The Chosen [IC / Not Accepting / PG-16]

[Skaia 578]

With Damien having been freed and the group now leaving the prison, Ryia looked over to the sheriff. "Thanks for um, letting us take him out. Without trouble that is." The girl didn't really know how else to finish this exchange as she simply said, "have a nice day." With that, the gang made their way back to the bar, where they met up with Reinaan and Pyrrha. Having reconvened the girl listened to the update from the other two Chosen, as well as what Damien had learning. He explained just what was happening with the Minotaurs, as well as where they were likely to go next. 

The girl seemed to be shaken at the idea of the Minotaurs using the Demon Gates to empower themselves. She couldn't imagine why anyone would be attracted to such a thing, to use it as such, even without knowing what it was fully capable of. And knowing it, the girl knew that if the Minotaurs succeeded then it would mean nothing short of disaster for everyone, including themselves. As Keres asked what to do, Ryia didn't hesitate as she blurted out, "we have to stop them!" Realizing the suddenness of her comment, the girl back pedaled a bit saying, "um, well, that is. It's probably a misunderstanding on their part - if uh, if it is the gate. And if it is, we can't let them..."

Edited March 26, 2020 by Skaia

[Doggo 218]

Reinaan moved through the town with Pyrrha somewhat vacantly, his thoughts still back with the woman they had left to her grieving. The duo arrived at the bar, with the elf girl quickly confirming that Damien and the others weren't there. It wasn't an incredibly difficult path to track as it happened. The draken's unfair assumption of the man's character seemed somewhat validated in the fact Damien had been locked up for getting a little too drunk and rowdy but there was little satisfaction to gain in the knowledge. They found the others emerging from retrieving Damien from his cell, with Pyrrha reporting on their experience and the reward they'd been given. Apparently, Damien hadn't been entirely useless in his drinking and had some information he wanted to share with the whole group. Information regarding the Minotaur culture and their having found something to make them powerful. It all seemed suspicious to be certain.

"Guess that's one way to move a gate..." Reinaan muttered at the information, thinking how many of the large beast men it would take to move the evil structure. Keres posed to the group the important question of what their next move would be, with Ryia speaking to assert they couldn't let the issue alone, especially if it was the demon gate. Reinaan found the topic helpful for distracting himself at least as his mind finally got moving again instead of spinning in place. "Wasn't there some other place we wanted to look into? This sounds right but we need to make sure we don't get caught up in another race's affairs for nothing." he said, still not entirely confident in what to do. The prospect of wrestling a minotaur did have a certain appeal in the bragging rights it would earn him, but fighting a whole army of them, that sounded far less appealing.

Edited March 27, 2020 by Doggo

[LordCowCow 839]

So far they seemed to be rather torn on what to do, Keres noted. When Ryia had spoken up first Keres nodded in agreement. Though as she didn't say anything with the nod it was likely some of them didn't even notice. 

She DID speak when Reinaan gave his thoughts on the manner. Though it wasn't much of anything just an affirmation that, yes, they had said something like that. "The lake."

It was far from here and Keres thought that it would be best to check somewhere closer first but she also didn't feel confident enough in her answer to speak up. If it was incorrect she'd be to blame after all.

Damien let out a load groan and tossed his head back. "Alright I have no idea what you're talking about but clearly this is some kind of decision moment. Far be it from me to stop you but I'd kinda like to eat something first. Let's go check in at a tavern and see if they got any rooms too. Unless you want to sleep in one of those cells tonight. From personal experience I'd say you probably don't."

Keres didn't find any fault in his words, even if the delivery was lacking, and agreed. "Should be one this way." She said. The girl led the way, awkwardly pausing often to look around, until they came across one such tavern that looked large enough to have rooms for rent.

"The Floppy Fish." Damien noted, looking at the sigh. An image of a curvy fish with the words clumsily carved underneath. "Can't say it's not a unique name."

They entered and found that it was rather empty. Though it was pretty clear quickly why it was so. The smell of fish permeated throughout. Those who were sitting at tables either had something over their nose between bites or looked to be the type to not be bothered by a smell.

"Hello, hello." The person at the bar said. "The finest, well, the only fish in the city. Welcome to the Floppy Fish, what do you fine folks want today?"

"You sure can pick em." Damien said with a chuckle and a wince. Keres glanced down to the side.

It was the closest place she had seen, that's all.

Was that so wrong?

Spoiler

Moved us to a place for eating/resting. Though it might not be....to everyone's taste. Y'all can go elsewhere or not. If you got anything to ask the bartender or any other I control go for it.

 

[yui 573]

"The Floppy Fish. Can't say it's not a unique name."

A side-stop during the course of the real mission at hand. That's all this was. Or at least, that was the rationale Pyrrha used to try and get over the fish smell that immediately bombarded her nose as soon as she walked into the place. Despite everything, fish was Pyrrha's one achilles heel in the realm of food, both when preparing and when eating it. Horrid creatures, with their black marble eyes and their toothless holes for mouths. They smelled funny, tasted funny, and despite there even being a type called a clownfish, they weren't funny despite those traits.

"Hello, hello. The finest, well, the only fish in the city. Welcome to the Floppy Fish, what do you fine folks want today?" 

The staff at the bar seemed friendly enough though. Pyrrha stepped up, not quite taking a seat, and simply asked, "Do you, uh... have anything besides fish?"

"Well of course. We have potatoes with fish. Tomato soup with fish. Cabbage and fish. Lots of things."

Why does everything come with fish!? Blehh... "...two orders of potatoes with fish please." Now potatoes she could work with! Truly a venerable plant that deserved lots of attention and respect! And so versatile! As for the fish... surely someone else would want them.

[Skaia 578]

Ryia stiffened up as Reinaan made his counterpoint, seeming to want to examine to the lake first or simply just wanting to make sure that the Demon Gate was in fact there. Ryia understood the trepidation in wanting to make sure that they got to the demon gate as fast as possible. She knew of the terror and maladies both it and the people who sought to use it could inflict upon the world. That did, in fact, make her all the more anxious in jumping at the first lead they could get to finding such an artifact. However, there  was something more than just that. Something about what the Draken had said next seemed to strike a nerve in Ryia, causing a small expression of annoyance to cross her face. 

Before she could say anything, though, Damien broke the stalemate of a conversation with a want to go get food. As Keres then lead the way, Ryia found herself lost in her own thoughts and unable to actually voice anything as the group began to walk towards food. There was clear discomfort across her face, though as they made their way into the Floppy Fish that discomfort shifted to one that was far more clearly identifiable. The smell was overpowering and somewhat disgusting, on a magnitude and variety of which she had never experienced before. Still, everyone else had seemed to be able to go in and Keres as well seemed to think the place was perfectly fine so perhaps she was the weird one for thinking this way? 

Sitting down, as their orders were ready to be taken the girl froze. There were all kinds of fish here for sure and absolutely none of them had a familiar name to her. In fact, the only name of a fish that she remotely knew was a shark, of which was neither on the menu nor did past experiences entirely warm her up to the idea. With nothing to base her decision off of and simply stuck in decision paralysis the girl simply squeaked out, "I-I'll take uh. Um. Trout! Yes uh, tr-trout." Stiff as a board after her order was taken, the girl waited until everyone else ordered what they wanted. When there was no one else there, the girl let out a deep sigh of relief, only to have her face wince still in disgust of the smell around them. 

