Hunting the Fallen

[MiraiSigne]

(Transcribed from Skype)
Atorian, Sharlaria, and a few of their elven friends are up to city-shannanigans one night (their parents think they are out to a ball or something), exploring places that shouldn't be explored...top of towers, sewers, but no privately owned property.

Mirai, ever vigilant, notices them and their infractions. Amusing as it undoubtably is, she does feel the need to rain on their parade. "There's easier ways to get yourself killed, kids."

"Kids?! We are five times your age!" Shouted back one of the other elves, getting a scoff from the Dark Lantern. "Hey "kid", Atorian says to Mirai.... "I bet you five gold can't get to the top of *that* tower like Phairlan did!"

"Five gold? ...Fine." Without any effort at all, Mirai was up the tower in the blink of an eye. So much for law & order. Smirking down at the elf who had offered the bet, she gestured for him to pay up.

The elves were amazed, they thought only Elves were blessed with that kind of grace. Atorian has a few ranks in Tumble, no ACP, and a decent-high Dex, but althogether not as good as Mirai, but he tries following up anyway.

She yawned as he reached her, holding out her hnd for the coins and quickly hid them away in a pouch under her vest.

Sharlaria and Atorian have always been "Teammates" so to speak, and the sister manages to get the other two elves to go off and find something else to do.

Now suddenly alone with this other elf, and with not much better to do, Mirai sets up and repels down the side of the tower. Only to see Atorian Featerfalling down beside her. Remarks were thusly made offering to teach him a nonmagical way to not fall to his death. Being prepared, and all that, didn't he learn that in elf-scouts?

Elf-Scout equivilant to the Silverspears was the Mage School....which Chaotic little Atorian quit after a few months. Old geezers playing chess all day, trading notes and potions and crap....that's not exciting. Exploring the city, that's exciting (would he be able to catch up to her? IE: would she let him?)
She'd make it sporting at least, never taking too far of a lead even if the opportunity presented itself.

..and then he would cheat for the last stretch. Jump: 1st level Wiz spell, +20 Jump, +8 Skill Mod, mid 30's.

But once he cheated, she would tackle him in a second, not willing to lose this race over cheap tricks. Hey, she's competitive! And with superior Strength, Dex, and BAB, she has the advantage for the initial grapple, and from there it's a cakewalk to hold him.

Noting that he lost that fight, Atorian tries to weasel out of it. "Well, we are at the top, how about we call it a draw?"

Mirai is a sore winner, though. "Why should I, when you cheated?!"

"so did you!"

"What, how?!"

"Rope."

"You had every opportunity to use rope. Magic is a completely different story!"

"Fine. Have it your way." With that, he rolls off the tower and she's coming with. Good thing Featherfall is verbal only.

Mirai would assume a deathgrip on him as they (in her mind) fell to their deaths, and he would hold on to her as they slowly descended. As soon as they landed, however, she would (attempt) to sucker punch him for being a jerk.

Unfortunately, Atorian would deflect it easily, and toss a platinum. "Thanks for the fun night, we should hang out again sometime."

Mirai would once again smirk at him and nod, pocketing the coin again before turning sharply on her heel. "Sure thing. I'll find you sometime. Don't bother trying to find me, though." With a wave over her shoulder, she would vanish away into the city.


Two weeks would go by. Atorian would have his sister attempt to scry an ornate dagger he noticed Mirai carrying with no luck. No matter, though, as true to her word, Mirai found him. She strode right in to the Arvandor tavern, approaching Atorian at the bar where he was eating his dinner, and slapped down the same platinum piece he had given her. "A song, if you will."

(bread hanging out of mouth) "cam I fimish my dimmer phirst?"

She would laugh at that. "Yes, of course."

Once done, he would gather his friends and sister. His friends would summon their respective instruments (a large bass violin and an elven flute), Sharlaria would clear a space for her dancing area, and Atorian would summon his violin. The song he sang was very bass, very low....the bass violin is heavy, the flute is rare, and Shar's dance doesn't quite fit, almost like she is trying to make it on the spot. The song goes on for several minutes before he keeps going. And going. For about half an hour. And eventually an hour. Singing the entire time, Shar gives up on her inventive dance. Two particularly grumpy looking elves leave, while Shar serves herself two drinks and hands one to Mirai while she takes a seat next to the human.

"What in the world is he singing?" She asked

"A work song." She said simply. "Dwarven blacksmiths made a song that lasts for nine hours...they start singing it at the beginning of the day, and when the song is finished, they know its time to go home." She points to a rowdy group of dwarves in the corner, singing deeply along.

Mirai blanches a bit at the thought of a nine hour song being the price she had to pay for returning the coin, and after thinking through her prospects she attempts to wave Atorian over., hoping to get him to stop the song.

