Beneath the Shadows Prologue: With a Single Step

[Rothene]

In human lands, do what a human would do, thought Caslan as he carefully wandered around Mira's back to reach the other end of the table Toqua was sitting on. So what did humans do when confronting something that disliked them? Shouldn't be much different from an elf.

Reaching the other side of the table, Caslan slammed his hands down, hoping to get Mira's attention, meaning to question her about her fear of elves. What came out was instead, "Ouch! Sheesh, this hurts more than I thought! How do you people do it?!"

Then looking around in embarrassment, Caslan looked back at Mira, trying his bets to block out the confused stares of the inn patrons from his mind the elven mage asked, "Hey, you, dwarf, what's your problem with elves?"

Edited July 27, 2013 by Rothene

[Oersted]

"Yeah, I suppose that's for the best..." Ernce said quietly. He was out of things to say so he took to looking around the inn. He saw the other desert dweller, Caslan if he remembered correctly, slam his hands on the table and cry out in pain before confronting Mira about dislike of elves. He chuckled at the fact he hurt himself by slamming his hands on the table. Heh, this could be interesting Ernce thought to himself. Worse case scenario Si'andol would get to practice her healing abilities.

[Snike]

"Understandable," Jacob said, looking back to the game when Sayina raised. "I call."

Brader chuckled as Adari drew her weapon on the latest newcomer, who drew his own blade in response . "Talk about trial by fire."

"You mean an accident waiting to happen. They shouldn't be fighting in here," Charlie responded, frowning."We're already on thin ice with the village."

[scorri]

Sayina grinned. Flipping over the next three cards, he frowned slightly, but quickly covered that up. "Hmm," he murmured, casually fingering his chips. Suddenly his eyes lit up and tossed three chips into the center of the table. "There we go. That'll do for a start."

Adari meanwhile stretched out a hand. "The name's Adari. The boss is Andre, he should be back sometime soon. He's meetin with the mayor and hopefully gettin a first job for all ya new recruits. Until he gets back, ya can sit down an talk with the others."

Toqua frowned and quickly slammed his own hand down on the table. "Alright, no fighting here. Yer comrades no reason this should come to blows. Or even arguin. Leave the lass alone for now. She's clearly not in a mood to be talkin bout this. Give 'er some space and then maybe you two can talk bout it later, ok?" Turning his back to Caslan, he placed his hand on Mira's shoulder. "Now then. Tell me what's the matter. Yer clearly not happy. You just joined the group, right? If you want ta leave, you can. Yer allowed to, but we'd all prefer if you stayed I'm sure. You clearly know how to use that hammer there. Would be a shame ta lose a warrior such as yourself."

[Snike]

The cards were flipped, and Sayina reacted for a split second. Whether that was a good reaction or a bad one, the elf raised three more chips. Now, what to do... Jacob decided to see if he could surprise the elf.

"All in," the new mercenary said, pushing all of his chips over to the pot. Now, to see how Sayina would react...

At around the same time, an armored man of just below-average stature with a well-groomed beard entered the inn and hurriedly made his way over to Adari. At his side was a well-worn sword, and strapped to his back was an axe.

"Did we get all of the recruits?" he asked the mercenary, with a frown on his expression.

[Rothene]

"Arguing? What? I just..." Caslan stumbled on his words, not prepared for a confrontation with another person. Then he hung his head down as his ears drooped slightly, "No...I didn't want to look for a fight. Just wanted to know what being an elf have to do with the dwarf hating me."

[Lyunn]

Within an instant Mira’s body snapped into position as the first pair of hands slammed against the table. The fearful look in her bright blue eyes vanishing in an instant and being replaced with a cold hateful look that contrasted heavily against her childish outburst of ‘elf germs’ earlier. Her body slightly crouched and positioned sideways with the hammer horizontally infront of her, ready to make a sideway swing at a moment’s notice. She wasn’t built like a fighter, but neither was Caslan, and he was completely open and vulnerable to a swing right now.

