act complete Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 3 Reunion

[Dandragon]

"I see...I hadn't heard about that. Of course, I've been spending the last three years of my life making my way to Hull, so that's...probably why." One last sip before he set his glass down. "I'm not gonna bore you with any details about that, all I'll say is when I got to Hull, Niko found me and offered me a job, then left without so much as a word why and...here I am. Here I am in command of something when all I wanted was a job." He was letting his anger get to him.

"Did you know? The Reliants are...well by all technical means they are actually dead. Slaughtered apparently. By some group. And I have no idea when or if Niko was ever gonna tell me this, but Doug did. And wouldn't you know it, when that wizard sent us all in different directions, chance just happened to have us run into the REAL Reliants. Guys riding on wyverns 'n shit. Their leader being some holy guy or summit. Anyways, I just mention Niko and they tell me that he ran into hiding like some coward. And there's me thinking I've been duped into using the name just to let Niko live in hiding or something! And who knows! Maybe that's what actually happened!" Suddenly he grabbed his drink, and began to swig it, gulping down the liquid, until he let his arm drop, the bottom of the glass hitting the table once again. "For all I know, Niko was jus' usin' me like...like a scapegoat er somin. Some fuckin...thing to draw attention while he sneaked off!" At some point, Serge realized what he was saying and stopped himself. This was one of Niko's companions, for Engel's sake, and here he was, trying to bad mouth him as if he was the villain all along.

"I'm uh...I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Serge let out and uneasy sigh. "I think the booze is getting to me a bit." He blushed, embarrassed that he flipped out at someone he barely knew.

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh, they can't all taste bad! No one would drink them if they were all awful." Right? "Well, I want to unwind, and sitting here watching everyone else drink and have a good time isn't going to help me with that... Besides, you're here with me, this time. Last time... I'd stepped away. I won't make that mistake again. I'll stay in here and you can watch my back~ Not a thing will happen, I promise!" With a cheery smile, Cassandra hopped out of her chair, and gave Adele a nice pat on the shoulder. "I'll find something! Promise~ Let's have a good time, alright?"

Cass ventured over to the packed bar, making sure to keep Adele in sight. She didn't get long to speak to with the barman, but he'd offered her cider, when she asked for the best tasting drink he had. It smelled strong, but to be fair, she'd never had anything, so any drink most likely would. But this one, it tasted delicious! Wonderfully sweet, even if the aftertaste was sour. She her mug in hand, she sat herself back down next to Adele, smirking.

"Seeeeee~? I told you something had to taste at least halfway decent! You should try some, this is wonderful. What's the deal, anyway? You were so sweet outside, and then I mention the drink, and your mood gets rotten. Something happen? You can't just hate it for no reason..."

Cass gets herself One Cider

Edited October 21, 2016 by Narmaya

[Ether]

Adele sighed as Cassadra went off to get her drink, so much for that then. It only took her a few moments to come back boasting of her cider, that she enjoyed the taste.

"Thanks for the offer, but I refuse. It's worrying that you like the taste off the bat though, I worry you'll become an alcoholic, most have to break it in before they can stomach it." Adele replied, shaking her head and sighing again.

"I've plenty reason. Drinking it makes you a buffoon, you'll make every terrible decision available to you once you've drunk a bit of it. It makes men into predators and women into delirious sheep who'll follow the wolf to his den and find themselves used and left in the streets." Adele began, shivering a little bit as she spoke, shaking her head again.

"And the common folk that complain of no money, they spend the lot of their earnings on that stuff, then find themselves evicted of their homes, and still they go to the drink instead of anything sensible. It's Belial's brew, is what it is, only good for people who can't or won't entertain themselves while their brain still functions, or who want to wake up feeling as though an axe split their head, for whatever reason." Adele concluded, slumping back in her chair.

"But don't let me ruin your fun, as so many love to point out I seem quite good at. One of us needs to stick around with their faculties intact."

[Nanami Touko]

Cass couldn't stop her eyebrow raising itself as Adele spoke, eventually sliding her chair closer and setting her drink down. "Adele, what happened?" She reached under the table and took hold of her hand. "You're speaking of this far more personally than I would have expected... You should tell me. You can tell me anything, after all. Because as is it, you tell me not to let it affect my fun, but knowing you're upset, no amount of this would ever make me happy."

