Fire Emblem: Curse of the Goddess [IC/PG-16/Not Accepting]

[a bad post]

Meifing had always enjoyed the night. It was calm and peaceful, despite the crackle of the fire, and noise caused by her companions. Meifing sat on a large flat topped rock away from the rest of her companions, and attempted to ignore the nervous glances the thief kept giving her. She really didn't think she was that threatening... was she? Well, there was little use in being bothered by it, and without another thought the dark mage shrugged and returned to reading her tome. Upon dinner's completion Meifing gathered her portion, and returned to her space not really wanting to be bothered by the others.

 

However not long into the night Meifing's interest was again piqued at the sound of discourse. It appeared the younger of the two sisters was attempting to extort information from their prisoners, and while the archer remained stubborn, the thief boy cracked like a nut. 

 

"Hmph," Meifing snorted, "not much of a spine on that one, he snapped in record time." The dark mage cackled quietly before raising her voice so both men could hear her. "You know, she's not the one you should be afraid of... dark mages hold very long grudges." Meifing gave a sinister smile making sure her gaze lingered on the thief a bit longer. "There is a reason," Meifing rose from her seat to reveal the now bandaged wound the boy had inflicted on her, "the Goddess fears my kind." Now inches from the thief she knelt down to his level letting a small crackle of her dark magic fizzle past his ear. 

 

Without giving the boy a second glance Meifing left him there to most likely soil himself. However it appeared that their newest addition had awoken, and seemed to be looking for a horse.

 

"I'm sorry young man, I can't say I have," Meifing replied with an apologetic shake of her shoulders, "however I do wish you success in your endeavor."

[King K. Azo]

 

Asura, despite what he tried to make himself believe, was human. So when they came to a hilltop with an honestly beautiful view of the surrounding areas, the swordsman was secretly relieved. He plopped down on the ground, cleaning his sword as a fire was started. His sword was his most reliable ally after all, and it deserved to be cleaned as well.

Soon, dinner was served, and Asura ate like a wild animals, devouring his entire portion in record time. Screw the fancy meals of the high and mighty, this was all it took to satisfy him. Granted, this plus stew was pretty much what he was raised on, so he could down it like it was a feast fit for kings.

"Oh man, that was good...," He muttered as he took a break to adjust the wrapping on his side. It was starting to slip off, but hey, it could be worse. He stood up, grinning as he rested his sword on his shoulder. "So, it's a lovely night... Anyone up for a spar?" He asked as he ignored his wounded side. A warrior must always train to stay at the top of his game, after all!

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"Catriona we should discuss something." Penelope realized she might have been interrupting her but this was important. She explained the situation with the thief, expressing her belief that the man wanted to somehow redeem himself. That's when Jake jumped in, saying he'd be willing to let the thief work for him, which concerned Penelope. They discussed this for a while, until the young man from earlier came out of the wagon.

 

Meifing was the first to respond to him, and Penelope expresses similar hopes. "If you'd like, you could travel with us at least until the next city. You shouldn't be out here on your own, especially given your...tendency to try and fend off bandits." She smiled, amused, at him. A brave young man, for sure. Maybe something was wrong with his head, seeing as how he was speaking earlier.

 

Penelope left the rest to the others, and headed to a low stump near the fire. After checking to make sure it was smooth, and with a small laugh as she remembered her guard, checked for spiders, she sat down.

Her intent was to pull out a book to read, but then her hand brushed against her sword, Katarina. She pulled it from the sheath and looked at it. Gunther had wordlessly cleaned it on the way, but she remembered what she had done with it.

 

The memory of the moment was clear in her mind, the adrenaline, the feeling of the sword meeting the resistance of the bandit's flesh. The look and smell and sounds of death. She shuddered. How do people do this so easily? How did she do it so easily. She didn't want this, this killing. It was...painful. For everyone involved. She noticed her hand quivering. She tightened her hand to try and steady it. Could she do it again? Would this become easier? Did she want it to become easier? She didn't know the answer.

 

 

 

Gunther finished his patrol just at the same time as realizing Penelope was probably messing with him...again. He sighed and tromped back to the main camp, seeing Penelope, and beginning in that direction. But, something seemed off about her. He decided it wouldn't be good to disturb her now. He wasn't good at anything but taking hits, he couldn't help her right now. Perhaps later he'd talk with her, and hopefully blunder into the right response.

He overheard Asura's request for a spar. He walked over, though he didn't intend to spar. He didn't want to fight, even fake fight, the fierce man. Injury is all that would come from that.

 

But he felt he needed to say something. While he was searching for threats he had realized something distressing. He was now the only professional soldier left. Catriona was a fine Lord, and Penelope was an intelligent Tactician, but neither were truly official soldiers. Catriona had experience, but also was meant for greater things. Penelope wasn't an official Tactician, yet. And the rest of their band were mostly mercenary forces. He couldn't live up to the ideal that Anais or others could, but he had to at least attempt it.

 

"Asura, I do not know if that is wise." He started. Damn, too soft, but what could he do? "We just came from a battle, it would be best to rest before we end up pushing ourselves too far." Was that good? Probably not, he screwed up for sure, ah well...It's to be expected.

 

 

 

The thief tried to back himself even farther away from the dark mage as she made her threat, unfortunately the tree made that difficult. "I'm sorry for, you know, stabbing you. I had just woken up, groggy and sheet, you know what it's like ha...haha..." He realized his weak attempt to joke wouldn't do much good. "Look miss, I don't even know anything bout no Goddess, but I can't just not fight people what be fighting the guys that make sure I'm fed, ya know? Maybe you could let it slide just this once? Please miss I just wanna be able to nap in peace."

[Sethera]

Catriona nodded at Jake and took mental notes. She had been about to reply when Penelope approached of her own volition, a rare moment for the normally shy girl. Perhaps this journey will be good for her, the lord thought. At least, with this, she could rest assured... No, now was not the time for such thoughts. Focusing back on the matter at hand, she listened attentively, a frown crossing her face when Jake mentioned the boy could work for him. She didn't make it a habit of trusting thieves, but the blacksmith seemed hardy enough to look out for himself. Maybe he saw something in the boy that she didn't?

 

Penelope seemed to share her misgivings, and argued against this. She and Jake went back and forth for a while until the injured boy from earlier emerged from the wagon.

 

"So, um...what happened to my shirt?" The boy looked around with a lost expression. "Oh...right...thanks for saving my life. Though if that lady with the sword hadn't run off right when I ran in it might not've needed saving." He laughed a bit nervously. "Anyways, guess I oughta introduce myself. I'm Edrick, and I'm curious if any of you've seen a red roan mare about six years old with a splotch of cream on her left flank."

 

Catriona winced at the mention of Anaïs. She had been attempting to ignore her absence, but it looked like that wouldn't work so well. That woman, Feray, had been shooting her questioning looks throughout the evening, though she had seemed more and more nervous herself as the evening wore on.

 

"I'm sorry young man, I can't say I have," Meifing, the shaman, replied, "however I do wish you success in your endeavor."

 

"If you'd like, you could travel with us at least until the next city. You shouldn't be out here on your own, especially given your...tendency to try and fend off bandits."

 

Catriona suppressed a snort at that. From what she had seen of him earlier, even with the wounds he had now, he would still probably throw himself at bandits if he came across them. No, far safer to travel in a group, with people looking out for him. Still...his accent... Was she the only one that recognized it? Shuffling in her seat uneasily, she decided to reply. "Your thanks is unnecessary, Edrick. You threw yourself into the fray without a single regard for your own self, and saved my life in the process. It is only right that we did the same." Thinking for a second on his question, she eventually continued. "I have not seen a horse fitting that description, no. But Penelope is right. You are welcome to travel with us to the next city, and perhaps beyond that." Though you may find you wish to leave after learning of our purpose.

