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

[King K. Azo]

 

Asura shook his head as he walked down the street at a brisk pace. Stupid Gunther for thinking he was stupid. Stupid city for being so cool. Stupid city for being home to nothing but finely dressed wimps. He played it off as cool, but he was inwardly fuming. He didn’t appreciate Gunther lying to him as he did. Seriously, Farm Boy being dangerous because he was born in a place with some Goddess dodad? Dumbest thing he had ever heard. The boy couldn’t even carry his armor!

Then Gunther came, apologized for something, and walked off. Asura blinked at this small exchange. What was that…? Maybe he felt sorry for lying? Too bad, he was still pissed!

Well, one thing even a city as well kept as this still had was its lowlife, as someone tried to steal from the Bookworm. Thankfully, Farm Boy stopped said thief and got the stuff back. Seriously, how was this boy a danger? The bookworm then ran into a guard with an admittedly great hat, but not as great as his orange bandanna! Nothing was a great as it! Still, hat was a close second.

Asura looked over the guard in front of him, suddenly becoming noticeably spooked as he noticed something. Where someone may have saw a poor sleep deprived man, Asura saw a warrior that had fought hundreds of battles, one that had stared death in the face and laughed.

The nomadic swordsman reached for his blade, only to realize it was missing. He must have left it in the wagon, as he needed the speed to catch up with Farm Boy and Book Worm. So instead, he drew his mighty stick, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

"Farm boy,” Asura said in a serious tone, something he had not had once this whole trip. “Get Alois, tell him to grab me my sword out of the wagon. Not the Bronze one, the one with the red handle… this guard is no ordinary guard…,”

He wasn’t sure how this fight would turn out, but he knew this guard could be trouble if he didn’t distract him now. For once, he wasn’t sure if he could win. Perhaps, he finally found that challenge he was always looking for.

[Alaina]

After Alois had assured Cat that she was not alone in her battle against height, she simply nodded as she barely acknowledged his statement. After that, he saw that pansy face and Asura just sort of started running through the crowd as well. Alois could appreciate a good book, but he couldn't quite fathom an entire party of people who would just charge the library. Shrugging, he decided to just continue walking alongside Cat and that other girl that he had kind of forgotten was even there to begin with. As the trio continued to walk through the city, Alois continued to notice the aura about the place. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the trio still stood out like a sore thumb. The gaze of the crowd was practically the same no matter how far they continued to walk, and while Cat seemed to hold her head high, Alois only returned the looks with a slight scowl across his face. Eventually though, they had made there way through the city and gotten to library without too much difficulty. 

 

As they got there, Alois could only sigh and be a bit perplexed at the scene before him. Letting out a, "huh," he just sort of stared at something he couldn't quite understand. There was Asura, poised and ready to fight someone whom he had no recollection of ever meeting. The man in question didn't seem to really send any signals off in Alois's head as an enemy, aside from the fact that Alois had to look up to completely see his head, but the fact that Asura wanted to challenge him wasn't exactly the strangest part of what he saw. It was the fact that he ready to do battle with....a stick. "Asura," his voice was a slight mixture of annoyance and confusion. "What the hell are you doing?" As he continued to walk closer, he wanted to give the man a smack on the head but....he was mostly confined to the back, and that would probably only be one of reassurance. He didn't quite mind Asura having a tendency to fight everything that breathed, but Alois wasn't all that big a fan of crowds. And this was sure to only draw a bigger crowd around them. 

 

His expression still one of slight confusion, he turned towards the littlest princess. "Oh, you're still out here. Shouldn't you be like," he gestured towards the entrance of the library, "reading or something by now. Instead of watching," he then sort of waved his hand around as gesture towards the two swordsman, "whatever this is." 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Penelope rubbed her bottom, having landed on it suddenly, as she stood. The man seemed to have taken the hit worse, to which Penelope felt bad. "I'm sorry about that, see, books...Um." She flushed a bit before a spark of inspiration hit her. "Did you know that, in the case of an accident involving people running into each other, the ruling is 70% more likely to be in favor of the one who was in motion?" Got em. She noticed that the boy was looking at her in recognition, and wondered if maybe he knew who she was. The next thought was if that was a good, or bad, thing.
"Is he a friend of yours, Penelope?"
She didn't get much time to ponder the question, as Edrick had shown up right behind them. "Oh, hello. Er, friend?" She looked towards the boy. "Maybe? Do I know you? I think he knows me. Do you know me?"
She was so intent on staring at the young man she almost, almost, missed what Edrick said next. "Wait...you...you are...You're complaining about the armor ALREADY?" She then proceeded to lecture the boy on the many positives of armor, all the while the young man was still standing there.
Penelope only stopped when the door opened once more.
 
Gunther, huffing and puffing, entered the library to see...nothing really. Penelope seemed alright, and in fact was apparently scolding Edrick. There was another man there, though. A stranger, with a weapon, in a library? He didn't seem very threatening, however. In fact he seemed to just be watching. "Oh hello Gunther, nice of you to join us, Edrick is an idiot, and this is some guy, welcome." Gunther made his way next to Penelope, and split his attention between looking at the stranger, and Edrick...until he noticed the stranger's shield. "Um, yeah, hi. Penelope, look." He pointed out the shield, to which Penelope gasped.
"Oh, goodness, you're a Galtean soldier then? And from that regiment at that. I guess that explains the recognition, though, I don't think I actually met anyone from that regiment directly...Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I suppose I should make sure Catriona meets you, stay there, I'll go get her."

Gunther raised his hand, about to tell her not to bother, and that going back out on her own was a bad idea, and that dang it he was dying over here after chasing her...but he lowered it. This was Penelope, she did whatever she would do, he should just save his breath at this point.

And with the profound luck only available to Penelope, as she made her way to the door, it opened again, and the rest of the group came in. And...Asura immediately challenged the soldier. Penelope felt she probably should stop that, but...that would mean she'd have to get in the middle of a confrontation. And, if the rumors of that regiment were true, the man would be perfectly fine. And, in any case, Gunther was here. She trusted him to make sure no one killed each other.
 
"Oh, you're still out here. Shouldn't you be like, reading or something by now. Instead of watching, whatever this is."
 
"Ah, you're right, thanks for reminding me. I'll be off then!" She looked at Catriona. "Hey, come over here and meet...Generic Soldier Number One." She waved towards the young man they had met, and then started off farther into the library.
 
Cat was somewhat overwhelmed by all the excitement that had suddenly cropped up, but there was something that was more important. She knew this man. Catriona nodded at the young man. "Link, what are you doing here?"

[Hakima]

---

---

Link listened to Penelope stumble through her apology, and subsequent lie, surprisingly calmly given that moments before she had almost cracked his head open like an egg. He nodded to symbolize his acceptance of her apology as she fell silent, deciding this woman was most definitely not Catriona. She was much too talkative and expressive, at least to his trained eye. The Soldier had never been able to read Cat, not unless she took down her walls willingly, a feat he had never seen her do in the few years he had known her.

 

"Is he a friend of yours, Penelope?" A man appeared beside Penelope, simultaneously causing Link to take one step back and confirming his suspicions about who the girl was. It explained the startling resemblance that she had, and Link didn’t dwell on it long, because he was more focused on the newcomer. He was larger than Link by a good few inches, but something about him seemed off; it was like he wasn’t comfortable in his own skin. Link looked back at Penelope, curious how she would respond.

 

"Oh, hello. Er, friend?" She looked at him, and Link didn’t flinch under her confused gaze. It seemed she wasn’t very sure if she recognized him, or more likely, she didn’t want to be impolite and admit she had forgotten him. "Maybe? Do I know you? I think he knows me. Do you know me?"

 

The soldier shook his head softly, his hat sliding a bit as he did. Link reached up to adjust it and pulled it farther onto his head. Afterwards, seeing that she was still watching him, he raised a hand to clear his throat, deciding that it was a much simpler solution to simply speak to her. His mouth started to open, drawing in air to form a sentence, and---

 

The uncomfortable man from before suddenly buckled to the ground, his armor clattering and javelin rattling against the floor with a noise loud enough to wake the dead. Link’s voice died in his throat, and he watched, concerned and ready to assist if he was needed. Had he been injured chasing after Princess Penelope? Where they under attack? A voice in the back of his whispered yes, and Link found his hand ghosting up to wrap around the hilt of his sword. He took a step forward, cautiously, eyeing everything in the surrounding area suspiciously.

 

"Sweet breath of the Goddess, why did I let you talk me into wearing this armor?” Link sighed in relief and let his hand fall back to his side when the truth of the situation was revealed. The teenager was not accustomed to wearing armor, and had apparently tried running in it. The soldier’s knees and back ached in sympathy, recalling the first time he had donned armor for the first time. It was a painful adjustment, but it was well worth it.  "I can barely move in this nonse-"

 

The young man fell silent abruptly, and Link could feel his gaze on the shield buckled to his arm. A look of recognition flickered across the boy’s face at the crest of the Aquila regiment, but it was replaced by a nervous one before Link was even sure he had seen it. He frowned, wondering what he had done to put him on edge. Unless… he thought he was in danger because he was in the presence of a Galtean. Link could tell he was from Pontus, a combination of his accent and the way he held himself, but it had just been a passing thought. Why would he attack him? This wasn’t a war zone, and he seemed to be a friend of the princess, which severely outranked a soldier in levels of Galtean-ness.

