Masquerade Part 2: Army of Darkness

[charlie_]

"Yeah, sure." replied the Archer, inwardly screaming as he did so. He's gonna figure us out, isn't he? Hoping for a reprieve, he turned to the half elf. "So, are you gonna fight too?" From what little he'd seen of her so far, he was kind of doubtful, but whatever.

[Nanami Touko]

Exit, Stage Left

Vriska didn't mind getting dragged about this time, because Lanos had taken her hand, and it made her feel really special. I'll bet he's never dragged Valha along like this. Hah~ The archer went to ask her something, as they were walking, but the snake took him and dragged him off. Rude!

Makin did her best to hide her face as Lanos caught up to the two of them, grabbing Angus by the wrist and speeding up. "Sure, Lanos! Just make sure you keep up! Don't want to stay out fighting all evening, right?" Gods, that was the worst! Now he'll definitely know something's up! She didn't even give Vriska time to answer the archer, simply slithering off in the direction of the arena.

----------

And as they got there, Makin looked at Angus, rather worried. "Alright, he's going to know something's up, now. I don't know how much longer we can avoid him, so... If he asks again after we're done fighting, we might have to tell him..." She sighed, and messed with her hair. "I can't believe I couldn't keep it together. Ugh... Some naga I am. Supposed to be cool and collected, huh? I've gotten so soft..." She groaned, and sighed again. "No matter. All I can do now is try to work some of the stress out through fighting... You alright with me going first?"

Suave

"Too much? No way." He chuckled again, and lifted her off of the couch, taking her hand in his. "If you don't know anywhere, then we can walk about the town until we find somewhere nice. Not like I mind walking with you." He'd only partly caught the part she'd mumbled, but it was enough to tip him off. He chuckled slightly, once again. "Eh, who cares? You don't need to read to look wonderful while you're fighting, or sport those clothes fantastically." Quincy flopped onto the opposite couch, and Ingverd made for the door, with Valha in tow. "Shall we?"

Edited October 7, 2014 by I have opinions

[charlie_]

The archer was taken by surprise by Makin's sudden forcefulness, as they hurtled ahead of the others, but the fact that they were going to come clean to Lanos was kind of a relief. "Yeah I... think we're gonna have to. I didn't do such a great job of hiding it myself, so it's not your fault. I'll try to keep it together until after we finish up here, alright?" he sighed. It's a lot easier to sneak around than it is to lie to people... And considering Cedric was probably fairly suspicious of him at this point, he arguably wasn't great at that either. "And yeah, you head on in first, and I'll be watching. Good luck!" he cheered, going to find a seat in the more crowded area of the stands. With any luck, Lanos and Vriska might take a while to find him... although considering how things were going today, he doubted that luck was exactly on his side.

[riariadne]

Valha pulled herself up using Ingverd's hand, flushing slightly, but noticing he was using his previously injured arm. "Your arm's all better, then? That's good. 'N of course we can walk around a bit, find somewhere nice 'n enjoy ourselves. You can read what's on the menu to me when we get there, I guess." She started off outside, taking a look at everywhere they passed. "I do wanna try to pick up readin' again if I get a chance, soon... maybe I can get Lanos to teach me again. He always really wanted me to learn 'n he seemed so glum earlier, maybe it'd cheer him up a bit." Only after they exited the inn did she realize the fighter who sat on the couch had been one of her allies. Hmph, how rude of him not to even say anything.

[Oersted]

Lanos just kinda stood there for a moment after what Makin had just done. He might not have the best social skills but he knew when someone was trying to avoid him. "What'd I ever do to you?" They were too far away to hear him by the time he spoke but the question still weighed on him. He'd never really spoken to Angus and didn't talk all that much with Makin but he didn't recall doing anything to warrant such behavior. He tried to put it out of his mind until he could find and then corner one of them. ​"Vriska could I borrow that gold now? I'm ninety-seven short."

Lanos wouldn't have been surprised if Makin was already fighting when he and Vriska arrived at the arena. "Go on up to the stands Vriska, I'll wait down here for my turn." He considered asking her to find and then question Angus but decided not to. It was his problem, whatever that problem was, and he'd have to solve it himself. He hoped that there was a logical explanation for it other than that they just didn't want to be around him.

