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Post by Gelquie on Jul 2, 2014 23:37:17 GMT -5
Elin knew she was exhausted, but she didn't know how exhausted she was until after they had finally gone out of sight of Jade Manor. Once they were in a more secluded area and far enough away that they could get away safely, the reality of her fatigue and hunger all hit her like a ton of bricks. Elin's pace slowed, and she began tripping over her own feet until she found herself practically leaning on one of the rebels. At this, they decided to take her somewhere nearby and safe so that she could get some rest. After a short deliberation of where to go, they ended up taking her to a safe place of their choosing, essentially carrying Elin the rest of the way. After Elin had been tucked into a bed somewhere that they deemed safe, she started mumbling, something about the sun and lack of food, but she didn't say anything that made sense. Elin was drifting off quickly when they had spoken up and offered to give her some food before she slept. “N-no, ca-- won't...” She replied. “G-give... Ciro... th- the...” She didn't finish her sentence as she had fallen asleep. ~*~*~ It was bright. Very bright. Elin brought her arm up and blinked multiple times, trying to get a view of the area around her. After some time of doing this, her eyes adjusted, and she found herself in a mostly barren field, surrounded by wilting crops that were starting to turn brown. At the end of the field was a little house, brown and unpainted, presiding over the farm. Elin brought a hand to her forehead to find it completely damp with sweat. She brought her hand away to find that her hand had now been drenched, with little droplets following the curves of her hand before dripping onto the ground between the crops. A small damp spot appeared in the dirt for only a moment before the soil lightened again, as if it had never been touched. More droplets fell from her hand to the ground, and the ground still dried almost instantly. She watched it for some time until the flow began slowing, and then stopped. Elin put her hand up to her forehead again, but it was no longer damp with sweat; merely dry and cracked. Elin dropped to the ground and began staring at the sky, looking helplessly at the few wispy clouds that dotted the sky. She turned her head to see a younger girl, laying in the grassy field alongside her. She turned to face Elin with no emotion on her face until she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Elin looked back up at the cloud and grasped the dry grass beneath her only to find that it had been replaced by stone. It took her a moment to realize that the cloud she was staring at was now behind a series of bars, and she could only see it through a tiny window of her cell. Elin staggered up before walking over to the window. She jumped and grabbed the bars before lifting herself up to see what lay beyond the window. Through it, she saw the field again, dry as ever, with the house in the distance and the feet of multiple people tramping along, with a hand occasionally reaching down to pick a dried crop. Elin was trying to lean closer when she saw one of the pair of feet begin stagger. Elin tried searching for a weak spot in the bars and calling out to the people in the field, neither of which came to any avail, for the bars were strong and her voice was gone. She looked the other direction, towards a guard of her cell, dressed in clothing worthy of nobles. She shot him looks and tried in vain to call to him, but the guard just stroked his grey beard and remained where he stood. A glint of light refelected from one of the jail bars, shining into Elin's eyes. And then her hands began to tingle, and it grew stronger the longer she held on. Quickly, she let go of the bars and found herself falling. But the stone floor of her cell didn't break her fall. Instead, she just kept falling, into a vast, empty, bottomless space... ~*~*~ Elin awoke with a start, sweating and gasping, and feeling like something inside of her was twisting into a knot. For a long time, she sat there, unmoving with the exception of her heavy breathing. Then Elin gripped her blanket tightly before burying her face in it. After a moment, she shivered before calling out. “Auntie? Auntie, are you--?” Elin glanced up only to find herself in a place that was not familiar to her. It was a bedroom of some sort, but one she didn't recognize. She didn't recognize any of the arrangement or the furniture around her... Only one thing was certain. She had never been here before. Elin glanced out the window to see a faint streak of light seep through. She didn't know what time it was, or how long she had been asleep. But judging by the fatigue that still weighed down her eyes, it can't have been very much. Elin thought about laying down again, but memories of the nightmare flashed back into her mind, and she cringed at the thought of revisiting it. Well, she cringed at the thought and the pain in her stomach. Food. She vaguely recalled being offered food the night before before drifting off. Or at least, she thought she did; it could have been another dream. She knew she'd have to get up to find something. But the fatigue raging through her body gave her no inclination to do so. It was a feeling she remembered, though. She knew she had to force herself up eventually. Just... not yet. She wasn't ready. Elin lay back and thought about last night, trying to put pieces of the picture together. She remembered she was in jail, although the many hours that passed in there began to blend into each other unless it was important, such as when she first came in, the interrogation, and otherwise... But how had she...? She put a hand to her forehead and thought back. She was sitting alone in the cell, dawn began to break through the window, and then... And then through the window... The memory quickly returned to her, flashing through the events up until a certain point when she was escaping; everything after that was too blurry to really tell. But she remembered the important parts. It had taken them over a day, but her fellow rebels had come through for her, literally. She wondered where they were now, but that question was quickly pushed to the back of her mind because right now, she didn't even quite know where she was. She briefly pondered why she wasn't just taken back to her own home when she realized why that was a bad idea. She was just broken out of prison. And given why, they were likely looking for her, and she couldn't risk revealing any more secrets. If she went home, they'd find her quite easily. She couldn't go to the Kidde's home either; it'd be another good place for them to look, and given her tiff with Kelcey yesterday, he'd probably turn her in if it gave him a chance to be with his love. And the King's Arms Inn was out of the question; she was known to frequent there, and if Xavier had managed to return, and House Jade obligated him to arrest her again... Even if she did have the will to get up and walk... It only made sense for her to hide in a strange room that she had never seen before. It only made sense that she couldn't see her friends if they weren't Shadows, if it was safe to see even them. It only made sense that she had to keep Aunt Clare in the dark about what she had been doing. And it only made sense to stay hidden, and not go looking for her aunt... Elin shut her eyes tightly as the thoughts swirled through her head. She was a fugitive now. She had to live like one. --- Over the past day, Clare had grown increasingly concerned. The night of the Feast, she and Briar split up, and she went looking for quite some time. However, she wasn't able to find any trace of her niece. Briar failed to make the rendezvous back at the house. Still, a part of Clare's brain was willing to convince herself that Elin was just taking a long time to get back. It was with this thought that she dozed off until the next morning. Clare immensely regretted dozing off when morning came, and Elin was nowhere to be seen at either the house or the butcher shop. Clare tried to stay in the same place, in case Elin managed to wander back, and that she was indeed merely just drunk and lost. But the hours passed, and there was still no sign of Elin. Clare even ended up leaving her job early to continue the search for her. Elin had always returned from whatever she was doing the next day, or at least left some indication of why she had gone. And Clare doubted that Elin would worry her on purpose... She knew better than that. She always did. Day turned into night, and night turned into day. And still, Elin hadn't returned, even though most of the drunken peasants at the Feast had recovered by now. Clare knew that it would be time to return to work for the influx of meat orders now that things were going back to normal. But this was not a normal situation. And so, when Clare went to work that day... She quickly changed her mind. Instead, she pondered where else to go to search for Elin. She hadn't seen Briar since that night; she hoped that nothing happened to her either... (Dear 'Woo, if something bad happened to Briar as well...) She supposed she could stop by the Kidde's house. Or perhaps she could stop by the King's Arms Inn, in case Ilsa or Xavier had seen her. After that... She wasn't sure where else to look. After a very careful minute deliberation, she decided to go to the King's Arms Inn first, on the reasoning that it was closest. And so she began making her trek to the inn, still keeping an eye out along the way in case of anything that could hint to where Elin or Briar could be. Noticing Elin's fatigue, the rebels that busted her out of jail take her to a safe place so that she can get some sleep. She drifts off, but abruptly awakens a few hours later following a nightmare. Though still tired and hungry, she takes time to ponder where she could be, what's happened, and what's in store for her future. (Other Shadows most likely know where she is and may or may not stop by to visit.) Clare, meanwhile, is really worried about Elin by this point. She's walking towards the King's Arms Inn in case Ilsa ( Elcie) has seen her or Briar ( Avery), who disappeared after their last meeting. She's still on the road though, so anyone can interact with her, really.