 

Link didn’t think on it much longer, because Penelope began to shout at him about the perks of wearing armor, with a long list of reasons that the pros outweighed the cons. He chuckled himself watching her, quiet and unheard by all but the sharpest of ears, amused by her antics. She seemed a lively one to be around. Her logic about the armor was also sound, but he wondered if she had ever worn a set. It was borderline unmanageable the first few days, until you had full adjusted to the extra weight and restricted movement. It also left a nasty rash, if you didn’t fit it right…

 

He shuddered, remembering how bad his chest had looked after a day of marching and his armor chafing the whole way. It was not something he liked to remember, but thankfully, Link was distracted when the door to the library was opened once again.

 

A tall, broad-shouldered man stood in the doorway, heaving to catch his breath. He wore a suit of heavy plate armor that made each movement sound like an armory had suddenly grown legs, but what caught Link’s eye the most was how innocent he looked. Something about his face… He seemed to gravitate toward the princess, eyeing the boy on her other side inconspicuously.

 

The library was getting too loud and crowded for his tastes already, but Link was at ease around the knight. Penelope greeted him as he approached them. "Oh hello Gunther, nice of you to join us, Edrick is an idiot, and this is some guy, welcome." Gunther, as he apparently called, studied Link for a moment and his eyes eventually landed on the shield. He muttered a greeting, and then immediately directed the princess attention to the shield.

 

Penelope gasped, seemingly surprised. Link raised his arm to look at the shield himself, wondering why everyone was so caught up in it today. He was proud of his time at the border, of his service to the country, and he was proud of his regiment.

 

"Oh, goodness, you're a Galtean soldier then? And from that regiment at that. I guess that explains the recognition, though, I don't think I actually met anyone from that regiment directly...Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I suppose I should make sure Catriona meets you, stay there, I'll go get her."

 

Link reached out a hand to stop her, but she was gone before he could explain the situation. Gunther seemed to have had a similar problem. Link stood there awkwardly, unsure of what do, and wondering if Cat was actually present. He would have said no, that it was impossible ten minutes before, but he had already been speaking with one of the girls that ruled his homeland just a moment before. It would not have been that strange for the other to be close behind.

 

A small part of him hoped that she was, because a friend might do him some good in the long run, but the larger part told him that she most likely didn’t even remember him. Even if they had served together, she had a life to go back to, unlike him.

 

And, before he could follow that depressing train of thought any further, the door flew open again. There was several people this time, but Link didn’t have time to observe them all before everything went to hell in a handbasket. One of them started shouting at another to fetch a sword, and then grabbed a stick and moved up to him, looking serious as death.

 

Link moved into a more defensible position, aligning his back with one of the tables so that no one could sneak up on him if it came down to it. His hand went for his sword again, but it was slowly and reluctantly. Why did this man want to fight him with a stick? His head was starting to hurt again.

 

Before the man could force the situation into violence, another, shorter and more compact guy, walked up to him and acted as the voice of reason. "Asura," he began, sounding more tired than alarmed. Was this a normal thing? "What the hell are you doing?" Finally, someone was making sense! Link once again lowered his hand to his side, but he was still on guard in case the man known as Asura tried anything. He was not eager to get smacked in the head, especially not with a stick.

 

The library door opened a final time, but this time, it was a welcome face that came through. Catriona had an air that not many people would choose to argue with, and as soon as she entered, the place seemed to become less chaotic. Or maybe Link just thought of it that way, used to looking to her as a comrade.  "Link, what are you doing here?"

 

His voice failed him once again. In a weak effort, Link shrugged, pointing to his shield and then the library, as if to say he was guarding the place.

 

Spirits, he thought his was going to be a normal day when he came to work.

[King K. Azo]

 

"Asura," Alois called out. Good, he could make himself of some use by getting his damn sword. "What the hell are you doing?"

"'What the hell am I doing?'?" Asura repeated. "You don't sense it?" He asked. "This man...," His grip tightened on his stick. "You can't sense his overwhelming presence...?" it reminded him of the elder swordsmen in his home village. They had an aura of strength, something that could be felt that made lesser men feel weak and afraid. He didn't know who he was, but he knew he had to tread carefully here.   

 

"Link, what are you doing here?" Cat Princess had walked in as well and asked that question. So, she knew this man? It made sense, and should have of been comforting, yet Asura felt no comfort. These people seemed to have a problem with Farm Boy for some reason he just couldn't fathom, and he wouldn't let these people hurt him for such a reason. 'Link' then motioned to his shield. Yes... people with that marking on this shield seemed to have problems with their armored farmer.

"Alois, please, just get me Medea--- I mean, my Killing Edge!" Asura called out. Crap, he slipped up. Asura then noticed Link shrugging. A truly skilled man would shrug to lull his opponent into a false sense of security before he attacked. Asura dashed , standing in front of Edrick, ready to do battle with a stick. Oh boy... this was going to be fun, wouldn't it?

[Alaina]

As Penne ran off into the library, Alois was getting ready to follow behind as he heard Asura yell out to him. He started to rant about the man having some kind of overwhelming presence or something, and Alois completely lost track of what was going on in the man's head. He looked back at the other "combatant," who was apparently referred to as "Link." Alois just kind of tried to asses him, and the only thing he could possibly tell about him that lent itself to any sort of danger was that he had a sword. And that wasn't exactly some kind of warrior god privilege. Other than that, he seemed like a completely lanky and unassuming fellow. Looking back to Asura, he just shrugged and said, "I don't see it." Eventually, though, Asura's wrath towards this fellow escalated to the point where he wanted him to throw him his most lethal sword to do battle with a guy in a library. 

 

Alois just stood there, dumbfounded, while he tried to even think of a proper response. "No." He flatly said. "If you're going to fight someone in book world, then it's going to be with that stick." He wasn't in the particular mood to watch blood coat the area. He then looked to Cat, Pansy-Face and Eddy, saying, "this is your problem now." Walking past the two fighters, Alois called out to the green garbed one saying, "careful about that guy. He's a fast one." And with that delved deeper into the library. 

 

As he walked around, he had wondered how long it had been since he had been in such a place. Now away from the fighting, it did well to calm his nerves and gave him a slight sense of familiarity that he hadn't had in quite some time. Looking at all the spines of the books, he briefly thought that it was a shame that he could only stay here for a bit. But, when the princesses got on the move, he had to follow. At this thought, he briefly stopped in his tracks. Wait. Why did he have to follow them? It wasn't like he was contractually obligated to do so, nor was he particularly close to any of them. He had just managed to walk into them on the start of his journey. After thinking about it for a bit, he just shook the question out of his head, figuring that it was pretty much pointless to do otherwise, and continued through the library. 

 

As he was browsing through the books, he eventually found one that caught his eye. Pulling it out of the shelf, he looked at the cover of the book in confusion. It was titled "Horses: Human's Fiercest Predator?" and was written by some crackpot author who went by "L.C.C." Morbidly curious about the contents, Alois was tempted to read it, but just ended up putting the book back in its shelf. Right, they were here to search for a specific kind of book. Something to do with some Great Dragon or something...Alois thought about it for a moment. What was a dragon? 

 

He knew that they were something that existed in some legends and were probably scaly...but other than that, he was clueless on the subject. If he were to find anything, he'd probably need to figure that out first. So he decided to look for the littlest princess instead. She seemed to be knowledgeable when it came to books, so he'd probably have better luck near her than by himself. Walking deeper into the library, he eventually found the girl burying herself in the contents of the library and walked towards her. "Yo Penne," he called out. Unlike the usual snide attitude that was in his voice when addressing her, this was more just a general curious one. "Find anything worth reading yet?" 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Gunther looked between Asura and Link, back and forth, starting to grow uncomfortable. “Damn it, it was easier to talk to the prisoners than these two.” He looked to Cat, hoping she’d do something. He felt out of his element. Neither of these two seemed like the type that would just give up if someone like him asked them to.
Alois and Penelope wandered off, and Gunther groaned. Luckily he felt significantly more comfortable with Alois protecting Penelope than Edrick. That boy was starting to grow in Gunther’s esteem...though, how much that was worth was still uncertain.

The knight decided he’d just stay silent and watch, and if he had to...well, he could always put himself in between the two. He was good at taking hits after all. In the meantime, Meifing had been silent all this time. He didn’t know exactly how to approach her, but figured he should try. “So, uh, books, am I right?” He said awkwardly.

Meanwhile Penelope was practically skipping as she looked through all the books, picking up them at random and tucking them under her arm. She was looking around for a spot to sit and read, when she decided just to sit against a bookcase.

As she cracked open a book, “Goddess, or Hallucination, a Study of Drug Use in Pontus” and was barely three pages in, Alois came up and greeted her.

She immediately launched into her fact giving voice. “Did you know, there’s a plant in Pontus called ‘Goddess Candy’ which makes people believe they are a farm animal? I wonder why farm specifically...”