[Nanami Touko]

Rounds 1, 2, 3

Makin slithered on into the arena, and stretched herself out. The first goon to show up was a man wielding an axe... Child's play. She let him charge at her, and easily snaked around his swing, cutting him across the arm. She followed this pattern again, and then simply knocked him over with the end of her tail. I really hope they aren't all this easy.

Unfortunately, looking at the next guy, it was going to be that way. He came out, sword brandished, and instead of waiting for as easy to dodge attack, Makin sped off at him, striking him in the shoulder. He flinched, but tried to swing back, catching his sword across her arm. Her armor took most of it, but enough got through to make her hiss, jabbing in his other shoulder and taking him out as well. At least the arena has nice healers...

Round 3, here we go; a lance. But she was prepared for this. She took the lancereaver out, and braced its weight in her arms. It was bigger than her iron sword, but not that heavy. Weighs about as much as the steel... This should be fine. She took a defensive stance, and let this man swing his lance her way. She was sure he was expecting a hit, because his swing had a lot of weight to it, but she caught his lance in the hook near the hilt of the sword! She ran the sword along the length of his lance, and slashed it across his chest. He staggered back, and attempted another swing, but was far too startled to aim it properly this time. She swerved out of the way, and jammed her sword into his arm, knocking him over. "I'm barely breaking a sweat, down here..."

That was when Havel walked out...

In The Arena, In The Stands

Vriska sighed at the offer of gold, but reluctantly, she gave him the gold he needed. "Just this once, alright? You've been... Really nice today. I appreciate it. This isn't paying for your company, it's just me being nice." She made sure to clarify, as she let him have it and made her way into the stands. Well, not before leaning up and planting a kiss on his cheek, running off quickly after that. Haha~

And she knew exactly who she was going to look for. There he was: Angus. She walked up behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to scare him. "So!" she shouted above the noise of the crowd. "What did you and Makin learn about the bird? He might not've noticed, but I sure did..."

Walking About The Town

"I got it fixed in town right after you flew off. The healer was excellent, even if his pricing was a bit... Expensive. But it was worth it. No pain at all. And really, don't be embarrassed about the reading thing. Considering your life, it wasn't on the top priority list. And..." she mentioned Lanos, bringing up some mixed feelings in Ingverd. "You can do that, yeah. I mean, I could as well, but it might be nice to give him some time, after today... I've been thinking about that, and I think it's the way I asked him if I could speak to you alone, earlier. He may have taken it the wrong way..." He sighed, walking along. "I hope I can explain myself to him better, later. I like him, I really do, so I don't want to have him hating me over a misconception."

[charlie_]

Angus was taken by surprise by Vriska's appearance, turning around quickly. "What do you mean?" he said, defensively. After a few moments, he sighed, realizing that he was fighting a losing battle here. "Something we're not sure how to tell him yet. Maybe it's nothing but..." He wasn't sure how much to tell Vriska. She did seem to be getting pretty close to Lanos, but at the same time it was kind of private. So instead, he turned around with a question of his own. "Um, how much do you know about Lanos' family? Does he still have his parents, or..." He trailed off towards the end. It was kind of a touchy subject, but they couldn't keep dancing around it forever, he supposed.

[riariadne]

"Well, I'm glad you're feelin' all better now, at least. You weren't the same happy guy when you were injured, havin' to always keep yourself in check a bit! 'N, readin' isn't just a shame thing or somethin' like that, I do wanna learn it eventually. For the future, you know?" Valha noticed he trailed off a bit when she'd brought up Lanos. "Well, he just tried to teach me in the past 'n I wasn't interested then, but now that I am I'd sorta feel bad if I learned from someone else, even if it's you, if that makes any sense... just wanna finish what I started, you know? I'm glad you want to try to stay friends with him 'n stuff, though. I dunno if I could take it if the two of you hated each other or somethin'... you're both really special to me." She nuzzled her head against him quietly. "So... see anywhere you like yet?"

[Oersted]

"Thanks, I really appreciate it," Lanos said as he took the gold. He would've said more, that he didn't think for a second she was paying him, but the sudden kiss rendered him speechless, partly from shock and partly from how flustered he was. Once his mind returned he found that his hand had moved to the spot where Vriska kissed him. Feeling stupid and incredibly embarrassed from getting so flustered in a arena of all places he walked over to the man at the counter, who was surely silently laughing his ass off, and placed his gold on the counter, he had a feeling Makin would finish soon.

