Return of the Emblem Chapter Six: Enemies Abound

[Phoenix]

Finnian

Siv stayed close since Shadrak wasn't bothering to chase her away and kept an eye out for Steinn.

Valcyn

"Yeah well it still bothers me ..." Raquel said with her head low.

"I'm only asking because I care. You're completely out of shape, I can tell. Your figure isn't going to maintain itself, you know. When you get older your body isn't going to be as forgiving toward your neglect either. Driving that wagon around for hours doesn't help either." Cat scolded lightly.

"I'm a little too busy to worry about exercise ..."

"This from the girl who's either being chased by dangerous people or chasing after them. Unbelievable. But I'm curious. You have sisters, Bert?" she said turning her attention to the pegasus rider for a moment.

Zeev

With the ball in hand, Amon nodded and gave it a second throw.

Amon rolls 4,3,2

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3203822/

MISS!

While correcting for one error in his first throw, he created another, and the ball missed again. He sighed. "It won't mean much if I try the easy or normal distanced ones. I could hit those easily. I'll have another go ..." he said to the man while taking out another gold piece. I really hope the prize is something that'll last me awhile, like Gytha's gem, or maybe a gift I can take back home someday.

[Mercakete]

"Yeah. Well, I call them my sisters. They aren't my biological sisters since we all grew up in the same orphanage. That's why I don't have a surname, either. It was an orphanage for girls, but I was born there as my other died, so I was just raised there. So, I call all the other orphans who gre up with me my sisters. I'm their brother, too, but I was the only one. Sure the one actually raising us was a man and he had a couple apprentices, but we didn't call them our brothers. If anything, Nigel was like our father or grandfather. That's how it was, anyway," Norbert casually explained before he left off at the end a bit awkwardly. Man... That almost sounded pitiful. "It's just how I grew up." Hopefully that clears things up a bit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Again, the man exchanged a gold piece for a ball and waited around, hoping Amon would want to play again. I love hosting this game~

"C'mon, Amon! It's not that hard! Ye've hit dodgier things than that tower o'er there!" Gytha encouraged.

Edited October 2, 2011 by Mercakete

[Saturnine]

While the rest of the population was having fun with the festival, Siritov rode through the grounds completely disinterested in the fun and games being enjoyed by the people. She dismounted her large horse in the field of stones and walked into the thick of them, searching for just the perfect boulder. Many were man-made, she was aware of that much. They held no interest to the Neviskotian woman. She searched and searched for one that was naturally formed.

It was fortunate she had forgone the festivities and games, given how long it took to find the one that felt just right. A dark, lopsided, craggy boulder sat in the grassy field surrounded by spherical, ornate man-made rocks. She lay her hand on the surface of the rock, looking it over. She would write what she came to say in a place where nobody else would tarnish with their requests.

After she wrote her message to the gods, Siritov strode away from the field of rocks and mounted on her horse, riding back to Weyland's estate.

In the field of stones, pretty and shapely and carved to attract the attention of the gods, there sat a lonely boulder. Imperfect and overlooked, there had been one lonely stranger who graced it with purpose. Written beneath the cusp of the boulder's lip was Tipheret's prayer.

"Please take me with you."

[Acacia Sgt]

<A true Neviskotian, huh. Well, it doesn't matter for me. Already left that behind long ago.> John thought, shrugging.

<Well, that's a first I heard about. I suppose drinking can be a bit helpful at times. Doesn't change the fact it can still leave you all drunk if gone overboard though.>

-----

Meanwhile...

She entered the hall, a look of relief on her face. Finally I find it. This place is much bigger than home, but I can't believe I actually got lost.

A quick look around made her known the hall wasn't empty. Wait, isn't that the Proffesor? So he's back from the University already. But those who are with him... I wonder who they are.

[Snowy_One]

As Domovoi knocked on the door, the crying seemed to stop. A moment later, Robin opened the door. Though she was not crying, the trails of her tears on her cheeks was evident. Behind her, the scattered arrows and bow could easily be seen, but she still tried to stand in a way to block them.

"<Domovoi... I'm... I am sorry to have... No. I could not stand what Veronika was saying and... I don't know if I'm alright. I don't think I am.>"

[Dark Sage]

"I see."

Not much more he could say. He wasn't very good at talking to women about their problems, let alone helping them. Still, Robin appeared to be burning her bridges with the group and he wasn't sure if she would leave and if she did, what her plan was.

