Iron Goddess of Mercy IC

[Hazuki]

Rook's Rock sits beside the stirring sea, drawn up from the earth like two flicks of paint, with a bridge of stone built between them. Its flat surface has no imperfections, save for the poles drilled into its side, from which rope ladders hang. Save for the wind brushing its sides, the top of the cliff is silent - even those who stand at its top are quiet between the bouts. Standing at the far edge is a moderately tall woman, practically skin and bones, with an old tunic that ruffles in the breeze, and a pair of stockings leading down to well-worn leather boots. She brushes aside a lock of ragged blue hair and tucks it behind her ear, then bows to her opponent.

Standing beneath the clouds on the other side is a much taller woman, with very mild musculature, who's decked in scratched leather armor that covers her form shoulder to toe. She unlatches a rifle almost as tall as she is, with two broken metal hinges on each side of the barrel, and points its tip at the stone. At this, the small crowd of people behind her back away a little further. At their head is a kind-faced elf, garbed in a simple robe, who stands between them and the back of the large woman. She nods her head in recognition of her opponent, then braces the rifle against her shoulder and unleashes a round.

At the foot of the cliff's ladders sit a collection of stalls, sprawling out almost as far as the forest beyond. A lone man, sitting on the end of an ore-stuffed wagon, plays his lute with spindly fingers and a smile on his face - a joy not shared by many, but he keeps on playing. All around him, others are discussing the goods they've brought with them from their hometowns. Voices babble amidst the music, making trades, talking about their lives, and taking advantage of the opportunity to see people they never would have, were it not for this event. The voices stop as a crack, like thunder, comes from atop Rook's Rock - to a chorus of gasps.

Further back from the marketplace, in ramshackle stalls set up with smoke billowing from their tented domains, the malnourished guests feast on food from all over Ursuul. Coins weakened by age, dented through battle, happily trade hands, as an old human woman feasts on the meat of a deer beside a bearded miner. A few feet away, a rarely-sighted horse dips its tongue into a barrel of sweet amber liquid and laps up the juice within. The cook is about to bat the horse away when he hears the crack, and glances at the top of Rook's rock to watch as the rifle is unloaded. The shell shoots almost faster than he can see, the massive chunk of metal headed straight for the blue-haired woman's chest.

At the farthest reaches of the cobbled-together camps, warriors rest with a little bit of comfort and peace. The voices aren't so loud, there, and some of the duelists are dealing with their loss of pride with a flask of booze, or excitement at the battle that just took place. The rest struggle with a mixture of excitement and anxiety, as they finger their blades and keep their eyes on the top of the cliff, backs resting in the shade of the forest's trees. One teenager's pointed ears twitch as she watches the blue-haired woman step out of the bullet's path. It slams into the ground, taking a good chunk of the rock with it.

Rook glances at the damaged floor for only a moment before she darts forward. She slips under the large woman's rifle, slams a bony fist into her gut, a headbutt against her chest, and finishes the fight with a final uppercut that sends the riflewoman tumbling backwards, onto her rear.

"Fable?" Rook asks, kneeling comfortably beside the knocked-out woman. The nearby elf nods and closes her eyes, as a golden glow envelops the fallen warrior and heals the already-forming bruises. "Thank you!" She watches as the warrior's eyes shift from confusion to shame to amusement. "Let's get you up, Rolana!" She laughs, grasping the woman's bicep and helping her to her feet.

"Well...****." Rolana laughs and re-latches her rifle, much to the pleasure of the crowd. Soon enough, the duelist from Powdertown heads back down to the campsite around Rook's Rock, while the blue-haired woman returns to her place and waits for the next duelist...

Rook's Rock is a cliff with a flat edge, sitting by the sea. Tents and stalls are set up on the side that's on the ground, stretching from its side to the forest. The part closest to the Rock itself consists of a market, entertainers, and people looking to barter. The middle area has meals, a chance to rest, as well as share stories and generally relax. Rook has provided a few barrels of fruit juice for people to drink while they're there. The very outer edges of Rook's Rock is the smallest, and is where the combatants rest and prepare for their duels.

You can start where you like! If you'd like to look for a particular kind of person, or people from a certain location, just go looking for them.

[PersonMan]

Rana spends the first hour or so after her arrival on a long, winding journey around the Rock, looking up at it as she heads through the various clusters of people and takes in the foreign sights of the market-like array of tents and bedrolls rolled out in the trees. As a shot rings out from the stone at the center of the odd gathering, Rana's attention shifts, and she watches the brief battle curiously, raising her eyebrows at how swiftly Rook disables her opponent and the brief show of magic that returns her to consciousness. For a few more moments she watches, eyes following the blue-haired woman's movements before a strong smell distracts her. Turning, the mage closes her eyes and breathes in deeply, smiling at the pleasant scent and smiling. Rook seemed to be doing nothing but dueling at the moment, she considers, so there would be no issue in exploring some of the other things there were to find here first. Nodding to herself, Rana decides that this is an entirely reasonable conclusion, and makes her way through the crowd to fine the source of the smell, a steady stream of brief apologies and pleasantries rolling from her tongue as she goes.

[Rokku]

http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/209/8/5/85f4da0563a3f558d4aa4f481806385a-d41y4zd.jpg

Arabelle had spent the morning helping her parents set up their stall, and was now eagerly watching the matches. She cheered her heart out at the brief battle between Rolana and Rook, awed by Rook's speed and flawless form. She itched to get in there herself, but there were so many challengers between Rook and her.

This only made her more excited, getting to see Rook fight again and again. Once she got her shot, she might not win. But she would definitely learn something.

[QuidEst]

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e87/neesboy/ComDesign1_zpspsptlcmm.jpeg

"… but when Dol Dorodo awoke, there the cat was again! And if you happen upon a stooped dwarf on the road with a cat by his side, you will know that old Dol Dorodo still hasn't gotten rid of that cat," Camilla concluded, finishing with the dwarf's mask on her face and the cat's mask held in one hand down by her side to represent the cat following her. She bowed to her small audience, collecting the change she'd acquired.

Business was slower during the fights, of course. A loud crack in the distance indicated that the fight must be a particularly interesting one. Traveling as much as she did, she'd seen more of black powder and the devices that employed it, but many hadn't every set eyes on it in person, let alone seen it used in combat. It was probably a good time to check out the local market, then.

Taking her leave, she stored her masks once more and set out towards the food-merchants. Trying exotic foods was something of an investment, since every new dish was one more flavor that could be magically reproduced. While never quite as good as the original- differences in texture being the chief culprit- it was nevertheless part and parcel of being a traveling minstrel with even the slightest of magical abilities. A new flavor was a rare treat for most.

[Hazuki]

Camilla

Even after her performance finished, one of the performer's audience seemed enthralled. At least, that was one conclusion somebody could come to, as the heavily cloaked woman in the crowd followed her through the stalls. She didn't seem too threatening at a glance; the bulk of her attire contributed little to the no-doubt scrawny form it hid. On the other hand (Or paw), her hood hid her eyes quite well - and although she was ragged, she was impeccably clean, which almost always meant a mage.

Still, she provided no obstacle as Camilla arrived at one of the many food merchants gathered in the center-rung of Rook's Rock. The one she stumbled onto had a particularly spicy scent, something quite rare to find, which almost always meant that the owner was lucky. They'd have stumbled upon some old basement where a surprisingly rich owner had stocked some exotic spice, and stolen it away to help supply their shop. Then they'd run out, and they'd be ruined by relying on their luck find instead of talent. At least, that's how it would go in a story - this particular chef had an old sign out front that read "Fresh deer meat", and judging by hand-spun coat, he was almost certainly from Nereida. And they had the most hunters in all of Ursuul.

There wasn't much time to approach before Camilla felt a set of slender fingers digging just a little too hard into her shoulder...

Rana

Rana's nose led her to pleasant little stall in the center of Rook's Rock, the scent of lightly-spiced meat being grilled over coals - so thick that she could probably be fed just by looking at it for a while longer. But even with the pleasant goods on display, there was something more fit for her appetite on one of the old stools in front. A woman who seemed to have begun approaching her middle-age, but was still a ways off, was sitting with a lump of meat on a wooden plate, a sapphire necklace around her face, and a little haircut that sat well on her narrow, pretty face. She couldn't quite tell where this woman was from, but she was wearing a long gown with a sash, and her tan somewhat resembled the fighter on top of Rook's Rock. Perhaps most impressive was the necklace around her neck - twine to hold it in place, but a sapphire, however chipped, hanging from around her neck. An actual gemstone?

Unfortunately, she seemed to be occupied with an existing conversation with a short and stout man on the stool beside her. In fact, he seemed oddly short and stout - almost too much, and certainly in proportions she'd never seen before. He didn't even seem to be particularly pleasant, with a grim-seeming face partially occupied with a coal-stained beard that reached his widely-set ribs. Whatever the cause for his wideness, it certainly wasn't fat. Despite his odd appearance, the woman beside him seemed quite amused by whatever he was talking about.

Before the mage had a chance to swoop in, she felt a hand on her shoulder...

Rana & Camilla

"Don't," The owner of the errant had spoke with a surprisingly soft voice. "Drink the juice." She licked her slightly chapped lips and released the pair's shoulders. She pulled her hood back with lightly-charred fingers, fixed them each a stern look with young, almond-shaped eyes, then slipped back into the crowd. Thus leaving the two young women alone, just outside of the food merchant's stall.

Arabelle

While there were quite a few challengers for Rook, most of them didn't seem to be floating around the top of the Rock itself. And there wasn't even any official examination for any warriors, save for those who first entered Rook's Rock needing a quick-once over for any foul-doings. If she wanted to, the human could probably slip in for a duel now - although, from the talk among the outer-edges, the "wise" combatants were waiting for the end of the day, when Rook would be tired, to take their shot at her. At least one other Nereidan was doing that, and they were the ones who were meant to like the mage. Not that most seemed to dislike her - Hell, last time she came home, she'd heard that Rook visited and helped them bring in a big fish for the yearly feast.

Before Arabelle could leap for a shot at the momentarily unchallenged Rook, she was approached from the side by somebody who seemed to be nothing more than a merchant. A brown tunic, a skirt, and a pair of simple shoes - but a little closer look revealed that she did seem to be wearing some armor under those clothes, and her cloudy eyes were a little sharper than they seemed to be at a glance.

"Good day." The woman tucked aside a stray hair and smiled lightly at the young woman. "What do you think of Rook? Seems a little careless at first glance, don't she?" She asks, glancing at the woman standing on the far end of the rock from them. "But she isn't. Not really. Better than that, don't you think. Not so sure about the hair. It's weird to see it that color. You're not her sister, are you?" A smile tickled at her lips, as she glanced at the flaming red hair atop Arabelle's head.

[PersonMan]

Rana tenses up as she feels a hand on her shoulder, but the feeling instantly fades as she catches the owner, and her smile is almost complete before they slip off again, leaving her entirely confused. Had they just come out of nowhere to tell her to not drink something? Her expression changing to one that shows her confusion, the mage turns to the other woman who had been a recipient of the odd warning. "What...do you...know her?" She asks, inclining her head towards where the stranger had disappeared to, momentarily entirely occupied by the confusion left in her wake.

[QuidEst]

Camilla wasn't particularly concerned about the fact that somebody was following her. It was the ones that you didn't know were following you that were a problem. If the woman tried anything, Camilla had quite a few weapons stored on her person. Part and parcel of traveling in these trying times- trying in the sense that somebody was always trying to take your stuff.

Her search through the stalls and stands of the sundry salesmen, following her nose to the source of the spicy scent. Magical spice was never quite as good. That was part of why spices were still in such high demand. Magical imitations didn't linger in the same way as real spice, although that did make it suitable for less tolerant palates than her own. Still, the chance to try some well-spiced deer meat was not to be passed up.

She was about to get in line when somebody grabbed her shoulder. "Gods of the dead world, don't do that!" she snapped, having momentarily been torn between leaping away, drawing a dagger on the cloaked woman, and throwing a reflexive punch. Before she could fully recover, the woman was gone, having left her odd warning.

Camilla shook her head at the remaining person. "Not a clue." She sighed, giving the nearest cask of fruit juice a petulant glare. "Well, now I'm going to need to find a mage of some sort to figure out if it's poison, magic, or just some crazy woman's delusion." Fruit juice was a great deal easier to imitate, and she'd been hoping to find some more exotic flavors. Although in the quantities it was available here, she personally doubted Rook would have provided anything she hadn't tried already. If it was poison or magic, it might be useful, though. She should get a spare water skin and see if she could sneak some.