[Nanami Touko]

Rounds 4, 5, 6

So, were Makin's trials in the arena over yet? Of course not. Havel stepped forward, and swung his club against the ground, causing the entire building to shake. Makin was more than a bit intimidated, pulling her steel sword out. She'd need the extra oomph to get through this armor. Knowing there was no way this monster would open up with an attack, she decided to rush in, and swing. She did so, and her tail was met with the flat end of Havel's club, sending jolts of sharp pain through her entire body. She recoiled, but managed to swing at him again before moving far away.

So she circled him for a bit, wondering where she could get in without exposing herself to that giant club... And an idea struck her. She charged at him, and as he swung his club down, she ducked behind him, and delivered a quick success of blows, knowing the man down. He wouldn't have had the time to lift that club again after such a hefty swing. It was perfect. Makin accepted the healing from the arena, rather proud of herself for taking that man out.

Next up, a mage. She knew she could take a mage. She put her steel sword away and readied her iron one, taking a swing at him. He blasted back with a wind spell, that was mostly blocked by her own barrier, but she knew he was tough. Even with her scales, that had still hurt. She had to take him seriously, taking another swing and taking another hit of magic. Starting to get annoyed with this whole deal, she dove at him and punched him square in the jaw, sending him back a few feet.

Then she heard the roar of a dragon, and turned to see her next opponent. Nuh uh, not dealing with this. She hissed at the dragon, causing it to flinch; perhaps it hadn't been expecting something to speak at it. When it flinched, the rider jolted forward, and Makin took that chance to grab his leg with her tail, pull him off and swat the backside of his head with the flat of her lancereaver. That went pretty well, all things considered. There was only one round left, to her knowledge... And as the cavalier rode out, she prepared herself for one Hel of a fight.

Hate

"I'm glad you're not ashamed of it. And again, that's fine. I can't take all of your time, as much as I'd love to. I'm sure Lanos would love to tell you all he knows about reading. He seems rather good at it, considering where he grew up..." He laughed quietly, wondering about that. "I don't think I could bring myself to hate him. He's just shy, nothing wrong with that. I'm sure if I get more chances to talk to him, we'll become fast friends. I just...hope he doesn't end up jealous about all of this." He gestured to the both of them, as they walked along. Despite the talk, Ingverd appreciated Valha's affectionate nuzzling. It made talking about this bearable without getting depressed. "Anywhere I see... Hmmm... There was a small bistro I spotted whilst walking through town, earlier today. In the mood for a warm sandwich?"

Lanos' Parents

That was oddly specific. "What did you learn?" Vriska mumbled under her breath, glaring at Angus. "He told me that his mother abandoned him in the slums, and he can't remember who his father is. Your turn." She started to tap her foot impatiently, wondering just what Angus could've found up at Cedric's-- Wait, that book-- Vriska's eyes shot open at the revelation, remembering what the heavy book he's brought down had been. "No way. Angus, hurry up, tell me!"

The Man at The Counter

He was most definitely not silently laughing his ass off, he was guffawing quite loudly. "You gonna show off fer yer girlfriend, bird boy? Gahahaha! Good luck!" He continued to laugh as he collected the gold, trying to stifle the laughter down to a chuckle. He wasn't having much success.

Edited October 8, 2014 by I have opinions

[Oersted]

To be entirely honest, Lanos had expected a reaction like that. He decided not to correct the bit about Vriska being his girlfriend, after that display he doubted the man would believe him if he told him otherwise. In fact, he didn't reply with anything other than a shrug, once again lost on what to say.

[riariadne]

"That's always been somethin' Lanos loved... he knew how to read since we were little 'n I just met him. Whenever we weren't out lookin' for somethin' or I was too tired to play, he'd read, since he wasn't that big or strong until pretty recently. We were a good team... he'd do the plannin', then I'd make things happen, so we always ended up gettin' by just fine in the end because of it. If you ask me, I think we're still a good team, since now he's tough 'n can take a hit, 'n I'm the fastest around." Valha smiled at her reminiscing. "I didn't know he thought of me so closely until recently... I dunno how I feel about the whole thing. I guess it'll take time to figure everythin' out in the end, so it's best not to rush it. Maybe you two can talk stuff over later... the bistro sounds nice, though. Let's head there!"