Giving her hand a tight squeeze, she tried her best to smile, nudging Adele's cheek with her forehead. "Come on, now. I'll listen. I've been rather good at that, lately. And depending, maybe you'll stop me from having more than one of these. Sounds promising, doesn't it?" Whatever it is, it must've been something rather personal. I can't imagine she's this bothered by it just because it dulls the senses. She was shivering a moment ago...

[Ether]

"Not here. If you truly want to know, finish your drink and we'll take a walk elsewhere." Adeltrudis replied with a sigh. She'd been that transparent, had she? How bothersome a thing...

[Nanami Touko]

That's... Wow. "If it's too much for you to talk about even here, perhaps we should wait until the night is over. I've... I'll tell you about it later, but I've had my fair share of depressing action today. I'll listen, but if it's that heavy, not now... Take care of me while we're here, alright?" Perhaps she had been too gung ho on her approach to Adele. She loved her, dearly, but she'd also barely managed to get back on her feet. Her apprehension to enter the bar had been conquered, and as long as Adele was always within eyesight, she'd feel as safe as could be.

That didn't mean she was ready to breach something hard enough to cause Adele hesitation. The heiress was not one to shy at anything, so having pause over this... She took another sip from her drink and scanned the room. "Should we find people to speak with? I know there's a few I can bring myself to bother... Oh, related to that!" She'd spotted Emmet, and it had jogged her memory. "Emmet wished to speak with the both of us, alone, with something he believed would cheer us up. So we should take care of that later."

[Ether]

"If that's what you'd prefer." Adeltrudis replied, in no rush to breach the subject further if it wasn't to Cassandra's taste. It seems that the Princess had her own tale to tell, though it would, too, be saved for later. She then mentioned potentially talking to the others, before reminding herself of something Emmet had supposedly said. How intriguing.

"If there is anyone you'd like to speak to, you need not ask my permission. Go ahead."

[Nanami Touko]

Cass gigged at that, swatting Adele's arm lightly. "Not for me, silly. For you! I can socialize with anyone from our group at a moment's notice. I know you are talking to others, but I don't think I've seen you do so. I'm just worried that my dearest heiress isn't meshing well with the rest of our motley crew, you know? I do worry about you, you know. A terrifying thought, I'm sure, this mess of a princess extending worries past herself~ ...Still, humor me; speak with someone, and try to enjoy yourself. For my sake, at least."

Cass picked up her mug with both hands, hopping to her feet, looking around. "Let's see... Serge~ Perfect. Claire's there as well... Well, I said we should speak to people, but I have no issue with you following me around, if you're that worried about the bar. Whatever might happen to my poor, unguarded self, were I to leave you for but a moment, ahah~" Joking around like this with Adele certainly was keeping her raised spirits up. I really needed this. "I'll let you decide, dear~"

Cider in hand, and steadily draining, she approached Serge and Claire, the former a nice shade of red. "Well! I appear to have joined in at an awful time. Did Claire just reject you, Serge? I know she can be quite frosty, but don't let the first time get you down... Ehee, haha~" Perhaps the cider was already doing its job, as this was her first time.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Narmaya

[Jotari]

Emmet nodded at the baron's suggesting. He appeared a lot friendlier and looser than any other time Emmet had observed him. Though he was also stinking something fierce with the bear rivaling or surpassing him. It was hard to tell. Regardless once he'd finished his meal, Emmet ordered a glass of wine and joined the baron at the table. "Was there something specific you wanted to talk about or are you interested in casual conversation?" Emmet asked, wondering if anyone had informed Angus of the day's skirmish.

Emmet has a glass of wine

Edited October 21, 2016 by Jotari

[charlie_]

Claire listened to the mercenary quietly as she joined in the drinking now - having just remembered the mostly full glass of cider in front of her and taking a sip.

She was surprised at what Serge told her. "I didn't know Niko very well, but he didn't seem like that..." She took another "sip" - evidently less used to pacing herself than he was. "Umm... don't worry about it. You're not the first person to spill your heart in here tonight." she sighed, taking another swig.

