The Shadow of Shashallah Quest (Event Quest)

[darkpigeon]

-- Graham --

Graham turned around as the frog creature called out for him. He did not want to talk to this creature as he was not planning on getting angry or even annoyed inside Herrtikuk. "Graham here to trade, not beat little frog man for being a pain in Grahams behind. Graham very glad he gets change to trade in Herrtikuk, he not allowed to get angry inside city. People not happy with angry orc. So Graham walk on proverbial eggs" he told Sashti with all the patients he could gather to say such a thing. He looked at Mouse, making sure that his new found friend was alright and then looked back at Sashti as he wondered if the frog-beastkin had more to say. 

A loud explosion and people started yelling before they nervously looked around them. Now explosions did not happen all that much, but in a world with magic sometimes a mage could be uncareful with his new experiments. Graham placed his hand on Mouse, holding her with him as he did not want her to run of in a state of panic. Best was to stay calm, a calm mind is a strong mind. And a strong mind makes a strong warrior. "Graham thinks this not be best time to talk, maybe dump mage made himself explode again.. that happens.. it is a thing" He said calmly though he hoped that nothing bad had happened. 

-- Hybrid-- 

Never in her LIFE she had been in a city! As soon as they entered Hybrid was chirping and dancing around her friend Neara and the wolf man. She wanted to go out and explore, see what kind of things humans sold. Gosh! the smells, the sounds, the colors, the sights!!! She held her wings slightly open, a sign that she was very exited as she followed Reina into the city of Herrtikuk. She had long forgotten about the body, she just did not care all that much about other creatures deaths. Only her own kind would make her sad, would make her respectfully await what her role would be in the ritual. 

She screamed bloody murder and was up in the air as she heard the explosion. Her talons were pressed firmly against her body as she quickly made her way to a rooftop and landed to see where the explosion came from. She  howled and chirped to her friends as she pointed into the right direction, warning them that whatever it was they were planning.. do not to that way! 

-- Kurami -- 

Kurami nodded and smiled, Celia seemed rather smart and that made her happy. "Oh yes! us being headhunters does sound delighted!" Kurami said and laughed. She would never pass for a headhunter, nor would Celia in the clothes that they wore but one could always try!. "We are to find ourselves fitting nicknames then, one that speaks of our cruel demeanor.. of how tough we really are." She thought for a moment but found that with her non existent experience of coming up with nicknames she was not to think of any all too soon. 

Kurami shook her head as Celia asked her if she had a better idea. "I think that the girl, the one called Josh has more experience than us with shady alleys and drunk men. I would never have guessed that such.. street smarts would come in handy. We might try to pretend to be a bit like her. Though I would advise against the way she speaks. I can hardly understand what she says at times. I would very much like to understand what you have to say, so we do not look like fools" Kurami said as they walked passed the marketplace and towards the many inns and taverns. "Do you think we can pass as these.. rough women? These.. headhunters so to speak?" She asked again, feeling slightly nervous as she saw some shady people standing against a wall. "Or shall we find us another cover? one that fits us better" 

She let out a small yelp as she heard the explosion and found herself throwing water in the face of a man that had been walking right behind them. It was an accident really, any time she would grow nervous or got frightened a small ball of water would appear out of nowhere. Luckily for Kurami the man was distracted more by the explosion than the fact that he had just turned very wet. 

[vernes]

The city finally. Cresco couldn't wait to meet up with his father's friend. 
He had so many questions, he...
The loud sound rolled over him, and it felt odd. 
It wasn't just an explosion, it had magic. 
The air was saturated with it. 
And hybrid flew off, scared. 
The townspeople's reaction also told him this was not normal. 

Cresco wondered if this might be caused by his father's friend. 
When Hybrid started to draw attention, Cresco took notice. 
She was pointing at something.
He had to make sure this wasn't his father's friend.
"Are we going to see what that was?"
Cresco didn't want to rush off and leave the other's behind.

[scottishgal]

Tehron let his jaw click slightly as he stared down the guard. If they had been finding corpses along the road then why wasn’t something being done. One man on guard would do little against those that did this. Tehron kept one paw on the corpse on his shoulder and the other behind his back where Neara was clutching his hand. She glanced up at Hybrid and tried to give her smile but she felt worried like something could go wrong.

Tehron lazily dragged his eyes to the elf and then back to guard. He raised an eyebrow when he seemed to insult her, “Leave it to man to let their kind die outside their gates.” He said sneering back at the man. Tehron watched the gates open and took in a deep breath as he walked forward. He kept a tight grip on Neara as the people around them seemed to explode in numbers.

Someone tapped his shoulder and Tehron turned to see the seal of the city guard emblazoned on his chest. He gently dropped the body of his fallen comrade into the arms of the man and folded Numen’s arms up onto his chest. He nodded gently and watched the man wander off towards the military barracks within the city. Neara was in love with this. So many silly humans wanderin around with easily accessible pockets. Oh how she could just dip into their pockets for their jangling coin. She was nearly scurrying forward when she heard the explosion. Tehron’s ears pricked up and then he flinched at the loud noise. He pulled Neara back to him quickly with one harsh yank of her cloak.