Alois stopped in his tracks at the odd fact. They thought they had a plant that could make you an animal? People from Pontus were weird ones, definitely. “That so?” His voice didn’t seem to be too interested in the fact, and he didn’t really care about why it would be on a farm specifically either. He then tried to shift the conversation to a different topic. “So, you seem to really like it in here.”

Penelope pouted at the boy’s tone. How could he resist the power of random facts like that? She was tempted to ignore him, out of spite, but couldn’t resist answering. “Well yeah, look, books everywhere. Isn’t it great? There’s nothing I love more than books after all.”

“Damn right, they’re great.” He slid his hand across the spines of the shelved books before continuing, with a noticeably more enthused voice than before. “Nothing quite beats cracking one open when it’s just nice and quiet around.”

A shocked pause. Wait what? Penelope hadn’t expected such a response. He was right, of course, but she wasn’t sure he knew how to read. She looked to the side in slight embarrassment as she realized she had been thinking such rude thoughts. But the moment passed quickly, and she soon was looking up at Alois, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. “I know, right? Everyone else seems to think it’s weird, maybe I underestimated you…”

Alois cocked his head to the side with an expression that seemed to be of slight irritation and confusion. “Underestimated?” He quickly let it pass though, going back to what she had said prior. “But yeah, I think I get what that feels like. Some people just don’t understand, I guess.” His look briefly went distant, as he refocused back to the party member at hand. “So, Penne, whatcha looking at here?”

Penelope could just barely repress a smirk, the opportunity was there, and she’d use it. “Well first, you really can’t blame me for underestimating you. 70% of those who take the Fighter Class are unable to read after all. Congratulations, you’re a cut above...at least in academics.” She added slyly. Without any pause in between, she thrust the book up at Alois. “This.” Then she grabbed another title, thrust it up at him as well. “And this...and all these.” She gestured with her chin at the small pile on the floor which, somehow, managed to grow as they sat there.

While the princess seemed to be spouting out facts as usual, Alois couldn’t help but sigh in resignation towards this one. If the people he used to fight with were any indication, she probably wasn’t too far off with that. He then was shocked by the book suddenly be thrust towards his face, only to be shocked at the incredibly large stack behind her. As he walked towards it, and examined a few, he couldn’t help but mutter out, “maybe I’ve underestimated you too.”

He then grabbed one, sat down, and started skimming through the pages. He hadn’t seen a title quite like this back home, and it only made Alois more reluctant about their transient stay here. Sighing, closing the book in the process, his face was suddenly determined as he looked up again at the girl. “How much of a hit can our money supply take right now?”

A mischievous glint appeared in the girl’s eyes at the Fighter’s words. “Well I’ll have to make sure we get the supplies we’ve used up back but...Catriona doesn’t pay much attention to what we spend on. If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, I’m sure she won’t notice a few...personal purchases.”

Alois returned her words with a smirk and thumbs up. “And she definitely won’t notice with uh,” he gestured in the direction of the sword fighters, “whatever that is going on.” Looking at the stack beside him, rummaging through them to find whatever stood out the most, he looked back to the girl, nodding. “Let’s get to work.”

[Asriel Dreemurr]

 

Well, that was certainly relieving. Instead of his little slip up with bringing up the Goddess ending with somebody trying to put a sword in him, it ended with Penelope scolding him for complaining about the armor. It was such a relief he could have laughed out loud, but he was too busy sucking air to do more than smile. Also, now that he'd stopped long enough to actually take his mind off the fact that he'd been trying to get himself moving in that armor he took notice of something else. An unpleasant stinging sensation on the inside of his thighs...and his armpits...and over his chest...and now that he was paying attention it was hard to think of any place on his body that was not subject to the painful sensation. Sure, there were places where it wasn't so bad and it was at its worst where his armor had move to slide around, but the better part of his body was chafed.

 

"I need to get some armor that actually sodding fits..." he muttered, having forgotten that Penelope was busy lecturing him, before he forced himself to his feet with no small amount of gritting his teeth. That was also when he finally took notice of the arrival of some others. Asura first of all, who was busy asking for him to go and get his sword because the guard wasn't ordinary. "Brilliant idea, Asura. Pick a fight in the middle of a city where we've been getting funny looks. With a guard." His voice was dripping with sarcasm, and when the others showed up a short while later there were some other voices of reason. Alois specifically had problems with Asura wanting to fight the guard, especially when he mentioned wanting the killing edge of all weapons. The farm boy would have covered his face with one of his palms, if he wasn't busy holding onto his spear with both hands in the hopes of staying up under the weight of both exhaustion and the armor he was wearing. He was about to make his way into the library, in the hopes of finding a more comfortable place to sit down than there on the stone floor of the entryway, when Asura stepped in front of him brandishing a stick. A goddess-forsaken stick of all things! He was really beginning to question the man's intelligence.

 

"Asura," he said, placing a hand heavily on the man's shoulder as much to support his own weight as to get the idiot's attention, "let me tell you a few things about the situation we're in. The man in front of you is a guard. He is employed by the city guard, and stationed here at the library. If you fight him, you'll cause a commotion. That commotion will attract more guards, and before long we'll be surrounded by well armored, well armed, rested men and women who have been bored out of their minds all day just waiting for something like this to happen. More than likely, they'll have halberds. The end result of this is you either dead or arrested, and the rest of us arrested and questioned for our apparent involvement with you. The best case scenario here is all of us being kicked out of the city and told not to go back, and that would mean the effort of actually getting here went to waste. So, for the sake of everyone, use the brain the Goddess gave you and don't fight in the city unless we're attacked." He gave the swordsman an open-handed smack to the back of the head, not unlike his father would give him when he did something foolish, and made his way into the library with an odd gait to his step as he tried to avoid making the chafing to his legs any worse than it already had been.

[King K. Azo]

 
Asura was doing his best to keep his cool. Yes, he was facing down someone who obviously had more experience than him... yes, the others didn't seem to care, and yes, he was using a goddamn stick. Still, he wasn't going to let anyone hurt Farm Boy over some stupid reason like some Goddess or whatever! He would stand his ground until the bitter---
 
"Asura," he heard Farm Boy say as he placed a hand heavily his shoulder. Poor guy must not be used to the armor yet. "let me tell you a few things about the situation we're in. The man in front of you is a guard," Well, that much was obvious, seeing how he was guarding the place. Just because he lived in the plains did not mean he was an idiot. "He is employed by the city guard, and stationed here at the library. If you fight him, you'll cause a commotion. That commotion will attract more guards, and before long we'll be surrounded by well armored, well armed, rested men and women who have been bored out of their minds all day just waiting for something like this to happen," He couldn't argue that. He'd be the same way. "More than likely, they'll have halberds," Ah, yes, those things. The bane of any swordsman. "The end result of this is you either dead or arrested, and the rest of us arrested and questioned for our apparent involvement with you. The best case scenario here is all of us being kicked out of the city and told not to go back, and that would mean the effort of actually getting here went to waste. So, for the sake of everyone, use the brain the Goddess gave you and don't fight in the city unless we're attacked." Asura was then on the receiving end of an open-handed smack to the back of the head, not unlike the one he just gave Gunther. Huh. So that's what irony felt like... a slap to the back of the head.

"That's what I was doing!!" Asura snapped. He never attacked the guard (that was probably suicide), only prepared to defend. What was wrong with these people? "I'm doing my best to protect you from these people that really don't seem to like you, and I highly doubt this," he motioned to Catriona and Guther, "group would defend you if people did attack, because they don't seem to trust you for some reason they refuse to tell me!" he shook his head. "Fine, whatever! I don't need you people looking down on dumb ol', bloodthirsty Asura. Heaven forbid he was trying to help someone!" he snapped as he threw the stick, which got embedded pointy end first into a bookcase. He grumbled as he headed to the doors, throwing them open and storming out of that damn library. 

He headed to the wagon, grabbing Medea and headed into the crowds. He needed to get away before he exploded.

[Hakima]

---

---

They were bickering amongst themselves. It may not have been loud to their ears, but Link was accustomed to total silence within the walls of the library, and it was deafening to him. Armor rustling with each step, buckles of swords and shields and lances clanging with each shift of their bodies, voices raised in argument and bouncing off the walls of the house of knowledge. One of the sounded condescending, tired and like he was speaking to a child. It was the Pontian, his accent unmistakable, resonating deep in the soldier’s mind. He had heard the same accent filled with a lot more anger, and he had heard the same accent crying or spewing dying curses for nearly six years.

 

Link closed his eyes, balling his hands into his fists and taking a deep breath. He had a job to do, and his relief hadn’t arrived for their shift yet. He managed to force the memories down, but it was hard on his tired body, and his mind seemed to be fighting against him in a losing battle.

 

Another voice thundered out across the library. This one was a roar, making no attempt at hiding their anger or trying to restrain themselves. He didn’t recognize the accent, but he knew that it was the man who had taken an offensive stance against him with the stick with opening his eyes. What had his name been? Link tried to push back the fog and focus on that. Sakura, Saiku, Aserin.. Asorin? No, no, Asura. That was what it had been.

