Masquerade Part 1: Evil Dead

[Nanami Touko]

Astonishment

"Raith, quiet, I am actually talking to your dragon right now. This is not a joke." She was either having a very feverish dream, or she'd found that magical liquor that could get her drunk in seconds. She came to the conclusion there was no way this was happening. Might as well have some fun with this while I can. "[You'll have to forgive my inability to believe this is happening. How would you feel if-- well a snake is talking to you, so I guess that's out of the window.]" She took a deep breath, pinched herself, slapped her face a little too hard and said "Ow". "[Yeah, those are all possible. At this point I'd believe any of them. Hey, what's it like to fly?]" Might as well get the good questions out of the way.

Explanation

"Oh, right, boss is out so it's my job. We're going to fight those bandits. Or at least try to find them and then fight them. Something about a fort deep in the woods. Shouldn't be too much of a problem with the two of us there, eh?" He nudged the man's arm, laughing. "Well, I-I mean, what does she like? You've known her your whole life, right? Or close enough to. I figured you'd know." As they spoke, Valha returned. He wanted to ask her what she'd done, but felt it would've been rude to ignore Lanos like after asking him a question. "Anyway, yeah, just stuff like that, if you know. You do know, right? I'd be surprised if she never told you over all those years."

Bickering

"I'll stay here." She seemed rather confused about his question. "I mean, Hilda takes relatively good care of me, and it's not like I'm helpless. I think I've learned my lesson on trusting others, as well, so you don't have to worry about something like that, gramps." Satisfied with her answer, she turned to the bird woman that had come over, asking about the boss. "Probably at the front of the village making out or something. Far enough away that none of you could interrupt them. Raith did say he was into older, beautiful women. She fits one of those categories, right?" Vriska snickered. "But you've got wings, you could probably find them fairly easily if you wanted to. Seems like it'd be a pretty good piece of blackmail."

Edited January 24, 2014 by I have opinions

[Baldrick]

Joel opened his mouth to form a counter-retort, then stopped. "Good. You should stay away from shady characters." He fell silent for a moment, staring into his mug. "Valha, what did you want her for, anyway? If it's anything to do with tomorrow, Ingverd might know."

Edited January 24, 2014 by Baldrick

[Oersted]

Lanos took a good, long look at Ingverd after he mentioned they were going after the bandits. To hell with it. If I don't inhibit my thinking process I'll never get to sleep tonight. I'll just have to make sure I don't over do it. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Ingverd nudged his arm. "Yeah I suppose so," Lanos said, not really knowing what he was agreeing with. Was that a stutter just now? Hmm... I think I can use this. "Oh stuff like that. Right, of course. Well, she likes the color green, likes jewelry and other shiny things -though that should be obvious-, likes to win, likes a challenge, likes..." Lanos trailed off suddenly. "Sorry Ingverd, I'm a bit worked up and I can't recall things the best right now," he said after about a minute of silence. "Sometimes I wish there was something that could make me think less. You got any ideas?" Depending on how much he wants this information will determine his reaction. Either way I'm getting drunk for the first time of my life tonight. Ugh, mercenary life'll bring me to an early grave.

[Vestige]

Okay boss, now I definitely think that you're drunk. He was astonished to see Makin hitting herself, and despite the reasons for it, he laughed at this too. Man, this is great. She's totally going to hate me when tomorrow rolls around though. Oh well, haha. "Alright boss, I'm sure you are. I don't doubt you for a second, haha. I'll let you two ladies speak then," he said, quietly fiddling with the contents of his pockets, but remaining exceptionally attentive to the hissing that was going on. Maybe they're determining dominance. Trying to see which lizard is the alpha female, hahaha!

[Flying? It is quite relieving. There is freedom in the skies unlike that of which one could find on the ground. Here you are hindered by many obstacles, however, in the sky you can move as you please. It is...quite gratifying. Ask the boy, he would tell you the same.] Ophelia snorted and continued to hiss. [Now perhaps you can indulge me on something...Your kind is rather curious. In part you resemble my kin and myself, and yet in part you also resemble the boy. How did this come to be?]

