Of Magic and Dungeons [IC/PG-16/Accepting]

[radio414 906]

It was interesting, Chris thought, how some random river could be creepier to be in than an actual graveyard. At least in the graveyard, there was that random girl just hanging around. Creepy, yes, but he hadn’t been alone with fog settling in making it harder to see his surroundings, a place with only the sound of a not-quite-rushing river. It gave him the shivers, or maybe just one big singular shiver that oscillated up and down his spine.

This wasn’t a place he could just sit in one place to wait like back at the church, so in lieu of anything better, Chris picked up a small rock by the riverbank and tossed it into the water, enjoying the *ker-plunk* sound of the splash. Then he found another, smoother rock and, with a flick of the wrist, managed to get two skips in before it, too, sank like the literal stone it was.

Chris was about to go for a third rock, going as far as to bend down and take another in his hand, when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end (or, given the fog, stood up even straighter) and his whole body tensed up. Something had changed. When he looked back up, he saw exactly what it was: her.

He still didn’t have a good name for her, but she had shown up after all, even if she hadn’t noticed him yet. Instead, she looked out towards the other side of the river (even if it was obscured by the mist, it had to be there) one foot hovering over like she was contemplating running across, or just seeing if she could, before pulling back, retreating to dry land. The process repeated itself a few times before Chris even stood back up, the girl never fully crossing the threshold into the river waters but always coming quite close.

She still didn’t notice Chris, so Chris sent his rock skipping across the water -- three skips that time -- and made his approach. “Well, it’s close enough to my suggestion, I suppose,” he said. “And if you wanted us to be alone, you got it, I think. So…” He took the purple heart out of his pocket and showed it to the girl. “As promised, here I am. I want to keep helping you, what do you want me to do?”

The girl looked at the heart somberly, then back up at Chris. She looked like she wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a little bit of gurgling sounds and a whole bunch of water.

“Okay,” said Chris, pocketing the heart again, trying his best to hide a mixture of shock and disgust. “Well, um, that’s fine. You’re lucky it’s me you ran into, actually, since I still know a bunch of ways to get a message across without, you know, talking talking.” This was a bit of a white lie. He knew *of* ways -- signing, types of cants, codes -- but if he knew any of their methods, he’d forgotten most of them, leaving him with just the basics. “I guess we can start with just nodding yes or no. Can you write?”

It took a while, longer than Chris expected for such a question, but eventually, she shook her head no.

“Fair, I hate writing too,” Chris said. “But yeah, yes and no is still good. I have a lot of questions that could probably just be a yes or no. I guess the biggest one, though, and you’ll have to forgive me a little for this, is how far this should spread. I already told some companions this morning, mostly to find out what this heart thing is about and make sure they knew where I’d be. But one of them is a noble, and if you’re coming to me, and after the other events of this morning, I realize maybe that’s a breach of trust. I mean, I trust them, but my question is: is it okay to keep telling them this stuff? I can keep it a secret if it’s a ’just us’ thing.”

[Skaia 578]

After getting past her brief period of being lost, Lana had managed to find her way to the front entrance of the training grounds. When she got in there she saw someone that, for the second time today, had a kind of bizarrely familiar feeling about them. Furrowing her brow as she went deep in thought, she connected the two feelings together, her face then lighting up in realization as she figured it out. She had seen the man with Cleo and...someone else? a day or two ago. As she gave herself a mental pat on the back for figuring this out, she then paused as she looked back up and met eyes with the man. The girl, upon doing so, gulped nervously as she couldn't help but feel like he was upset with her for some reason. She normally would take much greater offense to someone giving her a look like that, especially as he seemed to recognize her, but she was more confused and definitely found it harder to get annoyed with the man's noble visage. So, instead trying to get some answers directly she nervously let out a, "uhhh, high there?" 

"Hello." He says abruptly. "Excuse me."

"Uhh, right." Just as quickly as he spoke so too did he begin to leave and Lana, being swept up in his force of personality, simply stepped to the side. Of course, Lana's curiosity was still unsated and realizing that he was just about to be gone the girl blurted out the only thing she could think to keep the conversation going. "Is uh, Cleo also here?"

His eyes narrowed a bit as he asked "Why are you asking about her?"

The girl could start to feel sweat form on her brow as she couldn't help but feel like she had messed up somehow. Instinctually trying to show no harm the girl added, "Well, you're like a party with her right? We met earlier today and all and was just wondering. Since I think she also comes here a lot - I guess she directed me here so it'd be weird if she was also already here. But yeah, uhhh...." Lana's words trailed off at the man's stare, realizing she was just rambling.

"I see." he seemed to relax a bit. "No, she's not here. As you said it would be strange if she were." He hesitated then "do you need something from her?"

Lana let out an internal sigh of relief, thinking the situation had calmed down. Really, she didn't need anything from Cleo but she would've preferred it if the girl was here for her first foray into the knight training ground. "Oh, not really. No. I just figured I'd say hi if she were, and maybe show off - er well, ask for pointers on fighting and stuff. She seems like, really strong and I think I'm pretty strong too but can never learn too much right?"

"Right...Yes, she's quite strong." He paused a moment and then said "You went into the dungeon, correct?"

The earlier awkwardness having completely disappeared, Lana smiled and nodded, saying, "you bet I did. Got through ten whole floors already." The girl nodded to herself assuredly, before stopping and looking slightly embarrassed once she remembered what group she was talking to. 

He nodded as well, seemed to think a bit, debating something with himself and then, "perhaps I could watch in her stea...no, apologies, nevermind that." 

Cocking her head to the side, curious, the girl said, "hm?" Then shrugging she said, "well, it was nice to meet you. I'm Lana, by the way."

"...Edgar. Pleased to meet you." Though he didn't sound particularly pleased. He gave a short bow before briskly walking out. 

"Uh, bye. Later." The girl gave a wave to him as he left before turning her attention forward. "Well, he seemed nice," in spite of it all the girl smiled to herself seemingly pleased with the talk before going forward to enter the training area. 

Edited February 6, 2022 by Skaia

[LordCowCow 840]

Ziun High on Life...or maybe just drunk

As Ziun spoke the man seemed to grow more and more amused. "Yes, yes, you're right, this is a lively place. I'm glad that you seem to have an eye for these things. Some people worry far too much about the politics and commerce. I suppose it's only fitting as you have a name similar to my own...." However instead of answering Ziun's question he gestured at the bard with his flask again. "If you'd like you could take another drink, it's something you wouldn't get just any day after all."

However, as Ziun decided if he would or not, it would finally hit him. The world seemed to twist and turn and his head felt incredibly light. As the background shifted around, oddly, the man himself only grew more sharp and clear. It seemed he, and the flask, were the only things not shifting.

Before Ziun denied or accepted the man frowned and glanced away from him. "Ah they already caught up." he muttered. Then, putting a hand on Ziun's shoulder, he said "Why don't we continue this conversation elsewhere, I'm sure I can find you an even livelier venue elsewhere...anywhere but right here would be much better I think."

---

Would Chris be more upset if they were a ghost or a mime

"I realize maybe that’s a breach of trust. I mean, I trust them, but my question is: is it okay to keep telling them this stuff? I can keep it a secret if it’s a ’just us’ thing.”

Throughout his speaking the girl watched Chris blankly. Taking in what he was saying eventually, though it seemed once he was finished she had to take some time to consider what it was that he said, and finally she slowly nodded. Then she stepped forward and gestured for where he had placed the heart. As she did he would notice a detail he had missed. Between her fingers there was a thin webbing of sorts. She drew the hand away and moved it up to her neck. With some motions she mimed a hanging while looking at Chris with a somber look. Perhaps highlighting the danger of being found out.

It seemed she didn't mind him telling others but was warning that they could be in danger if it spread too far.

Then she turned back towards the water. Watching it with a downcast expression. She looked back at Chris and pointed at the water before shaking her head.

---

Lana continues her knight night

The knight who had been talking to Edgar seemed to grow suddenly more serious when he left and Lana approached. Asking her for her name, where she was from, where she was staying, and what she planned on doing today. He also informed her that if she wanted to use her own weapon she wasn't allowed to join in practice with living beings and that there were areas separated for 'live training'.

He then would direct her to the door on the left, saying when she was done she'd come from the right door.