[PersonMan]

The woman's response provides little in answers, unfortunately, but it does settle Rana's confusion just enough to bring another important fact to the forefront of her attention.

She was cute!

As the woman turns to glare at fruit juice, Rana's expression completes its shift from the confused, questioning one of before to a smiling, friendly one. As the woman mentions finding a mage, she almost rubs her hands together at how perfect it is. "You won't have to look far," she replies."You're looking at a mage right now. Journeying Apprentice of the Red Sand, Rana Samar. It's a pleasure to meet you," she says, giving the woman a brief nod. "With a bit of concentration, I can tell you if it's magic or poisonous, if you like," she continues.

[QuidEst]

Camilla didn't turn her head, continuing to stare at the juice. "That is a very well-disguised mage, then. Moreover, that would explain why we should drink it-him-her." She turned suddenly, grinning broadly, and shook Rana's hand. "Likewise, a pleasure. I'm Camilla Nomer, travelling king-" Her free hand whipped out from her cloak to hold up a paper mask with a stylized king's face on it. "- fool -" She stopped shaking hands, and returned the mask while at the same time pulling out another one, this time depicting a confused-looking man who for some reason was depicted with antlers running along the top of the mask. "- and old Dor Dorodo," she concluded, switching the mask out again, this time for one depicting a bearded dwarf.

If your perception check beats her sleight of hand of [roll0], you notice that the three masks are in fact two masks, and the king's face somehow changed to a dwarf while she was holding it by her side.

"If it isn't too much trouble, I am terribly curious about why we shan't be drinking it. If I followed every crazy suggestion offered to me by a suspicious figure without reservation… I'd probably have to stop talking to myself so often."

[PersonMan]

Rana's eyes flash briefly as Camilla introduces herself, and her smile widens slightly. The handshake - which she'd forgotten until the woman extended her arm - was still something she needed to get used to. It was a wonderful way to do introductions, especially when it meant that she got to touch pretty women she'd just met. It's a shame no one had brought that idea to her home. But these thoughts come to an end quite suddenly as the woman flashes her masks - and Rana spots the trick. So she was a mage as well?

"I see you've got a bit of maginess in you, too," Rana says with a wink. "Mind telling me about that and your masks? Maybe over a drink?" She asks, letting Camilla consider her response as she turns towards the juice and begins an extended chant, hands vanishing beneath her cloak and emerging with a light dusting of dark red across their surface as she completes one spell, then another.

Using Spell Study to copy a Cleric's Detect Poison on the juice, then casting standard Detect Magic and focusing on the juice.

[Hazuki]

Rana finds herself unable to detect any magic or posion on the juice - not even a hint of something awry.

[QuidEst]

"Only if you don't mind waiting for me to get my spicy deer. And I think your spells will be the deciding factor on whether or not we're doing anything over a drink," Camilla added with a chuckle. "I'd hardly call myself a mage- I've a few talents, but that's the long and short of it. It's all in the fingers." The spiced deer meat being pricier than many of the other options available, she didn't have to wait too long before she got hers.

[Rokku]

"Sister?"

Arabelle chuckled, half-flattered and half-discomfited.

"No, I'm uh, the hair... it's the same color as my mom's. I'm from Cerea? It's just a bit down the coast. Not sure what that has to do with your questions but... I'm sorry, I'm a bit flustered from watching the fight."

Arabelled took a moment to compose herself, running her hands over her face.

"You're right about Rook. She's not careless. She's experienced. Good enough to make it look like she's taking it easy. Are you here to fight her? I'm hoping to get a shot soon."

[PersonMan]

Rana nods, closing her eyes briefly to end her spell before turning back to Camilla. "It seems like the juice is completely fine," she says, listening with interest as the woman speaks. Once she has her food, Rana orders a pair of drinks for them, sitting down next to the mask-wielding woman as soon as she gets them.

"It's still far more than most can claim," Rana says. "Is there anything else you can do? It sounds like you are quite talented, even if it just, s you say, 'in the fingers'," she adds.

[Hazuki]

Arabelle

The woman laughed lightly at Arabelle's distress. "Damn, girl. It's a good thing nobody's given her a proper fight, or I reckon you'd have fainted by now." She shook her head. "Yes, I'm here for the fight. I figure it's a good idea to get a good idea of what you're going to be dealing with, so I'm seeing what the others think before charging in. You do it if you're trying to make a living, so I have to do it if I want to win that stash of hers." Her eyes flick hungrily across the rock, then she turns back to Arabelle.

"Ah, where are my manners? Name's Songbird. Merchant and aspiring epithet-owner." She held out her hand.

~

Rana

Rana got to hand over her six silver pieces and, soon enough, a lump of spiced deer meat was sitting before her, as well as a mug of Rook's juice.

[QuidEst]

Camilla took a seat opposite her, carving up a piece of deer meat and taking a bite. She closed her eyes, chewing it slowly to fully experience the flavor with all its nuances, committing it to memory. She washed it down with some fruit juice, and considered her new acquaintance. "Oh, this and that. A simple charm, illusory disguises." She didn't make eye contact as she spoke, but was instead looking around as if making sure no one was listening. When she was sure that their conversation was lost in the general din, she leaned in conspiratorially. "… and of course, taking on this corporeal form."

[PersonMan]

Rana watches Camilla eat, raising an eyebrow as the other woman seems to focus so intently on her food. Not that it bothers her - quite the opposite, it lets her take a closer look at her face without worrying about appearing strange for doing so. Once the not-mage finishes, Rana takes a sip of her juice, listening intently. As Camilla leans forwards, she does the same, and lets out a quiet "Hmmm?"

"Wait, this corporeal form? Do you mean you're a spirit, or something?" Rana asks, the curiosity in her tone almost completely covering the slight disappointment in it.

[Rokku]

"Mine's Arabelle," she responds, taking the offered hand, "scavenger and... well I suppose I might already have a few epithets, if you count what drunks in taverns say about my ass."

[Hazuki]

"Arabelle the Callipygean?" Songbird suggests, giving her hand a firm shake. "I can see it already." She smirks.

[Rokku]

Arabelle busts out laughing.

"I can hear the songs already. They'd embarrass my papa, and mama would hum them while sweeping up the kitchen."

[Hazuki]

"Your parents sound pretty sweet. I wish mine'd do that." Songbird rests her hand on her hip as she watches Rook walk over to the edge of the Rock. "Or maybe not. Zombies'd stink up my home something fierce."

"I'm going to take a short break, now." Rook informs those atop the Rock. "I hope you're not disappointed, but I'm dying for a bite to eat."

[QuidEst]

Camilla spoke in a hushed tone. "When everything... went wrong, it left a lot of unfinished business. I can give you a little demonstration- just don't freak out." she placed her hand on the pitted table, drawing a dagger from her cloak. Without hesitation, she drove the dagger down into her hand, then pulled it away. She held up her uninjured hand, revealing a mark under it.

Sleight of hand with the false dagger: [roll0]
Dagger appears to be a genuine dagger thanks to Power of Persuasion.

[PersonMan]

Rana's eyes go wide as Camilla apparently stabs herself, then pulls her hand away to reveal completely uninjured skin. "So...so things go through you? But you seemed solid before. Can...can you choose?" She asks, looking up to the other woman's face, suddenly intrigued far more than before while also hoping, for a new reason, that her apparently lifeless companion could control her incorporealness.

[QuidEst]

Camilla pocketed the dagger again, shrugging as she did so. "Well, I've had a lot of time to practice," she answered before taking another large bite of her venison. "It's pretty tough to maintain this form and let something through, which is why I use something that's been in my possession a long time. But how about you? What sort of magic do you do?"

[PersonMan]

Rana nods slowly, wondering why Camilla is eating if she's apparently a spirit, but then realizes that it's probably for the same reason she came here - even when you didn't need to eat, it could still be enjoyable to have good food.

"I see. So, does it...do you need to focus constantly to stay like this? Or can you maintain it easily?" Rana asks, before Camilla asks her a question and she pauses to consider her answer. What would be the best way to describe it to someone who had never heard of the Red Sand or its powers? "Well," she begins, "I have an array of magical abilities I can use because of my connection to the Red Sand. For example..." Rana pauses to reach inside her robes, chanting briefly and bringing her hands back into the light to finish a few complex movements with a flourish - once again, a light dusting of Red Sand is on her fingers. Feeling the spell complete, she looks around the table for a moment before glancing down at her juice, one eye twitching slightly as she slowly lifts it with the energy of her magic.

"This sort of thing is the easiest. But I can do more difficult things. Make horses, make a campfire...I know a way to let people stay up from sundown to sunup and be rested afterwards," she continues, letting the cup rest on the table again before turning back to Camilla.

[Rokku]

"Yeah they're great. Used to be scavs themselves! Well, dad says scav. Mum says thief."

Arabelle pouts a bit as Rook declares her meal break, then brightens right up.

"Ooh, maybe we can eat with her? I should aim her towards our booth! HEY ROOK, HOW ABOUT SOME FRESH CEREAN FLOUNDER!"

[Hazuki]

The mage stops at the age of the Rock as Arabelle calls out to her, then pauses and turns to face her. "Are you buying?" Rook smiles.

[QuidEst]

Camilla paused, considering for a moment. "Oh, it's not so bad once you're used to it! It's just like humming one tune while singing the words to another song as you're tapping out the rhythm to a third," she replied nonchalantly. "You hardly notice after the first ten years! Well, apart from trying to actually humm one tune, sing another, and tap out a third at the same time. That gets to be a little much, and I go all fuzzy."

She leaned forward, watching Rana's display of magic with interest. "What if you run out of your red dust stuff? And I think we all know what the wizard who first came up with that restful spell was thinking," she added with a suggestive wink. She pulled out a wizardly mask, and spoke in a stereotypically elderly wizard's voice. "By my hat, that's the last baby I have stolen by wild dingos while I camp for the night!"

[Rokku]

Arabelle absolutely beams.

"Of course!"

She works her way through the crowd, making sure Songbird's able to follow her.

"Hi, I'm Arabelle! It's a real pleasure to meet you. Your fights so far have been, well, wow... my parents have a booth set up not too far down the row!"

If there's no objections, she leads the way.

[PersonMan]

Rana nods as Camilla explains the concentration needed to stay solid, surprised at how difficult it is, and at how long she had apparently been dead. What unfinished business needed more than ten years to wrap up?

"Well, I don't run out," Rana begins. "It's something you need to learn before you become a Journeying Apprentice, so that you can still use your magic even after your journey gets you further away from home," she explains. At Camilla's next words she grins, although the sudden change to one of her masks causes her planned response to be drowned in a brief fit of laughter. "Perhaps. Though I think your original idea is more on track. It's what I prefer to use it for anyways," she says, looking into Camilla's eyes as she briefly 'hops' her eyebrows.

[QuidEst]

Camilla shrugged. "I wouldn't know much about that- I don't do any red dust, hand-waving, or other traditional magical trappings. Of course, I also can't make horses, so there's probably something to all those things that I'm missing." She took a large bite of meat as Rana waggled her eyebrows. "Mmmph. You mortals and your weird biological impulses," she said around the mouthful of venison she was clearly enjoying.

[Hazuki]

"I'll leave you to it." The scruffy human tells Arabelle."See if I can pick up some tips from the other fighters or...something. Enjoy yourself." She gives a nod to the woman, and joins the slowly dispersing crowd.

Rook lets Arabelle descend the ladder before coming down herself. "Rook. It's a pleasure to meet you, as well, Arabelle." She smiles back at her as they make their way through the stalls. "As for my fights, well, I have to admit I get a kick out of them, too. It's rude to boast, but...it feels damned good to show off."

[Rokku]

Arabelle valiantly holds in her squeals of Joy. Rook. Was. TALKING TO HER!

"Your form's excellent," she says, beaming ear to ear, "so few mages even bother to learn basic self-defense and here you are showing up serious fighters while using hardly any magic at all! I mean that last fight, the way you made it look like your guard was down, but then you dashed in while she was reloading and took advantage of her opening... it was just. So. Cool!"

Arabelle continues to gush, and before long the ladies have reached her parents' fish stand.

"Mama, papa! Look who's here!"