 

"My name is Catriona," she introduced, "And this is Penelope, a tactician, also my sister," she added the last as an afterthought. "That armored man looking under that rock is Gunther, the boy with the axe is Alois, the person with the horse is Malu'kai, the horse Ingrid, the lady who replied to you is called Meifing, the lady here Feray, and this," she paused to nod at the myrmidon currently shoveling food down his throat like a wild animal, "is Asura. This man here is named Jake."

 

"Hey, how you doin'?" Jake grinned. "I have your scythe on a stick, by the way. Surprised that thing's still in one piece, but you can have both that and the lance I gave you earlier." He paused, appraising the boy critically. "Might be willin' to give you some armor too, maybe keep you from gittin' injured like that in the future."

 

Later, when Asura mentioned a spar, Catriona started to stand up from her sitting position, eager to accept, but was pushed down by Jake. "Here, you need to take it easy, y'know?" It was only the sting of her wounds that kept her from continuing to rise, and she settled down with a grumble of, "It is good to keep our skills sharp." Still, even she had to admit that a spar the very same night as a battle was a bit much. Who knows if we might yet need the energy to fight? she thought.

[Alaina]

As the group continued onward, Alois was taken aback by the sight of the scenery the hill top they were on. Ever since his departure from home, he had been left with nothing but mundane walking, bandit killing and the same old scenery around him everywhere they went. This was the first instance of something that truly stood out to him, causing him to let out an impressed whistling noise at the view. As the group settled down and set up camp, Alois just sort of lazed around and rested up. His feet were sore, he himself was pretty exhausted from walking all day long and fighting, and the ground was a pretty soft cushion. As he had lied back on the grass, eating his dinner, the new guy who had joined them to fight the bandits finally woke up from his slumber. 

 

Casually responding to his question about his shirt, Alois said, "probably don't want something tattered and covered in your own blood on you." He didn't quite get why this guy was looking for a horse, but didn't quite care either and just let him be with their two fearless females. As Cat introduced the group, he just gave a simple wave in response to him, and then looked towards Asura who was offering a sparring challenge. Of course, pansy face Gunther went to the man to try and stop him, but Alois couldn't just decline from something like this. Getting off the ground, he walked over to Gunther and was going to jokingly put his arm around him and reassure him everything was fine, when he noticed something. Both Gunther and Asura were huge. Or was he just always this small? Despite being taken aback by the height of the others, he simply patted Gunther on the back, albeit with a bit more force then the usual kind of friendly pat and flashed him a cocky smile. 

 

"Now now flower boy, you don't have to be like that. It's not like he's going to go killing anyone in these duels," he reassured him. "Besides, men learn more about each other through their fists. And me and Asura don't really know much about each other now do we?" Waving the tall tank he said, "so you can just sit back and watch us have a thrilling conversation. That is," he looked up straight to Asura, cracking his knuckles, "your alright with having me as your sparring partner."

[Asriel Dreemurr]

"Well, I guess I can't say I'm surprised." Edrick said with a sigh, disappointed in spite of not having expected any word about Elba's whereabouts. He didn't have much else to say on the subject, but he did manage to half stumble his way closer to the fire the party had gathered around and sit himself down on the ground to think. If they hadn't seen his horse, he should probably start figuring out where to go next. If the thief had taken Elba into Galtea, then she was as good as gone. There wasn't any real way that he would be able to get across the border, and even if he did he would probably just end up in a prison somewhere. His family wasn't exactly popular with the Galteans.
 
"If you'd like, you could travel with us at least until we reach the next city. You shouldn't be out here on your own, especially given your... tendency to try and fend off bandits."
 
"...Penelope is right. You are welcome to travel with us to the next city, and perhaps beyond that." Well, that certainly was an unexpected turn of fortune. Yes, if he were to travel with them then he would have a much better chance of finding Elba! Not to mention the fact that these people looked like the type who could help him get strong enough to put that thief in the ground for what he'd done. All in all, it sounded like a perfect idea. He nodded as Catriona introduced the group with them, committing their names and faces to memory. Penelope was the shorter girl who looked to be about his age. The man wearing armor and carrying a spear was Gunther. Their axe-wielding companion was called Alois, the only one among them with a horse, named Ingrid, was Malu'kai, a name that sounded to him like she had come from one of the tribes. The luck-wishing woman was Meifing, and the one among their number who had come to his aid was called Asura.

 

"Hey, how ya doin'?" And of course he couldn't forget Jake, the merchant who'd thrown him the spear. He was already taking a liking to this man, though he frowned at his mention of the Scythe's condition.

 

"Yes, I suppose it is a small miracle that it's held together for so long. I was hurryin' when I made it. You uh... you can keep it if you think you can sell it. The blade's still good anyways, and my da's got another back home." The comment about armor made him... somewhat uncomfortable. He had no real experience wearing the stuff, after all. It did, however, remind him that he was still missing his shirt as well as the comment Alois had made regarding not wearing it if it was covered in his own blood. "I uh... only had the one shirt with me, by the way. I used to have two others, but they got torn up between home and here. I would like to take you up on your offer to have me travel with you though. I'll just have to figure out what to do about a shirt..."

[Sethera]

Asura had been strangely unresponsive to Alois' comment, though perhaps it was Edrick's response that had him distracted. Jake shrugged at the remark about keeping the scythe. "I'm sure I can whip it back into shape if you want. Won't take too long for a man of my skills, if I do say so myself," he puffed his chest out with a bit of pride. "And as to yer shirt, I'm sure we can get one from one of the many shops in Ithome. For now though..." he turned to the nearby wagon and rummaged through a burlap knapsack, retrieving a plain brown homespun tunic that he tossed to the boy. "You can keep it if you want. I have plenty more where that came from. See if it fits."

 

Catriona wore an expression of confusion. For a simple merchant, this man seemed unbelievably generous. True, they had saved his life, but most people wouldn't be so free with their possessions, much less their services. Still, there was a rough honesty in his demeanor that made his actions unsurprising. "We would be glad to have you," she spoke, directing her voice toward Edrick. "Such courage as you have demonstrated is rare in these times." And truly, she meant every word.

 

--

 

Later that night, long after compline, Feray rose from where she had been keeping watch. Glancing at the troupe uneasily, she shook her head with a sense of finality. This group wasn't for her. While Penelope was cute, it didn't take a blind man to see there was something between her and her knight. And not only that, but she had felt increasingly uncomfortable with her place here. Perhaps there was something to be said for solitude.

 

Not to mention, the direction they're heading...is back there. There meaning the place she had fled from. Perhaps others would call her a coward, but unlike Catriona, a reckless woman who seemed to be leading them all to a surefire doom, she was practical. No, she would much rather take her chances on the road by herself than accompany this band of misfits any longer, especially considering she was going back to Cardas instead of away.

 

She took out a piece of parchment and charcoal to write a quick note of apology, then paused. Would they even miss her? Shaking such self-indulgent thoughts from her mind, she scribbled the words out, and then stuck it in Penelope's bag. Why she did that, even she didn't really know. Perhaps she still held a flame toward her? Doubt crawled into her mind for a second, before she pushed it away and rose from her crouched position, and then walked away. It got easier with every step, until she couldn't even see the flicker of the campfire anymore.

 

Chapter 2: The White City

Date: August 27th, Year 556

Time: 9:00 AM (Terce)

Location: Ithome Sector Three outskirts, Histia

 

The next morning, a few questions were asked about Feray's absence, but they were quelled after Penelope saw the note. Catriona's earlier doubt at Anaïs' departure redoubled, and her normally stoic face showed furrowed brows and distant eyes. Still, she could do nothing but forge ahead, and hope that by the time the end came, they would have enough people to stop the goddess. Though, I will do this alone if I must. The thought caused her heart to pinch, a sensation she was long familiar with.

