Chapter 2: Discovery

[Ripp Dide]

Ripp broke from his reverie and noticed that almost everyone had left the common room. Rising to his feet he nodded to the young human men who had joined them during the night.  He then gazed upon the small elfen child asleep, her head rested upon the table.

"T'cha, ain't good to see one of such youth forced to sleep in such a place.

Walking over to her he gave her shoulder a light shake,

"Oye, child do you need a place to rest?  I'd be happy to offer part of my room to you."

"I am prepared to meet my maker, but, is my maker prepared to meet me?"

[Tema el Corrido]

“Huh?” She replied sleepily blue spotted hair sliding across her face.  

    “Oh, that very kind of you.” She said as she lifted her head slowly from the counter.  She rose into a groggy and tired slouch rubbing one of her eyes.

    Absentmindedly she picked up what was left of her food and stuffed it into a pocket. “Which way my generous patron?” She said in a low whisper of someone who was half-awake.

Your suppose to be dead!
Im not?
Life is an Adventure!

[Phiona Whitefire]

Phiona did not go straight to bed, once in her room.  She sat at the room's small desk and wrote the day's events in her journal, paying particular attention to the ambush and its aftermath.  She wrote little about Sheren and the ambiguous guardsf, as she was quite unsure of what was going on and Phiona did not like to "second guess" her own journal entries.  She finished writing the details, reread her entry once more before closing the leather bound book.  Slowly she put away her scribing implements, her attention drawn repeatedly to the lantern's small yellow flame.  She knew something wasn't right with this village.  It was a gut feeling that she couldn't escape.  If only she knew why she felt this way.    

Suddenly she felt like the room was too stuffy.  She rose and opened the second-story window, looking down onto the empty, main square of the small village.  Starlight shining down from the black sky was the only light, but it was enough to illuminate a lone man, yet another guard by the uniform, walking up the main road toward the inn.  Phiona watched his approach until the guard dissappeared beneath the awning that covered the inn's front porch.  Hmmm, this place must stay open all night.  Feel sorry for the men sleeping in the common room... all that activity and noise.  Up here, in the private room, it was quiet and very peaceful.  If only she felt at peace...

Phiona decided to sleep with the window open.  The fresh air and cool breeze was welcome on her skin after the long, hot day of travel.  She blew out the light in her lamp, undressed and climbed into the bed.  She stared at the dark, rough beams of the ceiling for many long minutes before finally succumbing to a dreamless sleep.

"Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning."    -John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801 - 1890)

[Tierria Selig]

Tierria's green eyes slowly opened during the first sign of daybreak. She found herself wrapped in Severine's strong arms. The girl immediately blushed, and started thinking about the dream she just had of her and Sevy in an even more 'intimate' moment then they were in even now. She began shifting positions every now and then, certain personal parts of her body burshing up against his. She was trying to go back to sleep, but after ten minutes of trying, she gave up. The girl realesed herself from the sleeping fighter's embrace, and began to change. Severine was asleep, so she didn't mind too much changing in front of him. Actually, even if Severine saw her, she still wouldn't mind. Last night, he told her that they were to have guests in their room in the morning after they all collected their pay. She diecided to be dressed for the occasion. Tierria put on a purple top to cover her chest, and long purple pants; an outfit combination she hasn't wore in a long time. Tierria would wear pants every now and then, but with her it was mostly dresses and skirts.

[SeverineHalo]

Severine's eyes blinked a bit behind his braids as he was getting used to being awake once again.

He watched the whole time.

From the moment Tierria walked over to the dresser to get changed, Severine was awake. At first he wanted to warn her or keep his eyes closed...but something urged him to keep them open, watching 'Ria's every move. His eyes searched her body like a hungry wolf...barely even blinking. very rarely these feelings would come out when it concerned Tierria. But then again, this was his first time seeing her nude. Trying to fight himself from the inside, Severine began to act like he was waking up when Tierria was fully dressed.

"Ahhh" he yawned, and stretched. "I see that you're awake Tierria...and already dressed too. For the first time, you beat me!"  

"Once again, the lone soldier walks off into the sunset..." -Anonymous

[Tierria Selig]

"Of course" said Tierria, turnging to Severine as he got up. "Don't wanna keep our guests waiting...now do we?" She then smiled seductively at him...a move she loved to use when flirting with him. When she was getting dressed, she saw Severine watching her from the corner of her eye. She was relieved to know that he was somewhat interested in her...even if it was her body...something she would offer to him at a drop of a hat.