[Hazuki]

When Arabelle arrives at her parents' stall, she finds that they're actually doing fairly well. Despite the fact that most of the guests were spoiled for choice, especially with that fancy schmancy spiced deer somebody was serving further up, they had a few customers eating big themselves. No doubt thanks to the work of Mama, who seems to be slipping in and out of the stall to entice people towards their grub.

Mama comes over first, lifting her long skirt above her ankles so she can move over a little more clearly. "Madame Rook." Her eyes twinkle as she greets the mage. "You've outdone yourself, Arabelle." She smirks at her daughter. "I thought you'd come home with some scraggly scav - but pulling Rook herself? Ah, I've raised you well."

Arabelle can spot Papa in the background, just making sure his fish wouldn't burn before he came over to join them. It seems she'll have to deal with her mother's teasing all on her lonesome.

[PersonMan]

Rana nods. "It can be difficult to wrap your head around. It's probably why we start so young - I've been learning for over ten years," she explains, smiling. As Camilla continues, she laughs briefly. "Oh come now, it's not all like that. It's just like having good food - I don't need to eat or drink, but I still prefer a nice meal over nothing," she says, gesturing to Camilla's deer. "Does your comment mean you haven't been interested in night company since you...changed?"

[QuidEst]

"Hmm, well, to each their own. I doubt I'd have the attention span for it. As much as I wish I could make horses, you know what they say... if wishes were horses, I'd be done already." Camilla shook her head at Rana's analogy. "I wouldn't know. I'm not eating meat out of preference, but necessity. It's this or... the fresher sort," she said with a hungry glint in her eye."Regardless of how I feel, I'm sure you can see where that sort of company would end very badly."

[Rokku]

"Mama!"

Arabelle looked at Rook and then blushed furiously.

"Rook... this is my mother. She's fond of embarrassing me in front of new people."

[PersonMan]

Rana sees the temptation, and almost falls to it. But she stands (well, sits) firm and doesn't give in, successfully keeping herself from responding to Camilla's confession of needing to eat meat with Well you can eat me.

"I see," Rana replies, nodding. "So you have to keep yourself from just...chomping on people? I mean, if you need meat, and you have a good meal, are you still hungry? Do you have to fight the urge to eat people whenever you walk through a crowd?" She asks, curious.

[Hazuki]

Mama smiled widely in the wake of Arabelle's embarrassment.

"Isn't that the way with all mothers?" Rook mused. "It's nice to meet you." She offered her hand for Mama to shake, and she did so with gusto. "And what a lovely shade of red your hair is! There must be some fire in your blood." She said to both redheads.

[Rokku]

"Oh, thank you," says Arabelle, still trying to stuff down her self-consciousness.

"Remember the stories you used to tell me when I was little, mama? I asked her once why our hair was so red, and then every other bedtime story for years was about where it came from. It was a parting gift from the Sunset Prince, or she stole it from the Dragon Rubilax's beard. Oh, one time it was because she fell into the River of Fire while fleeing a goblin horde! It's no surprise I grew up to go out into the world looking for wonders, you put such ideas in my little head."

[Hazuki]

"When I'm old and grey, you'll be able to use that scavving coin to give me a life of luxury." Mama smiled and tapped the side of her head. "It's all about the long con." She winked.

[Rokku]

Arabelle laughs, and leans over the booth to give her mother a hug.

"Well that's going to be a long time coming, mama. We're both far too young for retirement just yet! What about you, Rook? Do you have someone at home hoping this whole event will bring in their retirement fund?"

[Hazuki]

"I'm afraid not." Rook answered, while Mama returned Arabelle's hug with a caring squeeze. "I treasure Fable as a close friend, but besides her..." The mage shrugged her slender shoulders. "Not that I plan on retiring any time soon. If time wants to claim me, it will have to wait until I'm done."

[QuidEst]

"Mmm," Com mumbled, waving her fork gesticulatively. "It's a lot easier to do after a meal. Then it's a choice, not just an impulse. I still don't go getting all close and personal with anybody, particularly without witnesses- not after the first few incidents," she said casually before finishing off her cup of juice. "But that's been quite a while."

[PersonMan]

Rana nods slowly. "That sounds...Rather horrible, actually. Do you know some way that this could be...dealt with? Removed?"

[QuidEst]

"The only thing I ever found out about it was a reference to a sprig of Yarin's yew. I don't know if it's still around, though," Camilla answered. "You haven't heard of it, have you? Well, plenty of meat and keeping to myself or crowds has worked well enough for years, so that will have to do."

[PersonMan]

Rana raises an eyebrow as Camilla mentions a strange tree, and shakes her head. "I actually haven't heard of anything like this - a spirit needing to sustain itself is rare enough, and eating meat is something I've never heard of," she looks down at the table, taking a sip of juice and seeming to lose herself in her thoughts for a few moments before looking back up at the other woman, chewing on her lip and looking at her eyes. A few seconds pass before she stops and speaks again. "You aren't playing a trick on me, are you? A weaver of stories like yourself, I wouldn't be too surprised."

[QuidEst]

Camilla kept her face straight for a moment, but then burst out laughing, slapping her knee as she cackled. "Ahaha! Oh, you are too much. You should have seen the look on your face when I did the knife bit!" She pulled the dagger out again, stabbing at her own heart a few times to demonstrate the collapsing blade. Her other hand pulled out a mask with Rana's face on it. She spoke in a mock imitation of Rana's voice. "Why spirit, that is terrible! Can it be cured?" The implements were back in her cloak a moment later, and she'd finally contained her mirth to a broad grin. "Eheh, that was a treat. No, I'm not actually a spirit, I've just a performer with a few tricks up my sleeve. Yes, I am actually called Camilla Nomer- that I didn't make up. And no, I don't keep nocturnal company, unless you count a traveling company that performs by magical illumination," she said, her hand suddenly holding a wispy blue flame. "Well, I am pleased to meet your acquaintance, now that you've been introduced to the real me."

[PersonMan]

Rana deflates slightly at Camilla's response, though she doesn't seem to let it keep her down for long. "At least I saw through it eventually," she says, shrugging. "And that's a shame - you are quite a beauty, if you don't mind me saying so. But I won't bother you with more of that," the mage adds, waving her hands a bit as if to blow away the subject. "And it is good to meet you properly, Camilla."

After a few moments of consideration - and some more of her remaining juice - Rana speaks again, turning up from her cup to look at the other woman again. "Now that these matters are cleared up, would you be up for trying to find that woman who tried to warn us off the juice? It might be worth it to ask her about why she's running around telling travelers not to drink, don't you think?"

[QuidEst]

Camilla waved back, her wave taking on a more regal flair. "Oh, I never mind flattery. Or insults, for that matter, so long as they have the decency to be clever."

At Rana's suggestion, Camilla looked at her skeptically, glancing at her own empty cup. "After having finished off the juice we were clearly warned not to drink, you want us to spoil the blissful ignorance by finding out what is in store for us after all?" She grinned suddenly. "Sure, let's do it! Lead on, oh fearless leader."

[PersonMan]

Rana smiles as Camilla agrees to join her, finishing her juice before standing. "Let's get going, then," she says, heading off from the table back into the crowd, occasionally slowing to make sure that her companion hasn't lost her in the mass of people, asking here and there for a woman of the description she remembers.

Using Diplomacy to gather information.

Time: [roll0] hours (unless you rule we don't need that long)
Roll: [roll1]

[Hazuki]

Rana quite easily discovers the supposed location of the woman who'd approached her, as a few of the other guests have had the woman approach them, along with a warning not to drink the juice. Apparently, she's set herself up a tent on the outskirts of the stalls, where the challengers are resting. As they approach the vague directions given to them, they spot the woman returning to a fairly simple length of cloth, tied across some branches to provide shelter. She drapes her cloak around her as she sits on the furry blanket beneath it, then reaches into her cloak and takes a large gulp from what seems to be a clay jug, and sets it aside.

[PersonMan]

Smiling over at Camilla, Rana walks over to the elf woman's spot - she wanted to call it 'campsite', but it was a bit sparse for that - and offers her a wide smile. "Good afternoon," she begins. "I am Rana Samar, Journeying Apprentice of the Red Sand. It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you mind speaking with my companion and I?" She asks.

[Hazuki]

The woman looks up at Rana from beneath her hood. She points at the ground in front of her, then draws back the sleeves of her top and flexes her pallid fingers. "Anor. Sit and show me your tongues." She softly instructs her guests.

[PersonMan]

Rana nods, sitting down even as she knows what the elven woman is trying to find out. "We were curious about your warning, actually, as our examinations led us to believe there was no reason to not drink the juice," she says, before opening her mouth and sticking her tongue forwards to show it to the odd woman.

[QuidEst]

Camilla stuck out her tongue out as well, but not before giving it a magical once-over while she was sitting down. "Uh-huh; Ah wathn't thure what could be wrong with it, tho Ah had thome. It wath good."

Prestidigitation to clean her tongue. That may be the weirdest use I've had for it yet, but she still doesn't take this very seriously.

[Hazuki]

Anor waits for both of the women to sit down with their tongues out, and leans forward ever so slightly. Her almond eyes shift in their sockets, she licks her slightly chapped lips, and flexes her fingers once more. She opens her mouth to speak, when both of her hands lash out, grabbing a hold of each girl's tongue. They seem perfectly clean, even as her fingertips are suddenly wreathed in flame, brushing against the tongues of both women. It doesn't burn, and it's only for an instant, before she lets go. Her hands rest in her lap, and they're suddenly cleansed of any residual saliva.

Anor then stares at Camilla.

[QuidEst]

There was a brief moment of panic at the whole tongue-grabbing and flame-making, but Camilla resisted the instinct to bite Anor's fingers. Camilla just stared back at her, tongue still sticking out. "What?" she said, continuing to talk around her tongue. "Ith it'th not madjic an' ith not poithon, it can't be that bad, can it?"

"If it's not magic and it's not poison, it can't be that bad, can it?"

[Hazuki]

"I expected you to get angry again. Well done." Anor compliments the woman. "What did you think, when I told you not to drink the juice? Did you tell anyone else? What did you check? Did anybody ask you about it?"

[QuidEst]

Camilla shrugged, finally putting her tongue back in her mouth. "Eh, I'd forgotten about that already." She waved a hand dismissively. "I figured you were crazy or having a good laugh at our expense- although lying to complete strangers for one's personal entertainment is a very petty sort of amusement, I must say," she added with a grin in Rana's direction. "That's one question answered. If you want to get any more more-or-less honest answers out of me, though, you'll have to answer in turn! Why did you tell us not to drink the juice?"

[Hazuki]

"It's how you get answers out of people. You have to tickle the sleeping dragon if you want to get to its hoard." A smile cracks on Anor's lips. "And I'm very, very curious about Rook...because it's odd, isn't it? How she got a year of food from...out of her arse. That's not possible - no farm, no people, nothing at all! I wanted to see what she'd do, if I started to turn people against her. If she's got something to hide, she'll be scared, and if she's scared, she'd be looking for me - but she hasn't yet. I need to poke some more."

[PersonMan]

"And...you can't just go to her and ask?" Rana asks after she's recovered from the shock of the elven woman grabbing her tongue. It wasn't expected, and it had been fairly unpleasant. Then again, she had barely met the woman and this had already happened - maybe she was one of the hands-on types?

[Hazuki]

"No! No." Anor shakes her head at Rana, knocking loose a few strands of white hair. "She's lying, and when you ask liars questions, they're just going to lie. If everyone could get it, she'd be sharing, but she isn't - and if they can't, it's because it has to be something people wouldn't like! Ask yourself, why hasn't she shared?"

[PersonMan]

"Maybe she just found a bunch of food somewhere and it's magically preserved?" Rana asks, shrugging. "Anyways...why do you think turning people against her will make her open up?"

[Hazuki]

"It's not about trust. It's about seeing what happens." Anor explains. "I want to see her reaction. How she responds to it. That can give me more information, and maybe tell me what to do next...to get what I want. I don't plan to talk with her - the fire would burn her tongue, very certainly!"

[PersonMan]

Rana frowns, confused. "Why would the fire burn her?" She asks. "And, if you don't mind me asking...what is it that you want?"

[Hazuki]

"Fire casts away the darkness. In the night, of the soul, and on their words. If somebody's going to lie to me, the fire will burn them - and I know not to trust." Anor lights the tip of her finger with a flame, then extinguishes it by closing her hand into a fist. "And my wish? To discover what she's kept shrouded. Was that not obvious?"