Once all was said and done, the group had to wait for their food. And they still had to make a decision as to what to do. Sitting around awkwardly, only her thoughts to occupy her at present, Ryia couldn't help but feel a bit restless. There was no guarantee that her thoughts on the matter would be correct nor that it would actually lead to the best case scenario. After all, if the Minotaur wasn't dealing with the demon gate, then she would've wasted the other Chosen's times in trying to do their actual job. At it was wrong of her to assume the worst of them, thinking that they would willingly try to use such a cursed device. Though of course, they could also just be unaware of its horror in which case it was all the more reason to stop them. But even then if they did go there and it turned out there was no demon gate involved, would it really be right for them to get involved? To interfere with whatever they had planned? Was it something that was really their problem?

Letting out a deep sigh, Ryia looked to the rest of the group. "Um, uh. Well, I know it might not be - it might be awkward to talk. Over food. Or before food. But I think we should well, um, figure it out. Where to go...that is. And well..." The girl took yet another deep breath before saying, "I think we should go to where the Minotaur are." 

[Doggo 218]

The first order of business shifted to food over continuing the topic at hand as Damien desired something to eat and didn't like the idea of staying close by the cell he'd spent the night in. Reinaan didn't initially feel like food was going to agree with him the way he'd been feeling but as the group approached the Floppy Fish his stomach and attitude perked up in tandem as the different fishy scents came to his nostrils. Fish wasn't exactly a mainstay of his village though they were close enough to ocean to have some on hand every now and then. The important part was meat was meat, and Reinaan hadn't yet found a meat he disliked eating. Sitting with the others and ordering food proved a bit strange as it wasn't something the boy had ever really had to do. Serving a naked draken was likely something the people of the establishment had never had to do either. Lots of firsts all around but eventually Reinaan was able to communicate that he just wanted a lot of different, whole fish. With orders out of the way, Ryia of all people took initiative on returning to the earlier topic.

"It really does sound too close to not be it, huh?" Reinaan pondered aloud at the Earth Chosen's insistence on following the minotaur lead. The lake as Keres had reminded him was their other lead. And while plenty mysterious they hadn't exactly gathered a lot of information on it, and definitely nothing that screamed Demon Gate. Then again, Reinaan hadn't done much of any attempting to get information from strangers in the city so he still felt less than certain about it all. "I'm fine with that path as long as we ask a bit about the lake on the way out of town. Just make sure it doesn't sound right." the boy added. They had to be smart about things or they could probably end up going on a near endless number of ultimately pointless side trips to various parts around the large city. Still, it wouldn't do to come across as too uncertain and so Reinaan puffed his chest a bit in a show of confidence gained from his increasing height. "Guess I'll just have to be ready to wrestle a couple dozen minotaurs when we piss them off by breaking their new toy."

[Hollow 21]

"Make that three order of the potatoes, and I'll have beer too when get a chance." Lindow leaned back in his chair after placing his order. One didn't last long in his kind of work if they had a weak stomach, but now the man was certain that he'd rather swamp stench over sea stench any day of the week. The fish smell wasn't unbearable, but it didn't lend itself at all to creating a very appetizing environment. The the booze would certainly take his mind off it, if he tried hard enough. 

"Um, uh. Well, I know it might not be - it might be awkward to talk. Over food. Or before food. But I think we should well, um, figure it out. Where to go...that is. And well..." Ryia finally pipped up to continue the discussion from outside. "I think we should go to where the Minotaur are."  

Just like that, the smell fish in the air was replaced with that of blood, as Lindow's memories took him through the battles he'd seen a single minotaur smash through with ease. It was rare, but not impossible to find them amongst the ranks of mercenaries. Given their hulking anatomy, they were undoubtedly physically well suited for the trade. An unquestionably formidable race, a group of minotaurs was big a step up from the beast men they had been ambushed by at the farm. 

Hearing Reinaan's thoughts on the matter made him smile, but for a second Lindow couldn't help but wonder how well the boy actually sized up to a battle ready minotaur, even with the fair bit of size he'd put on since they first met. It would be quit fight if one where to break out between the chosen and the tribes with the demon gate in play, that was for sure.

"We'll need to play it smart if we're going after them." Lindow addressed the table whilst studying the room be sure nobody was listening in. "The minotaur won't be offering us a drink when we show up crash their little dip into the occult, and a straight confrontation could be... messy. They aren't bandits, or monsters this time, friends.  Hesitation amongst the group could mean death for them all, and it would be pointless to throw his live away in such a manner.  "I'll cut down any warrior that stands before me. But is everyone else here prepared for the scenario where they have found the gate?"

 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Hollow

[LordCowCow 839]

Keres didn't understand why so many had problems with fish. Fish was great, nutritious, and usually didn't try and eat you when you tried to catch them for a meal. Usually.

She was fine getting whatever fish that was suggested to her. Which meant the table was soon loaded up with trout and potatoes. Despite being the one to bring up food Damien didn't seem too interested in eating. Only having a small amount for himself. Conversely Keres ate much more. Twice that of what would be expected. She was mostly relieved to be eating a decent meal in a building again.

From the sounds of that, without having to give her say, the group was leaning towards finding out what was happening with the Minotaur. "Maybe stopping them...will get the rest to go back to helping the farmers." Even if there wasn't a Gate involved she at least hoped to discourage others from searching for them. If they had to fight to do that...well they'd just have to be careful.

"I'll cut down any warrior that stands before me. But is everyone else here prepared for the scenario where they have found the gate?"

Damien barked out a laugh. "Guess that just means we'll have a harder time. One way or another you gotta deal with the gate too right? Well, guess that just would mean we'll deal with them both at once." He shrugged, not seeming too worried about it.

Keres felt somewhat less confident. "With our current strength...it might be hard. We'll have to be careful. Their physical strength is better than all of us...their reach, too. We'll have to keep our distance." She paused, looking around. That would be easier said than done, with what they had now.

She gave a start, jumping while keeping her face straight, as someone came by to give them more drinks.

"Heard one of you mention the lake. Didja know that's where this fish came from? S'why so many people don't come here. They're scart of the lake. Silly that they are its got plenty of good, fresh, fish. Course can't go too far into it what with the fog but you can get lots just from the shore."

Later on the owner of the place offered them rooms to stay, saying it'd be cheap and they can even provide some water for washing up, as it was getting later by the time they all finished eating and discussing plans.

Were they to take up the offer they'd be given three rooms to split between them. Each of them with two small beds and a half-barrel filled with water.

Spoiler

Okay, so if you want more info/dialogue and such feel free. Figured I'd give you the option to move on to the night but don't feel you have to rush to it if you want to do more with what I gave.

 

[yui 573]

Fish, potatoes, strategy, minotaurs, the lake... there was a lot to be talked about, it seemed. As for the food, Pyrrha simply ate the potatoes, giving the fish instead to anyone who wanted some. The gist of the strategy - or at least, what they had going - was that minotaurs were formidable foes. Their size, strength, and toughness, not to mention their new dive into the occult and demonic, would make them pretty tough to take down. Pyrrha had a few ideas about that, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed likely that those ideas would just get everyone killed. Best to keep quiet then.

Besides, it was getting late. The owners were kind enough to offer up some cheap rooms to stay in for the night, though. An offer Pyrrha was eager to take up, despite the smell in here. There was just one problem. There were only three rooms to split up between the six of them. Bunking up with any of the men seemed awkward, as she wasn't sure how to feel spending the night in a room with a six-foot nudist or Damien who she wasn't fully sure about. As much as she wanted to get to know Lindow better, but it seemed he'd been drinking earlier. To her, that meant that she either wouldn't get to learn much talking to him, or she'd learn something never meant to pass through her elf ears.

Which narrowed it down to the other girls. Ryia and Keres. One of whom Pyrrha had far more interest in than the other. "Come to think of it, we've never spoken before, have we?" Pyrrha inquired, nudging Keres with her elbow. "I find it's the quiet types like you that are usually some of the most interesting people. What say we split a room between us? It's important to know all about each other if we're part of a group, right?"