Edited January 24, 2014 by Vestige

[Nanami Touko]

Tricksy

Ingverd made quick mental notes of what Lanos was saying to him, though the list didn't go on very long, as he stopped to imply something incredibly obvious. With a smile and a sigh, Ingverd brought over two mugs full of mead, setting one near Lanos. "Yeah, I know something that works pretty well at doing that. Drink up, and don't mind the taste. It gets better the more you have. You are old enough for this, right?" He started his and almost coughed, not having had it for a while. And Makin went through seven of these? Her stomach must be made of iron. "Go on if you remember something. No pressure."

Disbelief

"[Huh. Maybe I can get a crash course in flying some day. Though I don't know how I'd sit on your comfortably.]" It was an amusing thought to an inebriated mind, but it quickly passed. "[Come to be? I don't know. How did you come to be? Probably hatched out of an egg, right? Less egg for us, but I can't say I'd know where my race came from. I'm not sure any of us would. I left home without looking into any history books, but they'd probably all talk about Him, or something.]" Surprisingly, the conversation with the dragon was fairly entertaining, which was almost as disturbing as her being able to have it. Raith remained unconvinced.

This frustrated Makin, who slid over to him and gripped him by the shirt. "Listen here you! I am too speaking with her, and I'll prove it!" She glanced back at Ophelia with determination on her face. "[Quick, please, tell me something that only the two of you would know. Like, one of his embarrassing habits he doesn't let anyone but you see or something stupid he did before you met the group! Not the meeting you one, though, I already know that one.]"

[Vestige]

[i think it would be best for the both of us if you did you attempt to ride me.] She flashed her teeth as a sign of what could be considered a grin. Meanwhile, Raith continued to smirk as the "conversation" unfolded, but his smirk quickly faded when Makin slid up to him and grabbed him by the shirt, yelling that she was in fact speaking to his dragon. "Okay, hold on there boss, maybe we should calm down a little first," he laughed nervously.

Though she didn't sense any immediate hostility from Makin, none that would be perceived as threatening at the very least, she still didn't want any potential harm to befall Raith. After all, despite having been brought to her by him, Ophelia had no real reason to trust the half-lizard from their short encounter. Lazily, she lifted her tail and curled the tip around Makin's wrists, gently prying her hands away from Raith's shirt before dropping her tail again. [...You may tell him that there is another with my name. I believe he will understand what it is you mean.]

Edited January 24, 2014 by Vestige

[riariadne]

"Huh, is she that drunk? Jeez... I actually had somethin' important to say, too. I'm not gonna blackmail her, though! I wouldn't stoop that low!" She paused for a moment. "Well, yeah I would, but I'm kinda tired... flyin' all day and a lot of yesterday isn't easy, 'n that sorta stuff, plus I dunno if she'd even care. Hey, you know anythin' about a guy named Ort?"

[Nanami Touko]

Success?

"I am perfectly calm. I just find your lack of faith disturbing, Raith. Why would I lie about this?" She asked with a frustrated face, trying slightly to protest as Ophelia removed her hands. She sighed, but quickly perked back up when she was actually told what she could say. Haha! Now he'll have to believe me. Makin pulled herself up, and made a smug face. "Heheh... She told me there's another with her name, and that'd you'd understand that! Take that, nonbeliever!" It occurred the Makin that this meant there was another Ophelia in his life, to which she furrowed her brows. "Hey, hey that better not be, like, a girlfriend back home or something. You've clearly been flirting with me for a while and I'd be pretty disappointed in you, for both party's sake, if you already had someone." She wagged her finger at him, proceeding to cross her arms and wait for a reply.