On the other side was what seemed like the other half of the building that the wall had separated. It looked similar to the previous but there were no benches. Instead there were racks of wooden weaponry set up along the walls.

Another knight greeted her and also got some information from her. Specifically making sure to check over and write down information about her weapon. The knight told her that if she wanted to use any of the equipment she would have to ask now and, when all was said and done, she was handed a copy of the information Lana told the knight and was told she would need it in order to keep her weapon upon leaving.

The training ground itself was much the same as when she had seen it from the fence. In fact she could see the area she had met Wallace and, if she squinted, she thought she could see movement from where the boy had been.

The major change was that, in the place where she had seen the elvish woman, the woman was now surrounded by knights either leaning on their weapons, down on their knees, or, in one case, splayed out on the ground.

[radio414 906]

As soon as he saw the hanging gesture, Chris nodded. “Okay,” he said. “I’m not gonna- I won’t tell anyone from here on out then. And if those who do know ask about it, I’ll just make up some excuse or something. No problem.” He stayed quiet for the other expressions, trying to make sense of as much of it as possible. The girl seemed to create more questions than she answered, though, especially when Chris finally noticed the webbing on her fingers. And when the girl started gesturing at the water again, he just had to snark, “You can’t go in the water or what, you’ll melt like a witch?”

The girl shook her head fervently and repeated the gesture, first pointing to herself, then to the river and shaking her head. Chris got it the second time. “It’s not your river, but you are from the water, got it.” Another snark welled up inside of him, something about wondering if she was the type to nurse shipwrecked sailors back to health or the kind who dragged them to their watery graves, but he managed the better of it, instead going with, “What’s keeping you, then? This river not go where you want it to? Unfinished business up here on dry land?”

She pointed to the heart and brought her wrists together like they were cuffed.

Between this and the running from Kalo family goons, Chris was starting to put it all together. “So if I destroy your, uh, your heart, you’ll be free then? I mean, you came to the right person, then. Anyone, especially my parents, would tell you I’m especially good at breaking stuff.”

A nod. He’d gotten it. Even before he tried, Chris knew that it was probably going to be no easy task, probably necessitating either reneging on the promise he had just made to not tell Estellise or bypassing her entirely and sneaking into some mage family library, but it was at least the start of a plan.

Before he could keep going, though, the girl’s gestures got frantic, and her face changed to one of fear. Behind him, someone said, “…didn’t have to come with. I know you don’t like it here,” and Chris wheeled around, very nearly drawing his sword, instead just keeping his hand gripping the hilt, to greet the invader of their privacy.

It was only the girl from the graveyard, which got Chris to relax, but only a little. She didn’t seem to notice, though, quickening her pace only because she noticed she’d been spotted. “Hello,” she said. “There are weird people in the graveyard, so I came here.”

“Weird like what?” Chris asked. His mind again went to the Kalo goons. “Weird like the sort of people who wear matching hooded outfits and threaten people a bunch?”

“Whoa, how’d you know?” she said, though her tone was significantly less surprised than the words by themselves might have betrayed. “Oh, but they just asked me things. They were looking for someone too.” She cocked her head to the side as though listening for something. “Oh, that IS why I came down here, wasn’t it?”

Chris turned back around to the undine woman, all ready to say something like, “We should get out of here,” but found she had already disappeared. He turned back back around, then, to the graveyard girl, “I should get out of here, then,” he said. “Is there a path back to town that doesn’t take me by the graveyard?”

“Hmmm…” After some (agonizingly long) thought, the girl pointed onwards. “I guess if you don't mind a really steep hill -”

She probably said more, but it didn’t matter. Chris had already taken off.

[Doggo 218]

While waiting for her father, Estelle's wandering eyes landed on a concerning scene. The girl that had played her tricks of illusion magic with apple vendors and others in the marketplace, in custody of Theresa, captain of the knights. Words of their meeting surfaced in her mind. She had warned the child she couldn't sustain herself forever. Theresa's comment that she went too far seemed an inevitable outcome, and not one Estelle could muster much sympathy for with what she knew. Before she could linger too on the scene, let alone act upon it to make sure there wasn't some illusion magic at work, a sentence from no where caught her off guard. As it happened it wasn't from no where and the mage turned to see a woman before her.

"...Mages. What a bunch, am I right?" the voice said. Estelle took in Robin's appearance, one she was not familiar with. Her hair, skin, eyes all were fairly striking in their color to say nothing of her garb. Interrupted as her thoughts were, the Fereis didn't full process the question.

"... A bunch of what?" she said with genuine confusion.

"Mages, I said. They're really something. Never heard anyone so passionate about ink of all things, but those two in there seem really into it." The stranger clarified. Estelle's thoughts caught up with her as she fully engaged in the new conversation.

"Ah, yes of course." Estelle said, a bit flustered. "Well, father's work is delicate enough even small impurities in materials can have rather disastrous results. I hope he has not asked to see it made in person." she seemed concerned and looked back into the shop herself for a moment. Nothing was amiss, just her father carrying on.

"Never realized magic could be so sensitive." What was at first a passing amusement toward these mages and their clearly very important ink was now genuine curiosity. "And you say that's your father in there? Can't imagine it's a boring life at least, being a mage's kid."

"It certainly has its moments." Estelle said a small chuckle escaping. "Normally magic is only as unstable as the mage weaving it. But father has ever insisted on blending schools together, something of an unknown territory. Or perhaps forbidden is a better word? Discouraged rather, yes I think that captures the sentiment much better. Even others of House Fereis scoff at the idea- o-oh but look at me go on. Please, if you had business in the store do not let me keep you."

"Oh, I'm just looking for something to eat. Happened to catch you head in and then straight back out, then I vaguely overheard them talking about ink and I just had to know what the big deal was." With a shrug, the pirate commented "Would probably be easier back when the market was smaller, before that Dungeon popped up, but that's life I guess."

At the mention of the Dungeon Estelle instinctively yawned, still tired from the Dungeon run earlier in the day. "Oh excuse me, you bringing it up simply reminded me how tiring it was today. To your point, there are many charming places to eat these days you are right. I could be a better guide but I do not often have a chance to eat in town as it is." Robin perked up.

"Been down there, eh? It just so happens I've been looking into the place myself. How about we try to find some place to eat and you tell me all about it?"

"Oh that would be wonderful! But if I stray too far from father he may well buy more supplies than he can reasonably carry on his own. Our group often meets at the Drooling Dragon. You could join us there tomorrow." Estelle offered without realizing several key factors to this arrangement.

"Sounds great! I'll see you and yours then." Robin replied and the two parted with a warm smile and wave shared between them. Now about those key factors. Estelle realized only after the woman left they had not given each other so much as their names. Not a solid start to adding someone to the dungeon exploration team. As if looking for something to distract from a perceived embarrassment her eyes rested back on Theresa and her captive. The mage hoped it was as straightforward as it appeared.

[Skaia 578]

After going through and learning all of the rules of the training ground, the girl walked into the training ground with a smile on her face and an axe in her hand. As she looked towards, letting out a sigh as she was sure that she could see Wallace in the distance, her eyes eventually went over to the knights and elven women that she had seen before getting in here. Gawking at the sight of the knights sprawled out on the floor, the girl attempted to let out an impressed whistle (more just spitting instead) the girl said, "whoa...that's awesome." 

The woman looked over to her and responded "No, it means that the knights here need much more training if they're meant to protect this city."

Freezing in place as she realized she was speaking audibly, the girl will then clear her throat. "Ah, uh, I guess so yeah." Pausing for a moment, asking what felt like an obvious question the girl said, "are you not a knight then?"

She gave one look over the group she had beaten, then lifted her wooden sword and resting it on her shoulder, before moving over towards Lana. "No, not at all. But they wanted help with practice." she sighed. "More than I realized..."

"I see..." The girl looked past her to the unconscious bodies of the knights. Curious again about the woman she said, "so, are you a dungeon explorer then?"

"I am not, nor do I intend to be." she said. "So if you're about to ask, no, I won't join a group."

The girl waved her hands as if to dismiss it saying, "oh, no no. I was just wondering like, well, you seem really strong. So I was just wondering how you did that."

