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[Sephrenia Katrov]

Sephrenia walked slowly, calculating every step as she picked her way off of the boat and onto the unevenly planked dock. Inwardly, she was cursing with every step she took?she could feel herself stumbling with nearly every movement she made, and knew that she would be an easy target if anybody noticed her clumsiness. Not that anybody should have a particular reason to target her, but she was nervous nonetheless. The hood of her cloak was pulled up just enough to shade her eyes, a precaution taken more out of vanity than a desire for security, as it was fairly obvious by the way that she stumbled about that she possessed very scant security at the moment. Several times, her foot caught on the edge of a plank and she nearly tumbled. She heaved a giant inward sigh of relief when she felt the hideously warped planks give way to somewhat smoother ground. She kept moving, listening intently for some sign of danger or some clue as to where she should head next, but it was difficult. This was a rather bustling area, and she could barely even hear her own steps, let alone the sound of a single voice or a weapon being unsheathed. Her foot caught on something hard and unyielding just as she was finally able to pick apart a very disconcerting noise?the sound of large beasts moving, nearby, followed by the slow heave of wood and wheels.

[Steel Samurai]

Wil stepped into the wagon, forgoing the rather fragile looking step halfway from the bottom, and sat down, gingerly grasping the wooden bar in front of him. He turned and regarded the red-headed woman next to him with curiosity as the wagon got underway.

"We're off. Come here and tell me a little about yourself. It will pass the time."

"I fear, ma'am, that you already know much more about me than I would like" He said, his eyes twinkling. He leaned back and stretched his arms, somewhat stiff after his confinement.

"I am originally from Heinenschaach, my father is . . . was a noble in the valley of Lorena. I know not where he may be now. Perhaps dead. My mother died when she gave birth to me and my grandfather raised me, for the most part. My village was burned by a roving band of hound orcs and . . ." He broke off suddenly. Someone, a female from the looks of the body, dressed in a cloak and hood, had wandered right into the path of the cart, which by this point was going at a fairly considerable speed. Without a moment's thought, Wil launched himself from the front seat of the cart. He flew towards the girl, and wrapped his arms around her as they fell to the ground, rolling just out of the way of the hooves of the cart horses. He ended up on his back on the cobblestones of the street, the girl lying on top of him. He looked into her curiously milky brown eyes, and then noticed her delicate, pointed ears. An elf. For a moment, he just lay there.

[Arato]

Arato was wandering the streets at a snail pace, he hated being sore... He heard a shout and decided to head in its direction. Within moments he stood face to face with Lotus.

"Lotus!" Arato greeted, relieved at finding him. "Do you know where any of the others are? What happened back there after I left. Did they really capture nameless?"

[JRPomazon]

Speedwagon had taken many turns and traveled as if he had an erratic sense of direction but Gate followed his guide every step of the way. The two of them eventually came to a dead end, a one way alley next to the city walls. Speedwagon later moved several barrels and revealed a small opening in the city walls.

"This leads you into the sewers. The further away you are from the stench of decay, the closer you are to the exit. Now get going." He said.

Gate climbed into the entrance hole and made his way towards the putrid waters.

"Hey Gate, I might have to kill you if I see you again but it was fun to see you in action back there." He said with a rather charming smile.

Gate softly nodded and continued on his way. The stench was overwhelming, attacking his senses as he took the first step inside the waters. Luckily, the sewer waters only reached his ankles. Speedwagon quickly sealed the entrance as soon as Gate was inside, having to keep this entrance a secret. Gate studied the area he wandered into, barely enough walking space for a normal adult, almost like he was inside a large pipe. He began walking in a direction away from the city, following the faint scent of the waters of Lake Cha.

[Sephrenia Katrov]

Sephrenia felt a sudden jolt, and then she was falling for certain this time, pulled out of what she suspected was a very dangerous position by a much stronger force than gravity. A deep panic welled up within her as she was pulled in several directions and crashed to stillness on top of a soft?but obviously strong body. If he were trouble, she was certain that she wouldn?t be able to fight her way out of it. She blinked her eyes rapidly and tried to clear the haze from her eyes enough to see her manner of savior, to minimal success. She could make out only the fuzzy shape of his face. A slight frown furrowed her brow. She opened her mouth to ask him some insipid question, like who he might be and what he was doing rescuing her, but her voice evaded her. Figures, she thought. After all, she hadn?t used it in quite some time. She coughed and rolled off of him, scrambling to regain her footing and still her panicky heartbeat. After some stumbling over the hem of her cloak, she managed to stagger into an upright position. She adjusted her hood and reached behind her to make certain that her longbow was intact, all the while trying to remember how to make words escape that throat of hers. Finally, she managed to squeak out a Thank you?but that wasn?t what she?d intended to say at all. She scowled, cleared her throat, and tried again.