At a natural pause, he gestures a dwarven friend to come up and continue the singing....a small cantrip later, his violin is playing itself.

"Really? A nine hour song?!" She says as he makes his way over.

"I forgot, short-lived humans treasure nine hours a lot more than dwarves and elves do...please, don't be disrespectful, this part is about the holdout of Fort White, Karrnath against the Aundairian-Cyran Combine"

"You know, if you wanted me to sleep here tonight, you could have just asked." Despite the impications of the words, Mirai took a nonchalant sip of her elvish wine.

Sharlaria, however, shoots wine to the next table from her nose. But Atoria is used to elven girls, from the well-renowned to royal, flirting with him....a human cityguard is nothing he cant handle "Rooms are 2 gold per."

"Oh no, I couldn't get a room now. I wouldn't want to be disrespectful." She sighed sarcastically.

"Eh, they're just dwarves."

"So are you saying we should leave, now?" Apparently that initial sarcasm was lost.

"Why would I leave?"

Now she was getting a bit frustrated. "I thought you said you wanted to see me again?"

"And we see each other now!"

"..." Annoyed, she turned away from him in her seat, pointedly offering him her back and focusing her attention on the young woman next to her, who sheepishly tries to explains that its like offering cabbage to a wolf...it was raised on rabbit, and wants that. Mirai, however, counters that if you take food away from the wolf entirely, it'll take what it gets. Hence, she was going to ignore him if he wanted to act like this.

Atorian will let the dwarves take the song from there. They decide to play some boring parts faster, skip a few dozen chapters, and get to the damned drinking already... they then realize they are in an Elven tavern, and move on to something more real. One drunk dwarf remains behind, both physically and melodically, still accurately hours behind in the song....he seems to be crying as he sings, which is more pronounced to the lack of Elven and Dwarven patrons and that the music has stopped. And so there were 4, and it is so late it qualifies as early. Shar and Atorian work together to haul the dwarf outside and close the tavern for the night.

Mirai finished up her final drink before helping out with what she could. Then, with a stretch and a yawn says. "I suppose I should be leaving now as well, then?"

"I thought you were purchasing a room?" Asked Atorian

"I never said I was. You offered me the price of the rooms, I never agreed to stay." She snipped.

"Okay....well, Shar and I are going up to the manor to get some rest" To which Sharlaria leaves. Atorian, however, lingers. Awkwardly. "Are you or are you not purchasing a room? I would say a 50/50 chance of an upstairs room?"

"Does it really concern you so much whether or not I stay here tonight?"

"No, it concerns me whether or not my father would be pissed if I displeased a customer."

With a sigh, Mirai thought for a moment, before surrendering with a "Fine, I will stay the night. Two gold, you said?" Without waiting for an answer she would hand over the money as owed.

Atorian would then show her to the room, up 3 levels.

Mirai, however, would make small talk by coyly asking "If you knew which rooms were available, how exactly were my odds of an upstairs room 50/50?"

"At the time, I didn't know if you were buying a room or not, hence 50/50."

With a soft snort she would accept the answer, before glancing back at him. "I see. Well, I with that I should be sleeping. I cannot stay all day though tomorrow, I will need to be leaving midday. Should you want to find me before then, I will be here." She then reached to open the door.

"Why are you so concerned about me finding you?"

Her fingers wrapped still around the door knob, she glanced over her shoulder with a knowing look. "Because you won't be able to do so unless I tell you where I am."

"But why do you care about me actually finding you, not whether or not I am capable of it?"

"Good night, Atorian Silverspear." With that she shut the door behind her.


The next morning, Atorian would make sure that he would be the door to door complimentary breakfast server for the floor she stayed on.

Mirai would answer the door, appearing as though she had already been awake and ready for many hours. When she notices Atorian at the door, she quirked a brow. "I didn't order breakfast."

"Hence, complimantary."

Glancing back into the hall, Mirai was quick to notice that she was the last room in the hall, and the last to be served. "I see. It's still warm, I hope?"

"Magical pottery, its warm. Do you take us Silverspears as some kind of swindlers?"

"Oh, not at all. It's just well known that your father is a bit.. I wouldn't say biased. Preferential."

"Oh, its a bias, he just doesn't call it that." He was still outside the door with the breakfast trolley.

Stepping aside from the door to let him in, Mirai glances at the amount of plates still on the trolley. "Would you care for some? I don't think I could eat all of that..."

"I already ate....my mother still coo--- I uh, already ate. Try the corn hash. And eggs. And Cyre-Toast!"

Snickering at his enthusiasm, Mirai settled down with one of the plates, taking a bite of the food, and seemingly melted into her seat from the taste. "I don't know what it is, but Elven made food always seems to just taste better."