"<I didn't quite catch everything that was being said. In fact I missed a lot of it. Perhaps you could tell me what happened that would make you get into a row like that?>"

[Snowy_One]

Robin looked down at the floor, avoiding eye-contact. "<Not much to say really. You remember what happened when we ran into that patrol? I said it was dishonorable and wrong to kill a helpless person and got shot in the back for it by that pirate girl who wasn't even slapped on the wrist for her action and Veronika said that the pirate was right and I was being stupid and my honor was worthless in a nutshell.>"

[Phoenix]

Amon

Amon tried again.

Amon rolls 3

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204285/

MISS!

The ball seemed to be missing by a little more each time. My aim's getting worse, and it's hard to remember what to and what not to do while I'm preparing my toss. I'm not giving up though. he thought, giving the man another gold coin.

Amon rolls 2

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204289/

EPIC MISS!

"... okay that was embarrassing." he said before coughing up another gold coin. I honestly wouldn't be doing this if we weren't being paid so well for the mission. So far even with the gold adding up it's cheaper than a Vulnerary. That's good at least.

Amon rolls 5

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204291/

MISS!

"Ah you know the drill ..."

Amon rolls 4

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204292/

MISS!

The Rexian hung his head for a second before handing over another gold coin.

Amon rolls 2

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204294/

EPIC MISS!

"Argh, my arm's getting tired ... a few more goes and then I'll probably have to settle for the mid distance tower ..." he said as he handed over another coin.

Amona rolls 2

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204295/

EPIC MISS!

"Well ... since I'm just throwing balls and money around, I might as well experiment." Another coin, and the ball was returned. Amon memorized where the tower was and closed his eyes before the next throw.

Amon rolls 3

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204299/

MISS!

"Again ..." he said, a ball in exchange for a coin. Still having a basic idea of where the tower was, he turned around and chucked the ball over his shoulder in a large enough arc that the ball could potentially hit the tower.

Amon rolls 1

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204302/

ULTIMATE MISS!

He shrugged. Well, expected that much. I'll try again." And again the exchange was made. Next Amon switched to his left hand to see how that would turn out.

Amon rolls 1

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204303/

ULTIMATE MISS!

"Again ..."

Amon rolls 5

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204354/

MISS!

Another sigh. "Again." he continued using his left hand so his right could rest.

Amon rolls 4

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204357/

MISS!

Amon didn't say anything that time, he just readied another coin with a bored expression on his face. He took the ball and put it back in his right hand which hadn't fully recovered yet but he wanted to start throwing more accurately again. When he realized he was actually almost out of coins despite how many he'd brought with him for the festival, he growled a bit. "Alright, enough screwing around! I could have had a decent meal with all that gold so this prize better be worth it!" he said as he hurled the ball with fury toward the tower of bottles. Instead of aiming to knock the tower down, he threw the ball as hard as he could hoping to shatter them and the ball struck flying right through them and hitting the wall in the back with a very loud thud!

Amon rolls 6

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204366/

HIT! (would be an autohit if the whole roll was used too ... talk about redundancy)

A deep sigh of relief came and Amon staggered back a little bit, visibly tired.

Raquel and Co.

"Ah, so traveling around with the two of us must seem perfectly normal to you, then." Cat commented.

"I'm not sure I could even survive having more than one sister." Raquel added.

"Well you might one day have to."

Raquel shot her mother a shocked look. "What?!"

Cat leaned away slightly with the beginnings of a grin on her face. "You don't expect me to retire at my age, do you? Sometimes conceptions happen."

"W-w-wit-th w-who ...?"

"Well it wasn't terribly long ago, but Rodrigo and I got engaged. Why else would he be looking after Reina while I bring you here?"

Raquel almost fell over but used her hand to steady herself in the chair. "Rodrigo?! We met him a little over a week ago, and we saw him today too! Why didn't he say anything about this?!"

"He didn't find out you were my daughter until he started bragging about you while we were talking. Not only killed the mood, but I had to get down here to stop you from going through with this craziness." she explained.

"Great, just great. Dad's missing and you're making wedding plans."

"Not quite. It doesn't really matter that I'm marrying a celebrity. My second wedding isn't going to be as grandiose as I tried to make the first. I've ... gotten over those big white shiny weddings and they don't mean nearly as much to me as they did when I was your age. Now I'd just prefer to focus on having a happy marriage this time around." she said prompting Raquel to look down at the floor.

