Spirits of the Earth

[OOC: As this is the gathering of possible strong fellows to a cause, you can ask for invites, of course.]

Overall, The Sparrow's Inn was a good place for one to set up as a base of operations, so to speak.  As the town of Shadowmere was a relatively central kind of town with government buildings, resources, and so on...you could find yourself in the middle of everything you generally needed if you lived here.  This inn, being the sort of place setup to have tennants staying upstairs and food-and-drink accommodations downstairs with a nice open fireplace, one could get immediately cozy in this homey environment.

Sano had good reason to stay here, even good reason to stay forever, but things had to be done.

For those not in the know, Sano Alistair had been - until more recently - traveling around to see what sort of potential people he could hire for a mission, one mission to kill one extremely dangerous target.  He had been to Adela and Essyrn before finally trudging his way into Serendipity from the south, to find himself in the middle of the Jadenshire region.  That, as they say, is where it all changed.  Not the mission, per se, just the way it was handled and how much he needed to get through it to reach its conclusion and live his life.

You never know what you're going to find on a quest like this, what OR who, in fact.

It was in this area that he met a rather powerful and potentially dangerous shadowmancer.  That alone would easily get his attention, but it was also a fact that she was a bright and beautiful lady, on top of that.  The only thing about her was that she had another personality in her head, a shadow from the realm of shadows.  Despite all that, they grew close and Sano had decided to stay around, and use Serendipity's messenger bird system to get word around that he needed people for a mission.  It went kind of like this...



Dozens of responses had been made, from people who were either...{A} not interested and officially saying so, {B} interested at first but not after a few details were given, {C} very interested but not strong or careful enough to be of use, {D} clearly boasting and exaggerating and thus making them useless, or {E} proposing marriage.

The last one, by far, had been the most disturbing.

It had been from a woman who thought his rally to a quest was actually some sort of poetic declaration of love from a would-be suitor.  She was apparently some distant noble from the coast of Serendipity and completely unaware that Sano's message had been neither meant for her nor poetic in ay fashion.  Still, that didn't beat the other issue.  You see, while he and Nashya Belvedere - the afore-mentioned shadowmancer - were combing through these letters, some of the prospectives had failed to respond at all, making them wonder if they were going to show up in person or what.

Well, one of them surely was.  He just didn't know that this Goldswith 'chap' had actually been the brown-haired woman that had been quietly watching him busy at work, waiting for an opportunity to speak.  And who knows what other sort of person was gonna show?

The door to the inn, all eyes flew onto the stranger. A massive, old man in full plate armor stood blocking the entrace, a large heater shield on his right hand, his left carried a great mace, which rested upon his left shoulder.

The man had wore an eyepatch on his right eye, damaged from a curse brought upon by a mage he killed, an aged but properly groomed mustache hung above his mouth.

The man scanned the inn as all eyes were on him, before he reached for somthing on his belt.

A crumpled piece of paper was held up, wrinkled, but the words were as clear as day, it mimicked those of Sano's message.

"Who 'ere sent this?" the man's voice boomed through the inn. "Well?"

Yes, even Sano - who was dressed in his normal dark day-clothes - had paused to get a look at this grizzled warrior march in with full plate, shield, and mace.  Part of him went 'Not again...' because there were these guys who had challenged him with their show-offy skills and bravado that he didn't need...and he had to handidly beat them to get them out of his hair.  Fortunately, another part of him had to note that this did not look like some sort of flashy dumbass in armor.

He looked tough.  Proper tough.

Namely, he looked like a man who had seen war and survived that war, been through hell and then forced hell to go through him, in turn.  That looked a little more promising, and to make matters just a hair better, he held up a letter, which was unmistakeably one that he had sent out, one of the copies of the flyers he'd posted here in town.  Sano stood up and raised the fork from his latest meal by way of acknowledging to the man that he was the one.

"That would be me.  You must be Sir Goldswith-"

A brown-haired woman in one corner of the room almost choked on her tea for some reason.

"I've been hoping to get a hold of you."

Sano, you really shouldn't jump to conclusions...

The man looked around, before turning back to see if anybody was behind him.

Seeing no one, he turned back to face the boy, before his voiced boomed again. "Are you speaking to me, lad?"

Well well, confusion all around!  Sano blinked, somewhat perplexed for a moment, then nodded.

"I'm talking to you if you're talking to me."

Slight pause here, and a clearing of the throat.  Not just his throat, but that of the woman across the room.

"I sent out a bunch of these messages, but some of the people I sent them to never responded.  Sir Goldswith was one of them.  I figured he'd show up first because he's apparently local, from Falial.  Doesn't matter.  You're here, and you look like you could do the job."

There was some kind of sigh from the woman as she headed upstairs for some reason.

"So, who are you?"

The man smirked, he put the paper back into his belt, then he slowly strolled for the bar counter.

Stopping short, he slammed the palms of the shield hand onto the counter. "Your hardest drink." before pushing off with his palm, leaving a few coins on the counter.

He looked back at the rest of the bar scene, who immidantly went back to what they were doing. The strange man then turned his head to the boy, before walking over to the table he was sitting at, he pulled up a seat for himself. Taking his mace off his shoulder, he reversed the grip so the head faced downwards, and then set it on the ground besides the chair with a *thunk*.

He then sat down, his armor clanked a bit as he sat and the chair creaked under his weight, but it held as he leaned forward with his free hand and looked the boy in the eye with his good eye.

"You want to know my name lad?" the man breathed out. "The name's Volkhard...you must be this Sano lad."

Volkhard then leaned back a bit, cracking his neck a bit, before leaning in, and said "So, Sano, what is this mission of yars?"

The eyepatch'd man paused to order a drink from the innkeeper.  The lady owner of The Sparrow's Inn did not appreciate the manner in which he ordered said drink, but after a few seconds shrugged.  He was paying for it, after all.  While he was setting off to sit at the table Sano was at - not far from the fireplace so he could burn the reject responses - she would be blowing the dust off of an old bottle with no label.  Stronger than some very very very old scotch (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbMxDuhMrg8), more powerful than Bear-Hugger's Whiskey, and rougher than the back of dire Hedgehogs...it was The Stout With No Name.

Anyway...the man had introduced himself as Volkhard, under the assumption that he was speaking to the man mentioned on the flyer, which was true.

"Yes, I am that Sano lad, and the mission-"

"Is what I've been waiting to hear for some time now."

CLANK!  Sano and Volkhard would find a brown-haired woman with similarly-colored eyes standing there with a bigass sword - a thick-bladed zweihander - that had gradual serrations leading towards two parallel endpoints.  She was in casual pants and a shirt, the presence of this sword indicated that she was not a casual user.

"Umm...you've been here the past few days and you're just getting my attention now?"

"You looked busy.  Can't blame me courtesy."

"Okay, who are you?"

At this, she smiled and held out one of his flyers.

"Why 'Sir Goldswith', of course, but you can call me Rena."

Aaand about now - in the middle of that faux pas - would be the best time in the world to have our lady shadwmancer show up, right?

It had been a long day at the winery and so Nashya was anxious to get back to the inn for a little R&R. Her hopes though were quickly shattered as she opened the door and saw a large man and the brown haired woman at the table by Sano. The man was sitting while the woman stood with an extended hand. What in tarnation had she missed?

Making her way towards them she began to piece it all together... so she thought. "This must be Sir Goldswith" she thought as she looked towards the large man. Her eyes then trailed towards the infamous brown haired woman she had pointed out a few days before. Fortunately she had walked up at the perfect time because before she could even ask everything was cleared up.

"Rena" the woman's name falling off of her tongue as she toyed with its tone. This of course explained so much. For a few days now Nashya had noted that this woman had been extra interested in all of their conversations and now she knew why.

"Still don't know why you are even bothering with this" her inner voice chiming in as Nashya made her way behind Sano.

Resisting the urge to answer she pulled up a chair and drug it beside his. "So I assume both of you have taken interest in his mission?" The question directed at both of them as she pulled up a chair to sit beside Sano.

"Haha, splendid!" The big man boomed, before saying under his breath."This may be intreasting after all."

The old veteran turned to Sano and leaned forward onto the table, before he asked in a slightly quieter voice. "So, what is this mission you speak of?"

The sword-wielding woman nodded at Nashya, even as the older man boomed.

"That would be the case, yes."

Like the man asked, what exactly was the mission?  Everyone could now take a seat at the table for the explanation.  Before he did, though, deep-brown in a glass was set before Volkhard.  Judging by the way it curled nose-hairs upon partaking of its scent, it had to be his drink.  Good luck!  Sano did his best to ignore the drink's as he outlined the mission.