Atorian looked curious. "Than what?"

"Human food." Mirai sighed. "I suppose there is something to be said about having hundreds of years to practice."

"Oh, she's not a very good cook, she had....more important things to do in her past."

Glancing up at him, Mirai nodded soberly. "I suppose. Your parents' adventuring pasts ARE fairly renowned."

"Wouldn't quite call that one an adventuring tale....but nevermind that." He closes the door behind him, before collecting a plate of food for himself after all, predominately cyran toast.

Chewing thougtfully, Mirai watched him as he settled in himself. "So, how long did it take you to memorize a nine hour song?"

"Its not really memorization, so to speak, Dwarves build their songs differently. Its just memorizing the pattern that a 15-minute verse goes, combined with knowledge of dwarven history....put them together with some ingenuity, and you have a dwarven song."

"I see! I'll be the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about music.. or Dwarven for that matter. You could have been singing about eating babies and I would never have known." She paused for a second, then added seriously "You weren't, were you..?"

"Dwarven babies or the enemies babies? Karrnath did have a few verses, so I won't answer that."

Seeing a moment when a change of subject woul be good, Mirai quickly asked. "Is it normal for people to cry during those songs? I noticed that dwarf last night, I felt kind of bad for him."

"-it was when Karrnath intercepted a route that was transferring Cyran refugees to----oh, the crying dwarf? I think he sang something about his grandfather being in that particular battle. I know at one point there were a pair of dwarven twins, one fell and turned to Karrnath, and they fought each other later in the War. After the Mrorian brother killed the Karrnathi brother, the Mrorian realized his brother wasn't actually dead before, he switched sides willingly, and he just killed his brother."

Mirai listened quietly to the tale, her face suddenly growing very somber at the story of the two brothers. When he finished, she asked quietly "Did you fight in the war?"

"No, I was never allowed. In fact, the Silverspears made a distinct point to not be involved, save for helping refugees that tracked their way all the way back to southwest Breland."

She nodded at that. "I didn't either, but my sister was."

Atorian looked at her with that. "Oh?"

Nodding again, she looked away from his glance to the floor. "Yes. She was a paladin of the Silver Flame."

He almost groaned. "Oh, great."

Furrowing her brow, she glowered at his reaction. "What do you mean by that?"

"Silverspears and the Silver Flame have....butted heads before"

"I see. Well, my sister and I hold very different views. I never followed the Silver Flame, so you don't have to worry about that if you were."

"That's good."

Her voice quieted again, and she lost the irritation in her face as she continued on. "Besides, my sister.. changed after the war."

Atorian looked confused at this. "What do you mean? Karrnathi?"

Shaking her head, Mirai just kept her gaze fixed on the floor. This was a.. painful topic, to say the least. How she came to be speaking about it with an elf she hardly knew, she did not know. "No, not that. It's hard to explain.." She trailed off, as she tried to put things into words.

Atorian however didn't wait before offering. "War changes people, you know"

Mirai glanced at him expressionlessly, as she considered whether or not to tell him more. But she had come this far already, no point in hiding it now. "It's not that, it's.." She took a breath. "I saw her, just before her last mission. She was still my sister then. But her last mission was in Cyre, and she.. She was at the Day of Mourning. I don't know how she survived. I didn't even know she HAD survived, until recently. I found her by chance, she didn't even bother to tell me she was still alive. And she was different. I came across her as she was attacking some travelers in a backwater town. By their accounts she had been framing them for crimes they didnt commit, and she-" Her voice tightened with a choke, and she took a moment to compose herself again. "She tried to kill me. I don't know what happened to her, but my sister would never do that."

The room was silent for a while, after she spoke. Atorian's voice was quiet when he finally brought himself to speak. "Where is she now?"

"I don't know. I tried to track her so many times, but I can't."

"Well, then, I wish you luck on that endeavor."

"Thank you." And now, an awkward pause.. "Would you like the rest of my food? I'm not hungry any longer."

"No thanks." Atorian seemed to have quieted down a lot, not as attentive, as if he was thinking.

"Is there something on your mind?"

"You need to find your sister? What do you think happened to her?"

"I honestly don't know." Was he going somewhere with this? Mirai couldn't tell.

"Then lets go find her, shall we?" He got up as if to go pack his bags right then.

Wait, what? "Right now?!"

Atorian beemed. "Yes! Right now!"

Mirai was baffled by the propostion, completley caught off guard. "I.. I mean.. I would need to go talk to my superiors.. I could be ready in a day?"

Atorian however didn't miss a beat. "I could talk to---some...body to see if I can scry her down for you.The Silverspears have powerful resources, just give me the name and a description, and I will have the location for you this time tomorrow!"