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 3, 2014 2:01:42 GMT -5
Karma waited impatiently as the guard disappeared from behind the door, and away to get someone who could take her to Alain. She tapped her foot for a while, and then, when that got boring, peered into the room beyond the door. Careful not to go into the actual room, Karma leaned as far as she could to see down a hallway, but she just barely couldn’t see. And then, of course, as she was about to step inside, the guard came back, and bowed to her. "The Grand Duke is not available to see, unfortunately, your Highness. But I've been instructed to make you comfortable in Stallion Manor. Please, come in, tell the servants if you wish to have any food or drink," the guard said. Karma was confused. He wasn’t there? Or did he just not want to see her? A strange look, almost like disappointment, crossed her face, and she stared up at the guard with an even stranger look. “W-what do you mean, he’s not ’available to see’?” Karma whined loudly, grabbing onto the guard’s wrist and looking into his eyes. As she stepped into the Manor, still holding tightly to the guard’s wrist, she continued, “I wanted to see him! He didn’t say anything at the feast about leaving, so he’s obviously hiding somewhere!” Karma frowned, looking around at the room, and wondering what to do next. Alain not being around threw a wrench in her plans, she hadn’t gotten the chance to talk again at the feast, and she had pressing questions to ask! Alain had been nice to her, and, Karma thought, that was pretty cool and rare for someone who was friends with her Papa. She released the guard’s wrist and walked over to a servant. “May I have water, please?” Karma said in her most polite and princess-like voice, and her voice got slightly louder and much less princess-like as she said, “And can you please find Alain for me, now, please?” Karma tries to snoop around in the manor before the guard gets back. Then, the guard says Alain ( Celestial) isn’t able to be seen, but Karma REALLY wants to see him. She gets all bent out of shape about it, but stays calm, cool, and collected on the outside, and is actually polite to a servant (FOR ONCE). And... then she’s not, and is a brat about the servant finding Alain, now, please. (ppl who could also be around/spot the karma chameleon Kristykimmy Killix Jayeee Kozma Omni) also omg this is such a short post why
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Post by Coaster on Jul 3, 2014 4:10:28 GMT -5
After some rushed (and, frankly, quite unexpected) ceremonious banter followed by assurances that Kaldora was now a full-fledged member of House Jade, she was shown to her quarters and offered the chance to explore the facilities and become acquainted with the attendants that were in the House's service. (Supposedly, this would continue to be what was expected of her while the actually relevant and interesting nobles were out on whatever noble business they still might have in Medieville.) Needless to say, after the marathon of a day she had endured, she eschewed the pleasantries, set Duskglimmer loose (who was promptly met by a servant with whatever meat a nightsaber cub might have liked), and promptly spent the day in well-deserved sleep. ...At least, whatever sleep she could manage between consideration of the current circumstances. As expected, the Jades seemed to keep mostly among themselves--understandable, given that she had only just joined their ranks, and even aside from the rapidly unfolding turmoil in this highly political stratum, Kaldora had selected her form specifically for such a position. Exotic and unique enough to attract attention, yet foreign enough to dispel too much prying; beautiful enough to... extract the right kind of information, yet powerful enough to avoid the wrong kind of advances; a precedent for a social temperament that matched her own, and most importantly at first, a physiology that wouldn't leave her vulnerable at the worst times... Mostly, the ability to do her work with people at a safe distance. ...Then why do they seem so far away?From the absurdly soft feather bed she'd been allotted, Kaldora examined the sack of powder next to her backpack on the desk, considering the words she'd exchanged with Ignotus on the docks the other night. “Then consider them a gift. From a friend.”...With a little more information, especially in a setting like that... most cultures would have found that kind of exchange more than a little awkward. Kaldora recalled the rumour of a vile monster who often prowled the streets of Medieville at night, appearing innocent at first, but violently scalping and sometimes gouging eyes from peasants foolish enough to refuse her demands. She shuddered at this, having noted the similarity with herself, if ever so slight, and in a strange twist of context. After all, in regular circumstances, people would run her own type straight out of town, and they hadn't refrained from doing so... and worse... before. As much as she wanted to fight back, to use a bit of... Azerothian politics to make sure everything stayed in line, such would only cause irreparable damage. More specifically, as her elders had told her, the more dramatically events were altered, the more likely it was for a certain maniacal dictator to defeat all the forces of the world and nearly eradicate its people in the process. With any luck, this House wouldn't force her to make that kind of choice. Her eyes dimmed as she once again drifted into sleep. Bird-boy handled Xavier's crisis well enough, and likely was pretty handy with flying creatures, too... not that she needed his help starting the Jade rapport anymore, but he was still probably the one to trust... ...and... troublesome, vexing Magerage... left without a lot of hassle, maybe... *** Ancel awoke that morning--or at least, what seemed to be that morning--with nary a hazy memory of what happened. Something about 'Pit-spawn and Courdon and... ...the massive welts all over him distracted him too much for more, but even then, he could tell he was partially unarmed, and if there was one thing he'd learned from the last time, you always need a melee weapon so that you can still freakin' stab something even if you run out of ammo. Or if your flimsy wooden crossbow gets stepped on by a twelve-foot-long bronze drake. Given the fact that it was earlier in the day than when he was sure he'd finally passed out last night, as well as how much better he felt than he was expecting (no signs of a hangover whatsoever!), and the apparent sunburn on the (thankfully quite small) unscarfed stripe of his face, he surmised that he'd staggered out of the Dragon's Quill after whatever incident with the gargley--err, gargoyle--and missed a day lying a short way outside, in this partially shaded alley behind some rickety fence posts and... a cat poop pillow. Lovely. Feeling much more sluggardly than he ought, and certainly much more smelly, he shuffled as quickly as he could manage to the ice-cold river, removed any sensitive components from his person, dunked himself in, scrubbed himself, and climbed back out, recovering his belongings and tipping his hat to a child peasant who had stopped to observe. Now, with that incredibly important piece of business out of the way, Ancel needed a replacement sword! He made his way to the smithy and let himself in, tapping lightly on the door. "Hello, there? I'd like to place an order," he called to the nearest employee, retrieving his primary bag of jewels from his pocket and another from his hat. "I need a sword. Hand and a half; mithril--or just steel and silver, if you don't have any; double fuller blade; standard grip, but on an upside-down 'Woo-blessed crucifix crossguard--or I can get someone to bless it later if need be; and if you can bear to sully your own work, a backward hook on the point is absolutely necessary." He poured out the first bag of gems on the table to show he was good for it. "And if you get what I mean," he continued, leaning close and shifting his eyes slightly to either side, "I'd be willing to pay extra for some... enhancements." He tossed the second bag of jewels on the ground at the smith's feet and grinned wide enough to expose the blood-red corners of his mouth above his scarf. "...Something to deal with evil creatures. Preferably with as much pain as possible." Kaldora sleeps through the time skip, with a bit of philosophizing about how to people and how time. (She makes internal reference to Ignotus, Karma, rules of time travel, Leifvier, and MAGERAGE.) Ancel dunks himself in the river, then (still soaked) goes to Clarissa's ( Layla "Nimbus" Karimi) smithy and wants to commission a new enchanted sword! to replace the one Demongoat stole. (He asks whoever's there at the time, so not specifically Clarissa if she has something else she's doing right now.)