 

Something flew by his face and struck the bookcase behind him with a thunk, the wind from the narrow miss hitting his face softly and causing his eyes to flutter open. The stick from before was embedded a few inches into the wood of the bookcase, marring on the ornate swirls that had been carved into it before anyone of them had been born to make it look prettier. Link’s shoulders slumped forward, too tired to scold the already emotional group for one little offense they had committed in the heat of the moment. He wrapped a gloved hand around the stick and, gently, he pulled it from the bookcase, careful not to damage the property further.

 

Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that the swordsmen could have very well killed him, if the damaged bookcase was any indication of what the stick was capable of, but Link was beyond the threshold of exhaustion that left him with any ability to care about something so trivial. He tucked the stick into his belt and turned on his heels, flinching visibly at the library door slamming so loudly and fighting back another bout of nausea, before making his way back to where the majority stood. He needed to do a headcount and make sure he knew that no one else held a notion to attack inanimate objects, like their companion Asura had just done.

 

Link ended up doing a patrol around the entire library to locate all of them.  The Pontian had elected to find a table to seat himself at and seemed to be enjoying being off his feet, and the soldier decided to leave the boy to unwind, partially out of a sense of empathy toward the pain he was in, but mostly because he wasn’t eager to confront him and deal with the tension in the air because of their nationalities. Link knew that Catriona and the knight known as Gunther had both remained at the front of the library, and he had confidence in their discipline and trusted that he didn’t have to check in on them just yet. That left..

 

Her Highness, Princess Penelope, and the stout boy from earlier whose name he believed to be Alois. He had more trouble in locating them, because neither of them garbed themselves in loud clothing and they apparently seemed to possess a control of their voices and had decided to dial it down, but eventually their hushed whispers lead him to them in their own little corner of the library. Link froze in place before he could step around the corner, the heel of his boot suspended in mid-air, watching the pair. They seemed so… so excited, reminding him of the way he had planned practical jokes on older members at the barracks when he had been a much more carefree recruit. It left a warm feeling in his chest to see such pure, unadulterated enjoyment, the first time he had felt anything but a numb coldness since Epona had passed away.

 

Link overheard them planning to attempt and purchase books, and he knew that the library had no intention to sell any of their collection (they guarded their books more greedily than the Great Dragon himself), but he couldn’t find it in him to ward them off from their plan. They would find it on their own, in due time, but for now he would allow them to just live in the moment. He hoped they treasured it; it was so easy to overlook such simple things when all the chips were down and the grand scheme of things was revealed, but the only thing that would hold you down in the most desperate fights was the drive to protect that little bit of warmth. It was the reason why soldiers fought so hard to defend their home, their family, their lives; their fleeting sense of happiness.

 

He stealthed away from the two without a sound, save for the almost inaudible noise of his chainmail chinking very quietly against his tunic when he turned around. Link returned to the front of the library, not surprised to find both Catriona and Gunther still there, but he chose to look towards the Knight instead of his Princess. Something he was not able to explain was causing him to dread having to explain himself to Cat, to tell her of Epona and the increases in battle at the border as of late, and most of all, to tell her that he was losing his mind and he couldn’t help it. Link also doubted she had any goods news for him, if she was here.

 

So, Link motioned for Gunther to join him at one of the tables away from the door, and eased himself into seat a bit uncomfortably. He had taken his sword off his back to lean it up against the table, and unstrapped his shield to lay it down as well, watching the younger Knight to see his reaction to a much closer inspection of the banner splayed on his shield. Finally, he cleared his throat, and spoke for the first time since he had taken the job at the library.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Gunther. My name is Link, formerly of the Garou Regiment of the Galtean army.” Link gave a slight pause to clear his throat and rub it softly. His voice was quiet, with a barely discernible tinge of an accent that gave away his rural upbringing in Galtea, and it was obvious from listening to him struggle that he rarely ever spoke. Still, Link’s voice carried across the table easily, surprisingly commanding in spite of his struggle and softness. “Can I ask your rank, and why the crowned heirs are here in a library in Ithome with a Pontian, a man brandishing a stick,” At this he pointed toward his waist, where the stick was currently tucked away, “that he used to cut a hole into a bookcase after having a screaming match, and yourself, wearing full plate in the middle of the day in a city?”

 

Link lapsed into silence after that, still massaging his throat. That was more than he had talked in an entire year, but it was well worth it if he finally got some answers to clear up his headache and make sure he wasn’t dreaming. This had proven to be quite an eventful day, and - why had his relief still not shown up?!

[JessicaMuddy]

 

"Hey, Tari, since yer' doing a whole lotta nothing, do ya mind running an errand?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Just to pick up a couple supplies." The man sat up out of his chair, and waddled over to Tarizo, handing her a list of foods.

"Getting me to do your shopping?" She said jokingly.

"Well, ever since my bad back put me outta commission, I barely leave the house. Do ya mind?"

"Nah. I'll be back in a bit!" And with that, Tari stepped back outside, and started running through the crowds, trying to get to her destination as quickly as possible. She knew the city off by heart, and knowing that the shops began to get real busy in a little bit meant Tari had to get in and out as quickly as possible, lest she get stuck in the painfully slow line at the bakers.

 

As she turned a corner, however, Tari knocked heads with a man, causing her to stumble backwards. Looking at who it was, she realized it was one of the men from the party she ran into earlier, and a smile shone upon her face. "Oh, hey! Sorry for bumping heads... Are you doing anything important right now? If not wanna walk with me? It's better than doing nothing!" As per usual, Tari's mouth preceded her thoughts, blurting out anything it deemed even slightly worth blurting out.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Cat groaned as Asura left in a fit of...was that rage? Somewhat surprising from him, though, she hadn't gotten to know him very well. Perhaps that was more commonplace than she thought. She wasn't sure how she felt about Edrick's interruption. It wasn't exactly his job, and he was a stranger for the most part. But, perhaps the time he spent talking with Asura earlier made him a good choice for stopping a potential stupid action?

Though, Catriona herself felt that if Asura wanted to take that action, he should have done it and then learned from his mistake. Link wouldn't have taken that lightly, after all.

 

She was still kind of shocked to discover he was working at a library as a guard, but it soon passed. It sort of suited him actually. She watched him wander throughout the library with a slight smile. It felt good to be around someone she knew, and more importantly, a fellow soldier. She didn't interrupt his conversation with Gunther, though, that knight could use some interactions like that. She was surprised by how much Link spoke, however.

Catriona made her way through the library, after glancing over at the sleeping Edrick. He was in his armor still...Catriona shook her head, well, he'd certainly learn from this experience. She found Penelope and Alois, with concerning looks of mischievousness on their faces. She reminded them that they were there looking for information about the Great Dragon, and told them sternly they should focus on that. She headed back to the front. She had to make sure Asura didn't get completely lost, after all...

 

Gunther stared for a moment at Link. "I, uh, didn't...think you could talk." Gunther scratched his head, pondering the question. What rank? "I'm just a soldier, nothing special...Well, I guess I'm temporarily Princess Penelope's guard, but...uh, does that count?" Gunther laughed awkwardly, then stopped abruptly. "We're here...looking for information. I don't know how much I'm allowed to say...Oh, but don't mind Asura he's a mercenary we hired. A bit, what's the word, hot-headed? But...anyway, sorry about all this. I'm sure it's a bother, you probably were wanting a more peaceful day on the job. If there's anything I can do to help make it up to you, just ask, alright?"

[Alaina]

When he had decided to go traveling the world, this was not one of the places he had imagined himself being in. A library as grand as this, where all kinds of books on all different kinds of topics were at his disposal. The smell of paper in the air, the visual of row after row of books lining the walls and just the prospect of being able to relax in quiet brought to him a familiar, yet pleasant feeling. And to share it with a kindred spirit wasn't all that bad either. As the two of them kept looking through books that they thought would be interesting, the taller of the sisters had found them. After she gave a bit of stern talking to to them, Alois let out a bit of a sigh at the notion of having to actually get on with "relevant tasks" and "finding out about the dragon" so that they could "stop some evil goddess." As she left, Alois just muttered out a, "buzzkill." 

 

Turning to Penne he said, "well, guess we got to look up more on this dragon. So, guess we should split up to cover more ground here." As he started to walk away, he quickly turned around to look to the books and her, giving her a thumbs up in the process. "I believe in you to finish our purchase." With that, he started to walk away from the scene and look at the books. Dragons. Dragons. Dragons. Nope, nothing here was on dragons that he could immediately see. Thinking back on it, he remembered that dragons were probably like wyverns. So, if there was a section that they would be in, it would be the one on wyverns...probably? Regardless, a plan was better than no plan. And so with that in mind, he resolved to find out what he could on wyverns!...Now where the hell was that section? 

 

As he wandered around, he eventually found himself back at the main entrance where he noticed a surprising lack of...well anything. The commotion from earlier had seemed to die down, and with it, Asura was nowhere to be found. Alois shrugged at that, thinking the guy was probably swinging his sword elsewhere and away from the books. Then there was the one other guy who was asleep, which was understandable given the atmosphere of the place. However, the person he was most interested here was that green garbed guy that was talking with pansy-face. While they seemed to be in the middle of some kind of discussion, Alois obviously didn't care enough.