When Cass arrived, she felt herself redden and she almost spat out her drink. "You're getting the wrong idea here, Princess..." she told her after making sure it went down the right way. That timing... She was going to take another drink, but it suddenly felt much lighter than it had a few minutes ago. I should really pace myself better...

Claire +1 Cider

[Nanami Touko]

"You're both blushing now, and you're telling me I'm getting the wrong idea? Claire, deary, I'm drinking the same thing you are; it's not hitting you that hard. Now, don't be shy, it's fine, Serge was probably just gushing his feelings because of how harrowing today has been. Don't let me stop you two~" She sat down next to them with a laugh and followed Claire's example, taking a nice big drink, before sighing.

"This stuff is truly wonderful! I've never had any before, but I could drink this for the rest of my life~ Who knew it tasted so nice? Serge, after you're done pouring your heart out, tell me, what's your experience with the drink? Surely a battle hardened mercenary has more than a few reasons to drink after a tiring campaign." Or after a maiden breaks your-- Oh, Cass, you're being so mean! Let it go, it's just a silly joke~ She giggled to herself and decided to hold that one for later.

[charlie_]

Claire shot an apologetic glance towards Serge as she struggled to keep a smirk off of her face, hiding it with another mouthful of cider. She would've kept it in place for a longer, but she soon came to the realisation that it was empty. Darn. There was still the trace of a smile on her uncovered face as she put her glass down, still staying quiet. It was kind of funny how flustered Serge looked, now that she thought about it.

[Dandragon]

"What?" Serge looked between the two ladies, not sure he understood what was going on. "Wait...Wait whoa no it's nothing like that! I'm not asking anybody anything like that!" He was quickly waving his arms in denial, trying to reason with the Princess, who was probably drunk.

"Anyway! Experience with the drink, experience with the drink, uhhhh... I drink it a lot, I guess?"

[Nanami Touko]

Cass laughed at the display from Serge, nearly spilling her drink in the process as she slapped the table. "Ahaha, your face! This is priceless~ What, is Claire not to your liking? I find her quite striking, don't you? Look at that cute little smile, she's enjoying this." Which is good. She might not be over it entirely, but she's getting better. Let's keep it up.

"That's all? You drink it a lot? Boo. That's boring. Tell me what you two were talking about before I ruined Serge's confession, then. It'll be more interesting than Serge saying he drinks a lot, pffft." Another sip, and whether or not Cass was noticing it, the drink was already making her gigglier than usual.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Narmaya

[charlie_]

At some point while the others were talking, Claire had started giggling into her hand, grinning like an idiot. What am I even laughing at? She had no idea. But it was hilarious. And getting complimented like that was nice too. "Just things, Princess. Like Wyke's finest over there." she nodded towards Angus, who appeared to be getting his bear to drink now. Gosh, he's an idiot. She held in another fit of laughter as she stood up. "Another drink, Princess?" she asked, noticing her glass was almost empty as well.

[Nanami Touko]

"'Just things'? Gosh, what are the two of you hiding! You're grinning like a moron Claire, there must be something else. Serge was as red as a tomato over it, come on, tell me~ Ah! And, none of that Princess tonight. I'm just Cassandra, Cass, whatever you prefer. No titles for me, please." She waved her hand at all of that, staring at her glass as Claire offered her another drink, laughing again. "I'm already done! Wow~ How quickly the evening passes, I didn't even notice. Sure! Another one of these 'ciders'. They're so nice."

[Dandragon]

Serge kept trying to insist that nothing was going on between him and Claire, before sighing in defeat, unable to reason with the Princess's incredulous and ludicrous assumptions.

"Yeah...Yeah, can I have another cider, as well, Claire? I guess I'll drink along with the two of you."

[charlie_]

"Oh, okay. If that's what you want Cass." she nodded, still grinning. "And it's nothing, it's just- his face-" she snorted, not speaking for another few seconds before looking back at Serge "I'm sorry. Yeah, I'll be back in a second." she disappeared towards the bar, beginning her quest to acquire more drinks. Everything was so funny today.