"I have already told Nashya of this, but the situation is thus: I've discovered the existence of a powerful vampire in Connlaoth, one whose power makes the presence of Mordecai a detriment rather than an advantage, since they would be helpless against his abilities.  Now, I want you to know, you're not doing this for Connlaoth, so don't worry yourselves over patriotism or lack thereof.  This is because he assaulted a friend of mine, tortured and damn near killed her with a blood curse.  This is retribution, and I'm footing the bill."

So, they were hunting after a vampire for personal reasons, with no political motivations at all.  with the fact that he wanted to remove this creature from existence, they would be technically helping Connlaoth, but to be fair...any part of the world could be threatened, just as easily.  The creature was a true monster.  Rena spoke up now.

"I don't really want to discuss politics either.  It's more the people I'd be concerned about, alleviating them of a tremendous threat.  How dangerous is it?"

"Enough that I'm a talented Ferromancer and I needed to find some help with this.  Maybe alot of help.  Keefe, the one who was assaulted, taught me everything I know, and he bested her.  It's not something you can battle alone, so I needed to find people with true strength, yet with the sense to know that they can still be killed.  Now, have I found some of those people or what?"

Rena smirked at this.

"I have strength and fear in abundance, so we're good here."

There wasn't much to say as she sat there quietly. Seemed Sano had this under control as far as she could tell. Even if she wanted to say something it wouldn't benefit the mission Sano spoke of.

(OOC: Sorry for super short post guys. Feel free to skip me for now. Some stuffs has happened IRL)

"Thank you, lass." said Volkhard as he grabbed the drink and chugged, before his laughter echoed through the inn. "Haha! Tis Been a while since I had somthing this potent."

Wiping his mouth then lowering his voice, the former Master Sergeant asked. "So vampires in Connoloath? Eh? Them Mordecai lads are really slacking since I left..." He said that last part under his breath. "Well, lad, sounds like you've got yourself some tough vendetta on ya hands. Luckily for you, I've been looking to do somthing for the next couple of days..."

In truth, Volkhard almost didn't want to return to Connoloath. There were too many memories back there.

But on the other hand, what the lad said was concerning. If the fancy Mordecais can't deal with this problem, then someone had to. It wouldn't sit right with his conscious if he decided to back off now.

Besides, be a fun challenge, eh?

"You'll have my mace and my shield at your disposal." Volkhard finished. "But tell, where was this? And what do you know about this vampire?

Sano could have sworn that smoke shot from Volkhard's mouth as he drank that drink...

Naturally, the shadowmancer needed not say much of anything, unless she had a point to interject in, for now.  She'd heard all of this before the two of them had even gotten involved.  Still, as a normal human, Sano did not hear the mutterings of the old soldier.  Rena did, but did not say anything at the moment.  It made sense to her that a man like him would want to protect his home.  She found Sano's reasons for doing this understandable enough.  Strange that he seemed to be avoiding the point of helping Connlaoth.  Just to keep them from worrying about it involving them in the war, or something else?  More immediate questions were asked by the old Connlaothian.

"I'd like to know more, myself.  I'm in, but I need to know the details."

"Alright...  What I know."

As he began, a cup of tea was placed down in front of Rena.  Apparently, she'd been hand-signalling for it behind her back.

"This was in Matron's Hollow, but I don't think he'll be restricted to that.  Keefe was in the area to put down a slave trader.  She's generally against oppression of magic, slavery, harmful abuses of power...  After finishing the job, she was accosted by this man-thing, a bald and yellow-eyes warrior that conjured weapons out of thin air, negated or deflected every move with precision, and kept up with her until he could get in a proper strike...where he set upon her a curse to torture her with her own blood until it burst from her body."

That, admittedly, halted Rena from taking a drink of her tea.

"What happened to her?"

"I managed to save her, and she told me about him.  He's strong and fast, and the weapons are not natural metal, probably straight conjures.  He can be quiet and he can probably stealth very well.  I know he targeted her because she had targeted Mordecai, in turn.  He thinks of the country as his hunting ground, so keeping Mordecai alive while his own power remains unaffective gives him an edge.  You may not like this, but we can be sure that as long as he wants to live and thrive there, he'll act against anyone deliberately targeting them."

The old veteran started to chuckle, wasn't a light hearty chuckle, it was a darker, almost sinister chuckle.

It wasn't the alcohol, least not yet, but one would be forgiven to think it was.

No, it was what the boy had said that made him laugh so hard. The very idea that the very thing that the Mordiecai had sworn against were benefiting in the wake of Mordiecai own shadows. It was a morbid irony when you thought about about how much pain the Mordiecai's ideology brought upon all the people of Connoloath, but if you've seen what Volkhard's seen somthing like that only made too much sense not to be funny.

"I am assuming finding this bat freak isn't as easy as knocking on his front door." said Volkhard as his chuckling ceased. "You have plan for finding this vampire?"

That laugh definitely told Sano that Volkard was on board.  He had no problem dealing with a vicious monster in the borders of Connlaoth.  For now, it seeemed like Rena was in, as well.  How long would that last, though?  It all depended on this next bit, which was the plan.  Sano had a plan, alright.  It was almost certain to work, given what it was that lured him out to attack Keefe.  The veteran asked about it, right off, and - although he'd alluded to the answer a moment ago - Sano explained.

"I have a plan, one as simple as can be.  He gave it away when he attacked Keefe.  He's keeping Mordecai alive, or at least from dying too quickly, for his own purposes.  If someone targets Mordecai specifically, he'll have to put that person down."

He'd explained this part to Nashya, as well, but upon hearing it, as well, Rena was surprised.

"You can't just go attacking Mordecai, Sano.  You become an enemy of the whole country."

"I am an enemy of the country.  I am what they fear and hate, so not only do I have little problem with it, but I'm glad to.  Aren't you against their laws, living in Serendipity?"

"Yes, I am, but I won't destabilize a country over a personal grievance.."

"Neither would I.  Killing a Mordecai wouldn't upset the country more than it is already.  It's in civil war.  Now is the only time that would be overlooked, except by him."

"So, you want to kill a Mordecai to lure him out.  What happens if he won't come out?"

"Unlikely though it is?"

"Sure.  On the off-chance, if you like."

"We're not hunting another, if that's what you mean.  We kill a Mordecai, and if he doesn't show, I use it as a warning to others and make it sound like I'm some sort of terror-inducing assassin or anarchist, when all the while I want one thing, to irritate the bastard into coming."

"You're willing to take that kind of risk on yourself?"

"I believe in Keefe's reasonings, Serenipity's too.  I don't care what Connlaoth thinks of me.  I don't even care if, after it's all over, they thank me."

"Son, you clearly have not thought this through." said Volkhard, almost snorting to himself. "Your plan is simple, but there are too many varbales that could or could not happen that we can easily control with some forethought.

Volkhard leaned closer. "I think you are putting too little weight on becoming Connoloath's public enemy. I don't like the mordecai nobs, but let's say we do manage to attack a mordecai, what if the bat freak doesn't come out? If I know them mordecai lads, it's that where you would find one of those sods lurking, more will follow, meaning more of them will try to crawl up our ass with nothing to show for it."

Volkhard leaned back, crossing his arms. "And what about afterwards? Hm? THey will still come after you. Judging from the way you describe yourself, I assume you are a magic user. Do you really think that the Mordecai will let this go without someone to answer for it? What if they more of them show up during our encounter with this bat freak? Your powers would be useless against a foe with his powers safely intact. And what of your friend? Is she safely out of the country or must you transport her out? There are too many variables that could change and jeopardize this mission on the spot."

Volkhard sighed a bit, closing his eyes to think for a secound, before continuing. "There are more ways to combat an enemy besides head on. In fact, I dare say he may expect us to do such a thing. If we want to find a way to counter this enemy, we need to know him. Do you know anything else about this bat freak? Do you know of his kind? Do you know of the way he truly fights? Does he have more prey he "hunts", or are those who attack mordacei his only targets?"

Sano gave him a look of 'Get real' in regards to him having 'not thought this through'.  He had thought about it plenty.  However, he let the man speak, and then he would either invite him to give a better plan or tell him why his plan works.  All depended on what he had to say.  So, he waited on this, and it seemed like it was mostly about Connlaoth's actual security and about the vampire being interested or not.

Well, I wanted a healthy amount of fear...

Not for this aspect of things, though.  Mordecai are at least human, easier to handle.  Some of these issues Volk was mentioning, he'd addresssed or thought about.  Other parts were not actually important because - for instance - he'd obviously check to see if there are more Mordecai around than a single one, and how far away.  The last part irritated him, slightly.

"You know, I tell you that a veritable expert in combat was bested by this thing, and then ask me if I know how he fights?  Of course I know.  She did tell me.  He is a creature of battle.  He produces weapons with his magic and commands other powers like dark lightning, transformation, great strength and speed, and so on.  He probably loves the war, so he'll prey on those with the strength to fight, but with him preserving Mordecai, he probably enjoys having power over them."

