[OPEN - RP] And Them That Take It

[Vyt: Down, but Not Out]

"... Keep diggin', boys!" The phrase echoed loudly inside the Munitalp mines with a tone that seemed to be more of a command rather than encouragement. Nonetheless, it entered the ears of the miners despite the constant banging of steel being pounded into solid rock. Every crack was a painful one, bringing metallic shrieks around the miners.

Their leader, or so it seemed by his distinct position, wiped off the black stain from his goggles. "We've hit oil earlier, but we're not looking for that. We're here for any gems, and we're not leaving without any of them!" his empowering voice rang inside the minds of the miners. They had been hammering their way inside nonstop for a week, and only experienced few hours of rest. Their fatigue, coupled with the dangerous and potentially fatal atmosphere they were working on, was constantly trying to let their will down. Two of the miners already collapsed during the operation, but their leader would not let them stop.

Suddenly, a cracking bang sounded off. It was much different from what they were used to hear. That caught the leader's utmost attention.

"What was that?" he promptly asked.

"... Sir!" screamed one of the miners in absolute shock. "I hit something. Real hard. And metallic!"

The miners quickly surrounded the guy as he pointed out to where he was working on. They looked at the direction of his dirty gloves and saw something shining from the rocks with white glow. It was hard to tell from their point of view what it was, but experience told them that anything shiny was of utmost value.

Their leader kicked himself out of laziness and grabbed one of his finest pickaxe. The others were amazed by how the discovery made their leader stand up; whatever they found was obviously enough for him to examine further.

"Concentrate on that wall! We've found ourselves something magnificent!"

However, when he swung his pickaxe at his target, the glow began to shine powerfully, almost blinding everyone at the mines.

[Vyt: Down, but Not Out]

Two weeks later

The sun gave out its natural glow in one clear afternoon, forcing the people in line to endure its warmth. They were waiting to gain entrance to "The Tavern By The Cliff", an establishment that garnered much popularity since its opening. It was situated at the same place that was once a part of the second Guild Wars, and hence had grabbed a lot of attention from every kinds of people.

"Ahh! Since when do ninjas have to wait in line?!" shouted a young catboy in line. His teenage appearance and feline attributes gained him unwanted attention from the people around him, yet he shrugged off the strange stares.

"Since when did YOU start entering taverns, Vyt?" spoke an anthropomorphic cat right beside him. Donning a gray overcoat over his gray long pants and shoes, he too had garnered enough interest from the crowd. Had it not been for his cold and indifferent attitude, he would have pleased some female humans who thought him as a cute guy.

"Since EVER, Cat Assassin!" Vyt bluntly remarked. "Lately the ninja superior had been teaching me the Way of the Drunken Monkey, and-"

"- you had your way with alcohol and you enjoyed it," Cat Assassin rudely interrupted, obviously having enough of something. "You've been repeating the same thing all day. I don't think you'll be even given entrance to the tavern."

"Don't you worry, CA! The people at the tavern know me A LOT!"

"... Don't tell me you-"

The two were greeted by a female human dressed up to impress the crowd. She seemed to be the one who was letting in who she wanted. "Hey there, Vyt!" she smiled. "Where's that funny old man you were tagging along with?"

"Oh, the superior? He had to rest for the day; said he had a lot of 'fun' from the fight yesterday," Vyt raised his thumb up. "I, on the other hand, need my 'training'."

"Oh you, Vyt! Always up to get your booze. I'm afraid I'll have to check your friend here for some identification, though-"

Cat Assassin lifted his hand and swayed it side-by-side in disapproval. "I'm not here to drink. I'm leaving."

"Oh, CA! You're no fun!"

Vyt went on ahead, stepping inside the tavern. The melodic music from the band entered his cat ears, making him dance as he skipped along. Immediately, he went straight for the bar. "The usual, and make it quick!"

"Oh, Vyt mah man," greeted the bartender from the other side of the table. "I gotsa think you're likin' the place, and the drinks, aye lad?"

"Enough with the pirate talk! You know it's always been irking me off."

"Ahh, but me tongue can cut up a lass o' two on mah side, if you catch mah drift!"

They both exploded into laughter.

Vyt settled down as he was given his mug. "So, any news lately?"

"Gots me a whole new customers, lad. They be sittin' right o'er there, sippin' their fine whisky. Pretty hefty, if you ask me." The bartender gave Vyt a quick wink. "The money, I mean."