She gave Lana a closer look, seemingly more interested now, then said "I fought. A lot."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense." The girl said flatly, understanding how obvious an answer this was. She then started to mull on this a little more. The woman was definitely strong and she could handle several enemies at once without getting bloodied, something that Lana had a great deal of trouble with. Similarly she knew that there were people both stronger and farther along in the dungeon then her, and so if she just kept to this pace then she'd end up losing the race to The Spark. The only way to keep that from happening was to get stronger. As strong as the woman in front of her to start with. And so there was only one way for her to get there. "Then I just gotta keep fighting even more!" Clearly getting swept up in the moment, forgetting her earlier fatigue, the girl asked, "so uh, would you want to spar with me?"

Her eyes went to the actual axe that Lana is holding, then she looked back at her face and raised an eyebrow without replying.

Following the woman's eyes, surprised, she quickly stowed the weapon saying, “oh uh, right. Practice weapons, I’d get one of those too.”

"Mm." The woman thought it over, then said "Well, it's not good to overdo it, but I suppose just for a little while."

With her expression brightening up, the girl said, "alright! Well uh, I'll go get one then." With that, Lana went to go get a practice weapon to begin her sparring. 

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Yes, yes, you're right, this is a lively place. I'm glad that you seem to have an eye for these things. Some people worry far too much about the politics and commerce. I suppose it's only fitting as you have a name similar to my own....If you'd like you could take another drink, it's something you wouldn't get just any day after all."

Ziun was puzzled by this response from this flamboyant man, but before he could really do anything else...something hit him...HARD. The world around him seemed to twist and turn and his head felt incredibly light. As the background shifted around, oddly, the man himself only grew more sharp and clear. It seemed he, and the flask, were the only things not shifting. ...what...the...h-hell...? It was a strong drink, for sure, but should it have had THIS type of effect on him? Ziun grew a tad bit worried at this.

"Ah they already caught up. Why don't we continue this conversation elsewhere, I'm sure I can find you an even livelier venue elsewhere...anywhere but right here would be much better I think."

The bard wobbled slightly, his legs doing his best to support him as he felt the man's hand on his shoulder. Ziun glanced over at him, who seeming like he was frowning, and he was still as lost as ever right now. At first, he couldn't form a sentence properly, due to his head spinning and it being light as it was. Once he shook his head slightly, he regained some sort of composure to finally speak. "T-They...? W-W-What...do you mean...they? A-And...what did you...do..." he stuttered out, groaning lightly. "...to me...?"

[LordCowCow 840]

Ziun's Stranger Danger

"T-They...? W-W-What...do you mean...they? A-And...what did you...do...to me...?"

The man seemed genuinely confused by the statement. Then he gave a low chuckle. "Do? Nothing at all my good man. I gave you a drink, you drank it, that is all." Upon saying this he took a swig of the drink once more with ease.

"Now, enough of that, they're so insistent I...ah, alas." he glanced back and let out a sigh. Looking back at Ziun he said "Perhaps another day, then, there is always some party to be had in this city. Until next time." He started to go and the paused, "try and build up your tolerance in the meantime," and then he stepped away and gave a wave of his hand.

Ziun then found himself standing at the end of an alley. A tall, stone, wall standing in the place that the man had been. Without any sight of him whatsoever.

Moments later a pair of men, out of breath and red-faced, came running up. They paused when they got to the wall and glanced over at the only person in sight, Ziun.

One of them pointed and, breathlessly, said "Where...did he go? What...did you do, with Lord Apati?"

Even in his state the name vaguely rang a bell. The Apati family was one of the major families that essentially ran this city. And it was led by this 'Lord Apati'.

Otherwise known as Zion Apati. Who was said to be ranked in the top 100 mages of the world.

---

Lana's Stranger Danger(?)

After some time with the knight, who seemed grumpy about Lana coming back so quickly, Lana now had her wooden weapon in hand.

The knights that the elf woman had beaten seemed to have been moved elsewhere to recover and the woman herself was standing perfectly still in one of the rings that designated combat training. She was standing with the sword at her shoulder, gazing blankly up at the clouds, and didn't respond as Lana came up.

Not until Lana had reached the ring itself did the woman look at her. "Alright, I suppose you're ready then."

She got into position, placing both her hands on the sword and holding it in front of her in a two-handed grip. Her face was stony, impassive, and she was taking in steady breaths. "Come at me then, I want to see how you make an opening move."

---

Estelle's Stranger Danger(!?)

The young mage caught glimpse of Theresa and her captive just as said captive seemed to pull away from the knight captain. Theresa for her part seemed surprised as she made a grab for the girl's arm only to pass through what proved to be an illusion. As the girl's arm, and rest of her body, was slightly ahead of where it had seemed she had been.

"Stop right this instant young lady!" The woman called out. Sounding more familiar than was usual for a knight dealing with a troublemaker.

Delilah, of course, did not heed the woman's words and continued to run right for where Estelle was standing.

As she got closer Delilah seemed to recognize Estelle and, face lighting up with a smirk, she quickened her pace. "Well hello there my good buddy, fancy meeting you here, don't worry about all that. So much fuss over a loaf of bread...and some oranges...and a pendent, nothing anyone would have missed if that woman hadn't shouted about it. Never mind that, here, I have something for you."

She then thrust a bag into Estelle's hands and continued to run.

The bag seemed to squirm as the young woman held it and, were she to look inside, she would find it filled with fat, brown, lumpy-looking toads.

[Doggo 218]

It sank Estelle's heart to go from the potential of a new ally to see Delilah running from the knight captain. Illusion magic was infuriating in the way it allowed her to continually get away with these sorts of things. The mage moved to intercept and was instead handed a bag by the devil child. The heft was one thing but the noises inside were alarming. Still Estelle couldn't help but want to see what had been given to her, an action she would immediately regret. Inside were toads covered in warts and no sooner did the mage process what she was holding did she toss the bag to the ground and let out a short shriek. This was enough to turn Theresa from her pursuit to Estelle's side.

"What's wrong?" the knight asked as she approached the mage. The Fereis was immediately embarrassed as she pieced together what must have been going on here.

"O-oh nothing, forgive me captain, I merely let another of her tricks fool me for moment. Allow me to assist your pursuit." Estelle replied as she steadied herself and turned her attention back to the fleeing Delilah. The woman weaved an enchantment that would make the body feel heavier and slow the child's flight. It clearly took effect as Delilah slowed and she noticed as much. She turned back and stuck her tongue out at Estelle. Theresa for her part didn't seem pleased with any of this but continued her pursuit. But as she got closer Delilah something strange happened. A small cloud appeared and it began... raining frogs? Estelle looked back to the bag she had thrown to the ground and it now seemed empty. Was this not actually an illusion? She had to be sure and she fired a small shot of light at the cloud. The magic passed through as though the cloud wasn't there. So it was an illusion after all. Not that the townspeople were realizing that immediately. Theresa's hand was also soon on the mage's wrist.

"I would advise against that, miss" She stated while running forward and shouting for the people to remain calm. Estelle recoiled realizing firing more magic into an already tense situation was definitely not conducive to the people's peace of mind. Her step slowed thinking it best to let the captain continue the pursuit alone. With the moment of pause she took note of the frogs as they hit the ground. They simply disappeared. If she couldn't apprehend the culprit perhaps she could calm the others in the area. The mage took to trying to point out the nature of the illusion which took some work. With time the illusion began to become blurry which aided her efforts and eventually the people calmed. By this point Theresa and Delilah were out of sight. Hopefully the captain would succeed but in either case Estelle felt hollow over her contributions to it.

"Estellise! There you are." a familiar voice called with clear concern. Estelle turned to see her father who soon managed to lay a concerned hand on her shoulder while still holding his haul of goods from the shop. "You weren't outside the store and I heard screaming. Are you alright?"

"Yes, everything is fine father. The knight captain was merely having an issue taking a criminal into custody. Her illusion magics make it difficult." Estelle explained. Her father seemed to relax and ushered his daughter away from the scene. He began explaining what he had bought and the applications he hoped to use them for. He went on to explain how he thought Estelle might best help him in his coming experiments. all of which Estelle quietly agreed to. Her thoughts were elsewhere as she made the walk back to the Fereis estate.