Neara snapped her eyes up to her friend who was now high above them. She saw her pointing some way before the metal man spoke. Tehron frowned at him, “I don’t know. I say we wait a moment. We don’t want it to happen once again when we are closer.” He said glancing at the elf.

~Kaira~

This young thing was surely full of surprises. It didn’t impress Kaira, merely piss her off more. Turning her ice darts into fire was not what she had hoped to happen. She could tell by the girls surprised expression, that she hadn’t thought it to happen. Kaira hated fire, despised it. It was the opposite of her main power so of course she would hate and fear it. She let the girl play with her new found fire and flicked out her fingers pulling the now water beneath her feet back to her. Kaira let it surround her as the fire grew larger…and the young thing lost her control of it.

She would have stepped in, she had her fingers ready to extinguish the flames if they started to take Jaa-Deh over. But of course, in comes Miss “Don’t worry guys…I can deal with it.” Kaira glared at her when she brought the flames back to her palm. Even just her face made rage bubble beneath her skin. She heard the insult and the chuckle which only made Kaira fume as she took a step forward.

“Oh for go…” She hadn’t even finished her annoyed groan before the woman caused a blinding explosion. As if on reflex, Kaira brought her hands above her face. Water followed her and instantly turned to ice, creating an ice barrier around her. But even that wasn’t enough as the blast cracked the ice loudly. Once the initial shock was over, Kaira dropped her arms and the ice with it. She wriggled her fingers, creating a ball of floating water beside her. Kaira smirked and flung the water directly at Karmen’s face. “Show off.” She said coldly rather than the friendly tone that would be expected. If the water made contact, it would feel ice cold. “Hmph…Ice Queen indeed.” Kaira said raising her chin as she threw the woman a cold smile.

Kaira cricked her neck gently and glanced at Jaa-Deh, she raised an eyebrow with a cheeky grin. “There you are child. Take this one as your instructor.” Kaira said gesturing with a wide sweeping motion towards Karmen. “Take care though. She will drop you if her love appears.” She sneered at Karmen, “I am presuming that is why you are here. Following him like a love sick puppy as always.” She said with a small smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest. She tugged some water back towards her, she wanted to be prepared incase Karmen tried anything.

[illy]

= MARKET =

Mouse cleared her throat and wiped a tear. She never had ale before, actually, she doesn't drink anything else but water. At least as far as her memory went back. She nodded at Graham as he told her his shopping list and she walked along next to him with small quick steps. Her stride was modest compared to the length of her legs to match human steps. It would be bad for a slave to take bigger steps than a human of course, they did not like to notice her so best be as inconspicuous as possible.

Suddenly Graham stops and Mouse turns her eyes to the cause of that. She takes a little jump backwards and moves to hide behind Graham, peering around his side at the creature in front of him. What the fel was thàt? Her already big eyes seemed to grow to the size of saucers as she stared at the frog person.

[DukeWolfRein]

~Jaa-Deh~

As the heat receeded back into her body, Karmin could feel the strength of the spell and she knew that the girl had completely transformed Kaira's spellsthr amount of energy needed for that was beyond even her limits. She panted softly as the last of the energy finally settled deep within her body and she looked up only to be greeted by a blob of water hitting her face. The cold stung at her, but it was a soft reminder that Kaira still did not like her, and it would be a wonder if she liked anyone much. Her eyes followed the Caster and a smile formed on her face "This girl wants you as her instructor? If I were you I would be ecstatic to have someone under my tuttelage that knew how to reverse magical energy at will. You're losing your edge Captain Axiom." Her eyes remained on her as she mentioned Artok, a chuckle escaping her lips before she replied "I'm actually here on Imperial Business, hunting down Goblin Warbands. Something they would have charged you with if it wasn't for your ineffectiveness at following orders. Ah yes, I remember that meeting very well, Imperator Azeinroth berating you about your apparent lack of discipline and sending you away to this forsaken ruin of a city to rot while you thought on whether to rejoin those of us who can get over deaths and loss. But alas, it seems it is not so. I will now bid both of you ladies farewell, I have far more important business to attend to than talking to a mourning widow and a child who cannot handle her magic." With very a quick move of her hand, Karmin was bathed in a purple light and a rose formed around her, engulfing her and then withering away. When the pedals fell and disappeared nothing was left. She was gone.

