Masquerade Part 2: Army of Darkness

[scorri]

Following Valha outside, Trist grinned slightly as she seemingly got lost. "I know where to go. I can show you, don't worry. Just let me get my horse, ok?" Heading into the stable, he grabbed Amira and vaulted onto her back. Nudging her out into the street, he grinned at Valha. "Right then. Shall we?"

[Oersted]

Lanos gave a small clap as Valha bowed before following her outside. He was surprised she didn't know where it was before he remembered that he didn't either, he'd never been there or really heard of it. When Trist brought his horse out he couldn't help but inwardly sigh. This is going to be a race isn't it?

[Xinnidy]

"Well, I guess I was a bit lucky. I dodged his attacks and got a really good hit in. I used this new lance I bou-- oh, I left my weapons back at the inn..." Maja was a bit disappointed in her realization, she wanted to show it and boast even more! "It's really neat and channels my magic through! Well, that's what Isabelle said... Marius did catch my attack once, though, he's good." Maja scratched the back of her head as she admitted. "It was good lance training, though I want to do more soon."

She curiously looked at the clothes Vriska picked. "Huh? Another sweater? If that's what you want. The glove is pretty, though!" She marveled about it for a brief moment until her thoughts were broken by the mention of Kadin. "Oh, right... I was thinking... he might be at the arena. If not there, then..." She raised a hand to her chin. Marius said he was the minister of defense... maybe he's looking on his own? "You know where, uh, ministers and these kind of people live here? I think he could be there..."

Truth be told, that subject had gone so nicely to the back of Maja's head that she wanted it to last longer as she picked clothes. "Hmmm, you know what? These are good for the cold and for battle, but I don't think I have anything more... casual. Just to wear because it looks nice." She raised her finger as if to express her point. She looked at another row of clothes, soon realizing she really wasn't acquainted with casual wear. They're all so light... look at all these skirts, do you just wear them and they stick to your hips? I never tried one before... Hmm, I think I shouldn't overdress too. But then, what do I choose? She picked out a few pieces of clothing but couldn't decide. With a mildly grumpy sigh, she threw them all back to a pile. "This is hard."

[Nanami Touko]

I Don't Do Sadness

Alicia bit her lip as Raith stepped out. She'd run off to be playful, the night before, but it only resulted in both of them being worse off. Alicia far more permanently. She sighed, because while she wanted to stop Raith, she wouldn't know what to say. Instead, she turned her attention to Makin, and attempted to smile, failing to do so. "So, you're, uh... You're Makin, right? Raith mentioned you, last night. Said I'd want to talk to you if I had any questions."

Makin was surprised this woman could remain so calm after getting an injury like that... Makin wouldn't know what to do with herself, if she lost an eye. She tried not to focus too heavily on it, not wanting to make her feel even worse. "Yeah, I'm Makin. Don't worry about Raith. I'm sure he'll be fine. Questions about what, exactly?"

"Well, coming with you," she said, getting straight to the point. She didn't want to discuss Raith, not with his boss, about what he was feeling. She'd ask him about it later, if he was open to discussion. "I'm an armorer, and eye or no eye, I know how to make weapons like making porridge. I'm sure I'd be able to help out a mercenary group." She hoped Makin wouldn't question her too much on it. She wanted to forget last night as quickly as possible.

"Huh, an armorer... Well, we have a merchant, to keep our wares, but I can't say we have someone who can make them from scratch... But, why so eager to come with us?" Makin had to know why, at least. Maybe it was Raith. She hoped it wasn't Raith. She didn't have the heart to tell Alicia about them, after seeing that injury.

She just had to ask, didn't she? Alicia sighed. "Well... After last night, I need to just, get away from this city. Clear my head. I figure, seeing some of the world could help with that. And... Well, Raith's a cutie. And he was real nice, last night. I'd hate to let that go, so easily."

Makin gulped. So there was something, there. "Well... I, er... I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing for you to come along." She couldn't say it. She was sure Alicia would find out sooner or later, but Makin couldn't bring herself to tell the woman, now. "How much will you charge?" Maybe she could press the conversation along, and try to ignore that. Raith could talk to her about it, and straighten it out.

"How much? Just keep me safe, and pay for any weapons you want. I suppose, getting a room when we stop in towns of villages would be nice. Otherwise, you don't need to pay me for hanging around. And I'll give you guys a bit of a discount, though, I don't think you'll get better than iron while we're on the move. Material's a bit hard to come by for better stuff, so easily."

