Masquerade Part 2: Army of Darkness

[Oersted]

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just... anxious about meeting them. Especially Cedric... I don't even remember anything about him." He calmed down a bit when Valha wiped the tears from his eyes, it felt good to have that off his chest. Her kiss flustered him a small bit but he did his best to keep cool. "Thanks for being there for me, again. It really means a lot to me." He wondered if he and Valha could actually be something more.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Oersted

[Vestige]

"Alright then, let's get this started," Raith said to the dealer. A woman, no older than her thirties he'd guessed, began to silently shuffle a deck or cards. "Not much of a talker, eh? Alright, that's cool," he said. He placed his bet onto the table, a small bet just to get things started with. The dealer flipped her cards, and winced a little at the results. His hand was good, and it was an easy win. "Alright, let's up the ante then," he said, placing a much larger bet on the table. "Are you sure about this?" the woman quietly replied, her lips curling into a slight smile. "Yeah..." She nodded, flipping over the cards. The odds seemed good, "I think I'll stay," the dealer nodded once more, and flipped over her cards. She had him beat at nineteen against his eighteen. You're joking me right? "Hmph, let's go again," he said. The dealer flipped over his cards, and he landed with the same hand as last time. Let's try this again. This time, there was no smile on her face, and she flipped her cards over, giving the win to Raith. "Would you like to try and double?" she asked. He shrugged, "Why not." Again, she nodded flipping over the cards, resulting in another win for Raith. This is going good. By this point, the dealer was beginning to get visibly frustrated. "Would you like me to deal again?" she asked, rather curtly. "Why not. Last one, I've got to get somewhere," he said.

This time around, his hand was looking pretty poor, but nothing he couldn't bounce back from. A two and a three. He decided to go for a hit, and drew up a seven. Not bad, but one bad draw would spell his loss. He opted for one more hit, and this time drew a four. Now he was in a bit of a bind. To hit, or not to hit, that is the question. In the end, he decided to try his luck and went for another hit. Bad idea, clearly, as the dealer began to smirk as she picked up the card from the deck. Okay, bad idea, bad idea, bad idea. He wasn't about to lose on his last round. He reached over the table, and slapped the dealer's free hand. She looked up at him, dropping the card she was about the pull back onto the deck. She looked confused and a little hurt, "Wh-what was that for?!" she asked. "Oh I'm sorry madam, it seemed as though there was a mosquito on your hand. I was simply trying to shoo it away," he said. While the dealer was distracted, he flicked the card away, and it went zooming off the table. He flicked off one more, just for good measure. Hopefully no one saw that. "A mosquito? Hmph, sounds like more of an excuse just to take your frustrations out on a lady," she said, flipping over the next card and slamming it on the table. Understandably, she looked both shocked and appalled. That the card she turned over wasn't his losing card. "Oh, would you look at that? Look like I win," he said. He took her hand and gave it a light kiss, "An apology, from me to you," he said. She didn't seem to care much for his "apology" however, as she quickly pulled back her hand, looking both shocked and disgusted with him. He just laughed, "See you around, beautiful," and he took his leave.

Finally, after a long and harrowing day, he'd made it back to the inn. There were a few people still in the foyer but not many, Sara didn't seem like she was around though. I wonder how long she works. "Saaaaaraaaa, if you're there, could you get me a glass of water? My throat is killing me," he called out. He spotted Maja sitting by the counter, and took a seat next to her. "That's a rather curious looking lance you got there, is that yours? I didn't quite peg you for a lancer," he said. Just some idle chatter, while he waited for Sara (or whoever was working) to give him some water.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Vestige

[scorri]

"... Raith? Raith, is that you?" Trist was surprised to see the human who'd somehow managed to find a dragon to ride when everyone thought he was going to die in search of a fable. "Haven't seen you in a while. What are you doing in Felson?"

[Nanami Touko]

Relief

Ingverd let out a bit of a long winded sigh as he heard that Makin was off in her own land of slumber. "Good, good... If she was still awake I'd be stuck dealing with it. I'm surprised she went to sleep so quickly." Raith returned as well, and asked about Maja's lance. Ingverd hadn't actually noticed it, yet. "Yeah, that looks pretty spiffy. Did you go out and buy it... Can you use it?" He cautiously added the last bit, as she seemed a bit down. "And, what's got you so down, Maja?"