Questions

In the hallway, Gabbie and Steinn continued their discussion, this time with Steinn asking the questions.

"You are also a bit different from the kinds of humans I'm used to running into. You even speak with a unique accent. Just where is it you come from?"

She shrugged. "Wish I knew."

"You don't know? How unfortunate."

"Ehhh, it's probably some horrible memory that would reduce me into a sniveling mess on the floor if I found out so it's easy not to care about it. Sometoimes I hope I don't remember where I came from. I'm at peace with who I am today, ya know?"

"The memories of a person make them who they are, and having your old memories back could very well change you. It could be for the better or for worse, and the uncertainty of such a thing is quite troubling. I can understand and even agree with your stance on the matter. Curiosity is my bane though, so I would likely recruit a magician to extract any suppressed information from my mind. Not experiencing a memory directly has very little chance of changing someone; if I had forgotten myself, I would want to know who I was ... without becoming that person unless I so choose."

"Roight, fallen royalty. You've probably got plenty of people loinin' up to do you favors."

"I suppose. Tell me, what did you think of the Finnians?"

"The who's?"

"Siv and her two sisters Brynhildr and Svanhildr. There are other children of Borghildr but the one thing my brother and I agree on is that Bryn, Svan, and Siv are the only ones worth mentioning."

"Whyzat?"

"Brynhildr, known as the White Devil among humans. She's very young for a Matriarch. She embodies Clan Finnian's martial strength. Svanhildr, much like me she is atypical of most fallen, almost perfectly civil. Yet she embodies what I feel to be the true potential of our race, the pragmatism of both humans and fallen, the blind stupidity of neither. Siv, born specifically for the purpose of merging Clan Finnian into the royal bloodline. She is one of few fallen to undergo the particular Rite of Heresy that she did and survive at such a young age, and I respect that highly." he explained.

"So what's so bad about the Roite of Heresy that it's killin' fallen kids?" she asked crossing her arms and shifting to one leg.

"The difficulty of the Rite of Heresy depends on what type of magic the fallen is trying to gain the right to wield. At only eight years of age, she underwent the Rite of Heresy in order to learn to wield fire magic, a bane of our people, feared for its incredibly destructive and ruinous power. Learning to wield fire magic in Corvus requires one to be taught how to wield it ... while being destroyed by it, day in ... and day out."

"'Destroyed' by it ...?" Gabbie asked tilting her head.

"For every failure, the one undergoing the rite is brought to the brink of death by the very power they wish to possess. Those trying to learn fire magic are burned until their bodies are a disgusting mess and then healed in order to continue the training. It can last days, months, or even years if that's how long it takes. Once you begin the rite, you must complete it or die. Despite her appearance now, Siv has been burned beyond recognition numerous times. Learning to wield fire magic is obviously not very popular among my people, but Siv went through it for the sole purpose of proving herself a worthy wife for my brother." he explained with a slight grin and a shrug.

"... holy shit."

"She may not seem like much but I do admire her resolve."

"If that's not love, I dunno what is ..."

"Hmm, love is ... something I'm only just beginning to understand myself. Pairings among my people are often about convenience and protection. Love is something I usually only see among humans and our winged cousins."

[Mercakete]

The tower master let loose a low, long whistle after Amon's eventual victory. I earned...what? Fifteen gold off of this guy? Well, he's the only one who's beatten hard mode in a really long time. Yeah, he deserves the prize. "Have to say, that looked really tiring. You knocked down the farthest tower, though, so congradulations. ... Wow. That's still pretty amazing... Almost no one ever knocks that tower down. Well, anyway, I'll go get your prize. Just a second; it's in the back."

As he left, Gytha started saying something like words and sentenses. "HAHAHAHAHARRR! YE DID IT, AMON!! I knew ye could it that tower! HAHARRR! Ye just heaved yer arm back an' CLACK! Th' bottles were gone quick as a shot an' twice as dead! HARRHAHAHARRHARR!" And then she wacked his back and probably knocked any remaining air from Amon's lungs.

