Beneath the Shadows Chapter One: Ancient Fears

[Ether]

As her opponent began his rush, Aina observed him as he approached... he appeared to be going for a full power strike... which was likely not the best of ideas considering the difference in their weaponry, but she was sure that Zeff had some sort of plan up his sleeve. Seeing the expression of exertion adorn the man's face, Aina braced herself for a hard blow, as their weapons clashed...

... it certainly hadn't been quite what she had been expecting. She had felt the hit on her blade but it had barely even moved the thing against her brace... perhaps the man was simply attempting to lull her into a false sense of security, to strike at full force when the time was right... it would certainly make him a good actor, mere moments ago she was sure he was preparing his all.

No time to dwell on such things, however. Taking a step back, and out of Zeff's range, Aina pressed her counterattack, launching a hard vertical swing at her opponent.

[Nanami Touko]

Linn watched wide eyed, smiling, enjoying the intensity of the fight. The man had charged, and smashed his sword into the woman's. This is where her enthusiasm started to falter, as the clash was very unsatisfactory. I guess they're just newbies...or at least the man is. Oh well...hmm. She started thinking, and tried to quietly flip through her tome. This could make things more interesting. She giggled, and chanted some words under her breath. Suddenly, a blast of wind shot into the man's side! She hoped it would knock him away from the woman's incoming vertical attack. There, now it's fun again!

Edited August 29, 2013 by I have opinions

[Vestige]

Zeff was astonished, he had put his full force into the swing, and yet Aina's sword stayed as steady as ever. This was going to be a battle he would lose, that much he was sure of. Now the question is, how well he could cover up his incompetency. Lost in thought, he was taken aback by Aina's quick back-step and forward swing. He didn't have the time required to react accordingly. If he threw his sword up to defend, it would probably be thrown away from his grip or just break all together. If he tried to dodge, he'd most certainly get hit.

With no time left, and no better options, he stood his ground and prepared for impact. Though the impact he felt was not quite what he was expecting. A strong force pushed at his side, and it surprised him so much that he lost his balance and fell over to the side. It was the strangest thing, but he took the opportunity and scrambled away from Aina. Though, upon becoming upright again, he realized his sword had been flung away from him. Bewildered, he started to look for it so that he could return to the battle.

[Ether]

Zeff looked like a deer caught in the headlights, as Aina brought her sword down. The man gave what looked like a brace, before simply falling over and dropping his own sword, managing to dodge Aina's incoming blow... somehow.

"Aye... Zeff... what was that?" She asked, somewhat confused... this was a little much for a clown act.

[Vestige]

Locating his sword, he went over to pick it up. "Uh, I'm not quite sure really. I guess I was blown away by your superior swordsmanship," he said with a grin. The sheer ridiculousness of what had happened lifted his spirits a little and momentarily caused him to forget what had been plaguing him for days on end. The joke was awful no doubt, but it was all he could come up with on such a short notice.

[Ether]

"Heheh..." Aina chuckled a tad at his little joke... it had certainly looked like he had been literally shoved to the side. Still, something concerned her about what had went down. Sheathing her sword and walking over to the man, she looked Zeff right in the eye... only one of them, of course.

"Zeff, I want you to punch me, square in the chest. Hard as ya can." She stated directly to the man, as she took in a deep breath and braced herself. This would confirm or deny her thoughts from earlier.

[Xinnidy]

"Bahaha! Never wasting a moment, these two." Alfonso spoke, watching Linn hurry ahead, and Aeson follow suit shortly after. He didn't want to leave the pegasus rider alone, why not wait for proper introductions before finding out who they're working with? Nevertheless, Alfonso kept looking towards the inn's general direction, keeping hold of his horse's reins, just for readiness and to keep her in sight.

Shortly after, people went and came from the inn and already there was a small crowd, with two people in the center, holding their weapons out. "... Xane, was it? Any of these fellows belong to your group? Hah, I'd be excited to know, they seem like the kind of people that can get their spirits fit for battle, that's a nice trait!" He said. Eventually, he also noticed Aeson and Linn again, watching in the small crowd this time, speaking with somebody new. Seems they've wasted no time getting acquainted, lucky them!

The battle seemed to be pretty simple, the man's stance awfully unsure even past his first strike. Why, Alfonso really wish he'd just barge in and tell the guy one or two things about fighting spirit! Well, for the time being, he'd satisfy himself watching the spar from a distance.