?? But might I be so privileged as to know the name of my savior?? This time her voice was relatively stable, although she suspected that he might notice the faint underlying tones of panic that she couldn?t seem to quell.

[Steel Samurai]

The Elf girl rolled off him and got up. Wil got to his feet as well and dusted himself off, and looked at the girl again, his eyes, one blue, one green, noting the longbow, dark hair, and brown eyes. A Shadow Elf then. And a very pretty one too. Not that he had ever met an ugly elf. But then again, he hadn't met many elves, so there must be some out there.
"Thank you . . ." she said, her voice barely a squeak. She cleared her throat.
?? But might I be so privileged as to know the name of my savior??

Wil bowed deeply. That was the polite thing to do when in the presence of a woman in Kinaancha. The laws of etiquette for the city were quite complicated, in fact there was an entire class devoted to learning those laws required as part of Dragon Knight training.
"I am Wilhelm von Schlieffen of Lorena, Initiate in the Order of the Dragon" He took her slim, pale hand gingerly and touched it to his forehead. There. That was the correct protocol for introducing oneself to a lady. "And, miss, yours?"

[nameless]

"Stupid guards....." Nameless mumbled as he was thrown back into his cell.

"Heh, kid you have no idea what these guards will do to keep you here. You better breakout soon."

"Ya Ya Ya, I know. I gota plan, no worries old man." Nameless waited till the guard was out of earshot and then pulled off his shoe.

"Got somethin in yer shoe" Garron asked as he watched Nameless with a bemused look.

"Ya actually I do." Nameless pulled out a short metal spike that was rounded to a point on one end and flat on the other. Nameless moved to the cell door and place the spike into the lock with the flat end facing him, He then turned to Garron. "Where do they keep the gear they take away from you?" Nameless asked in hushed tones.

"I think its just down the hallway in the small room off the barracks, not to much in there say for your stuff and my sack." Garron said.

"Ok well if you want out now is your chance ok? I have to get out and find my friends before they leave, but I might as well help you out." Nameless turned back to the spike and with a great kick he broke the lock. "Crap that made more noise than I wanted."Nameless said as he started down the hall towards the barracks.

"Ay did you ear' sommin?" Said a voice from behind the barracks door. "Yea but most likely is was nuffin." Said another voice. "True, true, anyway who's bet was it then ay?"

Thank the gods! Nameless thought as he grabbed his gear and began making his way towards the rear exit.

"Oi kid, thanks [img]http://forums.legendsalliance.com/public/ALOT.png[/img] for getting me out of there. If your ever in this city again I'd be glad to help you out, if you need help that is" With a wink and a wave Garron moved off into the shadowy alleyway.

"Right old man." Nameless chuckled as he moved towards the main street.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Lotus heard a voice and immediately sprung in fear to his feet. When he saw that it was Arato he relaxed somewhat, but tension remained nonetheless. He waited for a bit as his anxious thoughts tried their best to remember and translate.

"This--this humble one," Lotus turned his head away, "Did not remeber what happened to Good Stranger Nameless. This humble one remembered seeing the armed men, and then seeing Good Stranger Alabast and Good Stranger Xavier. This humble one ran so that the armed men would not see them."

Lotus let loose a nervous sigh, still feeling too anxious to look Arato in the face.

"Good Stranger Arato... Is Good Stranger Adastreia okay? Eh... Were many hurt?" Lotus asked, remembering the chaos that had been cuased by the winds blowing through the street. Such a thing was something he was so unused to.

His mind dwelt upon the guards chasing him.

"Did this humble one do the wrong thing?"

Edited by Ken the Wandering Soul, 02 January 2009 - 03:49 AM.