Makin nodded. "Alright, that doesn't sound so bad... I suppose. Welcome on board, then, Alicia. I'll go see if Raith's doing alright." She held out a hand to shake, and Alicia did so, offering a small smile to Makin.

"Thanks for having me on board. You go see how he's doing. You're his boss after all, right? I'll meet you all at the inn later, I suppose. Need to get my things packed up." She smiled.

Makin felt another wave of guilt wash over her, quickly turning to leave. Once outside, she approached Raith, and patted him on the shoulder. "Hey. I spoke to Alicia about things, and she'll come along... But... She doesn't know what happened between us, and I didn't have the heart to tell her," she blurted out, hoping that Raith would be able to handle that. He seemed quite upset at seeing that scar, so maybe that wasn't the best time, but Makin needed to say it. She couldn't leave them both in the dark, and right now, she had all her trust squarely in Raith.

Rainbow Terror Indeed

Vriska shook her head as Maja recounted her fighting with Marius. She couldn't believe the happy-go-lucky healer had managed to defeat one of the councilmen, especially one that had dealt with Vriska so quickly. She sighed, and tried not to say anything. It was humbling, if anything. "You want to get better at using a lance? I suppose I could train with you. I don't think you'd hit that hard, and you seem like you could take a hit of magic." It didn't sound like a half bad idea, though, Vriska worried about how good a fighter Maja was, if she could beat Marius. Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea at all.

Vriska nodded at the sweater comment. "I have weird tastes in clothes, if that hasn't become incredibly apparent." From tight shirts, to baggy shorts, to puffy sweaters. Vriska's own sense of fashion was an enigma, even compared to Maja's. Aside from that, it was good she had a few ideas of where to look for her ghost. "We'll check up there, first. There'll be less magical interference than at the arena. We can knock it out as a possibility first, if he isn't there." And so they had a destination after this shopping, as well.

But casual clothing? Vriska didn't have a clue. At least not to offer as an opinion. She tilted her head, and looked over the clothes that Maja kept picking out. "Hmmm... I guess, all I can say, is grab something that speaks to you. If you look at it, and you go, 'I can see myself wearing that,' then wear it, even if it isn't something you think people will like, or is popular. That's what I do. It works for me." Sage advice.

Edited November 30, 2014 by I have opinions

[Vestige]

He heard the door open and immediately straightened up, glancing over to see Makin making her exit. She greeted him, and he exhaled a long withheld breath. "How'd it go?" he asked. She told him that Alicia had decided to join up with them, which came as a slight surprise given how unsure she seemed about it during their chat the previous night (though, the events of the latter night probably held some sway in the final outcome). Still, he was glad she'd chosen to come along, but currently, the news did little to lighten his mood. Then there was the matter of needing to "explain" things to her. It was an odd thing for Makin to bring up, but he quickly realized that Alicia had probably said something regarding himself. "I doubt she's coming along just because of me. I'll give myself credit where credit is due," he said, knowing full well the extent of his flirtatious behavior, "But I'm sure she has her own agenda. That said, if it ends up becoming relevant, I'll fill her in and that'll be the end of it," he shrugged. Given the nature of their relationship, and how quickly things had progressed, he doubted anyone in the company was privy to the knowledge of his relationship status. He didn't particularly care if anyone found out, since it wasn't much of anything to hide, but at the same time, didn't exactly feel compelled to announce it either. Besides, with Makin's alleged clinging, he figured it would become apparent soon enough. "How long are we staying in Felson, by the way? I mean, did you find us a new job, or...?" If she had announced it earlier, he'd clearly missed it.

[eclipse]

Meredith whistled to herself as Angus went through the opponents, one after the other. She was glad that she'd stopped when she did - that final opponent looked to be a lot tougher than the rest of her challengers! "Hey, you're pretty good!" Meredith exclaimed happily. "Have you thought of using a close-range weapon as well as a bow?"

[charlie_]

"Well, I can sort of use lance , but I'm much better with a bow than with a spear." he shrugged. "And until recently, I was our only archer, so I haven't had much of a chance to get in some practice with them either. What about you? I... guess you use lances, is there anything else you can use?"

[Xinnidy]

"Could you really? Thanks, it'd be nice to get some practice in!" Maja was ecstatic, though one comment by the mage girl made her think of her arena gauntlet. "Oh, now that you mention it... I guess I could afford to take magic better. I thought I was good, but I think I cut it close to that wind mage at the arena." She raised her hands to hold her chin in concern. Father always told me that, despite teachings, being pious is what truly made you strong against the magics... is it because I've missed some prayers? Well, this life is busy, I can't help forgetting it now and then... even if it's happening more often. She bit her lip and made a mental note to reserve some time in her afternoon for her pious duties.