[Nanami Touko]

Linn was giggling madly. Unable to hold herself at the terrible joke the man had made, she burst into glorious laughter. She then walked forward, holding her sides. "Sorry! Ahahaha, sorry, sorry!" Attempting to compose herself, she got a few more laughs out of her system, and sighed. "Hello! That little joke was my fault. I'd apologize, but it seems to have caused the intended affect! My name's Linn Meneth, pleasure to meet you both!" What a wonderful day today is. I got to prank someone, and I didn't even get in trouble for it! They seem like such nice people too! What a wonderful day~

Edited August 30, 2013 by I have opinions

[Oersted]

Ernce sat alone at one of the tables in the inn, munching on some bread as more of a pass-time than a need to eat. With everyone, to some degree at least, affected by Brader's death no one felt like socializing that much and it was starting to get on his nerves. At first all the gloom and doom was fine, he'd gone through the same thing with the news of his parent's deaths, but somewhere during the second day is when it lost its charm. Not to mention Mira had apparently run off and he was now more than ever regretting his decision to tell her something of that magnitude. Maybe if she was still around it'd be less gloomy. Then again they'd probably have been kicked out with how loud and disruptive she'd been the first day.

His attention shifted from that topic when he noticed Zeff and... Aina, if he recalled correctly, heading towards the door with their swords. It was the first time he'd seen Zeff doing more than retrieving meals since he'd brought him back with Caslan, who he hadn't seen much of either after he'd gone to his room after eating the somewhat stale bread Caslan had offered him. "Just what are those two doing, going out in the rain when it's nearly dark?" He would have followed them to see what they were doing, but he'd rather not get soaked to the bone just to watch them cross swords.

Thankfully he could see them from of one of the nearby windows. Moving to a table closer to the particular window he began to watch the amusing spar between Zeff and Aina. Unsurprisingly it didn't last long. Zeff, Ernce assumed it was because of the wet ground, slipped and managed to dodge Aina attack yet lost his sword in the process. "He's lucky that didn't happen three days ago," Ernce thought to himself, not entirely thrilled with the thought. "At least he's not moping anymore."

Edited August 30, 2013 by Oersted

[scorri]

Xane had been watching the proceedings going on outside the inn with an interested eye. He could only assume that these two were part of the group that he intended to hire. However, his slight grin quickly turned into a frown at the sight of Linn interfering with the battle. He was about to go talk to her when Alfonso interrupted his thought process. "Huh? Oh, I uh, can only assume that these two are part of Harrop's Harriers. I have actually never met any besides Lucielle here. If you'll excuse me?" Riding up to Linn, he stared down at the elf maid with a frown on his face. "Linn. If you are in fact going to be hired by me, you should never do such a thing again. Interrupting a sparring bout like that is no small thing. You could have accidentally injured one of them and you ruin the point of the bout by doing such a thing." Turning to Aina and Zeff, he bowed in his saddle. "I apologize on her behalf." Sliding off of Silverwing's back, he tied her to one of the posts in front of the inn, under the shelter of an overhang. Turning to Lucielle, he asked, "Your leader is inside?" At her nod, he walked in, slowly sliding the hood down off his head. Walking over to a table where a half-dwarf and nomad woman were talking, he bowed. "Judging by the description that Lucielle gave me, you must be Andre and Adari. My name is Xane. Beyond that, who I am is not important. What is important is that I have a job for you."

Adari had turned at the sound of footsteps and found herself facing a young half-elf man. He was clearly just out of his teenage years and was quite serious faced. Stepping back so that she was standing at Andre's shoulder, she watched the proceedings with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Rayil had been quietly watching the duel going on outside, but when a newcomer strode into the inn, he quickly turned to watch him instead. As the newcomer proclaimed that he had a job for them, Rayil couldn't help but gulp nervously. He knew that this was what he had signed up for, but it just all seemed to be moving so quickly. He quietly leaned forward, hoping to overhear more details.

Sayina nudged Toqua. "Looks like we've got a job on our hands." "Good. We need ta get out o' this town. Too many memories. The newbies can't handle." Toqua gruffly brushed a hand across his face as he said this. Sayina smiled gently at his friend. Right. The new members. Oh my dear friend...

[Nanami Touko]

"Yes, sir," she said, her happiness dwindling back down to simply being content. But she kept a smile, because she knew he was right. Not that she didn't trust herself to not hurt anyone, but mistakes could always happen! She didn't really care about the point of the bout though, it was raining and the man was clearly outmatched. He wasn't going to learn much from someone so much better than him just by swinging his sword at her. Linn, you're just assuming things again. What do you know about swords? She then turned to the pair, smile remaining, "I apologize again for that, you two, sincerely! I think it'd be best if we get back inside, this rain's beginning to get a bit annoying." She hopped after Xane, leaning herself on a wall inside.