[Sephrenia Katrov]

Sephrenia suppressed a sinking feeling as her hand touched the man?s forehead. She hadn?t been quite sure what she?d do when she encountered a human. After all, she didn?t know who her enemies were, or how to find out whether one or another was potentially harmful, or what to do about the ones that were. To be completely honest, she hadn?t thought about anything at all. But she didn?t have time to think about it now. If this man were dangerous, she had no chance in her condition. She could barely make out his blur, just an arm?s length away from her, from the buildings several paces back. She?d never make it far alive.

When he asked for her name, she hesitated. She wasn?t quite sure what the customs here were, or if there even existed any for this type of situation. More worrisome was whether it was advisable to tell the man the truth. She settled for a compromise. ?Seph,? she responded, noting that her answer seemed incredibly curt and quite possibly offensive. A second too late, she threw in a curtsy that managed to retrain a modicum of grace, although it was rushed and was screaming of awkwardness. She should have just bitten him and ran.

[JRPomazon]

The sewers were dark, pitch black and then some. The smell was nauseating, the filth of years and years piled up here as the mud beneath Gate's feet. Lucky for him that he had decent boots. Gate trekked onward, ignoring his blindness and his sense of smell. He knew the direction he needed to go, that's all there was too it. It was a mystery how long he had been down in those sewers, maybe a couple of minutes or maybe a couple of hours. Time didn't just stop in this place, it came here to die. It wouldn't be too much longer before Gate reached the end of this tunnel, dank sewers aren't the worst places to travel.

[Arato]

"Good Stranger Arato... Is Good Stranger Adastreia okay? Eh... Were many hurt?"... "Did this humble one do the wrong thing?"


"I do not know if anyone was hurt, Adrasteia is safe for the time being, she is recovering from her beserk which your magic interfered with. If you hadn't have done that, hundreds would have died and then the knights would have killed her... or worse. I think you can rest assured that you did the right thing."

"Nevertheless, we still are unwanted in this city. It is imperitive that we remain undercover while we search for our friends."

[Steel Samurai]

"Seph" She said, rather shortly. Wil was slightly confused. Had he done something wrong? It hadn't been impolite. Perhaps she was a traveler and not used to these rules of etiquette. Of course. That must be it. He bowed to her again and offered her his arm.

"Miss Seph, you appear to be in some difficulty. Allow me to lead you to the inn over there?" He motioned vaguely in the direction of the ramshackle inn across the street. The "Rusty Crowbar" it was called. Not the best place for a young female elf, but it would do for the moment.

[Sephrenia Katrov]

Sephrenia glanced at the so-called inn that the human was gesturing at. Tried to, anyway. Her vision was still so cloudy that she couldn?t even discern one building from the next. It could be a trap. It was likely a trap. The man had no reason to help her, certainly. But she didn?t have a choice at this point. She couldn?t just feel her way into safety, and her hearing was drastically impaired in such a crowded area. She suppressed a sigh and prayed that this man wasn?t going to be the death of her.

She was proud of herself for not letting her hesitation show while she reached out clumsily to find his arm, which she was only assuming would be extended for her. She was glad that it was. She clasped her own arm tightly around his and glanced in his direction. Sort of. She wasn?t quite sure what he expected her to do there or what she wanted to do, herself, but she was looking forward for a chance to relax. A bed and some warm food sounded like just the thing she needed, about now.

[Selena]

Lara had watched the situation evolve and was not entirely pleased with it. Jumping off the wagon like that was entirely inappropriate. She had to wave off several of her men before they shot at him. Stupid! All that to help a girl who was either drunk, drugged or dumb enough to throw herself in front of a moving object. She wasn't a cripple, either, so there was no sense in him babying her in such a fashion. All those damn 'hero' types were the same. What a sickening group of people, treating everyone like they were invalids. It was better for people to struggle on their own. It made them stronger - filed off the softness. It was how people became independent and self-reliant. With 'heroes' moving in to do the work, people just got lazy, and that was what allowed the few remaining strong individuals take over.

Lara jumped off the side of the wagon and marched over, three of her men following behind. She was frowning deeply as she approached, but good business sense made it impossible for her to truly become nasty in the elf's presence. She might have been a potential customer. If she was as doped up as she looked, then perhaps she would be interested in buying more. Just not now. Too unsafe, what with the occasional guard walking about. Lara forced herself to be pleasant, although it was hard to keep some of the steel out of her voice. Wil would have likely thrown a tantrum if she were cruel. As would one or two of her other men, she supposed. There was always someone.