 

It was in this atmosphere of painful recollection that the group arrived at the outskirts of Ithome. They passed by farmland and peasant housing. But unlike the Galtean farmers, these people wore expressions of contentment and joy, and their clothes were of higher quality. Catriona had heard about Histia's revolutionary treatment of the lower classes. How they even participated in state matters, represented by officials who would inform the rulers of any injustice, and indeed influence the Council's decisions.

 

Most of the Galtean nobles had scoffed at such matters, and deemed the country a doomed place. Still, it had been a century, and Histia had shown no sign of decline. Catriona herself was curious to see more of this place she had only heard of, and never visited.

 

The people seemed to recognize Jake, and called out to him as they passed. While their attitude was decidedly cooler toward the company, they weren't hostile either, and the group made it to the base of one of Ithome's three great mountains unmolested. The princess had heard that Ithome was divided into three sectors. While she couldn't remember what they were called, she did know that each sector was governed by one of the Council of Three, joint rulers of Histia, and that each had very different opinions on Galtea.

 

The lord stopped suddenly when an arrow flew past and landed at the ground by her feet. "Be on guard," she warned. "There may be enemies nearby." Still, they were fairly close to the sectors. Who would dare attack a peaceful merchant party here?

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Okay, so this is where Muddy's character comes in. Apologies if you decided against this scenario, but I decided to go with it for now. I can still change it though if you want.

 

We're at the base of one of Ithome's mountains, surrounded by farmland and scattered houses. React as you will.

 

 

[JessicaMuddy]

A Surprise Attack!

 

As Tarizo let Lilith's arrow fly, she frowned in confusion. "Why the hell would these people capture him?" As she thought to herself, the confusion quickly turned into frustration. "Damn bandits these days, always with their petty capturing!" Silently brushing away her bright blonde hair from her face, Tari watched her foes scanning the area, and though not moving, were particularly looking in the direction her arrow came from, readying their weapons without actually pulling any out yet.

 

This young girl was never really one for… thinking, and soon remembered this as she realized there was no other cover to hide in than the back of the house she was currently at. Taking a deep breath, Tari quickly zapped over to the road, stopping a fair distance away from the party of ruffians… The well dressed, polite looking ruffians. “Don’t let them trick you! First, they’re just some travelers, next, they’re assassins driving a dagger into your back!”

 

Her unchanging stern expression then began to yell. “Hey, you! What’re you doing with the man I was told to find? Did you perhaps steal him?!” Then a moment later, before the enemy even had a chance to realize she had spoken, the 6”3 girl continued. “No time for talking! Looks like I’ll have to free Jake by force.” Suddenly, she was off, dashing towards her foes at lightning fast speed, a razor-sharp arrow in each hand, and with several long strides was within meters of the enemy.

 

True to her usual ditsy fashion, Tari failed to assess the terrain, bashing the heel of her high heels against an abnormally large rock in the path, crushing the stalk of the shoe, and causing her to trip over, face-planting in the most painful way possible. Tarizo’s head skidded along the ground, with her shrieking all the way with it, before it stopping inches from the feet of the leader of the party.

[Alaina]

The next morning came without much incident, though Alois couldn't help but feel something was off. Looking at the rest of the party, he had the off feeling that their group's size didn't quite match up. It seemed to be exactly the same size as it was the day before, but they gained people to their party, so how did that work? He simply brushed this off feeling away and went back to stretching his body out, as it was still sore from the fighting of yesterday, and got ready to go to the group's next destination. 

 

As they arrived at Histia's Capital City, Ithome, Alois was taken aback, once more, by another foreign sight to him. He had heard of the great cities of the world and it wasn't as if he had literally never seen any sort of building in his life. It was just something like Ithome made his own home town look like a pebble in the face of a mountain. A bit of child like excitement came over him, but he made sure to keep himself appearing calm and collected before the group noticed. 

 

As they continued their little uneventful walk towards the city, an event happened. An arrow lodged itself in the ground in front of the group, causing Alois to immediately get on guard, his hand moving towards his axe handle. Being on alert, the young boy looked around to see where the shooter could have been, when suddenly, a young lady charged the older princess, with arrows in hand. While Alois was ready to move in to stop her, it seemed that any sort of intervention was widely unnecessary. 

 

His face took an expression of both confusion and an utter lack of amusement on it, as he watched the girl manage to trip on practically nothing and fall flat on her face. He had no idea what to make of this person and even before she assaulted them, she said something that didn't really appear to make too much sense either. "The hell is her problem?" Alois wondered aloud. He then turned to Jake, looking for answers as he pointed at her. "A friend of yours?"

[Asriel Dreemurr]

The journey from their camp site to the outskirts of Ithome was an especially exhausting one for Edrick. This was because on top of the fact that he was still sporting some fairly serious, if not immediately life threatening, wounds, he was now clad in the armor that the bandit leader had been wearing the day before. The mix of leather and metal plating was quite heavy, but that wasn't really the main concern he had regarding it. His strength was enough that had he merely had to carry the gear he could probably have done it and not been in much worse condition than he had been with a full pack. No, he was simply ill prepared to actually wear armor. He had never worn any such thing before in his life, much less had to trek across the countryside wearing it. It restricted his movement in ways he hadn't expected, and in spite of Jake's assistance in adjusting it for his size that morning he was fairly certain it still didn't fit properly though he might have been imagining it.

 

"How...the hell...do ya wear crap like this?" He directed his question at Gunther, the only other member of their motley crew that seemed to be wearing as much metal as he was. Not that he really felt like the answer would make any amount of sense to him or even be helpful. No, it was just a question asked out of protest of his own situation. The only thing he could be thankful for was that he'd taken Jake up on the offer to have his shirt, else he would have been incredibly uncomfortable and most likely chafing from the armor. Of course he was probably still chafing, if the burning on his thighs was anything to go off, but he hoped it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

 

The Iron Lance he had received the other day was thankfully sturdy enough to help support his increasingly tired form. He looked it over, and realized that he wouldn't quite be able to use it as he had used his scythe, but there wasn't much to be done in the way of helping that. A brief stumble over a bump in the road had him almost lose his patience with the armor and set to ripping it off, but as he corrected it he found himself looking at Penelope and remembering the conversation they'd had that morning.

 

[spoiler=Flash Back!]Penelope held out the armor, stubbornly glaring at Edrick. “If you want to not die you’ll listen to me.” The boy in question stood, half-dressed and groggy thanks to their unexpectedly early rise to break camp, appearing no less irritated with the situation than she was.

 

“Well excuse me, princess. Maybe that’d make sense if I’d ever worn armor before. As is, I’ll just end up lagging behind the group and sweating myself to death in it, so no thank you.” Hoping that would be the end of it, he turned away and once more set about packing up to head out. Penelope, however, seemed to be having none of that. She placed one hand on her hip and continued to glare holes in the back of the young boy’s head. Perhaps it was the sour mood caused by Feray leaving, but she was determined not to give this up.

 

“I’m sure you’d much rather die from having an arrow in your gut, then?” She moved to the front of the boy, and literally shoved the armor into his chest. “You have to start somewhere, else you’ll never be able to do it. I saw you fight, you’re not entirely skilled but you ARE strong. If anyone can handle wearing armor, I’m sure it would be you. Just give it a chance, and when you don’t die, you can thank me.” The farm boy groaned, and dropped his pack and the lot of his possessions on the ground to rise up to his full height to tower over her. Well, at least as much as he could considering he only had a bit more than a head on her.

 

“I’m not a soldier, and in all likelihood I’ll never be a soldier,” he was fairly certain that had his uncle rolling in his grave. “Moreover, that is a bandit’s armor. If I walk around wearing it people are gonna think I’m a bandit, and that ain’t gonna get us anywhere!” Much as he fought this, it was beginning to dawn on him that Penelope wasn’t going to let up about this. His words gave the girl pause. From all the people she had talked to back home, she was under the impression most young men strived to be soldiers. She’d have to come up with another way to convince him.