[radio414 906]

It took some doing -- Chris was still recovering from his stint in the dungeon that morning, not to mention his fight with the Kalo goons even before that -- but he eventually crawled through enough roots and underbrush, up enough rather steep hills, and made it back to Froura proper. He relaxed a bit now that he was within city limits. What could the Kalo do to him now, confront him in the middle of all this mid-afternoon hustle and bustle? Cause a scene, drawing unwanted attention to their doings? They probably wouldn’t experience any real consequences, but the week or so after would certainly be undesirable.

As he calmed down, Chris also started thinking back on what the undine woman had said (or, well, not “said” said, but… you know). He had to destroy the weird purple heart thing? The inklings of a plan had already formed while he was still at the river, but now that he got a chance to reflect, it really did make sense. The heart was obviously forged by magic. It probably needed something stronger than a sword or even a hammer to sunder it. Briefly, he considered trying to get to the tenth floor of the dungeon again, what with the magma and/or lava, and just lobbing the heart in there that time around, but that would definitely involve other people in some capacity, and he’d already given his word.

No, the solution was obvious. If it was magic, well, he just needed to figure out the magic. Easier said than done, of course, especially given how infamous he was back home for pointedly not doing his studies, but still.

He made it back to the Drooling Dragon and stepped inside to a rather healthy hustle and bustle. There was some commotion involving something or other, but Chris didn’t pay much attention to it. Instead, he went over to the bar and motioned to get Hector’s attention. “Hey, this is stupid, but it came up in conversation with a friend so I figured I’d ask,” he said. Technically, this wasn’t even a lie. “Which family would you say has the biggest magic library?”

“Hrm,” It took Hector a second to come up with anything more than that. “Well, those bigshot mages all like their books, but if I have to guess, maybe Empodio? They've been here the longest and they seem the type...Oh, but I know the Kalo family tend to hide away on their own a lot so I wouldn't doubt if theirs was biggest… Why would you need to know anyway?”

Chris deflected the question. “No love for the Fereis’ then? That was the conversation, anyway, you know, with my friend in the Fereis family. They might owe me some money then.”

Hector smirked. “Well they might know better than I would… but, you know, between you and me, I’d bet any of ‘em will say they have the best of anything.”

Chris returned the smile. “You’ve got a point. Completely unrelated, I’m probably going to be out late tonight or tomorrow, so you don’t have to wait up for me or anything. Just letting you know since you are my landlord, after all.” He winked, pushed off the bar and wandered his way back through the crowd, and back out of the Drooling Dragon.

To put it in terms of some thieves’ cant he still needed to practice, he had some pannies he needed to pick from.

[Skaia 578]

With the wooden axe in hand, Lana took a deep breath as she stared down her opponent. She knew this woman was strong, strong enough to beat a whole bunch of knights by herself. Which meant that if Lana herself were going to get any stronger, she would just need to fight and beat this woman in a fight. And, as her brute tactics had rarely failed her thus far she leaned into just that. Going for a full frontal charge, Lana let out a loud cry as she brought her axe up and swung it at the woman. Unimpressed, without moving from her spot, the woman used her wooden sword to effortlessly knock away Lana's weapon. Feeling the sudden shift in weight and break in momentum, Lana stumbled to the side only to then feel a stinging pain as the woman's wooden blade smacked into her side. The wind being knocked out of her briefly, Lana still remained standing in spite of her shaky balance, gripping her axe again and going for another swing. 

The woman knocked the weapon aside and frowned. "You do realize that had this been a real fight you'd be dead about now right?"

“Would I?” Lana thought back to her previous experiences saying, “well maybe stabbed, but I’m still made of some pretty tough stuff. Besides it’s worked well enough so far.” The girl frowned for a second, remembering her last encounter before going back to her previously curious expression.

"Has it? So what have you fought like this that makes you so confident?" She tapped the spot Lana was struck with the wooden weapon. "Had this been real steel dealing that blow, you'd have been cut from here," she dragged the weapon across to her belly button. "To about here. What do you think that would do to a body?"

Thinking about her own fights with monsters and what she had done to them, the girl shuddered at the thought. “O-okay yeah, I’d probably be dead.”

She nodded, "I'm surprised you aren't already with that attitude." she sighed then carried on, "If you want to attack like that you better be sure you're going to kill them in that strike. This can work sometimes. A ready opponent directly in front of you is not one of those times." She stepped back and moved back to her original spot, taking the same stance, and said "Try something else."

Lana took a step back trying to think of what else to do. Usually, when one of her weapons was knocked away she'd just start using another one or her bare hands. That was probably not what she meant though. Unfortunately for Lana, she couldn't really think of much else to do different outside of her approach. Not wanting to just get whacked again this time, rather than charge head first in, Lana walked slower towards the woman before going for the exact same swing that she had before. The elven woman had still managed to parry it with similar ease, though this time rather than her whole body being jerked along with her axe, Lana only felt her arms shift to the side. Feeling that she had more time to react, Lana went for a swing yet again but was met again with a hard slash from the wooden blade, the woman clearly having won the initiative in the offensive.

Stumbling back for a moment, Lana tried to get her footing back, before going for yet another approach and swing. No matter how many times she struck at the woman, her swing was always easily parried away and her retaliation was always immediately countered. As Lana went in for another swing, getting parried yet again, the girl thought about her problem for a moment. No matter what, her axe head would never get close enough to the woman to actually hit her or her weapon. So maybe she just needed a shorter weapon? Having this in mind, Lana shifted her grip on the weapon and rather than going for an offensive swing at the woman she pushed the haft of her weapon forward, intercepting the attack directly. Though there was still a sting in her fingers, she had managed to successfully parry one of the woman's attacks. A look of pride and glee surged across her face as she looked over towards Joan, looking for some recognition at her achievement. 

"Good, you're putting thought in it. But don't lose focus."

"R-right!" Lana swiftly readjusted her grip only to once more go for an axe swing. 

---

Lying face first on the ground, battered from all the wooden sword hits Lana groaned out, "man...you really are strong." 

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"Do? Nothing at all my good man. I gave you a drink, you drank it, that is all. Now, enough of that, they're so insistent I...ah, alas. Perhaps another day, then, there is always some party to be had in this city. Until next time. try and build up your tolerance in the meantime."

It was all a blur after that for Ziun, finding himself standing at the end of the alley...with his "friend" gone. Vanished really...only a stone wall where the man once was. It was puzzling, curious even...but it's not like Ziun could deal with that puzzling and confounding thought for long. As he kept trying to get his composure, now leaning against the stone wall, he was set upon by two men who seemed out of breath.

These are most likely who he was referring too... Ziun thought, holding his head slightly. Of course, his thoughts were soon answered by one of these individuals.

"Where...did he go? What...did you do, with Lord Apati?"

Apati...now where does that name ring a bell...? he thought for a moment, his mind racing as he went through what he could to remember why it sounded familiar. Eventually, it clicked with him and his eyes widened. The Apati ran this city, more accurately, one of the many families that did. One step further, it was something else to realize...that was one of the top 100 ranked Mages in the world. "...surely you must be jesting..." he muttered, in a hushed tone to where only he and the two individuals could hear. "...that was...Zion Apati?!"

He should've realized it sooner than he did, after all, the Apati family specialize in Illusion magic, something he too specialized in. But at this point, he was probably leagues behind the head of the Apati family...and especially Zion. Now the comment of having a similar name makes sense... Ziun thought, before looking back at the two. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I know not where your lord is. Before this moment, I myself knew not that he was who you say he is. I'm but a humble bard and I thought him a humble lover of music, so please understand I meant no ill will against one such as he."

[LordCowCow 840]

Ziun's other brick in the wall

"Unfortunately, I'm afraid I know not where your lord is. Before this moment, I myself knew not that he was who you say he is. I'm but a humble bard and I thought him a humble lover of music, so please understand I meant no ill will against one such as he."

The two mages looked at each other. Then one turned back to Ziun while the other seemed to be focused more on the alley they found themselves in. The one who looked to Ziun spoke up "One who declares their humility so much often turns out to be not that. There are many who would like to eliminate our lord, the Apati family is a cornerstone of this city after all, and we've no reason to think you're not one of them."

The other chimed in, "and if we were to take you in for questioning no one would know where you had gone. So you'd best tell us where he went and what he wanted with you."