[Doggo 218]

As the food finally made it to the table, Reinaan couldn't help but lick his lips at the prospects. He had whole fish in front of him. Cleaned of guts and such and cooked yes, but all the meat, bones and scales were still in place. It'd be an authentic fish eating experience which was hard to come by at home. The heavy feelings of the day and topics of discussion soon left the boy's mind as eating took over as his mind's only thought. His eating was vigorous and anything but dignified as he grasped each fish by hand and bit into the sides or head or whatever really. He wanted to find the best way to eat a fish given he didn't know when next he'd get to do it. Perhaps it would raise some eyebrows but then how refined could someone expect a large lizard person to eat? The boy was able to keep up with conversation somewhat between bites, catching Lindow and Damien's confidence as well as Keres' they were properly ready. Any thoughts Reinaan had weren't given place to stick as he continued eating but soon someone came to their table to refill drinks and mentioned the link as if it were normal barring the fog. The fish they were eating were from the lake in question. Reinaan had just been in the process of seeing how much of a whole fish he could down at once and so took a moment to try and choke it down and catch his breath.

"You guys go fishing at the lake?!" he started a bit more energetic than intended from the eating exercise. "Ever see anything weird there?" he added, hoping that the people who actually used the lake would know more of it. The server didn't seem particularly bothered to answer some questions on the topic.

"Nope, nothing. Well, can't really SEE much what with all the fog in the way." they said. That was a valid point, but surely if there was some water-dwelling monster fishermen would be the first to notice.

"So what's got everyone worked up over it? Just rumors?" Reinaan questioned, clearly a bit perplexed at the unease associated with the lake.

"Aw you know how people get. Just cause some folk tried to go out into the lake jes to get turned around. Must've gotten all confused in the fog." the server replied. Reinaan seemed satisfied with the information until the server spoke again. "If you ask me it's the towns near there that's weird. They both are just so similiar it's eerie. I swear I saw the same man in both of em once." came the additional information. The young Draken had to pause at the statement. Duplicate towns and people? That definitely didn't sound right. Still, Reinaan thanked the server for their time and let them be on their way before commenting to the group.

"That... I don't even know what to make of that but... that doesn't sound like the Demon Gate. At least I don't think it does. Not like I know much what it does other than corrupt animals." the Fire Chosen aired his thoughts. For now, their lead on the minotaurs seemed much more indicative of the Demon Gate and so that needed to be their focus. Not that the boy would be able to just stop thinking about the duplicate towns but ultimately their goal had to be stopping the gates.

Whatever the group's thoughts on the matter time continued on as they finished eating and planning. Eventually the owner of the restaurant came and offered them rooms and even water to clean up which Reinaan was more than pleased with. As it stood their other options were sleep outside on the ground or find some other place. The Draken had come to quite enjoy these beds humans often employed for sleeping. But then came the matter of how to room the different parts of the group. There would be three rooms, with room for two each of them. Pyrrha was quick to ask Keres to room with her which put something of a smile on the boy's face at how the new Wind Chosen was wanting to get to know the group. That left Ryia, Lindow or Damien for the draken to room with. He was most immediately comfortable with Lindow of course but he wasn't sure who should be with Damien to keep him out of trouble. The earth chosen had stayed alone with him during their rescue of Keres from the lamia in the desert so maybe that would be fine after all.

"So... how we going about this?" he posed to the remaining group assuming Keres wouldn't turn Pyrrha down. In the end, it was just a place to sleep for the night so there really didn't need to be much thought put into it. Reinaan knew he could get by with whatever happened but wanted the others to feel comfortable if it was possible.
 

[Skaia 578]

Ryia was glad to hear that the others agreed with her as she brought her point back up again, even more so as Keres had talked about wanting to help out the farmers. As Lindow had mentioned about the kind of foe they would be up against, Ryia didn't seem to be bothered by the sheer strength of the foe they would up against. It wasn't as though she was fearless, nor that she thought the Minotaur's weren't a threat. It was a just a simple matter of this being the way it was. She hoped it wouldn't come to blows and she hoped that they wouldn't have to fight each other, but were they going to threaten the peace of everyone here then she would simply have no choice. And so, the girl nodded and said, "I am," to answer Lindow's question. 

As the server came to talk to them, hearing them speak about the lake, Reinaan as well still seemed curious about it. Ryia didn't blame him, as everything they had learned about it was certainly suspicious. And while she wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the demon gate as well, it would certainly be something worth checking out after the Minotaurs if it was giving the people of this that much trouble. 

With the day winding down and the group needing to figure out how to split up in their rooms, Ryia was caught off guard as Pyrrha had asked Keres to be her roommate for the night. It wasn't as thought she had any sort of objection to it, though she did feel a little lost on who to go with now. There was Lindow, Damien and Reinaan left. Reinaan and Lindow seemed to be the closest together, so naturally that left her with Damien - a thought that made her shiver thinking about how obnoxiously flirty the boy would be if they shared a room together. Then, between the other two that left Reinaan and Lindow. Neither of which she thought was actually going to be a good match for Damien, but maybe Lindow and Damien could bond over...swords? Hopefully. The girl looked to Reinaan and said, "um, I guess we could share a room? If um, that's not too much trouble for you, that is."

[Hollow 21]

For the most part Lindow was satisfied by each person's response to his question. Naturally, Keres seemed to be the only one who actually realize what kind of disadvantage they were facing statistically. Though Damien likely also had a pretty good idea, but would choose to keep up himself in favor of sticking to character. He already knew Reinaan mean't what he said about wrestling the minotaur, and that the boy was eager to make another tale to exaggerate for some grubby villagers in the next town over. Something about the tone of Ryia's response peaked his interest however. It was rare to see her so resolute about anything, and he couldn't help notice that she wore confidence well. 

Pyrrha's silence during the discussion was probably warranted, given how the girl had been through quite a rough first day being a protector of the realm. Lindow found himself studying her a few times throughout the night. From what he could tell, the girl had a good head on her shoulders. But for some reason the question of if she were cut out for this new life kept presenting itself to him. 

Whilst the others discussed the sleeping arrangements, Lindow stood beer in hand as he watched with a bored expression. With his belly full, and the possibility of death on the horizon, the witch hunter was much more concerned with how long he would get to sleep, rather than who he'd be sleeping with. He so very much enjoyed the deep slumber that alcohol gave him, and he didn't want to waste a moment of quality napping an actual bed.

Luckily, it didn't take long for the group to break off into pairs amongst themselves.

Realizing that this meant Damien and him would be paired be default, Lindow felt a slight tension within himself. "Welp, now that that's settled..." He said with between gulps has he finished his drink and placed the tanker on a nearby ledge. Having already known that he didn't completely trust the other man, Lindow smothered sliver of unease with a dreary smile. "I think it's safe to say this meeting is adjourned, then? We have another big day of playing hero tomorrow... I think the realm owes us at least twelve hours!" The witch hunter yawned whilst motioning to their server that the group was turning in for the night.  

 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Hollow

[LordCowCow 839]

"I find it's the quiet types like you that are usually some of the most interesting people. What say we split a room between us? It's important to know all about each other if we're part of a group, right?"

Keres stared blankly at the girl. Yet in her head she was shouting about how something felt off about this. She wasn't sure she trusted this girl very much and there was something almost aggressive about her that Keres didn't quite understand. Still, it was better than being with one of the boys. She would have been most comfortable with Ryia but it wasn't as though she could say that.

"Okay, then that is what we shall do."