Hearing Vriska confirm they would look for Kadin was nice, and Maja made sure to nod back to her suggestion. "Alright, we'll look there, then. After we're done." She gave another look at the stack of clothings she was sorting through, unfortunately Vriska was no better acquainted with casual clothing than Maja. "Hmm, alright... uh." She was fairly lost.

What can I see myself wearing? Maja wondered. At home, she never really had the luxury of choosing her clothing. She remembered her parents, dressing her in a more regal silver, or white, to visit the church of him, study the teachings. At home, she was still dressed in a high-cut poet shirt and pants, especially when guests were home. She remembered how little she enjoyed the warm seasons. In a sense, she was still too used to dressing in heavy pieces. Maybe I should try something that lets me breathe, you never know until you try, right? Maja started sorting through the stacks, picking up a low cut, pink sleeveless blouse, knee-length green shorts and yellow sandals. This... these aren't accessories, huh? I... I guess I'll give it a try. It was definitely a change from her usual outfit, to say the least. Maja gave a look to Vriska. "I think I'll have these. What do you think?" She picked up the items she intended to buy. "Alright, guess that's all, huh? I'll take yours so I can pay for them."

At the counter, Faust already estimated the price counting the pieces from afar and jotting down the numbers. He made sure to re-count as the pieces were brought. "Alright... That'll be 50 gold. Are any of these gifts?" He asked automatically, already picking up a few cloth pouches to store wares.

"Hmm, no, not really. That's all." Maja paid the amount (after feeling how larger than usual her savings pouch was, hooray!) and cheerfully took the products as she made it back to Vriska. "Here you are! I can't wait to try mine!" She handed the mage her sweaters and gloves. "So... I guess we should go to the Noble's place now, huh?"

Edited December 4, 2014 by Xinnidy

[eclipse]

"My lance teacher was quite. . .adamant about me sticking to spears. Something about being a danger to both myself and everyone else when I had a close-range weapon," Meredith responded. "At least with a lance, I was less likely to cut off my own arms." She sighed, lost in memory. "He called me his miracle student, though I have no idea what could've sparked that. But enough about the past. It sounds like you've got another archer? Does that mean you'll have time to train with something else?"

[MRDRHAWK]

As Angus and Meredith were talking, Kendeall was going into the arena. Unlike last time, he went through the first two rounds with little incident, and moved on to the third fighter. Despite his constant shouting about "the people" and his threats of "boots to asses", Kendeall made it through him as well. The fourth opponent was... What was he, exactly? Whatever. Kendeall finished him off quickly. His last opponent was far more trouble - at first. After they found that there was an illegal enchantment on their fists before the fight, the arena's organizers restarted the battle, and Kendeall rather decisively put the final opponent down.

Collecting his gold, Kendeall noticed an odd ring slipped in with his winnings. Putting the ring on, Kendeall shrugged and left the arena. Meredith was fine in Angus's care. Right?

[riariadne]

Valha's eyes widened with excitement at the sight of the horse. "Heeey, I saw that horse yesterday near the inn!" She circled around the horse, smiling wide. "Horses are so funny. I don't think centaurs are all that interesting, but horses are funny big animals that run around so much and it's great. Well, anyway... you're the one who knows the way, so show me, mister Trist! Lanos, you can go first. I wanna size people up a bit first, yeah?"

[scorri]

Trist blinked and grinned in a slightly bemused way at the reaction to his horse. It wasn't quite something he'd encountered before but he just gave a mental shrug and nodded. "Right then. Follow me you two. And there's no need for the mister. Trist works just fine." He nudged his horse and set off in the direction of the arena.

[Sandalphon]

Vesta blinked, standing outside the smithy for a while. It seemed as if a massive amount of time had passed her by as her attention waned. She daydreamed about something but forgot what it was upon snapping back to reality (she figured it must've been pretty rad).

She held her newly improved axe, observing it with real detail for the first time. It was pretty heavy, but had a sheen to it that was actually pretty stylish. Vesta approved.

"I guess I'm gonna have to try this bad boy out, huh?" She said to no one in particular. "Better find an arena I can smack some folks with then..."

She trotted onwards to adventure, hoping she would not get lost on her way.