The two took a step forward. Ziun shifted ever so slightly and he felt something behind him. Or rather he didn't. The wall he leaned against began to feel less solid and then suddenly he fell right through.

He landed on his back and his upper half was now sticking out of the wall he had been leaning on. From his current perspective it looked like an alley had appeared in the middle of the place that he had been standing in during his encounter with Zion Apati. There was a crowd gathered who all gasped out as Ziun's upper body appeared suddenly.

Moments later the two mages rushed out and, seeing the crowd, looked between each other and ran off. Calling out for their lord to slow down and show himself.

A firm voice spoke up, "clear the way clear the way." and a redhaired woman made her way through the crowd and looked down at Ziun. "Care to explain what you're doing here, and why there's a wall in the middle of the road?"

---

School's out for Lana

"man...you really are strong."

"No." The woman said, grabbing Lana by the back of her clothes and helping to lift her back up to her feet. "It's not that, you're strong as well. What I have that you don't is skill. But, that can change." She looked Lana up and down and frowned. "It may take...some time." she sighed. "I can't do this often you know, especially not for free, I already spent more time here than I intended."

She rolled her shoulders and looked into the sky. "I should grab a drink." then she looked back at Lana. "If you can move you should get going. And maybe you could do something about that kid that's been watching us. It's getting dark he might get hurt." With that, if Lana didn't stop her, the still unnamed woman would walk off and leave without a second glance.

[radio414 906]

Kalo’s library would probably have the most pertinent information, given that that was probably where the undine woman escaped from, but also Chris was pretty sure he’d be recognized for even snooping around over there, so that was out. Empodio was a decent option, but them being one of the largest families overall regardless of library size, it was more than a little daunting. He still passed by the outer walls of the house, just trying to come to grips with the scale he was working with, but he kept on walking before any guards came by to chase him on his way.

A thought occurred to him: maybe he should come back at night? Obviously, whatever breaking-and-entering had to take place at night, but to just find out where the library was, like, it was probably a room with windows, and if any window in a house was going to have light coming out of it well after midnight, it was probably going to be from some restless soul pouring over the pages of a book.

Well, it was either that or a bedroom where that same insomniac had just summoned a servant to their quarters, but it would at least narrow down what he was aiming for. How many windows did these massive houses have anyway? Chris could remember the long hallways of his youth, particularly as he dashed alongside the walls on the other side with a piece of chalk in hand, but he never really took in anything close to the exact number.

Overall, he gave it a pass. It was still an intriguing puzzle, but he had a better, easier way to find out if he just scouted one of the other major houses first. Just because it was the last one on his list didn’t mean it was the least.

Despite the relative comfort he felt walking up, House Fereis still loomed over Chris. How could it not? Despite the house looking nothing like Ellwood Manor, despite that he’d been in other large houses (though perhaps slightly less noble) for work, it still felt like a homecoming. Maybe it was because this visit wasn’t, strictly speaking, “for work?”, Chris reasoned. Maybe it was because he knew at least one of the house’s occupants. Maybe he was just feeling homesick. Still, he trudged onwards, up to the front door, and gave it a knock.

It was not a Fereis of any sort who answered, but one of the house staff, one who took one look at Chris and said, “Go to the servant’s entrance.”

“Okay,” Chris said. “Where’s the servant’s entrance?”

They pointed, and Chris followed their finger down the outside of the wall to a much smaller, less imposing door, one that, really, if you weren’t looking for it, blended seamlessly into the exterior wall of the house. Really, Chris shouldn’t have been surprised. Somewhere deep within him were all these etiquette rules that had been drilled into him against his will, and “only people who don’t need to knock enter through the front door” was definitely one of them. He’d tried to have forgotten them all then and he’d certainly forgotten them now. 

The same house staff answered at the servant’s entrance. “The housekeeper has retired for the night with a bad case of indigestion, so if you’re looking for work, I would suggest that you either come back tomorrow or try elsewhere.”

“I’m here to see Estellise Fereis.” Chris made sure to use her full name. “Could you tell her that Chris is here to see her?”

He got the same look he’d gotten at the front door. “Just ‘Chris?’”

“I have a last name but I don’t think she would recognize it,” Chris said.

“I am sure Lady Estellise knows a lot of Chrises.”

“And I’m sure she would be happy to see any number of them,” Chris fired back, “so long as she’s been told they’re here.”

Another pause. Another once-over. “The house’s turn to hold court to the public is not for another-”

Chris had enough. Like, he knew why this was happening, but he also knew he wanted no further part in it. He took his sword and showed the hilt to the servant. “Look, see, there’s an insignia on it,“ he said. “A house crest. I’m not a complete nobody. If she doesn’t want to see me, that’s fine and I’ll leave, but could you please just at least ask?”

The look on the servant’s face made it clear they didn’t really buy anything that Chris had just said, even less than anything he had said before it, but they still closed their eyes and sighed. “If the lady says no, I should warn you I will be returning with guards, and I should also warn you that our guards are perhaps the fastest in all of Froura.

Chris knew that was a lie, but still accepted the bargain. He couldn’t help but fan the flames a bit more, though, as the servant went to shut the door, “Will she be seeing me by the front door or this one?”

Perhaps no response was the best outcome for both of them.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"One who declares their humility so much often turns out to be not that. There are many who would like to eliminate our lord, the Apati family is a cornerstone of this city after all, and we've no reason to think you're not one of them."
"and if we were to take you in for questioning no one would know where you had gone. So you'd best tell us where he went and what he wanted with you."

"What would I stand to gain in doing that? After all, I just arrived here not too long ago!" Ziun protested, shifting slightly back and...wait...wasn't there a wall there? Within a matter of moments, the solid wall behind him allowed him to just pass on through and he did just that, now landing back in the streets he was in. ...Illusion magic? Hmmm...that would make sense now. After all, the Apati specialize in such magic...

While the crowds freaked at seeing Ziun's upper half just practically appear out of nowhere, the young man started to move slightly while seeing the two men running off in the opposite direction. I understand their worry about their lord, but they need to understand that I truly didn't wish for any harm to befall him or myself...so distrusting of commonfolk, it would seem. he thought.

"Clear the way, clear the way! Care to explain what you're doing here, and why there's a wall in the middle of the road?"

Ziun looked upwards and saw quite the fair maiden in his vision, albeit this red-haired fair maiden was donned in armor so she seemed to know how to take care of herself. The bard shuffled a bit in a manner to get up before dusting himself off. "Alas my dear, I'm afraid I know not myself. One moment I'm out here, the next I'm in what seemed to be an alleyway and then back here. Though if I ventured a guess, it would be that I never truly left where I was...only obscured here." He adjusted his hat before giving a small smile. "As for what I was doing: simply enjoying a beautiful day here...listening to the sounds of the city and drawing inspiration from it."

[Skaia 578]

As Lana was hoisted back to her feet, she looked over to the woman as she gave her some final pieces of advice. Realizing that her sparring session was actually just using the woman as a trainer, Lana muttered, "right...free..." Obviously, getting such a lesson for free was a great deal for her and she would happily get them again. But she doubted she would be so lucky to keep lucking out on free things, as after all she knew just how important money was to getting nice things. The girl wondered if maybe once she got the unlimited money from The Spark she would get the best training known to man and become the strongest woman in the lands...but if she had The Spark was there any actual point to getting a personal trainer at that point? Confusing herself with this conundrum the girl shook her head before saying, "oh yeah. Thanks for everything you did for me today Ms. Sword...Lady." 

The woman gave a stiff nod. At first it seemed she wasn't going to say anything but then a look of realization crossed her face. "My name is Joan."

"Joan," she repeated. Then realizing the pause coming she pointed to herself. "I'm Lana." Then, after a moment she said, "well, I'll try to get more experience and if you're in the area again, wanna spar again?"

"Depends how I feel at the time. I make no promises."

"Well, then uh, I'll ask again later." Nodding to the woman as she left, Lana spoke to herself, "man she's so cool."

With that done, the girl looked over to the trees shouting, "you should also go home now! It's late!" With her civic duty done, Lana took a step forward, nearly collapsing to the ground as she suddenly realized just how exhausted she was. The combination of having gone through the dungeon and then going through an intense sparring match had drained Lana greatly, and so using her practice weapon for support, the girl hobbled out to reclaim her weapon. And with that done, decided it was probably good to go back to the church for the night. 