He glared at Volkhard more pointedly now.

"You think I haven't worked enough of this out.  Honestly, do you really think I wouldn't scout out an area first, get a feel for how things could play out and who would respond?  This isn't a broad daylight affair for everyone to point and scream about.  This is an assassination, quiet and mysterious, with rumors and anonymous warnings.  Before we even begin, Nashya will be able to tell with her powers if there's another Mordecai even close to our location.  It's not my plan to slaughter them, just make a ripple in the pond that only the vampire can track.  He attacked Keefe over Mordecai when she had killed a slave trader.  Obviously, he knew, when other people did not."

"What about your friend, though?"

"She never lived within Connlaoth's borders, isn't there now and is probably recovered by now.  No worries there.  I know you're not liking this, but consider the mentality of the one who subjected my friend to this for a moment.  He did not tear the life out of her or even just kill her.  He went out of his way to make her suffer, but in a way that says 'You are completely beneath me'.  That's arrogance.  He did not expect her to live, or did not care, but deemed it necessary to show himself because of his bloody habits.  That is a self-assured being, which lends more credence to his coming out once the deed is done.  Once it starts, we give no mercy, strike as hard as possible so he has less of a chance to fight back."

And now, he needed to order a drink, because his throat was getting dry by talking.  Rena was trying to get a handle on Sano, at this point.  He looked like a man who'd thought of nothing but all of this since the incident.  It was revenge, as he'd said up-front, but it didn't quite have the ring of obsession because of all the thought he had put into it.  The part Rena didn't like was attacking the Mordecai, for reasons that she'd said.  What it sounded like, though, was that unless they wanted to be in a big battle, their vampire wouldn't just come out, otherwise.  That was a problem...

"You know what son?" said the man as he leaned back again, to cross his arms. "I will let you handle this because I am too old to argue."

"However." he raised a hand and a finger. "I am not going to take part in this "assassination" of yours. I may not like  the mordecai but they are still me kinsmen, and I don't kill anyone unless they're's a proper reason. Besides, as you can see clearly, I am no assassin."

Clearing her throat Nashya thought it finally time for her to chime in. "If I may?" Nashya declared holding up a hand.

"Perhaps we don't have to assassinate any Mordecai." Allowing her eyes to dart between the three Nashya wanted to be sure she had their attention. Of course, she was pretty great blending into the background, but now was not a good time for that.

"Sano mentioned I am a shadowmancer... assuming you were listening that is. However, what he failed to mention is that one of the many duties I am assigned with is creating an illusion." Slowly Nashya let a smile appear on her lips as her idea came to light.

"Do you think the vampire would fall for the illusion of Mordecai being slaughtered? Would keep our hands clean while drawing it out. Not to mention that we wouldn't have to worry about a Mordecai disabling our magic. It's a win-win as long as it works."

Nashya then looked to Sano, hoping he would find her resolution useful in some way.

The mood of the meeting had soured, with the argument between Sano and Volkhard.  The young Ferromancer was certainly trying to keep himself civil.  The veteran wasn't offensive.  He just didn't like a criticism that didn't offer an alternative in its stead.  If a thing has got to be done and the methods involved are limited, telling others 'No' and giving no solution to the matter just isn't helpful.  Fortunately, Volk settled on not wanting to be part of the actual assassination, a neutral agreement that Sano could live with.  He honestly didn't care about Morecai at all, and if Keefe wanted to resume her assassinations after this, it would be with his blessing.

Rena was about to voice her own decision - she didn't want to unless they had no viable choice - but Nashya clearing her throat bade the woman to stop.  Upon asking to interject, Sano nodded, gladly taking a break from being speaker as he got his drink, which was an ale.  He listened intently as she came up with an alternative which might serve...  Sano pondered it for a moment.

"It would have to be a good illusion, every human detail.  You'll have to fool his vampire senses..."

He cleared his throat, taking another swallow of his drink to get his voice back entirely.

"It has to look right and sound right, every gasp for breath and every heartbeat, if you can.  With a group like ours, we could cover for the scent, at least, but the rest has to be on the nose, and I still don't know about magic."

At this, Rena smiled.  She was liking this alot better than a true execution.

"When I get near a Mordecai, my sword is still awake and all the physical traits of being an elf hold steady.  My magic sense goes south along with my casting because it's a talent that my mother taught me and passed down.  Presumably, the reason he's fine with Mordecai is that they don't affect him in the slightest  He might not know the difference."

This was not a guarantee, mind you, but it would certainly be more useful if they really didn't want to kill a Mordecai.

"You do pose a good point Sano" Nashya smiled, debating on whether or not her idea would work or not. Of course she could make it appear that Mordecai were being slaughtered, however the sound was such a fickle thing.

"I could easily create the illusion, and as you said I am sure we could handle the smell. However, a sound is much more complicated. They are illusions, not manifestations that I just pull from somewhere else. They wouldn't have the sound of breath or a heart beating in their chest that we need."

By this point, even Nashya was beginning to grow agitated as she tried to think of a way to make it work.

And then it hit, an idea so grim that even her darker self was grinning at the thought of it. "Yes, that could work" her inner voice chimed in, causing Nashya to flick her eyes as she often did when it spoke up. Of course, no one but her could hear it and at this point, she was happy they couldn't.

"No" she stated, not caring if these new strangers knew who she was talking to. Sano would, at least she hoped he would catch on to the fact she was talking to herself.

"I don't know why you're turning it down. It was your idea... not mine." Nashya's eyes flicked again as she grew more uncomfortable with the thought.

"Any other suggestions?" she asked, completely ignoring the idea stemming in her brain. It could work, but at what cost? To her, it was too great and so she decided to keep it to herself.

"Well then, if that is that, I believe we should get moving." said the big man. "Connoloath is a more then a days travel from here, and if we want to get this bat freak then I think it's best if we started to move our feet."

There was some hope for the illusion idea, but it might not work because of the lack of sound...  The venture was risky, but possible, if they could just find a way to fake it.  The group seemed to be fairly keen on not actually committing murder to get the point across.  They didn't share Sano's own dislike for the country and all things surrounding the anti-magic laws there.  Well, it was either the illusion or that he personally kill a Mordecai.  Although...  Okay, while Nashya was having sort of an argument with her inner-shadow, a thought occurred to him.  It was interrupted by Volkhard's sudden desire to depart.  Yes, it was more than a day's journey away.  More like a few, given the Jadenshire region.

"Hold on, alright?  I need to finish these up first.  Is this arrangement okay with you, Rena?"

"As long as the Grand Duke's army doesn't want to extradite me from my home to face some kind of trial, sure.  Lemme know when it's time to go."

"Nashya, could you give me a hand with these?  That reject pile over there, please."

He took a bunch of papers over to the fireplace, leaving the others for her to walk over.  He'd taken over a quill he'd had with him and hastily wrote on one of the papers he was holding, so he didn't have to talk.  Rena was still in earshot, and this might bother her.  He wrote 'If we get attacked by some malignant bastard in Connlaoth they wouldn't mind dead, consider him filling for the illusion.', which basically meant they could supply all the right noise if some idiot with a deathwish accosted them.

Still in her own sense of unease Nashya barely even reacted to the large man asking to leave. Of course, she would not be leaving with them, she had her own means of travel and of course ends to tie up before she left. If Nashya left for more than a day without an explanation Dem would surely come looking for her.

Even as Rena spoke Nashya still remained quiet, clearly having checked herself out of the conversation as quickly as she had checked in. Her socialization skills really were quite atrocious and that was growing more evident with each passing second.

However, at the direct mention of her name Nashya perked up. Nodding she stood up behind Sano and grabbed a handful of papers for herself before making her way towards the fire. It was when they were standing before the blaze that Nashya looked at what Sano had written and her expression fell flat.

"That a boy" her inner self though, Sano having written down exactly what she was thinking of suggesting.

Her eyes flicked up to meet his before she discretely nodded while inside all she could think was 'How did he know?'

"I have to get back to the winery. I think it best if you guys wait till morning to set out. Start fresh on a brand new day. Tonight we can discuss details more in depth if you would like." Her eyes then shot towards Rena whom she wondered if what she had just said was heard.

"Well then, tonight it is." The big man said grabbing his mace off of the ground, then slinging it onto his shoulder. "I think I will have a wander in town, I shall meet you back here in the night, until then...sir, and ladies."

The man turned and left the tavern. As he made his way out, he passed by a peculiar looking man in a overcoat. Volkhard stole a glance at the man as he left, but he seemed to have covered his face with a scar. For some, the man looked familiar to him...

Rena's attention was grabbed as she saw Nashya look her way from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, that's fine with me.  I'll see you all later."