 

Giving a short nod to pansy-face to signify he was the one who the conversation was being directed at, said, "yo flower boy. Hate to do this to you, but can I steal your man for a sec? Thanks." Looking at the green garbed guy, he figured that this guy worked here, so he probably knew where s*** was. "So L-," as he was about to say his name, he completely forgot what it was. Started with an L, he knew that much. But from there, he just kind of could not for the life of him get any other details. "Library guy," saved, "you wouldn't happen to know where I could find things on reptiles and lizards and the like, would you?" Wait, why was he tiptoeing around the idea of just asking him about dragons? That would certainly be faster... but now he was curious about wyverns.

[King K. Azo]

Asura growled as he walked down the street. Why was he doing this? Why was he staying with people that thought this lowly of him? He didn't realize that they thought he was nothing but a bloodthirsty fighter. ... Then again, his love of fighting probably didn't help. Was it his fault he got excited and tried to make friends with everyone...? Maybe it was...

 

As he turned a corner, he knocked heads with a woman, causing him to grip his head in pain. Looking at who it was, he realized it was the crazy archer from earlier, and he sighed. Was he going to get accused of something else now?

"Oh, hey! Sorry for bumping heads... Are you doing anything important right now? If not wanna walk with me? It's better than doing nothing!" Asura blinked. Huh... he assumed she would be... well, pretty rude to him. Guess he shouldn't assume everyone would be...

"Sure... I don't see why not...," He muttered as he started to walk, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

While the others were busy letting off steam, finding books, or having enlightening discussions with a mute, Edrick was precisely where Catriona had left him. He had found a table in a fairly secluded spot somewhere in the library, sat down, and promptly fallen asleep. He lay there, armored torso pressed against that cool wooden surface, the edges of its plates probably digging grooves into the wood, head resting in the crook of his left elbow, and his spear laying where he had dropped it on the floor. Though he had taken some precautions against being robbed: the aforementioned spear was pressed down under his foot so any attempts to move it would awaken him. Similarly, while his pack was resting on the floor he had stuck his other leg through the straps to ensure it couldn't be stolen away without waking him up. For the time being, he didn't care about what was going on around him. The chafing on his thighs, and in other places, was a concern for the future. So too was the inevitable soreness that would plague him as a result of that ill-fitting armor being pressed against him like it was. No, for now he just lay there with his mouth open and a small puddle of drool gathering in front of his face.

[Sethera]

 

Catriona had decidedly ignored the chaos the others had caused, instead searching the shelves for a tome on the Great Dragon. The few she found were enlightening, detailing the history of its guidance to Histia, but after its retirement, it was like the Great Dragon had just...disappeared. Which, if that were true, boded ill for their future. Still, the search had barely started.

 

However, a couple days passed and they were no further toward their goal. By now, the white-haired lord was getting frustrated, but she kept working at it with an almost maddened fervor. Still, after combing the library clean, she had to admit that there was nothing of interest here.

 

During that time, Link had joined their group, which had delighted Catriona. After all, they were old regiment buddies, and she knew him to be a trustworthy and honorable man. He had been at loose ends, accepting work as a library guard, which had confused her for a bit. After all, someone from the honorable Garou Regiment as a library guard? Still, she hadn't asked, respecting his privacy.

 

"Well, now that you're done with that, time to show you folks around town. It's a mighty fine place, if I do say so myself," Jake  said, leading them around. He showed them the marketplace, the houses, the wall, and even a glimpse of the city hall.

 

Catriona noticed that the aggressive stares hadn't diminished at all. Rather, they had increased. It troubled her. After all, neither she nor Penelope were advertising their status as Galtean princesses, and Histia was allied with their country anyway. So what could be the cause...?

 

Come evening, Jake had to return to his own place. After all, he had to sell all the merchandise he had accrued, as well as settle down after his journey. The group however, returned to the inn that the blacksmith had shown them the first day. A beautiful place, it was one of the better inns. And thanks to Jake, they even had a discount, though the innkeeper had given them a wary eye at first. The rooms were separated by gender. Catriona and Penelope shared a room, which ended up being more than a bit awkward. Tarizo and Link had their own lodgings, but the rest had divided among themselves.

 

The next morning, the princess gathered everybody in the inn's main area. It was empty at the moment, most of the guests being asleep or outside. "Since we couldn't find any information about the Great Dragon's whereabouts, I suggest we ask the councilman Silas. Jake mentioned that they would be the next best bet. Either that or we head to either one of the other two sectors and see if we can try our luck there." She preferred not to linger in the area for too long, but if they had to, they had to. After all, finding accurate directions to the Great Dragon was more important than her own impatience. We can make haste once we learn of the being's whereabouts. For now, patience. She took a deep breath to calm herself.

 

"So, I ask you, what shall we do?" Catriona knew that wisdom could be found in heeding the advice of others. So rather than just leading the group where she willed, she wanted to get their opinions.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Just because Catriona was reading like a madman doesn't mean you guys had to so you can decide what your characters were doing during this time.

Also, yes, everybody is there, except Jake who's at his own place.

Those familiar with Ithome will have heard of Silas, who is known to be unfriendly toward outsiders. However, they also know it's a good two day's travel to one of the other sectors, and their libraries might not have any information either.

 

 

[King K. Azo]

Asura was frustrated. 

That was a light way of putting it, really. He still had not gotten over the fact that Gunther had lied to him, or the fact he realized that everyone saw him as a bloodthirsty killing machine... which was his own fault, admittedly, but he thought these people would see past his flaws... or the fact that their stay at this torturous city was ending up fruitless.

 

He spent much of the last few days avoiding the others, practicing away from the crowds with his Killing Edge. He wasn't much help at the library... he couldn't read, not that he would admit it to the others, but that was the case. Besides, this is what they expected him to do, right?

Why was he becoming unsatisfied for being recognized for his swordplay, something he desperately wanted since he was a kid? Maybe it was because of the one known as Link. That man just... put him on edge.

 

He was quiet, much more than Asura. Link also was obviously far more skilled than the mercenary, and he was even friends with the warrior princess. Asura was going to be replaced, he just knew it. Still, he did his best not to interact with Link other than a sharp glare now and then. He needed to keep up the illusion of strength, even if he was doubting his own right now.

He also was keeping his distance from Farm Boy. The ungrateful brat didn't want his help, then he wasn't sticking his neck out on the line for him! ... He only checked up on him twice a day because... some self imposed sense of right and wrong. Gods, sometimes he wished he was just a mindless machine. It'd make his life so much easier. 

He even slept outdoors instead of the inn, something he was used to. He just didn't want to risk snapping or making himself look like more of a fool.

But he was now stuck with everyone in the inn. Making sure he took a seat far away from Link and Gunther, he listened to what Catriona had to say.

 

"Since we couldn't find any information about the Great Dragon's whereabouts, I suggest we ask the councilman Silas. Jake mentioned that they would be the next best bet. Either that or we head to either one of the other two sectors and see if we can try our luck there." Asura really didn't know much about this place, nor about these fancy city folks. He wasn't a help at all. "So, I ask you, what shall we do?" 

"The hell should I know? I obviously just stab things," Asura's sarcasm was dripping through. After a quiet pause, he added, "Whatever you decide, I'll follow," He said in a much more serious tone. It wasn't her he had issues with, he shouldn't take it out on her.

[Alaina]

The past few days had been a mixture of both great and bad all at once. Alois had found someone who had the same level of appreciation towards books quite as he did, which was something he wasn't really expecting. And so being able to traverse the mountain of books that was the great Ithome library was something that was certainly one of the better things he had done in quite awhile. Though he didn't actually find anything pertaining to what they were actually trying to find, but he did manage to find things that he never would have seen if he had just stayed in Phar. 

 

And while the library was definitely more of a plus to this stop, the inn was not. Alois had had to spend his nights with the groups knight, pansy face. Alois wasn't quite sure what it was about the man that seemed to rub him the way and just absolutely annoy him to the core. He probably wasn't a bad person, and given that Penne seemed to like him, there was most likely something good about him. Though he wasn't sure if she liked him because he was actually a likeable person or if he was pretty much her human pack mule...As he continued to dwell on this, Alois felt that he was getting closer to understanding why he may have disliked the big man so much. 

 

Nevertheless, when it was apparent that searching the libraries more was a total bust, the group reconvened during one morning in order to discuss just what they were going to do here. Looking at everyone here, there was also the new guy, Lonk or something, who had joined with them here. While it was quite obvious one member of the group did not find him to be the most refreshing company, Alois had pretty much no real opinion of him. As a person, he wasn't really a talker and seemed to be about as interesting to him as wet paper. And as a fighter, despite being a guard of the library, he seemed to be pretty incapable of actually doing the guarding thing. And so, Alois simply acknowledged that he was there, though that was about it when it came to him.  