"But they be very suspicious. All they do is sit around drinkin' nonstop, yet their eyes are so cold."

Vyt looked at the guys the bartender was talking about. They were sitting at the far end of the tavern, away from the merry-go-lucky crowd. Like how they were described by the bartender, they were silently drinking from their mugs, occasionally uttering out a phrase or two as their conversation.

What caught the catboy's attention was the large pile of sack sitting right next to them. No one but he could see the shimmering glow from inside.

"I hear they be miners from before, diggin' up and hittin' on Lady Luck all the time. Got paid off with somethin' they found, and gotsa'lot o' people beggin' fo' their discovery; heard it gives off some of their luck. They get paid just to show that sack off, mah friend!"

"... But no one really knows what's inside that bag. Might be somethin' enchantin'..."

Vyt just stared there the whole time. Something was wrong.

[Deleted]

Sarn leaned back in his chair, stretched his arms over his head and crossed them behind his back. His bright purple eyes sparkled as he watched the group of mangy pirates at the table with him, all with similar sour expressions on their dirty faces. He grinned to himself, scratched at a wing and closed his mouth, cutting of the trickle of gentle music which had been flowing subtly for the last two hours.

The grumbling pirates deposited some small trinkets on the table before them and then each drowned his misery in huge pint glasses full of frothy ale. Sarn smiled cheekily and opened his mouth once more, belting out a quick burst of melody which bought the pirate’s offerings into his clutches.

“Cheer up, you mangy pirates!’ he said merrily, stowing his winnings from two hours of Random Crap Poker into his quiver which lay in the floor below his chair. He grinned smugly and reflected on his use of the Song of Befuddlement. They only thought they’d lost.

Deciding to quit while he was ahead, Sarn slung his bow and quiver over his shoulders, careful not to clip his wings against the low roof, and was about to make his way out of the tavern when a flamboyant catboy ambled past him. Always curious about other species, Sarn followed him to the bar where he engaged the bartender in cheery banter.

Sarn chose a seat only a few away from the catboy and watched him with great interest, listening to his speech and learning about his behavior. He was distracted only when the bartender pointed out another group of patrons in a corner looking shady. Sarn had noticed their presence before but had discounted them as just another group of riff-raff-ruffians who would likely frequent places such as this. He was not a regular at any tavern and simply assumed that such attendees were commonplace. Apparently he was wrong.

What struck him as even stranger was the way the catboy looked at them. Just a moment before he had been positively bouncing with enthusiasm for his drink, now he wasn’t paying the slightest attention to anything else. Another curiosity for the Feberi to ponder. He ruffled his wings and thought of enchantment.

[Vyt: Down, but Not Out]

((Sorry if I made this post too long.))

Vyt had been staring too much at the men on the far end table that he was shocked by the bartender's phrase of attention. "'Ey, lad! You haven't taken a sip off yo' mug! I ain't spiked it, don' worry! I mean, not again..."

Vyt shook his head. "Ahh, sorry. I'm not worried at all, now..." He scratched one of his ears before continuing. "I remember you still had those gold coins, right?"

"Ahh yes, gots me somethin' that'll last a week, lad!" the bartender stroked his short beard as he pulled out two coins from his pocket. "They be enough to get mah self off mah work for a week-"

Vyt quickly snatched the coins off from the bartender's hands, prompting the latter to shout, "'Ey, that'd be mine, Vyt!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll return it later."

Immediately, the catboy strode past the middle tables, his eyes fixed towards the direction of the men he was told about. A huge idea full of curiosity was stamped into his mind as he held the gold coins up high. The people around him looked with a mix of interest and disgust as Vyt treaded past them.

Before long, the catboy was situated in front of the men. He counted five of them sitting in an arc, all of them awkwardly silent and indifferent. In the middle sat a man in middle age with his cowboy hat covering his eyes. He was constantly stroking the base of his chin through his messy beard with one of his hands while the other seem to dust off his mantle. Compared to the dull men around him, he seemed to be the liveliest among them, albeit only technically.

The man quickly noticed the catboy's youthful appearance. "Boy, aren't you too young to be here?" he blurted out, his eyes scanning Vyt's body.

"Oh, me? I look younger than my real age should tell," Vyt answered. "Anyway, I hear you're the guys who were flashing out their..." he pondered for awhile before continuing. "... What are you showing off, anyway?"