She too was going to take a walk.  However, her aim was to pretty much circle around the building and then check something out.  Like what?  Like that man who just walked in.  Something about him...  Well, she'd probably find out, sooner or later.  Things tended to come in her direction if there was trouble to be had.  She stepped out to nonchalantly work her plan.  By the time she got back around, Nashya might be out of the building and on her way.

Meantime, Sano was glad to have found some real damn progress with this thing.  He was also relieved to be rid of those rejects.  It was a real chore, filtering out the idiotic and useless from those who had a hope and a prayer, and then it turns out the really good ones just show up in person when you least expect it!  Naturally, he was unaware of the looming irony, nearby.

Watching the others leave first Nashya eyed the man at the door that had caught their attention.

"See you later" she smiled at Sano before making her own way out the door, again staring down the man in an overcoat.

And then she was off, walking down the street towards the winery.

(Exit Nashya for now ^.^)

(We can time skip till the night, I think I might be able to indroduce Otto before everyone gathers.

[OOC: Alright then, one quick skip, and then you come in swinging, El.]

Time passes...  Doing what?  Well, while Rena was subtle getting a bit of background for the people she had just met - only getting a scant amount of information that might be useful - Sano was in his room, sitting on the bed and looking at some metal disks, about the size of coins.  He had to do this for a long while to make it worth his while, sit and stare...and imagine that they were gold.  It took time and patience and hopefully not alot of disturbances...or alot of energy.  Right about now, some of them were transforming into gold.  In a little while, they'd all be so.

(OOC: Nash probably won't arrive again until everyone has gathered again or something. She is currently elsewhere doing other things lol)

The door to Rena's room jolted a bit, before there was a rough knock on the door, almost like someone was pounding on it...

Because Sano's room was actually the next one over from Rena's at this time, Sano's concentration was starting to strain...  Rena, in he meantime, wondere who the hell was pounding on her door like that, while she was taking a bit of a rest before the evening coordination.  It sounded like Volkhard was beating it with his mace, but he wouldn't be so crude, would he?  Besides, a mace would damage the door.  Even the spikeless ones would.

"Hold on, hold on!"

She wasn't in armor, and Spark was leaning against a wall, but he put on her belt with her mythril daggers, just in case.  Then, she opened the door in a manner that would leave her at the side of it, and not in a direct line of sight.

"So...how can I help you?"

No one was at the door, the hall way seemed empty...but somthing seemed off, as if somthing had was there but...disappeared...almost into the shadows...

(I do apologize for dragging this out, but I have somthing planned.)

She looked out there...and there was nothing.  It felt off.  More than just the fact that someone pounded on her door and just left, it felt wrong.  It felt like...trap.  Rena shut the door and grabbed Spark.  The innkeeper was not going to like the idea of there being a fight in her establishment, but the other guy should've thought of that before.  So, stepping out into the hall, eyes and ears at the ready and Spark at an audible sizzle of electrical energy, she proceeded towards those dark spaces, preparing to light them up.

THere was some loud noise downstairs, as if there was some yelling. A few minutes later two burly looking men, both armed, camed up the stairs.

They looked like bounty hunters.

When they saw Rena, they pointed at her and yelled. "Oi! Have you seen a git in an overcoat and a scarf covering his ugly mug come up here?"

She did not lower her guard when she heard the noise downstairs.  She may have turned in the direction of the noise, but her body language said 'I eat backstabbers for breakfast.'.  Rena had trained for years to measure up to the standards of her father, her grandfather, and Rattigan Von Krauser, the Earth Draconian warrior.  So yes, she was prepared for what she assumed would be a shaowy assassin trying to get the better of her, if it came at all.

It didn't, though.  Two men came upstairs and pointed at her, asking - nay, demanding - if she had seen someone that she thought she'd seen earlier in the day.  So, is that how it is, then?  Well, for the moment, Rena's expression remained unchanged, save for the slight narrowing of eyes.  She answered them, truthfully even.

"I haven't seen anybody up here, except you two.  You spoiled my nap."

The last part was slightly untrue, but that was only because...while she spoke it to the bounty hunters...she was actually directing it to the fellow that must've pounded on her door and hid.

"My suggestion to you two, from one working sword to another.  If he's here, he has a room.  If he's not in it, he's run off into the night or has business elsewhere.  It isn't worth raising hell at an inn at night.  You can't exactly miss a scarred man with a scarf and an overcoat, now can you?"

"Well sorry princes." said the other thug. "But this man is worth a fortune, and if we can bring his head back to Connoloath, ooohhh, well be set for life!"

"Shut it you fool!" the first man said as he elbowed the other man in the stomach. "THe whole world doesn't need to hear of this, if they did, the-"

A loud crashing noise interrupted the man, sounded like it came from downstairs. There were a bunch of yelling, and the sounds of punching.

"Is that jim?" the other man asked as he turned around.

"Looks like their beating some punk!" said the first man. "C'mon, it might be ugly."

The two men rushed back from where they came from, quickly heading downstairs.

What was it about people and giving her weird monnikers lately?  First, it was Julien and his incessant pet-naming, now it was these two.  Yeah, she could've guessed that their target was worth a great deal of money.  Bounty hunters giving a damn about their surroundings was inversely proportional to the amount of money on the line.  Rena had taken on bounties herself, at times, and it seemed as though she was the more-professional sort in the business.

Just then, a noise was heard and the two guys turned to focus on that, remarking that some guy called Jim might be beating someone up.  At about this time, the room next to Rena's would give off a muffled "Aaargh!" of frustration, followed by barely-audible grumbling.  For those of you keeping track of things, Sano just lost his concentration on the matter of turning base metal to gold, leaving him with a smattering of gold coins among steel disks.  Rena went to his door and knocked.

"You alright in there?"

"Yes, I'm fine, sort of."

He sighed, irritably.  Rena now turned to her room and stepped inside, heading over to the wall where the window was located.  There, she seemed to wait a moment, and then spoke out loud.

"Okay, so it's been a couple of minutes.  Plenty of time for a quiet, stealthy person to sneak in after a bit of misdirection and all.  If I'm right about this, you can close the door and tell me what it's all about."

Any man who was being as stealthy as she was suspecting he was would be able to get in here and take an invitation when it was offered.

As expected, the sound of the door closing sounded behind her.

"Apologizes" a low, raspy voice followed the door closing, but nothing no more sounds happened after that.

The door closed and an apology was made.  However, there was no follow-up explanation, as she'd asked.  This one was short-spoken, then, or embarassed.  It wasn't likely that he was afraid.  People with scars like that only fear 'The Pain' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_keWS1i3RA), which any man can tell you is real torture.  In any case, it meant that Rena would have to basically grasp at information...which would be like pulling teeth.  She wasn't going to threate him, even though she kind of had him over a barrel.  Hmmm...  Why not just ask him?

"Sounds to me like whatever they want you for is either not true or something you're not proud of and want to somehow make amends for it.  I'm only basing that on the fact that you sought refuge instead of killing those guys, and that you seem to be polite.  Am I somewhere in the neighborhood of being right, though?"

"Maybe you are." The voice said simply. "Maybe you're wrong...doesn't matter anymore."

There were more muffled shouting from below the floorboards, followed by a muffled sound of something breaking and more shouting.

Well, it didn't seem like he wanted to talk, so this was mostly about the refuge.  From what Rena could gather, something probably DID happen, but that he just didn't want to go into it.  Despite the fact that he was hiding from her in the room that she was occupying, he seemed like perhaps a decent enough person.  Her own skills notwithstanding, he wasn't making any attempt to attack, so maybe he could be trusted with at least that much.  Taking a seat now on the bed, Rena had a look-around before speaking.

"I'm curious, voice.  If I were to say that I'm leaving soon on a mission into Connlaoth, would you say that that might be better than hanging around here?"

Judging by the noise, one might say so.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Speaking of the noise, Sano was irritated now.  Those louts were too loud.  He wouldn't be able to finish the task at hand without a severe drain on his energies, and frankly he'd rather go find out what it was they were doing so he could tell them to piss off with alot of swords.  Plus, the Innkeeper might appreciate it.  So, after pocketing the actual money he'd literally made, he scooped up the metal disks that were not gold and kept them in his hand as he headed on downstairs.  Once down, he opened up with...

"What the hell is going on down here?"

He was dressed in his everyday clothes and the only odd points seemed to be his red eyes, but that didn't mean anything yet.  After all, plenty of Serenians looked this way or stranger.  It's just that he himself was from Connlaoth.

A few seconds past before the voice gave it's answer.

"It matters not where I go..." the voice said. "...they're always be people who want my head, if for nothing more than gold."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing he would see when Sano came down was Volkhard smashing what looked like to mercenaries heads together, before both feel to the ground clutching their heads. Surrounding him was more mercenaries who had now pulled out their weapons, a flipped table with an unconscious looking mercenary under it, and the other patrons who were trying to stay out of it.