Edited August 30, 2013 by I have opinions

[eclipse]

"Uh, nice to meet you," Raelyn started. She shook her head as the elf went back inside. She seems a bit too playful. Let's hope she doesn't turn out to be the second coming of the psycho dwarf girl. Rather than focus on someone who'd already left, she turned her attention back to the priest. "Aeson, was it? Your companion is certainly. . .full of energy. I'd hoped to learn a bit more about my own group, but I somehow find out more about Linn than them! Is she normally this. . .enthusiastic?"

[Vestige]

She wants me to punch her? Why would sh-Oh I see...Zeff wanted to avoid having to punch Aina not only because it didn't seem right to do such a thing, but because he could guess what she had to gain from him doing such a thing. Before he could think of an adequate response to her request, the girl who was standing next to Raelyn burst into a fit of laughter, and walked over to introduce herself. She was an elven girl who reminded him a little of Caslan. Judging from her reaction, and the reaction of the man who had rode up on the horse to chide her, it seems she was the cause of the burst of wind that had knocked him over earlier.

"It's no trouble really, in fact, I think she may just have saved me from an embarrassing moment." He turned to Linn, "you have my thanks," he said. The rain was starting to get to him, and he felt chills through his body. He began to wonder why he even agreed to a sparring match outside in this kind of weather. Though, he had to owe it to Aina. The recent events had uplifted his mood a little, and it was a great feeling. He started to think back to the events of the battle, but quickly shoved the thought out of his mind. If he was happy, he was going to try to prolong it as much as possible. Still, what he couldn't push past his mind was Aina's last request. He was sure she had him figured out, but if he was right, she herself was unsure about it. The punch was to make certain of any assumptions she may have obtained during their brief session. He had to be careful of these sparring matches from now on. At least until he could find a way to recover his glove.

Turning back to Aina, he spoke, "Well, I suppose I should thank you. I'm feeling a little better now, thanks to you. As for that punch you wanted, sorry, but I'm feeling a little tired right now, and this blasted rain is starting to bother me. Perhaps we can have a brawl instead of a duel sometime, hm?" He smiled one of his fake merchant smiles at her.

He decided to follow Linn and the others back inside, he'd rather not be left alone with Aina. Lest she ask him once more for that punch. "Hey, you said your name was Linn, correct? I'm not sure I introduced myself, I'm Zeff. That was quite the trick you pulled back there. A mage I assume?" It was only now that he was beginning to feel the effect of having been out in the rain for such a long time. He started to shiver a little as he awaited a response. Maybe I should go change... He didn't really want to go back into his room anymore. Being alone was sure to kill his mood, but he'd rather not get sick. He put it in the back of his mind for the time being and tried to stop the chattering of his teeth as best he could.

[Ether]

"Normally I'd be pretty damn pissed about you interfering with our spar, but it looked like he mighta taken that one head first if you hadn't knocked him outta the way." Aina replied, as the mage girl came clean... one of the watchers, but Aina didn't recognize her.

Following after the others as they went inside, Aina's thoughts drifted back to Zeff... the man was certainly peculiar, and she supposed with how little he had been out the last while, it might explain the lack of power in his blow, but she wasn't convinced... why hide it though, is the question?

"I could buff 'im right up if he'd tell me." Aina muttered to herself, not really caring if anyone else heard.

[Parrhesia]

Malachi felt uncharacteristically tense.

He wasn't generally the kind of person to take things hard - really, he had a gift for breezing through life. But ... between deaths, desertions and an increasing dearth of experience in the group, Mal figured sooner or later, he was going to have to step up to the fact that, purely by comparison, he was already starting to stand into the role of 'seasoned warrior'.

He wasn't certain he was ready for that. Not yet, at least.

One day, though... and Mal could feel it was close, practically breathing down his neck... one day it was going to happen. More bloodshed. More death. And Mal, with his brief militia tenure and still shorter stint as a mercenary, nonetheless felt a hardened veteran next to some of these ill-seasoned boys and youths, still scared of blood and terrified of their own weapons.

He'd been watching the fight with a detached air. Even now, though, he couldn't help but feel Zeff needed to harden up or ship out. He wasn't alone, either.

Mal muttered an excuse, quietly unfolded off his chair and stepped upstairs to his room.

[Nanami Touko]

She pulled his hand out, and gave it a shake. "That's me. I'll try to not make a habit of it, really, I wasn't thinking at the time. If one of you had been seriously hurt by that then I doubt I'd be as jovial." She gave a shrug and shook her head a little. "It's just what happens when I let curiosity get the better of myself! 'What would happen if I did this to that person, what would happen if I used this magic on that object', etcetera..." Through her talking she'd noticed the man was shivering a little. "Are you cold, Zeff? You sure you shouldn't put on some dry clothes? I mean, I'm sure I should too, but this hood's rather thick so I'm not too bothered."