[LordCowCow 840]

Chris makes Estelle a house call

And so Chris waited. He waited much longer than he should have had to wait for a response. Waited long enough to perhaps wonder if anyone was going to return.

He got a good look around the grounds. Which was not quite as vast as one might expect the main household of such an important family. Yet there was a different sort of grandeur. Around the flowerbeds were multiple statuses of various mythical creatures, mostly dragons, all poised as if ready to leap off their pedestals. And all with open maws. Along with this were the lanterns. The area was lit by a multitude of floating orbs that slowly drifted around in lazy circles.

Despite the ominously long wait the door did open up once more. But it wasn't the man from before nor was is Estellise.

A tall, bald, man with a full beard with no hint of grey despite his clear age looked down at Chris with a suspicious gaze.

"I was told someone has come uninvited to visit with one of the young ladies of this household. Naturally I had to look into this myself." his gaze swept over Chris and it seemed clear he thought not much of the young man. "I vaguely recognize that insignia, some house of little importance if I recall. Even providing you didn't just steal the blade it begs the question how the young lady came in contact with you." He seemed to loom over Chris, his expression stern. "Perhaps you are one of those she found to enter the Dungeon with, against her elders' wishes I may add, in which case I have to wonder at your boldness. At first I thought to have you thrown out. However...perhaps we can come to an understanding. My name is Campbell Fereis, advisor to the current head of the house, what, I wonder, would be gained by me allowing your correspondence with young Estellise?"

---

Ziun makes with the small talk

"As for what I was doing: simply enjoying a beautiful day here...listening to the sounds of the city and drawing inspiration from it."

The woman seemed to be watching him for any sign of deception. She was silent as she gazed at him, her face impassive, until she relaxed her shoulders and nodded in understanding. "I see, perhaps you have simply been victim to one of the city's....tricksters." she shook her head, "All branches of magic have their share of trouble but that one..."

She glanced at Ziun again, "Perhaps you could describe whoever caused this. If you were made victim of unlawful use of magic I will have to look into it. Do know if you want to give a full report, or file charges, we'll have to do so at the headquarters."

The woman paused a moment, and then her face took a sharp edge as did her voice as she said "And do not call me, 'dear'."

---

Lana makes plot device connections unknowingly

When the girl arrived at the church she found it was in an unusual state of activity. Around this time many of the adventurers who stopped by would be gone but as she walked in there still were several near the walls. All watching something near the podium with unease.

Three robed men were surrounding Father Greg. As Lana walked inside she could hear the priest speaking. "As I said, I do not know what you're talking about. And do remember the Kalo family have no authority to make demands of the church." Though the words may seem to be confrontational the man delivered it kindly as though gently reminding a child that fire is hot.

The robed men seemed none too impressed. "That may be so but this thief stole something of ours which we have tracked here. If you are hiding him then that means you are his accomplice."

Father Greg seemed unperturbed. "And this object of yours, can you detect it nearby?"

The lead mage bristled. "It is not so simple as...Bah I should not expect someone so blinded by belief in a worthless god to understand the intricacies of magecraft."

"So, you cannot, then?" Father Greg said and, with great force of will, stopped himself from smiling.

The three of them seemed fed up by the man and with a vague threat turned and began to head out. Their path blocked by Lana as the girl had entered moments before they went to leave. "Out of the way." One snapped. But another gave pause "What if she knows the thief? They both have the look of new adventurers."

The three seemed to argue among themselves a moment before one of them, with a sigh, said "Very well. Girl, we are looking for a dangerous thief, a very aggressive one, much like a rapid animal. He must be found as soon as possible."

Lana noticed the one who had spoken seemed to be suffering from a recently broken nose. He then went on to describe a young man of average height and light build, with dirty, emphasis on dirty, blonde hair.

If Lana thought about the description enough she would naturally think of one person. Which was, of course, her companion Chris.

[radio414 906]

Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy. Of course it wasn’t. Instead of Estellise opening the door -- either door, even -- and welcoming Chris with open arms, some random other family member had taken it upon himself to greet Chris at the door, and by “greet,” the actual intention was apparently to insult and chase away. Chris was used to some of this -- he hadn’t had benevolent intentions inside any house of nobility for a long while, even back when he was still technically welcome in his own -- but the circumstances had changed, and now, given the choice to either meekly slink away (and still likely stick in this guy’s memory, like, he’d already clocked Chris’ sword) or double down, Chris chose the latter.

“I’ll forgive you for the insult to Ellwood’s noble house,” Chris said. “In exchange, you’ll have to forgive my unkempt appearance. I’ll thank you for the audience as well. I did not expect to be greeted by someone of so high a station, and at this meager servant’s entrance at that. In exchange for that, well, I ask that you accept that I am the legitimate owner of this sword.” He held up the hilt again for Campbell to inspect and quickly came up with a lie. “There are stories I could tell you about this blade, if you like. Did you know it was this sword that defended the ancestral home from a wave of antediluvian horrors? That is why, if you hold your ear up to the concave guard, you can still hear the sounds of the sea.”

“You sound like one of those Kalo loons, raving about spirits of the sea…” he muttered, then shook his head. “I have no wish to know the tales that could be told of a sword though I am sure they are… fascinating.” His tone made it clear how non-fascinating he found the idea.

“Perhaps another time, then.” Chris’ ears pricked at Campbell’s comments, but he tried not to make it noticeable, trying to press his advantage now that he’d caught Campbell off-balance, first by making a big show of sheathing the sword, then saying, “In any case, now that the facts are established, I do need to get around to answering your question. You asked what you have to gain by allowing a meeting between me and your…” Chris probably hesitated a bit too long here, realizing only too late that now he had to try and best judge Campbell’s and Estellise’s exact relation. He settled, eventually, on hedging with “…your kin. Because our exchanges have already established a bond between us, I will not lie to you and come up with an excuse. You have no gain by allowing this meeting. But then, I would argue you have quite a lot of reputation to lose by forbidding it. After all, if we’ve accepted that I am of noble blood, even if it is of lesser value than yours, that means I am entitled to the traditions of courtship, one of which, of course, is, ‘Nobody can be deprived of love, except in the best of reasons.’ I wouldn’t say my love has thrown me into the depths of passion, you don’t have to be afraid of that, but I would like to see her before I sleep tonight. Will you risk breaking tradition because you find her daily outings ill-advised?”

Campbell, for his part, played the negotiator. “While it is true that I have no direct influence on what the young lady does or who she sees, you must understand my position,” he said. “After the death of his father, the young lord was put into a very… difficult role. It is my job to ensure in this uncertain time nothing untoward happens to any under this roof. This actually brings me to a matter you may be able to help with. You see, I've recently been trying to convince the head of our household of the benefits of working with those in the Church. My qualifications to advise are more than adequate but young men are wont not to listen to their elders.” His face changed to something more shrewd. “But if young Estellise, close to our Gavin as she is, were to see the positives, she may… pass on this idea to him.”

“I understand. The Ellwoods have had their own difficulties with politicking,” Chris said. “And nothing about courtly love forbids it. It is, after all, just another relationship in a web of relationships. I make no promises as to any results, of course, but I can bring it up to her.”

“Hm, I would like a more… confident answer but at this point, any positive feedback on the idea would make my work easier.” He then thought a moment and asked the question that one would think would have been his first query: “What is it you're here to discuss, anyway?”

Chris tried to look as wistful as possible for this part. “Oh, just the standard courtship games, I assume. Perhaps, as tonight will be our first nighttime meeting, I shall remark on the reflection of the moon in her eyes or compare her laughter to the twinkling of the stars. But I can’t be specific. I would much rather depend on the spontaneity of the moment, you understand.”

[Doggo 218]

For her part, Estelle had taken to her personal chambers, intending to retire for the evening. To the point she had changed out of her usual street fair into a more plain evening gown though not quite so far that she had prepared for bed. Plain was perhaps a faulty descriptor as well for while it lacked elaborate design, the striking dark blue dress that covered well to the woman's wrists and well past her knees ended in lace at the sleeves and neck that looked as though no non-magical hand could have possibly woven it. The dress itself shimmered with a quality that spoke to its expense as well. Still, it was something of a relief to have removed the various head pieces and let her hair lie down as it would. It wasn't much longer, still hovering just above her neck, but still she found some calming moments in brushing it out. She was in the middle of doing just that, sitting in front of a large mirror, when a knock came to her door.