[Nanami Touko]

New Job

Raith seemed confident in what he thought. Makin felt herself turning a bit red, as he seemed extremely confident on the subject now, though she didn't know if that was his own regular bravado, or if he wanted to put on a strong face. She definitely didn't know if she wanted Alicia to know in such a straightforward way, or if she wanted the rest of the group to know, for that matter. She'd have to wrestle with those feelings later. Raith had askesd an important question. "A-A job?" she stuttered out. She definitely turned red at the frog in her throat, clearing that out and confidently repeating, "a job, yeah. We're gonna cross the tundra and check out the castle... It's gonna be real dangerous, but it's a job from a council member, that Cedric from this morning. We'll get paid well for it. Just hope we're all up to it. I'm going to have to cascade myself in fluffy clothes, because half human or not, I'm still half snake. Going to need all the protection from the cold that I can muster..." She shivered simply thinking about it, not wanting to feel any thing less than a spring breeze hit her.

New Clothes

Vriska watched Maja pick out some clothes, offhandedly adding to the girl's concern, "if you don't think you're up for getting hit by a fireball, then you can say so. I'm not about to force you. I mean, I'm not particularly into the idea of being smacked by a wooden lance, but, all the same, training's training..." Vriska slowly glanced her eyes around the room as she spoke, looking at things she might get when they got back. There were a few articles. Though, when she finally made her way back to Maja, she was a bit surprised by the choices. "Looking to show some skin?" she asked, monotone. She didn't want to add much intonation to her question-- it might've made Maja assume things. Vriska was asking it straightforward. Maja had worn long sleeve shirts and pants and a coat, or something, on top of that the entire time Vriska had seen her, so this jump into casual, leg and arm bearing clothes seemed-- not weird, but curious.

Whatever the case, Vriska gladly took her new gloves and slapped them on, clenching her fists a few times, and then taking the sweaters under her arm. She wasn't going to wear one right now, in this weather. "Well, ready to go find your ghost, then? If we find one of the main streets, it's just walking up to get to the noble's livings, I think..." She wasn't entirely sure, but it was the place in town with the biggest buildings. It couldn't be that difficult to wander into.

New Challenger

The vendor at the arena perked up from the game of solitaire he'd been dealing himself, as the tiny centaur wandered past the entrance pillars. His gut reaction was to laugh, but after the tiny girl beat Marius the day before, he held it back. It seemed there were surprises in every contender, these days. "Welcome," he announced, shoving the cards into a tiny drawer behind his counter, "and are you up to the challenge? If you are, slap one hundred gold down, and walk in. Door's on your right." He smirked. The girl would show her metal or leave.

[Vestige]

Raith moved behind Makin, and wrapped his arms around her stomach, leaning forward and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I dunno, you seem pretty warm to me," he quietly teased. As for the castle that Makin was talking about, he assumed she was making mention of Castle Karstell. "The castle, huh? You mean, Castle Karstell? And this Cedric guy wants us to go check it out?" he mulled over the fact for a bit. "I mean, if he's going to pay us to take a tour of a castle, I can't say I'm going to complain. Though since you mention danger, I assume you've heard the stories, then? Honestly, it's probably a pack of bandits that've made a nice nest in there. Spin a couple stories, spread some rumors, and suddenly no one wants to go into the castle. I'm sad I didn't think of the idea earlier. Could have had an entire castle all to myself," he chuckled.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Vestige

[charlie_]

"I guess I could train more with lances if I really wanted to now, but I'll probably end up spending more time firing arrows anyway. It'd be nice to be better with them, but it's not really a priority for me." He looked back at the arena, and saw Kendeall strike down his last opponent and cheered with the rest of the crowd, until Ken just kind of left without them. Awkward. "Uh, there he goes..." he said, slightly confused. "Well, whatever. Do you want to try and find out where the boss got to now?"

[Xinnidy]

"Oh, no! I love the idea, I really want to get more practice!" Maja assured. "I've just wondered how much I can still improve. People say I can do my job well, but still..." She let out an audible sigh. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't bother about this today. You brought me to shop around and are even helping me find Kadin! No more gloomy feelings!"

The question revolving the clothes Maja bought had her looking over her purchase again, slightly red in cheek. She could feel Vriska didn't mean anything by tone, and pondered whether she overstepped some boundaries with her choice for casual wear. "Is that too little? I don't know, I've never tried it before. I was thinking maybe I should whenever we're in a place for long like this. I'm used to my style, but trying new things is why I left home, after all. I thought it look pretty, but... I don't know, if you think I shouldn't, I won't." She confessed, a tad overreactive to the comment. Maja sort of looked forward to the getup, thinking it would give her confidence, though perhaps the girl hadn't considered how her pale skin would enjoy the extra sunlight.