[Samshiir]

Atorian spent the early afternoon searching the Arvandor for his father. His father was a master of teleportation, and now that he was a retired adventurer, had nothing better to do other than teleport around looking for something better to do. Atorian found him sprawled on the floor of the Arvandor Library with several dozen opened books spread out around him in a circle.

Gaeleath magically sensed his son approaching long before his mundane senses alerted him. He followed the boy around Arvandor with his mind, watching with his mind's eye as the boy searched expediantly for his father. As always, he was in such a rush do to things. Then Atorian finally decided to check the Library, and had stopped just outside the door to calm his heartrate just before openning it. Gaeleath patiently waited for the knock on the door, and told his son it was alright to come in.
"Father, I have an issue and need your assistance." He exclaimed as he burst into the library.
Gaeleath finished reading the paragraph he was on, and left an arcane mark on the page to signify where he left off, then stood up to turn his attention to Atorian. "What do you need, son?"
"There is someone in need of our help."
"Ah, you mean the human girl?"
Atorian was used to his father knowing everything that he did. He didn't know to what extent it was, but he was sure that his father had him enchanted with some kind of scrying spell so he could moniter him at all times.
"Yes, sir." He said as he stopped, realizing that he was approaching the matter to abruptly.
"You know that we should not be meddling in human affairs. Their lives are too short for our times spent on them to be of any difference."
"You're wrong, father. I need you to scry on somebody for me, and I will show you why we need to be concerned about this." Atorian said with a tone of defiance in his voice. He didn't care about abruptness, he knew what he needed to accomplish.
"Don't tell me what to do, boy." Gaeleath replied with an authoritive yet smooth and calm voice. Gaeleath could tell there was real concern in Atorian's words, even if he was being equally naiive about the situation with the girl. But he decided to give his son a chance. Gaeleath looked up at the ceiling, as if somebody was up there watching the situation. "Alright, son. Who is it that you need me to scry on?"
"Her name is Aliatra Signe. She was once a Paladin of the Silver Flame, but has since fallen from that status."
"A lot of Paladins fail out of their Orders, son. Especially from the Silver Flame."
"Yes, I know. But this one is unique. She has gone completely...evil. Also, she was in Cyre during the Day of Mourning."
"If she were present at the destruction of Cyre, she is already dead." Gaeleath said with a disclosing tone.
"Yes, so prove to me that this is truly nothing by scrying on her. If she is dead and the spell fizzles because of it, I will drop this. But if she is actually
alive..."
Gaeleath thought about it. The arch-mage has outsmarted Gods before, and yet here he was, wavering in a logic-battle with his adolescent son. The elder elf sighed and replied, "Very well son. We shall take a look."

Gaeleath focused on a small crystal ball. The crystalline ball filled with black smoke, which cleared to reveal the world of Eberron. Then it very quickly and continually zoomed in on Khorvaire, then into the Lhazaar Principalites and finally onto one of the small islands on an archipeligo, which were very common in that area. The crystal focused on a black-haired, black-eyed, beautifully fair-skinned woman with dark silver and black armor. Her two-handed sword came crashing down from over her head to slay a helpless girl with an unborn child.
The crystal focused better on the surrounding image, and there was black smoke generated by several flaming buildings in every direction. Hellish demonic fiends were chasing and slaughtering villagers that were barely able to defend themselves. One man had a small, crude shield and a mace to keep one demon at bay, only to be surprised from behind when another demon used a single claw to scratch the man's spine, disabling him from the chest down instantly. He was still awake when the demons began feasting on him.
Aliatra Signe watched the carnage. She chanted out a single name: "Fireheart". A large, black horse with a flaming mane, set of eyes, and set of hooves materialized from another world by her side. She mounted the beast, saddleless, and kicked its sides. It charged up a large hill, trampling over retreating villagers and leading several quadrupetic demons as it went. It stopped at the top of the hill to give Aliatra a view of the other side.
Human, elven, and dwarven survivors were retreating for their lives, but demonic airborne creatures were picking them off one or two at a time. They would not make it anywhere at all at the rate they were dying. The nearest settlement was several hours away.
A dwarven man approached Aliatra and Fireheart, dropping to his knees and lowering his head in a surrendering gesture. "Why are you doing this, my lady? We are a peaceful people."
Aliatra dismounted from Fireheart, and knelt so that she and the dwarf were roughly eye-level, though the dwarf was still staring at the dirt below him for fear of looking at the one that just led the slaughter against his village.
"Master dwarf, I don't have to explain anything to you, because you are already dead."
Before the dwarf could react to the statement, his headless body slumped forward into the dirt. Aliatra cleaned her sword with a small rag and sheathed it.