If it wasn’t for Toqua slamming his hand on the table immediately after she probably would have gone for the kill as well. Recognition and life flickering in her eyes at the second table slamming, Mira nearly dropped her hammer when she realized that her target and herself weren’t the only one in the room. The sound of people and movement making her blink a few times in shock, were in not for Toqua grabbing her shoulder she probably would have collapsed from the realization that she’d literally been only a second away from splattering elf brains, or at least causing severe bone breakage that would require immediate healer attention. It probably wouldn’t have been that bad if Caslan had been on guard, but judging from the looks of things the elf had decided to be confrontational without thinking things through, and he certainly didn’t seem to think a fellow mercenary would suddenly attempt to take his life in such a populated area.

“I…. I-….” She blurted out still in shock as Toqua shook her shoulder lightly, she wanted to say that she hadn’t been thinking clearly, but the fact she opted for a horizontal swing instead of the typical vertical swing in the forge, she knew full well in her head that she hadn’t acted merely out of reflex.

“Sorry” she mumbled to Toqua, unable to think of an adequate excuse. The head of the hammer making a dull ‘thunk’ as it was lowered to the ground. Her bright blue eyes suddenly disappearing behind her eyelids, Mira took in a few deep breaths before turning to Caslan and forcing a not very convincing smile. Her eyes conveying genuine hostility she usually kept concealed behind a mask of childishness. “Problem? No problem, I just want to wipe the entire elven race off the face of the planet” she declared in a sickly sweet innocent tone, her appearance returning to her usual self, but her raw emotions were still struggling to conceal themselves.

She could feel several pairs of eyes on her, but the sudden arrival of a man averted a few eyes towards the arrival and Adari.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Lyunn

[eclipse]

She is worse than I am at concealing her true motives Raelyn thought to herself. I am loathe to get my hands dirty with the likes of her, but if I must, I will. Edited July 28, 2013 by eclipse

[Bluedoom]

Rimsky noticed all the ruckus that was going on at Toqua's table. Not the best of scenes, but the dwarf girl was an insult to the dwarven race. At least she behaved like that. The elf boy wasn't making things any better, trying to slam his fist to make his resolve known. Rimsky smirked at the failed attempt; of course the boy wouldn't know much, he was still young, probably not from around here.

"What in da world is up with tha' girl? She causes so much o' a fuss!" he muttered as he watched Toqua interfere in the would-to-be fight between Caslan and Mira. He also noticed Adari and another bearded man walk in, discussing something with each other.

Rimsky was hoping for some action. Something fun to do or some work instead of watching people talk and recruits argue.

[Rothene]

Cold sweat seeped out of most Caslan pores as he felt a chill ran down his spine when he heard the bold declaration from the female dwarf.

Right, put your life on the line for your comrades, trust in them to watch your back and work together as a team or die together. That was the creed of the desert folk, where tight community and complete cooperation was crucial to surviving the unforgiving desert. As he wiped the sweat off his brow, the new arrival caught his attention.

With still shaking hands, Caslan grabbed the nearest chair and sat down, vaguely aware that this well armoured figure might be the, to him, fabled Andre leader figure the mercenary band was meant to follow. Even seated, Caslan felt all nervous again. When did the guy get here? Did he see my pathetic display of slamming the table? Should I get a drink?

"Better not Caslan," the elf muttered to himself

[Oersted]

"Damn..." Ernce accidentally said out loud, he'd honestly hoped something more interesting then that would've happened. Although Mira's hostility had him a little freaked out. Not wanting to risk be seen looking at her at the moment he quickly averted his eyes to find someone else to watch. His attention shifted to the man who had just walked in and started talking to Adari. With any luck he was Andre and they'd be leaving soon.

[Vestige]

Zeff grasped Adari's hand, and shook it firmly, "well met Adari," he said. He was going to take Adari's advice and go socialize a little, or at the very least sit down and take a breather. However, the commotion with Mira and Caslan had deterred him from doing so. If a fight broke out, there wasn't anything he would have been able to do to stop it. He turned back to Adari once more and was about to mention the escalating conflict, until he saw a well armed man enter the inn and march straight towards him and Adari, immediately addressing her about the recruitment process. It seemed this man was Andre, and he lived up to his status as first in command.