Volkhard himself was not armed, both his shield and mace were near the flipped table.

Volkhard looked up, smiled and gave a wave. "Oh, your up lad! Time for us t-hup!" The big man didn't finished his sentence as he caught a hand swinging a axe to his face, before bringing back his free hand in a fist and ramming it into the bounty hunter's face.

"Give me a hand here will ya?" he yelled as another armed man try to hit him. "These lads don't know when to leave a lady along!"

As the man swung his sword, he was grabbed by Volkhard by the chainmail he was wearing, before Volkhard picked him up face-to-face and slammed his head into the head of the sword-wielding bounty hunter, making a really loud *thud* in the process.

Hmmm, that meant he was known well enough here in Serendipity AND there in Connlaoth.  Worse yet, you couldn't exactly do something clever like fake his death or something.  He was recognizable.  Must've been fairly well-known, like that one thief, Gary Blight.  This was not an easy task, to be sure.  We have here a wanted man who probably wants to be left alone, probably very skilled.  Rena offered the idea of traveling with the group in order to get him out of harm's way, but it looks as though he could be hunted from all over.  That was no good.

"Well, if you can't shake your enemies and you're not killing them, which is damn decent of you, you'll have to make 'em believe you're unstoppable, not worth the risk.  Like, if you were to help take down an extremely dangerous vampire.  That'd keep the idiots out of your hair, at least."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

He came down and...apparently Volkhard was here, a bit early, beating up some rowdy mercenaries.  The veteran fighter doing this for...some reason, but after the racket that wrecked his concentration, he couldn't give half a damn what the mercs were after.  The old guy said he wanted a hand?  Sure, he'll give 'em a hand.  Sano just sight "Right." in a manner that was similar to someone going "'Kay.".  So, he dropped the little disks that were not coins from his hand and...they changed into gauntlets, armored boots, torso armor, and a helmet with...sort of a Bat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY8C9flp4oA) motif...and began to step into the fray to fight hand-to-hand.  What?  He had the means to keep himself from being cut, so why not?

"They fear me already." said the voice. "You only need to ask those who hang from the trees of what I do, but there are still brave fools in this world who'd do anything for gold...what is this about a vampire?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Volkhard had picked up another mercenary, who himself seemed to weigh a ton in his own armor, and then threw said mcenery onto the ground.

The assaulting group began to split their attention between the big man and the boy.

"Now this is a good change of pace." boomed Volkhard's voice. He turned around to see Sano, whose looks then prompted a booming laughter that could be heard by nearly all in the inn. "What are you wearing, lad? This is a fight! Not a play!

Yeah, some people were idiots.  However, the last part made her smile.

"Well...brave fools come in all forms.  Some of them are heroes, or at least people who have their heart in the right place.  The job that I've signed up to is a vampire slaying.  Not an ordinary one either.  The Ferromancer next door posted all over Seren for some help because he knew it to be exceptionally powerful, and in Connlaoth, so that it can prey on people even in Mordecai territory.  So far, we have a veteran fighter who...I think is downstairs, the guy himself, a shadowmancer, and myself.  Given that we're all very capable in our fields, we're throwing around a fair bit of strength, but I think he wouldn't say no to more.  This guy, he's really hellbent on killing the thing."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Even as he said that, Sano headbutted someone and...well...metal against skull equals ouch.

"You fight your way, I'll fight mine.  I'm doing everything I can to keep from just killing 'em all, so let me have my fun."

His fun, which consisted of beating hese men with metal gauntlets and boots, the likes of which had to hurt, especially if nobody here was outfitted with a strong codpiece.

A minute passed before a response was uttered.

"So I have heard..." A knife flew past Rena and stuck into the wall in front of her, the knife was pinning a flyer to the wall. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Control yaself lad!" Volkhard said, holding another mercenary's face at arms length while uppercutting another incoming mercenary. "Can't humiliate them if they're dead!"

She almost reacted to the knife, but noticed it was the wrong trajectory for an attack.  The flyer didn't give exactly details, but the voice had clearly inferred that Rena was a party to that quest.

"Yes, that's the one.  It's a real bane to the country, though apparently he's doing it because the vampire hurt a friend of his.  Both of these reasons is what drew me attention."

She got up and pulled out the knife and the flyer, lightly tossing the knife back in the direction it came so that it could easily be plucked out of the air and to disappear into darkness.

"So, I take it this holds some interest for you?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"I'm working on it!"

It just would've beenn so easy to slit throat after throat, stab a fool in the armpit as the arm passes overhead, and so much more.  He didn't do it, though.  He just clanged and thudded at anyone coming his way.

"Just how many of these jokers are there?  We've got work to do, you know!"

"It is not as if I have anything better to do with the rest of my life." the voice said. "It is either this...or..." He murmured the last part, it was practically inaudible, but it sounded like he said "hanging the damned."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Volkhard threw the man he was holding onto the ground by the face then gave him a strong kick for good measure.

"You getting tired already lad?" the big man laughed, when suddenly a group of five soldiers enclosed onto him from all directions.

"I think you have too much sense to be worth a hanging.  A real waste if someone did.  When the guys downstairs get cleared out, I'll introduce you."

Yeah, she heard the ruckus well enough.  Had the ears for it, after all.

"Of course, it'll be hard to do that to a disembodied voice with no name... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2naehMUQpQY)"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Two of the men closing in on Volkhard were grabbed by their collar and pulled back so they'd fall back onto the ground.

"Nope!"

He jumped onto one of them with a heavy stomp before basically falling at the other one so that his elbow would smash into his face.

"Impatient!"

To him, this was a distraction.  It was one he wouldn't ignore, but he didn't have to like that it was there.

"No one's stopping from looking..." the voice said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Volkhard threw off the rest of the men who had surrounded him with a massive exclamation, causing all of them to fall onto the ground.

"Who wants some more! Eh!?" Volkhard yelled, as some of the mecenaries on the ground got up, dazed, even some began running for the door.

They would be sensed before they were seen, the shadows twisting and contorting in the corners of the inn as everything began to take shape. She had felt it from blocks away, the more violent than normal disturbances taking the stage in the place she liked to call home. They were ripples in the endless pool of dark water constantly present in her mind and right now... Nashya was not a fan of ripples.

From the shadows, her creatures emerged with outstretched hands as they began grasping at the figures on the floor. Whether conscious or not it need not matter, soon enough they would be pulled into the world so full of nightmares that they would all wet themselves by nights end if they didn't get out. She wasn't going to maim or murder any of them, even if deep down she wanted to. No, all Nashya wanted was for all of them to leave.

With the way her afternoon had gone with Demagogue and now this Nashya was in a foul mood, and by the time she was pushing through the door it was evident on her face. How dare these people come into the inn she chose specifically for its solace and tranquility and mess it up like this. It was disrespectful, borderline unforgivable and she was having no part in it.

All at once her shadow creatures began chanting to those they were touching, speaking into their minds the same phrase over and over again.

"Get out... get out.... get out...."

If any of the assailants decided to ignore the warning well... she hoped they weren't that stupid.

"Please let them ignore it" her darker self chimed in causing the always present eye flick from Nashya insinuating that something was going on within her mind.

But then the loud voice of Volhard broke the silence, even causing her eye to twitch a bit as he beckoned for more. The once soft-spoken girl then spoke up, taking another step inside the inn towards him. "No one! No one wants anymore or I swear to the gods I will remove each and every single one of you myself!"

By now a larger manifestation began to take form behind her, familiar to some and new to others. With its long dark fingers and soulless eyes, it crept towards her, reaching out before snapping its attention to the room. It was just itching at the chance to be released and Nashya was fighting her own conscious on whether or not she should.

This girl, standing before all of them now was Nasya Belvedere, Shadowfeeder of Golden Gear. The very stance and presence she embodied the reason she was who she was within her organization. Her demeanor reflecting someone who did not have a care in the world for what happened to any of this people... well except for one.

"Sano"

"Fair enough."

Just then, there was a series of...sounds...that neither Rena nor the unnamed interloper would immeiately know.  However, the voice that followed sounded like that other woman, the one who'd said she was a shadowmance.  She looked in the direction of the voice.

"Believe it or not, that's our cue.  That is...if you're interested.  I leave it up to you."

She picked up her sword and exited the room.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The room had suddenly changed, to the point where Sano knew things were about to go poorly for those in here.  At least, all except for himself and Volkhard...he hoped.  He pulled off his helmet as the very familiar shadow appeared and a very direct threatening statement was made.

"As you can see, we were going easy on you.  I'm pissed and he was looking for a fight.  Her, though?  This is her favorite inn.  You want to go now.  You want to go and save your lives."