 

“I wouldn’t worry about the latter. The armor is common enough that most would just assume you to be a mercenary.” She was stalling for time as her mind went over several possible paths that would result in her winning this “battle”. Then it hit her. “The bandits we fought, there are always more, and they don’t care if you’re a soldier or not. They’ll still try to kill you just the same. And...I’d much rather not see anyone come to harm.” She cast her gaze to the side at the last bit, eyes filled with a sort of sadness. It was only partially manufactured, though, she realized. Her words were true, if a bit exaggerated. But hopefully it would get the point across. Edrick was more than a little shaken by what she said, and that sad expression of hers cut especially deep. He stood there for several minutes before, with a sigh, he started the awkward process of strapping the armor to himself.

 

“If you’ll let me get back to packing, I’ll put the stupid armor on…” Penelope clapped her hands together, clearly pleased by the answer.

 

“Oh, very good!” And, in the heat of the moment, Penelope gave the boy a hug. The moment she realized what she had done she pulled back and stood there stiffly. “Well. Anyway. Good day.” She turned on her heels and walked the other direction.

 

 

So it was that he sucked it up, and decided to continue on in spite of the increasingly irritating armor. Thankfully, his discomfort reached a point at which it stopped getting worse and he was able to carry on only somewhat grumpily. At least the people around were friendly enough, which served to cool his own mood to the point that he wasn't liable to shout something he would regret. Really, it had him thinking of his home. The village wasn't that much different from the farmland they were passing through now, with the obvious exception of their current surroundings lacking a very large river. Truth be told there were also fewer fishermen that he could see, which was probably tied to the lack of any large bodies of water.

 

The sound of an arrow flying through the air only to bury itself in the path, Edrick snapped up much straighter than he had been and readied his lance. A few quick steps brought him up to the front of the party, and he thankfully managed to once more avoid falling as he stumbled, just in time to see the archer rushing them. Of course he didn't have to worry about potentially fighting the tall woman, because she promptly tripped, face-planted, and skidded to a stop in front of them. Raising an eyebrow, he turned to look quizzically at Catriona and then return his attention to the fallen archer.

 

"Why in the world..." he let his sentence trail off, remembering she'd said something about bandits, and then shot Penelope a look that had "I told you so" written all over it. Not that he said anything regarding it, he just planted his lance in the ground, took off the annoyingly hot headgear he'd been wearing, and crouched down next to the fallen woman. "Riddle me this. If it doesn't act like a bandit, and doesn't look like a bandit," he pointed to Catriona, Penelope, and Gunther in quick succession to draw her attention to their quite high quality gear, "is it a bandit? We're not bandits. Jake is fine, you can ask him yourself, and we're not going to hurt him or you." He managed something of a smile, and reached out his hand as an offer to help the woman up. Over the course of his movement, the bronze pendant bearing Inera's image that he wore around his neck had come loose, and was now hanging over the front of his armor.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Penelope had been silent ever since finding the note that morning. It seemed their group was getting smaller and smaller. Feray was a particularly painful blow, as Penelope had started to feel a bond. She should have talked to her more often...

Penelope decided to use this as an opportunity to learn. She’d try and converse with her allies more, instead of constantly reading. Her little foray into talking with Edrick had been...productive in a way, but she didn’t feel it would be smart to continue just now. Especially after parting so awkwardly.
Her eyes turned to Meifing. The other magic user in the group. While on the road she changed her pace to match the woman, and struck up conversation the only way she knew how. “Did you know that all different versions of shamanism, despite being practiced in several countries, are extremely similar in nature? Despite that the early people were unable to communicate?” She waited for the response and then spoke up again. “I just wanted to check up on you, after that fight...Sorry for leaving you on your own like that. I promise I’ll get better at this so you don’t get hurt again.”

Gunther groaned, for perhaps the tenth time today. His attempt to stop the muscle-head twins failed horribly, and he proved to be even worse at this than expected. Then there was the issue with Feray, and now Penelope seemed to be out of sorts as well. He almost preferred the fight with the bandits.

It seemed that Penelope had gotten Edrick to wear armor, whether to help or for amusement Gunther wasn't sure. But he tried to give the boy some pointers. He wasn't much of a teacher but he had become quite accustomed to wearing this armor. "It takes some time but, it's better than the alternative..." He then awkwardly patted the boy on the shoulder, before heading towards Catriona.

“Princess.” Gunther said, to the older sister. “I may not be Anais but...I want you to know I will do whatever I can to earn my place here. That’s, uh, that’s all I wanted to say. Oh and also...” He looked nervous. “You should talk to Penelope sometimes. I think, ah, nevermind.”
He laughed uncomfortably, which was cut short by the arrow sinking into the ground. He pulled out his lance and looked around, for the assailant.

Luckily she revealed herself quickly. And immediately charged after spouting some nonsense.
Gunther positioned himself between the girl and his group, readying himself for battle. His experience with Archers reminded him that they had trouble getting through his thick armor. So this was less a show of bravery than abusing that fact. It made him cringe internally but at least he could be useful.
Until the girl faceplanted and Gunther let out a snort. That was...anti-climactic. What was it she had said? Stealing a person? Hmm.

Penelope seemed entirely unconcerned about this “threat”, having realized early on what she came here for. But, she didn’t feel up to confronting the girl, hoping to leave it to others.

Gunther was going to approach the girl, but Edrick beat him to it. Penelope cringed as he rushed headlong into things again.

The knight followed the farmer, keeping his eyes on the girl. He had to be sure they weren't laying a trap. Though it seemed things would be fine. Gunther glanced over at Edrick and his eyes widened. He knew that symbol. His heart pounded and his ears rang as he stared at the boy. It has to be a mistake, right? No way this simple young man was one of those.

His grip tightened around his lance as he shifted focus from the archer to the farmer. He tried to get Penelope's attention, to make sure she knew, but otherwise stood his ground. If this was a trap he wasn't going to blunder into it.

[JessicaMuddy]

"Riddle me this. If it doesn't act like a bandit, and doesn't look like a bandit, is it a bandit? We're not bandits. Jake is fine, you can ask him yourself, and we're not going to hurt him or you." A young man, just the tiniest bit smaller than Tari, was crouching over the woman. His voice was warm and clear, and his demeanour was one of the more welcoming ones she had come across in her life. Tari glanced up in embarrassment to the sight of the boy, and his hand confidently held out for the woman to take.

 

“Oh.” She then shot up straight, ignoring the help, and stomped her foot down, forgetting the fact that her shoe was broken, tripping over once more and falling on her behind. With the boy’s hand still held out, Tari sighed. After his assistance, she was now on her feet, standing before everyone.

 

Brushing off her clothes, the girl looked awkwardly at the group of what now appeared to be mercenaries. “Well, I was supposed to go find Jake due to his absence from Ithome, but it looks like you guys found him first.” She stood strangely, trying her best not to put weight on the broken high heel. She bent over and picked up the three arrows on and in the ground, making sure not to grab the white flowers on the end, in place of the regular feathers. “So, what’re you sellswords doing here? Did you get the same mission?”

[King K. Azo]

 

Okay, Asura had to admit, he was starting to like both Farm Boy and Alois. At least they seemed to have the stones to stand up and act like men. Gunther was a bit of a pushover, but, hey, they'd get down to business and make a man out of him yet. Last night, he even had a good spar with Alois, and got a feel for his fighting style. He was, dare it say it, enjoying himself with this group of strangers. 

The next morning, they began to walk. In order to past the time, Asura had broken a stick off of a tree and began to whittle the edge into a sharp point. He had heard legends of the mighty stick, and how the greatest swordsman in the land could defeat his foes with such a weapon. He figured he might as well try to see if he could make it as well. Could be a lot of fun. At the very least, this thing could poke a man's eye out. He should name this thing to. His mind pondered as they walked. The names Susanowo and Shuckle seemed to amuse him, but he didn't think it fit...