Something Important

"She looked like she was. Didn't want to say anything just in case she strangled me, or something." Vriska remained amused by Valha as she spoke about blackmail and whether or not she'd be into that sort of thing. It wasn't until she mentioned the name Ort that Vriska tensed up. "Wh-Who told you that? It wasn't Hilda, was it? That'd mean you got her to do a paid reading! W-W-What did she say!?" Obviously, this name had disturbed her, though she knew it would have to come up eventually. Tonight was just not when she wanted it to come up.

[riariadne]

"Yeah, I did. It's what I was gonna let the boss in on. Seems we'll all be fightin' him tomorrow. Big guy in gray armor with a sword that cuts through wings 'n a ring I'll try 'n steal. There's a girl in jail who'll help us out if we free her, 'n Ertel might or might not be around. That's all I heard relevant to the mission, anyway." Valha grinned. "What, you scared? There's nothin' to worry about. She mentioned more's left for me, so I can't die. Castles in my future..." Her gaze drifted off, lost in imagination.

[Oersted]

"Old enough to know I'll probably regret this later if I over do it. If that's what you mean," Lanos said before taking a small sip of his own; testing the waters or in this case, mead. It's okay I guess. I really don't have anything to compare this to so I guess it's good? Lanos thought to himself, deciding to drink a bit more before answering Ingverd. "Yeah, thanks for not pressing. I honestly can't recall anything else at the moment. Well, other than that she likes to be free."

[Vestige]

Raith's disbelief quickly melted away and was replaced by mild astonishment. "So she told you that, eh?" he said, looking over to Ophelia who made no outward indications as to whether or not she actually had said anything to Makin. But regardless of that, there's no way his boss would know something like that, unless she was damn good at pulling relevant answers out of no where. Which he doubted.

"Huh, that's interesting...Kinda wish I was half-snake now," he mused. "And why are you going around and telling people things I've told you? You're not supposed to be able to tell anyone!" he nudged her on the side. Ophelia made no indication of apology. How typical. "Well," he threw his hands up in the air. At this point, there wasn't really any reason for him to not believe her. It was surprising really, but at the same time, it wasn't. Or perhaps it simply wasn't as surprising as it should have been. For whatever reason.

But did she say disappointed? "Come on now boss, you've only known me for a couple days," he laughed. "It's kinda surprising that you would feel so disappointed over a guy you hardly know," he added. "But to answer your question, because I know you wont be able to rest your scales for the rest of the night if you don't find out: There is no second party." He paused, "Uh, can you do me a favor? Could you tell Ophelia...that I said thanks for everything she's done for me?"

Edited January 25, 2014 by Vestige

[Nanami Touko]

Frightened

Vriska shook her head and cleared her throat. A few deep breaths calmed her down enough to talk more. "Ort is Ertel's leader. That's why I'm scared. I've never met the guy, but he's apparently huge, and his armor's super thick. I wouldn't be so confident if I were you. Just because Hilda saw something in your future doesn't mean you can't die. Like I told Lanos, they're more like guidelines than what will happen." Vriska wondered if she could get something to drink, something like Lanos had at the other table, but she doubted Marty would give it to her. "Anyway just be careful. I know it might seem weird that I care, but you guys did save me, so... Don't go dying."

Press The Issue

"Likes to be free, huh? So, dates outside only?" He laughed a little bit, finishing some more of his drink. "You're a lucky guy, Lanos. But don't think your slight advantage is going to stop me from trying. I'm sure you catch my drift." He nudged the bird's arm again and stood up. "I think I'll retire for the night. If anyone wants to chat, I'll be in the room at the end of the hall upstairs," he announced loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the room. He then wandered off to said room, and found himself on the bed, relaxing against the sheets.

A Different Kind of Disappointed

She turned a lightly deeper shade of red and coughed. "That's not what I meant. I'd just be disappointed that you were making passes at someone while you already had someone back home. 'S'not proper behaviour, or, something like that." But it's nice to know there isn't one. She wasn't going to tell him that, though. "That's all? She probably already knows that, but... [He says he's thankful for all you've done for him. Probably the saving his life part the most.]" Makin was still a bit smug that there was something she could do that she'd never heard anyone else do, so she smiled. "There, I told her. So who's this other Ophelia? Come on, come on, I wanna know," she said as she began poking his arm.