 

As their leader had laid out all of the options they had to them, now that their current lead was a bust, they had a few more options open up to them. As the swordsman, Asura, had then made his sarcastic comment about what he was good for, Alois felt obligated to respond to him. "Please, don't sell yourself so short. You also do the slashing and slicing and cutting thing. Maybe a bit of spinning too." Alois couldn't help but smirk a bit as he did the all too smart thing to antagonize the man who nearly killed a library guard with a stick. Looking back to the biggest princess, though, his expression then went serious to match the tone of the conversation. "Our best bet is probably that Silas guy. Someone like him should know something about what we're looking for, even if it's just another minor clue in this scavenger hunt. Though," Alois briefly paused. "If this guy isn't fond of outsiders, then things might end up a bit more difficult since, don't know if you've noticed but that's pretty much all we've been seen as here." 

[Hakima]

---

---

[spoiler=Dream]

Marching, the sound of footsteps descending in unison like rolling thunder.

 

Rattling, the shaky, nerve-wracked breaths and last minute armor adjustments.

 

Cries, of battle and of victory, of death and of sorrow, and of lives that they would never go home to.

 

The sounds of war. Link could never forget it.

 

His heart was in his throat, a white-knuckled grip on his sword and shield. Training was nothing like the real thing, it dawned on him in that moment. The figures he could see approaching, faceless and unwavering, were not dummies in the training yard or instructors that would let up when you were winded. One mistake and he was dead, and that was a terrifying thought. He was barely seventeen!

 

A broad, strong hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Stick with me, kid. You’ll be fine.” Strong and reassuring, Rory was a veteran of more battles than most of the other soldiers in the regiment put together. He was tall and wielded an especially large sword, and his beard bore the salt-and-pepper flecks that gave away his true age, but physically he seemed to be in peak condition.

 

Link nodded and tried to smile confidently. It wasn’t long before the two forces clashed, and everything became too blurry to catch between his own battles. Feinting into a backhanded slash below the armor, ducking beneath an axe and then springing up to drive a sword beneath their arm, Link could remember the details of each of his victims. He remembered their faces, he remembered the looks when they realized they had been beaten, he remembered being  overwhelmed by how much people actually bled.

 

One soldier stumbled back when he disposed of them, a kick to the abdomen and then a quick slash to the throat. In the moment that they collapsed, their helm slipped off. Beneath the armor was a girl, barely older than Link himself at the time, and seeing her face as she gargled and struggled for air before passing rooted Link to the ground. What kind of monster was he? His stomach churned, and he couldn’t bring himself to move.

 

“Watch it, kid!” Rory threw him out of the way of a thrusting lance, and the air from the missed blow rushed across him. “Ergh…” It had missed him, but Link was sure that the lance had still found its mark. Rory stumbled, pawing at his stomach where the lance had pierced, and started to fall backwards. Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth and Link was unable to tear his eyes away as he fell, scrambling towards him.

 

“H-hey, you’re gonna be alright,” he choked, trying to staunch the wound. Everything had gone quiet, and the noise of battle faded from around him.

 

Rory looked up with his blank eyes, and his hand shakily pulled Link close. “You… you… killed me.” His voice started out weak, but as it drew to the end of the sentence, it became heavy and accusing. “YOU KILLED ME.”

 

Link shook his head. “N-no, I didn’t - I wasn’t trying to - it wasn’t my -”

 

“YOU KILLED US.”

 

More voices surrounded him. Link frantically stumbled away from Rory, looking around with wild eyes. He spotted a dozen other members of the Garou Regiment, and many young Pontus soldiers who looked like the girl who he had killed. “YOU KILLED US,” they chanted like a mantra, closing in on him. Link was helpless to fight back as they pulled him down, down, down into nothingness, into their blood-soaked fate, so that he could feel the despair they had in their final moments.

 

“I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! I’M SO SORRY, I DIDN’T MEAN TO! PLEASE--”

 

“Link, Link! Link!”

 

“NO, LEAVE ME ALONE! I’M SORRY I COULDN’T SAVE YOU! I TRIED, PLEASE, I TRIED!”

 

“LINK, WAKE UP!”

 

“I TRIED SO HARD, I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY!”

 

“Link, I didn’t want to have to do this--”

 

CRACK.

 

Link jolted awake, gasping for breath. His night clothes clung to him, his body having broken out into a horrible cold sweat. Frantically, eyes wild and animalistic, he swung his head side-to-side searching for danger.

 

“Link, Link, calm down!” Someone grabbed him, and Link panicked, scrambling for his sword. When he couldn’t find it, he grabbed for the knife he always kept under his pillow, but a firm hand held him back. “Hey! You’re okay, Link!”

 

Link struggled for a minute, but it proved futile. He slowly calmed down, struggling to regulate his breathing. When he could finally bare to open his eyes, he noticed who had woken him up. Oberon, one of the few people he would call a friend in the guard. He was young, but his frame was massive; he was nearly three times as broad as Link was, and long days of patrolling had given him a hard physique that contrasted sharply with his baby face.

 

“Are you alright? I didn’t want to slap you, but,” Oberon rubbed the back of his neck. “You were thrashing around in your sleep something fierce, and I didn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

 

Link rubbed his cheek. Now that it was mentioned, his entire face ached, like he had been bashed with a shield. He nodded, and made to swing his legs over the side of his bed. He was glad to see that a majority of the guards were either a) still asleep because they had just gotten to rest, or b) had just left for a shift in the morning. When he looked out the window, the sun was peaking over the horizon. “I… Thanks, Oberon.”

 

“Anytime, pal,” the much larger guard assured. “Are you… You sure you don’t wanna talk? You kept mentioning war, or something, and saying you were sorry--”

 

Link shook his head, and stood to stretch and gather his tunic, chainmail, sword and shield and dress himself for the day. He was grateful that someone had roused before it got any worse, but he didn’t want to talk about what it was in his dreams. Ever since Catriona, Penelope, and their ragtag company had arrived, his dreams had haunted him as if they were trying to punish him for being in contact with a friend. His dreams of war used to be rare, and he spent the majority of his nights haunted by Rusl, but over the last week they had always been of the border.

 

Speaking of, Her Majesty had asked him to arrive at an inn before late morning to discuss their future plans. He had not been told the specifics of their quest, likely because he hadn’t asked, but they needed to find the Great Dragon. Link thought that was strange, but he had done his best to help them. He had signed himself up for almost all shifts for the library over the last few days, and had been up almost all day and night helping the group read. Granted the most he did was clear one book for every four they did, owing to his limited education, but he also let them in after the doors closed since he was on duty.

 

He shook his head as he slid his sword into the scabbard, and fastened that to his back. Maybe Catriona had gotten a lead, since she had called them to the inn. Only way to know was to go, so with one last deep breath and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Link set out.

 

 

Though he had been with them for several days, Link knew little but the names of each of the people seated inside the inn listening to Catriona speak. One of them, Asura, seemed to dislike him, and the other, Alois, seemed not to care all that much for him. Gunther seemed a bit nervous around him, and Penelope was exactly as her sister said. Well-intentioned, if not a bit overeager. Link thought she was a breath of fresh air.

 

They were currently discussing what to do, now that they had turned over the library. Link was at an impasse, since he didn’t know much about the citizens themselves. Catriona suggested they speak with councilman Silas, who he’d heard didn’t take kindly to foreigners. Asura snapped something angrily, but he hesitated a moment to add that this wasn’t his choice, and he would follow either way. The boy with the axe, Alois, goaded the swordmaster, but he too changed his tune and became serious with his suggestion. He raised concern about the bias that Silas was known to hold against outsiders, and the prejudice they had faced thus far.

 

Link cleared his throat to get attention, and then said quietly, “I… I know most of the guardsmen. I don’t know if it’ll help, but I can probably get most of them to let us in places. They trust me.” He didn’t voice his concern that he had earned that trust, and hoped they didn’t blow it. He was too tired, thoughts still lingering on the dream from earlier that morning, nervously nibbling at the hunk of bread, chunk of cheese, and cup of water that he had bought when he got to the inn. Plus, his cheek kind of hurt, and there was a dark bruise on it from where he had been slapped.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

It had been difficult to convince Penelope to leave the library. She was there from early morning, to late night, every day. Though she stayed away from Catriona for the most part. As usual Gunther had been given the polite suggestion by Penelope to join her in her "Grand pursuit of knowledge."
He had been somewhat reluctant, especially as it mostly meant him holding onto an ever increasing pile of books for hours on end, but he figured that it was for the good of the group and didn't complain much.

Until he noticed that the books had nothing at all to do with what they were looking for. "What does '1000 Ways to Boil a Boot, a Guide to Wartime Cooking' have to do with the Great Dragon?" He had asked.

To which Penelope, instead of answering, just looked up from her current book and said "Did you know that libraries rated number three on the list of best places to hide a body?" before returning to her reading like nothing had happened.

 

Penelope continuously returned to her room with a Gunther-full of books, to be deposited on her bed so she could read into the night. Which would have been fine had Catriona not forbade her from using the candles too late into the night. Penelope, who didn't want to get drawn into a fight, ended up giving Catriona the cold shoulder throughout their time together in their room.

She was bothered that Gunther had to be in a different room, though she made up for it by scolding him on his bed-head every morning. And Gunther, for his part, was fine with his roommate. He had no problem with Alois and, in fact, believed he could be a good guy if he got to know him better. Though Alois seemed to not be very keen on chatting with Gunther.