His weapons dwarfed Zeff's in comparison, and not only was he adept at using a sword, but at an axe as well! He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He sure wasn't going to go back into the hellish mess that was brewing on the other side of inn, but he didn't want to seem intrusive by listening in on the conversation. Ah well, I just finished going through hell, the worst he'll do is tell me to go away. He decided to stick around and maybe introduce himself to the commander. Hopefully he doesn't ask me what I'm good at...

[scorri]

Sayina grinned. "Oh, I'll call that alright." He pushed the rest of his chips into the center, flipped the last two cards over, and then tossed his hand down onto the table. "Now it's your turn."

Toqua frowned. "Hey there missie. Where's all this hate coming from? Yer allowed to have your views, but that... That's a lot of hate fer someone as young as you. Look. We wanna accept you here. But you canna go around alienating that many people and not expect some lash back. Things will be ok. I promise that, but yer gonna need to figure out some things and sooner is better than later."

Adari had been reading through the contracts one last quick time and didn't even bother looking up as Andre walked over to her. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. We've got some interesting ones, but we've got our numbers back ta full strength. Ya got us our job I'm assumin?"

[Snike]

Well, shit. That didn't work out as planned. Sayina had a full house. He had lost again Jacob was about to reveal his junk hand when...

"More like the job is coming to us," Andre said, before raising his voice as he turned to the rest of the inn. "LISTEN UP, MERCS, OLD AND NEW! I'M ANDRE, AND WHILE IT'D BE NICE TO GET TO KNOW YOUR NAMES, WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME. GRAB YOUR WEAPONS AND ARMOR, AND BE OUTSIDE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. IT'S TIME TO KILL SOME BANDITS."

"Looks like we'll have to take this up later," Jacob said, as he dropped his cards and picked up his leather armor and lance. Day 2 and he was already on his first job. Hopefully the pace would only go faster from here.

Brader took one last pull from his tankard, and picked up his trusty axe. Slowly, he and a silent Charlie made their way to the door.

[Lyunn]

Seeing as how everyone else she’d come across had been so eager to defend the dirty elves of the world Mira wasn’t all that surprised when Toqua too began lecturing her on how she needed to be more accepting of the elves, but the chances of her conceding that she’d even contemplate the idea was preposterous. She’d sooner strip down to her knickers and hand Adari all her possessions in exchange and starve to death in the wild then get along with those demons.

Having dealt with all the lecturing though, she was able to maintain a bit more calmness as she turned contemptful eyes to Toqua. “Just means they’ve done enough to warrant this much hate from someone as young as me” she stated calmly back, her voice however trembled as she spoke giving away how she was trying to control herself. “Just let me get a bit of loot from a job or two and I’ll get out of your hair. As for lash back…… there’s only one person I care about in this world, and one place I care about, and I’ve made sure both are far, far away.” Her eyes flickered briefly towards Caslan presence which she'd been trying to ignore. Briefly threatening him with her eyes as if daring him to inquire about them, but the elf seemed occupied with something else now."

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Mira stood still for a few seconds before looking up at Toqua with a smile and playful eyes. The coldness from her voice finally disappearing, she noticed Ernce glancing her way, but he was only one of many and she didn’t really pay it any heed. “Anyway, that’s the big boss guy right?” she asked looking over at Andre who she was seeing properly for the first time. He’d been out when she’d applied, and he was already gone when she awoke earlier that day. “Looks tough, who’d be stronger in a fight, you or him?” she asked smiling.

Clearly not in the mood to explain herself or even talk about her hatred towards the elves. She figured that while mercenaries wouldn’t be the most manner oriented people around, they’d have some sort of unwritten rule about prying too deeply into someone’s past. Fortunately Toqua wasn't even given that chance as the 'boss man' suddenly roared out that they were leaving. "Guess I can finally start working to get out of here" she whispered under her breath.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Lyunn

[Bluedoom]

Noticing that Andre and Adari had begun discussing about the recruits, Rimsky decided to strike a convo with Zeff, who seemed clueless as to what he was to do now. Rimsky sure as hell didn't want to go to the commotion at Toqua's table, he figured Toqua would handle them alright.