Because it was obvious that this group of mercs was no match at all.  Oh, and there's a young lady with a bigass sword coming down now.  Some people might remember her.

There stood a man in a overcoat and a scar covering the lower half of his face. He had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, right next to the door.

When the women left, he silently followed. When she reached the downstairs, he stood at the stair well.

"Interesting company." said Otto. "Didn't know you had a bunch of bodies and a shadow monster with you."

Meanwhile, Volkhard was close enough to Sano to give him a light slap to the head. "Get ya story right laddy, before you start accusing; these bloks were bothering everyone in here, including the bar lass over there."

Those in the bar brave enough managed to nod in agreement, some even verbally agreed.

"But the lads right." Volkhard said to the mercenaries as he cracked his knuckles. "Ya betta leave before you get more then your bones broken."

Crimson eyes flicked upwards towards the stairwell that led from the rooms above. Even if Nashya wasn't up there she heard what Otto referred to her as. "I am not a monster" she thought although she could feel her darker self nodding in agreement.

Attention then shifted towards Volkhard when he cracked his knuckles. The action causing Nashya to not only sigh but slightly roll her eyes. Yes, of course, she could continue letting him beat the daylights out of these invaders, but it would only cause more mess in the long run. Again her eyes shifted but this time towards Sano for the briefest of moments before finally, they came to rest on the old innkeeper standing in the corner.

Of course, the elderly woman would be looking at her with such hatred as if she were the cause of all of this. With her eyes still locked on the woman, Nashya spoke up again.

"I will not ask again" and at that command, the large shadow creature behind her made a clicking noise as it began flexing its fingers, clearly still itching for the chance to be let go and unleash its horror on these people.

"Make an example out of one of them. Let it go and show them what we can do" Nashya's eyes flicked as her darker self fed her the idea.

"Not yet" she whispered, hoping that it would not come to that.

Thump!  Ow.  Sano looked back at Volkhard with an expression that would be universally recognized as 'Seriously?'.  The helmet in his hands became a sword, just in case anybody decided to act out at the wrong moment which - at this time - was any moment.

"I didn't know the whole story."

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.  Rena didn't bother to make a reply to the now-visible man's comment, but apparently Nashya - the Shadowmancer - did...by talking through the shadows right near them!

"I think he meant the big guy!"

Yeah, that large looming shadow-creature definitely qualified as a monster.

"Well, it's either the big one or the bearded one, but it doesn't matter."

He glared at the still-processing-this-shit mercenaries.

"I asked these people to help me with a really big fight, and you ain't it.  Get lost."

Now, we wait to see if some of them wanna get diced, because on top of Volkhard being hard as a rock, Sano ready to swing steel, and Nashya waiting to devour any one of them with shadow beings, the sizzle of the zweihander known as Spark could be heard.  Any one of them could be a potential match for these men.  All of them was just overkill.

The mercenaries were quaking at the sights, and those who were still conscious quickly made they're way out of the inn, exiting through the windows as to avoid the women and her thing.

"Well, that's that I suppose." Volkhard said, with a little chuckle in his tone. He stepped over to the flipped over table, the man underneath had woken up and taken off as well. With one hand, he flipped the table on his side, before going onto the other side and lowering it onto it's legs. Volkhard then went over to the chairs and picked them up, setting them up straight, before his eyes rested upon a spilled drink.

"Aye, casualties of war..." Volkhard said with sad look as he picked up the mug to examine it, before he started chuckling to himself and placed it onto the table and took a seat.

Otto meanwhile had taken to leaning against the wall again, he said nothing at the moment but just watched.

Still making an eerie crackle noise behind her Nashya could not help but watch her manifestation from the corner of her eye. This particular creature probably the most creepy out of the lot, but also one of the strongest. In fact, it was ranked second in her book compared to one other. But with power came the struggle of control and so she could barely even keep this one contained.

Still she was happy to see the mercenaries leaving at her command even if her darker self was less than pleased.

"I never get to have any fun" Nashya's eyes flicked to the right as they always did when this part of her spoke within her mind.

"As it should be" she responded, her conversation seemingly one-sided to everyone but herself and of course Sano who knew of her affliction.

Along with the crackle coming from her creature Nashya could hear something else coming from the direction of the woman she had met earlier in the day. Seems already they were all starting to work together towards a common goal.

Alongside Volkhard Nashya began picking up glasses and setting them on tables for the innkeepers to collect. It was the least she could do for the trouble she had brought on the inn yet again. Her manifestation followed her, matching each footstep with one of its own. Long fingers still eagerly reached out for her but never touched although the urge could clearly be seen.

"Speaking of trouble..." A quick eye flick before her gaze met the man leaning against the wall.

"You gonna keep staring or are you going to help? I mean you are the cause for all of this are you not?" Clearly Nashya was still very irritated with this entire situation. She stepped out for only a few hours and look at what had come of things. Thank the gods that she decided to travel with them to Connloath or else this group would probably leave a path of unneccasary destruction in its wake.

Flipping over a chair to another table Nashya could not help but let the anger for the man against the wall grow. At first other than her statement asking for him to help she did her best to keep her unkind opinoins to herself, but this could only last for so long. And with the day she had not so long meant only a few moments.

"You know you have some nerve! Don't think I wasn't watching this entire time. You let those men make such a mess and terrorize these poor people while you hid upstairs like a coward!" Angrily Nashya slammed an empty cup onto a table, the manifestation behind her growing louder and more ancy as her anger grew.

"Selfish! is what you are!" Nashya pointed an accusing finger to the man and ironically the manifestation mirrored her movement. As her anger grew the control she held over the creature also multiplied and now it was copying her ever action like a puppet moved by invisible strings. And even though Nashya seemed quite angry, as she had every right to be, the entire scene would almost appear comical as she was unknowingly and unintentionally mocked by her own creature.

The man only glanced at the shadow being before his focus went onto the women. He spoke, in his rapy and low voice. " I have no reason to fight them, I have no quarrel with these men...therefore I have no reason to waste my time with them."

Out from one of his sleeve the man seemed to produced a knife, to which he began to inspect it, sliding his free hand over the blade. "They would of left had they found that my presence was not here. They are a lot of bark, in their fancy armor. But at hearts, cowards. At best, they would have inconvinced everyone."

The man in the overcoat looked up, looking at the big man in armored. "Least they would of, if somebody did not provoke them."

"Those lads needed a good whooping to take them down a peg." grunted the old man. "Thought they could just flash their blades at me...well, they wouldn't be doing that any time soon, would they." The man ended that last bit with a chuckle.

With the men who at least were conscious leaving in a hurry, the tension died down a little.  Not all the way...since he standoffish scarred man had annoyed Nashya.  Her shadow perception allowed her to know just what transpired here.  That included her being aware that they were there for said scarface and that he'd just hid...which she did not like.  There was, at this point, the early onset of an argument in the works.  Rena gave the man a look after his comment.

"Hey, you led them here to innocent people.  Help clean up."

She came down the stairs the rest of the way.

"I wouldn't want people like that hanging around.  They remind me of the Silver Horde."

"The what?"

"Long story.  The short answer is 'Bastards, the lot of them'."

"Fair enough.  The point is, fella, that they looked persistant and dumb, and that we like this place.  So, fights are gonna happen.  Just give us a hand and don't grumble about it."

Mostly, Sano was weighing in because if Nashya was right about this guy, then she was probably going to be angry with him until he levied a olive branch.  He didn't know who this guy was, of course, but it seemed Rena did...sort of.  They were gonna have to clean up before having their meeting.  Otherwise, the innkeeper might kick them out...

Nashya was practically speechless when Otto said he had no quarrel with these men. The hell if he didn't! They were chasing HIM yet this wasn't HIS fight. And unlike him, Nashya could at least own up to her mistakes. Maybe all of this was a mistake, leading all of these people to this inn. She allowed it, she brought Sano here and now look at the mess it was in.

"Yep you break everything you touch." Eye flick

"Shut up!" she screamed at herself as she whipped her head to look at the person who was not standing beside her. Again, something she did when talking to herself, acting like the darker thing in her mind was standing right beside her at all times.

Nashya was about to turn again, this time to face Otto but Rena spoke up and then Sano. Seemed they both shared the same view as herself and so it caused her to calm down a bit.

During this entire scene, the dark creature Nashya had manifested only grew louder with its clicking, nearly growling when she had turned to yell at nothing. Still agitated she looked at the creature out of the corner of her eye. "What are you still doing here? Go.."

And so the creature very quickly disappeared, the shadow it created retreating back to the darkness.

THe man in the overcoat just looked up, not at anyone in particular, before putting his knife away.

Hands in his pocket, he moved off the stairs, brushing past Rena with a quiet "Excuse me."

Moving near Nashya, he used his foot to toss up the handles on the chair, grabbing it with one arm before setting it straight at a nearby table.