"You must be more careful, miss," Lara said. "It can be difficult to stop these things, and some drivers would be less than happy with the clumsy interruption. You're lucky my friend here was able to get to you in time. However, the docks aren't exactly the most friendly areas of the city. A drunk and lonely sailor may wander into your room during the night. If you're interested, I can take you deeper into the city and drop you off at a more suitable inn."

Then a thought struck her. If they took a turn down one particular street... Lara smiled. "I know a lovely inn not far from where my family has been staying. I will happily pay for your room and board. Think of it as reparations for nearly running you over."

[Steel Samurai]

Wil glanced at Lara as she spoke. His eyes narrowed, slightly. Fact: Lara was a slave trader. Fact: She also dealt in illegal drugs, which generally were not horribly good for a person, but made her lots of money. Fact: Although she had said she would set him free, she was still profiting from his slavery. Deduction: Lara was a generally selfish person. Generalization: Selfish people do not help other people unless they gain something from it. Deduction: Lara had something to gain from bringing Seph to the more commodious inn. New train of thought. Fact: Wil had no idea what the inns were like in this part of town. Lara could be, and probably was telling the truth. Fact: Seph seemed to be fairly helpless as she was. She needed somewhere safe until she recovered from whatever it was that was affected her. Fact: Wil, as a free Dragon Knight, would have been the best person to ensure her safety. As an occupied Dragon Knight Initiate he was less able to do so, but still not without resources. Estimate: It was most likely safer for her to be here with him, worrying about the evil he (sort've) knew (Lara) than in an inn by herself, worrying about the evil he didn't know. Decision: It would be best for her to go with them.

Wil nodded as Lara finished.
"Indeed, miss Seph. Let me help you into the wagon." He gently turned her arm toward the wagon.

[Sephrenia Katrov]

Sephrenia stiffened as the lady spoke. How much blasted attention had she attracted? She was bound to get herself into trouble if too many people looked her way. But the lady sounded nice enough. Admittedly, she was still suspicious of her offer?why were all of these people trying to help her? Only a fool would believe that these were all just random acts of generosity. But again, in this state, Sephrenia didn?t have much of a choice. And she?d rather trust a lady than a male. She knew how ruthless men could be. She needed only a little bit of rest and she?d be perfectly capable of squeezing herself out of whatever she might be digging herself into now. She hoped. And a nice inn, all expenses paid, sounded rather amazing to her just now.

While Wil was redirecting her toward the wagon, Sephrenia turned her head back to where she assumed the lady still stood and squinted. The lady hadn?t introduced herself, yet. Sephrenia glanced back at Wil. ?Excuse me for asking, but what?s your relation to the kind lady, here??

[Selena]

"'Wilhelm' is my bodyguard," Lara said. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth, either. He may have been a slave, but she had intended him to fulfill that role in order to pay off his own costs. "A very good one, I might add. The streets of Kinaancha can be quite rough, but I can personally guarantee your safety. Once we reach 'The Victoria,' you won't have to worry. They employ a number of watchmen and are well thought of. You'll sleep as soundly as a babe."

It was the truth. Mostly. The Victoria was a very safe and lovely inn, and it was indeed next to the place that Lara had rented out for her stay in Kinaancha. She did fully intend to pay for the girl's room and board. It was practically a straight shot from the docks to The Victoria, as well. Of course, Lara had conveniently left out the fact that she'd taken the long way to get to the docks out of necessity. Those damn Jinta had a checkpoint between the inn and the docks in order to secure their own shipments, and it was such a bother. The moment they noticed a rival syndicate, such as Lara's, they would attack. If she just so happened to 'forget' they were there, and tried to pass through, then she could turn Wil and her men loose on them. And it would technically be an act of self defense. With a lady like Seph on board, Wil's Dragon Knight honor would keep him loyal long enough to knock out the checkpoint and reopen the route to the docks for her family. And, when all was said and done, it would hopefully look like Lara had nothing to do with it. Hopefully. Taking that out had been on her to-do list for some time.

Lara hopped up into the first wagon's passenger seats. She held out her hand to Seph and put on her best charming smile. "Here, miss, let me help you up."