"Ah-- alright, let's go to the noble's place!" Maja declared, taking the lead off of the store and to a street. Making out her best to navigate through the city she's been in for all of a day. "Oh, do we take a turn here?" She seemed right, and for what it was worth, they were walking by an upwards slope, and the shops were getting scarce. They were met with guards standing at the entrance to what definitely was the noble's rung. "Hey! Can we go through?" Maja approached them casually.

[spoiler=The Infiltration]

Vriska didn't comment more on the training. If Maja wanted to try it, then she'd let the girl try and thwack her, and toss fire back at her. As for the clothes... "They're fine, Maja. They aren't exactly racey at all... They're just different from what you normally wear. I didn't mean anything by my question." She cocked an eyebrow at the girl, wondering if this really was the first time she'd worn something other than her usual attire. It seemed that way. "You'll look fine. Let's go."

Vriska followed after Maja, as she didn't exactly know her way around that part of the town, but they seemed to be going the right way, and as the shops began to dwindle, she gathered they were doing just that.

Unfortunately, Maja went and did what Vriska was hoping to avoid, and ran straight up to one of the guards. "Hey, wait--" but it was too late, and Vriska sighed, keeping herself back and collapsing her face into her palm.

The guard looked down at Maja with some scrutiny, wondering what she wanted. "Do you have a meeting with any of the nobles? We can't exactly allow just anyone up here."

"Oh, uh." It came to Maja that this might have not been the most free place to waltz into. "I... uh... need to meet with the... minister of defense! Yeah!" She tried to garner some confidence at the end of her sentence, she was telling the truth! ... Except the part where the minister she was looking for was long gone.

The guard narrowed his stare slightly. "Cedric is out, currently..." His grip tightened ever so slightly on his lance, wondering what this girl was up to.

Vriska watched, almost amused, wondering what Maja would try next.

"...Oh." Maja was stumped. Though the name rang a bell --It was Lanos' dad!

"I... do need to get up there, really! I saw him outside, but he's going back home soon! I just need to get to his house first because... uh... it's a surprise! His... special order and all that. You can't go telling him about it or it will be ruined!" With the hesitation, Maja came out far more criminally suspicious than she ever hoped for.

The guard sighed, and let his mood drop. She didn't seem to be anyone suspicious, possibly curious at best. This was far too haphazard to have been planned, so there was probably nothing to worry about. Still... "I'm sorry. I can't let anyone in without written permission to enter. You'll have to prove that you're here to meet with Cedric, 'surprise' or not." He sighed, wondering how much longer he'd have to put up with this charade.

Vriska, meanwhile, had started giggling. Maja sure was a character when she put her mind to something... Still, she'd stop this sooner or later, if it continued for too long.

"W-Written?" Maja stuttered, the chances of getting inside were too slim the way things were going. "I'll... I could ask him then... but then... it wouldn't be a surprise... nevermind." She turned back and looked at Vriska, defeated.

Vriska sighed, and waved for Maja to come back over, crossing her arms after.

Maja returned, crestfallen. "Sorry, I... didn't expect that. It didn't work." She saw the mage crossing arms, and hoped Vriska wasn't angry about that. "What do we do now?"

Vriska unfolded her arms and flicked Maja on her forehead, shaking her head slightly. "You really don't know a thing about sneaking around, huh? Here, let's try another gate. I can't get past that guy after you've already set him off." She turned and started walking off towards the second entrance to the noble's livings, two blocks over.

Maja closed her eyes at the flick, a bit embarassed about the comment. "I... okay." She followed Vriska to the other entrance, keeping quiet and staying behind her this time.

And so they came upon the other entrance, Vriska holding her hand out for Maja to stop, keeping themselves in the ally nearby. "Alright, so... I'm going to distract him, and you're going to hop the wall, alright? There's a bush on the left side, and you aren't a weakling. You can make it. After you're over, I'll catch up. Okay? Think you can handle that?"

Maja looked at the wall, then back at Vriska and nodded. "A-alright, I can do that. Are you sure you'll be fine?"

"Yyyyyyyep. I got this. Don't you even worry." Vriska hauled out her thunder tome and confidently walked up to the guard. You'd better be able to make that wall, Maja, or I'm just going to look like an idiot for no reason...

The guard, still as on duty as the other one, stared down Vriska as she approached, taking a serious gaze on. "Halt. What business do you have here?"

