Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 3: A peaceful respite?

[Inactive Account]

"Well," Kelas muttered, glancing at the white mare, who stood right where the mage had left her, still fully tacked and looking vaguely mournful. "C'mere," Kelas grunted, opening the gate of the corral to let the mare in. "Your owner needs more training than you do," she continued as she untacked the mare, "acting like horses are some kind of mage's creation what don't need fed or groomed. Could've at least paid the hostler to do it. At least you haven't been run hard... well, maybe he'll learn all right, hm? I'm definitely only doing this for you." Now that the mare's bridle was off, she had ceased biting, and had gratefully dug into the feed trough. Kelas hung the tack at random intervals on the corral fence: she wasn't going to care for the mare every time they stopped, and she might as well make that clear by making things hard to find. "Right, and I'm taking that bit away, and if I find them that made it they'll have a nasty surprise. With a proper bridle, we won't have you biting. That, at least, I don't think he realized, I'll tell him about it later."

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

Inside, Arrin looked expectantly over the group: surely they had preferences for who to room with? When the green-haired mage from before showed up and announced that he'd help with paying, everyone brightened considerably, though it struck Arrin as vaguely odd that an ordinary mage would be paying such a large sum. "Er... so, are we picking rooms now?" he asked again uselessly.

Edited May 4, 2010 by _____

[Ansem]

"I need a head count" Helios said. Lets see. Kelas, her brother, Damian, Aiya, Irina and Isotov, Esphyr, miserable one and I. Wait some one is missing. "Where did the kid go" Helios asked.

OOC: I know nothing about horses. Guess i am going to need some training . I love google

[riariadne]

((I just got back from vacation so that's why I haven't posted in a while))

Chase was wondering how long his weak-ish disguise would last. It was pretty transparent, but what other option did he have?

He remembered what had happened a few years ago... then pushed it away. Never again would he make that move, most certainly not when he was now with a group...

Edited May 3, 2010 by Lightning

[Inactive Account]

OOC: @Lightning: I actually sort of gave Chase a shove in the right direction earlier, as I figured he'd followed some of the others. For the sake of convenience, why don't we assume that he's just at the back of the group, and Kelas has already dealt with the packhorse?

@Kai: The basics: Walk 'em/otherwise cool 'em down if they've been running a lot recently, untack, brush 'em, check their feet for rocks, food/water, done. Details don't really even matter; a "Helios took care of Luna and then went inside" is fine; it's just the general idea of automaton horses that kind of annoys me, and that's been amplified a bit in Kelas. (When she works out that Arrin barely knows how to ride, hilarity will ensue.)

[Ether]

"So we need to split up...how many beds do we have?" Damian asked,trying to instill a bit of order into the sloppy process.

[Inactive Account]

"There are two extra single beds in my room, and most of the other rooms also have three or four," Arrin noted. "So we should be able to split into three or so rooms."

[Ether]

"Despite the fact that we get to sleep on Helios' coin,it would be best to double up on beds wherever possible." Damian said,waiting to see if anyone would volunteer.

[riariadne]

Chase pondered it... and decided he'd prefer to sleep on the floor. But there was something he had to do first.

"I have to do something. It's the only way I can be sure I won't be recognized. I'll be back in about a few hours. If you're worried about me deserting or something, take this--" he gave his bow to Morgan, "-- as proof I won't run off."

He headed around various buildings in town, and was pleasantly surprised when he wasn't noticed by anyone, and set his plan in motion.

OOC: I expect this is going to be kinda funny when it actually happens.

[Ansem]

"Double up on beds" said Helios givng Damian that look. "Like sleeping together"?!? Helios shuddered. "Uh the rate is 50 gold per room and there are 3 rooms left". "I already paid so i think it is best we divide in gender to avoid............ ".

[Ether]

"We don't all have to, 'sides,you're paying,so don't worry about it."Damian replied to Helios' comment.

"And why so uptight about the thought of sharing a bed with a woman?You a virgin or something?" Damian asked,teasing the mage,however,he seemed to blush considerably.