 

As they arrived at Histia's Capital City, Ithome, Asura was slightly in a state of a thing known as awe, since these buildings were unlike anything he had ever seen. Still, he felt as if it didn't compare to the open plains of his home, so he wasn't overly impressed.

 

They kept walking, until an arrow was fired at the group, putting the whole on edge. Asura reached for his sword, ready to attack. He wasn't expecting a rather tall woman to rush at them, only to trip and fall on her face. He blinked. She was kinda cute. Odd, seeing that she was taller than pretty much all of them. He looked at his newly sharpened stick. Should he poke her with it...?

However, she soon stood up and asked them what they were doing here. Asura shrugged. 

"Something about books? I think," He said as he leaned on his sword, still whittling his stick.

[Sethera]

During the walk, wrapped up in her thoughts, Catriona had barely noticed Gunther's approach. However, his words startled her out of her gloom. "Princess. I may not be Anais but...I want you to know I will do whatever I can to earn my place here. That’s, uh, that’s all I wanted to say. Oh and also... You should talk to Penelope sometimes. I think, ah, nevermind."

 

The princess blinked, not sure how to react. She had never been as close to Gunther as her sister. No, she had been close with... An image of a stoic blond man and a serious-faced blond woman flitted through her thoughts. They had been two of her closest friends in the border fights, but one was still back there and the other was returning home. Still, it felt like Gunther was trying to bridge the gap that had been ever-present between them, and she couldn't help but feel a touch of gratitude for that. "Thank you, Gunther."

 

But why would she have to talk to Penelope? Was the girl injured? But no, this was Gunther. He was probably trying to help improve her relationship with her sister. A futile effort, she thought. Somehow, she always managed to madden the girl, and vice versa.

 

After the archer's appearance, where she accused them of banditry and Asura replied in a cavalier fashion, Catriona had put a hand to her sword, even after the girl tripped over a rock in the path. She could just be faking it... But no, she wasn't, and the lord couldn't help but cringe at the sight. That looked like it hurt.

 

"The hell is her problem?" Alois asked, turning to Jake. "A friend of yours?"

 

Jake shook his head. "Nah, though I've seen her around Ithome before. A mercenary named Tari, if I remember rightly. Not a mercenary mercenary though." He chuckled. "Or would it be the other way around? She's not a mercenary mercenary?" Giving up the conundrum with a shake of his head, he continued. "She's probably here for me, though. Was a little late getting back, and that bandit attack didn't help matters neither."

 

Edrick quickly corrected the girl of her misunderstanding, in the process revealing a pendant of Inera. At that, Catriona paled, and she had to fight the instinct to cut him down. Here was solid proof that the man before her was a Pontic zealot, an enemy of the state. Still, it wasn't a big surprise on its own, but she did take a step forward, face grim, before glancing at the others. Only Gunther seemed to realize the significance so far, but she didn't doubt the others would after a closer inspection.

 

"Well, I was supposed to go find Jake due to his absence from Ithome, but it looks like you guys found him first. So, what’re you sellswords doing here? Did you get the same mission?"

 

"No," Catriona replied, "We did not. We found him on the road being attacked by real bandits, and fended them off for him." She didn't mention Edrick's intervention, nor the fact he came later. The less attention on him, the better, until she could figure out a way to deal with the problem he posed. Killing in cold blood would be inhumane, considering that by all appearances he was a civilian, not a soldier. In addition, the fact that he had saved not only her life, but the others' lives, snarled this up even more. It was unlikely he had planned it either, seeing as he had almost died. No, she couldn't kill him, but until she figured out more about him, it would be risky bringing him any further. Though perhaps it'd be safer this way...at least with us I could keep an eye on him.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Jake. "The lady's right. These here folks saved my hide, for which I'm mighty grateful. We were returning to Ithome, so you might as well come with us and tell whoever hired ya I'm safe and sound. In fact, might as well talk on the way back." He gripped the reins and lifted them, motioning for his horse to walk forward. The wooden wagon wheels creaked as they started to move again.

 

The journey up the mountain was slow but steady. The road wound around the side in a gradual slope, but it was well cared for, so there was little worry of turning a hoof or tripping over a rock. Below, one could see the farmland, stretching out like a checkered tablecloth, pitted with buildings and rumpled at the edges. And beside them, two more mountains, each topped with their own sector.

 

The air was cold whenever they hit the shade and hot whenever they left it. In this vein of extreme temperatures, they reached the gates of Ithome. The guards, dressed in strangely layered plated armor, waved them through after seeing Jake, and Catriona thanked their good fortune that he was accompanying them. It would be...troubling to have to reveal her heritage to get through, not when she was on the run.

 

BGM

 

The first thing Catriona noticed about the inside was the noise. Perhaps she had been on the road for too long, but the clamor of voices yelling about "fish fresh from the river" and "furs from the Pelinna forest" took her aback. The citizens were dressed differently than what she was used to. Rather than roughshod tunics or colorful hose, these people wore long, flowing robes knotted at the shoulder, and it was hard to distinguish the women from the men by clothing alone. Their company drew their own share of looks, though these were remarkably more hostile than from below.

 

Still, she wasn't here to sightsee. Her gaze turned toward the staircase going up, and the courthouse at its end.

 

"You might try the library first," Jake advised. "You'd get more luck there than with that old ram up top."

 

"Old ram?"

 

"Silas. One of the Council of Three, and as hardheaded as they come, especially when it comes to strangers. I'm thinkin' you folks might be here a while if'n you're gonna try and get his help."

 

"That is...unfortunate." They didn't have the time to argue with a pugnacious councillor. "Then the library it is. Where is that?"

 

"Well it's on the second level, but you folks aren't plannin' on gettin' right to business, are ya? I was planning on showing you guys around Ithome as thanks."

 

"No need," Catriona shook her head, before pausing to reconsider her words. A trustworthy local was always the best person to have with you when exploring a city, and she had no doubt they'd be here for at least a couple days looking for leads. "Perhaps after we visit the library, then."

 

"Sure thing." Jake shrugged, and led them to the gate where the staircase to the upper levels started.

[Alaina]

 

As Jake told him about just who he thought the girl was, it appeared that everything was just kind of simple misunderstanding. Granted, it was one that could have gotten someone killed, but looking at the prone body of the girl, Alois figured that she was pretty much harmless anyway. While not paying much mind to the rest of what was going on, his just kind of wandered around until he saw something up with Cat. She had a pretty astonished look on her face, like something was pretty much a great shock to her. Alois's eyes then shifted over to where her's were directed at, and it became all too apparent. He too went wide eyed at the sight, and he couldn't quite believe what he saw. Something like that couldn't have been possible, and if it was, it was just too unfair. Despite his own shock, he continued walking with the group into the city, trying to not stare at the person. 

 

As they walked into the city, Alois was definitely taken aback by what he was saying. This was the kind of place he could never even imagine. There were people lining every corner of the street, so much so that he couldn't understand how people get around to wherever they wanted to on a daily basis. This sort of disbelief was only assisted by the sheer size, making it like one giant mountain range that needed to be traversed every day to get from point a to point b. Though, the one thing he could quite easily recognize was the sort of subtle hostility that their crowd drew. It was one that he had gotten somewhat familiar with back in Phar, and somewhat dirtied the majesty of the city to him. Nevertheless, he continued onward alongside the rest of the group and listened as Jake began to inform them of where they needed to go once again. 