"Dammit, I can't take anymore!" Atorian yelled out as he turned his body around so that he did not have to look at the crystal. He could feel water in his eyes, due to both anger and sorrow, but mostly anger. "Do you understand now what I am saying, father?! She is evil and must be stopped!"
Gaeleath too, was shocked by the discovery of such a dark and evil chain of events. "You were right, my son. You must stop her."
"Why the hell do I have to stop her? I can barely do anything, father! Just teleport there and blast her into oblivion!"
"No, son!" Gaeleath's voice rised for the first time that afternoon. "I cannot just start firing my power around to set things to the way they should be, because who am I to say what the way things should be is?"
"Father, she is killing innocents and summoning an army of Demons! She must be stopped! You have the power to stop her right now! You have to go set this right!"
"And how would the girl, Mirai, feel if I just went and erased her sister from existance?"
Atorian didn't know what to say. How could he have been so quick to want to execute Aliatra? His father was right, he would have to find a way to help Aliatra away from the path of evil. But he wondered, deep inside, if that was even possible? "Does this mean that you will not be helping us, father?"
"Son, my adventuring days were finished long ago. I will help you however I can, but I cannot go with you. You have the power, whether you believe or not, to set this right. Do this for the good of those villagers, for Mirai, and for Aliatra."
Atorian felt a tear drop down his narrow face, and he nodded in acknowledgement. "I can do this, father. I will"

Atorian spend the late evening packing his things. Eldarian Hawksong, the Arvandor Estates stablemaster, gave Atorian two horses. Brahm was Atorian's horse since childhood, and the two were close friends. Bree was Sharlaria's horse equally as long, but she had told Atorian that she would not want the horses split up, and that Mirai could use it more than she could now.
Atorian set the saddle on Brahm's back and cinched it down, then set the bradle on the horse. He then patted his friends nose, as if to ask if it were comfortable enough for him.
He then strapped his hand-and-a-half sword that his father gave to him when Atorian was a boy. It was a good sword, but it was not the Silverspear Moonblade, the family heirloom passed down through seven generations of firstborn children in his family. Each generation, the new bearer of the sword traditionally enchanted it with a new property, one that signified it to belong to its new owner. Atorian was the next rightful owner of the Silverspear Moonblade, for he was minutes older than his sister and thus, firstborn of Gaeleath Silverspear and Tabitha Hawksong-Silverspear. Atorian had not yet earned the right to wield the Moonblade, for reasons Atorian did not understand. Did his father not believe him to be capable of the sword's power? Whatever the reason was, Atorian had proven himself time and time again in competitive combat arenas, and he knew he was capable and ready to be given the Moonblade. But, as usual, his father was holding him back. Maybe tracking down and stopping Aliatra would finally prove to his father that he is capable of solving large-scale problems, and Atorian would finally be deemed worthy of recieving the Silverspear Moonblade.
Next, he secured his ruckpack just behind Brahm's saddle, which secured his spellbook, a longbow with ten arrows, several days worth of rations and water, a bedroll, and spare clothing.
Again, he checked in on Brahm to make sure he was content with it. Atorian handed the horse a carrot. "Are you ready for a real adventure, Brahm? Not one of those playtime adventures we used to go on rescuing Sharlaria from an evil dragon or the like, but a truly real adventure." The only response he got was Brahm noisely eating his carrot. Atorian scratched Brahm's nose, and double checked his packing.
Sharlaria approched while Atorian was retying the straps that held his sword in place.
"Are you sure you are ready to do this, brother?"
"Of course I am. Even if I'm not, I need to go anyway." His response seemed to pierce Shar. She wasn't expecting him to be so completely ready to undertake this task already. She picked up a brush and started grooming Bree.
"Brahm and Bree will look after you two. Although I still don't understand why you are not taking the Lightning Rail to Thrane first, it would save a lot of time."
"Father told me it is too dangerous and we have too much equipment to travel on the Lightning Rail, plus he doesn't trust Thrane. If we stay on foot, we can avoid crowds. Besides, Mirai is an experienced woodsy type, so we will be safe."
"I am sorry I cannot go with you brother. I would, but I have too many duties to see to here at the mages college. Also, father has forbidden me from going. He said it would break mother's heart if both of her children left at the same time on a dangerous journey."
Atorian stopped what he was doing and looked at his sister. She was not looking at him, she was only looking at Bree. "I'm going to miss you, Bree." She said. "And I'm going to miss you too, brother." She said with a tears in her eyes.
Atorian crossed to the other side of Brahm and hugged his sister. She hugged him back, burrowing her tears into his shoulder.
"I'll miss you too, Shar. Take care of Arvandor while I'm gone, I'll need a home to come back to." She nodded her head gently on his shoulder, trying to hold back from crying entirely.
He held his sister for several minutes, then took the horses and set off to find Mirai.