[PersonMan]

Rana raises her eyebrows, clearly interested. "So it can tell what they're going to do in the future? How far does it go? Does it count if you know which lie it is? Does it work on people who you haven't spoken to, or don't know?" She asks, shifting forwards to stare are the fire on Anor's finger.

[QuidEst]

"If the dragon's sleeping, I wouldn't tickle it, I'd just content myself with the hoard-fringe," Camilla said, sounding somewhat puzzled at why anybody would want to tickle a dragon. "I mean, does tickling them even work? They've got a lot of scales, and it's not like you can tickle somebody's hair or fingernails. It's like they say, let sleeping dragons lie. It's not like you can make them tell the truth, after all. So you just politely pretend to agree as they lie in their sleep and take the fringes of their hoard." She nodded, satisfied with her conclusion, and then cleared her throat before continuing. "Except we've got flagons, not dragons, the hoard is food stored- full board for a year- which you fear is illicit and so seek to elicit a reaction through infractions, and you're not tickling but trickling misinformation in relation to libation rations. Okay, that last one an eye-rhyme, I know. Also, you've got a bit of a fire metaphor running that I didn't quite follow. That bit sounds a little more like the initial 'crazy' theory. And in answer to your second question, no, we didn't tell anybody else."

[Hazuki]

"Ah, curious, are we? I'm afraid I can't teach you the secrets of the flame, no, not yet. If you're lucky, you may drink from my flask, but that will be some time from now." Anor replies to Rana, smiling all the time. It turns into a snort as she glances at Camilla. "Crazy, she calls me. But, lovely rhyming, why don't you wear a mask for it?" She shakes her head. "Do you have another question, or can I ask you where Rook got the food?""

[Rokku]

"Is Fable your..." Arabelle's tongue looked around until it found the right word, "paramour? To tell the truth I know a bit about you, because you visited Cerea a few times while I was growing up. But I know next to nothing about her. How did you two meet?"

[QuidEst]

"What mask would I wear?" Camilla asked. "It was just me, after all," she added, pulling out a mask of her own face. "Oh, you mean this flask here?" Camilla withdrew a beat-up flask from her cloak dramatically, waving it a bit. "I can't help but wonder what you've got shrouded. Let's find out, shall we?" Camilla took a long swig from the flask.

Having spotted her flask, Camilla prestidigitated a facsimile. Normally it wouldn't pass inspection this close, but take 10 on Power of Persuasion is enough to make it convincing while she's holding it.

[Hazuki]

Arabelle

"Oh, goodness, no!" Rook laughs. "Fable is a dear friend. She comes from a village to the Northwest, one that is sadly no more - the Scions raided it some time ago, and she was one of very few survivors." The mage sighs. "I fear it's the cause of her brusque demeanor, but she's sweet on the inside."

~

Camilla & Dana

Anor stares at Camilla as she withdraws her flask, eyes narrowing on the trickster. The Kitsune just about manages to finish her swig when the woman lunges forward. "That's my flask!" She snarls and, with a surprisingly accurate swing, smacks Camilla's wrist and snatches the flask out of her hand. She sloshes it to the side for a moment and, finding no liquid, frowns. She reaches into her cloak, eyes never leaving Camilla, and her fingers find the actual flask once more. With one quick toss, the fake flask is over her shoulder, then shattered on the ground.

Was just successfully Disarmed.

Camilla hears something in the distance, quite a ways away - but it's distinct to her keen ears, and sounds very much like a terrified scream. It's coming from the forest.

[PersonMan]

Rana jumps as Anor leaps forwards, nearly falling onto her back as the elf suddenly moves. "L-let's not get carried away," she says as she shifts backwards, using one arm to prop herself up. As she pauses and finds her actual flask again, the mage sighs. "Camilla...I don't think she's the type to appreciate your tricks," she says, turning to the other woman, even as she tries to fight back a smile. Really, Anor couldn't get angry at this - the tricky woman had done exactly to her what the elf wanted to do to Rook; provoking her in order to gain information.

[QuidEst]

Camilla laughed, dancing back a few steps. "There, that's how you get a reaction! And that's for grabbing my tongue. I'm sure we've both learned a lot. Maybe it will help you with your fire-methafore'd investigations, hmm?" She smiled, but suddenly frowned, turning towards the forest. "Rana, did you hear that? Not joking, for once. I think I heard somebody scream." She started striding towards where the sound had come from. Far be it from her to cut short a good laugh, but she didn't want to be caught unawares by whatever was worth a scream like that.

[Rokku]

"Oh, that's so sad. Is that what inspired you to host this whole thing? Brightening up some dark days?"

Should I roll Diplomacy here I don't even know [roll0]

[PersonMan]

"I-no, I didn't-" Rana begins to reply, quieting as Camilla explains. For a moment she freezes, only coming back into motion when the other woman stands, hastily pushing herself to her feet as she realizes that her companion is most certainly not joking - at least, she seemed to be serious this time. A scream? The thought puts a cold blanket of dread over her, and the mage's hands disappear under her cloak, as she readies herself to call upon the power of the Red Sand, if they ran into some monstrous thing or murderous combatant out in the trees.

[Hazuki]

"Not exactly what, but that terror is something that I've got to keep an eye out for." Rook flashes a smile at the young woman. "The Scions are too much of a problem for most settlements in Ursuul, and eventually, they're going to realize that raiding, even selectively and with caution, isn't going to sustain them. It's killing settlements, and the less settlements there are, the less resources they'll get, and the more competition they'll get." She pauses. "Of course, I expect we'll get some such bandits trying to attack this Rock of mine. But, I've hired some help to look out for approaching war parties."

~

Anor sticks her tongue out petulantly at Camilla, when she dances away from her, then goes docile once the entertainer notices some disturbance in the woods. She stays put and doesn't say anything, as she watches the pair enter the forest itself. After the first fifty feet of dense trees are walked through, it becomes clear that the noise wasn't very close at all, and Rana was lucky to hear it at all - it takes ducking under branches, snapping many a twig, and lurching over a fallen tree before the entertainer hears another. It's only after about half a minute of hurried walking that they can spot the source of the disturbance.

It would be difficult to miss - a monstrous black brute that looms over a pair of corpses, great musculature rippling beneath thick black fur that's all too clean for any natural creature. It lunges forward, leather armor groaning against the stress, and snaps up a slender figure with a human-like hand. It opens its ram-like maw and releases an inhuman roar at the dress-clad woman in its grip, sending a damaged hat hat flying off of her head. It braces itself against the massive sword in its other hand, then leans in to bite the squealing woman...

Until there is a flash of blue, from a small stick still clenched in one hand. Struggling to reach, she slams her knife into the bulbous red mark at the center of the beast's head. With a whimper of great pain, it releases her, and she crumples to the ground in a heap. Blood from the creature's wound splatters everywhere, before coalescing and floating towards her. As it pulls its sword up again, it becomes clear that this monster isn't done with her.

You can be between 60ft and 120ft away. It is Difficult Terrain. Feel free to make any Knowledge/Perception checks that you'd like before taking any actions.

[Rokku]

"Any bandits fool enough to attack this place deserve the thrashing they'll get. I've never seen so many fighters in one place before."

Finally, Arabelle's father approached with plates of cooked fish.

"Papa," said Arabelle, "you know Rook. She couldn't resist your flounder. I've been mercilessly grilling her for information about all this."

Arabelle gestured around at the surrounding tents, booths, and the rock above them.

"Now I'm wondering -- she just called it her rock. Does that mean you're staying indefinitely, Rook?"

[PersonMan]

Rana stares at the beast, pressing further forwards as she furrows her brow and compares it with the creatures of mythology and the old world that she had learned about, hoping to find something that was close enough that she could at least help the others fighting it know what to avoid. After a few moments, she finds them.

"Avoid its horns, and don't let it charge you with them," the mage says, raising her voice enough that the other woman fighting it can clearly hear her. "It's too fast and observant to run or hide - we'll have to fight it," she adds a moment later, pushing past a low-hanging branch.

Doing a double-move forwards to H11, and talking.

[QuidEst]

"What, like it can charge in this mess?" Com said, shoving her way roughly through the foliage. "OI! TALL, DARK, AND FUZZY!" she shouted at the beast, trying to buy some time. "Look, I'm going to be bleed-all use here if you don't get yourself a weapon or something to wave at it," she hissed at Rana. "I'm sure this comes as a big surprise, but I've built my whole fighting style around misdirection." She kept pace with Rana, pulling out a curious set of blades and a sap.

Move to H8, drawing her pair of butterfly swords and a sap as a free action during that move. Move action to hand the sap off to Rana. If that doesn't take a full move, she'll follow to H10.

[Hazuki]

"Good afternoon, ma'm." Papa says to Rook, as he places the plate on the table. "I hope you're having a good time." He tells the both of them, then leans down to whisper in Arabelle's ear. "Remember to close your mouth when you're chewing." He helpfully reminds her.

"Good afternoon. I don't plan to stay indefinitely, but it does mean it's mine. Until somebody else shows up and puts a flag in it, at least." Rook smiles at the pair of them.

~

The monster turns about on its hooves as Camilla's voice pierces the trees that surround them, lugging its greatsword behind it and drawing up a small cloud of smoke. Behind the beast, its falling blood floats over to the fallen woman, who has pulled herself into a leaning position against the tree. The sanguine liquid glides around her wand, until she pushes it against her stomach and it dissipates. There's the distinct noise of cracking - or rather, uncracking - ribs as her dress takes on a less inward shape around her torso, and she turns her eyes to the monster moving away from her.

With Camilla hidden between the foliage, the monster's eyes can only focus on Rana. It hefts its massive greatsword up onto one burly shoulder, snapping the arrow embedded into it, then charges as best as it can towards her. Its footsteps thunder even as they struggle through the thick ground, but before it reaches her, it scoops up the nearest corpse in one hand. Still running, it hurls the corpse at the mage with all its strength - one she just manages to avoid my ducking to the side. The cadaver lands with a few sickening crunches on the ground right behind her.

The woman on the far side of the beast has pulled herself up against the tree, her face the picture of shock as the robed man is tossed like a ragdoll. She takes a deep breath and slashes her wand through the air, accompanied by the sound of a large sword being unsheathed. Suddenly, the lunging beast topples onto its hands and knees, leaving it exposed - if momentarily.

[QuidEst]

The creature's bulk meant that even from where she stood, Camilla had a rough idea of where it was. Acting quickly, she dashed around the tree. "Hoi! Miss me, pimples?" she called, holding her blades up. "I thought so!"

Move to K9. Free action to split her swords up, one in each hand. Readied action if it takes the bait and moves toward her to move back to K7.

[Rokku]

Arabelle starts eating, moaning happily at the taste of her father's cooking.

"I miss this so much when I'm on the road," she says, "nobody can grill a fish like my papa."

She takes several more bites before pausing with a bit of fish on her fork.

"What does being 'yours' really mean if you don't stay, though? Are you going to leave people here to protect it? Establish the village of Rook's Rock? Is that what this whole festival is about?"

[PersonMan]

"I - I'm not trained to fight like that!" Rana exclaims, awkwardly gripping the sap as she eyes the beast. "I have...a bit of combat magic," she adds, eyes flickering shut for a brief moment as she chants, voice filling the space beneath the trees as she intones the words to unlock the Red Sand's power, sand-bearing palm emerging into the open to perform several brief but complex gestures, followed by a powerful thrust of the arm towards the beast.

Casting Admonishing Ray, using Focused Spells to increase the CL to 8 and get two rays.

A: [roll0] touch
D: [roll1]

A: [roll2] touch
D: [roll3]

Then moving forwards to J11.

[Hazuki]

"I'm just providing good food for good people." Rook summarizes, her eyes glowing briefly blue before she starts to dig into the grilled fish. "As for what it's worth...not much! But it's a nice thing to pretend you have, isn't it?"

~

The monster struggles to pull itself back to its hooves, even using its greatsword as a lever. Just as it does so, both of Rana's bolts hit it in the shoulders, forcing it to stagger back a step on its apparently-injured legs and glare deeply at her - accompanied by an inhuman roar that shakes the branches where they stand. It barely seems to acknowledge Camilla's presence now, even with the name-calling.