 

After hearing about going to the library, Alois was getting ready to follow Jake to their destination when his eyes wandered towards what he had seen earlier. It was definitely still unbelievable to look at, even though his eyes were most definitely not deceiving him. He then remembered he wasn't the only person being troubled by this and walked over to Cat. Placing on his hand on her shoulder to reassure her, he said, "don't worry. I'm with you in these trying times of vertical difficulty." Giving a thumbs up and having a bit of a serious look on his face, his eyes motioned upward and towards the girl who had joined their group. Alois still couldn't believe the fact that as many tall people he had seen so far, there was still someone who could dwarf him even further. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Gunther had never been in this city before, and found it a strange place. He was used to noise, but not the dress. He had always been around rowdy people but they tended to be either in armor, during his time as a soldier, or in ragged clothing, in his hometown. The people here looked equally as surprised at his group's appearance, which made Gunther highly uncomfortable. However his mind was preoccupied enough that it didn't get to him.

 

Gunther was still baffled and concerned over his recent discovery. The farm boy seemed like such a kind kid...no way he was a worshiper of the Goddess. There must have been a mistake. Penelope could see something was eating at Gunther, and tried to get it out of him. "Did you know some people believe holding onto stressful thoughts can result in brain damage? Isn't that fascinating?" Yet, despite her attempts, it seemed Gunther wasn't going to speak of what worried him.

 

She decided to focus her efforts on other matters, while Gunther contemplated what he should do. The knight made his way towards Edrick, clearly uncomfortable but also determined. Strangely he seemed more concerned about him than the girl who had shot at them.

 

Unlike Gunther, Penelope had been here before, and she knew what to expect. The sound made her a lot more at ease. It may seem strange for someone so used to reading books in silence, but the hustle and bustle of a city brought happiness to her. So many people with so many stories. If only she had time to mingle with the people like back home, and learn what there was to learn.

 

Penelope was walking near Jake and her sister when they started talking about where to go. Her face lit up as the word "library" was uttered and she practically ran closer to Jake. "Where is it, please please tell me now!" She said with a wide smile on her face. As Jake got over the surprise and told her the direction, Penelope was off like a bolt of lightning. She wanted to get to this library as soon as possible.

 

Gunther finally took his attention off of Edrick as he noticed this. He let out a groan. "Oh no, not again. She's got books on her mind, everyone be careful not to get in her way. Trust me, I don't know how she did it but I stood between her and a new book once and she knocked me down. And I was wearing full armor." He blushed, realizing how incompetent this made him sound, and stopped talking with a silent self-reprimand.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Edrick had actually been grateful for the interruption that the clumsy archer had provided. The mountain stretching up before them was not something he was looking forward to climbing, and however short the time was that they were allowed to stay there at its base he was still able to get some of the strength back into his legs. He was therefore even more grateful for the time that the group, particularly Jake, spent working out the issues they had with the archer and deciding what was to be done. Since they had the time, he set down his lance for a moment and set about stretching like his father had taught him to.
 
"Make sure you stretch whenever you can if you're doing something strenuous," he remembered the old man saying once or twice. It brought a smile to his face, thinking of his home and his family. Of course it also brought back memories of the stories his father had told, in particular how his uncle had died. This, of course, brought his gaze over to Catriona, and from her to her sister. Though he managed not to frown, his brow did crease for just a moment as he beheld them. Not with them, he told himself in the safety of his mind, they're innocent in this. It was only after he'd finished stretching that he noticed Catriona, along with some of the others, were looking at his chest. A cursory downward look was all it took for him to discover what it was they were looking at, and he nonchalantly tucked it back inside of his tunic. He honestly didn't think there was much of an issue to make out of it, the fact that the Galteans had a less-than-positive view of the Goddess slipping his mind.
 
What didn't slip his mind was the dread that came when he realized they were heading out again. So it was that he stretched once more, picked up his lance, and went along with the group. He didn't have much room to think about things other than the searing pain in his legs and chest, as well as the fact that as they went further up he had an increasingly hard time breathing. However short the journey might actually have been, it felt like an eternity between the ill-fitting suit of armor and the exhaustion of having already traveled so far that day. By the time they actually reached the top, he felt like he was going to keel over and die. I wonder how father would have handled this city, he thought as he found a place to sit down and catch his breath. Probably just starve it out. That's what I'd do. Of course he was certain the old man could come up with a much quicker way to handle it. Not to mention that soldiers were actually used to wearing armor, and theirs usually fit them.

 

It was only after he'd taken a moment to catch his breath that he noticed the dirty looks they were getting, and he couldn't help but be put on edge by it. He was about to give voice to his concerns, when he noticed Penelope running off after asking Jake for directions to the library.

 

"Well we can't just let her run off on her own." He said aloud, and rose to his feet with his lance against his shoulder in what he could best figure was a nonthreatening position. "I'm going after her." He didn't leave room for compromise or disagreement, he just took off after the younger princess as quickly as his tired legs would carry him. Edrick really was not in the mood to have members of their group running around alone, especially in a potentially hostile city. Inera, give me the strength to face whatever challenges this city will give me.

[King K. Azo]

 

Asura noticed a bit of... anxiety? Nervousness? ... There was something going on with the group, and it was directed to farm boy. Or the journey over mountains. Perhaps both. He honestly had no idea. These folks were weird anyways, so maybe it was something his normal mind just couldn't comprehend. Staring at his stick, he smirked to himself. He believed it to be ready. He pulled an apple he swiped from the supplies and threw it into the air, slashing at it with the stick, which instantly snapped in half, letting the apple fall back into his hand. That didn't work.

Breaking off another stick, he began to whittle away, making sure this one was sharp enough. Something he began to notice though was that his legs were starting to get tired... this mountain was honestly getting somewhat annoying. Almost made him wish he was of the Beir tribe right now. Almost. Taking a bite of the apple helped him slightly though, and he walked without complaining.

They soon made it to the gates, which they walked through without any problems. However... it was almost like they stepped into a new world. Everyone was wearing some sort of robes that made them look like they were all the same gender. It was weird... then again, they were city folks. When weren't they weird? 

Jake had said library, and suddenly Penelope was gone, faster than a speeding arrow. Farm Boy had ran off after her. Guess he could do the thing. He headed over to Gunther, leaning against his arm as he took a bite of the apple.

"So, Flower Boy," He said. "Can you tell me why the group is being all uptight about Farm Boy? Ever since we ran into the archer, y'all have been starin' at him like he was made of demons," he stared at Gunther in an unnerving way. Usually, this made people uncomfortable and made them slip up ever so slightly, which gave him more info then they meant to tell him. "Mind fillin' me in?"

[JessicaMuddy]

The group continued to make their way into the city that was everyone's destination, slowly climbing up the gigantic mountain. No matter how many times Tari made her way down it, she always dreaded the climb back up. Many a rescue mission had taken places in and around the farmland surrounding the city, and the hike down and up, to and from them, was always an arduous one. While walking up, Tari had a good hard look at each of the members of the party. The man that helped her up was almost as big as her, and from his previous actions, appeared to be quite nice. There was a small girl speaking to a heavily armoured knight who she could only assume was the girl's partner, but he remained eerily quiet. On top of this, several of the others were looking at her, though she didn't mind.

 

Once in the city Tari noticed many familiar faces, nodding or smiling at some of them as she passed. After the group stopped and chatted for a small while, who decided they would take a trip to the library, Tari spoke for the first time after her little introduction. "Ugh, books." Before anyone replied, the rapid speaker continued. "Don't even get me started on books... Anywho, I should go report back to my boss, now that Jake's back. Bye!" Tari turned away from the group, heading back to a building near the entrance of the city, opening the door labelled "Pastow's Mercenary Agency". She stepped inside, waving at the burly man sitting behind the desk.

"Aye, Tarizo! Back already?"

"Yeah, I found Jake. He was with a group of strange people who came into Ithome. Anyway, he's back now." The man leaned forward over the table before replying in a serious tone.

"So ya didn't do the savin'?"

"Uhh... No? Does that mean no pay?" The silence that followed Tari's question put her in an uneasy mood. As her face changed to concern, her boss smiled.

