had visited. The outline of England became very clear from the beginning. The very distinct coastline ended on both sides with a sharp line drawn across the top, which very quickly evolved into the drawing of a massive Roman wall, Hadrian's Wall, their future base camp. Thankfully she knew that from her real life geography, making her the perfect mapping scribe. With that, the area of Wales was also outlined, but only the outline, nothing within' it had been established. Once the outline was done, Keyala's hand moved into the center of the map, keeping it elevated and away from the drying ink, she began to outline the city of Londinium, and all of the area that it took up, taking careful time to mark out the minute lines of each district within it, as well as the major landmarks, indicated in very well done calligraphy. Then she began to draw the trees around Londinium, better known as the Windsor Greatwoods, and then the Thames Coastline, both areas marked with beautiful calligraphy.


Next, she began to map areas that were clearly more unfamiliar to her. While Sarum was mostly filled in, it is clear that she had not visited Avon much, with even a majority of the city left unfilled in. Blank space remained in much of what would constitute their journey, she turned to Tobin "Mind if you come and help me with the terrain where I haven't been? I haven't been able to scout that far up yet, so I don't know what it looks like, if we still need to scout, I can end up my Harpy and look through her eyes and map out the route we'll need to take. Either way, get over here. Then I can replicate the final map and give one to everyone, then I'll make an outline of Scotland and start working on a master map of that once we get there. Since I kinda can draw the outline without having been there, then it's all about filling out landmarks, and cities, and forests and such. I can leave blanks for their names so we can ask the Landers, and if we need to name anything we can record it here, oh! That reminds me!" she says, reaching into her bag once more, pulling out an elegantly carved piece of wood, and a pad of wax. She would press the wood into the wax, before pressing the wood against the bottom left corner of her map. Pulling it away, it's clearly her watermark of sorts. It looks like a disembodied fox tail and fox ears, with a rather sinister looking smile between them "Just so you know it's mine and it's official!"  she proclaims rather cheerily


Word Count: 953
Total Word Count: 663 + 953 = 1616
Tags:
@dumah
@blazeedge
Bailin
Tobin
Franny Stein
Capsule
Mikoto
Icyferno
Verin
@eleri

[Franny Stein]

Franny allowed a bemused whistle as she watched the dwarf torch the map. “Probably not the best symbol for the start of an expedition…” Franny muttered under her breath. “So what’ll it be that goes up in smoke then? Our hopes?”  Franny remembered the rather terse but certain words spoken only just moments before on the care being allotted to render this expedition one of good will. “Surely not the country side...” With a foreboding grimace she turned her mind to other more pertinent matters. "So there’s another summoner here, hm? Figures.”  Franny just hoped they wouldn’t be stepping on one another’s toes, such a thing could happen even with the best of intentions. “She seems nice enough, let’s not tempt fate by getting off to a bad start. I’m not so petty.”

Franny smiled and nodded acknowledging Keyala. “I have a lot of respect for diversity and our differences will only be to the greater advantage. Consider me more a specialist, because I’m only good at one thing: numbers. When it comes down to a question of grit and attrition such as the exploration of some hellish deep dark cave brimmed with traps and other little treasures, well, there’s no better medicine than the cure of waves and waves of disposable rabble.” Franny was speaking from experience. She had come so far mostly by surfing on the backs of a nearly infinite disposable income of exposed chattering spine and bone. Franny was an unusual fighter and wasn’t above a trick or two to secure a win. Really, her rag tag success might have only become possible with the advent of the calamity which brought along the erasure of any beforehand established parameters for success. “So just remember everyone, if this game starts to look less like dungeons and dragons and more like say, minesweeper, with a bit of patience, I’m able to field infinite ‘lives’.” Franny had made no accident in her sarcastic inflection on the word lives. It was her own self-imposed though unfortunate twist of fate to have to bear the mantle of such a macabre attitude. "Seems to be the only thing that works for me, might as well own it." Franny sighed with a laugh. “Better to let the walking ghost story bear the more characteristic aspects of the horror genre, okay?” She shrugged. On that broad detail, she was appealing to everyone. “Ah, but in the reverse, let's keep me out of the diplomacy; I’ve got a pleasant enough disposition, but we wouldn’t want the landers getting…superstitious, yes? Let’s not add ‘burned at the stake’ to my catalog of deaths.” With a shrug of the shoulders she let her gaze fall outside through the yonder window. That was her signal, she'd had her say.