The tower master was just sort of standing there awkwardly upon his return. Gytha had fallen into one of her juvial shanties and the tower master was holding an intricately carved, little, wooden box which fit in the palm of his hand. The wood was dark and each side's carvings were depictions of Ursium's landscape while its dome lid was carved so that the outlines of pegasi and clouds were of the box's wood and underneath the carvings was clouded glass. In the back of the box was a hole and though unseen, inside the box rested a little, bronze key. There was also a simple hook-latch made of bronze on the front of the box and attached to the inside of the lid at the highest point in the dome was a small, white gem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... Well... ... Um, congradulations? I hope it works out this time." Norbert half-offered, not really sure how else to respond. She had been right, though: walking around with a couple women wasn't terrible awkward for him if only because he'd grown up with so many of them. Having three parents... That must be weird. Suddenly having another father... I can't imagine what that'd be like.

[-Cynthia-]

Veronika

"Yes, we do have important matters to discuss later after all," Veronika replied to Weyland before looking around the hall. There seemed be a young woman at the entrance, Veronika thought her a bit young to be in Weyland's service, but he did seem to surround himself with a lot of female servants so she didn't put much thought into it.

Nadya

"Aww that's nice of ya. Let me just get my magic tool here..." Nadya said, eventually pulling out a small grease pencil from her bag. Leaning over, she carefully rubbed a little after the line had ended, making it reach the soldier's wrist.

"And...done! That should ward off evil spirits and protect you for a little while. Don't forget to visit a healer if you get stabbed or shot though- I can do that too for the same low price," Nadya added courteously.

[Phoenix]

Weyland

"Right, well I'll be getting to that, then. Consolidating all of the data so it's presentable isn't going to take less than a hour and I'd rather have it done long in advance." he said before standing up from his seat. The waitress not seeing the bottle of vodka being used anymore gave Weyland an inquisitive look to which he nodded. She then took the vodka and any empty glasses just lying around nearby and left for the kitchen.

On his way out of the dining hall, he stopped by Sophia. "Miss Meredy, if you don't have any pressing matters I'd like it if you were at the conference room tonight for a meeting I'm holding." he said to her.

Soldiers

Oh how utterly convenient. the distrusting guard thought while keeping a safe distance from Luca.

"Why thank you, Miss~" he said, probably still smiling inside that helmet of his. The moment he produced his pouch and the distinct sounds of coins banging against each other caught Luca's ears, his attention went to soldier. Nadya had succeeded in getting the soldier to hand over his gold. Now he was waiting for the other one to stop acting like a jealous stallion and hand his over.

Amon

The smack to the back came as no surprise but Amon was too tired to brace himself for it and coughed afterward. When the game host returned with the very fancy box, Amon gazed at it wondering what was inside. "What is it?" he asked still surprised by the container itself. Maybe it's a gem like Gytha has ... although hers didn't come in something like this. Let's see, this is Ursium and it's a festival so what might that amount to if not a gem or food? Tickets to a show? Nonono, I did not do all that tossing for a show I'll probably have to miss anyway. Ummm ... too small for a new combat knife. Hmmm.

Raquel and Co.

"Thanks. I'm certain things will work out between us as long as we stay close."

"Isn't that a given?" Raquel muttered quietly.

"It might sound like it but I'm talking about teamwork and trust, not just lovey dubby stuff."

[Mercakete]

"Oh this? It, and a few others like it, is what I give out for first prize. It's a music box! Though this one is far more ellaborate than the ones I give out as prizes for medium or easy mode. You see," he explained as he opened the little box and pulled out the key that rested inside, "You take this key and" he closed the box and showed its back to Amon, inserting the key and turning it to wind up the box "wind it like this. Then..." opening it again, a beautiful lullaby started playing from the box. "And if you know anyone with magic, there's this little, white gem here. It looks sort of like a pearl, see? It's actually a weak seal. Put a tiny bit of magic in it and you can close the box and the music will keep playing while that little gem there glows. If you're in a little, dark room, it will look like the shadows of pegasi and clouds are all around you! This portable, little box is usually quite expensive since it's so ellaborate, so I only give ones like it away if someone can beat hard mode. It goes without saying you can store other little things in here besides the winding key, too. See, it even has a little latch on the front, so it won't just open on its own."

Gytha had actually settled down and was listening to the music box play its music. She didn't know it well enough to humm it accurately, but she did humm quietly to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norbert didn't really have much to say on the discussion. He felt sort of like a third wheel, so he just stayed alert in case they were randomly attacked since it was, unfortunately, a somewhat common occurance.

[Phoenix]

Amon

"A music box?" he echoed before the man gave a demonstration. Heeey this might actually make a nice gift. he thought with a smile. I certainly wouldn't have been able to afford this with the gold I spent normally. "T-thank you." he said humbly.