"Just pullen your leg, honey!" He turned away, grabbing a small pouch from an adjacent table and slamming it in front of Tari. "Good goin' girl. You deserve it."

"Thanks, Pas." Since Tari had nothing more to do with her day, she headed moved to the side of the room, collapsing into a little wooden seat.

[a bad post]

It had certainly been an interesting last couple of days, Meifing mused, as their party entered the gates of Ithome.

 

"Ah, how long has it been since I last returned to Ithome...?" Meifing sighed, however the suspicious looks of the townspeople where not lost to her, "mmm... perhaps not long enough, it seems they still fear outsiders. What a shame."

 

They'd picked up a new addition to their merry band as well. A quirky young woman by the name of Tarizo, whose arrival had been... most unexpected to say the least.

The previous evening

 

THUNK! The odd noise brought Meifing back to reality, having propped herself against a rock, and settled down with her tome. 

 

"Well... this seems inconvenient." Meifing frowned realizing the arrow likely meant more trouble. "Friends of yours?" Meifing asked their prisoners, however both men shook their heads. "I see."

 

 “Hey, you! What’re you doing with the man I was told to find? Did you perhaps steal him?!” Came the shout from the woods, and then, “No time for talking! Looks like I’ll have to free Jake by force.”  The sound of crunching branches filled the air, as something, presumably the voice who'd yelled at them charged forth from the forest.

 

"It appears we'd best prepare for another bandit attack..." Meifing allowed the pages of her tome to flip open, dark lightening gathering at her finger tips. However in the next moment their opponent was... flat on her face. 

 

The fierce archer woman had charged into their camp, only to fall flat on her face... it was quite sad to be perfectly honest. 

 

"What kind of tomfoolery is this, get up child," Meifing scowled at the girl's airheadedness, before closing her tome.

 

Moments later the young woman shot up, screaming about had been sent to return their guide Jake back to Ithome, and quite honestly Meifing tuned her out after about 20 seconds.

 

"Stop shouting... relax..."Meifing muttered in an exasperated tone.

The present

"Ah~ life is quite mysterious..."Meifing smiled gently watching the archer woman from behind. The girl actually had seemed quite pleasant once she'd calmed down, and after listening to her story it was quite obvious to see that the girl had her heart in the right place.

 

"Silas. One of the Council of Three, and as hardheaded as they come, especially when it comes to strangers. I'm thinkin' you folks might be here a while if'n you're gonna try and get his help."

 

At the mention of the councilor's name Meifing tuned back into the conversation. Silas... now that was a name she recognized.

 

"Councilor, huh?" Meifing mused to herself, "it seems he's worked his way up in the pecking order, I wonder if he'll still remember old friends... or rather the gypsy who showed him magic tricks when he was young."

 

"That is...unfortunate." They didn't have the time to argue with a pugnacious councillor. "Then the library it is. Where is that?"

 

"Well it's on the second level, but you folks aren't plannin' on gettin' right to business, are ya? I was planning on showing you guys around Ithome as thanks."

 

"No need," Catriona shook her head, before pausing to reconsider her words. A trustworthy local was always the best person to have with you when exploring a city, and she had no doubt they'd be here for at least a couple days looking for leads. "Perhaps after we visit the library, then."

 

"Sure thing." Jake shrugged, and led them to the gate where the staircase to the upper levels started.

 

Once Catriona had concluded her conversation with Jake, Meifing made her way over to the brooding princess' side.

 

"Lady Catriona, if I may, perhaps I may be of assistance in dealing with this stubborn councilor. I have had dealings him before, and while the last time we met he was but a young boy, I assure or encounter was quite memorable, hohoho..." Meifing chuckled remembering the dazzled look in the boy's eye when she and her family had performed, and how amazed the boy had been when she shown him the magic tricks. Looking back on it those where mere parlor tricks... smoke and mirrors compared to what she could do know... however those parlor tricks might be just what they needed.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The Goddess worshiper was going to follow Penelope? Gunther's suspicions suddenly skyrocketed with how eager he was to be the one to go. Sadly it seemed that no one else found it odd, so Gunther realized with a groan he'd have to try and catch up with them.

"So, Flower Boy. Can you tell me why the group is being all uptight about Farm Boy? Ever since we ran into the archer, y'all have been starin' at him like he was made of demons, Mind fillin' me in?"

Gunther didn't realize he had been so obvious, and couldn't stop the light blush from crawling across his face. "Er, that is..." He better say something, if his suspicious were correct... "I saw a necklace, one with the Goddesses' symbol. If he worships the same Goddess as those who kidnapped Lady Catriona...he might be dangerous. I'm going to try and catch up to them, though...with all this armor." He looked at Asura sheepishly. "Perhaps you could help make sure Penelope is alright?"

 

Whatever the answer, Gunther decided to trudge along ahead, hoping to catch up with Penelope. Luckily the girl had been stopping to chat with random strangers, so he might be able to reach her. Unluckily this meant that Edrick would likely catch up to her even sooner...

[King K. Azo]

 

Asura actually listened to Gunther for once, since he was curious of the answer. He whittled the stick as he listened to his ally explain what possible reason they could have for mistrusting another ally.

 

"I saw a necklace, one with the Goddesses' symbol. If he worships the same Goddess as those who kidnapped Lady Catriona...he might be dangerous. I'm going to try and catch up to them, though...with all this armor." He looked at Asura sheepishly. "Perhaps you could help make sure Penelope is alright?"

Asura blinked once. Twice. Three times. He was really dumbfounded. He had no idea what to say.

"So, because he was born in a region that worships a Goddess of some sort makes him dangerous?" He shook his head before slapping the back of Gunther's playfully. "You people really are something else you know that?" He walked off as he went to catch up with Edrick. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, all you have to do is say so. But no, I'm not guarding the Princess. Imma guard Farm Boy. He's probably in more danger with this group and this city," 

Really, how dumb did Gunther think he was? Like something as simple as worshiping a Goddess made a man dangerous. He would find out the real reason someday though.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Penelope and Edrick's adventure through the city was...surprisingly hectic. They both didn't really know where they were going, and multiple times found themselves on the wrong side of the street, with a crowd of people walking in the opposite direction as them.

Plus, many tried to stop them to talk. Old ladies playfully scolding them, children curious about who they were, young men and women flirting. Penelope took it all in stride, used to interacting with civilians.

Edrick may have had a harder time, but Penelope didn't notice. She hadn't even realized he was close behind her throughout the entire journey. In fact she was so focused on books she hadn't noticed the thief trying to lift her gold...relying on luck, and the possibility of someone looking out for her, to get through the trip unscathed.

 

As she reached the library she was visably shaking with excitement. The place was grand, and it had an energy about it. Anyone who saw it would be able to feel the history practically radiating from its walls. She rushed forward and into the library, running pell-mell through the doors...and right into the guard. A young man who seemed to need a bite to eat. Penelope crashed headlong into him, and fell backwards with a squeak.

"W-wha? Oh, gosh, um...hello there."

 

Gunther groaned at Asura's response. Of course he didn't take him seriously, he was just the royal meat shield, not one whose words needed to be heeded. As he walked away he mumbled and grumbled about stupid mercenaries, then felt bad for it, went back to apologize to Asura without explanation, and continued on his way.

Unfortunately, due to his size, even rushing he only made it to the library a minute earlier than the rest of the group. He went inside, assuming both Edrick and Penelope would be there, and bracing for the worst...

---

Catriona stared at Alois for a moment, before shaking her head and ignoring him with a dismissive "Alright."

"Lady Catriona, if I may, perhaps I may be of assistance in dealing with this stubborn councilor. I have had dealings him before, and while the last time we met he was but a young boy, I assure or encounter was quite memorable, hohoho..."