"H-Huh? Me?" Vriska responded, her voice stuttering and quiet. Let's get this show over with... Swallowing her pride a bit, she slowly walked up to the man, and opened her tome. "I, was, uhm... This part, it's really hard to figure out. I was wondering, you, well... Y-You're part of the guard, right? That means you have to be smart! Maybe you can... Help?"

The guard cocked an eyebrow. He didn't know the first thing about magic, but... Hel, who was he to say no to such a cute girl? Maybe he'd remember something he'd overheard his colleagues talking about. "Alright, alright, I'll give it a look." He leaned in to get a better look at the words.

Vriska stole a quick glance back at Maja, hoping she'd realize this was the time to move. And to be quiet about it...

Maja stiffened up for a moment when she caught the glance, and made it for the bush quickly, a bit too quickly. She first stepped at the bush and made a rustling noise, then realized it and stepped back, making sure the guard would still be distracted. She then, far more carefully this time, used the bush as a stepping ladder to grasp the wall and, with a heave, lifted herself up. Keeping her balance on top of the wall was a bit of a challenge, and she felt her weight throw her to the other side... a fall she barely avoided by clinging onto the wall with her feet. Maja sighed in relief for what had not been, and pushed herself with hands to the floor, causing little noise. She picked herself up and waited for Vriska, not wanting to blow it up now.

The guard heard the rustling, and perked up to see what had happened, but he missed Maja's descent over the wall, and frowned. He started to move towards the gate, just to make sure, but Vriska wasn't having any of that. She grabbed him by the hand, and tugged a bit. "Mister, mister, I think I got it!"

The guard sighed. "Listen, I need to check on something, so--"

"No, really, look!" She smirked, and a bolt of lightning hit the ground between them.

"Agh! What the--!?" The guard groaned as he was stunned, and by the time he could see properly, Vriska was out of sight. He blinked a couple times, and looked around. "Wh-What the...? Geez... Kids." He turned to go and search the bush, and check around the gate, but just then, a cat ran out from underneath the shrub, causing him to jump slightly. "Musta just been a cat... Seriously, that damn brat. I'd better check to make sure she didn't steal anything... Too trusting of kids in this city."

Unfortunately for him, Vriska and Maja had now both cleared the wall, and as Vriska triumphantly strutted herself over to Maja, she smirked. "So? I'd say I make a pretty good actress."

"Huh, that was good." I think? Maja started moving again, wanting some more distance from the entrance now that Vriska got inside. "... I hope we can find Kadin now."

[eclipse]

"SURE!" Meredith said enthusiastically, not really caring whether Kendeall was there or not. "Is Kendeall always this silent?"

[Oersted]

Lanos was just glad it hadn't become a race and started following after Trist. "Yeah, that's fine with me." He hoped he'd do well in the punching arena since Valha would be watching him, it'd be really embarrassing if he went down to the first guy or something like that.

[charlie_]

"I dunno. It's kind of weird to see him kind of dash off like that without saying anything, but he probably has his reasons." he shrugged. "Anyway, let's get searching for the boss then." He made his way back outside and stopped, frowning slightly. "I'm still not sure where she would be though, so this'll probably take a while..."

[scorri]

The group soon arrived at the arena, and Trist tied up his horse outside. Heading in, he gestured. "That's where you can signup, and then that's the way to the seats. I'm going to head up that way. Valha, if you're not fighting right now, you should probably come up with me that way. Good luck to you, Lanos." With that settled, he headed up to the seats, hoping to get a good view.

[Nanami Touko]

Danger Zone

"Raith, what are you doing...?" she trailed off saying, stopping herself entirely and simply placing her hands over his as he moved. "Warm, huh..." She smirked, her blush fading, surprisingly. This kind of closeness didn't exactly embarrass her as much as the thought of people knowing about them did. It was odd, but it was how she was wired. Maybe after the cat got out of the bag, she'd be bothered by it less, but right now, going from boss and peon, to 'oops, we slept together last night', was setting off all the embarrassment alarms in her head.

She tried not to focus on them.

"Yeah, that's the place... I can only hope you're right on the stories of what's inside the castle. No one's gone there and returned to confirm them, so either those bandits have the place trapped up well enough to kill any trespassers, they're stronger than anyone who's headed there so far, or the stories are true. I'm hoping for the second. We'll show them a thing or two." She glanced at Raith's resting head, and smirked. "Once we clear the place out, of whatever's there, and see if we can find something for Cedric to use in Felson's defense, maybe we can all take a break in it and own it for ourselves. Just for a little bit. I'd rather your idea not go to waste." She laughed at that, finally losing her embarrassment. It could sit in the corner of her mind until she had to deal with it. "Hey, what say we go and find some winter clothes, if any store is selling them, before we forget? I don't mind paying. Going to need a pretty thick parka to keep myself warm..."