...and as he walked up towards Zeff, he heard Andre yelling to everyone about how they were to face bandits immediately. Rimsky was pumped up for this. He was definitely bored sitting around in this inn. "Hoho, guess its time fer mah first job as a mercenary! This ought ter be fun!" he mumbled as he made haste and talked to Zeff for a bit.

"Yeh've got guts, I'll be. Is that all yeh need for combat, dat sword of yers? Then yeh better head outside quick. Name's Rimsky, what's yers?" he said, handing out his hand for a handshake. He left his sack at a storage place near the entrance, so he was to head over there to retrieve it.

[scorri]

Toqua cursed. "Look, lass, we'll continue this later. BOSS I'M GOING TO GO SCOUT 'EM!" Grabbing his axe, he raced outside to the stables where he quickly released Sayina's horse, Adari's horse, and then jumped on the back of Serath. Nudging her, he directed her outside where she proceeded to jump into the air and glide off in the direction of the bandits. He grinned. There was nothing quite like flying wyvern-back just before a battle.

Sayina meanwhile calmly placed his cards down. "It seems that we must place our games on hold. Go, be ready. Be careful out there though. I can only heal so many at a time. I would not like to see you get killed on your first day." Calmly picking up the staff that he had rested against his chair, he picked up his cloak and casually tossed it over his shoulders before walking out and grabbing both his and Adari's horses. Clearly this was something that he and Toqua had done before.

Adari grinned at Andre. "Oh, trials by fire. I remember mine in this group. Those bandits were tough too. So, what do you think, we let these guys take care of the main group while we hunt looters? It'll be a good way to test their abilities. Leave, say Sayina with them to hopefully prevent any of them from dying?" She checked to make sure her sword was belted tightly on before swinging a quiver with her bow and arrows in it over her shoulder. "Besides, it would almost be too easy if we did all the work."

[eclipse]

It's time to leave Raelyn mused. She didn't quite have enough data, but it would have to do. I'm not sure if I trust that dwarf girl. On one hand, she's honest enough, but on the other. . she seems unstable. Like, the kind that might snap and run if things got bad. I may not have left a sunny impression on everyone, but there will be more than enough time for that. I believe Andre said bandits. I've heard my share of stories about them. This should be interesting. With that, Raelyn quietly left her corner and went outside. Edited July 28, 2013 by eclipse

[Rothene]

An attack? So soon? Seeing the enthusiasm in the veteran mercenaries, Caslan stood up as quickly as he can, not wanting to look bad, nearly losing his balance as his legs started shaking slightly at the prospect of fighting. He had encountered desert tribes attempting to fight over water sources before, but his father when present generally told them off with offerings of his services in providing the weaker tribe with the location of another water source.

Unfortunately, Caslan was neither brave enough or as experienced to make that kind of negotiation to placate bandits. Besides, there seemed to be plenty of water outside the desert. The elf also could not feel any of the so called thrill of battle singing in his blood that the human desert tribes speak of when preparing for battle. All there was in his gut feeling was butterflies struggling to escape from his stomach and a desperate need to answer nature's call.

Making sure his tome was at hand, Caslan considered what he was about to do. Yes, brilliant idea charging into battle alone.

With that in mind, the elven mage paused to look at the others. Some seemed to be moving along, so Caslan headed straight to the stables to retrieve Joey, hoping by then the others would be ahead of him.

[Eail]

Erebus had a slight flush on his face at the compliment about his skills, he knew there was really no basis for such a thing, Chandra hadn't seen him perform the slightest bit of magic. Nevertheless it was always nice for someone to make you feel better about yourself with a compliment or two thrown your way. Before he really had time to say anything back the Mira incident suddenly exploded into existance. Even if the Elves certainly had no love lost for Erebus due to his magical practices, he still didn't want to wish death upon the entire race.