[Xinnidy]

Maja was surprised at Makin's comment. Best cleric in the world? No way. I still have a lot to learn, right? She thought to herself, and slowly drifted to think about her past training. That's right... I haven't practiced with the lance much in a while. Well, they need my healing more, I've been just doing work. She reasoned with her inner self.

In her thoughts, she'd sort of filtered the conversation around her, and had shortly found herself alone in that shop. Huh, where did they... the arena, right. I think that's what Vriska said. Still, Maja did not follow the group but rather got distracted observing a fine lance in display. Wow, this one looks so fancy! It's probably too pricey... and I don't know if I'd be able to use it well... Sighing as she brought up her lack of practice again, she merely kept looking at the weapons in display for the time being. I guess I should find some time to practice while we're here...

Kadin had not much to say to the rest of the group. He wasn't thrilled at having to leave Felson yet, but he understood it was the guild's job. Maybe I should stay after all... Hm, Maja will probably say something about this. Conflicted, he didn't feel right in separating the cleric from the rest of the guild for his own interest.

Trying to put his mind off of this concern for now, he realized that this arena the others went for could be an enlightening experience --it could be bursting with people, what's to say something there won't trigger his memories?--. With newfound motivation, Kadin approached Maja with a question. "Maja, I think I'll go after them... I want to know if that place might bring back some memories." As this was Maja, he was rather straightfoward about it.

"Oh! Sure, go ahead! I'll be there in a moment!" Maja was enthusiastic, it was a great thing that Kadin was motivated to learn about his past again so quickly! She'd go with him were this any normal situation, but right now her mind was rather slow thinking about her training --or lack thereof.

With a quick nod and a smile, the ghost made his way out. It did not took long to find his way to the arena at all, despite the lack of trails, though a part of him expected that. This place... this city does feel familiar. Near the entrance, with the loud noises coming from the building, he realized his appearance in a large crowd could perhaps be unsettling. I'll just have to make myself unnoticed... With his space ghost invisibility powers, Kadin entered the arena to see combat from a rather VIP spot, and what a sight it was! Is that... Makin? This should be interesting to watch, at least.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Xinnidy

[charlie_]

He considered staying silent, but he somehow doubted it would work. So he decided to try and keep it vague, and if Lanos wanted to tell Vriska the details himself, he could do that. "Ertel was right about nobles keeping harpies." He tried to ignore the mage's protests after that, and took a look back at the match, with the wyvern rider being knocked out, and Makin was still going strong. Is she really gonna go all the way? He didn't think he could match that. Not today, anyway.

[Nanami Touko]

Final Round!...?

Makin was healed, and then sized up her competition. The man on the horse grunted, and pointed his sword at her. He seemed to be no slouch, and she knew she'd have to be in top form to beat him... Could you even manage to do so? She had to try... She circled him, and watched for any signs of movement, before lunging forward and taking a strike at him. It worked well enough, doing a sizable chunk of damage, but he struck back for a similar amount. This wouldn't be easy, not at all... And he had a fire in his eyes. He didn't want to lose this fight. If Makin remembered right, the arena only had seven rounds. He had to be the last one, so he was holding all the pride of the arena on his shoulders. But Makin had her own pride. Some of her mercenaries were watching in the crowd!

She leveled her sword at him, and proceeded to move forward, slowly. He did the same, and soon their swords clashed. They both bounced back, but Makin charged in again, and as he was recovering from the encounter, she dared to dive at him! She lunged her sword at his side, slipping in between his armor plates, and knocking him right off his horse!

With a few panting breaths, she regained her composure, and raised her sword above the man she'd taken down, the crowd cheering. But the cheering didn't last that long, as Marius once again stood and clapped above them. "Very good. Very good! Impressive, for one such as you..." he called down, obviously implying things about her being a naga.

She sneered. "Yeah, sure." She recognized the man, and she didn't exactly like that. The councilmen, as Cedric had proved earlier, tended to be snobby and pompous. She didn't expect better from Marius.

He simply smiled, but then, jumped down from his seat, rolling his way into the arena. "How about... An extra round? You may keep the gold you've earned, of course. No double or nothing, or anything like that... How about, you fight...me?" He whistled, and a lance was tossed down to him. "I always issue this challenge to anyone who manages to beat the arena, monster or not. I only meant, it was impressive, for a mercenary..." He grinned, and pointed his lance at her. "Your race matters not to me, snake! Shall we duel!?"