The man's eyes darted towards the catboy's face. "Oh, you're here for this." He briefly pointed towards the sack beside one of his men. "Well, we're not really showing it off; you'll never see the contents of it. However, just going near it can give you some of our luck... for a price, that is."

The man smirked for a second, but Vyt immediately ignored the expression. He had encountered numerous types of people during his own journey, including people who claim to have some sort of magical treasure with them. Of course, he was aware of the fact that only a handful of them were true to their words. He needed to be alert for any signs of scam.

"The name's Vincent. I know you won't believe the words I've just said," he added. "... But you can just look at us if you want some example. If we were joking, then we would've been exposed and gotten our finances blown away... But we're sitting here while our own magical object works out the money for us. We've been doing this for the whole two weeks, and all our customers are satisfied."

"Wouldn't you consider that... very fortunate?"

Come to think of it, he was right; Vyt thought. It would be considered very lucky if someone would live in luxury just by "exposing" people to his item, whatever it was.

The catboy showed the two gold coins he snatched off from his friend earlier. "Fine, do your thing. However, if I don't see this work, I'll ensure you that I claw my coins back from your purse."

"Ahh, feisty I see," Vincent smiled as he was given the coins. "You have my word. Bring the sack to me."

The man nearest to the sack immediately picked it up. His eyes were affixed towards Vyt for a moment, the black pupils shrunk with a hint of paranoia and disturbance. It was a brief moment however, as he resumed whatever he was doing.

"Just touch the sack. I'll have to warn you never to open the sack. I had... serious accidents... with people who refused to follow this simple advice."

Not wanting to risk anything at the moment, Vyt opted to go with Vincent. He reached for the sack, resisting the urge to open it and only looking to make contact with it. The moment was very short, only lasting for a few seconds, before the catboy let go of the sack.

Immediately, someone from the crowd pulled out an improvised gun and immediately fired at random locations, shouting that he was a robber. One of them was around Vyt's proximity, the bullet grazing only the side of his ear.

Vincent seemed unaffected by the sudden events, and was rather amazed by the amount of luck he thought Vyt contained. "You were absolutely fortunate, eh?"

[Draco]

Draco Ocard has just stepped into the tavern when the gun firing was happening. He watched as it happened and how he was quickly subdued by number of the people in the tavern, most of them being members of the surrounding guilds. He shook his head and continued to walk in, his black coat swaying as he walked to the bar.

"My usual." The bartender lifted a eyebrow at him, "So another non-alcoholic drink for you? Really, why do you even bother to come in here for these kid drinks of yours?" He hands Draco a glass full of red liquid. "What can I say, I enjoy them. Oh, and make it 2 cherries today." The bartender shakes his head and smiles while dropping two cherries into the drink. Draco gives him his money and walks off to find a free booth with his drink.

He looks over to where the robber was subdued. "What was he thinking trying to rob a place like this? Most of the customers are guild members, and most of us could stop him easily." He looks around again, not able to find a empty table. He sits at the only table with no one in it, and a full mug. He slides into a seat and begins to sip at his drink.

"I wounder who is sitting here."

[Ginz ❤]

Taverns aren't my kind of place, Ginz thought as "The Tavern By The Cliff" came into sight. She had no business there, it just so happened that her wanderings that day had brought her to a place nearby, searching for ingredients she could use in some potions.

She walked right past it as fast as she could, as though wanting to get away from its shady atmosphere, and as soon as she left it behind, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But relief didn’t last long. Suddenly, gun firings were heard. Ginz’s first thought was to run away from trouble, but something inside her stopped her. Wherever there was a shooting, there was bound to be someone injured; and wherever there was someone injured, she might be able to help. Against common sense, she turned back, and guided by curiosity, she approached the tavern, although she didn't enter.

Taverns -really- aren’t my kind of place, Ginz thought again ironically, as she laid an ear against the nearest wall. She was shaking, but determined to find out what was going on.

[Vyt: Down, but Not Out]

"... How would I know it was luck all along?" Vyt questioned Vincent, not stirred by the commotion that was happening behind him. "You could've easily made a fake robber out of a desperate man."

"Oh please, young boy," Vincent almost chuckled. "No idiot would have the sense of getting paid just to get himself into obvious trouble."

Vyt looked behind him and saw the robber kicking and screaming as he was being dragged away. Despite the violent behavior, the only thing he managed to utter out was about his starving family. As much as the catboy wanted to sympathize, he was just busy tending to the matter in front of him.