Giving a sigh, rather than getting involved with the situation Erebus simply went back to his stew. Of course, it wouldn't be a fun day unless that was interrupted too now wouldn't it? At the mention of bandits approaching, the dark mage couldn't help but have a smile appear on his face. "Well then... it appears my problem may have just been solved temporarily~. Apologies for not managing to finish the stew Chandra... but maybe I can keep you entertained with a show of skill instead." Easing out of the booth he and Chandra were seated at, he approached the two in charge of their little band.

"So Boss... Would you mind terribly if I got to... cut loose, in this little battle we seem to have found ourselves in?" Grin never leaving Erebus's face as he asked his superiors.

[Oersted]

"Well looks like there's finally some action," Ernce said to himself as he checked that all his belongings were on him. He was wearing his armor, having not taken it off yet, and his lance was leaning against the wall were he had waited in line. After he retrieved his lance and made it outside Ernce took in his surrounding like he'd been trained to do. The village was somewhat crowded with houses but there was still plenty of room to move around if he needed to. He'd show the bandits what he could do; he wasn't away on a scouting mission this time!

As he surveyed the area he spotted Mira running out of the inn looking none too pleased. She wasn't even really paying attention to her surroundings which was dangerous in just about any situation. She was paying so little attention she nearly bowled him over, but then again it could have been intentional for all he knew. Against his better judgment Ernce grabbed her arm as she walked passed him; the last thing he needed was a guilty conscious if she died because she was careless. "Hey Mira," Ernce began. "I know you're probably mad at well, just about everyone in Andre's company but you still need to watch yourself."

Ernce sighed; he sounded just like his old man. "Look, I'll stick by you if I can; I don't need someone dyin' on my first mission as a merc. Believe it or not, despite your first impressions on the others I'm sure they don't want you dead either. Maybe."

[Lyunn]

After seeing Toqua dart out, Mira shrugged her shoulders and calmly headed for the door. Unlike the others who’d been relaxing, she’d already had her weapon poised for battle and hence was in no real hurry to get her gear together. After mumbling something under her breath about wanting to kill elves instead of bandits she couldn’t help but wonder what bandits were doing in such a rural place, but then again, why they were here didn’t matter, and it wasn’t her place to try and work out such things anyway.

Seeing a few others to run ahead, she let out a sigh before breaking into a light jog, figuring that she didn’t want to fall too far behind and have her share of the loot reduced. Contrary to what others might have thought, she was paying attention. Very close attention to those around her. Keeping a fair few feet away from any elves, if one so much as bumped against her right now there was no telling what she’d do. Her attention was on the elves, and hence, while she did acknowledge the presence of Ernce at one stage, her attention quickly left him, not considering him important enough to care about.

But apparently the man had other ideas, and after being grabbed out of nowhere, a flicker of irritation passed her face for a moment before she stopped and turned to smile at the man. She had nothing against humans, but if this man thought now was a good time to lecture her about racism then she was going to drop her hammer on his little toe and run off.

“Mad? I’m not mad at anyone” she said innocently, thinking her words over before shaking her head. “Besides the bread lady, hopefully she gets stabbed or something” she added thoughtfully, trying to run over the faces she’d come across. She didn’t really hold any animosity against any non-elf. And ‘mad’ was too weak an expression to describe her feelings towards them.

Hearing the offer that Ernce would watch out for her did improve her mood initially, but she suddenly paused, raising an eyebrow, “And what do I have to give you?” she asked thinking back into her past. “Papa told me to be careful of men that act nice for no reason.” Ernce had mentioned how he didn’t want anyone dying, but that was hardly a benefit. On the contrary Ernce had more to gain from people dying, though how much loot they’d get from this was questionable.

[Rothene]

By the time Caslan got the the stable, he noticed the other mercenary who went out first had already began flying off. Seeing the massive wyvern take to the skies, Caslan looked at the rider with envy. Must be really nice to fight from such a safe vantage point, thought the teenage elf as he completely disregarded the dangers of not knowing how to safely handle a mount in the sky.

It was plenty difficult to survive a fall from an airborne mount to get up stronger.