Raquel

As time went on Raquel and Cat went in and out of various subjects, both those Raquel did and didn't mind. About two hours in or so, the man from the desk was approached by a page and stood up. "Raquel Valcyn?"

"Yeah?"

"It's interview time." he said before sitting back down and gesturing toward the door on the far side of the wall opposite the door they entered in. The hall the page came from was likely connected to it by another hallway. "Just follow the arrows." he instructed before going back to desk work.

Raquel and company proceeded down the hall until they came to an unexpectedly large room that was poorly lit enough to actually resemble a trap. "Don't worry, the atmosphere of the room is just meant to shake you a bit. There's at least one person in the room that will do nothing but watch your behavior from the shadows and give their own assessment.

"So there's too people?!"

"Mmm, probably seven if I managed to spot them all last time. There's no light shining on them in there."

"Why does the government do this? I'm just applying for a few permits for Mercy's sake."

"To be fair, you're applying for permits that allow you unlimited purchasing and selling rights for the strongest modern weapons available, and if you get all of your permits, you'll be able to do this and transport them anywhere in Sardius. It's kind of a big deal, Raquel."

"Oh my gods ..." she said hanging her head.

[Rothene]

Munching on a bun, Ranyin saw Amon receiving his prize after several failed attempts to acquire it...which was only fair as that was the hardest difficulty to surpass. Curious, he walked to Amon, after Gytha had slapped him on the back and backed away slightly, to see the prize he had won.

"Nice little music box you have," said Ranyin listening to the tune. Then as an act to preemptively placate Gytha from imaginary threats, Ranyin held fort the basket of buns as far from him as possible to Gytha and asked stammering, "Want ss...s...some bunnns...Gytha?"

***

Unsure of what to actually do in the festival, now that she had her wish written down, Mireille decided to check out the gaming stands. She recognised a few faces near there...as apparently most of Weyland's guest from earlier happened to decide on going to the festival. Ignoring them fornow, she went to the juggler and removed her helmet and asked, "So is it skill that enables you to juggle so well or is it magic?"

[ReformBlade]

Stealing another bun, Sammy happily munched down on it. "Later tonight? Cool, time to enjoy the sights, maybe get into some trouble, eh? Eeeh?" Ranyin didn't seem to like that idea due to the lack of response. Or the loud crowds. Either one. "Ah well, can't rush destiny... or can you? I suppose if you named someone destiny you could rush him... her... Ahahaha, oh gosh. If you named someone Destiny, and then, and then they had a child, you would LITERALLY have a child of destiny! Bahahaa! I think I'm doing that, I'm going to name my next child Destiny, or fate or something ominous like that! And I'd be the most badass father. 'Yeah I fucking made my own Destiny, here he is!' Ahahahahaaaaa, oh gods, this is too good!" He didn't notice Gytha until Ranyin started acting weird around her. Of course, Sammy was on edge, but he tried to hide it.

[Zsword]

Zel couldn't help but oversee what Mire wrote... "I remember when I used to wish for the same thing..." He mused... "Oh... sorry, wishes are personall... I shouldn't be reading yours."

Krystal giggled as Ranyin ran off to the others, and instead wanderred her way over to the Juggling Man. "So good sir, what kind of game is this? Or do we just pay you for your juggling?" She asked with a giggle.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Still a couple hours for the meeting, huh.> John thought. <Well, so now what? I could still head to the stables to see how Gil is doing. Maybe going out to the festival isn't such a bad idea after all. Hmm...>

-----

''A meeting? Tonight? I'll be there, sir.'' Sophia answered. I wonder what will it be about. Must be important though. She thought. I guess I'll find out eventually. She then walked over to the nearest table and, once approached by a waitress, ordered some food.

[Mercakete]

As soon as he saw the room they were going into, Norbert was alert and on guard, fingers wrapped around his maces' handles so he could whip them out as quickly as he needed to. What Cat said helped a little, but Norbert wasn't about to leave safety to chance. The fact that there were multiple people hiding in the room wasn't comforting either. He would play the silent bodyguard for the time being.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, you earned it," the tower master replied with a smile at the Rexain's humility. With that and a wave, he turned to reset the milk bottles.