Makin smirked. Maybe this one was better than Cedric. Fighting would probably prove that. She got her lancereaver out, and full on smiled. "Alright. Let's go..."

Dinner in Sight

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that he can read so well? I mean... Do you know who taught him...?" Ingverd thought about it for a moment, but decided it wasn't worth pursuing. He'd let Valha answer and drop it. It had at least brought up a really amusing idea, of Valha dragging Lanos about to rather hairbrained schemes. It made him chuckle. "You are a good team. But you aren't the fastest around. Already forget about me?" He smiled, and ruffled her hair slightly. "Really? Had he never said anything before? Huh..." Maybe he needed some competition. You don't know what you have until it's gone, or something... "No rush. I'm on cloud nine right now, so don't think I'll start pushing anything. I'm... More than content, even if this is the only time we go out. You let yourself think, and I'll see about talking to him later." He walked along with her until he saw the bistro, heading over. "Now, let's see if Felson's cooks are as good as their clothes makers..."

In The Stands

Vriska took Angus by the shoulders and started shaking him. "Tell me! Tell me you brute! I'm onto something, here!" She stopped shaking him as someone actually jumped into the arena, taking away Vriska's attention, for just a moment. She left go of Angus and huffed. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to charge over to Lanos right now and tell him you're hiding something about him. And then you'll have to deal with him in the stands, and, and, deal with him knowing you hid something from him!" She had to know what they'd found. She didn't care if the rumors were right, she had to know exactly what about them had been right. Geez... Like a sack of potatoes, this one...

In The Shop!

Drogan brightened up just a little bit as the invading customers left, looking over at the lance Maja had picked up. "Oh, you don't want that. That's some old thing... I never actually figured out what it did, but it wields worse than most of the basic weaponry at Alicia's... You want something, like this!" He took the Dragonspear off of the rack behind him, and held it out in front of him. "This wonderful weapon is designed, tip and all, to cut right through a dragon's flesh! Rather impressive, I would say~"

Then the door to his shop opened again, and none other than Isabelle walked through, yawning as she did.

"Oh, hello--"

"Spare me," she said, waving him off. She started looking around, spotting Maja and smirking. I wonder what deal the girl's getting suckered into... Hmmm... Some interesting things here, at least...

Drogan frowned, but turned his attention back to Maja. "Anyway... What do you say? Only fourteen hundred gold."

[algae]

Sonia watched the boss fight, hoping to learn something... Except each fight ended almost as quickly as it began, and she spent more time idly looking around while new fighters prepared than watching. By chance, she spotted Vriska and Angus in the crowd, though the latter seemed to be trying not to be seen, though didn't make a move until Vriska started to shake him, and missed most of the conversation by the time she made it. "What's going on over here? I'm sure he doesn't deserve that."

[Xinnidy]

Snapped out of her trance, Maja looked at the shopkeeper with some surprise. "Oh. No, I don't think I can buy that one..." She'd been staring long enough to have drifted off from looking at the lance Drogan now showed her to some more obscure display pieces, huh. "That seems like a high quality lance... I don't know if I could use it that well, I... don't have a lot of time to practice, it's more for self-defense. I've been called a good healer, though." That lance does seem amazing... but I don't have fourteen hundred. I should give it up.

One thing that the man said did puzzle her. "Hey, if you don't know what that lance is good for, why do you have it on display?"

Somewhere in the arena, Kadin was impressed Makin handled a horseman so well. Hm. Maja is in good hands, the others too. Then, the boisterous noble stepped down. That man...? Marius seemed of some importance in Felson, and Kadin tried to see if that meant anything for him. I wonder... I guess I should pay more attention to this fight.

[riariadne]

"Ummm... I dunno, never really bothered me. I'd guess his parents, right? But they'd have to learn pretty fast to teach him so young, just after harpies came down from the mountains... uhhh... jeez, I have no idea," Valha admitted. "Aww, you don't count... elves are naturally faster, you cheater. But yeah, he's only picked up on his courage pretty recently, too. 'N hey, don't talk about this bein' our last time out before it's even really started! Let's enjoy ourselves, alright?" She walked in to the bistro as they arrived, looking around idly a bit.