 

It wasn't long before Catriona decided a new course of action was needed. While she went over their options Gunther was behind Penelope, watching for any trouble-makers, despite the fact that the room was empty except for themselves.

Penelope...was reading. She seemed to not have anything to say while everyone else talked, and even missed out on a jab at Asura because Alois beat her to the punch. Still she read, and read, and read. Gunther fidgeted uncomfortably, realizing that her opinion was needed and yet she was off in her own world.

"Dang it, Gunther" he thought "you have to take things into your own hands sometimes, stop just hiding in the background, it's not like you're some secondary character in someone else's story after all!" With firm resolve, Gunther stepped forward and leaned in towards Penelope, about to tell her to stop reading and pay attention...

 

And that's when Penelope set down the book, looked at Gunther, and said "You know you really should be paying more attention to what Catriona is saying, rather than watching me."

She looked around at the group, frowning. "I suppose if you want my opinion...The way I see it is that, while this Silas seems the clear answer, it's not the answer we really need. I have been giving it some thought and I don't know if I want to risk upsetting an already antagonistic man and closing off all other routes. This may be a bit of a stretch but we should at least consider that we would not be able to ask the others if things go badly with Silas. And because of that I think our time would be best spent heading to a different area of the city, and talking with a different councilman. That is the best option for us at this moment." The way she said it, it was clear she wanted to get it all said so she didn't have to argue back and forth with someone about it. She looked at Gunther. "Was there something you wanted to add?"

"Er, no. Nothing." Gunther said awkwardly. "Dammit, man..." he thought.

[JessicaMuddy]

 

 

Tarizo spend the next few days being herself. After the run-in with Asura and bumping heads with him, they spent a small amount of time walking together, before he decided to head off – irritated – to train his sword. Other than that, there wasn’t many interesting things happening in the girl’s life. Running errands, practicing with her bow, seeing the group that saved Jake here and there. It was all very much like regular life.

 

One morning, Tari found herself inside an inn, set with the task of taking something from the owner to her boss. It was a simple task, one that should’ve taken no time at all. However, Tarizo, upon entering, saw the group of swordsmen and mages discussing something with each other. After receiving her delivery, she playfully waltzed over to the group.

 

“Hey guys! What’s goin’ on?” She stared at them wide-eyed, curious for information.

 

[Sethera]

Finishing her question, Catriona looked around at the others. She hadn't been paying attention to them in her fervid quest to find answers, which, thinking about it, had been a little singleminded. Still, no time for regrets, and it had been necessary, though she wasn't really the type to sit still for long. That had been difficult. Her hands itched to do something other than turn pages, and her feet itched to move around. She ended up the target of more than a few annoyed stares thumping her legs against the tables or bookshelves.

 

Still, she couldn't help the guilt that flashed through her at seeing everybody, or rather the lack of somebody. Couldn't she have checked up on Edrick at least once? Pontic though he might be, he had still been injured protecting them. Though that necklace...he was more than Pontic. He was Her follower. That was cause for suspicion itself. What were the odds a follower of the goddess meet the very person the goddess was searching for? Still, she doubted he had planned that, what with getting injured and everything. She resolved to check on him right after this meeting, though he might not even be awake for that.

 

Her glance passed to Asura. He looked...surlier than usual. She had caught him sending an angry glance Gunther's way, and a wary one Link's. Now, his simmering gaze met hers. "The hell should I know? I obviously just stab things," he sounded...bitter for some reason. Why? Had she given him that sort of impression? Once more, Catriona wondered if she was ready for this, this kind of undertaking. Because she hadn't done a good job so far.

 

She blinked when he spoke next. "Whatever you decide, I'll follow." What had she done to deserve this loyalty? Her throat swelled, but she swallowed it down. After all, it wouldn't do to let her emotions take over.

 

The next to speak was Alois. "Please, don't sell yourself so short. You also do the slashing and slicing and cutting thing. Maybe a bit of spinning too." That wasn't really helping things, though the girl could admit it was slightly amusing. Still, the fighter sobered up quickly. "Our best bet is probably that Silas guy. Someone like him should know something about what we're looking for, even if it's just another minor clue in this scavenger hunt. Though, if this guy isn't fond of outsiders, then things might end up a bit more difficult since, don't know if you've noticed but that's pretty much all we've been seen as here."

 

She nodded to him. She wasn't exactly sure of the reason behind it, but one thing was for sure: they weren't welcome. Even Tarizo and Link received their share of unfriendly scowls, though to a lesser extent. If Silas' opinion reflected his people's, then they would have a difficult time of it.

 

"I… I know most of the guardsmen. I don’t know if it’ll help, but I can probably get most of them to let us in places. They trust me."

 

Link's revelation wasn't too surprising. What was more surprising was that he actually spoke. Catriona sent him a weird look before turning to Gunther and Penelope, who seemed off in their own little world, Penelope saying something to Gunther before turning to her. "I suppose if you want my opinion...The way I see it is that, while this Silas seems the clear answer, it's not the answer we really need. I have been giving it some thought and I don't know if I want to risk upsetting an already antagonistic man and closing off all other routes. This may be a bit of a stretch but we should at least consider that we would not be able to ask the others if things go badly with Silas. And because of that I think our time would be best spent heading to a different area of the city, and talking with a different councilman. That is the best option for us at this moment."

 

When had Penelope started sounding so...formal? It felt like only yesterday, she had been a little girl, asking her big sister to show her how to fight with swords. And I said no, because I had to attend an etiquette course with Dame Gertrude. For some reason, that memory stuck with her, refusing to fade from her mind. Just like all the other bittersweet memories she held.

 

Still, her advice was sound, but from what Jake had said, it was a good two days to either of the other sectors. And, from what she knew, Penelope liked to avoid confrontations. How much of this was advice and how much of it was avoidance?

 

Then, last but not least, the archer from before arrived with a bang. Apparently she had finished getting the reward for finding Jake. "Hey guys! What’s goin’ on?"

 

"Ah, hello," Catriona greeted. "I don't think we ever did catch your name." She quickly introduced herself and the group. "We are merely discussing our next course of action. It seems that there are some reservations about asking Silas. However," she paused. "From what I've heard, it is rather difficult to get an audience with the councilmen without booking an appointment months ahead of time. And we do not have that long." Or rather, I do not have that long. "Link's offer to get us past the guards might be the key to finding the Great Dragon all the sooner. It is an opportunity I cannot overlook."

 

Decision made, Catriona glanced over the group again. I hope I am not making the wrong decision here. "We meet at noon in front of the city hall, which is in two hours. If all goes well, we shouldn't have to spend another night lingering in this city." They had been here longer than she had hoped, but she hadn't expected to spend more time looking for information she had expected to be right there. After all, Histia was considered to be the authority on the Great Dragon, and Ithome's three-part library was legend itself.

 

After thanking them for their time, she left the room to go check on Edrick. Noting that he was still asleep, she closed the door quietly behind herself before leaving to grab something to eat in the marketplace. After being cooped up inside a building for so long, she rather preferred to spend her time outside rather than indoors.

 

--

 

Come noon they stood in front of the city hall. It was a large white stone building flanked by towers tipped with red flags. That was all they could see of it, as a circular wall surrounded it, leaving the only entry to be the arched doorway with a stone-faced guard on each side. Though the right one seemed to recognize Link, and even gave him a friendly wave, the other one acted as though the blond man didn't exist.

 

"I see everybody's here," Catriona said once everybody had gathered. "Let us go." She started to walk toward the guards.

 

"Halt!" shouted the left guard as the group approached. "Know that this be the hall of the great Silas, of the Council of Three. What be your business here? Know that if it be nefarious, we the city guard shall bar your way. We are watching you, outsiders!"

 

[spoiler=OOC]

So feel free to post your reactions and what you guys decide to do in the two hours till noon. The city hall is that big building at the top in the picture in case you didn't realize.

 

 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Penelope had been strangely, uncomfortably, silent for some time after Catriona made her decision. Which was the exact opposite of her suggestion. Gunther nervously glanced between the two sisters, knowing that there was already a rift between the two.

 

Seeing as he figured neither princess would be open to his thoughts at this moment, his attention turned to the young archer girl. "I guess we didn't exactly hire you on, did we? Lucky we ran into each other. We're a bit, uh...down on troops. That is to say, oh I don't know if I'm supposed to do this, er...If you stick around our leader might be wanting to hire you on. You...are a mercenary right?" Gunther started blushing halfway through his words, feeling awkward about his attempts to take things into his own hands.

While he spoke, he realized that Penelope had slipped away. Gunther groaned, and realized he wouldn't be able to find her at this rate. He had to hope she would find her way back. Getting himself lost in the city as well would do them no good.

 

Penelope meanwhile was pretending her sister didn't exist for the next couple hours. She went out into the city, talking with people, smiling and laughing, and breaking through some of their wariness. It seemed when she was on her own they were much less hostile towards them, and she was able to learn much about this city. But more importantly she was able to connect with several of the citizens. There were some elderly folk who told her a few myths and folklore from the area, and a small group of homeless children that she gave away a portion of their gold to, as well as a scruffy dog who kept following her around until she luckily stumbled upon their owner, a blind middle-aged woman who was lost and looking for her home.