[riariadne]

"Just guidelines?" Valha frowned a bit. "Well, good to know I won't necessarily have a sword cuttin' through my wings, but the castle one seemed promisin'... Just gotta keep an eye out for castles, then. Thanks for tellin' me what you know, anyway. 'N don't worry for me stayin' alive, yeah?" Her expression completely reversed to a proud grin. "I don't need a readin' of my future to know I'll live. There's just no way I'll die out there- I'm sure of it. See you later."

Valha started towards Lanos once more, sitting down next to him at the bar. "Hey, Lanos! Didn't mean to keep you waitin' so long. I ended up goin' back to see Hilda to get more of my fortune told. I had to know the whole thing when I just heard the start of it, yeah? Seems like the guy with the sword that tears through wing is a big armored guy named Ort, and he's Ertel's boss... I'll try 'n steal a magic ring from him, apparently. We gotta save some girl from a jail cell, too, she'll help us out. And Ertel won't be around. Then way later I'll find some sorta blue cube in a castle, but I dunno what that's really all about. Did you drop off your sword at the blacksmith?" She paused to recollect herself for a bit. "What were you and Ingverd talkin' about, anyway? Wait, what do you have there?" She looked at his glass and frowned. "Drinkin'? Even after you saw how bad boss is right now and all those time I've told you about it?"

[scorri]

Kadin paused and then went ethereal for the time it took him to pass through the door before completely materializing again. "I... I needed to talk to someone and you seem to be the person that I have the easiest time talking to and, well... I went to the fortune teller. I didn't expect much but... she told me a few things. Well, two things. One was that the dragon over a star that I can't stop remembering is the Felson crest. Or, well, part of it. So I guess that's an important part of me? The other... She told me my last name. Fahl. But... I still can't remember anything. I guess I thought that knowing more about my few memories and about myself would help but... I'm still just stuck here without any hope of figuring out who I was." He slumped down on the floor against the wall, shaking his head.

[Oersted]

"Well if you want to look at it that way sure." Lanos finished a bit more of his drink as the elf continued on. "I'd like to think fifteen years is more then a 'slight' advantage," he said before Ingverd could get too far away.

"Oh hey Valha," Lanos returned Valha's greeting as she sat down. Wait my drink's still... crap. "Oh you did? I didn't think you cared all that much about the the future." Lanos frowned when Valha still seemed intent on risking herself for a 'magical' ring. "Well, if you do go for it please be careful about it. Some ring isn't worth your life." Though those words haven't deterred her in the past... Eh, if at first you don't succeed keep trying I guess. "Yeah I dropped it off, though I'll be pretty much out of gold when I picked it up tomorrow. Oh, well Ingverd told me about how we were going after Ertel's bandits tomorrow, though according to you they're actually Ort's and Ertel won't even be there." Lanos tried his best to avoid Valha's gaze when she finally addressed his choice of drink. "Yeah... I'm drinking," he admitted, sounding like a knowingly guilty child. "I know you've warned about this stuff a bunch'a times it's just... Well, you know how I'm always worried? For some reason tonight it's overwhelming and I thought I'd be better off with inhibited thinking. Though I guess that wasn't all that smart, huh?"

[Vestige]

"Oh, of course, silly me," he chuckled. "Yes well, now that you know I'm a bachelor, I trust I wont have to deal with any disappointment if I start flirting some more. Probably wouldn't be fair to the other women in the world, right?...Right! I'm glad you agree," he laughed, answering his own question as though Makin had spoken.