There was not much left to clean up, Volkhard had taken care of most of the heavy lifting with the table, but the fighting had gone on in a relatively open area of the bar. The only thing that was left to pick up were being picked up by Volkhard, as he reached over to pick up random forks and plates near his table.

Hoo boy...  It wasn't good when Nashya had to shout at the shadow-being hat nobody else could see.  Still, between some reasonable coaxing, they got the stranger to help pick the place up.  While this was going on, Rena did smirk a bit, but stopped when Sano asked her the obvious question in hushed tones.

"So, what's his story?"

She shrugged back at him.

"Unnamed master of stealth sought for by unknown bounty hunters for unspecified reasons."

"...and?"

"And...he did seem a bit interested in our venture when I mentioned it to 'im.  I assume you'll take all he decent help you can get, right?"

"If he's up to the task, sure, but he's gotta get along with Nashya, or at least not irritate her.  We need to work as a team, or else we're gonna have some trouble organizing this."

That much was true, and now that the inn was more-or-less in one piece again, they could begin their meeting.  But before then, they needed to see where they stood with this newcomer, if he was to be coming with them at all...and who the hell was he, anyway?

She was happy to see that he was helping pick things up, however inconvenient it may be for him. Nashya had even managed to calm down even more as she looked at all of them working together so easily. This was however until Otto called her creature 'cute'.

"No he didn't" her darker self chimed in while all Nashya could do was nod as she pursed her lips.

As she slammed another glass onto the table top she took in deep breaths as she attempted to think rationally. Her eyes then flicked towards Sano and Rena who seemed to be having a conversation of their own.

Instead of retaliating like she really wanted to she opted for the better option and pulled out the chair Otto had just placed. With a loud scoot, she slid it across the floor a bit back from the table before she sat down, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't get pissed off that easily." the man said, hands were now back in his coat pocket as he walked over, giving them a dead stare as he walked nonchalantly. "Tell me what you need from me and I'll provide without much of a fuss...least to help take down this vampire of yours."

So, the score was currently Nashya Pissed and Stranger Offering Services.  This was gonna take some doing.  Rena decided to take a seat, as well as a backburner to the discussion at hand.  After all, it was Sano who was hiring, was it not?  That made him effectively leader here.  Or at least...they had no reason to be here without his quest business.  Anyway, he looked over the guy now, no longer in armor, as that equipment had become a bunch of little disks in his hand again.

"Well, you could start by telling us who you are and what you can do.   Since Rena obviously mentioned the vampire to you, I don't need to explain much, except that he's very dangerous.  You've obviously got some kind of reputation, but we'll need to know some of your capabilities, so we can plan our attack."

As everyone took a seat at the table once more, plus the annoying new guy, Nashya remained silent. She had nothing to say, well nothing nice anyways. She feared that if she did talk it would only ruin whatever chances Sano had to recruit more help and at the end of the day this was all about him.

As they spoke Nashya reflected on the day as a whole. That morning was interesting and when they parted ways for a bit it grew even more so. Seemed Nashya had a knack for creating some kind of stir in one way or another today. First Demagogue and now this, what more could she mess up?

Still silent she listened as they exchanged words, taking extra effort in keeping whatever thoughts may be lingering to herself.

(OOC: I am heading to bed guys so if you want to start skipping me again to keep this conversation going I am fine with that ^.^ Will reply to whatever when I get home from work tomorrow.)

"Have you've seen the dead bodies hanging by their necks from trees along the roads of Connoloath?" the man said, not even batting an eye. "Those are my doing."

Volkhard, who had been sitting there and watching, suddenly had a face of curious interest. He looked like he was about to say something, but decided to wait.   

(Nighty night!)

[OOC: Alright, take care, Blink.]

With he and the stranger now effectively having the floor, Sano was asked about dead bodies just hanging along the side of the road.  This man was claiming responsibility for that.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't been back in Connlaoth for years.  I...no wait..."

There was...something...  Generally, Sano kept his head down and his mind on nothing but trying to forage and keep warm during his days, livinng on the streets of his home country, wandering often because he was generally not welcome.  His eyes widened for a moment.  He was maybe 13-14 when he started seeing them.  They were hanging bodies, alright, but he assumed it was the Mordecai hanging up a rogue mage, at least until he heard rumors of...

"The Hangman...  Yes, I remember now.  I had to travel by foot alot.  I know I came across this more than once.  Nobody knows who did it, just that a man was seen, vanishing from the scene."

"That would certainly explain the bounty."

"Yes, it would."

He looked over at the supposed hangman now.

"You wouldn't be the first assassin I've come across, assuming you're him.  Of course, if you are, I don't need to ask of your skill.  You've clearly got it."

"If that's all cleared up." The man in the overcoat said. "I suppose you want to begin talking about our plan of attack."

"Unless you've got something else you want to get off of your chest."

He wasn't aiming that at any particular thing the Hangman might know or seem keen on keeping concealed, but the man was standoffish and there wasn't alot that he was trying here to garner trust.  OF course, he didn't hear the man while he was up in Rena's room.  She could tell that something more was up than this cold front he was putting forth.  At any rate, Sano was wonderinng if he knew much about others in their field.  Yes, their field, the assassin's way of life.  Sano wasn't a true assassin by definition...but his teacher was, and she frequented Connlaoth over the years.  Not saying they met, because they probably didn't, but one was probably aware of the other's work.  Still...

"Let me ask if you know something about this, since you've been there more recently than I have.  Have you heard tales of vampiric attacks in the night, or of a bald warrior wading into battle and tearing apart people, right and left, before vanishing?"

He waited a moment to see if that was a yes or no, then continued.

"That's our target.  He's incredibly dangerous, so I've been working to recruit some highly-dangerous people myself.  We know what draws him in, or at least we have a better plan of it than other people would.  We..."

He stopped.  It suddenly hit him.  He had an even better idea on how to do this.

"I'm sorry, I just had an inspiration that will work much better than old plan.  Before I go into details, though, you'd better say it clearly.  This monster could kill even you, Hangman.  Are you in or are you out?"

"I am a dead man walking." The man in the overcoat said. "I've got nothing to lose."

"Great." Volkhard grunted as his head was now resting on his hand, before murmuring something to himself.

Wow, and Sano thought he had troubles.  Well, there's always someone with more on their minds, one guesses.  So, with that all taken care of, they had a rather formidable group here, it seemed.  Now, for the idea that had just come to him.

"Originally, this was a case of using a Mordecai to lure out the vampire.  I have a much better solution now, something that the vampire will have to investigate - even if it seems phony to him - because he'll need to know why."

The young man smirked now, loving this change of plans that everyone would agree with.

"We don't need to kill a Mordecai.  We don't even need to make it look like a Mordecai's been killed.  We just need to make it seem like the Ebon Knife is hunting on Connlaoth again, in total defiance of the vampire's edicts."

The Ebon Knife, an assassin that was known internationally.  Name, face, origins - unknown.  Except...to this group, he'd already stated her real name and a few other things.  The Hangman might not know what this mission was all about, apart from killing a dangerous vampire, but he probably wouldn't object to helping out an assassin who has executed soulless powermongers, slave-traders, and Mordecai...unless he liked the anti-magic laws.

"When I saved her, there was still blood everywhere.  That suit of hers would be rife with that scent.  If Nashya were to project a shadow into it, make it move like a deadly assassin in the night, creeping around and looking for a new target, he'll show up.  Even if he doesn't think it's her, he'll have to figure out who or what is doing this, because otherwise his precious hunting ground is compromised."

[OOC: Blink you're up next.]

"I much prefer the killing Mordecai plan, but that's just me." Nashya's eyes flicked in response.

"I bet you do" she mumbled before taking in a deep breath and adjusting herself in the chair. "It could work assuming you could get your hands on the suit. Creating a shadow to fill it out and walk around would be no problem. Heck, we could make it even more fun and throw one of my manifestations into it so when the vampire does get close to it... well... I don't think I need to paint a picture on what would happen there."

Already Nashya had one in mind, one that everyone in this room was familiar with by now. Throwing that one into the mix would level the playing field a bit right from the start. Most importantly it would allow them all to keep a distance at first... it would keep them safe.

"Safe is boring." Eye flick.

She didn't even bother responding to herself this time but instead rolled her eyes as she sighed yet again. Sometimes she wished they could all hear what it was she had to put up with every day. It truly was exhausting trying to keep track of long conversations.

The man in the overcoat said nothing, only nodding in response.

Volkhard was rubbing his chin, so far this new plan made sense to him. "Then we'd get the jump on him when he's distracted with the coat...assuming he doesn't sniff us out first."