The Uderza woman purposely brushed against her companion as she walked by, and put her nightgown in her sack.

[Eryk Aisean]

Eryk awoke to a silent morning.  Unlike the other towns and cities he had been in, there was no early morning activity.  There was no gossiping of women, no horse hooves on the dirt roads.  Nothing.

But then, this wasn't really a town from the looks of it.  He stood up, grabbing his two shortswords from their place buried under the hay.  Gripping the two metal hilts, he sighed in relief that they were still there.  He had slept fitfully last night, awaking almost every hour in a sweat.  Still, he felt rested and the promise of more companionship with his newfound friends roused him even more.  

He pulled a small mirror out of a pouch in his bag, and examined himself, none to carefully.  He looked as he had the day before, except his hair was a bit tussled and the rings of sleep still walled his eyes.  He shook his head, his hair falling in place naturally.

Smiling, he walked back out of the stables into the tavern.  Some of the chairs were still up on the tables, and he pulled four down and placed them around the same table he had joined the previous night.

Approaching the bartender, who was polishing the cheap glass cups, Eryk cleared his throat and blinked before he ordered.

"Juice?"

"Aye.  Comin' up."

Alcohol was not Eryk's thing in the morning.  He put a few coins on the bar, spinning one idly while the bartender filled up a tall mug with a thick, reddish drink.  Without asking what it was, Eryk grasped the mug and drained it.  Walking back to his seat, he let the weight off his legs and waited for the others...

Mind, heart and body cannot be conquered.

[Ripp Dide]

Ripp looked sideways at the groogy young girl.

"Upstairs, where on Caelereth are you parents?"  

He led the bright haired youth up to the room he had purchased.  Gesturing for her to take the bed, he rocked a chair back to lean against the wall.  Stripping down to his sea green long shorts he propped his feet up on the small table and closed his eyes.

"I am prepared to meet my maker, but, is my maker prepared to meet me?"

[SeverineHalo]

After Severine changed, he left his room, and went downstairs where he saw Eryk sitting at a table. Nodding at him, Severine went over to Voltaire who was sitting at the bar.

"Severine!" greeted Crestus heartily. "Good morning to you dear sir!"

"Good morning" greeted back Severine.

Crestus reached for a pouch that was in his pocket. "Zeadon left the village earlier after he got piad...and I don't know where Miss Aiyana went off to..." he then took out a piuch of gold coins, and handed it to Severine. "I gave you a little more than expected after what you did yesterday..."

Severine took the pouch. "Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I must talk with somebody..." Severine backed away to head over to Eryk.

"No problem my friend. I need to go soon to make preparations to deliever goods to Klinsor." Crestus handed out four more pouches filled with gold coins. "These two are for Phiona and Tierria, and these two are for the other elves. Give these to them when you see them..."

"I will." Severine went over to the table where Eryk was at. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Once again, the lone soldier walks off into the sunset..." -Anonymous

[Tierria Selig]

Tierria put all of her clothes back into the drawer, an left the room. Severine that devil...he changed quickly while she had taken a bath. She was hoping to get a glimpse of him...but oh well. Going down the stairs, she saw Severine at a table with a very handsome young man whoo looked around her age. Maybe a bit older. Crestus wasn't around, so she approached Severine.

"There you are" she said, putting a slender hand upon Severine's shoulder. Tierria looked at Eryk, and smiled. "Is this one of the people we're to meet?"

Severine nodded. "This is Eryk."

Tierria sat down, and ordered some fresh milk to go with the bacon she wanted for a meal. "It's a pleasure to meet you Eryk."

[Eryk Aisean]

Eryk took in a short breath, almost a gasp, involuntarily when he saw the girl.  He had never seen anyone like her.  She was stunning and exotic, her appearance one Eryk had never seen on a human.

Defying his past, his personality...everything about him, Eryk was not nervous.  "I'm Eryk Aisean.  The pleasure is mine..."

He quickly flashed a glance to Severine, and saw him smiling slightly, almost protectively, as if he was looking down at his younger sister.

"I don't believe I got your name..."

Mind, heart and body cannot be conquered.

[Luca the Thief]

A few hours after the sun rose over the eastern horizon a figure broke through the trees to come face to face with the village wall.

"Bloody Coor..." a young half-elf cursed to herself and the waking forest as she stared up at it. Shaking her head she looked left then right then stared straight at the trunk of wood before her.

She stood for a short moment and stared at the wood, rubbing her bare fingers over it. After some short contemplation she whipped out a set of twin daggers and backed up a few steps. The young woman, appearing no older that 20 by human standards, took three steps then lept a good ped into the air and dug the daggers in far enough to hold her weight.