She wouldn't ignore this one, though. She was unsure how someone who looked that young could have met the councilor long ago, but if she had... "Your experience would be most appreciated. Please, do what you can. However first we should check the library. It would be good to gain some knowledge before wading into this particular battle."

And so she led the group onward to the library. Most of the citizens made way for her, though many cast her strange looks. The more they stared, the more Cat held her head high, determined to not show any weakness.

 

They reached the library as Gunther walked inside, and that's when Cat realized that he, and two others, had gone ahead. Looking at the group she realized the amazon from before had vanished, too...."I have to pay more attention...well, whatever. Perhaps we can hire her aid later if needed. Come on everyone, let's go inside."

[Hakima]

---

---

His time in Ithome had been thoroughly uneventful. Link had managed to find work not long after entering the wall that surrounded the mountain city, serving as one of the guards for their prestigious library. He was told that it was a coveted position, and it certainly paid well enough, but it had been relatively uneventful compared to the time he had spent at the border. He suspected that they had actually employed him because of his service with the Aquila regiment; their fearsome reputation reached even to other countries and kingdoms, it seemed.

 

Still, the peace was not unwelcome. Link had seen enough fighting to last him several lifetimes, and he didn’t feel a desire to draw his blade on a street rat who was trying to steal a book to feed his family. He had executed many bad and inhumane orders, and to this day they haunted his dreams and kept him from sleeping, and he wouldn’t add to it anymore.

 

Speaking of sleepless nights… Link stifled a yawn with his hand, finishing his rounds around the library and stopping at the entrance to take up his position. His body ached and his stomach rumbled in demand for food, but he forced it straighten itself to attention and scan the crowd below the massive steps. Someone would be around to give him relief soon, and then he could go home and possibly rest for a few brief hours. His body was nearing the point that it always did after several sleepless nights, where it could no longer continue to function until he laid down to offer it a short period to recuperate.

 

Link could already feel the cold chills running down his spine at the thought of sleeping. It was a terrifying prospect, and he knew that the nightmares would tear him apart mentally, like they always did. He wasn’t even sure what the blazes they all meant, anymore, but he had been seeing the faces of the soldiers more often. Specifically, two faces, but he didn’t even recognize the second one…

 

The sound of someone light stomping up the stairs at full pace caught Link’s ears, and his head snapped up at a fast enough speed to give him whiplash. His hand jerked up to grip the hilt of his sword over his shoulder, tensing up to face off with whoever it was that was charging him… and then he saw the face that had haunted his nightmares for the last few weeks, and his instincts failed him.

 

Link grunted and did his best to remain upright when the girl slammed into him, but his waning strength was easily overpowered by gravity and the wisp of a girl had a shocking amount of power behind her. The ground rushed up to meet him, and his head snapped back and cracked against the stone loudly. Everything became a bit fuzzier after that, but Link retained enough of his senses to feel his hat come off his head and roll a few feet away from him.

 

"W-whaaaaaa? Oooooh, goooosh, uuuuuuuum...hellllllllllloooooooooo theeeeeeeeereeeeeee."

 

Link groaned and sluggishly moved his hand his head. Something had to have broken inside of his brain when he hit the ground, because nothing was adding up. Why was that girl talking to him in slowmotion? And why did she have Catriona’s face? Was it Catriona? She looked too… too… soft and cuddly. On top of that, he was rather sure that Cat would have done a lot more than hurt his head if she ran him over. It had to just be some kind of brain damage that was causing all of this, it was the only explanation.

 

He shook his head to try and clear his hazy vision, and instantly regretted it, groaning in pain. Okay, so that wasn’t a good idea. He didn’t have time to worry about it, anyways, because Not Cat was staring at him now and he couldn’t afford to stay on the ground any longer. Slowly, he planted a hand on the ground and forced himself to his feet with a gargantuan effort.

 

Feeling accomplished at just that, Link walked over to grab his hat and pulled it down over his ragmop of bright hair. He felt naked without it on.

 

With that taken care of, he turned to face Not Cat, staring at her questioningly. His head was starting to hurt a little bit less, and his ability to think clearly was returning with that. Could this be the sister he had heard of a few times? It didn’t make much sense considering he was nowhere near Galtea anymore, but it was the best that he could come up with.

 

So, Link continued to watch Not Cat (or maybe Penelope) with a pensive look. He hoped that she would explain herself, and why she had almost mentally crippled him.

[spoiler=Score]

Penelope: 1

Link: 0

Game, set, and match.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

It was indeed quite the adventure through the city, chasing after Penelope. The girl was carrying much less than he was, and the fact that she seemed not to be quite so tired as he was served to keep him from ever really catching up to her. He certainly stayed right on her heels, close enough that he never lost her but never close enough to actually tell her that he was following. So it was that Edrick was along for the whole ride, every little turn that took her down the wrong side street, every single crossing at precisely the wrong moment, and, perhaps most embarrassing of all, the flirting. The people here were much more open with their language and expressions of affection than in his homeland. Even in the cities he had visited on occasion, where he had asserted that the people were far too open and public about these sorts of things, he had never been subject to quite such a thing as this. He half-expected that the women, and the surprising number of men, who shouted their catcalls and made unchaste claims about his body were doing it for no other reason than to see him blush. Unsurprisingly, it worked. His face had turned as red as a pickled beet, and that didn't seem to be doing anything about the number of people that were interested in him.

"How does anybody live like this?" He muttered to himself, confounded by how the people could possibly deal with such things on a daily basis. It did occur to Edrick that perhaps they were only doing it to him because he was a new face, and while that did make some more sense to him it did not help to take his mind off of all the attention he was receiving. I would kill to be back on the farm right now... Of course he cut that thought off as quick as it come, remembering the oath he had made not to return until he had gotten his family's horse back. Thankfully, the Goddess provided him with a challenge which he was more than familiar with how to handle: a thief trying to pick the princess' pockets. So it was that, out there in front of all the people who just would not leave him alone, that he bounded forward a few more strides and struck the man forcefully in the side of the neck with his fist. "Try making an honest living instead!" He shouted, bounding over the person whom he'd struck to the ground without stopping to try and see if they were unconscious. That was just more proof of why he needed to follow Penelope so closely.

 

Further proof of that came when he finally caught up to her just inside the doors of the great library, finding that she had bowled over one of the guards stationed there. The man, seemingly a good bit older than Edrick in spite of his smaller stature, was... unusual to put it mildly. He stuck out from the rest of the people of Ithome as much as the merry band of misfits he'd come along with. Furthermore, the man bore a shield that was unmistakably a standard-issue Galtean soldier's, though he could not place the insignia on it immediately. The sight before him was so bizarre that the young farmer merely stood there staring for a few seconds as he tried to make sense of what he was looking at. Was the man sent from Galtea to find the princesses? If so, why was he alone? If not, why was he there in the first place?

 

"So uh..." He managed to say when he finally shook off the confusion that had left him paralyzed, "Is he a friend of yours, Penelope?" Edrick's accent most likely gave away his origins, but he didn't especially care in the here and now. He just wanted to make sense of what was going on in front of him. Though...exhaustion has a funny way of catching up with people. Now that he'd been standing still for a time, the initial confusion was no longer enough to distract him from the fact that he had been running almost as fast as his tired legs could carry him for the better part of the last ten minutes as he tried to catch up to the princess. The aforementioned limbs gave out, but the farmer managed to catch himself on his hands to avoid smashing his tail bone against the hard ground. This did, of course, necessitate letting go of his spear, and he barely managed to catch it again before it fell and possibly bounced off to where it could hurt someone. "Sweet breath of the Goddess, why did I let you talk me into wearing this armor? I can barely move in this nonse-" he realized what the oath he had just said in that moment... and remembered what his father had told him about Galtean soldiers whose shields had the crest of a grey wolf on them. "I mean...uhhh..." Nope, he couldn't think of a way out of this.