Ghost Hunters

"We will. Let's just, uh... Alright." She grabbed Maja by the wrist and started to drag her away from the gate, towards a rather secluded alley between two fancy looking houses. "Let me sit down and concentrate for a moment. There's way less magic up here, and that's a good thing, but the stuff that is up here is pretty strong... I suppose that might make it easier; his magic is weaker than this, from what I remember, and from what I can feel right now, but it'll still take me a bit longer than down in the slums..." Vriska sat down and crossed her legs, making herself as comfortable as she could on the ground, and closed her eyes. "Try not to bug me while I do this... And keep watch for any guards that might walk by. Distract them if you need to, we can probably get around one of them if they spot up, but I'll have to sit down and start concentrating all over if I'm moved. Magic is finicky. Got all of that?" She cracked an eye open to look at Maja for a moment, then shut them tight again. "And try to think of where else he may have gone, if I can't find him here."

Upgrades

Burke sure was getting work! Another human had walked on into his shop, offering him a beat up sword and a tome. "Geez, were y'smashin' the sword against a wall're somethin'?" He hadn't seen a sword in such poor shape for a while, but he shrugged all the same. "Alright. Sword's easy 'nough, but the book'll cost ye extra... Haven't touched magic in a while, 'n it don't look like yer average light tome. Six hundred fifty 'n total." He nodded, confirming his price.

Edited December 14, 2014 by I have opinions

[Vestige]

"Oh yeah, sure, we'll definitely show them a thing or two," he said, nodding his head in agreement. Traps, bandits, otherworldly phenomenon, or a combination of the three--it mattered little. Well, actually, it did matter a bit. It would probably get rather bothersome having to fight against bandits invoking the aid of some vengeful spirit, who spent years concocting various traps for wayward travelers or explorers. Still, the cause of the rumors would become apparent given time, so there wasn't too much of a point dwelling over it. "Hopefully the place is already furnished. I've no intention of sleeping on cold stone floor," he grimaced. "If it comes to that though, you'll let me sleep on you right? Riiiiiight?" he smiled wryly. "I mean, I'll come buy clothes with you if you say say yes," he teased. Granted, he was going to go with her anyway, but if he could get a little insurance, that wouldn't be too bad, right?

[Sandalphon]

Vesta rolled her eyes as she slapped the entry fee onto the counter indignantly. This whole underestimatin' her thing was getting really old really fast. She trotted into the arena and spat on the floor, glaring at the gate. Whoever was gonna step outta there was gonna have a bad day.

Round 1: FIGHT!

Some nitwit named Tim entered the ring. Vesta grunted, swinging her axe at him. It was pretty heavy, and smacking a fool with it turned out to be a pretty good source of catharsis from her rather crummy day. (Or at least, it would be if the concept of psychological catharsis wasn't bunk). Tim went down pretty easily after a feeble attempt at countering her.

Vesta snorted triumphantly. She wasn't one to let a grumpy mood go to waste.

Round 2: in which weapons are used to smack people

The second round did not get off to a good start as Vesta stumbled. The heaviness of the axe, though beneficial in the making of the choppy-choppies made her slightly clumsy.

"Would ya mind dodgin' less? I'm hella hungover and not in the mood to deal with any twinkle-toe hooey at the moment..."

Obviously, her opponent did not take her request to heart. This was very rude, and Vesta made a mental note to pay attention next time anyone she fought mentioned hangovers.

Still, after a rough struggle she managed to subdue the inconsiderate clod. Served him right.

Round 3: Wherein Eric does not do a very good job

The next bout seemed significantly easier, as the guy Vesta was set up against seemed to be having a pretty rotten day. Vesta would've been a little bit more sympathetic to her plight had he not responded to a swing of her mighty axe by attempting to beat her into a pulp. This attempt utterly failed as Vesta simply bonked him in the nose with the blunt end of her axe.

No sense making this poor sucker's day any worse than it already was.

He fell to the floor. If he hadn't been cupping his face and cursing violently Vesta was sure he would be thanking her for her compassion.

Round 4: more like HAVEling a BAD TIME HA HA

Vesta's axe hit her opponent with a disturbing "thunk". "Thunk" was not a sound Vesta enjoyed hearing. "Thunk" meant that clearly there was gonna be some sort of problem here as whatever was being smacked was incredibly solid.