Jaa-Deh watched the two women with a bit of fascination. She had heard of Karmin, in fact most everyone had. She was Artok's star student from the time of the Orcish Raids and was well known to be one of the stronger Casters in the Empire. She knew that she and Kaira were separated by one Rank, mostly because of obedience issues. Both women would make an excellent teacher, but as Karmin spoke Jaa-Deh began to see why most soldiers disliked being under her command. The woman had little in terms of tact or respect. Kaira was a different type, she was angry, but held a tiny shred of courtesy for those around her, even if it did manifest as an act to keep the anger away. As Karmin disappeared she could tell Kaira was not taking the comment well, at least not in her eyes. She turned to look at her and for the first time since they had met a few minutes ago her smile left her face.

"What an unpleasant woman."


~Sashti~

Sashti looked around as the marketplace became chaotic, the merchants ran here and there to escape the explosion. A very weak shockwave had rocked the stalls and the people after the explosion, a small consequence of the release of extremely strong energy. He looked at the Orc and shook his head "I did not expect you to be so different from those of your kind Master Orc, I would like to offer my apologies, and know that from now on I will look at Orcs in a different light. That Explosion, however, was magical and not just a spell that a trash collector might conjure. I'm afraid we are left standing in a city that just experienced a spell that was far too big to handle. We're lucky we're alive, and whole." He saw the girl that was with the Orc and noticed her for the first time. She stared at him and he slowly raised his hand and waved once "Oh, hello. And who light you be?

Thoruk hung on to Sashti's leg, his face buried deep into the leather. He was shaking out of fear and looked up at the frog man, almost pleading him outloud to get away. Sashti looked down at the goblin and shook his head "It's alright Thoruk, we're still alive. You will forgive my small goblin friend, he has issues comprehending the world outside the deser"

~Reina~

The Elf was a bit disoriented as people came running from an alleyway and past their group. She looked at them and then ahead to where the explosion seemed to have come from. The magical energy clung to the air, almost as if it was a living thing. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she walked forward. She grabbed Tehron's arm and then looked at Cresco "The three of us will go see what it was. Hybrid and Neara can take care of themselves, come on." She began to lead them towarda the alley when she saw a woman walk out of it. She turned to look at them and a boom her head "I wouldn't go that way if I were you." and with that she disappeared into the crowd.

Reina stood there, almost as if someone had put up a wall between her and the alley. She looked back at her companions and shook her head. There was something about that woman, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "No...Let's look for a place to stay the night first. We can investigate later." She looked at their Synrian companion and nodded "I take it you've never wondered into the city? Let's take you for a tour, shall we?"

[kaptainjohnson]

As they entered the city, he was blessed with personal space as the numbers swarmed around, hidden beneath the set of blankets, he towered over the populace. Despite his attempts to hide his strange form, it had resulted in making him an ominous giant. Though it wasn't the effect he had planned, the end results were more useful in their short term stay. Muggers and thieves would be scared off to other less threatening targets, or at least that was the theory. Looking down at the swarm around him, it puzzled him why they hadn't dug passage ways underground, or ever expanded the settlement. Living conditions were surely horrendous, such close proximity and constantly forced to push against the crowd. Did the other races always pack things in so tightly? Perhaps they preferred it that way, lots of people together, though he couldn't understand it and see the sense in not expanding, he let it slip by, having to remember that they had their reasons even if he could not comprehend them.

As the explosion went off quite a way away, he looked on, fascinated, and concerned. It was quite obviously the product of magic, if the small strange sensation hitting his frame was anything to go by. A lot of power had been released, uncontrolled power. These people always seemed to like having a lot of power, and more often then not used more then necessary in showy displays. But, what did he know - perhaps this was merely a mistake, or something of significant threat had appeared. In any case, it was something to be investigated and learnt from. Only taking a few steps forwards, he halted as the woman came from the alley, suggesting they avoid going to the blast site.

Upon the Elf's command, he mentally shrugged, willing to alter his plans. On further thought, it was unlikely that the individual(s) who had caused the light show to still be present, no doubt taking the sensible option of fleeing the scene before the authorities had things difficult for them. As the Elf turned her attention to him, he was somewhat surprised at her offer "True. I have never ventured into Herrtikuk. Your offer of a tour is accepted and appreciated".

[scottishgal]

Kaira frowned when Karmin smiled, she hated the woman through and through. Seeing her smile only made her hate her more. She crossed her arms as Karmin poked fun at her. She narrowed her eyes when she chuckled and mentioned imperial business. She raised an eyebrow as she brought up her past discipline meeting, of course the woman would. Kaira dropped her hands when she hinted that she could not get over death and loss. It was not the loss she was grieving, it was that no justice was given to her husband. The inquiry about his death lasted a week and then it was pushed to others minds. They wanted her to forget and move on like it was nothing. She curled her hands into fists and dug her fingernails into her palm. Oh how she wanted to slap that woman.

As soon as Karmin left, Kaira let her hands relax. She frowned at the girl who was left behind, the smile had left her face. Kaira let her eyes scan over Jaa-Deh and then sighed. Kaira spun on her heel and started marching away. She knew people would be here to see what had caused the magical outburst and she couldn’t be bothered getting into trouble for Karmins spell. As she heard no footsteps behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and frowned.