She made her way up the wall, occasionally looking down and around, luckily finding no trouble, and soon found herself perched atop the wood wall. She looked back at the still rising sun, sheilding her eyes with one of her slender hands. The half-elf then glanced down and sighed with relief as no guards patrolled the wall. Cleaning her daggers of small wood chips and dust on a bare knee, she lept from her perch and part climbed, part slid and part fell down the wall, slowing her desent by dragging her daggers down the wood.

Coming to the ground with a mute 'thud', the woman dusted herself off and hid the daggers back under the thick leather belt. She flipped the deep violet cowl of her cloak over her head, shadowing the upper half of her face and her half-elven heritage from common onlookers.

The strange figure walked to the village, admiring the farm cottages and the small plots of animals. But she overlooked one particular animal that she happened to walk a bit too close to.

The half-elf's keen ears picked up the distinct, throaty growl instantly and without even looking back, bolted away and towards the town center. One particularily nasty dog was in close pursuit, its jowls dripping with gooey saliva.

The intruder managed to outrun the dog until reaching the city center, but the beast was not too far back. It was still early but she nabbed the attention of a few early risers, roaming the village center for whatever reason. Thinking fast, the woman threw back the hood of her cloak and began laughing and looking back at the dog every once and a while. She moved fast, and few would recognize the half-elf as what she was by quick glance, but one thing seemed obvious. The girl was simply out for a run with her dog.

Panting, the already tired woman spotted an inn with a few figures moving within. This was probably her only chance. She dove to the side and whipped the door open, half running half skidding, through the jam and slamming it shut with a loud crash. The dog was going too fast and a quiet crash was quickly followed with some dimming wimpers. But the farm dog was not the only one with too much momentum for its own good.

The flailing half-elf stumbled across the floor, her legs trying futily to stop and her arms out with a pathetic attempt to steady herself. Her knee soon met the seat of a hard wooden chair and the heavily cursing woman flew the last ped or two, coming to a heavy crash on the wood floor.

Without looking up at the innkeeper who just stared on and helplessly attempting to smother a chuckle, the half-elven woman sat up and looked down at her knee.

"Great loving Ava..." she muttered, rubbing the knee cap, "Bugger...that's ought to bruise"

"I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees"

[Penrith the Crazed]

The other people gave a quick signal to acknowledge him then, apparently, went to their rooms. After the people had left, he went over to the inn keeper and asked him for a room. He reached into his pouch and rummaged around, and pulled out some coins.

"That should be enough," Penrith said, walking away and up the stairs. He looked for his room and opened the door once he'd found it. He carefully closed the door behind him, as not to wake up any of the other guests. He yawned and stretched, holding his arms up in the air.

He slowly crawled into the bed, all his clothes still on. Penrith quickly went into a deep sleep. He was dreaming about the bounty hunter chasing him, and finally catching him. At the climax of the dream he woke up, in a cold sweat. He reached up with his arm and wiped his forehead with the back of his foream. The wanted-man was wide awake now, so he got out of bed. Right before he opened the door, he heard dogs barking. He opened the door and walked down the stairs, eye brows arched in an inquisitive nature.

He looked around and noticed the man from last night that left before he could talk to him, and a beautiful woman standing next to him. It appeared the two were talking to the other man he'd 'met' last night. Then he saw a new woman burst in, she was coincidentally dressed much like himself. Appearenty she had bounded in and hit her leg on something.

"You okay?" He half-called over to her, across the tavern.

[Tierria Selig]

Tierria smiled at the man who gave her his name. He seemed polite enough, and by the clothes he was wearing, he was a fighter. A good-looking one at that. With all the men that came on to her, Tierria didn't become attracted to a man that easily. But this one seemed different...a similar difference Severine has compared the other men. Hi brown hair went nicley with his tanned skin...and those eyes...

"Tierria Selig."

[SeverineHalo]

"Tierria Selig."

Severine grinned broadly at the way Tierria and Eryk was looking at each other. Never before had Severine saw Tierria look at another man like  that. Besides himself. Then again...now that Severine was thinking about this...a small tingle of jealous began to rise inside of him.

Come on Sevy...it's not like she's your woman or anything...

Sighing to himself, Severine's thoughts were interupted by a voice on the other side of the room.

"Are you okay?"

Severine turned his head, and saw the same man from last night with the hood.

"Once again, the lone soldier walks off into the sunset..." -Anonymous

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