[charlie_]

"Well, I was going to head down there next anyway, so there's no avoiding him." he shrugged, as Sonia walked over too. WHY. He shook his head, making a hasty exit. "Nothing's going on. I've gotta get down to the entrance, preferably before this fight finishes. Sorry."

Edited October 9, 2014 by SB.

[Nanami Touko]

Really Final Round

Marius was no pushover, Makin could tell that at a glance, but how much of a fighter was he? Did he actually train, or did he learn how to hold that lance and then sit on his ass? She wouldn't waste any time finding out, as she lunged in and got a fairly good hit against him, cutting his side. But what he did in response surprised her. He immediately swung back, which she barely managed to dodge, but he even followed it up with another jab, which caught her in her own side. She hissed in pain, and backed off. Damn... He's really good. I don't know if I can win this... But she had to try. She attempted to swing again, maybe catch him in his other side and knock him over, but he surprised her again, catching the sword with his lance and swinging it aside, leaving her entirely open! Smacking her across the face with the back end of the lance was all it took to knock her over, sword flying from her hand.

The crowd cheered, and Marius huffed, smiling out his victory. But he made no motion to grandstand, simply walking over and offering Makin a hand to help her up, as the healers did their work on the two fighters. "You fought well. Some more practice, and you might've had be on my toes." He chuckled, smiling wide.

Makin struggled to pull herself off the ground, the task becoming far more easy as the healers fixed up her wounds. As much as it pained her pride, she did take his hand to help herself up. "I'm glad Felson's Master of the Guard knows what he's doing... It wouldn't do well on your reputation if any mercenary could walk in and take you out."

Marius laughed, "but you're not just any mercenary, are you, Makin Tiarn?"

"Huh?" How does he--

"Come up to my stand, I'll tell you. Gerrod was a fine man." He patted her on her shoulder and then ran at the stands, slightly running up the wall before grasping onto the railing, and pulling himself and his lance up.

Makin, while still confused, managed to frown at that. "He's still a show off. I guess you can take the noble out of Felson but you can't take the Felson out of the noble." She sighed, and, trying to hold her confusion off, left the arena. And there was Lanos. "Oh. Hey." Uhhhh...

Last Time

"Well, I only meant, if you... Ah, never mind, this night is supposed to be pleasant. It's good that Lanos found his courage. He's too good a fighter to be meek. It'll serve him well, I'm sure." He did his best to ignore the comment about elves being naturally fast. He'd met plenty of slow elves, but that wasn't worth arguing. He simply chuckled. As they walked into the bistro, they were greeted with the sounds of cutlery and plates, along with the soft melody of a band playing a soothing tune. Well, this is... Ritzy.

A waiter greeted them, and after giving Valha a rather curious glance, he asked Ingverd, "table for two?"

"Yes, that would do nicely."

"Of course. Right this way." He led them off to their table, a small booth near one of the front windows.

Frustration

"S-S-Stop ignoring me!" Vriska demanded, punching Angus in the back for all the good it would do with her puny arms. He made to leave, and that was that; she'd had enough of this. She sprinted ahead of him, finding Lanos and Makin in front of the entrance. PERFECT. "Lanos! These two," she pointed at Makin with one arm, and at the entering Angus with her other, "are hiding something about your past, and they won't tell me! I've got it all pieced together and they're keeping it a secret!" Now what, you nerds!? Now you have to tell him!

Makin stared at Vriska, glaring, and baring her fangs. What the fuck!? Why would she just jump out with this, right now? Makin was mad. Vriska could tell, and it shrunk her bravado slightly, causing her to lower her arms. But she didn't run off, she was determined to see what this was.

Shifty Shopping

"Well, er, it's... An attractive weapon? I was hoping someone would purchase it as, perhaps, a decoration. If you were with that mercenary from earlier, I do not think that home decor would be what you're looking for. But, really, this--"

"Stop. Gods..." came the interrupting, and annoyed voice of Isabelle. "Maja-- It's Maja, right? You can use the 'decor' lance. Trust me. This fool isn't going to get you to buy the Dragonspear. So go ahead, give it a shot." She smirked, and continued to look. It's too bad he doesn't know what it does. He'd be able to jack up the price considerably.