"Lady Estellise." the voice of a servant sounded not long after. Estelle set her brush down and looked up toward the door.

"You may enter." she sounded back, allowing the house servant permission to enter. The door to her chamber swung open slowly, the servant seeming a bit out of sorts.

"Pardon me miss, I came to inform you that a 'Chris' has come seeking an audience with you at the servant's entrance. I had hoped to dismiss him as his claims of knowing you sounded baseless but he insisted. But fear not, Lord Campbell has taken the matter into his hands so you may remain here and let him attend to it if you wish." the servant spoke.

"Why yes, Chris. How odd that he should call upon me- wait, you said Campbell is with him?" Estelle said, a hint of concern entering her voice as she put together what was likely to be happening. 

"That's correct miss. You really ought to leave it to him if you don't mind my saying." the servant insisted, trying to dissuade Estelle without going so far as to tell a member of the noble family he served what to do.

"No, no it is no trouble at all. Chris called for me it is only right that i should see him in person." Estellise spoke while standing and grabbing her enchanted mantle and wrapping it about her shoulders.

"Shall I show you to him then?" the servant spoke, still clearly not convinced this was a wise course of action.

"Please do." The Fereis spoke as she followed the servant out of her room. As the door closed behind her she thought what could have brought her friend to the estate and how Campbell was treating him. It wasn't all that long of a walk for her to find out of course. It was not just any Chris for she plainly heard the voice of her friend Chris speaking as she approached the door to the servant entrance. Though perhaps fortunately for Chris she had not caught any clear details of what he had just been saying. This door too the servant opened for her with a well practiced bow to show her in.

"Chris! It really is you. I was surprised to hear you had come to the estate at this hour. I had not thought to see you until tomorrow. Uncle Campbell, I trust you have been treating my guest well?" Estelle asked turning to her actually first cousin once removed. But as that particular relationship was a mouthful and the man was older than her, Uncle had always been her chosen designation for him, however technically incorrect it was. At first Campbell didn't respond, and Estelle noticed his shoulders tense for a moment before he relaxed and turned.

"Ah, yes, as is only proper of course. That said, young lady, you should tell your....friends to visit in more proper ways in the future. It caused quite the stir after all." the man said.

"Yes of course of Uncle. Thank you for your diligence. We shall try to avoid causing such issues going forward." she spoke with a courteous smile. "But as we are all here now I hope it would not be too troubling to make use of a guest room. I should hate to send Chris away without so much as offering tea and a place to sit a while."

"Well, of course that could be arranged. But do keep some staff nearby, you wouldn't want any...rumors floating around." Then he gave Chris a look (one of those "don't forget what I asked of you" ones that she wouldn't see) before leaving with a nod and forced smile. With her cousin's departure Estelle seemed to more truly relax as she ushered Chris into the estate proper. She reserved speaking for when they were finally seated in a small room not far from the entrance. All the better to facilitate the staff serving guests after all. The room itself still boasted of the family's wealth with the ornate curtains covering the large window that took up the majority of the outer wall. The table and set of chairs were embellished with all sorts of intricate metal work on the trim. Servants offered seats to both Estelle and Chris before standing back, still in the room of course, toward the entrance. Before long a lavish tea set was set before the two of them, another servant going about preparing drinks for the both of them. Estelle for her part took a deep breath and let out an even bigger sigh before slouching from her perfect posture in her chair.

"Now that I have you away from ears I cannot command to be silent on the matter, what brings you to House Fereis this evening my friend?" she asked of Chris, playfully eyeing the various staff for their confirmation they understood this conversation was to be kept from the other Fereis. All gave subtle nods, which only seemed to improve Estellise's mood.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Doggo

[Skaia 578]

It took until the walk back to the church for Lana to realize how rough a day she had had. Though her wounds from the exploration in the dungeon had been healed, it wasn't as though her fatigue from the endeavor had disappeared. Add to that, though it was of her own doing, she had gotten thoroughly thrashed by Joan in an effort to grow stronger. And she had just let her excitement get the better of her. Bruised, dirtied and with her eyes struggling to stay open, the girl hobbled back to the church. It was there, though, that she had learned that her day's trials were not over just yet. 

As two people had been there questioning the priest, they seemed to be unsatisfied with his answers and moved their questions to her. With them seeming quite annoyed Lana's already short patience was driven shorter as her tired expression gave way to a far more annoyed one, both because of being questioned and the source of this questioning being about one of her own teammates. The girl, however, didn't seem to put much thought into what to say at all and it wasn't as though she ever really knew where he was to begin with.  "Ugh, I don't know. Have you tried taverns or something?"

"Well, no, not yet..." one said, before the other interrupted him.

"We're asking the questions here. Do you know the boy or not? Looking at you I imagine you must have some adventurer friends, are you hiding the thief?"

Lana's eye twitched, her frustration growing both because of their rude behavior as well as their implication that she was actually lying to them. "Huuuh? I'm not hiding anything, I just told you where to look!"

"So you do know them! Which tavern are they at, tell us now and we'll be on our way."

Lana scratched her head as she tried to figure out the answer. Not putting much thought into it, she couldn't remember the name of the tavern that they had met up earlier today - something to do with slobbering? - and she truthfully didn't care if she answered correctly either. So, putting the thinking to someone else, she asked, "Father what's the closest tavern to here?"

"The Gibbering Giraffe." 

"That one. Try that one."

"We shall, and you best hope you're not lying to us. Come, we have him now..." 

The girl looked over her shoulder as the two of them left, muttering, "jerks." Then, letting out a sigh of relief as there were no more obstructions to her rest, the girl said, "finally," before lying down on the nearest pew. 

Edited March 19, 2022 by Skaia

[radio414 906]

If Chris were being honest, he didn’t actually expect all of that to work as well as it had. Not only had Estellise shown up in the nick of time before he had to make up even more nonsense to Campbell, she seemingly hadn’t heard any of that nonsense, which meant he had a lot less explaining to do once he finally got pulled into a side room not far from the entrance where they could have an actual conversation, the kind with lies and half-truths that he’d prepared in advance.

Even still, he eyed all the tea and servants and such with suspicion. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Estellise enough to not drink it or her word when she said the servants wouldn’t gab if she said they wouldn’t, but they were reminders that he still didn’t belong in this world. Only when Estellise’s perfect posture diminished did Chris finally relax and allow himself to take a sip of tea, before getting to business.

“First thing’s first,” Chris said. “Your uncle will probably try to make sure I asked about this, and I don’t want to get on his bad side even more than I already probably have, so I don’t want to forget it among the actually important stuff: He wanted me to ask you to reconsider your opinion on the church, saying something like if you heard it from me and not him you’d be more convinced.”

“To think he would trouble strangers with that nonsense…” Estelle said, irritation visible on her face as she looked away for a moment. “Vultures, the lot of them. All trying to prey on my cousin’s youth in the wake of Lord Fereis’ death. In any case, you may consider your promise to him fulfilled and if asked I shall be sure he knows you did as much.”

Chris nodded. “Right, I figured he’d have had better luck with Lana since, you know, she actually lives in one, but I guess he doesn’t know that and I wasn’t about to tell him. Anyway, the issue that actually matters to me is this: I want to use your family’s library. Tomorrow night, if at all possible, and there can’t be anyone there while I’m using it.”

A smile crept back onto the mage's face at Chris' proposal. “My, I had not taken you for the reading type,” she said. “It should be within my power to reserve the library but I fear it would raise suspicions within the family were you left entirely to yourself. May I ask what you wish to research? I could possibly have relevant materials readied for you upon your arrival.”

It was a tough blow, but then again, it had been a weak proposal in the first place. “Binding magic? Summoning? Antimagic? I don’t know, there’s a lot I don’t know about magic,” he said, still trying to be vague. “I… I can’t tell you why I need to use it, though.” Perhaps he was being too comfortable, even like this. He did only just notice his hand unconsciously reaching for the heart rock still in his pocket. “Sorry, that’s another promise I said I would keep.”