After reaching Joey, a deep brown gelding, as the horse was too temperamental during its days as a stallion the elven mage freed the reins before leading it out of the stable. Everytime Caslan thought about the horrible deed done to the horse, something the breeder said was a necessity and also a key factor to the horse living longer, Caslan could not help but feel sorry for the animal. It had been stripped of its reproductive rights, no longer able to sire anymore young. Such a fate was something no elves desired as it seemed in the blood of elves to raise a well-cared for family.

By all rights, Joey should have hated its breeder and perhaps customers like Caslan who help encourage the breeders to practice such a diabolical act, yet here the gelding was, reliable and obedient not shying away from where Caslan led it, even if it might be to slaughter.

The thought of hatred then made the elf think of another individual. That female dwarf, why does she hate elves so much? Could elves have indeed did something horrible to her. But while Joey seemed to have forgiven its breeder or perhaps given up on the hate, the dwarf had let it simmer and boil. Maybe that was the difference between a domesticated animal and an untamed free spirited sentient being, the freedom to hate with passion.

All Caslan could hope for was he would not be scalded by that hatred while he stayed in the band. Interesting things I think about and contemplate while away from home, no wonder it is tradition to leave.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Rothene

[Vestige]

Zeff was saved from his awkward position by a man who went by the name of Rimsky. As he met Rimsky's hand for the offered handshake, he spoke "I'm Zeff, nice to meet you Rimsky. Though it seems like we'll have to cut our pleasantries short for now. You go on ahead, I'll take only a moment to get ready". Leaving Rimsky to his own devices, Zeff took a short moment to think.

Alright. I knew this was going to happen, it just happened sooner rather than later. No big deal. I've had a little bit of practice, and I'm not the only one here. All I need to do is pick my fights wisely and I'll come out alive. Unlike some of the other members of his new mercenary group, Zeff had no serious armor to don. It wasn't out of recklessness, rather, just the opposite. He had difficulties keeping up his energy as it was, armor would just weigh him down to the point where he would just collapse on the ground after one measly fight. He had only two pieces which to wear, his pristine white coat, and the metal glove hidden within its coverings.

He took his sword and scabbard off his back, and placed them on the ground. He had gotten it custom made, and though there were no redeeming qualities, it's slender build gave Zeff the ability to swing it with ease. That was much better than not swinging a sword at all. He unraveled his coat and smoothed out the creases where he could before putting it on. It gave Zeff a comforting feeling and reminded him a little of home. Next was his true prized possession--his metal glove. However, he had refused to wear it in the would-be fight against Adari, and he still wasn't going to wear it now. Bandits be damned if he was going to all out on them.

Picking up his sword and glove, he walked outside while mounting his sword onto his back once more.

[Oersted]

Ernce groaned to himself; he didn't have time for this. Bandits were coming and he needed to be ready for them. The problem was that didn't know what to say to her question since, at the moment, he didn't want anything other than her safety. He knew that saying "nothing" wouldn't work either because, since she was asking him what she had to give him, she likely didn't believe that was the case. He knew that the longer he mulled over what to say the less time he'd have to prepare so he decided to make a sacrifice or two.

"I'd like to say nothing," Ernce began. "But I know you won't accept it no matter what so for all intensive purposes you owe me one. However, before this area becomes a battlefield I'd like to tell you something." Ernce glanced around to see if anyone was nearby. When he was satisfied that no one was, he began speaking in a low voice. "I served in the Celisian military for about a year before I quit. I quit, no I deserted actually, because both of my parents were killed by bandits while I was out on a scouting mission and I was powerless to protect them. I don't want someone to die if I can help it. Unless if they're bandits of course; then they deserve to die."

Ernce sighed; he'd hoped that he could've gone longer without telling anyone about his past in detail. "I want you to never speak of this to anyone. That's what you have to give me; the promise that you won't tell anyone about how I'm a fugitive and that they could turn me in for an award. Never tell anyone, I'm trusting you with this. Don't mess it up." With that Ernce turned around and looked around for any cover that they could use. "What remains to be seen is how long this will take to bite me in the ass," he chuckled as he looked around even though he couldn't see anything to use as cover.

Edited July 28, 2013 by Oersted