The woman standing far behind it, now, takes in a deep breath and slowly approaches the back of the creature - as best she can through the twigs that litter the ground.

[Rokku]

"Ooh, your eyes," says Arabelle, "that's a lovely color... how do they do that, though? Or why?"

[PersonMan]

Rana, realizing that she can't move forwards or back without opening herself up to an attack from the beast, changes her grip on the sap, brandishing it as menacingly as she can manage, staring up at the beast even as she hopes that one of the others will catch its attention again soon. Why had she gone so close to the damn thing?

Total Defense! Rana's AC is now 16. Woooooo

[QuidEst]

Seeing the other woman getting into position, Com made a decision. Better to move in now, and serve as a distraction. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, ugly!" she shouted, making a dash (or what passed for one) up to it and taking a stab with her blade at it.

Move to K12, eating the AoO since there's no point in rolling acrobatics against that DC. Attack!

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Hazuki]

"It's what happens when I cast a spell." Rook explains. "Just a cantrip, this time - that's, a very small spell, just to check our food."

~

The beast grips its greatsword more tightly as Camilla darts into the fray, eyes narrowing on her and blood trickling down its beastly maw. Just as she's getting close to it, the beast yanks its arm back as hard as it can, sending its blade in a wide arc that slams into Camilla's side with a terrifying whoosh. It knocks the air clean out of her lungs and sends the entertainer tumbling to the ground before she can make her attack.

Took a crit and 34 HP damage. She is now unconscious.

The monster's eyes flick to the unconscious Camilla for just a moment before looming around on its next victim. Snarling, it trudges across the ground towards the woman who'd crippled it - and by its grunting struggles, it seems like the beast still can't raise it's blade against her and get to her in time. She watches it, eyes trembling, and looks to the fallen Camilla and Rana both.

"Please! I can help get us out of this!" She yells out to Rana, as she slashes the blade in her left hand against her right wrist, and blood starts to flow freely out of it. But only for a moment, as it evaporates into nothing, and the mage can feel a force attempting to pull her mind towards the hatless woman.

[PersonMan]

Rana isn't sure what to do, but the woman seems confident enough for her to trust her, so the mage allows her mind to be pulled towards her, letting the magic do its work without resistance.

[Hazuki]

Rana feels the tug replaced with something that feels like a warm blanket around her mind. Right after, she hears the woman's voice, but a lot softer, as though it were her own thought. "Richard - far to your right, he has- had a bow." Her eyes are staring up at the monster looming up at her, and at the greatsword that it struggles to pull up before slamming it down at her. She swishes her wand through the air, drawing more blood from her open wound and the swing noticeably slows before slamming into her side. She grits her teeth, stumbling between two trees.

"Behind you, Joseph might have had a wand." She informs Rana again, as she taps her wand against her bleeding wrist and grits her teeth.

Camilla feels herself drifting back into concsciousness. Her blood is burning in her veins, heart pumping harder than she's ever felt it, and her lungs have almost no air in them - but she's alive. "There's a bow to behind the right of the big tree - the one my friend is against." A voice speaks inside her head. She then speaks to both women. "You can talk to each other, like this. Please, do whatever you can!" She pleads, as the monster growls through the arch of branches.

12 HP healed! She's now conscious, but Prone.

[PersonMan]

Rana nods, nods again, then nods a third time, as the woman's voice goes through her mind. Looking back at the fallen man, she almost moves back towards him, before instead shoving forwards through the undergrowth, as her thought-speech continues. One more of my own she thinks back, her hands emerging from her robes with a thicker dusting of Red Sand as she speaks aloud again, intoning words of power with a harsh edge to her voice, hands dancing in the air for a few moments before she points her arms towards the beast. "You! Burn!" Rana shouts, as the red dust ignites in mid-air, a surge of flame erupting from her hands, which emerge untouched but entirely without their former covering of Red Sand.

As the woman finishes her explanation, Rana nods again. I'll go for the wand, then she thinks at the others, turning from the beast to press through more of the underbrush, heading back to the dead man behind her.

Rana's acting on the round she willingly failed her Will save against the telepathy-thing, then again on the new round.

R1: Move to K13, Burning Hands.
D: [roll0] DC 15 Reflex half

R2: Move to H12, search body for wand.

[QuidEst]

Camilla awoke to burning pain and a voice in her head. That was new, and would likely need to be sorted out later. For now, it seemed like good enough advice. She staggered to her feet, fighting her way through the underbrush towards the promised location of the bow. "Hold on. This is not easy to get through! How's it going, Rana?"

Move to stand, standard to move to J18, free action to silently curse difficult terrain.

[Hazuki]

A pained roar escapes the beast's maw as Rana's fire licks across its back, forcing it to brace against the ground on clumsy legs. Its breaths are even heavier now, as it glances back at her, before re-focusing its gaze on the nearest target - the woman between the trees. While the beast clumsily lumbers forward, Rana finds herself leaning over the quite mangled corpse of a young man, complete with a few cloth pouches tied around his waist. With some searching, through dust, little bits of food, and a waterskin, she finds a short, thick baton made out of wood and covered with engravings. It feels comfortable in her hands, but she doesn't know what it is to be able to cast it!

Camilla's struggles through the underbrush lead her to a well-armored woman, probably in her early thirties, whose shield has two large gouges in it. The arm that had been holding it is thoroughly broken, and tucked against her side is a bundled-together shortbow and quiver, with a fair few arrows left.

The beast reaches the edge of the tree and draws its blade towards the sky, before slamming it down at the woman. Once more, she raises her wand, and more blood pours out of her arm before the blade hits her. She noticeably pales and stumbles backwards a little further, gripping her wand tightly in one hand. She scrambles through the bushes as quickly as she can, taking shelter behind another pair of trees.

[PersonMan]

Rana looks at the wand, looking back at the beast and frowning. Do...do you know what's in this? What spell? She asks the wand-wielding woman through the mental link, before thinking to Camilla. Well, I have the wand. I don't know if I can use it, or what's in it, though. Looking over at the creature, the mage grimaces and begins to force her way through the bushes towards Camilla. Come over towards me, I can get you an opening to do your distracty-thing she thinks, beginning another, less forceful, chant.

Just using Free action communication for now. Chit-chat, then acting.

Move to I15, then Ready to cast Vanish on Camilla when she comes into range. Vanish will make her invisible for 4 rounds or until she attacks, but it will get her that juicy Sneak Attack damage.

[QuidEst]

"Just a second. Let me get his attention first." Camilla stooped, setting her swords down and grabbing the bow and quiver. She drew, firing a shot at the beast. "I do not like being ignored!" Actually, in this case, it would have been rather nice if she could live with it, but since the woman had saved her life (admittedly, put in danger by trying to rescue her), she couldn't exactly leave now.

Grab 'n shoot!
Attack: [roll0] (add one if it's masterwork)
Damage: [roll1]

[Hazuki]

"I-I'm not sure." The woman answers. She braces herself against the tree, taking in a few deep breaths as she watches the monster approach her. Its scorched and beaten muscles struggle to heft its greatsword up to its shoulder, but the beast's renewed leg strength helps keep it stable, and it makes its way menacingly towards her. It isn't aware of Camilla's arrow until it pierces its skull. It makes one more step before it collapses to the ground, with a dead thud and the trembling of branches.

The woman watches the fallen beast and swallows. It takes her a few moments to start walking back towards the group. Her dagger disappears into nothing, and she drags her wand over her wrist, which seals the wound on it nicely.

[QuidEst]

"Gods of the dead world, I didn't think that would do more than grab its attention," Com said out loud, panting a little. She stooped down to grab her swords, pairing and sheathing them. "Are you in one piece?" she thought to the woman. She started walking over, magically cleaning off the blood coating her as she did. Everything hurt, but in a dull un-insistent fashion. Magical healing was strange like that, dealing with the worst of it while leaving what your body could handle best on its own. The result was a condition of injuries quite unlike what one would ever reach under natural circumstances. "Thank you, by the way. You saved me there, no doubt about it."

"And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to just run in at the thing," she added to Rana. "Look where it got me, after all."

[Hazuki]

The woman smiled a smile that was halfway between amusement and sheer relief. "You are more than welcome, my friend. If you hadn't shown up, I'm certain I would have ended up...well, best not to dwell on that." She replied, as she got closer to the defeated beast and frowned as she examined it. "I cannot thank you enough."

[PersonMan]

Rana relaxes as the beast finally falls, waiting for a few moments before shoving through the undergrowth again, towards the woman. "Well. So...can we just be talking like this, now? It feels odd to think at people," she says, mostly directing her words at the woman. "And of the two of us, she deserves more credit, I think. I didn't hear anything, so without her I wouldn't have even realized there was a problem," she continues. It was a strange feeling, returning to the quiet calm after fighting like that. Something about talking made her feel more normal, even if they were standing in an overgrown forest with the corpse of a monster between them.

"Should we stay here, to...take care of the fallen? I think I would feel better about introductions and such if we did it somewhere less...prone to monster attacks," Rana says after a few moments, looking back to the trees further from Rook's Rock. Who knew how many more were out there?

[Hazuki]

"Of course. I'm sorry." The woman apologizes. "And for...forcing you into it, as well." She adds, directed at Camilla. "One has to give permission for me to form this bond," She taps the side of her own head. "With you, but you couldn't resist once you were knocked unconscious, and I wanted to heal you." She explains. "And I owe both of you a debt - one I intend to repay, if given the chance." She smiles softly.

When Rana speaks again, she takes a nervous breath. "Please, don't worry people about any more of them. It's...it's complicated, but that," She points at the monster, whose massive chest is still rising and falling. "Was one of us."

[PersonMan]

Rana looks down at the fallen beast, eyes widening as the woman explains what it had been. "It...wow. Well. In that case, should we...leave it? Or would it be better to, you know..." the mage's voice trails off, and she makes a vague gesture with one hand.

[QuidEst]

"And you were the one who hit it hardest when we got here, so don't go short-changing yourself," Camilla said to Rana. She had positioned herself such that the two bodies were out of her sight, and stood over the monster with the others. "I mostly just got knocked about. Oh, and I'll relieve you of that sap again. I'm glad we didn't need it after all."

Camilla waved a hand dismissively at the woman's apology. "Oh, I don't mind another voice or two up there. It seems fantastically useful, if I do say so myself." Her easy smile didn't falter in the least at the revelation. She twirled the sap she'd retrieved from Rana and shrugged. "Quick tap will give you plenty of time to think it over if you'd like. By the way, now that that's taken care of, introductions! I'm Camilla Nomer, traveling minstrel and actress."

[Hazuki]

"I'd rather it were removed from my life as soon as possible..." The woman's answers softly. With Camilla's carefree continuation of the conversation, she smiles just a little. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Toriya, from Melora. I don't really have a title..."

[PersonMan]

Rana nods, handing the sap back to its owner and smiling slightly at Camilla's words. "I am Rana Samar, Journeying Apprentice of the Red Sand. I would normally say 'the pleasure is mine', but I honestly don't think that this is the most enjoyable of ways to meet someone," she says. "Were you on the way to the Rock?"

[Hazuki]

Now that Toriya is standing a little closer, and in a few beams of sunlight that have managed to pierce the canopy of trees, the pair of women are able to get a better look at her. She has a somewhat cute face, with black hair that cascades down her shoulders. Her eyes are blue, while her skin has a slight yellow tinge to it, and her eyes are tilted upwards at the outside, almost like an elf's, but not quite. It's a far from common look in Ursuul. Her dress is made out of patchwork cloth, and has a set of leather armor that seems to have been stitched into it to form a pseudo-corset. She wears leather boots, and doesn't seem to carry much with her, aside from the wand that she's tucked into her belt.

"We were." Toriya answers Rana, a slight twinkle in her eyes at Rana's wry comment. "It was Richard's idea, and he convinced the rest of us to come. Is it close?"

[PersonMan]

Rana feels a bit of relief Toriya takes her comment well, smiling more confidently. "Quite. We're a few minutes from the edge of the camps around it," she explains, a moment of sorrow coming to her. They had fallen to a monster risen from their own, only minutes from finding what they had been searching for.

[QuidEst]

Camilla nodded. "I understand. You may want to turn around." No sense dragging thing out, and there was no polite way to go about it. After giving Toriya the chance to look away from the final blow, she pulled out a sword and finished the beast off with one clean stroke. A bit of magic cleaned up the mess, and she stowed her weapon once more.