Ophelia rolled an eye and playfully swatted Raith on the back. She had been showered with praise before, and given Raith's undying thanks. At this point it was well understood by her how much he appreciated her around, and all the better, because if he didn't, she'd have flown back to Griberge by now. "Ow! Yeah yeah, I know I've said it before, but I want you to understand it this time. In your own...language, not just mine," he said to Ophelia. He patted her on the head twice, "alright, I think we're done here, you can go find somewhere to sleep, I'll be back in the morning okay?" [if you will excuse me..] And without taking a moment more, she took off.

As Ophelia's figure began to grow smaller along the skyline, he turned back to face Makin. His expression grew slightly more somber as he began to recount the details of the "second" Ophelia. "My, my, quite the interested one aren't we Ophelia...Ophelia Ereld. She was my kid sister," and that was all he had to say on the matter. "...We should probably get back, it's getting kinda late, and I think I've had enough fun for one day." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and slowly began to walk back towards the city.

[Xinnidy]

Maja's expression brightened up a little as Kadin told his story --the fortune teller also helped Kadin with his memory! "Oh! I see... Felson, huh? Isn't that a place where a lot of fancy people stay? And Fahl, that's a nice name... if we reach Felson, we should probably take a look around, and see if anything comes up related to your family name!"

Maja moved around and changed her stance to sit down on the bed properly, she felt more at ease now that she could talk about the topic with Kadin. "...I went to the fortune teller too, she said some things that could actually be related to you rather than me. She didn't say anything clear though, just lose words. So many of them!" She leaned to the edge of the bed. "...and kind of strong. Like... murder. I-I don't know well, there's so little she said, but it could mean so many things. The closest to a full sentence she said was that... a man was deceived. There was a council, a trick.... and a murder, I don't know which order it goes by, though. I probably already messed it up." Maja took a deep breath, it was good that her interest was finally back, though. "There were more broken words, but she only was sure that the first bit was about you... I think."

"I'm glad we're making some progress, though..." Maja spoke, a bit relieved in being able to put what she heard out of her system.

[riariadne]

"I care about the future still! I'm just not afraid of it. What've I said about worryin' for me, anyway? I'll be fine. Good to be thinkin' about the mission ahead of time, though, that's proactive! I told you, you're totally suited for this mercenary stuff." Valha sighed. "I guess it's not really up to me if you wanna drink. It's not my concern, I guess, you aren't some little hatchling 'n I'm not your mother, either. Just... don't drink too much, at least, alright? I don't wanna hear you couldn't handle it or whatever, from boss or anyone else. I'm gettin' tired. Don't sleep too late, you hear?"

Valha retired to her room, sitting on her bed and thinking about the day. Bandits, rings, castles... Today was somethin' else, wasn't it? Lanos 'n Ingverd changed, too. What's a little bird to do, huh? She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

[scorri]

"Murder?" He slowly shook his head. "That's not triggering anything..." As she continued talking about a council and deceit, he suddenly threw his arms over his head as images flashed by, most too quick for him to see or remember. The two that remained though were burned into his memory so deeply he doubted he'd ever be able to forget them. Or rather, two of the memories from before were now more complete. The blue eyes were accompanied by pale blond hair, and the dragon over a star had turned into a fully formed crest: a bright red dragon over a gold star, set on a dark red shield. "The council and the crest. Wait. No. Why do... The crest though. That must be Felson's crest. But why did council trigger it? And deceit... The blue eyes with pale blond hair... Who is she? Why... I thought she was important but in a good way. Why does deceit make me recall more of her? WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER???" He slammed a fist into the wall, barely noticing that it managed to not sink though as it would have used to when he lost control of his emotions. "I just want to know why I'm still here..."

[Nanami Touko]

Night Time

The sun had begun to set over the city of Ward, and Ingverd was wide awake on his bed. Despite his declaration, he was glad no one had followed him, as he was having a mighty long introspective look at how he'd been acting. Can I really just change who I am without a second though? If I know myself I'll probably just start flirting with the next pair of legs that walks by. And is she really worth it? I'm going so far out of my way for someone I barely know, who's not even my species! He rolled over and sighed. But there's just... Something about her. I wish I knew what it was. "This is going to be a lot tougher than it seemed." Frustrated with his thoughts, he closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.