[Nightshade]

While Shadow had Gwen at his mercy, he might as well try to find a use for her. "This city was put under lockdown because of a Neko. Have you seen this creature recently?" he asked.

Gwen thought hurriedly. "ahh..." She was nervous, and she had already started shaking slightly.
Suddenly a thought returned to her, a cloaked man in a bar with the Neko on his back.

"Yes! She was being carried off by a man in a long cloak. I can show you the place if you like. He isn't there yet, but you might be able to track him." She desperatly hoped he didn't find out her occupation. If he found that out he would use her... badly.

She took a deep breath and waited for his answer.



((OOC: ok, sorry for the delay. If you need things to go a bit faster, feel free to god my chara. I'll be leaving to go to the beach later on this month, a place completely cut off from wireless.))

[SL the Pyro]

A tense silence followed as Shadow contemplated Gwen's information and suggestion. She could lead him right into a trap; it was not helpful that she didn't tell him where the place was, but all he knew otherwise was that the Neko was carried off by someone wearing a cloak. That definately did not narrow the search, so the best option was to take the fairy's generous offer.

Shadow lowered his sword, but did not return it to its sheath. "Lead the way. But if you dare to cross me, I promise you will regret it immensely."

[Nightshade]

Shadow loweredhis sword, but did not return it to it's sheath. "Lead the way. But if you dare to cross me, you will regret it immensely."

Gwen nodded, and zoomed off down the ally. She left the man were he had been stading. She flew back to his side.
"Sorry, I'll try to move slower for you." She gave him a half smile and flew off in the same direction, but this time flying much slower. She looked left and right and took the left hand path. After about five minutes, she finnaly found her way back to one of the main roads. She gave the man a furtive look. He would stick out in a crowd... Best to take the back way. She turned left again, and headed down another ally. She was back at the inn within two minutes. She hovered a few feet above the ground, and waited for the man to catch up again. Once he was back by her side she told him about the disturbance in the Tavern, and about how the man had come running in with the Neko on his back. "The bar keep said he had jumped out of the second floor window, if he's still walking, he'll be limping, or perhaps just walking very slowly."
She then described the Man in the cloak. She assumed her compainion knew what the Neko looked like, and refrained from talking about her. She remembered the boy in the jail, and hoped he was alright.

"Well, can I be of any furthern assistance?" She asked. She suddenly hoped he would need her help. Two months searching, and FINALLY she had found adventure.

[SL the Pyro]

Shadow expected the fairy to be able to fly fast; it was fortunate for him that she had decided to slow her pace so that he could follow her without incident. He could keep pace with her if he wanted too, but someone running at such a pace at night during a lockdown was sure to draw attention.

"Well, can I be of any further assistance?" she asked. Shadow quirked an eyebrow at the sudden calmness in her voice; it didn't seem like she was stalling for anything, it sounded more like a request. Odd, seeing as he had threatened her earlier. The pros of a possible partnership far outweighed the cons: a fairy would be small and nigh indetectable unless she was out in the open, making her perfect for spying and theivery, and the knife in her boot was an indication that she had been introduced to conflict before. But on the other hand, he had his own occupation to consider. She would more than likely cause trouble for him in an instant if she knew his true occupation and intentions.

He shook his head and answered her, "No, you have done all that I need. You are free to go."

With that, he began to inspect the second floor of the bar; there was indeed an open window. If the cloaked man were running away, he would move straight after jumping. Shadow now had a direction to follow. He walked in that direction towards the alleyway that the open window pointed towards.

[JRPomazon]

Gate's collar had doubled as a mask against the fumes which were attacking his lungs. He would die in this horrible place if he didn't act soon. All he could do was take it one step at a time. Sure enough, a glimmer of light appeared. This light kept growing bigger and bigger and more and more fresh air came pouring into the sewer tunnel. Gate kept his pace steady, knowing that he would arrive at the end at his own pace. Minutes had passed and finally he was free from the dank hell he had wandered into. He breathed the fresh air once again and continued to proceed out of the sewer. Gate found a large rock nearby the exit of the sewers and sat on it, taking his time to rest before he proceeded with his travels.