"That’s enough babbling for now, I’ve made my case…"

Clamming up, her eyes eventually wandered back toward the map that was growing lines and borders like a vine from the ashes of the old. The group was already beginning to intercede with what was likely to be a long session of suggestions and advice. That was just as well, she’d listen and gauge her compatriot’s colorful dispositions. It was her plan to just follow orders and go with the flow. “Sometimes that’s just what’s needed; people with the capacity to listen, nod, and smile.”

NOTES- It is likely that not a single semicolon was used correctly in this post.


WORDS- 506


TAGS- @dumah Bailin Tobin Keyala Capsule Mikoto Verin Myrddin @blazeedge

[Celebrimbor]

He was unsure of this, sure it had been some time since he entered this world... a world that was in all rights a game and yet it was also not. Pain was real as were so many other things that might have been forgotten in any other place. Yet he had decided that he needed to do something and hiding in corners like a frightened rabbit did him no good. For one he was supposed to be part of a role after all. But speaking to this group and actually being involved with them was not a thing that he felt comfortable with. No he would much rather find a quiet corner and avoid speaking. He was geared in the things he had started with and frankly he had avoided battle out of fear of what might happen.

Perhaps this was a way to push himself to force him to learn and be more than he was... or perhaps he was simply bored. Add to that the simple fact that he had not learned much about anything while hiding from reality in this game and you had a recipe for a disaster. Yes he had a pair of swords across his back that he knew how to use... but he also knew that they were garbage... If he could make his own or even do anything more than what he had up to this point perhaps he might have felt at least a little better about joining this group in what amounted to, in comparison, a pile of rags.

He found the ranting, speech to be entertaining... waste of a map arguably but it gave him a foundation to build on in regards to what not to do and what was expected. Easy enough to follow rules even if he himself hated restraining himself with the logic of others. Yet what was he to do in this situation when that was the expectation... being so weak compared to many of those within the group did not really offer him anything to work with. It was enough for the moment though. To sit with his head in his mug and listen to people though... he could do that listening was a easy enough talking was something else entirely even if everyone had introduced themselves and what they could do. Yet it was an expectation to tell people something of himself, right... yet to find the ability to speak was something special indeed surrounded by a crowd as he felt he was...


WC: 421

[Saber]

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

: Words : -2479-
: Tags : [Bailin] [@blazeedge] [Tobin] [Icyferno] [Capsule] [Keyala] [Mikoto] [@dumah] [Verin] [@eleri] [Franny Stein] [Celebrimbor]
: Skills Used : [-----]
: Notes : A Ranger enters the ranks.

The eyes of a dragon opened, the soul of a demon reached out from its fiery pit, and a heart as cold as ice pulsed in the darkness of the frozen cave. There was a sharp shriek followed by the sound of liquid; blood splattered on the wall and coated the wall as a body fell limp on the hard, rock floor. A few feet started to tap on the ground but the noise did not last. Cutting echoed out in the silence, followed by shattering glass. There was a loud bang and then a body flew out of the mouth of the cave; it was a higher leveled Kobold warrior and its health was gone. After soaring through the air for several feet, it shattered into pixels. Two more Kobolds ran out of the cave, stumbling over one another as they ran for their lives. They abandoned their weapons and took to flight. They didn’t get far.

Out from inside the cave, a man draped in a black cloak emerged. He held a bow and two arrows in his hand. Without hesitation, he raised his bow and nocked the first arrow. In a single sharp breath, he aligned his shot and fired. The arrow launched like a missile and shot through the air, piercing the back of its target’s skull. The arrowhead ignited as the orange sigil on it flared to life and the Kobold’s head evaporated in flames. The sight of its brethren dying in such a brutal manner caused the other Kobold to stop. It stared at its ally’s headless body and watched it fall to the ground. Afraid for its life, the Kobold turned around as if considering begging. When it did, it was shown no mercy. The man at the mouth of its now bloodied home centered his bow. The Kobold blinked, and then it felt a sharp pain. The arrow struck right between its eyes.