Estelle seemed hurt for a moment that her friend could not entrust the information to her. But her expression softened quickly. “Well, I have already entrusted my life to you. It would be foolish of me not to entrust some tomes of your choosing to you in private. Still, the family may demand I at least am present with you, if not at least one other servant. With any luck, they will let me take one of my handmaids. While not total privacy we would at least turn our attention from you with whatever idle conversation.”

It became clear to Chris that he wasn’t going to win the battle on being absolutely alone, but he certainly was going to take what he could get. “I guess that’s fair enough,” he said. “If I had some sort of collateral to offer to help the convincing go more smoothly, I would, but I don’t think I have anything like that.” Now he was regretting not scooping up more gold in the previous dungeon run. At the very least, it would have been useful as a universal greaser of deals, even if Estellise didn’t strike him as the corrupt type. “Either way, this would be a great help to me, even if I can’t explain the exact nature of it, and I’ll never forget it,” he said instead. “Tomorrow evening, then?”

“Tomorrow evening,” Estelle affirmed, “assuming all goes well. I shall certainly inform you if plans go awry.”

She said it in a way that made Chris certain that things were going to, but he left the meeting still feeling like he was at least a little bit closer to his goal. Besides, there were still some other loose ends that he probably had to worry about in the meantime, so getting antsy about the more nebulous stuff was something that was probably best put off until it was less so.

[Chaos Sonic 442]

"I see, perhaps you have simply been victim to one of the city's....tricksters. All branches of magic have their share of trouble but that one... Perhaps you could describe whoever caused this. If you were made victim of unlawful use of magic I will have to look into it. Do know if you want to give a full report, or file charges, we'll have to do so at the headquarters."

Ah, the local authorities...of course Ziun knew that this should be something he should do...after all, strange happenings after he met face to face with Zion Apati...but what good would that do him? Not only that, but the way she said this: tricksters. Alas, this was the "curse" to befall all those who would wield Illusion magic, so of course it would also mean himself in a manner of speaking. And by someone so narrow minded about this style and branch of magic...what good would come of Ziun speaking this to the fair maiden before him?

Before he got a moment to speak, the maiden spoke...her voice being as sharp as the blade she carried. And quite frankly, it chilled Ziun to the bone.

"And do not call me, 'dear'."

He slowly began to tip his hat over his face, covering it up to hide both the fear and the embarrassment of this situation before finally clearing his throat. "A-Apologies, miss. A simple slip of the Bard's tongue, as it were. No ill will or ill intentions were intended for that comment." Ziun immediately bounced back from this situation. Acting was a specialty of bards, so naturally he'd have to be good at it. "As for the description of whom or what caused this issue, alas, I am unsure of faces and names. Not only that, I couldn't get a proper description of the assailants...if anything, perhaps nothing more than just a few ruffians that saw the opportunity to get the jump on a humble bard as he made his way through the market."

No need to have to bring any full reports on this to anyone... This currently would call he and the head of the Apati family square, in his book anyway. "I do apologize for the situation that befell me, but as you can see, I sustain no injuries nor do I have anything missing on my person. I suspect that no need for any charges to be made at the moment."

[LordCowCow 840]

Usually this day was a slower day for the Drooling Dragon. Hector kept the tavern closed on this days until around noontime due to the much reduced traffic. Taverns often weren't busy until later but on this day of the week that small number was more than halved and so he tended to spend the time cleaning up and fixing things that needed fixing. Only going to the bar for those who used the lodgings and to let said guests out the back door when they wished to head out.

However he realized as he went to open the front for the first time today that, surprisingly, there were two people waiting outside.

Even odder still they were a couple of young ladies. It was only when he opened the door fully that he realized these were the two that had been with the young Chris before. His adventuring companions.

"Welcome, hope you haven't been waiting long. Didn't expect anyone this early today you see. But, I won't say no to being wrong about that!" He stepped aside and gestured them in. "As you can see you have the place to yourself mostly, till the drunkards figure out I've opened up for the day of course. If you need anything let me know."

True to his word the tavern floor was basically empty. There were a couple people but even the musicians that would be playing in the corner stage hadn't shown up, due to lack of patrons to pay them tips, so there was a hush across the room. However it didn't feel uncomfortable. More like a relaxed silence before things picked up.

Hector was proven right again when, not fifteen minutes after he opened up, more people began to file in and fill the place up.

Spoiler

So yeah I believe everyone intended to meet up here but for those not in the tavern they'd find the doors closed until now. If anyone wanted to do things before this feel free to.

Also for Chaos, the knight captain would basically have left after confirming he didn't want to report anything, grumbling about illusionists as she went.

 

[Chaos Sonic 442]

Apparently that answer seemed to appease the knight, though Ziun could here her grumbling something about illusionists, which cut through him more than any sword could. Of course, he knew this was the case, but alas...still hurt nonetheless.

He figured, now that his little jaunt through the city was more or less finished and or ruined, Ziun would return back to the Drooling Dragon...at least there he could get back to his niche and get his general artistic style out there. After all, tavern patrons were always the best when it came to enjoying a short little ditty.

Which he did...until that night...oh this seemed to be a pattern for him now, as he drank too much that night as well.

---

The next day found Ziun remaining in his room for a good portion of it, until late afternoon. He truly did need to tone it down some if every night was going to be just this at this point...alas, it was just how he was.

Once the late afternoon arrived, Ziun let out a sigh of relief and made his way down the stairs to enter the Drooling Dragon once more, taking a hold of the mandolin with him and strolled on in, getting to the spot of the tavern he stationed himself the night prior when playing. He gave the owner of the tavern, Hector if he recalled, the customary wave as he strummed a few strings on the mandolin. Of course, like before, the tavern musicians weren't much to be found...not surprising, since most of the patrons didn't tip them much for their playing. He hoped to have that change this afternoon.

Besides, it was way too hushed within the Drooling Dragon. Who could truly drink and be merry in such a droll and silent. Thusly, he exhaled slowly, hoping that once he began to play, the musicians could feel the melody and join in when the time came...and as such, he began to give the place the right ambience.

Tavern Ambience

"Barkeep, quite saddening to see such a state of your humble establishment for this afternoon...it's quite the stark contrast of what it was the night prior." Ziun smiled, carrying casual conversation with him. "Alas, I suppose not everyone wishes to enjoy the night in the company of most here. But I do hope that my melodies will change that for you..."

Edited April 3, 2022 by Chaos Sonic

[Skaia 578]

Lana had awoken the next morning feeling sore, groaning in bed as the sun shined through and woke her up. She had absolutely zero desire to get out of bed and go through whatever adventures today had, let alone just stand up at all. So, she continued to lie there in bed, shifting around every which way until she had come to the conclusion that she simply could not get back to sleep. Sighing, the girl the continued to lie there in bed, trying to get the mental resolve to get up on her feet before she finally tossed the covers off and stood up. Stretching herself out, though still present, the soreness lessened as the girl went to get her belongings.

She had no idea what, if anything, the group had been planning to do today, but it was never a bad idea to just touch base with them. Especially if that touching base involved food. As she began to leave though, she also realized she had no idea when or where they were going to meet up either. Well she figured the tavern they had met at last time was probably a safe bet. As she tried to remember the name the girl muttered aloud, "the Gibbering Giraffe...no..." Realizing how entirely wrong that name was, Lana had no idea why she even thought of it in the first place before deciding to go to the Drooling Dragon. 

---

Lana stood at the entrance to the tavern, slight dissatisfaction on her face as she had realized it was locked. She had no idea when it was going to open up again, and she had barely eaten anything up to this point in the day anyway. There was no reason she had to eat here, but at the same time going into a tavern to not eat later certainly struck the girl as odd. Besides their food had been good. As she ruminated on what to do, eventually she saw a familiar face come into view. Surprised at this, in spite of being one of the people that she had come to meet, Lana smiled as she waved over shouting, "heeey Estelle. I guess we were supposed to meet up here today? Or were you just hungry too?" 

It didn't take much longer after that, though, for the doors to open. As Hector welcomed them in, the girl walked in and marveled at how empty such normally busy place was. Then turning to Hector she said, "thanks for letting us in, also I'll take some eggs." And with that went to a table. Once she was seated she just said, "guess all that's left is to wait for Chris..." As people and music started to fill the tavern, Lana's instinctual need to complain flared up as she said, "oh right, I had to deal with some real jerks yesterday thanks to him."