Edited August 30, 2013 by I have opinions

[Vestige]

She had a point. For all his reluctance to go back, it wouldn't do him well to get sick. Taking his leave, he went to his room. He changed into a black tee and slipped a new pair of pants on. His hair was still wet, but he wasn't too concerned about that. It would air dry, given some time. He laid out his wet clothes on the chair so that they could dry, and he went and sat down on his bed. Running through his memory of the conversation that occurred in the room earlier that day, he recalled what Aina said about the death of another.

It could have been me...

I need to make up for him not being here anymore...

It had only been a few days since the battle, and the scenes were still quite fresh in his mind. Erebus, the dark mage who had fiendishly killed a man through extraordinary amounts of unneeded aggression. And then he himself, taking the life of the bandit. What bothered him wasn't the fact that he necessarily killed the bandit, because Aina was right about that. It could have very well been him, and he was thankful to be alive. But it was the uncertainty of whether he, given enough time, would end up like Erebus. He shuddered at the thought.

Brader's passing however had caused the entire company's mood to become foul. He was a veteran that a lot of people had looked up to. Returning back to Aina's comment, he wondered if maybe he could one day act as the same type of veteran to the new members who might one day be in his own shoes. Facing the same emotional turmoil he had been facing for the last few days. Perhaps that was something to strive for. He picked up his glove that he had left on the bedside table, running his thumb around the area that the lance had pierced. His first order of business was to get better at combat. The reason he had joined this mercenary band was not to prove his worth, but rather to gain it. He would succeed in his mission--he had to. Otherwise, the time he would spend in this band would be meaningless and wasted. Looking back at his glove, he realized he had pressed into it so hard, that part of the metal had dented a little. It was a clear sign, not of Zeff's strength, but the lack of the glove's. He sighed. He didn't know the first thing about magic. So how was he supposed to go about fixing this? He only hoped he could get his hands on some books sooner or later. Perhaps he could glean some information from the mages he had become acquainted with as well.

All of these things that he needed to do--to accomplish made him forget about the troubles he had been having earlier. For now, his mind was occupied with the future, rather than the past. He got up from his bed and returned his glove to it's place and exited his room. It was time to make up for Brader's lack of presence, and there was no better time to start.

[Nanami Touko]

He's a nice guy...hope he takes care of himself. Linn took her own advice and took off her hood. It was fairly soaked, and the water had made it threw to her dress's shoulders, but it would dry soon. The inn was warm enough. She hung it up on a rack near the entrance and took her place back on the wall. "I hope the beds are nice here. Excuse me, miss," she said in Aina's direction, "have you been here a while? Just curious about the inn. Maybe we could even chat while your friend gets himself changed."

[Ether]

"S'about as good as you'd expect." Aina replied, when asked about the quality of the inn itself. She seemed the rather jovial type, unlike Aina... still, she wasn't opposed to that sorta thing.

"Been here a few weeks or so."

[Nanami Touko]

"A few weeks, my, my. Work must be a bit slow? I guess a break must be nice once in a while, though. This place must be good if you can stay here for so long and not be bothered by it! Oh, I'm Linn, like I said before. You are?" She extended her hand to the woman.

[Ether]

"We were recruiting here, and gave the new men time to arrive... and we lost a man in our last job, so we've been taking some time." Aina replied somewhat sourly... an amendment to her thoughts earlier... jovial types weren't bad, so long as they were jovial at the right times.

"My name is Aina."

[Shin]

"She certainly is, I often wonder where it comes from, I wouldn't mind getting some of it for myself." Aeson joked, his companion was always looking for the next big adventure, even when there wasn't one to be found. "She's the kind to take interest in everything she sees, which is good. Learning about the people and the world around you can help you find your true calling in life."

The priest looked over at the two fighters, there seemed to be no harm done - the odds were that they were probably allies just practicing.

"Have you not been with these people long?" Aeson asked. "Forgive me for assuming you were so."

[Nanami Touko]

"O-Oh, I...sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward, then." She scratched the back of her head and her smile faded. Trying to bring herself back up, she tried to change the subject back to the women. "Aina, then. I'd like to know soemthing. You seemed to have a good relationship with that Zeff man, I doubt you've known each other for less than the week you've stayed here."

Edited August 31, 2013 by I have opinions

[Ether]

"Zeff joined up right before our last job... he seemed to be taking it pretty hard so I wanted to try and cheer 'im up... but I wonder about him..." Aina replied when Zeff came up.

[Nanami Touko]

Linn paused for a moment, before asking the question, "do you think we should go see him then, try to cheer him up again? He seemed alright when he was last down here, but if he's taking it as hard as you say, perhaps he needs some more."