Assuming there are no objections, Com delivers the CDG. If damage actually matters (since a lot of the damage was non-lethal), it's [roll0] with an additional [roll1] in precision damage.

"As Rana said, a pleasure under any other circumstances. You're lucky you were this close- I barely heard you as it was." She was dying for an explanation regarding the beast being or having been a member of their group, but prying seemed to be in very poor taste at the moment.

[Rokku]

"Old habit?" asks Arabelle. "I can promise you, anything papa serves up is safe. He knows all the signs of bad fish."

[Hazuki]

Toriya faces away from the beast as it is slain, one last whimper escaping its lips as Camilla's blade finishes it off. She shudders softly and nods at the entertainer. "The crones used to say I had a good set of lungs." She replies with a bittersweet smile. Her eyes can't help but drift to the other corpses in the clearing, and she rubs her forehead. "Sorry, do you think we could find somebody to...take care of them?"

~

"Old habit. Back when I first started exploring, I tended to underestimate what I might need - and after your first case of scaletongue, you learn to check your meat. And fur. And bones. And anything else you can eat that will let you live through the day." Rook remarks in good humor.

[PersonMan]

"I think we could get help from some of the people camping nearby," Rana says. "We could be there in less than a minute."

[Hazuki]

"That would be lovely." Toriya nods. She makes half a step as though to walk in the direction of Rook's Rock, but pauses and frowns slightly. "I feel like I'm forgetting something..." She muses quietly and stares at her shoes.

[PersonMan]

"Your hat, maybe?" Rana asks, looking back over to where it might be lying. "I think you lost it in the confusion just as we arrived."

[Hazuki]

Toriya glances upwards. "Oh. So I did." She looks around the clearing and then shuffles off through the brambles to retrieve her damaged hat. It fits snugly on her head, with a wide brim that's slightly floppy and a point that stops halfway up to the peak. "Thank you for noticing." She tells the mage, then looks back in the direction of Rook's Rock.

[QuidEst]

Camilla gestured for the others to go ahead towards Rook's Rock, falling in line behind to take up the rear. There wasn't much to say- nothing to make light of. Still, it was a relief that Toriya was still alive.

[Hazuki]

When the three get closer to Rook's Rock, they spot Anor a little further into the trees than when she was left. She watches them approaching for a few moments before retreating, leaving them to exit the forest themselves. It seems like the rest of the camp isn't even aware of what happened, with many of the warriors still resting in their tents or simply at the market.

[Rokku]

"It must be years since you've had to eat like that though," says Arabelle, "someone of your wealth and power should have little problem getting regular meals. Are you looking to set up Rook's Rock as a waystation, then? Somewhere folks can get supplies for trips into the waste?"

[PersonMan]

"Well, here we are on the outskirts of Rook's Rock," Rana says, spreading her arms to indicate the scattered tents and bedrolls as they leave the trees. "We can go further in, towards the, ah...market and such, if you like," she adds, turning back to Toriya.

[Hazuki]

"I've considered it, but it seems like an unlikely area to set up a waystation. People would have to go out of their way to get here. Better to leave that for the settlements already involved." Rook smiles and noms down another mouthful of fish. "If I ever want to throw another event like this, I'll almost certainly do it here."

~

Toriya looks over the gathered tents and the rock that looms over them with no small amount of relief. "I'm hoping that somebody here will be able to help us with the bodies. Do you know where one might be?"

[PersonMan]

"Well, there's someone we were talking to before, but apart from that...We could see if we can find Rook, and talk to her about it. She probably knows the place better anyways; there may be some place we can take them," Rana replies.

[Hazuki]

"That sounds like a grand idea." Toriya nods in approval.

[QuidEst]

"Any idea where to find her?" Camilla asked. She pulled out two masks, one in each hand, and held them up over her head. They were emblazoned with bright red letters LOOK and ROOK. She winced, and immediately pulled her left arm down. "Dead gods, that was not as healed as I thought it was."

[PersonMan]

Rana smiles briefly at Camilla's complaints. "If that's still bothering you tomorrow I can help - I can do a bit of that sort of magic as well, but I already did so earlier today," she explains, hoping that the other woman doesn't ask precisely when. It would be somewhat embarrassing for her to know that her injuries would stay for another day because the mage had wanted to impress her by examining the juice for poison.

"As for finding Rook, well, before she was at the top of the rock, but we could probably ask around to find her. She has a fairly striking appearance, and everyone knows her, so it should be easy," she adds. If none of the others have complaints, she will head further towards the rock, asking a few passerby whether they had seen Rook or if she was still at the top of the rock.

Gathering Information, yo

[roll0]

[Hazuki]

Toriya opens her mouth to speak when Camilla mentions still hurting, but then Rana makes her offer and she goes quiet once more. The mage they're searching for is discovered very easily, as the first person they ask points Rana towards the marketplace, where another mentions that she was heading to some fish chef's alongside a redhead. From there, it's easy to spot the blue-haired woman eating fish alongside a pretty young warrior. They seem to be having quite a pleasant conversation.

[PersonMan]

Rana smiles as she approaches the two, their hair making them easy to spot from a distance. Coming closer, she wonders briefly if she would have to wait to avoid an impolite introduction, but watching the two she gets the feeling that she can approach them immediately.

"Good afternoon," she says, stepping in as she spots what seems to be a break in the conversation. "I am Rana Samar, Journeying Apprentice of the Red Sand. I apologize for my sudden appearance, but there's an important matter I wish to bring to your attention, Rook," Rana continues, moving slightly to the side and ushering Toriya forwards. "This woman and her companions were attacked just outside of camp - she's the only one that made it, and we're looking for a way to see that her fallen friends are given a proper burial. Could you help us?"

[Hazuki]

Rook smiles warmly at the trio that approach her and Arabelle, Toriya returning a genial smile of her own. Her smile becomes a little less bright as she's informed of the fight that took place, and gets to her feet. "Of course I'll help. But, first thing's first, I'll make sure that the scouts around Rook's Rock are doing their jobs properly." She glances at Arabelle. "I'm sorry that the rest of our lunch will have to be postponed." She wiggles her fingers in preparation. "If you can explain everything to Fable, she'll be able to help you immediately more than I can. Bye, for now." She flashes a confident smile at the group, lets out a sharp whistle, and snaps her fingers. She disappears in a burst of blue light.

Toriya blinks rapidly as the mage disappears. Before she can get too flustered about the dramatic exit, the elf that had been healing people at the top of Rook's Rock runs up to the group. Her robes drag along the ground behind her, and she pants lightly as she brushes hair out of her eyes.

"Hello." She wheezes. "I'm Fable." She takes a few deep breaths and speaks in a manner slightly more collected. "Tell me where the bodies are, and I'll have them collected. Describe the attack."

[Rokku]

"That's horrible," says Arabelle, blinking spots out of her eyes from the blue flash, "poor folks just coming here to have a good time. I'm so sorry for your loss, miss."

She steps forward and clasps Toriya's hands.

"Anything you need miss, my family and I are here to help."

[Hazuki]

Toriya smiles softly back at Arabelle, even as some sticky blood gets onto the young woman's hands. "Sorry...my sleeves..." She apologizes and rolls said sleeves back up her arm, which does unfortunately reveal the heavy scarflesh on her right wrist. "Thank you, very much, for your comfort. I wouldn't expect it from a stranger, but after meeting Rana and Camilla..." She nods towards the pair.

[PersonMan]

Rana nods, and lowers her gaze for a moment as Rook disappears, avoiding the flash of light and looking over to Arabelle as she speaks.

"I can't just ignore someone who needs help," the mage says. "And it seems we've been truly blessed - that pretty, and this kind? You're making it hard for the rest of us to look good," she adds, smiling to Arabelle.

[Rokku]

"I owe it all to my parents," says Arabelle, gesturing to her mother and father, "please, everyone take a seat. You must be exhausted. Is anyone hungry?"

[QuidEst]

"Heh, I can't keep my nose out of anything," Camilla said, waving away Toriya's compliment. "As to what happened, I heard Toriya here scream from a great distance. I set off immediately with Rana. When we arrived, we saw Toriya being attacked by a large goat-headed beast. There were three people already dead there. We managed to distract it- Rana by injuring it with spells and me by being an alternate target. That second part wasn't entirely intentional, and didn't go so well for me. Toriya saved me, though, and we were able to finish the beast off. At which point, we returned to locate Rook, and the rest you are presumably well aware of."

[Hazuki]

"Where did the beast come from?" Fable asks, declining to take a seat even as Toriya slumps down in the nearest one.

"It was one of us..." Toriya mutters, which makes the elf's eyebrows shoot up. "We, we had a fifth member with us, Lara. She started feeling ill this morning, talking about having a headache, and feeling like her insides were going to...to burst out of her. She went to speak with Joseph, her brother, because he knows a lot about the world, and history, and she didn't want my healing..." Her fingers twitch slightly. "And then she changed into that beast, and started attacking us.."

"I see." Fable's voice cracks ever so slightly. "We'll have somebody sent to collect the bodies and examine the beast. If you, all of you, can stick around for further questioning, it would be appreciated."

[PersonMan]

Rana nods at Fable, glad that Camilla and Toriya had been able to explain everything. It would have felt odd, describing it herself, as she hadn't really been the beginning of it, merely been present for what happened in the middle and end.

"If it will be of use, I can certainly stay here longer," the mage says, a smile spreading on her face before she continues. "I doubt I'll find a good reason to leave such pleasant company any time soon, anyways."

[QuidEst]

Camilla rolled her eyes at Rana's flirting. She pulled out a mask of an old bearded dwarven man, and held it up to her face. "If she gets to be too much, you can borrow one of these," she said, her voice lower and more rumbling. She put the mask away, nodding and smiling. "No problem, though. I wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon."

[Rokku]

"I'll stick around, of course," says Arabelle, "this all sounds horriffic. Whatever I can do to help, I'll do."

[Hazuki]

Fable nods her head at the slew of responses. "Very good. We'll find you if we need you." She says, then turns on her heel and jogs away.

Toriya turns to face the table properly and buries her face in her hands. Over at the counter, a woman looking very much like an older Arabelle is whispering excitedly to her husband, her eyes locked on where Rook had vanished.

[PersonMan]

Rana watches Fable leave, and is about to come up with a reply to Camilla when Toriya seems to slump forwards. Sitting next to the woman, she gingerly lays one arm around her shoulders, positioning herself so that the woman can easily shift towards her if she desires. For a moment she's silent, before her mind comes across something to say, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Where did you get that hat?" Rana asks. "I haven't actually seen anything like it before today."

[QuidEst]

Camilla somewhat nervously took a seat across from Toriya. "Hey, it's…" Well, it wasn't okay. She'd just had one of her friends kill off several of her other friends. How did that even happen? It was terrifying when you thought about it. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd be holding. "… yeah."

[Hazuki]

Toriya pulls her face out of her hands and offers a weak smile to Camilla. "It was a gift." She answers Rana's question, as she slumps back into the offered arm. "I've had the dress for some time, but it didn't have all this armor..." She runs a pale finger along the leather chestpiece that's sown into the front. "And when Joseph fixed it for me, he thought I needed something to finish the look. I think he got it from an old book." She smiles wistfully.

[PersonMan]

"It sounds like he was quite talented," Rana says quietly. "Where is it you all started your travels from?" She asks after a moment.

[QuidEst]

"It suits you," Camilla said, glad to have the conversation moving along a little. "And it's nice. This all," she added with a wave at her own rather dour outfit, "is just to keep the attention on my masks."

[Hazuki]

"We started out from Tongbruk and made our way here, along the river. But I only joined them after traveling on my own." Toriya recalls. "I came from Menora." She smiles softly, and tilts her head at Camilla. "Thank you. What are your masks?"

[QuidEst]

Camilla produced a pair of paper masks, holding one up in either hand. An old bearded dwarf and a human man with antlers. "I've traveled all manner of places, to and from every which where. I'm an entertainer- my masks are part of my plays. I couldn't bear to let anybody else have the lead role, or the supporting role, or any of the ancillary and inconsequential roles, so I play them all."

[Hazuki]

"Have you ever been to Menora?" Toriya asks softly.

[QuidEst]

Camilla shook her head. "No, I'm coming from the other side of here from there. It's only Rook's big to-do that's brought me out this far, although I've got no reasons against traveling on to Menora with one of the caravans leaving here. Truth told, half the reason I'm here is to leave with somebody going where I haven't been. I'd be happy to hear about Menora if you're feeling talkative."