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Post by Layla "Nimbus" Karimi on Jul 3, 2014 5:47:24 GMT -5
Clarissa forced herself to take a deep breath as she helped to open up the smithy for the day. Ever since she ran into Briar, she had been wound up -- first the news that Elin was gone, then the appearance of the strange man who had taken far longer to dissuade than it should have, then a full day of searching until they found where Elin, who had indeed been captured by the Jades and had dangerous information forced out of her, was being kept. But... but it was okay now. Hopefully. Elin was safe now, and while the Jades were probably furious, at least she had managed to spare them too many clues about the Shadows' machinations. Still, Clarissa and the others would have to tread carefully now -- even more so than before. Among other things, though, this meant returning to business as usual and pretending that she hadn't just gotten back from a jailbreak at a noble manor. "Hello there? I'd like to place an order." Clarissa looked up to see a man, extensively outfitted and dripping with water, at the doorway. From his garb and the specifications he was making for his commission, it wasn't hard for her to guess his trade: monster hunter, or at least someone who fancied himself one. Those types tended to be interesting, if not always in the most positive ways. Clarissa chuckled when the man became all shifty with his mention of "enhancements." "This isn't Bern, you know," she commented. "You're free to ask for as many enchantments as you like, so long as they're reasonable." Lovely! She hadn't gotten to do an enchanted commission in over a week, and was looking forward to the challenge. Clarissa is anxious from the events following Elin's disappearance, but forces herself to relax and act like nothing is wrong. She is back to working in the smithy, and gets a commission for an enchanted monster-hunting sword from Ancel ( Coaster), which helps to lift her spirits.
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Post by Celestial on Jul 3, 2014 7:02:17 GMT -5
The servant girl that Karma approached, Shae Nannyganse, bowed quickly and hurried off before Karma could whine any more at her. First she went to get the young Ascension princess the glass of water she requested, which thanks to the filtration system developed by House Stallion was probably the purest the princess had ever had in her life. She quickly placed the water beside Karma, bowed again and ran off to find, for lack of anybody else, Ambrose. Ambrose was still in Alain's room when she found him, trying to figure out if Alain had left anything around at all that could posssibly help him. But aside from the clothes in the chest and the cane on top of it, Alain had left nothing behind. Ambrose was well and truly alone and without guidance. "Sir," Shae coughed. "Princess Karma insists on seeing the Grand Duke." "That's impossible though," Ambrose looked up, "Have you told her that?" "She knows, sir, but she's not going to take no for an answer. She is an Ascension princess and she wants to see the Grand Duke," the servant's voice was slightly condescending, as though talking to a chid. Ambrose said nothing to the servant, however. Of course, to her, he was a mad old man. Ambrose sighed and sat down on the bed again, folding his hands and trying to think of a solution. Karma was not going to be placated unless she saw Alain but Alain was...somewhere in the city, Ambrose had no idea where. And if he did not want to be found, he would not be. "If I may suggest something..." Shae said, approaching Ambrose. He looked up and nodded, glad of any suggestion. "I hope you won't think of me as impertient to suggest this but you look very much like your brother. Perhaps if we cut your hair, cleaned you up a bit, dressed you in his clothes and present you to the Princess as the Grand Duke, maybe it will work out?" she was trying to hide her grin, Ambrose could see it. Pose as Alain? He shuddered visibly at the thought. Ambrose was not Alain, he had spent almost his entire life living with that fact. Alain was everything he was not so to imitate him...they were alike in face, yes, but in manner, in behaviour, in character, in ability, they were as unlike as a candleflame and the sun. And there was the matter of what would happen if he had a vision while talking to Karma or what would happen if she found out the ruse... "The Princess will see right through it," he said, shaking his head. "It will never work." "She's eight, sir, if we dress you up and you act as best as you can, she'll be fooled and leave, happy," Shae smiled. "I don't see any other way but if you wish to suggest something..." Ambrose shook his head. He imagined the Princess's anger would be severe. He did not want Alain to come back to find that an Ascension princess, no matter how young, had gotten angry at the House on Ambrose's watch. But the servant girl was right, there was no other way that he could think of. Another way he was different from Alain. "Alright," he murmured, capitulating. "Bring the servants, do your best with me." Shae hid her grin and quickly ran out of the room, fetching the barber servant and another to lay out clothes. The barber quickly trimmed Ambrose's hair, smirking a little to himself, although Ambrose could not guess why. Another servant had made a beeline for the chest and took out the clothes in there, including the circlet Alain wore to mark his position, the cuirass and the cloak. It did not take them long to do as much as they could for Ambrose. One of the servants offered him help with changing but Ambrose quickly declined. Shae smiled for a moment before she ran out of the room, the other servants following her, and went to tell Princess Karma that the Grand Duke was on his way. Ambrose slowly dressed himself in Alain's clothes, an act that felt inherently wrong. It was like a child playing dress up. But, considering that Alain was more muscular and slightly taller than him, Ambrose was surprised how well the clothes fit him. Aside from a few loose spots here and there, it was surprisingly comfortable. Even the metal cuirass, which was lighter than it looked, sat comfortably on him. He adjusted the circlet on his forehead, picked up the cane and looked at himself in the polished mirror which hung on the wall. Appearance-wise, he looked like his brother, but he did not see him in the mirror. Ambrose straightened out as much as he could, trying to acquire the stately, serene air that Alain had and match his facial expression to it. He only succeeded in looking apprehensive and tense, which was fair, considering how he felt. This was going to go badly, the thought kept echoing in his head. He did not want to imagine what what Lucinda, or Kirin would think if they saw him. The less said about Garrick, the better. A shudder ran down Ambrose's spine. "I have no choice," he said, practicing with making his voice deeper to imitate Alain's. "I'm sorry, Alain." With that, he strode out of the room, the cane tapping against the stones and the cloak fanning out behind him. He walked with as much confidence as he could muster until he reached the front entrance, where Karma was. He gave her a small bow as he approached. "Princess Karma, hello. It is good to see you again," he smiled, bowing to her. He glanced around, looking for either his family or the Stallion recruits but they did not seem to be there. Good. He wanted to avoid him while he was dressed like this. "Why don't we go for a walk? It's a nice day and we can discuss what you wanted to talk to me about." Oh please, please let it be something Ambrose knew about. He doubted the eight-year old princess would want to discuss politics but his luck was so bad that chances are, she'd bring something up he did not know about. That or he'd have a vision. Or both. *** Alain smiled gratefully and sat down opposite Morgaine, listening to her. She seemed nice enough and, to hi relief, honest. Even the key fiddling did not register as anything suspicious, more like something to keep her hands occupied. "My name is Alban M-" he broke off as he heard thumps from above. The noises that followed; metal, shouts, thumping, all were suggestive of a fight going on above and a rather intense one. He could count at least six participants, if not more. Morgaine had paled and ran upstairs towards the source of the noise and Alain followed her. While he was significantly slower than her, having to keep up the appearance of an old man who needed the cane to walk, he nevertheless kept up a good pace. His thumb rested on the rings around the neck of the cane, ready to flick it up if necessary, though he did not want to use it in front of Morgaine. It might raise a few questions. By the time he got there, she was busy unlocking the door. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her work with expert hands on the lock. She was far too sophisticated and professional for a thief. A locksmith? She seemed to know the inner mechanisms of the lock well enough. It was plausible. However, even she was not quick enough to open the door. The sounds stopped as abruptly as they begun before Morgaine finally managed to pick the lock and open it. Alain walked up behind her and beheld the scene in the room. Six bodies, with the assailant having escaped out of the window. He remained impassive as he looked about the destruction. The poor innkeeper was going to have to replace a lot of furniture and clean out the bodies. He did not envy her. "What is happening to this city?" Morgaine asked, sounding quite scared. Alain shook his head. "Politics. Whenever nobles squabble, somebody always ends up dead," he said as calmly as he could. He had been in enough political disputes to know that...but it was unlikely that this was the case here. Carefully, he approached the nearest body and checked the pulse. Dead. Clean slashes. Whoever killed them knew what they were doing. Most likely an assassin, by the sound of it it must have been an ambush. It was unlikely that they were the targets, a better assassin would have picked a quieter spot to kill them. A turf war? Perhaps, though who picked an inn to fight in was beyond Alain. Again, he did not say this to Morgaine. She would ask far too many questions. "We best find the innkeeper and tell her what occurred here," he said, getting up and moving back towards her. "Then alert the city guard so they can come and take the bodies away and maybe find out who did this. I doubt there was anything we could have done, even if we were on time. It looks like it was a big fight." The servant gets Karma( Lizzie) her water and runs up to tell Ambrose of her request. Since Karma is not going to go away without seeing Alain, the servant suggests that Ambrose disguise himself as his brother. He reluctantly agrees and dresses in the clothes that Alain left behind, all while thinking how bad of an idea this is. He goes downstairs to see Karma and suggests they go for a walk so that nobody in the House would see him like this. Alain, meanwhile, hears the commotion caused by Davorin( Draco) and runs up after Morgaine( Shinko). They are too late by the time she opens the door and he regards the scene, trying to figure out what happened. He tells Morgaine that they should go find Ilsa and tell somebody in charge about what happened.