[riariadne]

A young adult female walked into the hotel waiting area. She had long, dark hair, a blue silk dress with gold lining, and purple, slipper-like shoes. "I'm with them," she said in a charming voice. Approaching the astonished looking group, she whispered, "Hah! I'd forgotten how well this works. It's me. Surprised? It's a long story I don't feel like telling. Now, what are we doing with the rooms?"

[Ansem]

"No its ...... uh........... DAMN IT DAMIAN YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN" Helios said. He regained his cool. "I will be out the whole night". "He gave Damian some gold". "This should be enough to get some food if any one is hungry". "And these are the keys" he said dropping them into his hands. "There is something i wanted to discuss but it seems late". "I will discuss it first thing in the morning". Helios noticed a girl walk in. "Uh do we know you'?

Edited May 3, 2010 by Kai-Sama

[Inactive Account]

"...What are they talking about?" Arrin quietly asked the cleric next to him, who shrugged. "I don't really see why there should be a problem... and many of the beds only sleep one anyway," Arrin remarked.

A girl waltzed into the hall, introducing herself simply as "me". Arrin stared at her, finally managing, "...Are you that archer from before?" he asked, dumbfounded.

OOC: This is going to be an utterly hilarious chapter, isn't it?

Edited May 3, 2010 by _____

[Ether]

Ooc: Chase is a trannie?XD

IC: Damian accepted the gold and keys from Helios,replying with

"Definitely a virgin..."

Then Chase walked in,disguised as a woman.

"Sorry,but we've got all night Chase,get talking." Damian told himher.

[riariadne]

"Oh, fiiiine. I happen to be pretty good at disguises. I also have a rather... high-pitched pitched voice. I've done this once before, and it wasn't nearly as good as I made it now, but to my surprise it went off without a flaw. As for the hair... well, getting a haircut tends to not be your first priority when you're on the run. The rest is simple. With a cloak, it's difficult to discern someone's gender, so I easily bought the clothes at a store. For now, call me Tina. Any questions?"

Edited May 3, 2010 by Lightning

[Ansem]

"I will pretend i didnt hear that" Helios said to Damian. "Im serious Damian dont think about it". "It was still noon". "Well i am guess i am stuck with you all for now". "Well since i have nothing better to do i think we should discuss this" he said taking out a book. Helios took a seat. "What i wanted to discuss......... is liberation".

[Balcerzak]

When Kelas motioned to go for food and lodging, Tessa's stomach gave a small rumble of approval to the notion. She was a bit embarrassed, but it seems no-one had noticed, or if they had, they were too polite to mention anything. The majority of the group had followed Arrin to the place he'd been using. A small discussion had started up about who would room with whom, but Tessa really had no preference in the matter, so she left with the nomad to go check on the horses.

When she'd reached the corral, she suddenly stopped, and realized she had no money, so wasn't sure exactly how things would work out, but then Kelas called over the hostler and it seemed that she was arranging things for all of the horses, so Tessa heaved a sigh of relief and made a mental note to find some way to repay her.

While Kelas was tending to her own steed and the packhorse, Tessa made sure to do the same to Trevor, while also giving him a lot of love. She took care of all of the basics, talked to him while rubbing him down, and gave him a carrot. "Here you go boy, take this. You've been through an awful lot over these past few days, and I'm so~ sorry for everything I've been having you do when you'd been retired and getting used to a life of comfort. But you've been such a trooper through it all."

When she'd finished talking care of him, she cooed a few more things in his ear, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the nose. "Sleep well, friend!"

Kelas was still working when Tessa had finished, which is not surprising, considering she was caring for two horses as opposed to just one, so she went back inside, and the rooming situation was still at a deadlock. On the upside, it seems Helios had arrived and offered to handle the bill, so Tessa's dodged another potential arrow from her lack of finances. I really have to find some way to at least get something. This kind of convenience can't possibly last forever, she thought.