Meanwhile Damien was grinning at Reinaan. "I see how it is. You wily boy you. Best be careful though. Don't want to make things awkward, right?" He gave a wink to Ryia before turning his attention to Lindow. "Well, you're not really my type. But I suppose as long as you don't snore loudly I don't mind sharing a room with you."

---

Once in her room Keres took note of the wash basin. She wanted to clean up a bit but also was worried about doing so with Pyrrha there. Not only did she feel unsafe doing so but it would be rude to be the first to use it if the other also wanted to clean. So she decided that she'd only take advantage of the offer if Pyrrha cleaned up first. Other than that she decided she'd reorganize her notes and look through them to make corrections. She had various biographies of the people they met, descriptions of the places, and an on-going bestiary of the creatures, both natural and otherwise, they had encountered. These notes would keep her busy for the rest of the night until she decided to lay down to sleep.

---

Damien immediately stripped down when he entered the room and started cleaning off. "Hope you don't mind. Think someone dumped some beer on me last night. Been wanting to wash up for a while now." He called back to Lindow. The young man wouldn't chat much, unless Lindow said something to him, then he'd ramble on and on. Lindow would notice that he always kept his sword within arms length of himself and would pull it closer if Lindow got near.

Whatever the conversation that did or did not happen when Lindow went to sleep he would find himself able to fall asleep quickly. And then he dreamed.

He was in darkness. And a voice was calling out. "What are you doing? You're too trusting. You don't know these people. You don't know what they want from you. Or if they'll betray you."

The voice came from another direction. "And they're so weak. They'll give up or die and the power given to them will go to waste? Are you going to let that happen?"

"You saw it didn't you? They won't last. You know some are thinking of abandoning this right now don't you? Why not just take care of the problem now?"

The voice then was right behind him. "You're the only one you can trust."

And then he turned. And saw himself looking back at him.

---

The next morning Keres woke up to realize that Pyrrha was nowhere to be seen. She didn't think much of it but when she went out into the dining area she realized that the girl wasn't there, either. She looked around directly outside for a while but couldn't see any sign of her. Upon going inside again the person who had offered the rooms last night informed her of what happened.

"She came out in the middle of the night, looking white as a ghost. Was holding a letter or something in her hand. Must've been something mighty important cause she ran out. Told me that she wouldn't be coming back. Right rude of her it was but guess you never know what problems other people have."

Keres nodded and flatly thanked him for telling her. She would be sure to tell the others as she saw them as well. In all  honestly this didn't entirely bother her. People abandoning her was expected at this point. Though it did make the idea of taking on the physical prowess of the Minotaurs even more daunting, however.

Spoiler

Alright take care of your nights and then move on to morning. If you want to talk with your...roommate let them know, so we can do it in one post.

Also not one to tell a character how they feel but in this case there's a reason so, Hollow, Lindow would feel at least a little paranoid after the dream even if he'd normally brush it off.

 

[Doggo 218]

Reinaan hadn't known what to assume really upon asking his question about the rooms. But it seemed odd to him that Ryia would ask him specifically to room with her. The Draken seemed a bit caught off guard as he certainly was but he quickly recovered and agreed, seeing no issue with it. That left Damien to Lindow. It seemed the Earth Chosen wasn't quite so comfortable around the swordsman from the desert as the boy might have thought. In that case, he was all the more happy to be sharing the room with her. She was a really talented fighter and she needed to be at her best. A night worrying about her roommate didn't sound conducive to good sleep. So as the group split up to their separate rooms, the Draken boy and Human girl took to what was to be their shared room. Inside were two modest beds, and the promised water to clean up. Neither spoke for a moment as Reinaan didn't want to start cleaning himself up if Ryia wanted to first. But as she hesitated for a while he eventually walked over to the water and soaked a cloth in it to begin washing his ever-exposed body. Ryia looked away almost as soon as he started, not that Reinaan could understand why.

"How you holding up after all that?" the Fire chosen eventually asked to try and break the ice in the room as he started washing one of his arms.

"Oh, um. Fine, I suppose." Ryia started. "My body's fine and well, um, I guess I'm getting to used to fighting things uh, bigger and strong than me..." Pausing a bit, she asked, "and uh, you?"

"Physically, I could go another round with the bird right now if I had to. But telling that woman about her...." he trailed off. "But you know I've been impressed with how you fight since we met. From most human towns I've been to, doesn't seem like something most women are encouraged to do." he continued on a happier note. He'd long meant to hand this particular comment on to the girl since their first interaction in the mage tower battle. And he was admittedly curious why it was not all humans valued combat ability. The girl frowned at his first comment, but was surprised by his second one.

"O-oh, well, um, thank you. And um, I suppose so, yeah. I didn't always know how to fight and being a girl and being from well, uh - it was hard for me to get someone to train me. But um," the girl tapped her fingers together with a small smile on her face saying. "if you think I'm doing well, then it had to be worth it. Are um, all Draken expected to fight?"

"I dunno about others, but in my village we need everyone who can help. Blagos is full of things like that bird. Only the Elders stay behind with the youngest children, but even then they've put in a good few hundred years of hunting." Reinaan said, sounding a lot happier to be talking about home. He took the next moment to wash his face while his companion responded.

"That sounds...harrowing...Back in Haven we don't have to deal with monsters that big..." Seeming to think that she was speaking negatively, Ryia back pedaled a bit saying, "oh but um, if you can hunt things like that for a um, few hundred years and the like you must all be uh, really good at it." She wasn't wrong and the idea got a good laugh out of Reinaan thinking of the fiercest competitors among the hunting parties back home.

"It's all in the cooperation really." the boy started. It took teams of Draken to keep each other safe. It was never something to be done alone. "It's why I can feel comfortable with people like you and Lindow around." he added while finishing up cleaning his legs. "On that note..." Reinaan said while straining a bit. "I must still be a bit stiff from the fights. I hate to ask but could you help me get the base of my tail? I just can't seem to reach it." he said trying to get a wet cloth back to the region in question and failing.

"Eh?" The girl looked over to Reinaan surprised, only to then start looking everywhere else. Clearly uncomfortable by the request but someone who found refusing hard to do, the girl said, "uhhh, al-alright." Walking over to him, the girl took the cloth and then awkwardly and slowly started to clean off his tail. "Is um, this...alright?"

"Yeah that's great!" the boy repiled with a wide smile on his face. "You're a real life saver. Well, not literally this time. But I gotta look my best for this whole saving the world thing and dirt would make reapplying that polish harder." he continues. After a moment of guiding her where all he couldn't reach around his tail, he had her stop and thanked her for her service. The thought of giving anyone other than a fellow Draken his back this long had been unthinkable before this journey. It felt reassuring to be able to trust Ryia with something intimate like this. Looking himself over he seemed satisfied. "That's better. It's all yours. Lemme know if you need help with your back or something." he said innocently while stepping back towards his bed. These sorts of things had to be mutual. It wouldn't be right to ask for help and not offer it in return.

Putting up her hands and waving dismissively the girl said, "ah, n-no, no. I'm fine, really..." The girl then muttered under her breath saying, "I'll uh...just wait until tomorrow." More loudly, the girl then began to move over to her own bed, seemingly more exhausted, saying, "just happy to help...and all." Reinaan looked quizzically at her before sitting down.

"You sure? Not every day you get to clean off. Bet your clothes and armor could do with a rinse too. But there is always tomorrow, guess you're right." he said, not wanting to draw the point out, especially if she was tired.

"Y-yup. Always tomorrow. And I'm uh, feeling tired now too. And I wouldn't want to fall asleep or anything, while washing up..." The girl's voice trailed off as she said this, only for a concerned expression to cross her face as she thought about it more. Shaking her head she said, "but uh, yeah. I think I'll go to bed now."