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Post by Shinko on Jul 3, 2014 7:40:02 GMT -5
Contrary to what Alain might have assumed, Morgaine was no stranger to battles and the sorts of injuries they left. She too was inspecting the bodies, and her lips pursed. "They're all in the same uniform," she pointed out. "And I don't recall seeing any nobles with white in their house colors, at the feast or the funeral. If this is related to politics, it was an external hire. Mercenaries, my guess, or assasins. Probably assasins, mercs wouldn't have the skill set to get into the building unnoticed. Open pilaging is more their style." She smiled at the man, though the expression held no joy; it was the tightly controlled smile of someone forcing themselves not to think about something. "My late husband was a knight, you see. I've seen battles and their aftermath before." She looked down again. "But this I cannot like. There is no way professional fighters wouldn't have known a fight here would draw attention. Either they were dangerously overconfident to their own detriment, or whoever hired them knew they were incompetant and wanted them caught. A message, to inspire fear." In the rebels, she thought, though she said nothing out loud. She didn't know this man, and there was no reason to speak with a stranger to the city about the turmoil. He'd either find out on his own, or leave before the situation escalated. Though from the look of things here it was already doing so. Granted, it could have just as easily been the former option, but the last thing they needed was a rogues having a private war when the city was on the verge of a very public one. Bodies left in public places would inspire fear with or without someone intentionally setting them up to. Fear would lead to hysteria, which would throw oil on the already tinder dry city. Then all it would need was a spark... Again. It's starting all over again. And I'm useless to do anything about it, just like before."You're right," she said, when the man suggested finding the innkeeper and the city guard. "Ilsa's not going to like this." She stood, wincing as she realized that some of the blood pooling around the bodies had gotten on her skirts. Where in Woo's name was the innkeeper anyway? If she hadn't heard the commotion, she must have either been outside receiving some sort of shipment, or not at the inn. Morgaine turned towards the stairs, calling Ilsa's name. Morgaine shows that she knows a little more about combat then Alain credits her for (though not enough to identify the cause of the wounds and pin the target of the attack as another assasin). She doesn't come to all the right conclusions about the situation, of course, but she's not omniscient and can only go off of the knowledge she already has- which, as she pointed out to Ilsa last round, is limited thanks to her role as a neutral merchant. She thinks to herself about something happening "again" but tries to stay focused on the situation at hand, agreeing to go with Alain to find Ilsa.
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Post by Killix on Jul 3, 2014 11:24:24 GMT -5
While Lucinda went back to her room to fetch her cloak, Kirin took a moment to think about her suggestions. With half of the town only just recovering from their colossal hangovers, The Dragon's Quill was likely to be deserted. The party-goers would have gone home already, or crashed at the Inn for a good (entire day's) rest. The Inn seemed to be a popular spot in town, either way. It was a good place to start searching. “Where should we try first?”"Well... The Inn appears to be a busy place. It seems like a good place to start." Kirin started walking, and motioned for Lucinda to follow. "Corinne might've simply decided to stay there after the party, but if not, someone who did might be able to tell us where she is." Kirin stepped out a side door and surveyed the lot. It was clear that they would be walking around town today; two carriages were missing, and the remaining one required repairs. Since Medieville was a modest town, and everything was within reasonable walking distance, this would only be a minor inconvenience, one which a brisker walking pace couldn't overcome. Might-as-well try the Inn, that place is nothing but funtimes. ( Kristykimmy)
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Post by Elcie on Jul 3, 2014 12:13:17 GMT -5
It was taking longer than usual to get things ready for business in the morning, and Ilsa freely admitted to herself that she was badly distracted. She felt Xavier's absence more than ever, and had all but made up her mind to go straight to the Jades' manor and demand to see him as soon as she got the chance. Politely. Polite demands. These were still nobles, of course. So she would ask them politely to tell her where Xavier was, or else... or else she'd stop being polite.So she felt slightly guilty about leaving her new guest waiting - Alban something? - but, in the scheme of things, not that guilty. Breakfast would still come, even if it was bound to be lesser in quality than her guests were usually used to. She winced. Quite apart from missing Xavier's company and worrying about his safety... he had always been a much better cook than she was. Business had improved remarkably after she'd hired him. Ilsa was already steeling herself for the comments from regulars. Alban, hopefully, would not know the difference. She heard voices from the dining room and mostly ignored them, having nearly finished preparing what she needed for their breakfast, but then the sound of a commotion from upstairs distracted her. Ilsa turned and stared, uselessly, at the ceiling. What was that? She'd thought almost no one was here anymore. After a moment she started to emerge from the kitchen and heard her name being called urgently. Morgaine was coming down the stairs. "What was that?" Ilsa said, hurrying up to her. "What's going on?" --- Xavier was in unusually good spirits by the time he finished helping Lord Charles get Corinne into her cell. Elin was safe. It had been something of a relief that they'd found and had to arrest Corinne instead, which had been something he didn't mind doing at all. He'd have arrested her himself even before House Jade took him in. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that this time, he was helping House Jade entirely of his own volition. It was something to take his mind off of the previous night. Xavier was not quite ready to think about his encounter Frederick just yet. He thought about Elin instead. He had not really had much time to think about the fact that his friend was a Shadow; at the time, her actions had worried him less than the very real possibility that he had just sentenced one of his closest (and only) friends to torture or execution. Now he found himself thinking again about what he'd learned. The worst of it was not really the fact that she was with the Shadows; it was the fact that he would almost certainly never see her again. It would be too dangerous now; if not for him, then for Elin. Even if the Jades were not as cruel as he had believed them to be, the last thing he wanted was to see her imprisoned again. But it was bearable. Even if he had to stay away from her for her own sake, she was alive and free, and knowing that made it easier to take. He'd already expected that their conversation at the feast would be their last, after all. He only wished he could have said goodbye. ...There was still Ilsa. Xavier had promised Elin that he'd speak to her if he could, and now seemed like a good opportunity. Xavier left word with one of the servants in case the Jades needed to find him. It was still strange how politely they deferred to him, calling him Master Xavier. He wanted to beg them not to. It was, once again, a pleasant surprise when nobody stopped him on his way out of the manor. Feeling strangely light, Xavier made his way through town towards the inn. Ilsa worries about Xavier while making breakfast, and comes out when she heard the noise upstairs and Morgaine ( Shinko) calling for her. Xavier meanwhile is relieved about Elin's escape, and decides to use his newfound freedom to go talk to Ilsa and explain what's happened to him. He is currently on his way to the inn.