“Come on.” She said bluntly before turning away again, she knew the girl would follow her and continued past the tavern she had been in previously. She knew that once they were within the crowds they could hide. She would speak to her then, but they needed to move.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tehron glanced at the elf and then dragged his eyes to Neara. He gave her a small look and she only responded with a beaming smile. Tehron rolled his eyes and followed the elf nearly crashing into her back. She had frozen and he frowned at the abrupt change. Neara had already gripped Hybrids hand and tugged her towards the market stall.

“Don’t get lost.” Tehron shouted after her and Neara only waved her hand absentmindedly. Her eyes were on the table laden with golden objects. She let go of the harpie and started to bob and weave through the people. She smirked and stopped at a stall. The top of her head only making over the top of the table. Her eyes scanned over them quickly and the man frowned at her. “Away with you child.” Neara scowled. “Child…Hah…I was alive before your da was even a thought.” The man blinked rapidly at the older voice and then peered at her before rolling his eyes. He grumbled softly gently and Neara raised an eyebrow. She glanced up again, standing on her tip toes before smirking. “I wouldn’t want any of this fake gold. These poor people being swindled.” She said sweetly and just loud enough that a few people heard and glanced over. The man glared at her, Neara merely stuck her tongue out and flounced away through the crowd towards another stall.

Tehron sighed when the elf suggested a tour. Gods a tour. He didn’t need one, he knew the city had a tavern and a blacksmith that was all he ever needed to know. But he went along anyway, perhaps at one point they could find the source of that magic. It had peaked his curiosity. He nodded towards the elf, showing that he would join them. Even as merely another sense of protection. 

[thetexanqueen]

Celia looked around at the people they passed and a thought occurred to her; they were dressed much differently than those around them. "We should pick up new clothes, maybe a more tattered look? Or at least something with a rougher appearance." Her eyes drifted to a small hut with clothes and some armor hanging on racks. "We can pick up clothes there? Find something not so...obvious," Celia chuckled and steered off to the small stand of clothing.

"I thought I was the only one! She should come with a translator,but at least she is more predictable than Karmin..." She pulled out blank pants and a tight looking black top with a hood, if she teared the fabric and tossed some dirt on it she would blend in perfectly and be able to pull off her character better.

"As for nicknames...we need something that sounds like we are dangerous, but approachable. I honestly have no idea what to call ourselves, I never thought of going by anything other than Celia," she said and slipped into a dressing room made of burlap curtains and quickly changed into her new outfit, slashing a few holes in the pants and tossing dirt on her shoulders.

"What about this?" She asked as she emerged from the curtains. Before she could say another word a loud explosion went off.

"What could have caused that?" She looked around frantically and gripped her weapon.

[DukeWolfRein]

~~Jaa-Deh~~

She nodded at Kaira and began to notice people showing up to see what the explosion had been. The streets were very straight and dirty, something that she had not expected from a Empire-run city. The Main Capital was almost spotless to the point of extreme, and the streets always twisted in different directions. Herrtikuk was cold and dirty, it was a city made for the coming and going of merchants, where everything was never in order but rather a moving mess. As they rounded a corner and came upon the ending of an alley that was closed off. Jaa-Deh looked at Kaira and smiled softly "I am sorry for my rudeness earlier, I did not mean to offend. I truly do wish to study under your tutelage, it would be an honor to learn from you, Master Axiom." She placed her right fist on her chest and bowed slowly "If you would have me that is." She said without looking up from her bow.