Reinaan had no objections or further points to discuss. He just sat and thought for a moment. For a moment it felt like the awkwardness that had always been between them subsided as they spoke of their homes. But then it had returned after asking a favor. Had he moved too quickly? Humans would ever prove difficult to understand he felt. With a deep breath of fish smell and a comfortably full stomach, the boy turned to lay down properly on his own bed and wait for sleep's embrace. It wasn't long before a very soft snore bordering on a growl settled in as the boy lost consciousness.

-----

It was a new day at the Floppy Fish. Yet Reinaan had not yet risen to greet it. Even as Keres and the others began to stir, sleep still kept a powerful hold on the boy. A small price to pay for filling up for the next few days. Depending on when she woke up Ryia would find herself with ample time to do whatever in the room without conscious eyes on her as the Draken continued dreaming. He had shifted in the night and was currently on his stomach, his face pointed towards the wall. His tail was lying flat on the bed as well, putting all of his black scales on display except for what was showing of his neck. The Fire Chosen's dreams continued. Dreams of home and fish. A lot of fish. HIs entire village, entirely full of fish. It was strange but nobody seemed to be complaining.

[Skaia 578]

Waking up the next morning, as she stretched out Ryia's face had immediately scrunched up in some light disgust. That she hadn't actually washed up showed very much, the smell of sweat, dirt and fish all blending together to create something that the girl found incredibly unpleasant. Of course, she found the idea of washing up in a room occupied by someone who wasn't also a female to be similarly unpleasant. As Ryia had been the one to get up first between the two of them, the girl figured she would just wait up for Reinaan to wake up first. However, the draken seemed to be far sounder asleep then she was and didn't seem to be getting up any time soon. Ryia didn't want to be rude and just wake him up, as given the gnolls and the roc he definitely had every right to be tired and sleep. But she didn't want to wait for too long, at the risk of holding everyone else up - especially for a course of action that she had advocated for. It was at a time like this, that Ryia had definitely wished that she was a better mage than a fighter. 

After some deliberation, Ryia had made her way downstairs having only washed her hair, and saw that Keres was the only one downstairs. Walking over to the girl, Ryia gave a small wave to the girl saying, "good morning." Walking over to her, Ryia took a look around. "I uh, I guess only we're up so far?" Looking back she added, "Reinaan is still asleep, at least." After a moment of waiting around, the girl said, "do you want to uh, get something to eat?" 

[LordCowCow 839]

"I uh, I guess only we're up so far? Reinaan is still asleep, at least. Do you want to uh, get something to eat?" 

Keres was startled by the offer. She gave a silent nod and then, looking around, asked the girl "Um. Did you want more fish?" If they decided to eat here most likely that's what they would get. But she didn't exactly want to leave without the others. Especially as none of them knew that they had lost a member in the night.

Her mouth twitched into a slightly deeper frown for a moment. Right. Ryia didn't know either. She was the only one who knew and so it was up to her to explain everything. Would they get mad at her, thinking she scared them off, if she mentioned something?

She hesitated a bit too long it seemed for Flux, appearing for the first time in a while, popped up beside her. "That Wind girl left! Just up and ran off! I tell you I don't know what that new spirit was thinking picking that one. Not very reliable. Then again the new spirit was a weird one themselves weren't they? Right? You thought so too, right Keres?"

The girl froze for a moment then slowly nodded. She could only hope Ryia wouldn't be upset.

Then, noticing that there was a certain smell coming from the girl, despite her hair looking damp, Keres realized that she must not have been able to clean up with Reinaan in the room. She couldn't blame her. "Ahem, did you want to...use my room to wash up? I can wait here for the others if you're uncomfortable."

---

Damien meanwhile had been awake for a while. Sitting cross-legged on his bed and staring at the window with a frown on his face. He had seen that girl leave and what happened with that. It was unfortunate to say the least.

Spoiler

I know I didn't give much but yeah, up and at em gang. Next week we're moving on to next destination (also confirm please where in chat). Also left stuff with Damien vague so that I didn't mess with Lindow's plans if he had any...on that note, Hollow, you got extra to respond to in previous post so please post soon.

Assume that someone will tell you about Pyrrha at some point, for both Lindow and Reinaan.

 

[Skaia 578]

Ryia thought about eating here again, shrugging saying, "well, I didn't dislike the trout." As the plans to get something to eat seemed set, Ryia saw that Keres seemed to be lost in some thought. Before she could ask, though, the spirit of water appeared out of nowhere. Ryia frowned at the news that it gave, the thought of being down another chosen being a truly upsetting one. Not only would they be weaker as a group, but Ryia was also just sad to see yet another companion that they had leave and vanish. She didn't know for what reason the girl had left, but no matter the reason, it was down to the four of them. Still, there was something she could take solace in. "Well, that's disappointing. But," with a softer smile breaking way for her frown, the girl continued. "At least she left on her own terms, right?" Even if it was sad to see another one of them leave, it was a much better alternative to the death and disease she had seen afflict most of the others. 

This somber mood was then immediately broken, as Keres brought up washing up. The girl immediately blushed, realizing she must've still smelled in spite of her best efforts and as a result was being a bother to everyone in the building. Quickly switching gears, Ryia looked more excited at the prospect saying, "o-oh yes! I would - that would be wonderful. I had some trouble doing so with - well, yeah. But thank you, really Keres. I'll be right back." Smiling now, the girl quickly walked over to Keres's room, excited to actually be able to wash herself before the day's adventures began. 

[Hollow 21]

"Just save some for the morning..." Lindow yawned with shrug. Turning away just as the other man began to undress, he fell back into his bed and drearily peered up into the ceiling for a moment. He felt glum. Though mercenary in him was satisfied by simply writing it off as product of the fish stench, rather than try working out the source of the melancholy. There was part of him that wanted to pry about Damien's fixation with the elven blade that he carried around everywhere. But the timing just seemed off, and the fear of getting stuck in a fruitless conversation served as a strong deterrent for the Thunder Chosen. This wouldn't be the night he learned their mysterious allies's secrets. 

It didn't take long for Lindow to drift into sleep once both the men had settled into their sides of the room. His dreams were shrouded in a darkness, that felt almost familiar, yet unnerving just the same. As he wandered around in the dark, he half expected to be met with the grey woman. Lindow's senses reached into the infinite shadow, straining through an uncountable amount of nothing for quite some time before finally confirming his suspicion. 

"There's something else here." He thought to himself, weary to break the silence and possible give away his position. 

Nonetheless, a voice called out in response. "What are you doing? You're too trusting. You don't know these people. You don't know what they want from you. Or if they'll betray you."

Lindow's eyes widened at the realization that it was man's voice. Quickly sliding into a low ready stance, he peered off towards where the voice had came from. He wouldn't respond. So long as he didn't reveal his location by taking the bait, the advantage was his...

Then the voice came from another direction. "And they're so weak. They'll give up or die and the power given to them will go to waste? Are you going to let that happen?"

"You saw it didn't you? They won't last. You know some are thinking of abandoning this right now don't you? Why not just take care of the problem now?"

The voice seemed to moving all around him, faster than what should have been possible without ant signs of... well anything. In a slight panic, Lindow began to call on Lily's power, his glowing eyes furiously darting about as sparks danced in the air around him.

The voice then was right behind him. "You're the only one you can trust." Turning to meet his tormentor face to face, Lindow froze in his tracks. Inches from his face, he was staring back at himself. 