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Post by Kristykimmy on Jul 3, 2014 13:30:45 GMT -5
Kirin began walking and motioned for Lucinda to follow, which she did. "Well... The Inn appears to be a busy place. It seems like a good place to start. Corinne might've simply decided to stay there after the party, but if not, someone who did might be able to tell us where she is."“That seems sound. Corinne is a native of this town, perhaps she was more familiar with the location of the inn than our manor and went there.” She was basically repeating what he had said, trying to reassure herself that this could be the case. They walked out of the manor and looked around. Immediately Lucinda saw what Kirin did, there were no available carriages. She knew they could hire one, but that would take a good deal of time and trouble; they would need to send out a servant to summon one and then wait for it to arrive. In that time, they could easily walk to the inn, make their inquires, and have returned to the manor with Corinne if she was there, or be well on their way to following up any clues to her location. It disappointed her a little, though. She might have to wait until the next day to see Jeniver and return the poor bird. She reached into her pocket and stroked him, hoping he wasn't too lonely for his master. She smiled up at Kirin, trying to put on a brave face. “It is not the worst day for a brisk walk,” she commented as they set out. “It will probably do Corinne some good to walk once we find her.” They started walking through the streets of Medieville, which were strangely empty and quiet. It was still early in the morning, but in the past when she had been out at this hour, the streets had been far more busy. “Do you suppose everyone is still asleep because of that party?” Lucinda asked as they walked along, more conversationally than out of actual curiosity for where the people were. They came to the inn and entered. They had picked quite the moment to arrive. An older woman was hurrying down the stairs, calling someone's name rather desperately. Another woman was racing out from the kitchen, running to meet the woman on the stairs. The woman on the stairs looked ashen and there was blood on her skirts. “It looks like we might have arrived at an unfavorable time,” Lucinda said. Lucinda and Kirin ( Killix) set out and after a brisk walk arrive at the inn. It's looking like a bad time to get answers about Corinne. Morrigine ( Shinko) and Ilsa ( Elcie) are visible, Alain ( Celestial) is still out of sight.
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Post by Lizzie on Jul 3, 2014 20:06:00 GMT -5
((This is a collab between Celestial and I!)) Karma was extremely impatient, as always. As the servant ran off to get her her glass of water, she bounced around from foot to foot. She peered down more halls, looked around at the paintings on the walls, and, finally, whipped around when she heard footsteps. "Princess Karma, hello. It is good to see you again," Alain said, bowing toward her. Karma’s eyes lit up. So he did want to talk to her! She gave her best curtsey, and then just gave up formality and clung to him. “Hi!” the princess said, excitement edging its way into her voice. Ambrose tensed up as Karma suddenly grabbed him. He tried to relax but this was very unusual behaviour for a princess. Definitely not what he expected at all. But Alain would not panic and right now, for all intents and purposes, that was who he was. “Hello, you’re very...enthusiastic,” he smiled at her as best as he could. “Now, shall we get going? You can talk to me on the way, princess.” He started leading her towards the door. Perhaps on their walk, they might discover where Corinne was. “I didn’t get to talk to you again at the feast!” Karma said, trying to match how he was walking, “I wanted to ask you something.” Karma hesitated for a second, looking around as they walked outside. In her rush to get there without getting caught by anyone who could take her back to the Keep, she neglected to look at how pretty it was around the Manor. “I’m sorry, I was busy with….things,” Ambrose bit his tongue, figuring Alain would not talk that way. But immediately, he wondered what Karma would want to ask him. Silently, he hoped he would be able to answer it. But what if he could not? He could never lie to a princess. But there was no point delaying it. Any hesitation could betray him. “What is it that you wish to know?” “I was… um,” Karma hesitated again, wondering how to phrase it. She was sure Alain would know, he had to know. She continued, “I was wondering if you could tell me a story. About my mama?” “About your mama?” Ambrose’s eyes widened. The question blindsided him but at the same time, he should have expected it. She was a child and the Queen died when she was born. But soon, he smiled. This was something he could answer. “I remember she came to Bern once on a royal visit. The snow had come early so she and your father had to wait in Destrier for a while while the snowstorm raged. She was very kind, however. Always asking about the servants, how they were managing, instead of being impatient to go back to Medieville,” he looked away, remembering his own few interactions with the Queen. “She was even kind enough to talk to m- my mad brother, about his visions. She seemed genuinely interested, if disbelieving, like everyone else.” Karma listened intently, staring up at Alain with wide, chocolate brown eyes that grew wider, interested in every word he said. “Was that your brother who you were talking with at the feast?” Karma said, and then looked down, frowning a little, “Desi and Papa never told me anything about Mama, I think they… I don’t think they liked to.” She paused again, struggling for another thing to say, before grinning. “I knew Mama had to be nice!” Karma said enthusiastically. “It was, yes,” Ambrose nodded. The princess seemed happy, which was enough to make him feel a little bit more at ease. He pondered her words for a second. “Maybe they don’t want to talk about her because it’s painful for them to remember? But, she was nice. She was a very good woman and I’m sorry that she died. But she left a good legacy behind, at least.” Karma grabbed Alain’s hand as they continued to walk toward… wherever they were going. She wasn’t exactly sure. “I think… well, Desi always blamed me for Mama’s death,” the princess looked down at her feet and sighed. Her voice cracked as she said, “But she doesn’t blame Aura, and she and Papa always told Aura stories, so.. so…” Karma chewed on her bottom lip, and continued to stare down at her feet. It wasn’t fair! She didn’t mean to. Ambrose tripped slightly as Karma grabbed his hand. She was either oddly strong for her age or he was just frail. Nevertheless, he quickly regained his balance and listened to her carefully. Smiling, her put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure it wasn’t your fault, Princess, sometimes these things just happen,” he sighed. “I don’t know why they would prefer your twin over you but it isn’t fair of them to blame you. Sometimes...sometimes it just makes it easier to have somebody to blame, even if they had nothing to do with it.” He winced, not liking implicating the old King and the rising Queen in favouritism. He knew a thing or two about it but with him, it was for a reason. Princess Karma on the other hand...he had heard ugly rumours, sometimes, but it was difficult to believe the girl in front of him was that sort of person. Karma frowned, still studying her shoes when Alain put a hand on her shoulder. “But why couldn’t they blame someone else?” she whined, “Like the healer?” Karma knew it wasn’t the healer’s fault, years of Desi telling her that it was her fault were far too ingrained into her heart to even believe Alain when he told her. She knew that she killed her Mama somehow, just like how she killed Fate and Sunshine. She didn’t know why she killed everyone she loved, she just… she had to, something made her, just like something made her hurt that peasant. She looked up at Alain again, tilting her head slightly. “Um, where are we going, again?” Karma asked him, looking around. “I wish I could answer that but I do not know what your sister or your father thought,” Ambrose shook his head. Alain probably could have said something but his mind was drawing a blank. “But it is not your fault your mother died, I’m sure. Having children is dangerous, especially twins. Her death was caused by nature, not