[Crimson Lego]

After a while, Leo came upon the local marketplace. He saw many others shouting offers. "Arrows here, cheap, cheap cheap!" Another, a dwarf, was advertising throwing knives. Finally, the last person he saw walked up and asked. "Would you like to buy some poison? Good for that knife you've got.", indicating the sheathed weapon. Leo thought about it, then nodded. "That's the way.", smiled the merchant and beckoned him to follow. He handed him a bottle of poison from a table. "Relatively powerful. All yours." Leo paid the price and left, pocketing the container.

[nameless]

"Arato!! Lotus!!" Nameless ran over to the cloaked figures. "Where is everyone, is Adrasteia ok? Also what the heck happened back there? All I can remember s a big blast of wind and then all hell broke loose in this city. Umm we also might want to find a place to chill while this blows over, cause I sorta broke out of prison.... Come on we can talk as we walk." Nameless started down an alley hoping to find a rowdy in to hide in.

[Arato]

Arato turned and saw Nameless approaching.

"Arato!! Lotus!!" Nameless ran over to the cloaked figures. "Where is everyone, is Adrasteia ok? Also what the heck happened back there? All I can remember s a big blast of wind and then all hell broke loose in this city. Umm we also might want to find a place to chill while this blows over, cause I sorta broke out of prison.... Come on we can talk as we walk."

"Slow down Nameless. Adrasteia is fine, but we don't know where anyone else is. I can barely move in my current state. Lotus summoned a wind to distract the crowd which provided enough time for me to get Adrasteia out of there, however his magic interfered with her beserk transition and left her unconscious for a long time, she has only recently awoken. As to you breaking out of prison... I hope you were at least subtle and unnoticed. This isn't going to blow over very soon at all. Once we find the others we need to leave here immediately, all our lives are in jeopardy."

[Nightshade]

Gwen was flying too fast, she knew she should slow down, but she didn't want to. Suddenly she ran into someone.

She yelled as she tumbled to the ground. She shook her head as she hovered back up to cruising height. "I'm so sorry I didn't-" She stopped. It was the man in the cloak. "Ahh." Her conscience was pestering her to tell him about the other man who was looking for him. She looked around and saw the young man who had been in jail. She held out her hand to the man in the cloak. "Gwenned Silversmith. I was looking for you earlier. But you should get out of the city. There are more than just Knights on your trail." She left off the fact that she had helped Shadow locate the Inn where the Neko and cloaky had been.

Edited by Nightshade, 16 January 2009 - 09:37 PM.

[Arato]

Arato was in mid sentence when something ran into him.
"I'm so sorry I didn't-" ... "Ahh." ... "Gwenned Silversmith. I was looking for you earlier. But you should get out of the city. There are more than just Knights on your trail."

Arato sized up the tiny fairy and groaned to himself. "You were looking for me? Ah... the fairy from the inn. We can't stay here, we can talk as we move."

"I don't suppose you know who or what is chasing us... or more importantly... how we can get out." He didn't mention his other friends to the fairy, he didn't want her to know there were more of them or that they were all involved with each other. Alabast, Tseb, and Xavier would be safest if no one suspected them of anything.

[cubeboy]