~~Reina~~

Reina nodded at Zalud and walked into the inn, dropping a few coins on the counter where the Innkeeper stood "Party of six please, we will be back later." The Innkeeper nodded and took the gold. The Elf quickly exited the Inn, leading the Synrian into the thick of the marketplace "A very important thing to take notice of in Herrtikuk is that it is nothing like the other Theysilon cities. It is a place of trade, and merely considered a temporary stop for many of its inhabitants. The majority of peope you see walking to and fro in the streets are actually either visitors, like us, or merchants on their way down to Shashallah or up to the Shuduk Range." As they passed a merchant she noticed a Frog beastfolk next to an Orc and a Half-Elf, finding the group a bit peculiar, but then again here she was leading a Synrian on a tour of the city with a Wolf Beastfolk following close behind with a Mechanomicon. She grabbed an apple from a merchant's stall and left a coin in the hand of the owner before turning back to Zalud "Herrtikuk is the best place to find fresh food and products, the latest in fashion and the most varied selection of weapons and armor. However, what it has in innovation and trade it lacks in cleanliness and order. The City itself is built on ruins from a past Elvish Kingdom, a fact well known to those of us left in Ghrithalla. The Ruins serve only as the base of the city, and most of it is actually newer building on top of said ruins. Now, even with all the chaos and crowds, the city still stands as a Theysilon City, and thus is desgined as such. To the West you will have the Governmental district, these are where all the permits, crimes, and city laws are taken care of, also where you will find the City Head, he or she usually resides within the City Center, and it is usually the biggest and most decorated of buildings. To the North and East, at least for Herrtikuk, you will find the Market and Housing District, the name is pretty self explanatory of course. One thing you must always remember about Theysilon cities is the following, there are always five Empire-run Inns that collect taxes from visitors and merchants, these Inns are used as a way to pay the Empire for its various services such as the guards we met at the entrance or the ability to allow merchants in and out of the city. There are also a number of smaller City-run Inns and a few independently owned Inns, they're usually not as fancy or comfortable as the Empire-run ones, but they do the job. The Market itself is run by the Head of Commerce, whose responsibilities include collecting taxes, maintaining the Marketplace and ensuring the safety of patrons as well as merchants. In a crowded place like this it is a very hard job, but a needed one. Housing is usually mixed in around the various Markets, of which Herrtikuk has three. One is the Osliath Market, run by Empire Merchants that actually live within the city and trade Empire-protected goods. There is the Jiol Market, which is a mixture of both City Merchants and more prominent Caravan groups, and finally there is the Boon Place, where the lesser Caravans come, usually offering cheaper goods of lesser material and make. We have the luck of staying close to the Jiol Market, and as such won't have to worry much about dealing with the miscreants that plague Boon Place, that's also where the explosion came from, they're on the northernmost part of the City, that's why usually Travelers will come in from the West or East Entrances." Reina stopped for a second and looked around as they came upon a rather open square with less people around, the crowds had disappeared and people walked freely from one place to another, she couldn't remember the last time she had talked so much about something. Years of traveling had given her extensive knowledge on how the Empire worked and the various sights around Strophya. She sat on a bench and sighed "Last but not least, of course, is the Southern part of Herrtikuk, also known as the Barracks. That's where you'll find all the soldies and their quarters, it is also the only way to access the top of the wall that surrounds the city and its many outposts along the edge of it." She smiled at Zalud and looked at Tehron who had followed them all the way, Cresco standing next to him. She had barely noticed them as she spoke to the Synrian, and felt a little embarassed to have let herself get carried away "Cresco, have you ever been to Herrtikuk? Or is this your first time within a Theysilon city as well?"

~~The Shadow~~

The Goblin looked around the trees as he hopped from one to another, his weight barely enough to shake a few leaves but not the tree or the branch itself. He looked around and then towards Herrtikuk and its wall. He thought of how there had to be a way to bring down that wall and take all the treasures within. He began to formulate ideas, rough ones at first, before coming to the conclusion that those smarter and better than him would have a better idea on how to bring down the wall. For now he would just scout as he always did. There was a faint smell in the air, almost as rancid as a dead animal to him. Human. He crouched low on the branch and spotted a girl, a very agile girl, jumping around the forest, her brown hair flowing as she made her way around the trees. The Goblin took out his knife and grinned, oh what a pretty trophy she would make, her face becoming part of his armor after he turned it into leather.

With a shrill cry he launched himself from the branch at the girl "WRONG PLACE! WRONG TIME!" His knife pointed at her face he barely registered the two swords she had on her back, but that would matter little after he had killed her.

[darkpigeon]

--Graham--

"Your apologies are accepted, Graham never had honour to meet someone of your kind. The name is Graham, this is friend of Graham. She is called Mouse.. Like the animal" He looked at Mouse and held his hand on her back and pushed her towards the beastkin. He did not want her hiding behind her and saw it as an insult towards the frog-person. "Yes, the explosion. One might wonder what had happened. But within the walls of Herrtikuk you learn not to ask to many questions. Graham will steer away from that place. He does not want people think Graham has something to do with it" He said as he showed Sashti a friendly smile. 

Graham looked at the goblin and thought about how strange it was to have such a creature walk freely in Herrtikuk. Goblins much like the orcs had a very bad reputation, so he knew how difficult it had to be for the smaller creature to have permission to enter this city so freely. "No need to apologise for Goblin friend. The world is very big place, no amount of traveling or books will make us truly understand world. It is ever changing, as are we" 

-- Hybrid--

She happily started to follow Neara around the marketplace,  and she loved it already!!!! all the things and stuff, all the people, stalls, other creatures, and animals she had never seen before! She chirped happily, greeting every single person in her very own way. She got more strange looks than she ever had before. Most of them curious though she worried about the few angry ones she got from a few men. But she did not fret to long over it and kept close to Neara as she knew that both she and herself could make things explode if they wanted to. Maybe that was what that explosion was before, they tried the colored stones and herbs that she and Neara had mixed together and had a loud boom as well. 

As the man insulted her newly made friend, and Neara cleverly knew how to insult the man back she chuckled and shook her head while she looked disappointingly at all the 'fake' gold. She came to walk next to Neara, Hybrid looked like she wanted to ask her all kinds of questions, and wanted to tell even more story's. Instead of talking she just let out a small frustrated smile and smirked as she saw the rest of the group walking on the other side of the market. 