you.” He frowned at her next question. Where were they going? He had mainly picked a direction and went that way but considering what had happened last time he did that, that was probably unwise. He doubted he would get lucky and run into somebody like Xavier again. And with the princess in tow, it was even worse if he did. Where could Corinne be? Kirin and Lucinda had gone to check the inns, he overheard them say that (at least, he thought he did) and he should not wander around inns with Karma anyway. “I’m not entirely sure,” he said. “I’m looking for a recruit of ours. She has been lost since the day of the feast.” Karma bit her lip again, looking at the buildings they were passing. “But she didn’t die when any of my sisters were born,” she said. She glanced around more, taking in the bits of Medieville peasants going about their daily business, and of course, looking around to make sure nobody from the Keep caught her. Although she was with Alain, who was pretty influential, if they caught her out of the Keep, she’d be in huge trouble, and so would Aura. “Did you try asking people?” Karma said, pointing toward peasants, “Since she’s a recruit, they’d probably know her, and maybe they can help?” “Nature is an odd thing, you can get lucky but it only takes one moment of bad luck to ruin that streak,” Ambrose said and shook his head. He was not a father, he did not know much about children. But at least he had been able to answer Karma’s question, that was a start. “For example, I had five siblings. Out of all of them, only my brother survived.” He sighed. Ambrose did not like remembering his siblings, although there was nothing to remember. He barely even knew their names or faces. And there were more important things to do. “I should, yes. She is rather...distinctive,” he smiled slightly. “She drinks a lot, unfortunately. And she calls herself Fate Sparrow, after the late princess.” “Some of my sisters are dead, too,” Karma said, squeezing Alain’s hand. She knew how it felt to have dead siblings, but probably not the same way that Alain did. They probably died normally. She felt bad for him. “Wait,” Karma looked at Alain, an alarmed expression coming to her face as he said her sister’s name, “She… she thinks she’s Fate? Is she really, though? She can’t be, Fate is dead!” Karma squeezed Alain’s hand again, this time tighter, and she bit down on her tongue. Fate is dead[/i], so this girl can’t be Fate, but… what if she is? What if she remembers what I did?[/i] the princess thought, her free hand grabbing the material of her dress and curling into a fist. Her thoughts raced at a million miles per hour. What if she hurts me?“Then we have something in common,” Ambrose tried to smile but he noticed how panicked Karma seemed at the mention of Fate. Oh no. Maybe he should not have mentioned what Corinne called herself, especially in front of the real Fate’s sister. He cursed himself for being so insensitive. That was what happened when he let himself go, even a little. “Princess Karma, please, I’m sure she’s not,” he said hurriedly, gripping her hand in order to comfort her. “I’m sorry I said that. Some of our recruits are a little mad.” Mad. That’s what people called him too and Ambrose knew his visions were truth, not madness. So what if Corinne really was the princess, somehow? Stranger things had happened. “Look I’m...I’m sure it will be fine. Please, don’t worry,” he tried to sound as comforting as he could. Karma hesitated, crumpling the material of her dress more as she stared out at the peasants, refusing to meet Alain’s eyes again. “She… why would she pretend that?” the princess squeaked, “Why would she wanna be Fate?” Karma didn’t understand. Fate was dead. Who would want to be her dead sister? Who would want to have to deal with that, all the time? Dealing with her and her other sisters was a handful, there was a reason, Karma knew, that Hope stayed up in the library all the time. And if the recruit really was Fate, and wasn’t pretending, she’d know that Karma killed her. Fate had always had pretty loose lips, she was a huge gossip, she would tell someone that Karma killed her, and then she’d never get to do anything. Papa had kept the entire ordeal very hush-hush, nobody knew… but Fate, Fate would tell! “Has anyone told her she’s not her?” Karma asked, finally meeting Alain’s eyes again, “She shouldn’t joke about things like that. And I don’t know why you’d let a mad person who thinks they’re someone else into the Stallions! Especially if she drinks.” “She...we never asked, she just seems...convinced of it. I don’t know if it’s true or not,” Ambrose could feel panic starting to rise up. He could see that Karma was very distressed by this. “We’ve not told her yet but I’ll tell her, Princess, once I find her.” He shook his head and sighed. Why did Alain recruit a drunk? He guessed she was useful somehow, Alain would not take in a useless person but...his brother’s plans were completely incomprehensible sometimes. “She’s useful to us,” Ambrose said. “House Stallion just...seems to attract the mad. I’m very sorry, Princess. We can talk about something else. Don’t let her bother you.” Karma frowned, not knowing how the drunk girl who thought she was a princess would be ‘useful’ like Alain said, but decided not to question it any further. He had to have his reasons, and she assumed that they had to be good ones. He was Papa’s friend, after all, and Papa only chose smart people to be his friends. The princess struggled to find another topic to talk about, not wanting to pester the man with more questions about her Mama. “Um, do you want to ask a peasant? I dunno what name we’d ask for,” Karma said, nodding toward a group of nasty peasants who were still carefully walking around the more grody parts of the street, “They could know.” Ambrose pondered this. Maybe it was best if Karma not meet Corinne, considering how terrified she seemed of the prospect of meeting somebody calling themselves Fate Sparrow. He did not want to be responsible for the Princess’s distress. “Maybe it’s best if I look on my own?” he asked. “I can take you back to the Keep, if you wish, Princess. In fact, I should.” Karma looked down at her feet, wondering what to say to that. She would get in so much trouble, unless Alain made excuses for her. “I… I wasn’t supposed to leave the Keep,” Karma began, stumbling over her words, “Aura helped me sneak out so that I could ask you about Mama.” “I see…” Ambrose frowned. Well, this suddenly got a bit more complicated. Nevertheless, he smiled kindly at Karma. “Well, it’s certainly quite an extreme measure for you to take. But you didn’t do anything bad, not really...maybe I can take you home and you can tell your sister the truth? That you just wanted to see A- me. She’s your sister, she should forgive you. That’s what siblings do.” “But Aines will be mad, and Desi will be too… and then the servants will stand there watching me and I wont be able to leave my room again,” Karma said, the words tumbling out all in one breath. She frowned slightly, before continuing, “But, um… okay. I’ll go back to the Keep. Aura will wanna know about Mama anyway.” “Good. I’ll walk you up there,” Ambrose closed his eyes briefly in relief. He was worried the girl would argue but it seemed he got lucky. “They won’t lock you in your room forever, they can’t. As for Master Aines and Queen Destiney, tell them that they can speak to me about it if they get mad.” Why did he have to say that? How could he own up to the Queen and Aines? But...at the same time, Ambrose did not want to leave Karma alone. It seemed like she needed some friendly support. “Just...don’t worry, Princess Karma,” he turned towards the cliff on which the Raven’s Keep stood. The search for Corinne would have to wait. At least maybe, by the time he had taken Karma home, Kirin and Lucinda might find her. “Come with me. Maybe I can rack my brain and find some more stories about your mama?” Karma doesn’t see through the disguise that Ambrose has, and genuinely thinks he’s Alain. She asks about her mother, and spends some quality time with Alainbrose. Ambrose worries constantly over what to say, but he shouldn’t. Then, Karma blames herself for her mother’s death, and then Ambrose tells Karma about Corinne ( Ginz ❤) “being” Fate, and it freaks her out. Then, Ambrose offers to throw himself under the bus carriage with Aines ( icon) and Destiney ( Avery), and they go up to the Keep with the promise of more stories about Queen Daisy.