Sara came back out with a plate of food for Maja and a glass of water for Raith, sitting down at her stool once the food was handed out. "There you go... I hope that goes down well for you. How was your date, Raith?" She didn't press too hard to get his attention, as he seemed to be getting talked to by that new elf Angus had brought back.

Wait, date? Ingverd turned to look at Raith for a moment. Oh, right! Oh, right... Oh... "Well, that explains Makin's drinking..." He sighed, and rested an elbow on the counter.

[Xinnidy]

"Hmm? Yeah, it's mine. I got that as a prize when I beat the arena..." Maja replied, her nonchalant tone still telling how the magnitude of that achievement hadn't quite kicked in. "Yeah. I know how to use lances. I've just never been on the frontlines since I can heal better. I think I can use this lance fine? I just need to get used to it and it'll be ok."

She didn't feel quite at the mood to reply to Ingverd's other question, however. "I... I'll need to find Kadin. We were trying to find about his past today... but it didn't go that well." She sighed and thankfully would at least put her mind off of that for a bit as Sara returned from the kitchen with her food ready. "Thanks, Sara." Maja replied, at least food would go well after that much activity in the arena.

[Vestige]

"You. You won it? That's--okay," he said, rather surprised that Maja the "healer" had bested the entire arena. Gods, have I lost my edge or what? She didn't seem to keen on speaking though--something about Kadin the ghost. Admittedly, he didn't care much for the ghost fellow, so he didn't bother pressing her further. "It went well enough," he said, taking his water from Sara. "I wouldn't mind taking you out sometime. You seem like you could use a break," he winked. "Also, does anyone know where Makin is? I need to talk to he--" he was cut off by a rather familiar sounding voice. One that he hadn't heard in quite some time. He looked over and sure enough, there was Tristam sitting next to Ingverd. "Well looks like I'm meeting all sorts of people today. I could ask the same of you, Tristam," he chuckled. "I'm here on a job. Mercenary work. How have you been though? What brings you to Felson?"

[riariadne]

Unity

"Of course... I'll be there for you, always. If you want me to be with you when you meet them, just let me know. Now that you know they care, I wanna meet them, too. Maybe not all the nobles are so bad..." Valha rubbed her head against his shoulder, smiling. "Whenever you're feelin' down, lonely, sad, anythin', all you have to ever do is ask. Don't forget that, okay?"

Dissension

"Fun? I'm not here to have fun," Leiha retorted simply. "You've already done the damage, so mock them more if you still care. But leave me out of your nonsense." Leiha glanced around, retreating into the shadows once again. "I don't care enough to follow you this time, so don't get paranoid about it. You'd be best keeping your own distance, too."

[charlie_]

Angus nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I hope so too. She had a pretty rough day, I think. Not that she's the only one, but..." He eventually trailed off and just shrugged.

[scorri]

"Well, was here looking for new shops to sell the boss's stuff at but uh... I actually joined up with this group. Or... think I did. Dunno if being hired by a drunk boss counts but that's what I've got to work with so..." He grinned. "We'll see in the morning. I think they took your boss upstairs though. She wanted to head to her room to sleep off the absinthe."

[Nanami Touko]

Impressed

"You beat the arena, Maja? Well, good on you! That's fantastic," Ingverd said, ruffling the girl's hair. He didn't realize what that entailed, with Marius, but even without that, it was still an impressive feat. "That's a rather expensive prize for beating the arena, though... I'd count yourself lucky." It seemed that Raith wanted to talk to Makin, though Ingverd didn't think that would go over well. And he also seemed to know the elf they'd just hired on. Huh, small world. There appeared to be Kadin trouble as well. "Whatever happened with Kadin, I hope you can find him. But, you found him earlier, yes? You can do it again, I'm positive." He offered her a smile, whatever solace that would bring.

Sara blushed and frowned. "Don't make promises you can't keep. I've had one Hel of a day, and if you're offering, you're damn well sure I'll take it." She found a book behind the counter to start to read, answering Raith's question as well. "Makin was dragged upstairs to sleep. Don't know if she is or not, but if you go up there, she might end up all over you."

There was a bit of a thud from upstairs, and an audible groan. "Well. I guess she is awake, then."

What's The Point?

Ertel shrugged. "What's the point in doing something if you can't have fun with it?" He waved her off and went to spinning his knife down the street. "Bye bye birdy. See you later, then."