"Aye, thank ye," Gytha happily responded to Ranyin before taking one of the rolls of bread and began munching on it. That sure was considerate of 'im. She was distracted by the things already going on, so she didn't notice Sammy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The juggling man was wearing bright colors (though nor painfully so,) somewhat like a jester of sorts and somewhat like a mage and was standing on the stage of his booth which was basicly a stage with a red-and-white, striped, canvas roof suspended over it. Seeing as the knightess arrived first, the juggler answered her first. "Why, hello there, miss!" He changed his juggling style continuously as he spoke, very much like how some people move their hands around a lot when they talk. "Why, it is my skill! But does magic aid? Perhaps, perhaps not. Do I even practice magic? Who knows? Haha!" Around that time, an avian stepped up asking about the game and what to pay for. "Why, you may pay me for whatever you please, my dear! If you are so fond of my juggling, then by all means, leave a tip! Though if you've any ability with magic, you may enjoy paying to play my game as well!" At this point, he tossed the balls into the air, took off his hat, spun, bowed and caught the balls in his hand which was behind his back while he held out the hat to the ones before him. "If you want to pay me for my performance thus far, I'd appreciate it~ Though, I'll explain the rules of the game since rules are so sosososo sooo important to our beloved Ursium. We wouldn't want too much chaos, now would we? Or would we? This is a time for revelry, after all! Haha! Well, here are the rules anyway."

He took his hand out from behind his back and began juggling again, using only his free hand. "So, within each of these cloth-and-stuffing spheres is a special, little rune, which makes a sound when enough magical energy is applied to it. One has a weaker rune than the other two and one is the strongest of all three! Break the seal and it will make a sound and a prize will be granted you! Tell me which rune you believe to be within your capabilities and I will let you attempt to lay claim to your prize! Your time is not infinite, however, so do it quickly! Only 3 gold per game! What say you, my curious company?"

[spoiler=Rune Squawk]In-RP mechanics: The character is given a ball with a rune in it that makes a sound when enough magic is applied to it. Some runes are harder to have make sounds than others. For every burst of magic applied to the rune, 3 gold must be forfit.

Game stat: magic

Rules: There are three modes: Easy, Medium and Hard. Runes on easy mode have 5res. Runes in medium mode have 10res and on hard mode, runes have 15res. To apply magic to a rune, roll a 1d6. Add the number to the character's mag stat. If the number is greater than or equal to the rune's res, then you win with the chirping of birds or the roar of a dragon (sounds from the runes vary)! If not, then the rune resists your magic, remains silent and you lose.

Prize: ???

Cost to play: 3 gold

[Rothene]

Mireille grinned. This was a chance to test out her application of magic based on self study. Wanting to give herself a proper challenge, Mireille took out three gold coins and handed it to the juggler, "I shall try the median of the three good sir."

[Zsword]

Krystal tilted her head at the concept... she lost most of what the man had actually said in his crazy... pattern, and just gleemed the gist of what she needed to know through a little mental touch, and dropped four gold pieces into his hat. "I'd like to try the median one after her... the extra is for your perfomance..." She said as she did so.

[Mercakete]

With his hat 3 -- no, 7! -- gold heavier, the performer happily donned the cap once more. "Of course, of course! Here you are, and no cheating! I'll know, after all~" he giggled as he tossed Mireille one of the balls he'd been juggling before producing two more from under his cloak and began juggling again. "Oh, and sweet and gracious, little bird, allow me to soften your weight with this~" he sung as he tossed her a ball which also continued a median rune. "Have fun, my friends! Haha!~" And so he began dancing and juggling even more complexedly, seeming like he would drop a couple a few times only to find some way to make sure none ever touched the floor. Whether this was magic or some trick of the wrist, it was difficult to tell. Some were simply caught on his foot, however before he kicked the ball back into his routine, all the while humming an exciting, fun tune.

[Zsword]

Krystal giggled, takeing the ball in hand as she focused on it, there was a small rush of energy... then nothing...

another... and nothing.

One more, and the look of discontent on her face was tied between anger and frustation.

Another, and now she looked concerned, scared even.

On final rush and a clear note played. With a tired sigh she took out her coins and set another... 11... on the table... "Uh oh... I uh... thought I had another on me sir... uh..."

[spoiler=rolls]

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3204999/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3205001/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3205003/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3205004/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3205005/

[Rothene]

Concentrating on the ball, Mireille poured her magical might as instructed by the tomes she had been reading for the past few months...

http://invisiblecast...r/view/3204998/ 2

Fail!