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Post by Celestial on Jul 3, 2014 21:25:51 GMT -5
From the look she had as she inspected the bodies and what she said, Alain guessed that Morgaine had seen things like this before. Well, it certainly made things a bit simpler in dealing with everything. Her husband being a knight explained it and caught Alain's interest. He made sure to file that fact away for later. Right now, he kept inspecting the bodies. These were definitely not nobles, he would have recognised them if they were and she was right, no House had these colours. Rebels, perhaps? No, this seemed unlikely too. No rebel wore uniforms. And if it was a message to inspire terror, it would have been in a more public place than a nearly empty inn. So this was most likely a botched assassination...which meant the person they had been hunting was gone. Alain got up, feeling no more need to investigate this and get blood on his clothes. Unlike Morgaine, his clothes were not long enough to be stained by the blood but nevertheless, he checked himself over just in case. No need to be going around attracting attention. He moved over to the stairs when he heard a very familiar voice. Alain stopped in his tracks. Lucinda. He peered around the corner and down the stairs. Kirin was here too. But why? What would they be doing in an inn, this would normally be the sort of place where he would find Corinne...perhaps they were looking for her? Given the state that girl was always in, it was only a matter of time before she got lost. If she was not so useful, Alain would not even have bothered with her. Right now, however, it was best to get out without being seen by Kirin or Lucinda. Unlike most people, they knew Alain's face, his voice, his manner. As much as he could hide it, he was not going to take the chance that they would recognise him. That would raise far too many awkward questions that he prefered to avoid. Alain ran to his room to grab his cloak and then quietly retured to the room. He carefully walked on the floorboards not stained with blood towards the window. Once there, he tucked his cane into his belt and gripped the windowsill, swinging himself outside and down the rough wall of the inn. Thankfully, it was not a tall window so he was able to land without any problems. Once he had gotten his balance back (he was not as young as he used to be, Alain realised), he took his cane and walked out of the alleyway he landed in and into the busy street. City guards. If Morgaine was going to talk to the innkeeper about it, perhaps it was best that he not waste time and go find them. Consider it his good deed for the day before he continued on with his investigation, however that would go. But first... "'Scuse me," he stopped a woman coming towards the inn. "Mind telling me where I can find the nearest post of the city guard? There's been an...incident at the Inn over there." Alain ponders what Morgaine( Shinko) told him about her husband and files it away for later. He deduces from the bodies that this could be a botched assassination attempt and heads downstairs. Or tries to. He spots Kirin( Killix) and Lucinda( Kristykimmy) and figures it would be too risky to go downstairs in case he is recognised. So he climbs out of the window and runs into Clare( Gelquie), asking here where he could find the city guard to report the bodies to.
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Post by Shinko on Jul 3, 2014 21:56:11 GMT -5
There, finally, was Ilsa, rushing out of the kitchen. Spotting Morgaine, she rushed towards the locksmith. "What was that? What's going on?""Some sort of attack," Morgaine replied, her expression grim. "There are four bodies in one of the rooms upstairs, and everything is saturated in blood." The locksmith gestured towards her skirts, which had picked up some of the blood from the room. "When the commotion started I tried to pick the lock to get inside to stop whatever was going on. But it took too long to get the door open- I'm sorry Ilsa." “It looks like we might have arrived at an unfavorable time.”Morgaine glanced around, spotting two young people who could only be nobles, judging by their clothing. "You could say that," she remarked, a touch peeved at the casual tone from the noblewoman. "There's been a murder here- four actually. We," she turned to see that the old man was no longer following her, and her teeth clenched. Now what was going on? "It would be very much agreeable if you could find a knight or guard," Morgaine said instead. "This needs to be reported to the proper authorities, and I think Ilsa and I will be preoccupied trying to sort out the mess upstairs." She gestured to Kirin. "Unless of course, your big friend over there would like to help us haul the corpses out and mop up the blood." She didn't know why the old man had vanished so suddenly, but she was inclined to be suspicious about it. He'd been leaning very heavily on his cane before, and he shouldn't have been able to vanish so quickly unless that had been some sort of act. Is there anyone in this city I can trust besides Rosalie? I wish Sieg where here, this is more his line of work then mine.Morgaine fills in Elcie (Ilsa) about what happened upstairs. She notices that Celestial (Alain) has vanished, and is very suspicious about this. She then starts bossing around Kristykimmy and Killix, trying to get them involved in sorting out the mess/reporting it. Since obviously she doesn't know that Alain is trying to do the same thing.
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Post by Layla "Nimbus" Karimi on Jul 3, 2014 22:20:51 GMT -5
(I decided to get a bit creative with some Raven's Keep stuff here. Carricon, feel free to let me know if this somehow conflicts with any part of canon you were planning and I'll change it ^^; ) Nestled amidst the towering spires and elegant archways of Raven's Keep, overlooking the cliffside and the capital town below, stood the Kyth castle mews. It would come as no surprise that this mews, kept by a royal family that had been bred from House Ascension for generations, was the grandest in the kingdom. It was exceptionally large and spacious. It was as well-kept as a building housing several birds of prey could be, at the hands of dedicated falconers who had been in the trade for so many generations that several of them had it in their family name. And that was to say nothing of the birds themselves -- dozens of falcons and hawks and eagles, each powerful and beautiful and seeming, to the perceptive, to radiate a subtle magic of their own. Where exactly that magic had originated, none could quite say. But the effect could be seen in a skill and strength of the birds that had gone beyond even their expert training, and in an uncanny intelligence that they seemed to share with a certain raven of the Keep. But if there is one downside to an unexpected degree of intelligence, it is that one can become very easily... Bored. -- Ginger considered herself a very pretty kestrel, with a deep reddish back and a sharp black beak. She had been in the mews for years now, but very rarely got to join in the royal hunts because she was too small to catch any impressive noble game. She didn't really mind, though. One of the Falconer families had taken an interest in her and essentially adopted her as their own, making sure to keep her healthy and well-occupied. Unfortunately, at the moment the actual falconers in the family were busy elsewhere in the mews, and their daughters were once again occupied elsewhere. Ginger huffed. She wished it was still two nights ago -- the Keep had been so exciting then. There were so many people to watch through the windows and listen to through the walls, and the daughters had visited her for a good while and let her stretch her wings, with Clarissa a little more giggly than usual and Emelyne about as giggly as usual. After that night, though, the Keep had been unusually dead. Ginger hadn't even heard from that cute raven who used human speech in the past few days. The kestrel sighed, her feathers ruffling just at the thought of him. Aines. Now that was a bird with a real aim in life, unlike those silly eagles and hawks who acted all high-and-mighty just because they were fat enough to catch big animals for the royals. Oh, the other falcons mocked her for pining after one so distant from her own species, but what did she care? She didn't need chicks; just a bird she could really stand beside. ...Now that she thought of it, perhaps Ginger could relieve her boredom and try to win Aines over all in one go. She shifted on her perch and began to study the tether on her leg and the doors in her room. Normally she wasn't one to cause trouble, but it might be a little bit fun to try her wing at an escape for once... Ginger, a magically-enhanced kestrel of the Raven's Keep mews, is bored. She also hasn't seen icon, whom she has a crush on, in a while. She decides to remedy both of these situations by breaking out of her cage and looking for Aines in the castle. This isn't going to cause any sort of chaos at all.