"I don't like what's happening around here." Vyt's voice started to turn raspy, obviously angered. "Whatever's in that sack needs to be destroyed-"

Vincent's lazy eyes widened in paranoia and grabbed the sack. "YOU'RE NOT TOUCHING THIS THING!," he exclaimed in a very different toneset. The men around him began to hiss angrily at the catboy, even to the point that their mouths were beginning to drool.

One of them pushed Vyt aside as they made their escape. The catboy's head bounced into a table, almost hitting a lone knife atop of it. Vyt could only recover from his stature while Vincent and his men exited the tavern, leaving behind his gold coins.

The bartender rushed towards his customer. "Aye, ya be lucky they left mah gold coins. Why ya anger him fo', lad?"

Vyt shook his head, still recovering from the nasty bump on his temple. "When I got near the table, I heard a very weak humming sound from the sack. It was messing with my mind, almost as if it was a warning..." The catboy stood up, his hands still fixed around his head while he meant to regain his mental strength.

"... You know I am a ninja, right? Don't tell this to anyone from the Dojo, not even the Superior," he requested the bartender. "It's not that serious still, but I want to see this matter further..."

Albeit groggily, Vyt resumed back to his seat and gulped the whole drink from his mug. He then headed for the door.

"I need to speak with either Cat Assassin or PFA about this..."

[Draco]

Draco sat in his seat not really worrying about what was going on. That was until he heard the commotion being made by the people around Vyt. He sat there as he watched what was going on with interest. He sat back as Vyt came to his table and drank from his mug and quickly rushed towards the door. Draco sipped at his drink a little more as he looked around.

"I'm not sure what is going on, but this is getting interesting."

He eats the two cherries in his drink, and got up from his seat. He looks around, and decides to slowly follow Vyt. He walks to the area Vyt was at and looks it over. After a few moments of seeing nothing important he decides to move out. He keeps to the shadows to keep himself from being seen in the process of leaving the tavern.

"I hope I didn't waste to much time and can track him down. We're both ninja, so this could be a challenge. I'm not that good at tracking."

[Cyborg]

Midknight, Esme, Rose, and Cyborg were sitting at a table, having a Mercenary reunion of sorts. The robber had been interested, but taken care of fast. They saw what the commotion was about, a sack, holding some sort of valuable object. " I wonder what that could be, all I know is it's valuable, and possible very powerful. The Spacefleet will need to perform tests on it." Cyborg stated.
" But, the Knights would have better use of it," Midknight started, " the King would know what would be best for whatever it is." Rose finished.
" But, the Mercenaries could make quite a profit from it." Esme stated.
They paused, and then all rushed after the catboy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rayce left swiftly after Vyt after he heard about the sack. He went after Vyt and called at him. " Vyt, it's Rayce. From the Ninjas guild. It seems a group of people are interested in the sack, and its contents. They are going to hunt down whoever has it, at any point. I suggest you move quick."

[Vyt: Down, but Not Out]

Vyt was greeted by the orange rays of the settling sun, telling him that the celestial body was setting in. He was unable to follow Vincent and his men; they had disappeared into the forest, obviously not using the single path that led to the tavern. While he wanted to give chase, he needed to alert some exceptional people that he knew.

Behind him, a peculiar voice met his sensitive ears. "Vyt, it's Rayce. From the Ninjas guild. It seems a group of people are interested in the sack, and its contents. They are going to hunt down whoever has it, at any point. I suggest you move quick."

Vyt turned around to meet Rayce, one of the newest recruits of the guild. The catboy had been appointed as the new leader of the guild, and thus knew technical information about him. He learned about his time-bending powers, but as to what extent the recruit could use them was still unknown to him. "... Perhaps now would be the time to know about that," he thought.

That last line of thought existed for he noticed some people emerging from the tavern's main door. "Mercs," he uttered out as he pointed Rayce to their direction.

"If you're the ones Rayce is talking about, then I have no time to play around," Vyt notified them. "I have official business to tend to," he turned his back at them while he thought of a plan to search for Vincent.

[Cyborg]

"No, not all Mercs. I am Cyborg of the Spacefleet. I am here to confiscate the sack you were holding for the Spacefleet to look at." Cyborg stated.

" We are Midknight and Rose of the Knights," Midknight started, "And we are also here for the mysterious object, to bring it to the king." Rose finished.