Drogan had almost had it up to here with how bothersome this woman was being, huffing and looking back over at what he considered to be a piece of junk. "Three hundred gold, if you really want to trust that... Rude woman. I can promise you the quality of this," he gestured once again to what he was trying to sell, "while that, I can promise nothing. No refunds!"

Meanwhile...

With the closed sign propped nicely against her door, and her new dress on, Alicia waited for Raith to show back up. He's not late yet, but... Well, I guess I thought he'd be fashionably early. Oh well... As long as he's not late.

Edited October 9, 2014 by I have opinions

[Oersted]

"Hey," Lanos responded as a reflex. He'd expected her to just walk past him but since she'd stopped he figured he ought to ask what he wanted to. "Any tips or tricks or anything like that I should know or have before I make my challenge?" He was purposely avoiding the problem, it could be solved after he beat the arena. Or so he thought. He jumped slightly when Vriska yelled his name and proceeded to look on in bewilderment after what she said next. He glanced from Vriska to Angus to Makin, noting that the last one looked ready to attack. Well that would explain why they were avoiding me... Regardless the lobby of an arena wasn't really the proper place for this kind of discussion. He found it odd that he was going to try and play mediator when it was his problem in the first place. "This isn't really the place to discuss that if it's so controversial that they can't even tell me. And whatever it is, it can wait until I've done my challenge, right Mak- er... Boss?" ​He preferred it this way. The only thing they could be hiding from him was something about his parents and he didn't want that on his mind while he fought, it'd just mess him up. "But thanks Vriska for caring enough to look into it, I appreciate it."

Edited October 9, 2014 by Oersted

[MRDRHAWK]

After Kendeall left the pugilist's arena, he started getting bored. Wondering where the rest of the group was, he headed off to the other arena to see if anyone from the group was doing an arena challenge. The scene he found there was... not what he expected. "Wow. I almost feel like I'm in a hostage standoff or something." Kendeall chuckled out, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't hear anything that was said between the two pairs of people, but hey, couldn't hurt to try and be friendly, right? Then again, he might end up on fire again if Vriska was still mad.

Goddamn condescending brat.

[charlie_]

Did Vriska seriously just punch him because he wouldn't answer her? It barely tickled, but still. Is this how she solves all her problems? He let out a sigh, supposing that he wasn't all that different considering his profession. He'd hoped that her running off ahead meant that he'd finally be rid of her, but he wasn't surprised to see her at the entrance.

Unfortunately, it didn't exactly mean that he was happy to see her there. Even moreso when she told Lanos before they had a chance to do it themselves. "Like I said before," he began, evidently annoyed. "It's sort of private. Anyway..." He turned to the harpy after that. "Sorry about earlier. I'll talk to you about it after our matches, if you want."

He turned to the new arrival and shrugged off his comment. "You're here to compete too? You should've come earlier and seen the boss' winning streak." He didn't get to see what happened against Marius on his way here, but even so, clearing all the normal fighters was still a pretty impressive act.

[Xinnidy]

"Decoration? I guess that makes sense..." Maja looked once more at the Dragon spear but was quickly interrupted by Isabelle. "Huh? Yeah, Maja. ...I can use that?" And in came the conflict, would she buy the lance or take the shopkeeper's word? Well, the shopkeeper knows what he's talking about, but... ah, I don't really have fourteen hundred, might as well just buy the other lance rather than leave with nothing. Isabelle must know what she's talking about, too!

"Well..." Maja brought herself to a conclusion. "I won't deny that this lance looks of good quality, but... I don't stay on the frontlines, so I wouldn't use that lance much at all, it would probably be a shame for such a fine weapon." She commented about the Dragon spear, thinking it an explanation that made sense to her. "I'll take this instead. I think it fits my needs!" She picked the other lance and prepared to pay the sum, at the least, it was definitely lighter. Huh, I wonder what's up with this lance...

Kadin's eyes widened as the memories flew into him. "Marius Typhus, master of the guard... I know that fighting style after all." He was both pleased and shocked to remember so much about the noble. I... I remember sparring with him, too... Where was it? I can't seem to remember...

[riariadne]

Valha was somewhat impressed with all the pageantry going into the restaurant. Sure looks nice here... let's hope the food is just as good, yeah? The harpy frowned slightly and the glance she got, but followed the waiter to their seat, sitting opposite to Ingverd. "Feels real strange, lookin' to see the city outside of here..." she murmured, glancing out the window. "It's different."