Lowering his bow, Saber let out a soft sigh. It had been a while since he had headed west on his own quest and now, he was finally back to some familiar lands. It was quite strange to see his home zones so filled with monsters and critters again. The last time he had entered the tunnels and caves around Avon, no monsters dared enter their halls except for some of the brainless. Now, the Kobolds and Goblins had returned. He was going to have to clear them out again but for now, he just wanted to get some rest or at least some food. Avon was the closest town to where he was so heading there would be the smartest course of action, at least for now. With that in mind, Saber opened up his menu and checked the time. Then, he checked his map. He knew the way but he had another stop to make on the way back.

“Hey! Don’t leave me back here!” A female voice pipped up from down in the cave; a short little pink-haired cleric emerged, breathing heavily as if she had just run a marathon. Indeed she had, as Saber pretty much abandoned her in the tunnels. It was good that she had caught up.

“I told you to keep up.” Saber waved the little girl to follow him and began to walk away from the cave, following the rocky path back towards the main one. The girl let out a huff and skipped along after the stronger Adventurer.

“You shouldn’t put a lady through such torment!” She chimed, giggling as Saber shook his head at her. The little girl bobbed back and forth at Saber’s side, swaying and humming as she walked comfortably beside the cold player. Saber paid her no mind and kept to himself, tucking his nose beneath his scarf as he marched forward. They walked in silence for a little ways but the silence was a little too much for the smaller humanoid; maybe this was Saber’s curse for always helping people.

“What made you come all the way out here, Adventurer?” The woman was someone Saber had seen in trouble down in the tunnels and she was on the brink of death. A group of hungry spiders were about to rip her into pieces when Saber found her and eliminated the herd. At that point, he said that he would guide her back home. Thankfully, that home was now along his route.

“Let’s just say I’m a greedy man.” That was the truth. Saber was out so far from civilization in search of nothing else but power, a power so strong and fierce that no ordinary being could control it. Not only that, but he wanted to harness that power and use it against a nightmare that would plague London and the entire United Kingdom zone once it awakened. So far he was doing well in stalling that plague’s activation, at the cost of his own sanity. The war he was fighting was dragging on and it was starting to tear at not just his physical ability, but his mental state as well. Saber was a murderer before and was a cold being, but now it was becoming worse. His care for the world was vanishing with each passing day and he could feel it. This thirst, he had felt it before and he hated it.

“I think you’re a kind man for helping out a lady in need.” The woman said with a cheerful smile. Saber scoffed at her and narrowed his eyes. A kind man? No, he was quite the opposite. Not five minutes before he had met her, Saber had killed six players who had stepped in his way. There was no justification for that either; he had killed them in cold blood simply because he wanted to.

“Keep thinking that.” His response sent a chill down the woman’s spine, but she kept her cheery attitude. She continued to hum, whistle, and skip alongside Saber all the way back to Stratford. Before they reached the city, however, the two tucked to the right and followed a narrow path down to a river. On the edge of the river was a small building. A dog started to bark at the edge of the porch as the adventurer and his companion emerged from the tree line, but it didn’t attack. The little woman let out a joyful laugh and started to run towards the building. The dog let out a yelp and descended the trio of stairs before running out to meet the woman.

“Tandra!” The girl shouted, kneeling down to hug and pet the dog. It looked more like a wolf than a dog, but Saber didn’t really care for the difference. The thing was tamed, that’s all he knew.

“Ricka!” Another voice called out from the building. The front door was now open and standing in it was an older couple. They exited the building and started to head for the edge of the porch but the young woman met them before they could step down. Saber kept his distance and stood just at the edge of the tree line. From his distance, he couldn’t hear their happy meeting but that was for the best. His presence probably would have soiled things.

“And they lived happily ever after.” The man thought, letting out a sigh before activating one of his hiding skills. Before Ricka or her parents could turn to say anything to him, Saber slipped back into the forest and left the family to their happiness. He felt a light breeze at his back, as if some Guardian Angel was thanking him for returning their precious daughter. Saber let out a huff and pulled his cloak tight around himself. He hated himself.


Heading to Stratford, Saber made his way into a large tavern. A few other Adventurers entered as he approached but he was too far away to say anything. He wouldn’t have anyways so he wasn’t bothered as the door closed without anyone noticing him. Quietly and nimbly, Saber entered the building and took a few steps into the quiet room. There were a few others scattered around, already chatting and enjoying their time at the bar. Saber didn’t disturb them and walked over to the bar. Sitting down, the bartender approached him with a strange look on his face. Saber didn’t question it.