Without warning, Lindow feverishly shot up in bed with gasp. Glazed in a cold sweat, he stared forward with a look of terror, eyes still glowing cyan with magic. Once again recognizing a second presence around him, Lindow ferociously turned towards Damien with the aura of a cornered animal. Driven by instinct, his right hand reached out and grabbed the hilt of his Bandit's Cleaver, only to be halted by his left. The sight of a face that wasn't his own was enough to bring Lindow to his senses. With his left hand still tasked with subduing his sword hand, Lindow took a moment to process this what had just happened whilst staring into Damien's face. 

"Excuse me." Lindow finally said after releasing his grip on his sword, and then his arm to let himself relax his shoulders. "It was terrible dream. Just another perk of our luxurious occupation, I'm afraid..."

Edited April 23, 2020 by Hollow

[Doggo 218]

With a dream that left Reinaan distinctively not hungry for fish for the foreseeable future, the Draken awoke suddenly to find himself alone in the room. Upon sitting up the boy took a moment to ground himself in reality and soon found he was not in fact eating fish until his body literally couldn't hold anymore and he was in fact still at the Floppy Fish rather than back on a fish-covered Blagos. With a large yawn the Fire Chosen began stretching and took note of Ryia's absence, figuring she must have cleaned up and went looking for food. Humans seemed to eat a lot more regularly than Draken so that made enough sense. The boy stood up from the bed and took a moment to move his body around and make sure the stiffness of the most recent battles had subsided. He took a minute more to look himself over before deciding it was time to patch up the polish on his scales to get back to peak shininess. Now looking his best, Reinaan made his way out into the main area of the restaurant but found only Keres present.

The Draken looked to either side as if expecting the rest of the group to come into view. Not finding his companions he looked back to Keres who made an effort to inform him of something. Given the rarity of Keres initiating a conversation with him, the boy listened intently. His attentiveness earned him the full impact of the dreadful news; Pyrrha had abandoned the group. The elf girl had seemed to be opening up to the others. Reinaan had begun to view her as a friend and had trusted her far faster than he'd ever thought was possible. But she was just gone. Another Chosen had left. The thought immediately saddened the boy as his shoulders slouched from their usual confident posture. This carried down into his body as he sunk into a chair nearby, but not too close to, Keres as his gaze was drawn to the floor. After a moment of pondering if it was simply elves that couldn't be trusted he looked up and back to the girl as if he needed to confirm something.

"Wait… are the others still here?" Reinaan asked. In a slight panic his mind had jumped to the thought that the absence of the others meant only he and Keres remained. But Lindow and Ryia wouldn't just leave like that.

"Ryia is washing herself...I assume the others are still in bed." Keres reported. That Ryia remained was a relief. And the thought was confusing enough to prove distracting for a moment.

"Oh yeah she was saying she'd do that this morning. But I didn't see her in the room... Maybe I should check on everyone just to be safe..." Reinaan trailed off. He didn't immediately stand despite his declared intention. As he slowly rose he knew he was only doing this to alleviate his own worries and he should have more trust in his companions. Keres stirred at the movement.

"Careful. Don't know if they'll want to be woken up..." the Water chosen stated. And with a powerful yawn, Reinaan couldn't argue the point she presented. And so he sat back down.

"Yeah guess you're right. No need to rush too much." the boy thought aloud before an awkward pause took hold of the conversation. In an effort to break it he spoke again, "So, uh, how are you doing after all this?" Keres wore as blank an expression as ever.

"After all what?" she asked. The boy's question had been too vague obviously.

"You know... those fights, coming back, and now... well when things were looking up for us, another Chosen's gone. Guess I was just hoping it'd get easier after the first gate." Reinaan spoke as he thought of all the others that should have been with them now.

"Ah, I see." She responded. "I imagine it will only get harder. Perhaps she saw that and left." The thought was valid. But was Pyrrha one to scare so easily? Maybe he really didn't know much about her at all and this was only natural after their first fights together. Reinaan let out a deep sigh before speaking again.

"So I guess you're in no matter what, huh?" he asked of Keres.

"Why wouldn't I be? This is important." came the simple and completely true reply.

"I get that, but isn't there like, something personal in it for you? Guess I'm just wondering why any of us are sticking with it. It's pretty selfish for me so I bet Pyrrha just didn't have anything to gain for seeing it through." Reinaan spoke, wondering if Keres actually did have some secret motivation that was pushing her so intently.

Keres stared straight ahead for a few moments before responding, flatly, with "it will help everyone." Reinaan had to stare at the girl in disbelief for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh at the show of blunt sincerity and altruism.

"You're really all big-picture. No wonder I don't get you." he said while standing and stretching his arms. If her motivation was really so simple and pure, it was little wonder she had no issue staying, however hard it got or however many other Chosen perished or fled. She had no real desire of her own, and so this great act of good for the world was worth pursuing. Reinaan ddin't want to make her uncomfortable as most of their conversations inevitably seemed to make her and so he moved toward the door of the Floppy Fish. "Well, may as well make myself useful while the others get up or run away. Can you think of anything we need in town?"

"We have stocked up on supplies recently. And can hunt to add to that." Keres shook her head. "Nothing."

"Well, think I'll go give the market a look anyway. See if anything looks particularly useful. Shouldn't be too long I don't think." Reinaan stated as he parted with Keres for the time being. He went out and greeted Kloqah where she and the mule had been stabled and led his mount out into the town with him to help carry any additional supplies he might purchase for the group.

The town was bustling as always, with plenty of merchants offering their wares as the reptilian duo moved down the marketplace. Everyone seemed fine on weapons and armor and food wasn't an issue. At this point Reinaan was waiting for something to really catch his eye. As it would happen, his ear would be caught first.

"You there my fine scaled friend." the voice called. Reinaan turned to look and saw a middle aged human man with extremely long protrusions of hair jutting off his upper lip from either side. He stood at a stand filled to the brim with all sorts of goods so as to confound any attempt at categorizing what kind of shop it might be. The Draken was skeptical until the man spoke again. "How very bold of you to show off the beauty of your scales. And what gems they are the way they shine. Few other Draken around here would embrace their natural majesty." Reinaan liked what he heard. This human actually understood that it was senseless to hide what nature had given him.

"Yeah, you're right." the draken began, his own ego inflating. But he failed to see the point in all this talk.

"A person of your caliber must surely be interested in all kinds of rarities and trinkets." the salesman began. The Fire Chosen seemed unsure before a wonderful thought crossed his mind. The group wasn't particularly in need of anything. So what if he got gifts for the others, assuming they'd stayed at least. Surely that was the sort of thing that would build trust in the group.

"I'm listening…" Reinaan started before looking at the confusing display again. "I have two companions who are quite fond of swords… don't suppose you have something for them." the Draken pondered aloud.

"Why indeed I do!" the merchant cheered as he drew Reinaan's eyes to a pile of crystals that looked like they'd been recently removed from the caves they formed in. "These gems carry a potent magic in them that any swordsman would want on his side in a duel. Just by having them on your person, any blade you carry will find it's edge all the sharper and it's point all the more deadly." To any person talented with magic, it would have been immediately obvious the crystals held no magical power. But Reinaan was captivated and quickly asked for two to begin his purchase. One for Lindow and one for Damien, it was perfect.

"Let's see… another friend fights with a mace." Reinaan continued thinking aloud, wondering what else might be a good fit for Ryia. The man seemed to know without any further information what to offer and soon a small box was presented.

"Ah, then any good mace fighter would want these." the merchant began as he opened the box to reveal rather dramatically pointed spikes. "Mace spikes often break due to the nature of the weapon. But not with these spares. They're the sharpest around and the sturdiest too. Just have your friend replace their mace's spikes with these and they'll never have problems again." he continued. Reinaan again was sold on the idea and added it to his purchase. Ryia with a weapon that wouldn't ever fail her sounded dangerous and he liked the danger that presented to their foes.