[MiraiSigne]

It was surprisingly easy, for Mirai to pick up and leave in a matter of a day. A lifetime of moving around had instilled in her the virtues of keeping a spartan existence. A profession in intruige was also quite accomidating to chasing off at a moments notice, as well. It wasn't a question of whether or not her superiors believed her story; there was no point in lieing to them, anyway. The only question would be on if they agreed on if her sister was a threat to the crown. Had Aliatra at any point threatened the king or Breeland? No. However, her power was known and her reacent dealings were.. disturbing. Her connection and attitude towards Mirai, a citadel trained agent of the king's Dark Lanterns, was also concerning. So, they agreed with her mission

Her bag was packed and slung over her shoulder as she walked through the streets of the bottom level of Sharn, picking her way carefully through the grime that came with the poorer sections of the city. It was no wonder most of the city's nobels never strayed below the upper half of the City of Towers, and anyone who could afford it chose to leave Sharn through other methods. She was surprised when reports came to her of Atorian, son of such a wealthy family, was seen leaving through the ground level gates. It must have been at his father's suggestion, a seasoned traveler himself would know the particular risks involved with the very same methods of travel that the wealthy take to avoid cut purses and other scoundrels. No, airships and the Lightning Rail were far too visible, far too easy to trace or moniter.

A street urchin ran into Mirai as she was distracted with by a merchant, but she snagged the child by his collar as he tried to bolt with a hurried apology. Without a word but with a very unimpressed look, the boy sighed and handed back her coin purse. "Next time kid, don't try to get away so fast. If you linger, the mark's instincts'll tell them you couldn't possibly be so dumb as to stick around. Maybe cry a little, throw them offguard. Rich folk can't stand crying kids and hate making scenes even more."

She knew those tricks all too well. Not because she was a guard or a spy, but because not too long ago those tricks were the only things that kept food in her belly. How many years ago was it that she and Aliatra lived is this very area? Before her sister found a better life for them in Flamekeep? Even then, Mirai kept up her theiving ways, and had to be doubly good to do it under the Silver Flame's noses. Her own sister couldn't even ever learn where Mirai got her money from, and hadn't gotten so haughty as to ask questions or try and reprimend her baby sister... What had happened to her? The sister who loved her, would do anything for her. What was she now?

Mirai flashed her documents to the guard on shift, not slowing down to wait for his okay as she left the city. If he was a smart boy he wouldn't need to read the paper work, just see the sigil and know to just smile and nod. Outside the borders of Breeland, and even really outside of Sharn it was a horrible idea to make it known who she worked for, but in situations such as these it did certainly make things a bit quicker.

It wasn't hard to find Atorian outside the city, waiting with the two horses in the quickly faded twilight. Sure, it might have been a bit longer than the day she had promised to get ready, but he obviously had at least continued to wait for her. With a grin, she approached him, holding out a hand to the horse meant for her and cooing softly to it. "Have you been waiting long?"

[Samshiir]

"I haven't been here too long. My father pinpointed your sister in the Lhazaar Principalities. It's only about a ten-thousand mile journey, and I've been trying to figure out our route from here. I figure once we get to Thrane by horseback, we can continue by boat or airship to more easily skip around Karrnath and the Mournland."

Atorian decided not to tell Mirai about the crystal ball his father gave him yet. He didn't want the girl to see her sister. Atorian was planning on watching it when he had the chance, though, so that he could magically track Aliatra.

"Do you have everything you need to get going?" Atorian lifted himself onto Brahm's saddle, then helped steady Bree for Mirai.

[MiraiSigne]

"Only ten-thousand miles." She snickered in response, not truly bothered by the idea but certainly finding it a bit rediculous. Leaving her pack on her own back, Mirai apprached the horse's side, stroking the mare gently on the shoulder before mounting effortlessly. The Lhazaar Principalities was an odd place for her sister to turn up in, though, she couldn't think of any reason why she would go there. "Yes, this is all I need." She said after a moment, smiling pointedly at the large bag across is horse's flank. "I know of a good inn a few hours north. One step at a time, yes?"

[Samshiir]

"Very well." Atorian stated and started off.

Suddenly it hit him. Atorian was leaving Sharn. He was leaving his friends and family behind. He knew his father would be watching over him, even if only vaguely. But now he was on his own. Sure, he had a human girl with him, but he grew up to know the comraderie of elven friends. Now, he had to place his trust in this person he barely met weeks ago. He hoped he wasn't making a mistake taking on this dangerous mission across Khorvaire. He tried to think of why he was leaving again. He was going to help Mirai stop an evil tyrant. Yes, that was it, he was helping a girl that needed help, thats the way his parents raised him, to help others. Thats what he knew was right.