[Hazuki]

Toriya tilts her head at Camilla's mannerisms, but brightens considerably when Camilla mentions talking about Menora. "It's...a wonderful place. The land is broken up, like a hard biscuit, and different people with different colors live on every island - but not because we're separate, but because we're all together. Whenever something good happens, everyone on an island joins together to celebrate it, in a way kind of like this." She nods in the general direction of everything around them. "And when it's really good, they join the islands up celebrate together. The sound of drums, and laughter, and happiness can be heard all through the islands. Even the bad people are made a little better, by hearing what they could have."

[PersonMan]

Rana listens silently as Camilla and Toriya converse, glad that the hat-wearing woman was being distracted from the horror of what had happened by Camilla's words.

"That sounds quite nice," she says once Toriya's explanation of her home ends. "I don't think I've ever been to a festival like that - even this doesn't really count, I suppose, seeing as it isn't exactly a celebration."

[QuidEst]

Camilla chuckled, nodding appreciatively. "That certainly sounds like my kind of place- plenty of occasion for me to work. I can't say I make bad people any better, of course, but maybe I make them think or laugh. I don't know how I'd fare on an island, though. Too closed in, and I trust my feet more than I'll trust any boat."

[Hazuki]

"I don't trust feet." Toriya replies, and rings her hands in her lap. "They're always so callous, and just asking to get booted." A little spark is in her eyes as she says it.

[PersonMan]

Rana raises an eyebrow, then realization dawns in her eyes and she spends a few moments holding back a laugh which eventually makes its way into the open air.

"I love it," she says after a moment.

[QuidEst]

Camilla's face dropped to a serious expression. "That's a rather defeatist attitude, don't you think? I think you had better toe the line- it's my sole means of transportation."

[Hazuki]

Toriya smiles slightly at Rana's reaction, though it seems to twist into one of sheer confusion by the end of Camilla's pun-storm. "Yes...umm...ankles...?" She clears her throat and laughs nervously. "You're too good at that."

[QuidEst]

Com gave a seated bow, smiling. "Well, it is my job! You don't see me out-magic-ing either of you, after all. What do you do for a living?" she asked, addressing both of them. "I don't really know how exactly you magical types go about putting food on the table."

[Hazuki]

Toriya looks down at her hands for a few moments. "I...don't have a job." She admits, shifting awkwardly. "And I've never been any good at magic of the mind...just, of the body, like you felt. And I've learned how to use it well enough so that I don't need to eat any more. Or drink. Means people don't have to feed me, at least."

[QuidEst]

Camilla laughed, shaking her head. "Don't look so guilty about it! Not needing to eat or drink is even better than a job. If everybody could do that, then we wouldn't need jobs at all! Well, okay, clothes and a place to stay are good ideas, but that's about it, and I doubt you'd have any trouble there. Me, I'm greedily taking food that others could use! Not sure how good I'd be at not eating if I didn't need to, though- I enjoy it too much to just quit."

[PersonMan]

"I don't exactly have a profession," Rana replies. "At the moment I'm traveling to become a full...mage, I think you'd say. Until I return home, my only job, one could say, is to find myself and explore the world," she explains. "As for food - well, I enjoy eating, but don't actually need to. My spirit feeds my body, rather than weakening when it goes unfed."

[Hazuki]

Toriya gives Camilla half a smile at her encouragement. When Rana mentions her magic, and its methods, she peers over at her. "How does your magic work?" She asks, then flicks her eyes over at the Kitsune. "And yours?

[PersonMan]

"It's fairly complex, but I think the basics can be described like this," Rana begins. "There's a substance with innate spiritual power, known as the Red Sand due to its most common appearance, that my people use. Its power can be tapped into by those properly trained. Imagine that each grain of the Red Sand has a small bubble around it, a miniscule aura of spirit energy. Using our own spirit's aura, we can mold it and use that to manipulate the material world," she explains, before pausing and smiling. "Of course, it's really quite a bit more complicated, but that should get the point across."

[QuidEst]

Camilla shrugged. "How do you move your arms or legs? It's like that- just something I do. A bit of stage magic, a little charm in a pinch, and disguises when the occasion calls for them. Oh, and lights, but it's not the kind of thing bothering with when a torch is easier to use and lasts much longer. And on top of the magic, there's a fair shake of sleight of hand," she added, wiggling her fingers demonstratively.

[Hazuki]

"How do you get more red sand?" Toriya asks the mage sitting closest, eyes flicking curiously over her attire. When Camilla speaks up, she smiles softly. "So, do you have a magic muscle that you stretch, like your legs?"

~

Lyara finds herself in one of the many stalls set up around Rook's Rock, where slabs of meat sizzle away over an open fire and are occassionaly doused in oil. There are a small collection of vegetables that the wiry-built chef seems to be experimenting with, brought over from another stall, but the most curious sight is on the other side of this particular stall - a small man, eating his meal with a dour expression, while, beside him, a creature flaps its tiny bat-like wings. Its body is covered in thick skin, and ends with a curled stump, while an occasional sniffle emerges from its eyeless, pig-like face.

Then, she feels a large hand patting her on the back, as the seat next to her is suddenly taken up by a large woman whose lower half has been stripped of armor, and bears a bandage-brace wrapped tightly around her stomach. "Afternoon, Lyara." Rolana beams at the half-elf. She recognizes her as one of the guards from Powdertown, who spent some time scavenging in her youth, and is known for the massive rifle she wields - and anybody else would be knocked on their arse by. She has no mother, and there was an incident with her father a few years back that nobody likes talking about, but she's maintained a friendly demeanor. She doesn't even eat meat!

[Archmage1]

Wandering around the market, looking at the rather disgusting stall, as it was in the way of the strange creature, the half elven woman pauses to have a better look, taking a seat to rest for a bit, and then, she gets touched. She darts around, looking, and her expression changes from one of surprise, to one of happiness, smiling at the surprising companionship of a familiar face.
"Rolanna! I didn't know you came too! How long have you been here? And have you seen the people? So many are strange, they've come from so far away! I didn't know that there were this many people left!"

[PersonMan]

"It's...hard to explain, but it's one of the things I had to learn before going. A good way to describe it would be like...picking up little grains of it that float in the æther, and putting them in the space we can see, around the Red Sand I already have," Rana explains.

[QuidEst]

Camilla flexed an arm, with no visible effect through the baggy sleeve. "Not really. You can see things and you can hear things, but what does sound look like or color sound like? A muscle is only an explanation insofar as it explains why I can't explain it." She shrugged. "I'm magic, and that's the long and short of what I know about it."

[Hazuki]

"I came with the rest of the hopefuls from Powdertown. What ones we could get past the Chief." Rolana smirks at Lyara. "It is amazing, I'll give you that. I'm guessing you sneaked out of town before the Chief gave you a talking-to about dangers?"

~

Toriya nods at Camilla's explanation, or lack thereof, of her magic. When Rana explains the red sand, she looks thoughtfully at the ground. "Maybe Red Sand is...the blood of the land?"

[PersonMan]

Rana chuckles at the thought. "Maybe. But I'd say the land is bled dry where my people make their home - and yet there's far more Red Sand there than here. Not that we don't have our own theories, it's just..." she pauses, and smiles. "It's the sort of thing the apprentices would stay up all night discussing, after the lights were all taken off."

[Archmage1]

Lyara nods in understanding.
"She can be a little... protective, from time to time. I left Jarpan a note, so I'm sure it's ok. If not, well, I'm here, and he's there, so..."
She smiles, and then, after a brief pause, she continues.
"It's his problem? So, how have you been? Did you meet anyone interesting?"

[QuidEst]

Camilla stared at the red sand intently for a moment, as if seeing it for the first time. "It's probably not a good sign that my first thoughts are inquiries as to what would happen if you used it as a baking ingredient. Phenomenal power, or arcane indigestion?"

[Hazuki]

"Well, Rook certainly counts." Rolana answers. "She dodged my rifle and took me down in six seconds or under. I didn't even get a chance to finish reloading, she was so fast." She chuckles.

~

Toriya is too caught up in snickering at Camilla's comment to give a coherent reply.

[Archmage1]

Lyara looks at Rolana, her eyes disbelieving.
"Really? She took you down that quickly? But... if she can take you down... what chance do I have? This... this is my chance, a chance to put togeather an expedition of my own, but... it all depends on defeating her."

[PersonMan]

Rana smiles at Camilla's idea, but shakes her head. "As potentially amusing as that might be, that's sadly not the case. I don't know exactly what would happen if you baked it into something, but I've read that ingesting it does nothing much that normal sand doesn't. You can potentially draw upon it as a power source, but it would be...difficult to eat enough for that to be effective."

[QuidEst]

Com sighed dramatically. "Well, there go my half formed plans of ascending as a new goddess of magic, rash decisions, and creative baking," she lamented. "Along with my half formed fears of what arcane indigestion would entail."

[Hazuki]

"That's kind of selfish, don't you think?" Rolana remarks, looking back at Lyara. "I mean...an expedition, from this? Would you use all the food for the people on it? Or...sell it to people? I mean, if I'd have beaten her, it would've been put to use for the good of Powdertown."

~

"You have a unique way of looking at things." Toriya compliments the trickster, with a smile teasing at the corners of her lips.

[Archmage1]

Lyara shakes her head, looking quite excited.
"Whatever happened... it must be out there, somewhere, just waiting to be found. If we can figure it out... Maybe, just maybe, we can undo it, and make things better. Don't you think that's worth a try? If we can fix things, let things grow everywhere, like they do in the stories, won't that help a lot more people?"

[QuidEst]

"That's generally what humor is- if you can't see something differently, there's no joke," Com answered. "Oh! On a mostly unrelated note, we forgot to let you know. If some lady comes up to you and tells you not to drink the juice, don't believe her or worry about it. She's got sort of weird grudge against Rook, but won't act on it in any sensible fashion."

[Hazuki]

"Maybe." Rolana shrugs. "I just think that we should try to make the best of what we got, instead of spending all that food on something that mightn't even exist."

~

Toriya considers Camilla's words for a few moments, then frowns. "I...see. Do you plan on attending another stall in the near future?" She asks, politely.

[Archmage1]

Lyara looks quite dubious, and she speaks softly.
"Rolana... what makes you think that whatever happened isn't going to happen again? I'm sure that no one thought it was possible the first time, but it happened... And what happened, can happen again. We need to know. It might prove impossible to learn, but... I don't think so. Life is centered here, so, logically, since whatever happened to cause this probably didn't want to kill itself, whatever happened, it happened somewhere around here. We just need to find it."

[PersonMan]

"I think getting on our feet again could be nice," Rana comments, looking over to Camilla. "And I think we were sort of in the middle of talking to that one woman...we may want to go see her again?"

[Hazuki]

"I...what?" Rolana raises an eyebrow at the smaller woman. "What are you talking about? What do you mean, this is the center of life?"

~

Toriya stays quiet as Rana questions Camilla.

[Archmage1]

Lyara tries to explain.
"Things can only grow near the rivers, so I'm thinking that there's a reason for that, a reason that we might be able to find upstream. But it would be difficult to go so far, but if we can... can you imagine a world, like it was in the stories, things growing everywhere?"

[QuidEst]

Camilla shrugged. "That's up to you! Having done the old bait-and-don't-actually-switch on her flask, I don't know how she'll feel about seeing me again, but that's all part of the fun." She leaned back, smiling contentedly, and glanced over at Toriya. "Another trick of mine- 'steal' something by making a quick imitation. Wave it around a little while you talk, and it looks enough like the real thing that nobody knows the difference. Once convinced somebody I'd pulled their ear off without them noticing."

[PersonMan]

"That's right - though I do think we were managing to get over that...hiccup, fairly well," Rana comments with a nod. "We could tell her the person we heard is alright."

[QuidEst]

Camilla nodded, gesturing for her to lead the way. "You've got as good of a chance of finding her as I do, and if you're in front, I'll have time to dodge or duck as needed."

[PersonMan]

"If there's any throwing involved, I will leave," Rana replies, smiling despite her words and leading the way back to that part of the Rock.

[Hazuki]

"I can see how losing an ear might upset somebody." Toriya remarks back to Camilla. Just as it seems like everybody's getting up to leave, she shifts awkwardly in her chair. "Am I to come with you?"