Unfortunately she lacked the skill and experience of a properly trained mage to do much. But that was not stopping her. Taking out three more gold, Mireille tossed it into the hat of the gleeful juggler for another attempt...after all she was just getting started.

http://invisiblecast...r/view/3205006/ 4

Fail!

This time, the power was sufficient, but excited with her progress, Mireille let the control slip and caused the magic to dissipate harmlessly into the air. Nevermind, I have gold, I might not get another chance to exercise my magic like this anyway, thought Mireille sweating from the concentration. Flicking three more gold, Mireille set back to work.

http://invisiblecast...r/view/3205007/ 5

Almost!

Almost! thought Mireille. Again, that excited feeling broke her concentration. But neverthless, the feel of magic was getting familiar. Paying the gold needed, Mireille stared at the ball, pouring more magical power into it...but she was getting tired.

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Success!

Succeeding finally, Mireille stumbled back from the ball, cherishing the joyful moments of listening to the sound of waterfalls emiting from the ball as the seal was fed sufficient energy. Altough she had just spent twelve gold coins, the knight in white armour smiled more brightly than she had in a long time. At a same time, a slight pang of regret invaded her thoughts.

This should have been an easy task, if only father had let me be a mage from the start, thought Mireille sadly, no, such thoughts are weak, father would be happy if I became a true knight, so I shall. Mireille tightened her hold onto the lance by her side, feeding some magic into it as she strenghtened her resolve to remind herself that it was she who had agreed to be a knight, that she who had chosen not to defy her father's wishes. The imbued lance cackled slightly as sparks of electricity appeared briefly around it.

Noticing the avian nearby not having enough gold to pay up, Mireille took out a gold, as part of her status as nobility and her wilingess to undergo her entire knightly training, Mireille's father had seen fit to ensure she was well endowned with gold. Handing them to Krystal she said, "Here, this should be enough to cover what you owe the good sir."

Edited October 4, 2011 by Rothene

[Mercakete]

"Thank you, indeed, my lovely guests! I am so glad you could both complete my challenge!" he happily practically sung as Krystal's payment was finished, "Now, you'll find your rewards already in your posession. For the knightess in shining armor, an earing to keep nightmares at bay! Your slumber won't be disturbed in the slightest as you dream. And for the winged lady, an earring charmed to keep you comfortable in any temperature! Enjoy the festival and happy Ascension! Haha!~"

Indeed, an earring that looked like miniature, bronze buckler (around the size of a dime) was now in Mireille's right ear and hanging from Krystal's left ear was a little, bronze star with a bit of red coral imbedded in the center of it. Mireille's was enchanted to ward off bad dreams while Krystal's was charmed so that while she had it on, she wouldn't feel too hot or too cold in any given temperature, though it wouldn't prevent the actual effects of the climate on her body.

Edited October 3, 2011 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Amon

Turning to Gytha he asked. "So what should we do now?" I'm almost out of gold ...

Raquel

"Please, have a seat." a deep intimidating voice came from the darkness. Near the door were two rows of chairs, one to the left, and the other to the right side of the door. Caterena directed Bert to them and went over to sit herself. The seat in the spot light at the center of the room was for Raquel. It wasn't terribly far from Cat and Bert, but it would be a mad rush to prevent anything from happening to her by the time it became apparent something was wrong. Caterena seemed confident that all was well though.

As Raquel took her seat in the almost blinding spotlight, she looked around trying to spot the speaker. She had a good idea of where some of the figures were, but making out faces just wasn't going to happen. The person who had likely set up the lighting for the room was brilliant.

"Raquel Valcyn. We'll be asking you some basic questions. After which, you'll be asked to return to the waiting room. Do you understand?"

"... I guess."

"Let us begin, then. State your full name."

"Raquel Valcyn." she said without hesitation, but the instant she did, she heard something in her head that nearly made her flinch. She kept herself mostly still however and the only sign anything had happened was very slight but sudden shift in her neck as she brought her head back. I thought I heard something just now ... it sounded like I was ... being corrected.

"... and the two you brought with you. Who are they?"

She looked over her shoulder back at Cat and Bert thinking it was an odd question. Facing the general direction of the voice again, she said "The woman is Caterena, my mother. The man is Norbert, one of my ... emmmployees."

"Oh? And what does he do for you, exactly?"

"Security if and when I need it." she shot back hoping to move on.

OOC:

Will have to finish the rest of this later.