Damian put forth a call for suggestions on doubling up on beds, to reduce the total cost, and that seemed to be a reasonable idea. Helios was hesitant about this at first, and for some reason got teased pretty badly.

"Ummm, I guess, if she doesn't mind, I'll share a bed with Morgan?" Tessa piped, up. "If she does mind, Kelas would be fine too, but I'm guessing she wants to stay with her brother?" Warming up to this whole idea she continued on with, "And hey, maybe Damian and Aiya should be together, and umm... who's left? Hmm, Irina and Isotov are also siblings right, that works well, and uh, leaves Esphyr with Tina?"

[[OOC: Edit: Misread Helios. He didn't leave, so I edited that out. I guess he gets one of the singles. Maybe Esphyr and 'Tina' can go single too? Up to them. Feel free to reject my pairings with your own.]]

Edited May 3, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Ether]

"I can live with that,I guess." Damian replied to Chase,sitting down on a nearby chair.

"Although,I must admit,you seem rather adept at stuffing a bra,'Tina' " Damian said sarcastically,hoping Chase had a better sense of humor than Helios.

[Ansem]

Helios rolled his eyes. "Do as you like but Damian dont do it". "You too Aiya". "Would you like to talk about the liberation matter in the morning or right now"?

[Inactive Account]

"Liberation from what?" Arrin queried. It seemed like things had been decently sorted out for rooms at least...

[Ether]

"You seem to be quick to assume I intend to get laid tonight Helios.Do you have that little faith in me?" Damian questioned him,before turning to leave.

"I'm getting some wine,anyone else want any?My treat." Damian asked,both he and Aiya stopping at the door.

[Ansem]

"As you know many nations were conquered by the (Insert cult name)" Helios said. "One of the strongest one was Tora". He opened up the book. Tora was the nation in the middle. "Tora is bordered by 5 nations including Halton". "We will be at a disadvantage if we were to take castle Tora back alone since they might send in reinforcements from the other four nations". "The other reason why i want to take back Castle Tora is because they house the fire emblem". "If we slowly take the border nations we can launch a simultaneous attack on Tora from each nation". "Though it might take years i think it is worth a try".

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan looked curiously at the bow in her hands. Not really her weapon of choice...

"Don't you want this back?" she asked "Tina". "It would be wise for you to be able to defend yourself, I really don't care if you choose to run out or not."

"I would be fine sharing with you Tessa." Morgan replied. "I hope you don't snore extremely loudly or have any other particularly distressing sleep habits, I can be very cranky if I don't get enough sleep."

She gave Helios a skeptical look "I fail to see the relevance of this task. We do not have years to spend retaking castles and such. We should attempt to find the remaining weapons."

Edited May 3, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Ether]

OOC: A group like this wouldn't even consider attempting to liberate a whole country

[Phoenix]

Ivanko walked over to Isotov and Irina. Ivan and Lev were already on their way back, but Ivanko stopped by to say goodbye. Irina ran up to him and gave him a hug.

Irina: I'm going to miss you, Uncle ;_;

Ivanko: I'm going to miss you too, Irina. You take care of yourself ya hear?

rina: Uh huh. And thank you for luring Iso into your trap :D

Iso: <_<

Ivanko: Hahah! Anytime. Well I'd better go. Those demons aren't going to kill themselves. Damian! Keep this group on it's toes. I'll be in touch.

Ivanko turned around and left OUtside his wyvern was waiting for him, and the hawk was perched on top of the saddle. Ivanko quickly mounted the massive wyvern and took off.

Iso: Finally, he's gone.

She turned to her agitated brother.

Irina: Why do you hate him so much?

Iso: He's not the kind of relative you bond with. I don't know which I hate worse, Proxima, or that self-righteous bastard.

Irina: Don't say that! If not for him I'd have never seen you again.

Iso: If not for him, you would be fighting somewhere else, away from these crimson weapons, and I wouldn't have to guard you. I don't owe that man anything.

Irina: He's only trying to help.

Iso: I don't want his help. There are too many strings attached. Come on ... we should get some sleep soon.