 

By the end of the time given by Catriona, Penelope was feeling calmer. Though she was still upset that her advice wasn't followed, more so because she knew it was the right course, she was able to arrive on time to the city hall. It was...honestly not as impressive looking as she expected. Though it did seem practical in the very least.

The guards seemed alert, perhaps slightly paranoid. Though, Penelope thought, looking at their group it was understandable. No one said anything yet, so Penelope decided it would be her to speak.

 

"We mean no trouble. We're on a diplomatic mission and must speak with Councilman Silas as soon as possible. I understand that the great Councilman must be busy, but we're in desperate need of his assistance. If you're wary about our numbers we're more than willing to compromise somehow. If there's any way to see the Councilman, we will do our best to accommodate."

 

Gunther smiled behind the girl. She seemed to be in her element now, and he could tell she was feeling better. His eyes moved towards Catriona, curious as to how she'd react. There had to be some way to repair the relationship between these two. He remembered a time they were closer, as children, when Penelope would look forward to being with Catriona. She was so excited to talk about her to Gunther, those days....

[Alaina]

As Alois listened to what the others had to say, he was a bit intrigued by Lonk's contribution. He wasn't quite sure how a library guard knowing the rest of them had much of anything to do with how they were going to get in. Unless he knew how to exploit their weaknesses in a fight; that'd probably be useful to know. But fighting through a city of guards would be stupid, so that probably wasn't what he was referring to. Nevertheless, next up to the bat was pansy face and Penne, or rather, just the latter of those two. Alois's expression only seemed to sour as the large man seemed to shrink away from the female, yet he quickly stopped paying mind to the big guy to listen to what the girl had to say. And while she definitely had her points in this argument, with their grand escapade in the library done, Alois could only think of getting out of this city as quickly as possible. One way or the other, that was going to be through this so called "councilman," SIlas.

 

For the next few hours, Alois hadn't done much. With pretty much all of the planning taken out of the way and no real desire to actually go and explore the rest of a hostile city, he simply stayed in his room, tending to his weapons and clothing and making sure that everything was in good shape. And while this process didn't take very long, he still tried his best to keep himself occupied with it for the next two hours, slightly wondering what everyone else was up to, but ultimately doing nothing about it. Once the time had passed, he regrouped with everyone else and went on his merry way to the city hall. 

 

Once at the building, Alois simply whistled at the site of it. Quite like everything else around here, it was made of some kind of white stone, and was certainly an impressive building in of itself. The boy hadn't really seen much to match it in scale, even with the already massive library not quite matching its size either, and thus couldn't help but be impressed by it. As he stepped forward with the rest of the group, the guards didn't seem all too keen on letting them through, though, after sizing them up, Alois didn't really seem to think they were all that threatening. While he was about to go tell them off himself, Penne stepped up first and beat him to it, albeit in what could have only been far more diplomatic then the way the boy would have said it. And so he just let the others deal with them first, still looking closely at the guards in case they didn't like the idea of diplomacy that much. 

[Hakima]

---

---

Link was surprised, looking over the group. Everyone had been on time, it seemed, even Princess Penelope. He had thought she might have been upset that Catriona had disregarded her counsel, and being so young, she might have chosen not to show up. Was that a thing he would have done at her age? No, he was  at the border by her age, and childish actions like that had been drilled out of his head to make room for ‘Victory for Galtea!’ and ‘Never give up! Never give in! For the King!’.

 

In hindsight, he imagined that as a princess, she had been forced to grow-up much faster than the rest of them. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was one of the most mature among them, mentally. From what little he understood of royalty, they were rarely given the time to be a child, which might just explain why she loved to mess with the man in charge of guarding her, Gunther.

 

While Link was standing in the back, quietly mulling over these thoughts, the group had started to move. A guard in front of the gate shouted a warning at them, waving his spear around to get the point across, and the other spotted him and waved. Link flushed with embarrassment at having been caught off-guard, but before he could say or do all that much of anything, Princess Penelope was up in front and speaking with them.

 

She was surprisingly official, but the guard who had first spoken didn’t seem phased. “Mission from where? Anyone with half a brain could come up with that excuse!” Link wasn’t all that shocked by the guard’s reaction, now that he had gotten a closer look at who it was. Marcus was his name, a tall, muscular fellow with short, cropped blond hair, though you couldn’t see it beneath his helmet. He was one of the most loyal guards there was, dedicated to his job through and through, but it often lead him to being hostile to anyone who he saw as a threat.

 

Which, Link had found out when he had first arrived, meant anyone he identified as an outsider. Marcus was a very good spearmen, on top of that, and he actually currently held a positive score on Link in the sparring matches they had been in.

 

3-2, in favor of Marcus. Link had managed to get the upperhand on him in two out of the five, but he had kept him outside of striking range with his much longer reach most of the time, exploiting the natural advantage that spears had over swords.

 

Link’s gaze wandered to the other guard, hoping it was someone less standoffish, and his wish was granted. Mirana was the guard on the right, a young girl with curly, platinum blonde hair and an infectious smile. She hadn’t been in the city guard all that long, but she was the daughter of the Guard Captain, and a prodigy with a spear. She also saw the green-clad soldier as somewhat of an older brother, and constantly asked him for lessons in using a sword since he was the only guard who could.

 

Link had spent many afternoons going over the basics, but it was his professional opinion that she wasn’t trying too hard to learn how to wield a sword. Mirana was a clever girl; if she wanted to learn something, she wouldn’t need a bit of help from him. Her father had asked him to humor her, though, and Link appreciated the excuse to repeat the basics to someone the way he had been taught. It was… relaxing.

 

“Oh, give them a chance to prove it Marcus! No need to be rude.” Mirana interjected, and then laughed at the look of indignancy on her fellow guard’s face. She looked over them one-by-one, and Link could see that she was making mental notes of their arms and armor.

 

A bit of pride swelled up in his chest. He had taught her that one when she first joined the city guard, when most of the others had been focusing on assessing her combat prowess. A sharp sword can kill one man, but a sharper mind can bring down a nation.

 

“I’m not being rude,” Marcus ground out through grit teeth. “I’m doing my job. What reason do we have to trust an outsider?”

 

Mirana looked back over them, and her gaze stopped on Link. She raised a hand and pointed at him. “Well, Link’s in their company, so they can’t be that bad! He’s a great judge of character!”

 

“How would you know? He never says anything!”

 

She shook her head. “Yes he does, you just don’t notice. There’s more ways to say something than speaking!”

 

Link shuffled from foot-to-foot awkwardly while they argued. Was this a good time to interrupt them? They looked invested in their argument, but the rest of the group was depending on him to get them into the hall to speak with Councilman Silas. Decision made, he approached the duo. Instantly, they both stopped their bickering and stared at him.

 

“Hey, Link!” Mirana chirped.

 

“What do you want?” Marcus demanded. “Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the library right now?”

 

Link took a step back with the attention suddenly completely shifted to him, but shook his head, ‘no’. He had gotten someone to cover his shift so that he could be at the meeting today.

 

“He says that Oberon is watching the library today, right Link?” Mirana translated.

 

Link nodded, looking at her curiously. How had she known? He hadn’t mentioned Oberon.

 

Mirana clarified, “he told me after you left this morning.”

 

That made him nervous. Did that mean she had seen his episode? He hoped not, but there was nothing he could to explain himself right now.

 

“Enough with the small talk! You still haven’t answered the question. What do you want?” Marcus insisted, one eye warily glued to the group and his grip tightened around his spear.

 

The next few minutes were taken up by Link’s frantic hand gestures (at himself, the party, and the guards), and every so often Mirana would translate what he was trying to say. Marcus would follow each translation with more fervent disagreement and refusal, but between the combined efforts of Link and Mirana, he seemed to become quieter the longer they spoke.

 

Eventually, Link and Marcus approached Catriona and Penelope. Link hadn’t told them much, just that they were in charge of their group, and wished to speak with Silas. “Okay, we will allow you into the city hall,” Marcus began, but he quickly added, “BUT. Only on these conditions, and they are not up for negotiation. First, you all  will leave your weapons with Mirana,” he roughly gestured to her over his shoulder, and looked over them all. “No exceptions. If you will not disarm, you cannot enter. SECOND. I will accompany you, and when I say you leave, you must. If you do not, we will have no qualms cutting down each of you. No exceptions. THIRD. We will see if Master Silas has time to speak with you, but if he does not, you will leave. We will not interrupt any important business for whatever trivial matter this most certainly is. FOURTH.” At this, he paused for a moment, and gestured to Catriona and Penelope. “Link said you two are the leaders of this merry band of morons. Only you may enter to speak with Master Silas, if he will see you. The others must wait outside. I will not risk a coupe.”

 

Link looked apologetically at Catriona, his face saying ‘I’m sorry, this was the best I could do’. Once again, he wasn’t able to do something properly.

 

Marcus rapt the butt of his spear against the ground twice, sharply. “Do you agree?”