[Ether]

Adeltrudis sighed as Cassandra moved over to Claire and Serge, the lot of them immediately loud and rowdy and all of that other stuff that came with the drink. Looking down at her water with a scowl, she lifted it to her lips and downed it in a single gulp. Well, aside from one issue, that being, whatever had been in her glass, it sure as well wasn't water. Her throat burned, and Adele immediately coughed, a small bit of the liquid escaping her lips as she heaved. Smacking her chest a few times with her fist as she coughed, her expression set into a scowl.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Ether

[Frostivus]

"Now, do share... what do you know about that little vial?" Sebastian asked, his stern gaze fixed on the bard.

Alright.

Let’s start with something simple. What’s your name?

My name is Scuttle Thames.

I’m a bard extraordinaire, with a big ear for folklore and an even bigger talent for spinning them. Yessiree, pizzazz is my middle name. I’ve made songs about bear barons and charming princesses that have immortalised them. I’ve trained under the tutelage of the legendary Javier himself, and learned how to read and write just as well as the literate classes.

Then one day he left and never came back.

yOu need mE.

Scuttle awoke with a start, the drowsiness that suffused her gone in an instant. “ZOMBIES ARE EATING STEVE OH MY GOOOOOOOOOD oh hello Sebastian.”

She took a stock of her world.

Her tongue tasted mahogany and shoe-dirt, and one side of her cheeks felt numb down to her jaw. Frescoed light rays shone through the tinted windows.

She was lying on the ground of a church, hands and legs tied stiff with rope.

She sighed in cold resignation. “I really screwed the foal on this one, didn’t I?”

Scuttle moved herself until her head found purchase against a pew, and rested her arms behind where a menorah burned incense. From the pillars, the judging glare of a granite saint statue cast itself silently upon her helpless mortal form.

A tale is what you want, Sebastian?

“This brings back memories, doesn't it? You, me, the church being evacuated again,” she pondered, moodily blowing a stray tress from her forehead, “Remember those Sunday school sermons we used to go to when we were little? Well, you went to them and I just took the bread from their communion. All that talk about life after death. A religion built upon the foundation of our fear of the cold, long dark. Pretty solid if you ask me. I mean after all, as long as people feared death, they will always need all of this.”

Incense-smoke burned brighter. Sunset scythed through windows in spotlights. Bells chimed and pealed outside. The saint’s plate read: a memento mori.

“But what happens when people stop fearing death?”

There was a fire smouldering in Scuttle’s eyes, not fierce but full of candour and clinging hope, “An alternative cure to death that wasn’t through Engel’s divine grace? How did you think they would have reacted? Throughout the church’s history, we’ve seen charismatic leaders fracture the body into numerous sects. Some were officially recognised, others became heretics and apostates that were seen as enemies of the church. Not much is written about them, probably because the church decided they were best left forgotten. But I’ve sieved my way through religious texts and bibliographies, and they keep making reference to this . . . lost cult. A cult with no history, no name, and no leader. Any trace of it erased by deliberate but dextrous hands, with only breadcrumb trails scattered to the wind. Whispers of a rumour of a secret. Something that the church was afraid of, and wanted to hide. A cult that cheated death.”

“We wiped them out, Sebastian. We helped Malaphar kill them all, and we gave him the secret to their power. The both of us. Whatever we didn’t know about them is now gone forever. Tears in the rain. You wanted a tale? You wanted to know more about the vial? There’s that then. The Tale of the Lost Cult.”

There was a snap. Scuttle brought her hands forward to rest on her lap, casually massaging the scorch marks left behind from the candle-burnt rope, letting the bits of ash fall to the ground. She groaned, “Oh, finally! They were going numb. Your knots could tie elephant trunks together. No, I'm not going to try anything, Sebastian. I just needed blood back in my hands."

Edited October 21, 2016 by Frostivus

[Juliette]

"Yes, that's me," Freya confirmed, bowing her head a bit. "How very true, Sir Alain. I hope our journey to Raewald goes on without further obstruction, but somehow I expect our little group to only get in more trouble." She nodded her head. "I understand. I don't mind Hull, but I don't feel quite at home in the city compared to the small village I lived most my life in. All this traveling is new to me as well. I'd never left Wyke before, or even visited much of Wyke at all. So I suppose being the princess's guard is expanding my horizons."

She looked over to the table Cassandra was drinking at and sighed. "She sure seems to get herself in trouble easily, though... While I'm more than capable of guarding her from outside interference, it's quickly become clear that she's really her own worst enemy. Protecting her from herself compared to a fearsome attacker... that's a lot harder."