This soothed his panicky thoughts and emotions. However, there was one major thing that crept around in Atorian's mind...

...He was leaving his sister behind.

[MiraiSigne]

One sister behind, and another ahead of them. The pair rode on in silence for a good while, with Atorian lost in his thoughts and Mirai focused on remembering their route. It wasn't too long however before she began shifting in her saddle uncomfortably, the silence with someone who was basically a stranger becoming more and more awkward. Glancing his way, it would be plain to see for anyone that Atorian was a bit conflicted. For someone as trained in reading other people as she, it was easy to at least guess the reason behind it. "Is this your first time leaving?" she asked gently, guiding Bree to walk alongside Brahm.

[Samshiir]

"Oh no. My friends and I got out every so often to nearby cities of Breland and Zilargo. My father regularly took us to the Korranburg Library, too.... But it will be the first time away from my family and friends." Atorian patted Brahm on the back of his neck. "Most of them, anyway."

The rest of the day went in relative silence. Just before dusk, the two arrived at a small hamlet with the inn that Mirai had referred to. Atorian asked Mirai to take the horses to the stable while he dealt with purchasing their rooms. It was a rather busy night, with many humans, elves, dwarves and halfings chatting and playing cards around the decently large inn. The place smelled of humanoid and dwarven alchohol, but it wasn't too strong for Atorian's tastes.

Atorian approached the counter of the innkeeper. He noticed on a sign nearby that there were only one-person rooms in the inn. "Two rooms, please." Atorian said as he dropped a handful of coins on the innkeeper's table.

Atorian waited for the innkeeper to give him the keys. When he got them, he noticed that Mirai had not shown up yet from the stable, so Atorian decided to join the card game that was going on between a couple humans, a dwarf, and a halfling.

(Gamble Check for Atorian 10gp stakes)
[roll0]

[Samshiir]

"Good bluff once again, master halfling" Atorian stated as Mirai spotted him in the inn. "I knew I should have folded on my pair of threes."

(Gamble Result: Lost all stakes of 10gp)

[MiraiSigne]

She took her time in the stables double checking and triple checking on everything for the horses. Making sure their hooves were clear of stones or other irritations, their bedding and water clean and their hay. fresh and well kept. Their tack was wiped down and all the sweat brushed away expertly away from their coats. Truth be told, part of her extra care was more of Miari's way of stalling. Buying herself some time alone before entering the inn to fully consider what it was she was doing: blindly rushing in to this... this what, quest? Mission? With an elf she hardly knew. She trusted him well enough, but all of her years of being cautious and all that she knew of how the world worked was telling her that she was a fool for doing this. But the little girl inside her, alone and crying for her big sister didn't care and wouldn't listen. This was a chance to save her. Perhaps not much of one, but Mirai knew that she would not be able to live with herself, if she passed up the chance to help Aliatra. She would sooner die trying.

When she was finally satisfied with the situation in the stables Mirai finally made her way in to the smoky common room of the inn and quickly picked out Atorian quickly from the crowd. A smile crept to her lips when she noticed the cards, and she couldn't suppress a chuckle as she heard him lose his stakes as she approached. "Tell me you haven't already gambled away the last of our funds?"

[taurosking]

The crowds fall silent as a tall man with black hair and piercing blue eyes walks in. The man scans the crowd casually as if looking for someone, pausing when notices the people playing cards. When he sees Mirai he goes as white as a ghost and immediately turns and leaves the inn. Outside you can hear the loud thundering of hooves as he gallops away.

[Samshiir]

"It's about time you got in here, Mirai!" Atorian exclaimed.

Something was off about her.

"Hey, you should help me win some of my money back." He told her as he fetched a chair for her.

Something...was different about her. What was it?

"New game, master halfling!" the elf boy demanded. But before the dealer could get the cards down, it dawned on Atorian was was different about Mirai. "On second thought, I'm going to cut my losses and call it a night." He tossed the second room key to Mirai, and turned to go upstairs to his room.

Mirai spent too long in the stable, and smelled like the horses. Atorian wished that everyone else in the world would just live their lives to Silverspear standards.

[MiraiSigne]

It was strange, that when the whole inn fell silent there was no one at the door when she turned to look. It was also strange how quickly Atorian changed his mind on the game, but Mirai just shrugged it off. She was already more focused on the cards being dealt to her. With a nervous grin to the men sitting about her, she waved off her companion before picking up her cards. "What game are we playing, again? ...That's the one where you try and match the numbers and stuff, right?" It was all too easy for the young woman to play the naïve beginner. They never knew what hit them.