-- Josh -- 

She truly was in her element as she jumped from branch to branch as she was exploring the forest around the city. She loved this, she loved it that she was alone and not surrounded by those other women. She loved even more that she was away from Karmin who she simply did not like, if it was some sort of healthy rivalry or something more than that she did not now.. nor did she care. 

She was too late to register the goblin and snarled as she looked at the small green creature before her. "Wrong place, wrong time indeed.. dear lord yer are ganky!" She said as she pulled a face as she looked down at the ugliest creature she had ever seen. "Me Bejasus paddy! your ma dropped yer after birth? or ye born dat way!" She was not overly impressed by the creature, his stance was of his hand close enough for her to grab it. In her mind she could disarm him in four different ways if she used her left hand, five with her right, about six if she used her feet. Arthok had trained her well, and a goblin was not much of an enemy to begin with. She rolled her eyes as she looked at the small creature that found itself to be incredibly dangerous. She really jus wanted to skip through the forest some more and head to town before supper. "Yer nu waaat, i'll jist take dat cutty knife from yer. kill yer wi' it an' put yisser corps in a steck gran'? cause oi really chucker not 'av de time for somethin' loike yer.

-- Kurami--

"I have heard she is from the streets, born a poor bastard. She surely sounds like one while speaking. A translator would indeed be very useful, we might request for one for the next mission" Kurami said as she followed Celia towards the small shop. "And yes .. nicknames. We could name you.. snow.. because of your white skin? Snow can be very dangerous and hold many dark secrets under it. While it is a rather feminine name." Kurami said as she was rather proud of how fast she could find a nickname for Celia. "We could call me... Marsh.. for the very same reasons."  She was not as imaginative as Celia and took some time to get dressed, and try on something else.. and dress herself again until she felt that she looked like something 'mean' without losing her friendly demeanor.  She went for green's and blue's like any Undine would and wore a old tattered leather corset over it to make herself look more 'butch'. She smiled at Celia "you look rather dangerous .. snow... much like the cold frozen liquid you look beautiful, while nobody will truly know the dangers that lays beneath. They truly will be careful around you" she said with a small smile. 

As the explosion went off the undine perked her ears. "A explosion caused by a controlled magical outburst or spell. By the sound of it the element of fire. Though I could be wrong" She said as she payed the shopkeeper quickly and gestured Celia to follow her outside. 

[scottishgal]

~~Kaira~~

Kaira turned another corner quickly, pushing through another crowd of people. She didn’t want to have to answer questions, why this had happened. She couldn’t be bothered with those demanding of her, then their anger that will come as they are met only with silence. The next corner she turned led to a bricked off wall. She frowned and turned to see the young girls smile. She rolled her eyes as the girl bowed. “Please. Don’t do that.” Kaira said grimacing at the bow. “I understand. Just know that I will break you if you utter my husband again.” She said flicking some of her hair off her shoulder. “I will teach you. You are already skilled, you just lack the fine polishing. Follow me.” Kaira said brushing past the girl and leading her through another alley, past a small market place and towards a wooden doorway. The door was stiff and she used her shoulder to crash it open. Once the girl was inside, she shoved the door closed. Wedging it shut, she then made her way up the broken cracked stone staircase to a dusty large room. The room was filled with boxes, many of which were in pieces. The main source of light was a large arched window.

~~Theron~~

Theron yawned and followed the small pack of people lazily. He didn’t pay much attention to her words, he had been within the city before. Regardless if he hadn’t, it was the same as many crumbling cities he came across obviously outside the elf’s range. Theron let his eyes scan over the crowd, another beastfolk was present and he gave him a small nod. The kind normally stayed with their species but he would give respect to those like him.

The knowledge this elf had was staggering and he let his eyes scan over her slowly. He yawned again and then snapped his eyes back to the market. Following the group without much thought, he only stopped when they came across the square. He knew where the Barracks were, he knew to keep his distance from it. He didn’t want to insult or harm the wrong person. Theron let the elf speak to the others and he rested himself against one of the large walls in the square. His arms crossed over his chest as he watched the people wander before him with an uninterested gaze.

------Neara-------

Neara grinned up at Hybrid as she walked beside her. Neara slipped past a few other people and clambered up on a vegetable box. She stood there flicking her eyes over the fruit before her. She grinned widely and caught the attention of the young woman behind the stall. She request two of the bright orange fruits and paid the woman with a small silver coin. She jumped back down and gave one to Hybrid. She beamed up at the harpie and showed her the spiky fruit.

“You need to crack it.” She said gently with a grin, she cracked the fruit against the wooden box and a thin crack appeared down the centre. With some effort, she pulled the fruit apart to produce the green flesh. She took a big bite of the green fruit and grinned up as blue juice dribbled down her chin. “Come on. Let’s see if there are any more pebbles.” She said munching away happily on the fruit.