“I’ll take a water please.” The strange order matched the strange atmosphere that Saber gave off it seemed, as the bartender didn’t exactly give him a surprised look. He did give Saber the glass of water though, which was appreciated. Saber slid a few gold coins across the counter as a tip and relaxed, sipping at his ice cold glass steadily. As he sat there, a few other Adventurers entered the building and then headed into the upper floors.

Saber watched them go, one by one, but he didn’t follow. He had no reason to and for now, he just wanted to rest. It was a long trip from the western zone and the monsters there weren’t pushovers like they were around London and Avon. He had never seen a minotaur the size of a two-story building until he had headed out there. After that, he had prepared himself for everything. Even that wasn’t enough though and Saber found himself heading back to the only fortress out there several times. If it wasn’t for their guard’s strength and their delicious food, Saber would have given up on his quest a long time ago.

“You aren’t here for the expedition, are you, Ranger?” The bartender finally stated, glancing over to Saber as he began to polish a few glasses. The bowman glanced over his shoulder as another player walked up the stairs and he wiggled his nose. Expedition eh?

“What kind of expedition?” Saber was now intrigued, and glanced over towards the bartender as he took another sip of his glass. The bartender smirked and set down the glass he held, only to grab another.

“I guess some Dwarf is gathering people to head to the north. He thinks that they can pierce the mountain wall.”

“North?” Saber furrowed his eyebrows and then glanced to his right, looking in the direction of the mountains that were in the distance well beyond the reach of a normal person. So, the others were finally going north were they? Well, they were a little late but it seemed that they would do a better job than he did. Saber had been north before, but had just reached the edge of the mountains. It was in that frozen tundra that he had fought against the Ice Queen, taking her trial. It was a cold place and quite desolate but beyond the white wall, he had seen quite a beautiful land. There were remnants of society beyond that rock wall but the monsters there were just as bad as the ones out west. If that party was heading north, Saber hoped that they were well prepared.

“They’re going to have some issues.” Saber chuckled and shook his head, sipping from his glass again. The bartender looked at him curiously.

“You speak as if you’ve been there before.” He was right, but only a little bit. Indeed, Saber had seen beyond the mountains and had even walked through the violent winter, but he had not technically reached the northern lands. His goal was not Scotland, but the kingdom in between.

“I’ve been to the mountains and I’ve seen beyond, but I didn’t care for going further. My goal was the mountains themselves.” Saber leaned back on his stool and let out a heavy sigh. The bartender grinned and shook his head, setting down the glass he finished cleaning.

“Did you see the Ice Queen?”

“You know of the tale?” Saber glanced at the man just to see him nod. The Adventurer let out a huff and closed his eyes; no surprise there.

“You should head up there. They might need your help and you look quite capable of providing it. Your eyes look a lot harder than some of the others.”

“These eyes are not ones that I’m proud of.” With that, Saber finished off his water and set the glass down hard. His drink finished, Saber turned on his stool and stepped down onto the floor below. He asked for the room and the bartender complied, feeding him the necessary information. Saber tucked his hands into his cloak and headed through the tavern, making his way up the stairs. He heard a lot of talking and the loudest voice was the familiar rattling of a short and stout Dwarf. So, Tobin was still around and leading the charge was he? How nice of him, that made things easy for people like Saber. The lonesome wanderer could keep up his solitude because of people like Tobin; they lead the large parties into the other zones while Saber did his own thing and either mopped up their mess, or left a mess for them to clean up for him. Most of the time though Saber’s messes were blood stains and a trail of bodies, but that was just another day on the grind.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Saber glanced over into the bar room to see quite a large group of adventurers loitering around and listening to Dwarf’s speech. Tobin seemed to be explaining the details behind the expedition but he was towards the end of it so Saber didn’t pay much attention. If he were to join the expedition, how much knowledge he had of it wouldn’t matter anyways. He would probably take up the vanguard position anyways, at least for now. He didn’t know a lot of the faces and the few he remembered were blurs. Spending time out west really rattled his brain. The others seemed focused on the Dwarf anyways so how many of them knew him didn’t matter, and it wouldn’t matter. Making friends wasn’t the goal here. From what Saber could gather the goal was to break through the mountains. That was easy enough.