After a couple hours at the table, the others at the table finally resigned to their empty purses and grudgingly took their leaves to their rooms. Mirai had managed to win back Atorian's money and then some, first by playing on her act of being a beginner at the start, and then on her opponents' wounded pride trying to reclaim their coin that she had won. She was just about to turn in herself when another patron entered the inn seeking a room, only to be turned away due to a full house. Feeling sorry for the older man, she offered up her key for the price of the room on the assurance that she would be allowed into her companions room.

And so it was that she strolled into the dark room, setting down her pack before climbing fully clothed and still stinking of horse in to the bed. She was tired, it was late, and hey he was an elf. Not like he really slept.

[Samshiir]

Atorian was aware the second Mirai opened the door. He was trancing on the chair in the corner when she walked in. He listened to her drop her bag on the ground and climbing into his bed. He didn't mind it. He would be done trancing long before she got up, anyway.

He let himself fall back into his meditative elven trance.

When Atorian woke up, it was still dark out. He quietly changed back into his travelling clothes, grabbed his gear, and left the room. He made sure the door was shut for Mirai, and went downstairs. Nobody was down there.

He decided to go check on the horses out at the stables.

He took the crystal orb that his father gave him from his pack. He wanted to check on the status of Aliatra. He watched her for a few hours as she travelled on flaming-horseback across the Lhazaar Principalites and eventually boarded a naval warship with a crew of slaves. She was heading south along the coastline of the nation. Atorian wondered where she was going, and hoped that she wouldn't take an obsurely different route before he had a chance to check on her again.

He put the orb away when he realized the sun was coming up. He knew Mirai would be approaching soon, and didn't want her to have a chance to see her sister, for Atorian feared it would cause her pain.

He prepared Brahm and Bree for travel, singing to them their favorite elven song about the four seasons as he did.

[MiraiSigne]

Atorian was indeed long gone by the time she awoke, and Mirai hadn't honestly expected any different. After an obligatory yawn and a stretch, she quickly made her way down to the main room with her pack to score some breakfast for herself (paid for courtesy of the previous night's winnings). It was filling and warm but altogether forgettable, and what she couldn't finish she made a point to stash away in her bag for a snack later on.

After breakfast, finding her companion was another story. She was somewhat surprised to find him in the stables with their horses, stroking Brahm's neck and murmuring quietly in elvish to him. The sight of him with his horse brought a smile to her lips, and while she didn't want to interrupt the moment they really needed to be getting on. Luckily, Atorian had once again saved them some time by getting them prepared while she was still asleep. "Have you eaten yet?"

[Samshiir]

"Yes, I've eaten. The horses are ready to travel, if you are."

Atorian had checked both of their horses and had packed earlier that morning. He was eager to leave this town and get travelling again.

Their next stop was Wroat, the capital of Breland. From there, the path would turn northern for a several week journey into Thrane. Atorian and Mirai continued their long journey.

[MiraiSigne]

Mirai strode over towards Bree, cooing to the mare gently and offering out half of an apple she had saved from the breakfast table before gently tossing the other half to Atorian to give to Brahm. "Onwards, then! Only, what, 1,975 mile left to go?" Said with a grin in the utmost humor as she began to lead her mare out of the stabling area to swing herself up into the saddle. "Look on the Brightside, Bree, the longer we're traveling, the more treats you get." Stroking her horse's neck reassuringly, she then glanced back to Atorian with a smirk. "Oh, I think you lost this last night, Atorian. Catch." She tossed over the coin purse she had one the night previously, a good bit heavier than it had been when Atorian first started playing cards.

[Samshiir]

Atorian caught the pouch of gold and nearly dropped it due to its unexpected weight. He looked down at the pouch, opened it, pulled out a gold piece, and flicked the gold piece at Mirai. "Good job, here is your reward."

He didn't bother to look at her when she gave a return glance. He thought the joke was funny enough already, and if he saw her reaction, he wouldn't be able to keep from laughing.

About half a week later, Atorian and Mirai were well on their way to Wroat. Atorian monitered the crystal ball in secret every night, but he knew Mirai was getting curious as to what he was doing alone each night.

One night, he was watching Aliatra punish her crew of slaves on her ship for some frivolous task that they messed up on. She was still in the Lhazaar Principalities, and had a minor skirmish against pirates or freelancers once or twice a day. The battles were always hopelessly one sided in Aliatra's favor, though. She was currently battling an elf that was a captain of a ship. His rapier was blasted into a dozen pieces when her two-handed sword brutally crashed into it. She stabbed the elf in the chest, and lifted him up using only the sword as leverage off of the ground. He wriggled and screamed in pain, and Aliatra casually carried him to the side of the ship, and kicked him off of the end of her sword. He screamed until he fell under the water below.

Atorian was so enthralled in studying Aliatra's fighting tactics that he didn't notice Mirai sneaking up on him, examaning the crystal ball for herself....