Vesta on the other hand was clearly not a "thunk" kinda gal. Any damage made to her would be more of a soft, meaty thud noise... And it was.

Vesta reeled back from the impact of a well placed hit, grunting as she got angrier. This thunky jerk had no right to be better at her at this sort of thing.

After a rough scrap involving many "thunks", Vesta taught that fool a lesson in humility (though frankly, that could very well have been the result of Vesta projecting, which was a particular skill of hers).

Round 5: But first, let me take a selfie

Vesta took the opportunity to showboat to the audience, quite pleased (and also bruised) with her performance against Havel McThunkerson. She laughed and waved to the crowd, all while wishing this lump on her forehead would go away.

Her next rival stepped into the ring and, still on a high from beating a brick shithouse she danced around the ring, slamming her axe into poor unsuspecting marcus-flesh. Clearly he had not been expecting a prancing pony to be his opponent as his attempt to hit her back failed miserably.

He was quickly added to the "having a miserable time" pile.

Round 6: It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN

In retrospect, all that showboating may not have been the best decision in the world, as Vesta was getting a bit tired. She panted as what would probably be her last challenger for the day entered the ring.

Clearly, this dude was just as tired as she was. Clearly he just wanted to go home and was no longer putting any heart into his fighting. He was, however, putting a lot of heart into missing.

When she won, Vesta did not feel particularly good. "Don't worry too much, you can go to bed now..." She whispered to her felled enemy.

She left the ring with heavy thoughts, which were soon alleviated by having an equally heavy wallet. Maybe today wasn't utterly awful.

[Oersted]

"Thanks Trist," Lanos called out to the elf as walked he up to the counter. Already familiar with the process he placed 100 gold on the counter and walked on into the ring. The atmosphere felt... different from the other arena, not as grand or something like that. He just hoped he wouldn't underestimate his opponents because of that.

Knock You Down!

The first man to walk out, Carl, made him think he might actually be overestimating them. It was a fairly simple match, Lanos threw a punch and Carl countered for what felt like nothing. Sure, he blocked it but Lanos still thought it was weird. Usually you’d be in pain if someone punched you. Regardless, Carl seemed to be barely hanging on after Lanos' second punch and Lanos still felt nothing from Carl's punch. Lanos' third punch ended it and he thought that if everything was this easy then he had nothing to worry about.

His next opponent was more challenging than Carl, or he wished he could say that. Lanos threw out the first punch hoping to end the round quickly but Steven was capable enough to dodge out of the way. Steven tried to take advantage Lanos’ slip up but he too proved unable to hit his opponent. Lanos saw an opening and took it, punching Steven right in the face harder than he’d intended to while shouting, "Falcon Punch!" Steven would probably feel that when he woke up.

Next up was Dwayne, the apparent crowd favorite, “The People’s Elbow.” He actually managed to block a couple of Lanos’ punches but that was about it for anything special. Lanos ended up getting an opportunity to “Falcon Punch” him but it was one of the punches that Dwayne blocked. Probably for the best since he’d been on his last legs anyway. But he still came out feeling fine and was glad that he was doing so well. It was actually kind of fun to fight without his life at stake.

The next match proved that there was at least someone who could hurt Lanos. El Fisto’s punches, for lack of better terminology, pack quite a punch. The problem was that he was just way too slow and Lanos actually felt kind of embarrassed that he’d gotten hit by him. He “Falcon Punched” him in retaliation though so he felt it was a fair trade. The healer actually looked kind of happy that he finally got to heal him.

His final match was more of a test of endurance than anything else. Lanos was back to being able to shrug off his opponent’s punches but his seemed to be much less effective. It quickly fell into a pattern of punch, get punched, punch, etc… until he missed and she seemed to be back to how she was in the beginning. Oh come on, he mentally complained as he blocked another punch. Rather than try to slowly wear her down he tried to end it with one well placed punch, though she proved to be quicker than Carl and another two of Lanos’ punches hit only air. His third punch did hit her however and it was enough to floor her.

For the first time he actually noticed the crowd and was glad he hadn’t earlier. He almost instantly felt out of place and uncomfortable being the center of attention. He remembered what Marius had done when he beat the other arena and repeated it, raising his arms in the air in victory. The crowd seemed to love it and after a bit Lanos left to claim his winnings. Like the other arena he received a fair amount of gold though he was also given a stone wing. Ha ha very funny, he thought as he pocketed it. He wondered if it was anything like the statue Valha had given him for that vitality fruit or whatever it was. If it was he wondered what it was supposed to do.