Cecil had been on his journy for many weeks now. His trek had taken him through half the length of the Dol Enol woods, and finally placed him at the Lake Cha port town of Cha'Sek. Nestled between the deep woods of Dol Enol, the open plains, and the vast Lake Cha, Cha'Sek, though not as big as many cities, had become a fairly large trading city of sailors, woodsmen, and merchants from around the area.
Cecil was weary from his travels and found an inn to stay the night. As he lay on his bed, his thoughts wandered back to Wiesz. He had been taught, basically, anything that isn't human, is an enemy. He wondered if he could find acceptance anywhere, not reliant on him hiding his identity as a werewolf, or mere tolerance, but true acceptance. Regardless of his troubled mind he fell asleep quickly, not as young as he used to be. When he awoke he went to the docks and quickly found a ferry route that went to the imperial city. The time of departure was an hour away, so he used the time to seek any useful information he could. He had not noticed any libraries when he originally entered the city, but he had noticed a small shelf of books in a pub a couple blocks away. Books seemed rarer than gold in many of the cities he had seen in his lifetime, and as out of place in a pub as he fealt in Wiesz. He read some of the titles on the shelf.. The History of Cha'Sek - Ancient Tales of Lake Cha - Alphabetical Listing of the Himmel Raids in the Past 300 Years many of the books were worn, but several seemed as if they had never been touched since they were made. Finally he found a book with information about the Kinaani empire. As he looked through the pages a man approached him.
"I'm the owner of this pub, names Jerek Dryun."
"My name is Caeszerl Zi... just call me Cecil."
"Nice to meet you Cecil, and nice to meet a fellow booklover. I'm an odd person i guess, owning a collection of books and a pub."
"Can't say ive met anyone like that before. You have a good variety of books here."
"I've got more in the back, quite a lot more, someday I hope to make a library here. With all the merchants in this town I am able to collect quite a large variety of books, and a lot of them at that. Not many books sell for more than 3 tin" *a small cheap coin* Jerek leads Cecil to the back of the pub, and opens the door there. Inside is a massive collection of books, many in different languages, and many from the distant nations of the world. Jerek, looking back to Cecil after opening the door, notices a bright shine in his eyes. "Like the collection eh?"
"Collection?? it appears you already have a library sir. I only wish i could stay and read them all."
"Ahh, thank you for your kindness, but there are still many different books in the world.." Jerek walks over to a far shelf and continues, "And I do not even know what some of these books are. I keep the similar ones together, and the ones i cannot decipher on this shelf."
"This ones from Drenen, this one from Virandor..." Cecil began slipping into a mumbling state as he looked over the books in the shelf before him.
"That is good then, I was not scammed into buying a book of gibberish haha." Both men laughed.
"Do you have any books regarding the Kinaan Empire and its views on anthromorphs?"
"I have a small shelf fully devoted to the Kinaan Empire, come see it." Jerek leads his new friend over to a medium sized shelf sitting ontop of a wine rack. "These are all the ones I own."
"Thank you." Cecil begins looking at titles, sometimes opening a book and examining its index. After a while he stops and returns the books to their place on the shelf. "Jerek, I greatly appreciate you letting me see these books, but it is nearing the time my ferry will arrive, and I must be going."
"Ok, come back here again if you get a chance, I can think of many things I would enjoy discussing with a man of such insight and experience." Jerek appears to ponder something for a moment, then stops Cecil before he can leave. "Here, take this book. It has many words in it I cannot read, but from what i could make out it has a wealth of information of the people of Panak. The later half of the book i couldnt read anything, but you might be able to understand some of it. Its rare, but its not that useful to me, and hopefully it will help you and remind you to come see me again."
"Thank you for your generosity, I will come visit you again after my trip to the imperial city."
Cecil, now overjoyed at his luck of meeting such a man as Jerek Dryun, and even recieving a useful book from him, boarded his ferry to the imperial city. He hoped to find out their current views, which hopefully would allow him, a werewolf, to reside in Kinaan for the remainder of his life.

Edited by cubeboy, 18 January 2009 - 02:18 PM.

[Nightshade]

"I don't suppose you know who or what is chasing us... or more importantly... how we can get out."

She saw him sizing her up and she straightened slightly. She pulled herself up to her full 20" height.

"A man I hope you never have to meet..." She shivered slightly. "Anyway, yes I can get you out of the city. But you have to move fast, it may be gone already." She zoomed a few more feet into the air so that she was hovering at eye level next to the man's head. "Follow me, and stay close." She looked around, suddenly concerned. "Where is the Niko? She one of the ones that he's after." She tugged on Arato's hood, and started off down one of the allies. Left. Right. Left again. Right. Up the stairs... Down again. Round the Inn, and down the ally. She smiled triumphantly. She had gotten them there. It wasn't much, but she had used it many times to sneak out of the city after dark. She motioned Arato to be quiet, and she poked her head through the smallest part of the break in the wall. It was clear, but she knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. "Go on through and make for the woods, wait for me there. I'll go find the Niko I can get her out of the city faster than you can." She glanced at his legs, the must hurt badly.

[Arato]

"Go on through and make for the woods, wait for me there. I'll go find the Niko I can get her out of the city faster than you can."

"I can't do that, it is my job to protect her, I can meet you back here soon, but I cannot reveal her location to you. I am in no shape to be wandering this city alone though. Lotus, go to the woods and wait for us there, nameless, same for you. Gwen, you can come with me or wait here, the choice is yours but either way I must get moving."