[Vestige]

Raith smirked, "Well hey, if I get another day off, I wouldn't mind," he said to Sara. "I don't think we'll be staying in Felson for that long, so you can consider it a parting gift." Tristam and Sara both mentioned Makin was drunk, and that was a little bit surprising to him. "Drunk you say? Well, if she decides to change her mind after she sobers up tomorrow, I can vouch for you Tristam," he smiled. "But are you sure she was drunk? As far as I know, she told me she couldn't get drunk," he said, frowning a bit. "I should probably check on her, I have to tell her something anyway," he placed his glass on the counter and got up from his seat. "It's nice seeing a familiar face," he said, clasping Tristam on the shoulder. He made his way upstairs, and knocked on Makin's door. "Hey boss, you in there? There's something I need to talk to you about."

[Oersted]

"Yeah, I'd like it you went with me. I kinda want them to meet you too." He wanted them to meet the person who was responsible for keeping him alive long enough to meet them. The fact that Valha wanted to meet them was a bonus. Though, her continued display of affection continued to fluster him, little by little. " Yeah, I won't forget. And... I know I'm not the best when it comes to stuff like this, but I'd like to offer the same to you. If you ever need anything I'd be glad to help."

[algae]

"She probably has the right idea, anyway, long day and all. I'd expect the others to be better off in the morning, though." Not a very good attempt to lighten the mood (in fact, probably the opposite). Her own mood soured the minute Raith came into view, and she made a quick exit back into the main room, resisting the urge to glare in his general direction as she passed.

[Xinnidy]

"Thanks, Ingverd. Yeah, maybe it will be fine in the end." Maja at least manages out a faint smile. At that moment, she noticed Ingverd's new attire, and how tattered her own outfit was. "Hmm, Ingverd... where did you buy that outfit?"

[scorri]

"Not going to switch out of being all rainbow, are you? It's a nice signature thing. You'll be remembered in the arena for sure. The rainbow clothes girl who beat the whole arena. Rainbow Terror!" Tristram grinned at the healer girl, hoping to maybe boost her mood a little since she seemed so down.

[Nanami Touko]

Expression

The thud that had happened had indeed been Makin (or at least her top half) slipping off of the bed and colliding with the floor, causing her to wake up with a bit of a start. Luckily, she was still full of alcohol, and not hungover. Luckily for her. Not for whoever was knocking at the door. "Whoooo iiiiis it?" she groaned, sliding up to the door. Maybe Angus came back... He probably thinks I'm pretty. I AM pretty. Heheh~ What a lady killer he is~ Her drunken thoughts were silenced as she opened the door to Raith, immediately smiling and reaching out for him, but stopping halfway. Her smile started to quiver and turn into a frown, though she struggled to keep it as a smile, bringing her arm back down. "Ahhh, h-hey, Raith... How're you?" Drunk or not, she remembered why she'd gotten so wasted-- the reason was staring her in the face. She didn't want to start crying but she could feel the tears already starting to pile up.

Clothes

"Where? Oh, some girl named Clarine. She had a clothes shop in town, but, honestly, you could go anywhere to find new clothes." He wondered if she'd change up the rainbow attire, as their new friend chimed in. Seems the rainbow thing's gotten a bit popular. Everyone was really hyping up the arena victory, though. It was impressive, sure, and he would never denounce it, but he felt he was missing something. "Hey, Maja, what exactly did beating the arena entail...?"

[Xinnidy]

The comment made the girl smile again, though she wasn't all that sure about the rainbow thing. Or rather, she wasn't ever that self-conscious about it until it was brought up today. Hm... I guess dressing with this many colors stands out that much? "A change of main colors could be nice... I'll think about it." She simply said, not even sure if she was joking herself.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind, still." She replied to Ingverd, but wasn't very keen on his question as she did not know what exactly he was thinking of. To her, beating the arena led to something... not quite exciting. "I... you have to fight seven guys, they keep getting stronger, I think... not always that stronger..." She trailed off when recalling her fight with Troy. "After them, some big guy that watches the arena likes to challenge the winners... he's some noble, I think. Has a seat for himself and all that. He's pretty tough, though... I hit him harder than I thought, so it was fine." She hoped that was all he'd meant to ask.

[scorri]

"Ah well. Looks interesting, or at least that's what I thought. But you should do what makes you happy I guess." Trist shrugged, just glad that he'd gotten a smile out of her.