"I am Esme, the only Mercenary here, and that object will be worth a pretty penny, I want it." Esme stated. They all began walking forward, each shouting something along the lines of "Hand it over, or tell us its location" and such.

" Vyt, go alert whoever you must. Would you like me to give chase on the bartender and his men, or stay here and stall the threats?" Rayce asked.

[Draco]

Before Draco could slip out the door a group of mercs block his path. "I'm not dealing with this right now." He merges into a shadow a appears out of the shadow of a tree just outside the tavern. He takes a look at where he was and where Vyt was and smiles when he finds him. "Why don't I use Shadow Pass to get into the tavern in the first place? No time, got to sneak over to Vyt."

Instead of doing what he thought, he leaned against the back of the tree, just watching instead. He figured once Vyt made his move, that was when he himself would make a move.

When he heard the people he assumed to be all mercs state their purpose he steps forward himself.

"The bartender has no part in this. It would seem everyone has some reason to get that sack. So far all of them seem to be for a good reason, except for the merc."

He nods to Esme, but smiles at the same time.

"Of course, this could be interesting to see who can find this item first."

---

Meanwhile in the forest, Dragus "Draco" Ocard, the Azure Knight, lays back against a tree. He's been napping in the forest with a nearby fox for a while now. A group of men run right past him, and he jumps up to see what is going on. Before he could even get a word out however, they are all ready long gone.

"They were running from the direction of the tavern..."

He quickly picks up his sword and his coat. Once both are on, he gives chase of the men, not caring if anyone was all ready following them.

[PFA]

PFA had stayed at the Dojo while Vyt went to the tavern. Despite her Father's excitement, PFA had no interest in learning the Way of the Drunken Monkey. She just didn't understand the thrill of filling your body with fermented liquids.

I wonder how long he's going to be, she thought as she threw a kunai at a target. Right in the center. Hopefully not too long.

PFA turned to a straw target dummy with a sigh. After pausing for a moment to concentrate, PFA swiftly drew her katana and sliced the dummy neatly in half. All this weapon training was starting to pay off, she realized with a smile.

((Sorry for the filler post, just wanted to confirm PFA's presence in this RP. XD *will most likely jump in with Jernath sometime later*))

[Ginz ❤]

Ginz couldn't hear anything. Or rather, se heard too much. The tavern was very busy and all the voices and clattering cups mixed together in such a way that she couldn't make anything out of the noise.

She was about to give up when she heard defiant footsteps approaching. Suddenly, five strange-looking men came outside the door, leaving the tavern hastily. They had startled her, but although she stared at them trying to recognize any of their faces, they didn't seem to notice her.

Ginz realized the one leading was carrying a sack, and she tried not to think of what it could possibly contain, because when fear and imagination team up, the results are usually less than pleasant.

Just a moment later, Ginz saw a few familiar faces exiting after the group of strange men. She thought about asking questions, but she hessitated for a moment too long and lost her chance. Evidently, no one was about to stay and chat.

Ginz had seen no fellow mages exit the tavern. Did any of them know about this? She had to tell them. She couldn't figure out the events alone.

[Vyt: Down, but Not Out]

Vyt watched as the group tried to introduce themselves to him. One of them was a member of the Spacefleet, two were knights, and the last of them was a mercenary. To think that a group consisting of themselves actually existed was very strange; they seem to have a similar intention despite the different backgrounds. He became suspicious about this, and probably even more, though he wished not to ponder too long at that matter.

It was obvious to the catboy that the fastest way to subdue the group was to tell the truth. "I do not have whatever you're talking about, and I most certainly do not know the location of whoever you're looking for. I suggest you leave me alone this very instant; I do not have time to deal with rookies like you."

Vyt then glanced towards Rayce and Draco; the latter seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. "You two shouldn't be mingling with my own mission. However, if you want to help, then I suggest you stop anyone from taking that very item I am looking for," he ordered the two.

"They simply won't understand why I had to do this, so I beg of you," Vyt wished them well before heading off into the forest.

---------------------------------------------

Vincent and his men were able to get away from the troublesome catboy, and even got through the forest without any problem. "Ha, I still have my luck all along," he panted.

Without any further ado, the sack he was holding began to glow, even brighter than it had before. Even stronger was the humming sound that the object inside was emitting.

"... What do you mean, get into the Mage Manor? Are you-"

The humming sound quickly turned into a short explosive burst, almost deafening him and his men.

"AS YOU WISH."