Leaving the others to fill out the details and go over their own strategy, Saber took a quiet position towards the back of the bar area and leaned back against the wall. Where he stood was actually right above the fireplace on the first floor, so he was quite comfortable. He glanced towards the Dwarf and didn’t announce himself to the short man or the others, but he didn’t doubt that the other player would notice him eventually if he hadn’t already. Once he did, then Tobin would know that he would have Saber’s support from that moment on. This was Tobin’s expedition, not Saber’s and the Assassin was mostly just along for the ride. That being said, Saber wouldn’t try to step on any toes. He was just another body.

Coded By Saber of L33T T3@M
Modified by KittyGrey

[Dwarf]

The Dwarf let another rumble tickle his throat as he released Capsules old friend, silently glad that her new found confidence had enhanced her dry wit. Though to be fair, both were probably wet from self defecation last time they adventured together, so it made for drier tinder.

"Maybeh I shud cut ma' hur as well den; It will bring 'ut ta colour oaf my eyes owt 'n' mak' me look a few inches tallar."

-Though. I definitely need to ask about changing my appearance. I won't miss kissin' everyone’s arse, figuratively speakin'.-


[/hr]

Tobin was used to being stared at; after all he was one of the shortest people on elder tale and had to overcompensate in his mannerisms to make up for a lack of le- height. Because of this he slightly underestimated the reaction that practically all the adventurers gave him, that dead stare of disbelief. Slowly Tobin felt the urge to let a laugh but instead a shrug, followed by a dismissive wave was his primary response; he relied on that defensive mechanism more then was healthy.

"Look, ya shud knuw wha' tis feckin' country looks lik' by now ya daft sods, 'n' it certainly dun't look lik' a badly drawn cok! I just rathar it were my- no, oar deed tha' went down in historie, nut my maps. The point is, we realleh dun't know wha' lies beyond tha' bordar so we hav' to forget most of wha' we know 'n' start width a blank slate, because’ oar world dun’t exist no more.”

Then another about routes and the Dwarf rolled his eye up as he gave pause for thought; he hadn’t really had a route planned as he had been born in an era where map reading had been underrated thus he was likely to proceed where the land lied. Miko’s suggestion of two routes of the journey, though his immediate response brushed off one option.

“Much as coastside towns ‘re nice, I think sleight thra ta Manchester w’uld be bettar oaf the two. First oaf all we knuw wha’ the coast looks lik’ fa most part.” The Dwarf paused momentarily, though if he had intended to say anything, the motion was brushed aside much like an irritating pre-teen. “ Bein’ abl’ ta find tha’ heart oaf England wuld be grand ‘n’ allow smaller explanditions at a lattar date.”

Then Keytana spoke in depth, the Dwarf watched her converse with 2 parts interest, 1 part glazing over, one part still pondered whether his vessel was indeed half empty, half full or in need of a refill.

“Ahh, I only been pokin’ round ta area, prob onleh around 5 miles ‘ut of town miles at most.” Tobin frowned as he scratched the back of his head, before he gently began to point to locations, though his broad fingers were broad, the spikes that adorned his black gauntlets were considerably more adapt at, erm, making a point.

-Very funny Dwarf.-

-Sod off author-

“Wel’ I guess I mite knuw a fe’ landmark’s, the obvious ‘un is snowdown, tha’ lies ‘bout 15 mile tha’ way, ta tha’ west. Tha othar place I know is tha I knuw of is ‘bout ‘ere, north west west, ruin’s of a golden age airship. Thou’” Tobin chanced a glance towards Capsule, before he shrugged “Ruin’s is a furrly accurate description oaf wha’s left thur now. Otherwise, thur are a few natural valleies that cut throu’ tha’ mountain range, now, if mah memories correct…”

Thus Tobin impacted his knowledge of the surrounding area, least how he remembered it. A progress that would roughly take half an hour to an hour for the first map. The Dwarf frowned as he examined the end product; though a slight smile tugged at the thin line of his lips as he nodded in approval showed that his upset wasn’t directed toward the map itself.


“Hmph, thou’t I covared more ground den tis, guess I’mma losin’ mah edge. Ahh well, tis will probably covar the first hour oaf our journey at most. Beyond tha’? Well, onleh a god would knuw, ‘n’ I’m no preyin’ man.”

It was then at the corner of his eye he noticed the latest of the strangers had arrived, a shadow of the candlelight. By now Saber had ceased to surprise the Dwarf with his appearances, though this time he granted a slight nod in greetings. Then he took everyone else in, the banter and, for the first time in a long time he felt something he hadn’t felt for sometime.

Anticipation for adventure.