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Post by Killix on Jul 4, 2014 0:02:25 GMT -5
The streets were quiet and the walk to the King's Arms Inn was rather uneventful. Lucinda had commented how the party goers must still be asleep, and Kirin simply nodded in response. She was wearing a brave expression, but he could tell that she was still very worried about Corinne underneath it. When they entered the inn, Kirin was surprised to see a woman running down the stairs - fresh blood soaked into the bottom of her skirts. “It looks like we might have arrived at an unfavorable time,” Lucinda said.The woman was talking to the innkeeper, but Lucinda's comment caught her attention. "You could say that, there's been a murder here- four actually. We," she stopped herself mid-sentence, turning around and looking a bit frustrated. So it was as bad as it looked. First there was that mysterious incident involving magic which destroyed every piece of furniture in the main room, and now four people have been murdered? What was going on with this Inn? A sudden, terrible thought came to his mind. If Corinne was here after all, the reason she hadn't returned to the manor could've been... "It would be very much agreeable if you could find a knight or guard, this needs to be reported to the proper authorities, and I think Ilsa and I will be preoccupied trying to sort out the mess upstairs." She gestured to Kirin. "Unless of course, your big friend over there would like to help us haul the corpses out and mop up the blood."Kirin bit his lip. Cleaning up a bloody crime scene was one of the last things he wanted to participate in, but he had to check. If Corinne was among the victims... He put his hand on Lucinda's shoulder, and gave her a reassuring look. "It will be difficult to clean up... I can offer my assistance." quickly grabbing a mop and pail from the corner of the room, he headed up the stairs before he could change his mind. Upon reaching the landing it was immediately apparent in which room the incident had occurred in; The door was slightly ajar and bloody footprints trailed out into the hall. Gripping the mop handle tightly, Kirin took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The floor was sticky with blood. Four bodies lay scattered around, pools of blood seeping out into the floorboards beneath them. The whole room was trashed - furniture was lying in pieces, broken as if it were thrown around haphazardly. Could this have been the result of another malicious magic attack? Kirin stepped in, carefully avoiding treading in the blood on the floor. A wave of relief washed over as he realised that none of the victims were Corinne. Actually, he couldn't place their identities at all. He was thankful that they weren't anyone he knew. Morgaine ( Shinko) explains to Kirin and Lucinda ( Kristykimmy) that murders happened, and suggests that they call authorities or help. Kirin nearly has a heart attack, thinking that Corinne ( Ginz ❤) might've been one of the victims, thus explaining her disappearance. He offers to help clean up the "mess", and upon entering the room is relieved to see that Corinne is not among the victims.[/spoilers]
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Post by Lizica on Jul 4, 2014 0:30:32 GMT -5
Aldrich continued scrubbing as he held the cerulean vase to his forehead. It was a small thing--only three inches tall, intended for holding only one or two flowers--but Babewyn had discovered that by placing a sprig of mint inside instead, it went as chill as ice. Which was excellent for headaches and injuries, if not for flowers. Rondel had been rather, uh, uncharacteristically uncooperative the other night at the Dragon's Quill. They still couldn't understand what was wrong with him. But somehow or other, his abnormal tongue had gotten stuck to Babewyn, and as the two sculptures struggled to separate, the goat wound up flinging the gargoyle straight off the roof to the ground, where she crash-landed on Aldrich with a heavy WHOMP before the goat sculpture clattered off with a deafening "MEEEEEHHHHHH." ...It had been a long day. And they hadn't even gotten any leads on Stippling's whereabouts. Following the debacle with Rondel, Aldrich had finally staggered home and gotten some sleep, before being urgently awoken through a side window and told that Elin had been captured. And from there, in spite of the entirety of Medieville being down and hungover, Aldrich's day had been fairly busy. While he passively attempted to clean the studio (which was still a mess from all the vase experiments), he frantically considered how on earth they were supposed to break through a manor's stone wall to save Elin--without any of them being caught, without causing too much damage, without causing a dangerous structural collapse, without triggering any magical alarms, AND without him touching any of the pickaxes himself, because after his stint in the cemetery, 'Woo only knew what would happen if Aldrich attempted to chisel away at a giant stone wall already belonging to a magical family. And in the midst of all this, Aldrich was also trying fruitlessly to keep Babewyn and occasionally Emery from making more pots explode, or disintegrate, or melt, or whatever else happened with their raucous experimentations. ("But if a vase vaporizes like that one with the shelf board, then clearly we've succeeded, because that's what it was made to do!" Babewyn had insisted, cheerily looking over Aldrich's shoulder at the jailbreak plans.) It had all been a bit wearing, but thankfully Elin was now safe and getting some much-needed rest. Everyone was returning to business as usual, and Aldrich had been trying to scrub off the black crater from the studio's far wall. Or at least, he had been, until, in spite of Aldrich's protests, Rasp and Riffler's current argument reached a fever pitch, and Riffler had perched on one of the unknown vases, which Rasp kicked over, which somehow triggered the vase (much to Babewyn's delight), which emitted a horrible high-pitched buzzing droning sound, which spooked Riffler, who in his shock took off like a shot and smacked straight into Aldrich's face, knocking him backwards into his deflated cot. ...Presently, Aldrich held the cerulean vase to his head. Back to scrubbing off that black crater on the wall. "Would you look at that, Standorf--a customer! Well, that sure is surprising." "I don't see why you're so surprised he's here to see the sculptor." "To this dump? Why shouldn't I be?" "He's got a bird with him. And idiots of a feather flop together!" "DOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" “Mister...Aldrich?”Aldrich's head snapped up at the sound of an unfamiliar voice--followed swiftly by Babewyn's. "Ahaha! A nobleman! I remember you from the cemetery, that was a fantastic funeral, wasn't it? And I have to say, those sparks and bangs you added in at the end? Absolutely classic. A perfect finale. It really drove everyone wild!" Oh dear. Aldrich hastily abandoned his sponge and the black crater, and he leaped to his feet, reaching the front of the shop at a brisk jog. The nobleman that had just walked in--from House Jade, judging by his dress--was a young man with a bird on his shoulder. A very alive, very real kite. "I--I am so sorry about the events at the cemetery, m'lord," Aldrich said hurriedly, out of breath despite only having run across the length of the studio (and still holding the cerulean vase to his forehead). "I hope no one was hurt. Babewyn didn't mean any harm. And I--and--and--oh, and please pay no attention to the busts in the window, th-they don't know what they're saying--" "What an upset!" Waller cried, turning to Standorf. "What genius of a man knew we never knew what we were doing!" "I'll say," said Standorf. "He's sure got our number!" "No, no, Standorf, you've got it all backwards!" "Hmm? What do you mean?" "The only numbers he has are all in the red!" As the two busts erupted into laughter again, Aldrich raised his voice and rushed to speak over them. "I'm terribly sorry!" he told the nobleman. "How--how can I help you?" In the days past, Aldrich is trumped by Demongoat, helps with a jailbreak to save Elin, and tries ineffectually to clean his studio. Leif ( Tiger) enters his shop (as announced by Standorf and Waller) and is quickly welcomed by Babewyn. Aldrich hurries to greet the nobleman and apologize for his sculptures.
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