[Vestige]

Makin opened the door, smiling at him. It seemed she was trying to give him a hug, or perhaps a handshake, but she decided not to at the last minute. Uhhhh. Still, he let himself in, and gently closed the door behind him shut. He leaned against the door and folded his arms, not quite sure what to make of the situation, "I'd say I'm doing alright, what about you? I needed to talk to you about something, but apparently, Sara went and gave you something to drink that had enough of a kick in it to get you drunk," he chuckled. "I suppose it can wait until tomorrow morning though," he mused. Unless Ertel was planning on raiding the inn during the dead of night, he figured there wasn't much to lose in waiting.

Edited November 3, 2014 by Vestige

[Nanami Touko]

News

Makin sniffled back the tears that were forming. Either the alcohol was too much for her to bear or she really was feeling some horrible heart wrenching over this, but either way, she doubted, severely, that Raith felt the same. She couldn't just start bawling over this. "No, no it'sh okay, really. It was just some absinthe. I can take it! Lay it on me!" She almost shouted, and tried to slide up a bit closer, but when she moved her top half, the bottom didn't listen, causing her to sprawl forward and crash against Raith's chest. She quickly looked up at him and blushed, staring wide eyed and trying to get her brain to move her tail. "E-Er, sorry... About that..." She felt her lip quivering again. Not good. Move, tail...! But it wouldn't listen, so she ended up staring down at the floor as the waterworks began, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Wait a Second...

Ingverd stopped to parse the information. He knew the name of the guy running the arena, he just couldn't pull it out of his head... Come on, who was it. You've heard of him before, from the boss. His name... M...Marius... Marius! Marius!? "WAIT," he suddenly exclaimed, staring at Maja. "You beat Marius Typhus in the arena? What!?" He couldn't believe it! Maja, their bubbly healer who could barely hold a lance right, defeated Felson's master of the guard in single combat! "You, I... Wh... How?"

Edited November 3, 2014 by I have opinions

[Xinnidy]

"Well, it's interesting, but... I can't keep just walking around in this outfit the way it is, it needs some good fixing." She noted about her damaged clothing.

Maja leaned slightly backwards, surprised at Ingverd's reaction. "Yeah, that sounds right. He looked strong, but... I think he was holding back even then." She noted, remembering the time Marius got angry at Kadin. "He almost got me... I got one good hit in, though. With this lance." She showed her purchase at Drogan's, the elvish spear. Hmm, I want to train tomorrow. Maybe if I could use spears better...

Edited November 3, 2014 by Xinnidy

[scorri]

Raising an eyebrow, Tristam started to reach for the lance and then paused. "Ah, sorry, but... that's elvish make, isn't it? Can... Can I see it? It's been a while since... since I've seen a weapon made by one of my kind. ... Really it's been a while since I've seen any of my kind. I just..." He dropped his hand. "Sorry, I just... Nevermind." He shook his head. "A lance won't change anything. It won't connect me back to my people."

Edited November 3, 2014 by scorri

[Xinnidy]

"Oh, right, it IS elvish. Isabelle told me so." Maja recalls, and had no qualms offering the lance for Tristam to see. "Sure, it might help, or not help a lot, but it can't hurt to look, right? It's a bit pretty, too."

[Vestige]

"No, trust me, I'm pretty sure you're going to want to wait until tomorrow," he replied. Still, Makin didn't seem so convinced. In fact, she was so sure about getting him to talk, that she managed to fall right on top of him. There was a loud thud against the door frame, as he struggled to hold her upright. "B-boss, are you sure you're okay? You're falling all over the place, and you don't even have legs," he laughed. He was expecting a bit of a chuckle out of her, but she seemed entirely quiet. "Er, well, okay sorry, I guess it wasn't that funny. But hey, cut a guy some slack." Even still, she had nothing to say. She didn't fall asleep in my arms did she? He tucked a finger under her chin, and brought her face upright. His stomach sank. Her eyes were glistening against the light, and he could feel the dampness of her skin, as he wiped away some of the tears that had streaked her face. "Makin, what's...what's wrong?" he asked. "If something's wrong, you can tell me, you know that right?" he said. "Anything at all, I'm willing to listen," he repeated.

[scorri]

He took the lance with a slightly shaking hand, running a hand over it. In his mind, he could see his parents, sitting around a fire at night, his father cooking dinner while his mother worked on a weapon not far off of this one. Her carving the runes as she infused the weapon with her magic. The two of them laughing as one of her attempts accidentally set their wagon on fire. He shuddered and shoved it back at her before quickly sitting down on the couch. "I... Thank you but... I'm fine without seeing it." He forced a smile onto his face, not wanting to seem completely crazy to his new companions.