"Hmmmm…" Reinaan puzzled aloud wondering what he could get Keres. Then he had a great thought. "So last off, this'll be a bit out there but… I know this human girl and well… I don't think we get each other. Humans and Drakens are so different and I just don't know if we're really understanding each other you know? But she really likes reading. I dunno if any book could help that though." the Draken put forth. The salesman turned his attention to the sign above his wares.

"Why of course I have something to help you and this lady friend of yours. Don't you see the name of my business?" the man asked bombastically.

"Uhh… no I can't…" Reinaan began sheepishly and the merchant soon caught on that the Draken before him was illiterate. A sly smile took hold of his face at this information as he began digging through his wares.

"Not to worry my friend. Here at the Everything Store I have exactly the thing you need. Simply present the girl with this," he said as he presented a book to the boy. The cover declared the title in elegant gold letters 'The Lusty Draken Maid', but Reinaan had no way of knowing this. "In all the world there is no tale that so wonderfully captures the beautiful compatibility of humans and drakens when they look past their differences. There is not a thing about you your friend will not understand if she reads this." And again Reinaan was sold. With three hundred gold spent the boy packed away his gifts, eager for the opportunity of presenting them to his companions.

This really was just what he needed. A kind act to lift the group's spirits after the sad news they would all have to face moving forward. He couldn't get back to the Floppy Fish fast enough.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Doggo

[LordCowCow 839]

"It was terrible dream. Just another perk of our luxurious occupation, I'm afraid..."

Damien's own hand casually moved away from the hilt of his sword as he smirked rather condescendingly at Lindow. "Who would've thought, those sent to destroy the darkest artifacts in history are plagued by nightmares. Well, at least it keeps you alert. Suppose we'd best get with the others."

With that the two went downstairs and were also informed of the elf's absence. Damien seemed to not be surprised and was rather uncaring about the whole affair. In fact it seemed that he was oddly detached through the entire morning.

As they were on their way to set out towards their next destination Reinaan had given the group various gifts that he had picked up while everyone was going about their morning.

On the road, walking as Keres hadn't wanted to burden the mule more, the girl considered the gift that Reinaan had given to her. A rather scandalous book that he had told her would be "enlightening" according to the merchant. Though he had also added that he couldn't read so Keres at least was at ease in that the boy didn't know what he was giving her. "I will be sure to read it." She told him. "Another time."

Truthfully she wasn't all too interested in the contents but she had, after years of rereading what she could, learned to not turn away any new book. Eventually she would read it if only to try and understand why such a book existed in the first place.

She'd have to also make sure to not let Reinaan off on his own. At least not with the gold.

Damien's, the "magic" crystal that sharpened sword, he had taken with an overly straight face. He could tell at a glance that it wasn't exactly what was said but the fact the Draken, who hadn't seemed to like him much, had given him something was a chance he wasn't going to ruin. "Well, my sword is plenty sharp. But I'm sure this will be useful at some point." He had said as he put it away with a mental note to never bring it up again in the hopes Reinaan forgets.

---

The ruins they came across looked to be a small town. Though it could be hardly called such. The remnants of a crumbling wall, or at least the corner of one, could be seen as they approached. As well as several crumbled down buildings. Near the remnants of the walls was a small, several story, tower that looked to have been struck by something and halfway up a chunk of it was missing. the top looked to only barely be keeping from falling down.

Near this tower were a trio of Minotaur. Two with long-handled, double-edged battleaxes, and a third with a massive one-edged axe that seemed too large for humans but was comfortably wielded in one of the bull-man's large, fur-covered, hands.

They didn't seem to notice the group yet and were talking in low voices near the corner of wall. One of them was staring at the tower and the other two occasionally glanced around.

"Minotaur vision isn't as good as other races." Keres said. "But they'll smell us before they see us. Any closer and they're sure to realize we're here."

Flux appeared suddenly and said, voice high-pitched and loud "Oooh that tower looks scary! Think there's anything inside? I don't feel a Gate but this is the place isn't it? Think we were wrong? Oh, wow, look how furry they are!" The spirit seemed to be growing more distracted by the second and Keres was glad that only the Chosen could hear the jellyfish-like spirit.

Spoiler

Assume Reinaan gave his "gifts" between the city and here. Either Doggo's post can explain them a bit or I suppose ask him about them.

And now you get to decide how you want to deal with this trio. Or if you want to deal with them at all, I suppose.

 

[Skaia 578]

Ryia seemed to be in much brighter spirits as she had made her way out of Keres's room, having just finally freshened herself up. Of course, she was going to likely have to get dirty again through the day's adventures, but for now she felt renewed in spirit. Making her way back to where Keres was, the girl saw that Reinaan was now awake as well and had some manner of gifts with him. As he presented the mace spikes to the girl, Ryia felt stunned and not entirely sure what to say. "Oh um, uh, thanks. Reinaan. That was very nice of you. I'm uh, sure they'll come in handy..." Not only did the spikes themselves look a tad impractical, but Ryia didn't really have the heart to tell Reinaan that her mace didn't have spikes on it. All the same, she stowed them away for now figuring she'd try to find some use for them. Eventually. 

---

It didn't take long for the group to make their way to the ruins where the minotaur supposedly were. Unease crossed her face as they made their way through what appeared to be an old and long since run down town. Thinking back to the small town that they had been to prior and its problems with both the gnolls and roc, the girl reaffirmed that the monsters here had been plaguing these people for far too long. This made it all the more important to stop whatever unease was between the minotaur and humans. With them being able to be just out of eyesight of the minotaur, the group then needed to come up with a next plan of action. She was slightly worried when Flux had come out and began speaking, though quickly remembered that no one else would be able to hear him but the Chosen. 

She was also nervous as he mentioned that the demon gate likely wasn't here. While she was still willing to go check the place out, she was worried that the others wouldn't want to with its absence. The girl also didn't want to bring this up, and instead just pressed with the question of how to approach the minotaur. One that she...hadn't actually thought about. Up until now, they had only fought bandits and monsters and so the solution of brute force was generally easy to go to. Here though, the girl neither wanted to kill them nor did she think it would be helpful in resolving whatever issues they had with humans. So, unsure of what to do, the girl looked towards the others and said, "should we um...go talk to them. First?" 

[Doggo 218]

Gifting his remaining comrades, who thankfully had not reduced any further beyond Pyrrha's departure, had proved helpful to Reinaan's overall mood. There was admittedly a moment where he thought perhaps it was stupid to do something like this, or maybe they wouldn't like the things he offered, or worse maybe he'd been ripped off. But his worries soon passed as he actually started handing out the goods he'd received. Everyone seemed willing enough to take them with no verbal complaints which was all he could have asked for. Keres even seemed intent on reading that book. The boy looked forward to their growing understanding of each other as she did so. Regardless, with everyone set to go, the group departed the city. Reinaan rode upon Kloqah's back as he was used to doing. Saving him the effort was always nice but sitting higher up helped him keep a good look out. Keres was walking on her own this time, and so long as she didn't fall behind and they weren't in immediate danger, the Fire Chosen wasn't going to complain about it. Forcing her to ride with him didn't seem wise.

The trip proved uneventful which the ever vigilant Draken appreciated despite never fully relaxing along the way. That some large animal hadn't thought them prey yet was comforting as they'd need all the strength and energy they could muster to deal with the even larger minotaurs ahead. As the ruins of buildings came into view, Reinaan's view was drawn to the tower. But as the group approached his focus was upon the minotaurs standing outside of it. Three of them, all armed. They were clearly here to protect something, but as Flux was quick to point out it didn't seem the Gate was here. At least, the spirit couldn't immediately feel it anyway. Keres had mentioned their sight was poor but their noses excellent, the group's presence would be detected soon. Ryia eventually put for the somewhat uncomfortable idea of talking with them. Reinaan casually dismounted Kloqah and made sure his protective amulet was still in place bout his neck before grabbing hold of his halberd. He had no intention of taking the mount further into direct danger.