Smoother Talker

Ohhhhh, youuuu. You're too good. That's so not fair. Makin made an uncomfortable face, unsure of what she could even say to that without alluding to anything she was feeling and not wanting to end up doing what Ingverd had joked about earlier. The alcohol had turned out to be a poor choice, as it was definitely not helping. "Y-Yeah. That'd be pretty unfair. Should prob...probably get on that," was the awkward response Raith got. Good going. You're terrible at this. Always have been, huh? Maybe you SHOULD talk to Ingverd. He seemed to be doing well with Valha.

Makin almost turned to Ophelia for help, but the dragon flew off quickly, and almost without warning. "You teach her to do that on command, or does she just read your mind?" Little better. Jokes are always good. Unfortunately for Makin, there was no more room for jokes as Raith's face become somber. "What was she..." but Raith had already suggested they head on back. Must not be a good topic. As he walked off, she slithered after him, but almost fell over in the process. "Whoa, whoa... Hey, Raith, uh..." this is going to make things more awkward, but I don't think I can make it back on my own... "I think the drink's hit my tail. I almost fell there. D'you think I could..." she had to look away to even ask, as it seemed incredibly childish to her. "D'you think I could h-hold onto your arm, to keep myself from falling?"

[Vestige]

Raith looked back towards Makin and couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Y'know boss, if I didn't know any better, there's no way I'd guess that you're the leader of a mercenary troupe," he said. Slowing down his pace, he eventually fell in line with Makin. "Here," he said, offering his arm out to her, "wouldn't want you to hurt yourself falling all over the place the night before the mission, right?" Truth be told, I think if you fall down again, you'll just end up dragging me down with you...

[SB.]

"A potion? Sounds like she was trying pretty hard to trick you into thinking you weren't ripped off, honestly." he paused. "How much did it cost you?"

[MRDRHAWK]

Kendeall thought for a moment, and even checked his coin bag at his waist to check and see how much he did actually pay her. Then he realized he didn't. "Uh... nothing. I didn't have to pay her anything. Honestly, I'm surprised that you're even asking that, considering she seemed like she wouldn't have cared about money for her readings." He replied to Angus, before thinking for a moment. "On another note... I wonder what that potion did? I mean, I don't really feel any different at the moment..."

[Xinnidy]

Maja was startled by Kadin's sudden outburst, no doubt. If she showed any sign of being tired, they were all replaced by a startling wake-up slap. "K-Kadin?" Maja tried to collect herself. "That's... I can't say a lot, but... Maybe the council has something to do with Felson itself? Isn't that place ruled by a bunch of fancy people, and all that? I don't really know the details, but that could be why it triggered. It totally has to do with that place, then."

She would voice herself more, but she had no idea what to say to the other memory Kadin spoke about. Some woman that he thought was important... but deceived him? I... I don't even know if I want to touch that yet... "...We're finally getting somewhere. Maybe it all is too much to find out in one go, but we're going to find it all, all of your memories, for sure." She didn't know if she could calm down the ghost, and she was sure she couldn't understand the pain he was going through, but Maja hoped her words would calm him some.

[Oersted]

"Well, you've said to stop it, but I still do it cause I... yeah, cause I just do." Lanos sighed. "Thanks for the encouragement though, good to know I still have your confidence." Lanos remained silent for the rest of what Valha had to say, offering only a quiet, "yeah, I promise," when she had finished. Feeling far worse than he did before speaking with Valha, Lanos simply stared at his drink trying to determine whether he'd rather deal with his mind or the mead. After a few minutes in which he still hadn't decided on what to do he suddenly downed the rest of his drink and trudged of to his room. Once inside he flopped onto the bed and, to his relief, fell asleep almost instantly.

Edited January 25, 2014 by Oersted