~

"Well...yes. I believe everyone has those thoughts." Rolana replies. "But even if you do solve it - we haven't got enough people now, enough structure, to make any good off of it. There's still a lot of land by the rivers that hasn't got a village or town of some sort, and that's because we haven't even gotten on our feet properly. If you do fix things, it won't help us for another hundred, even two hundred years. And it means that bad people can get water more easily, while the proper villages stay the same - and that means those bad folk might win."

[Archmage1]

Lyara shakes her head.
"We can't base our actions on the damage done by a few. Most people are, at their hearts, good people, but... just because we find out that we can, doesn't mean that we have to make things go back to what they were... we can just make sure that they're not going to get worse. But I don't think it will matter. That land could be occupied by the bandits as it is... I don't think it's going to make much of a difference to them. But to us... knowing that the future, things will be better... I think that would be a good thing."

[QuidEst]

Camilla nodded emphatically. "Of course you're coming! If you want to, of course. I don't think Rana would have it any other way, after all," she added with a less-than-subtle wink in the mage's direction.

[PersonMan]

Rana is about to agree with Camilla before the second part of her statement, and for a moment she raises an eyebrow. "Wait - what's that supposed to mean?" She asks.

[QuidEst]

Camilla waved a hand dismissively. "Only that I'm giving you a hard time. It won't be easy to find her in this crowd though. Hmm." She considered for a moment before producing a trio of flasks like the one the lady had possessed, which she began tossing in a lazy high-arced juggle. "That might get her attention, though."

[PersonMan]

"Juggling fake-her-flasks may be..." Rana pauses for a moment, looking for the right words. "Somewhat...untactful? Maybe we should just go to where she was staying before, or ask around again." She suggests, beginning to make her way to the odd woman's camp, making sure the others were still with her every now and then with a glance behind her.

[Hazuki]

"The point is, Lyara, bandits can't take up good land so long as the good folk have it. Because, well, we're together. It's silly to say that they could take it anyway, so we should do something that would make sure they do have it. And...well, how many people will even believe that you've found out the whole cause of it? To take advantage?"

~

The threesome soon find their way back to the outskirts of Rook's Rock, where Anor can be seen slumped over in her makeshift tent.

[Archmage1]

Lyara nods, clearly agreeing with Rolana's opinion of bandits.
"I don't know what comes after it's found, but what I hope to find is a way to reverse it, or, at least, a way to ensure it doesn't get worse. There's no need for everyone to know, just people that can help make things better, after it's found."
She flashes Rolana a smile, as she continues in a much lighter tone.
"Of course, there's a long way to go before I'm even close to finding it. Like finding a way to defeat Rook..."

[PersonMan]

Rana points to the tent as it comes into view, shifting so that Toriya can see it. "That's her spot, there. Although she...wasn't like that when we first came here," she says, wondering if her posture meant that she was asleep, or if something had happened to her while they had aided Toriya.

As they approach, Rana raises her voice somewhat, so Anor can hear even before they arrive just in front of the tent. "Hello? Are you, ah, awake?"

[QuidEst]

Com nodded with a comically morose expression, and stored the fake bottles again. "Fine, fine- I'll be diplomatic about it. Hee… her expression was priceless, though."

~~~

They finally located Anor's tent. Camilla peered in at the slumped figure. "Well, now we know why she didn't want anybody taking her flask away, hmm?" she whispered at Rana.

[Hazuki]

"I don't know if you'll be able to." Rolana replies, although she keeps smiling at the smaller girl beside her. "She got me good, and, well, look at me." She pats the side of her particularly large body. "But she seems nice enough - maybe you just have to fight the best out of anyone, and she'll give you a few crates?"

~

Toriya leans into Rana and Camilla slightly, as the Kitsune whispers her little secret, but doesn't manage to hide the action very well. When the sorceress approaches Anor, the hooded woman peers up at her and narrows her eyes.

"Of course I'm awake. You think I'd sleep after so many have gone missing under Rook's watch? No...no sleep. Not now."

[Archmage1]

Lyara smiles back at Rolana, quite at ease.
"Maybe, but... if she beat you... I don't think I'm going to have a chance. But maybe I can convince her to make it into another sort of contest? I know I'm good at finding things, so maybe I could beat her at that? If not, well, maybe she'll take pity on me?"

[PersonMan]

"Ehm...what? Did something happen?" Rana asks, concerned by the ominous words. Could something horrible have happened while they were helping Toriya?

[Hazuki]

"You've got to make sad eyes at her. That's what those big elf eyes are best at, isn't it?" Rolana suggests, although with an obviously teasing tone.

~

"The ones with her." Anor points an accusing finger at Toriya, who watches the woman warily. "And make her show me her tongue. I must check for liars."

[Archmage1]

Humor dancing in her eyes, Lyara theatrically looks at Rolana, holding her eyes wide open, her face practically screaming sorrow, her voice trembling.
"But... but... but..."
She reaches up, and fakes wiping a tear from her eyes.
"Please?"
She looks like she might continue, but, alas, she loses it, and starts laughing.

[PersonMan]

"You want to blame Rook for not finding and protecting those who are not even in, but approaching her camp?" Rana asks, raising an eyebrow. "I can't help but feel curious at why you care now, when you couldn't be bothered to lift a finger before."

[Hazuki]

Rolana laughs at the half-elf's display and claps her lightly on the shoulder. "Just like that. If you're still nervous, I can go buy you some liquid courage - least I could do is improve your chances for your fight, right?"

~

"I tried to follow you into the forest." Anor replies, haughtily. "When I thought you might have needed help. But you resolved it before I could arrive, and then what could I do? Come back. Here." She pats her makeshift shelter.

[Archmage1]

Lyara shakes her head, although she continues to smile.
"Thank you, but... I think I'll need the courage after I lose the fight, so I can get up the nerves to ask her for her help. I could, however, do with some water, and maybe some food. It was a long journey, and maybe you know a good place to go? Maybe you could tell me a bit about Rook?."

[PersonMan]

"That still doesn't explain your decision to hold Rook responsible - she can only keep watch over so much land, and I don't think it's fair to blame her for a tragedy outside of the place she looks over," Rana replies.

[Hazuki]

"I know as much about her as you do, honestly." Rolana explains, as she gets to her feet and helps Lyara out of her seat. "She's got this weird-colored hair, and she's about as clean as any of us can be. Seems friendly, likes a joke, and she's not beating everybody up, although she could. That marks her as good in my books."

~

"Not. Her. Land." Anor replies to Rana, then shakes her head sadly. "Then why does she have rangers posted as far out as beyond the forest? You don't put a lock on the grass outside your camp, do you? No, you put it on what you want to keep safe."

[Archmage1]

Lyara smiles as she listens to Rolana's explanation.
"She does sound nice, but, then... wouldn't she have a reason to start her contest? Maybe if we can figure out what she really wants, she'll be willing to give us the food? Or, maybe, tell us where she got it?"

[QuidEst]

Camilla considered the sleepless Toriya. "I don't know. Didn't know about the positioning of her rangers in the first place- not really the sort of thing I pay attention to, in all honesty. But what is the point? You can keep pointing out suspicious things all you like, but unless you can ascribe some sort of reason, motive, or incentive, it doesn't mean much. It can be explained away as a wide perimeter or perfectly normal fruit juice."

[PersonMan]

"I didn't say it was her land. And she's moved people out since we've told her of what happened," Rana replies.

[Hazuki]

"I thought it would be something she did, as a mage, and it takes enough effort that she can't just do it for everyone." Rolana replies, walking alongside the far shorter woman. "Rook wouldn't go around helping people only to trick them into giving the answer to some vague thing that only she knows."

As they walk along, they're passed by a young woman with delicate elven features. She seems to be tilted towards the pair as she walks, and bumps shoulders with Lyara. "Oh! Ah! My apologies!" She says, talking half a step backwards to properly look at Lyara. "You're not hurt, or anything, are you?" She asks, amber eyes flicking to the dented metal pauldron on her own shoulder.

~

"That's why I'm searching, glib one." Anor huffs at Camilla, as she gets back to her feet. "For answers. Motives. Everything you said. If I gave you one right now, it would be dishonest - made up. If you're too caught up in your own tricks to notice Rook's, then get away from my tent, and be humble when I find out what's happening!"

[Archmage1]

Lyara shrugs, walking quite quickly to keep up with Rolana.
"Hopefully, she'll give some hints? Or maybe she just has a ton of food, and can afford to share some, if we can do her a big enough favor?"
Before she can continue, a passing elf runs into her, and Lyara's instincts have her quickly reaching out to help balance the other woman, her violet eyes meeting the amber eyes of the other pedestrian.
"I'm sorry! I didn't see you coming!"
Her words burst out at the same time as the other woman apologizes, and, having steadied the other woman, she lets go, and starts to open her mouth to talk, but the other woman beats her to it.
"I was going to ask you the same question! I'm fine, maybe a little sore, but nothing serious."

[Hazuki]

The half-elf smiles brightly as Lyara also apologizes for their small collision, "Good, good. My name's Penare." She holds an arm over her breast and bows to Lyara. "One of Nereida's Rangers."

[Archmage1]

Lyara smiles at the polite woman, although she doesn't bow in return, and as the woman ends her bow, Lyara looks confused.
"It's nice to meet you, Penare. I'm Lyara, from Powdertown, a spotter. But... why are you bowing? I'm nobody special.."

[Hazuki]

"Well...isn't everybody worthy of respect?" Penare asks, seeming slightly uncertain after the light chiding.

[Archmage1]

Lyara continues to look confused.
"So you bow, as a sign of respect? I thought bowing was meant to convey respect, and submission, and I can't think of any reasons why you would be less than me. If anything, it would be the other way."

[Hazuki]

"The Rangers are a servant of the people." Penare answers, idly stubbing the toe of her boot against the dirt ground. "I mean, we mostly do Nereida, but if we had the resources, we might be able to do all of Ursuul, eventually."

[Archmage1]

Lyara seems surprised, but she nods.
"I can see that, I think. But what brings you here?"

[Hazuki]

Penare's stance instantly changes upon Lyara's question, going from quite casual to straight-backed. "Well, The Nereids wanted the Rangers represented at this event, but we can't spare many of us, what with the attacks and defending the people that stayed home. So, they just sent one of us, and that's me."

[Archmage1]

Lyara smiles, and nods, starting to stand, although her stance remains casual, as is her norm.
"Of course! You must be quite proud, to have been chosen! Have there been more attacks lately?"

[PersonMan]

"I'll be happy if you find anything," Rana replies, turning to the others. "It's a bit early, but I was thinking we could look for a good place to rest, later on? Especially you, Toriya, since you've been traveling all day."

[QuidEst]

" 'Glib one'. I like it. It shall be added to my list of titles," Camilla said with satisfaction, pulling out a list and tracing her finger across it to add another line. "But yes, if you do find something, I won't stint you on contrition or admiration. Do let me know if the manipulation or fabrication of small trinkets turns out to be of any particular importance to your research. I'm only too happy to help if it's diverting." She turned, nodding to Rana. "Probably best sooner rather than later, I agree."

[Hazuki]

"Erm, no more than normal." Penare replies, talking slowly. "There've been reports, well, rumors, that the Scions are getting more violent, but they're not so close to Nereida that it's been a problem for us yet. I've been doing some of the normal Ranger work - letting merchants know about the dangers, warning them of where beasts have been spotted. It's better than a hole in the chest." She smiles weakly.

~

"Mortals." Anor scoffs at the trio of girls and turns her eyes back to the forest.

"Would anyone be willing to share their tents?" Toriya asks, herself turning to look at the large gathering of tents that make up where the challengers rest.

[Archmage1]

Lyara looks worried.
"Really? I didn't hear anything on my way here, but..."
She looks a little sheepish, but she continues.
"I was rather focused on getting here, and nothing really bothered me that I noticed... The dangers of being focused, I suppose. And pretty much everything's better than a hole in the chest. Maybe you could tell us about some of the dangers? Is there anything unusual about?"

[PersonMan]

"I'll happily share my tent. I just need to get one first," Rana says, rubbing the back of her neck as she speaks.

[QuidEst]

"I usually just sleep wherever my traveling company does, but being between companies, I'm in much the same spot. Today's take was good, though- I'm sure I could arrange something with what I got," Camilla said, fishing in her coin purse as she turned away from the grouchy self-implied immortal.