[DukeWolfRein]

~~The Shadow~~

The Goblin let out a hiss as he was spotted and cursed loudly, listening to her ramble on before letting out a loud cackle. The girl before him seemed to be confused as to his approach, and this amused him very much. There was a rustle from the trees as more goblins popped out form the foliage, a few aiming their bows at Josh. "Now girlie, do ya think you could get away with entering the realm of the Shadow and leave in peace? You're sorely mistaken miss. And after we're done with ya, your whole body will be sore too. Get her." The goblins let their arrows fly, but missed Josh completely, instead hitting the trees at either side of her, the arrows were tied with rope and surrounded Josh. The Goblin shook his head "You will make a fine ramson, trust me."

~~Jaa-Deh~~

She could not contain her excitement as Kaira agreed to teach her, she was overwhelmed with joy and her smile seemed to get twice as big as they went up into the abandoned warehouse. She looked around and noticed how dusty and deserted the place was, not a rare sight in Herrtikuk, but one that Jaa-Deh was not accustomed to. She took in the room and then looked at Kaira "I shan't make the same mistake again, I promise you. However, what exactly are we doing here?" The room seemed to have been the holding place for a wild animal, everything was broken and the few things that stood whole were in a deplorable shape. Jaa-Deh touched the wall and pressed her ear to it, hearing nothing. Wherever they were, she was sure it was as isolated from the main city as possible, and she couldn't help but like it.

~~Sashti~~

The Frogman nodded as Graham cautioned against investigating the explosion further. There was something about the Orc that made Sashti feel very comfortable, perhaps it was his intelligence. Most Orcs that Sashti had met were either extremely happy to hug him with their blades, or were as smart as a rock. The girl he was with, however, had barely said a word and just seemed to be staring at him. Sashti didn't dislike many things, but being stared at was one of them. He cleared his throat and looked at Graham "I don't suppose you are a merchant by trade, are you Graham?"

[vernes]

~~Cresco~~ Walking through marketplace with Reina's group.
 
Cresco's attention was moved away from the explosion when it was explained this was not too uncommon, and followed the group in the Inn and through the market. 
Reina's question broke him out of his amazement. 
"Cresco, have you ever been to Herrtikuk? Or is this your first time within a Theysilon city as well?" 
"I've been in a Theysilon city before, but it was a confusing time. I remember very little of it." 
"This is my first time in Herrtikuk.  My Father has a good friend here who I am suppose to meet." 

The sights and sounds of the city was incredible compared what Cresco was used to. 
Cresco looked up at Reina to focus himself from all the distractions. 
"Father spoke with nostalgia about this person, I believe them to be very good friends to keep in contact after the many years gone by." 

A shouting marketseller shortly made Cresco glance away before continuing. 
"They were enrolled in the same school of magic." 
"But they eventually went different directions in their studies." 
 
"Father's study focused on magic as a whole, a very horizontal study. He didn't specialized but instead learned about all aspects of magic. 
This earned him a position as Head Researcher at the Thaumatic Academia of higher research while his friend became the leading scientist at..." 
 
Cresco seemed to be looking for words, ".. He worked on making better Mechanomicons. It resulted in his removal from the institute." 
"He is the most knowledgeable researcher in the field of Mechanomicons." 
"This is why I wish to learn more from him, about myself." 
 
"As soon as we are settled, I wish to meet up with him." 
"I hope Margads Dethmor can tell me more about myself."

[darkpigeon]

-- Josh --

"Aye juicy much. yer really tink dat a few more av yer ganky bastards gie me a scare?" she said as she cursed herself from getting a bit to cocky. But afraid she was not, she had been in worse situations than this one. Though more controlled and for practice purposes. This was what she was trained for, and had been training for since she as a young girl. She would disappoint Artok greatly if she was not to survive such an attack. She only chuckled as she saw the arrows being fired, and as she found herself being 'trapped' between them. "Waaat ye tryin' 'ere? 'angin' yisser derdy linen?! oi don't 'av time ter chucker yisser washin' yer filthy ganky piece av shoite." She bowed down, mocking the goblin that stood before her, his smile didn't fade as he thought that he had this girl trapped. 

Out her blade's went and two of the ropes fell on the ground as she had cut them loose. Her movements were graceful as she turned around and free'd the head of one of the goblins from its body. The one that stood before her cursed and gestured some of his allies to get the girl down. Josh concentrated on the fight now, calculating every single Goblins movements and what they were to do. The second one died as she plunged her sword through the creatures throat, kicking it off her blade hard place as rock cut open a third goblins stomach. His guts fell in the forest floor as soon as her blade struck down a fourth. The creature cried out in pain and fear as it knew that his life was over. If it was not the human female that would end him, he was to be killed by his own kin. 