"If they're willing to talk I guess we should try that first." Reinaan started, clearly in thought of how to approach the situation. "But maybe... we don't all go to talk to them. In case they're not feeling friendly." the boy added, feeling some caution was in order. He'd yet to have a truly peaceful interaction with people outside of the villages and cities they'd been to and so had no reason to suspect these minotaurs would want to talk. Keeping some of their numbers hidden only seemed smart from an upcoming battle perspective. "I think I'll go with the talking group. I'm no minotaur but maybe seeing a non-human with us might make them a bit more trusting. If nothing else, I should be able to give the others some room to escape if things go bad."

[Hollow 21]

Luckily Damien wasn’t too off put by their peculiar morning greeting- or if he wasn’t showing very much. Lindow’s morning would only get stranger from there though. Pyrrha’s disappearance seemed to be almost too perfectly timed to be a coincidence, and though he tried not to show it, the man found himself on edge. 

Even when after Reinaan’s trinket was presented, he simply feigned interest, for a moment before slipping the stone into one of his pockets. He didn’t want to let the words from his dream effect him so easily. Nonetheless during the trip to search for the minotaur group, he found himself looking at the remainder of his allies with some suspicion.  

When the party finally arrived at their destination, it became necessary for them to solidify how they’d approach their first meeting with the tribe. Naturally, the kinder of the chosen wanted to try diplomacy, and from that Reinaan moved for the party to be split into two groups. Eager to get some space, Lindow was quick to finally speak up after an entire journey in silence. 

"I'll hang back then. Maybe see if I can scout around whilst you have them distracted."

 

[LordCowCow 839]

The group seemed to be leaning more towards the side of diplomacy. Keres continued to watch the minotaur and wasn't so sure of the plan. They knew what the minotaur were here for but would that mean they'd be protective of the area? Even if Flux was right and there wasn't a gate around if they believed it was and saw people approaching...

"We must be careful." She said slowly. "Might be on edge. If they think we are trying to take something from them..."

"I'll hang back then. Maybe see if I can scout around whilst you have them distracted."

"So he didn't forget how to talk. Well, if some of us hang back I probably should be one as well." Damien said. "Despite my immaculate negotiation back in town I don't want to get too messed up with them." He patted the hilt of his blade. "It takes a lot of explaining when they see this thing." he said without elaborating.

He craned his head to the side and sniffed the air. "It's like our silent princess said; if they catch a whiff of us they'll get suspicious. And if the wind picks up any more they're sure to figure it out if we stay here. So whatever we do we gotta do it fast."

Keres nodded. "I'll go with you...Reinaan." She muttered. She then nudged Ryia's hand with the back of her own as if to subtly suggest she go with them.

The three, Reinaan, Keres, and Ryia, made their way straight towards the minotaur. Sure enough they soon seemed to notice them and all lined up. Getting closer it was even easier to tell just how large they were as they moved to cut the three off from the entrance of the tower. Though with plenty of space behind them. "Stop!" The one with the one-edged axe said. "What are you doing out here?"

The other two grunted to each other in a language they couldn't understand. The seemingly lead one spoke up again. "This is our place right now. Get lost. We have stuff to do here."

Meanwhile, away from the group, Damien looked towards Lindow. "Well? You first."

Spoiler

Time to enter....dialogue! Ask for what responses, verbal and otherwise, you get from the minotaur when you do/say things. And Hollow let me know what you do. You can see what the others do and if its enough to keep the minotaur from noticing and such but for most things I can let you know without needing that.

 

[Doggo 218]

Upon the Minotaur's declaration, Reinaan took to the front of the group in some perhaps vain sense of keeping the others safer for his being first in line if a fight broke out. As the draken moved the beastmen tensed up, clearly defensive over their presence here. It was clear as day they were here to guard something important and the threatening sounds they made were only further validating the idea. While lowering his halberd, the Fire Chosen raised his free hand to about his face's level in a gesture of peace toward the minotaurs he hoped to not have to fight.

"Wait, wait, please. We were told in town there's no one stronger than the Minotaurs. We wanted to admire that strength and noticed you here as we were travelling." the boy managed to say, fighting his nerves all the while to think of something that quickly. Two of the Minotaurs seemed very pleased with the statement, snorting and nudging each other in agreement with the draken's statement of the town's supposed consensus. But the third seemed ever wary of the strangers presence.

"Why here? Lots of other places." the cautious minotaur stated. And it was true, if they really wanted to test the strength of a minotaur, this somewhat remote location seemed like an odd place to go about it. But Reinaan's brain wasn't failing him quite yet.

"It was an accident really." he began with little confidence as his mind scrambled on what lie to fabricate. With something settled his confidence took root and he continued. "We saw the tower and were curious, and then we saw all of you. We didn't want you to think we were sneaking around." Reinaan concluded. This was at least somewhat honest and so made telling it with less signs of lying easier. The two other minotaurs were grunting to each other while pointing to Ryia and Keres as the conversation continued.

"Well you saw. You can go now. We're busy." the minotaur spoke for his companions. With his mind already racing for believable lies, Reinaan had to think of something else fast to keep the minotaurs in place while Lindow and Damien moved about the structure further out.

"Too busy for a game? I was hoping to test my strength against a minotaur. But if you're busy... well maybe there's some tougher ones to find out there." the Draken spoke cheekily. The two minotaur didn't seem all that hard to read at least. It was the third he had to hope would go along with his plans. "I guess they wouldn't be interested in a magic gold piece anyway." Reinaan said to Keres and Ryia, very plainly and loud enough for the minotaurs to very accidentally overhear. He had to hope the girls were following his ideas with only nonverbal communication available between. The Draken turned about to usher the group away as the minotarus had requested to add to his bit. The cautious minotaur didn't move from his place but one of the other two began moving forward after arguing with him. Soon the beast was standing close to Reinaan, towering over him. His arms were crossed and smirk occupied his face.

"I take it we have a challenger." the draken said, his nerves almost getting the better of him in this position. He had been so ready to wrestle a dozen minotaurs in the Floppy Fish, but seeing one so close, and knowing that even if he were finished growing he'd probably still be dwarfed by the thing, well it wasn't helping his confidence in the situation. The minotaur gave a toothy smile in response and so it was settled. On the fly Reinaan devised a means of testing their strength, hoping that if need be, the other Chosen would magically intervene on his behalf. The two were to grasps hands and push the other some ten feet from the starting position. Ryia would stand behind Reinaan to mark the Minotaur's victory, and Keres would stand behind the Minotaur to mark Reinaan's victory. The minotaur took no issue with the idea, he clearly didn't view the small draken as much of a threat. But now the Fire Chosen needed to make sure they could get something out of this. He'd given the other Chosen a very serious look. One that somehow portrayed his confidence and nervenous at the prospects. He only hoped they'd understand to try and stealthily aid him.

"So if you win, we'll hand over the magic piece of gold. And if I win... how's about you tell us a little something about what you guys are doing here?" Reinaan put forward, eyeing the minotaurs cautiously. The others grunted at the challenger minotaur, obviously not ready to accept the terms. But the minotaur waved them off and accepted the boy's terms. He obviously didn't think he'd be losing to be so calm about it. And so Reinaan grasped the beasts hands and readied himself. At his count the two began pushing with all they had to move the other. And to Reinaan's surprise, the first step back was the minotaur's. Was he strong enough to do this by himself? Only time could tell as the bout of brawn continued.