[Nanami Touko]

"Cass~ Wonderful, good, no more stifling pleasantries. I just want to be normal for one night. As normal as I get, ahaha~" She snickered at that was Claire walked off, Cass narrowing her eyes at Serge, with a sneaky little smile. She scooted her chair over to him, leaning in real close. "Seeeeeeerge~? You know I was joking, right? You get flustered so easily, heehee~ It'd almost be cute, if you weren't so oblivious... I don't want you and Claire to tell me about your steamy love affair, of which is definitely, one hundred percent, totally happening..." She batted her eyelashes, and leaned back, away from him.

"I just want something to talk about. Doesn't matter what, I'm here to have a good time. Just treat me like one of your mercenaries tonight, at the bar for a rowdy, loud, good time, after a crushing victory in the field, heehahah~ It sounds so much fun! Stuffy castle life is terrible. If it wasn't for all of the otherwordly wonkiness happening around us, I might actually be enjoying all of this gallivanting about."

[Terrador]

His SKL really isn't high enough to shoot the breeze

"Cheers." Angus raises his glass, taking a great gulp before plunking it unceremoniously back down on the table. "Aye, I got somethin'. Wanted t'know what you thought about... everything that happened, a few days ago." Angus definitely needed another drink, bringing that up. "You were right about that bastard. I'm just wonderin' what you think about th'whole mess, honestly. I wasn't the closest to 'im when we were workin' together, and seein' as you were part of that trip..." yet again, Angus quaffs his mead, disappointed to find it nearly empty. "Well, I was hopin' you could make better sense of it than I could. Haven't figured out a damn thing, 'sides that it all happened."

The boy drains the last of his tankard, only to start at the solid crack of glass hitting wood to his right. Judging by the surprisingly small splash, the bear had already made it through his! Angus scratches the furry noggin, looking to Emmet. For answers, maybe? Or maybe just someone to hash it out with.

[Shin]

Booze Bear

For some reason or another, Angus had decided that Geoffrey would be introduced to drinking from an early age. Geoffrey cautiously stuck his snout in the vessel, sampling its contents. The mead was sweet, and rather appealing to the young cub. Lapping away at the drink, Angus' pet had its first drink, and quite possibly the first flagon of mead for bearkind too.

The crowd around Angus began cheering the pair on. "Bear an' Man! Drinking until one drops!" one cheered, the rest of the group applauding him. A good dozen men had gathered around them, cheering them on - were they not even alarmed at the sight of a bear?

Stay Sane Susan!

Sebastian looked firmly at Scuttle, doing his best to not think of their shared past too much. "It's been over a decade since I left the orphanage, Scuttle. It's been a strange life outside it." Sebastian replied, looking up at the stained windows. "Life isn't about dying, it's about what you can achieve whilst you're alive-..."

Scuttle had freed herself, the butler had drawn a knife, ready to throw it at her throat but he soon stopped himself. Scuttle was back. His Scuttle. Not the mad woman who'd tricked and tried to kill. The cheerful storyteller who would try to tell a dragon a bedtime story.

"You always did have a habit of escaping from trouble... after finding it of course. Take a seat, I think you have a few more cheerful stories to tell." he replied warmly, glad he hadn't needed to put down the bard.

Unacquired Taste

Adele's drink had been incredibly harsh, it wasn't the water she'd had previously. Had someone switched her drink? Had someone spiked it? There were so many people around her, it could have been almost anyone. With Sebastian watching Scuttle, Adele would need to fend for herself. So far, it didn't seem like poison, there was no pain or sickness - just a harsh taste she'd never had before.

[Ether]

Well... that had been an ordeal. Whatever had been in that glass was gone now, but Adeltrudis didn't feel... particularly worse for wear, at least not yet. Well, burning in her mouth and throat aside, that was. Had someone swapped her water out? Who and why, though? She hadn't even a chance to drink any of it, for Engel's sake... catching herself a bit, so that she might walk straight, Adele meandered over to the bartender, asking of another glass of water, and quickly gulping it down to try and quench the burn left behind by her mystery drink.

Adele +1 Water?