-- Hybrid --

Hybrid followed Neara over the marketplace, softly chirping as she herself was so very excited. She noticed people staring at her but simply waved and greeted them friendly with a nod, but never stopped as she feared losing the halfling woman. To her it was as if the halfling woman knew this city like no other, she seemed so at home in places like this. While Hybrid herself never been to such a busy place herself. As Neara stopped and bought both herself and Hybrid a strange looking fruit the Harpy took it from her as if she was gifted the most rarest of jewels. Her eyes grew big, as she looked at the strange fruit. She stared at the strange fruit, nearly hypnotized by the looks of it as she had never seen something so very strange. As Neara told her to break the fruit she mimicked the woman until she stood there with both halves in her hands. 

The inside of the fruit was something else. The bright orange held the most vibrant green looking flesh she had ever seen. Hybrid's eyes nearly popped out of her eyes as she looked up at Neara, and she watched the halfling eat the fruit until she felt brave enough to take a bite herself. She quickly licked the fruit, finding out of it was not something horrible tasting and as she felt brave enough she took a big bite just like Neara had done. She was taken aback by the taste of it! IT was the right balance between sour and sweet, and so very refreshing! She shook her tail feathers happily, sitting down on her bum in the middle of the street as she started eating the strange looking fruit. The young woman behind the fruit-stall smiled as she looked at the strange looking creature, wondering if it could really fly as Hybrid had those big wings on her back. Hybrid kept munching happily, nodding as she agreed that finding more pebbles would be the right thing to do after eating something this delicious. 

With the fruit gone and Hybrid happily chirping about the taste of it she followed Neara over the market place. Some men called them over as the wanted to show their wares. A woman wearing a lovely locket gestured them to come over. Showing both Neara and Hybrid her lovely jams. "all the jams you want to taste! Strawberry, pear with chocolate, zucchini with Lemon! Come and taste!!" the woman howled over the marketplace while the man next to her selling meats did his best to scream louder than her.
 
-- Graham --

Graham showed a friendly smile, the kind of smile that made him look calm and soft hearted. A very strange sight for an orc, especially one of his size. People tended not to trust him, though as he showed that he had a soft and friendly sight they tended to be very curious as to who he was, and found themselves liking the orc quite quickly. "Graham comes to Herrtikuk for trade, he has good trading-relationship with the town of Herrtikuk. But he no trader by trade" the last made him slightly chuckle, he always like those little quirky accidents in language "Graham is weaponsmith, he comes to Herrtikuk to trade some of his creations. Buy's rare metals on occasion, not all can be found in the heart of the big mountain on which Graham lives." He told Sashti in a calm voice. He looked at Mouse that was still hiding herself behind his legs. It only occurred to him then that the goblin was hiding in the same matter behind Sashti's leg, as Mouse was behind his own. 

"It seems that Graham and yourself have someone hiding behind their leg. Two little scared people that do not know about the big world around them" Graham said as he stepped asid and just pushed Mouse between him and Sashti. He did not want her hiding or seem disrespectful towards the Beastkin frog. He cared little for staring eyes himself, as he himself was an one-orc show himself. 

[thetexanqueen]

"The names are very fitting and will hopefully provide a good cover for us," Celia smiled excitedly at her partner. She was still so excited to be out on her first actual mission that she wasn't even fearful of what could have caused the explosion. She tossed a tip at the merchant and followed Kumari out of the shop, her eyes alert for any chaos in the streets and her ears listening for any sounds that might be unusual.

"Psst." The sharp noise caught Celia's attention above anything else. Her dark eyes shifted quickly over to a man dressed in tattered clothing, he was hunched over by his stand of odd looking fruit and he was motioning Celia and Kumari over. She raised a brow at the man and turned to glance at Kumari, nodding her head in the direction of the merchant. Celia took an authoritative stance before walking over to him and kept her shoulders wide and head up to make sure he knew who the dominant person was in the conversation.

"Yes?" She asked and crossed her arms in an impatient manor.

"You work for our emperor no? Pig headed fuck. You must be out here for somethin'. What is it? You want information? I have information..." His voice was scratchy and he smelt of smoke and B.O. Celia looked around to make sure no one was looking before gripping the man by his neck and forcing him down an ally way.

"You will not speak ill of our ruling emperor." Her grip tightened angrily around his throat, but she released him to pull out a small dagger to bring to his throat. "You better start talking," Celia demanded and looked to Kumari to make sure she was keeping watch.

"Goblins," he hissed.

"What about them?" Celia pressed him. This was perfect, hopefully they would get all their information from this old man.

"They've been rather quiet, but they are on the move..." He looked around as if someone was watching them and listening In on their conversation. "Buuuuut. I think their next target is very close. Very close." He pointed to the ground, indicating the attack would be here. "But the traffic around here hasn't slowed, so who knows."

Celia looked over at Kumari with an interested expression. "Go. Be on your way," Celia snapped and shoved the man back towards the street. She placed her hands on her hips and let out a loud sigh.

"An attack here? Do you think that's possible?" Celia asked in hushed tones.