"Well, it's a much better plan than the previous ones, where half of you don't want to kill a Mordecai and the illusion of a Mordecai has a few holes in it.  This one's too tempting to pass up, because he wanted her out, and it would be a complete defiance of his dominance if he found her back.  He'd be insulted, irritated, and want to tear her apart.  So, we have that."

Of course, there was the obvious problem...

"It does mean, however, that I'll have to go home first."

The semi-elven warrior raised an eyebrow now.

"Uhh...why?"

"To get the suit.  Weren't you listening?  Bloodstained clothes, acting as a lure-"

"That's not what I meant.  I mean, why do you need to go all the way home when you could just use the Meeting Place?"

Sano blinked.

"The...what?"

Aaand now, she deadpanned.

"The Meeting Place?  An area that connects several parts of the world together, allowing you to travel to a central location magically and meet with people?  You could talk, have lunch, exchange things, and when you leave, you go back where you came from."

"I've never heard of it."

"Really?  That's weird.  Then again, someone from Connlaoth who's been taught to eschew magic would-"

"Just because I'm from there doesn't mean I think that way.  I was at the wrong end of those laws, remember?"

Rena held up her hands, making a gesture indicating she'd prefer that he chill out.

"Alright, alright...  Anyway, just get a message out to her to have you meet at a time and you'll get your bloody clothes."

"Hmm...  Well, I guess that makes sense.  Any questions?"

"One" Volkhard said. "Where exactly are we planning for this ambush? Think the lot of us should set up ahead of time?"

Nashya nodded as they spoke, agreeing with this new plan Sano came up with. It could definitely work, and obviously as she thought before it was much safer. Except he was right with the problem presented, he would have to go home. That would definitely add more time to their travels and only further the growing tension between herself and her partner in Golden Gear.

It was already a problem telling him she would be gone for a few days and she couldn't even imagine how he would react if that changed to a few weeks. But when Rena mentioned The Meeting Place, Nashya shared the same expression as Sano.

Nashya wasn't from Connlaoth and she herself had never heard of this place. When Rena explained what it was though it all made sense. Nashya had no need for a place like that with the abilities she carried.

"None here" Nashya was actually impressed this newfound plan had gone over so smoothly. Now it seemed they were all on the same page for once.

In reference to Volhard's question though Nashya chimed in...

"I know that it makes more sense to set up ahead of time but I think we should figure that out when we actually find out where this vampire is. It would be pointless to set a place for an ambush if we can't even confirm that the vampire would even be there."

With the amount of time needed to get the clothes cut down by a long stretch, there was just one question, for now: Where were they going and how would they set up?

"Apart from the lure, I don't know if anyone needs time to set up anything.  It looks to me like we're all made for straight-up combat and magic.  Unless you need to do something, Hangman.  Either way, it's more the lure and the fighting strategy that's the thing there.  As for where..."

He thought about it for a moment.  Sano knew Connlaoth's overall layout by heart, having walked about it so much in his youth.  Unpleasant memories, but ultimately useful ones now.

"Nowhere near the capital or Uthlyn.  Too much can be brought down on us too easily, because no matter how this goes down, it will be noisy and destructive when we fight."

"We can't take this into a town, then.  We might end up wrecking it."

"We can try a wooded area first, if you like, but I can almost guarantee you that it'll be the assassin stalking the streets at midnight that does it, and I think we should find the little fiefdom of some slave driver or corrupt noble that Keefe would want to go after, then make it look like she's planning just that."

"I have a few suggestions." Said the man in the overcoat. "There's this one man I've been meaning to pay a visit to... give him something. I don't think he would care much if we used his land, not after I'm done with him anyways."

"If ya confident laddy." Volkhard said looking around the table. "We move out tomorrow morning?"

"Tomorrow morning it is then."  This, of course, was the end of the meeting as far as Nashya was concerned.

Standing up she straightened up before glancing around the inn once more. It seemed things had died down again and she was happy for that. At least she would get one night before they left of not having to worry about the chaos they had all caused.

"See you all in the morning." And with that, she was walking away. Heading up to her room to wait for the rest of them to disperse.

"You'll have to lead us to wherever that is, Hangman.  Otherwise, I guess the meeting's over."

"Good.  I could use some actual sleep."

So could I."

However, as others might be dispersing, Sano was actually acting on Rena's advice and was writing up a note to send out.  The only problem was...he didn't want to bring any attention home.  This meant that he was handling the message alone and quietly.  He wouldn't care if Nashya knew where Keefe lived, but he didn't need anyone else to know, for rumors to spread, and for pressure to reach her in the one place it was not suppose to go.  So, he headed out to go get a nightbird message out.

"Alright, I'll see you lads and lassies in the morning." Volkhard would remain there for the remainder of the night, ordering some drinks, but mostly polishing up his weapon.

Otto meanwhile just nodded, and just wandered out of the inn, disappearing into the darkness is of night.

And so, we bid that eventtful night adieu.  No idea where it is that Otto would be sleeping, if he didn't have a room somewhere.  This town was a fairly large one, so he really could've gotten a bed anywhere.  Sano got back later and basically passed out into his bed, while  Nashya and Rena were probably asleep already.

Hours later, it was morning (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h66gq40szjk), come at last.

Rena woke up in her normal day clothes, as per her usual habits.  She got out from under the sheets, yawned, stretched, and ruffled her hair in an attempt to look like she hadn't slept in a funny position, which she had.  She stepped out of the room shortly thereafter and thumped Sano's door a couple times, searching for signs of life.  She got a grumble that sounded muffled by pillow, which she could understand.

"It's morning, guy.  Let's eat, gather the troops, and be gone."

She wasn't sure if the response was intelligable, but at least it was human.  Rena headed down to get some food and tea.  Maybe Nashya would get him moving.  After all, the two of them were clearly an item...  Rena idly wondered what the man they only knew as the Hangman did with himself.  Was he in the shadows now, even as we speak, or in plain view because he did not care?  Volkhard, of course, would be heard a mile away...because he was Volkhard.

While waiting for the rest of their group to finish up Nashya fell asleep, drifting off into the nightmarish world she lived in every time her eyes closed. It was no wonder she was always tired, not having had a peaceful nights sleep in what felt like ages.

As the sun rose in the sky Nashya stirred, stretching out on the bed as she rubbed her eyes to prepare them for the daylight. Eventually, she would sit up and then stand, straightening her clothes as she made her way towards the door. The morning was always such a wonderful time because with that... so came breakfast.

It had become quite normal for her to skip next door to Sano's room and wake him up, today would be no exception. However, with the new guests at the inn, she really didn't feel like running into any of them first.

Shadow travel, something she hardly used by was quite good at. Within a matter of seconds, she went from standing in her room to emerging in the corner of Sano's. He was still laying in his bed with his face buried in a pillow. She heard Rena's knock on the door and remained quiet for the duration, almost happy that it hadn't completely woken up Sano yet.

"Hey" she whispered, slowly moving towards the edge of his bed. It almost sounded as if she were attempting to awake him in some sweet and soft way, this was not the case.

Standing at the edge of his bed Nashya gripped the sheets covering him and pulled at them in an attempt to remove them from his sleeping corpse.  "Wake up sleepy head!"

Volkhard and the man in the overcoat were sitting dantly at the same table, both of them had plates and a cup in front of them. The man in the overcoat's plate and cup were empty, while Volkhard's plate was filled with breakfast food.

Volkhard was busy cutting a piece of food with a meal knife, before placing the piece of food into his mouth with a fork. The man in the overcoat,meanwhile, waa leaned back in his chair and had his plates pushed to the side, with two pistols out; one was laying on the table, the other he was cleaning.

The man in the overcoat just glanced at Rena, before he went back to cleaning his pistol. Volkhard meanwhile wave the girl over with his fork.

For the record, the words that issued forth from Sano's pillow were not actual words, so even if Rena heard them properly...they just weren't words.  The young Ferromancer was recovering from the even-later-night-than-everyone-else, and thus he was also unaware that Nashya had come directly into his room.  Perhaps if he'd heard the latch, he might have reacted, but the lady had earned herself a surprise round, and used it to yank off sheet of Sano's bed.

Pity he was sleeping on top of them.

"Yahhh!"

THUMP!!

Sano fell out to one side of the bed, landing on his back.  He reached up and grabbed the edge of the bed to sit up, his red eyes searching for the culprit and finding the dark-haired woman with a white sheet in her hands.  He gave her a 'Seriously?' look now.

"Didn't I just get a wake-up call?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Apparently, they were already here, and had either eaten or were in the process of doing so.  Hangman was cleaning his gun, a little Connlaoth invention that Rena had had little time to really look over, save for moments where someone would pull one on her.  Getting her food and morning tea, she set them down and began her routine.

"Our man will probably be up soon.  I checked on him and..."

She then heard something, followed by a heavy thump from upstairs.  Rena smirked after that.

"Guess he's up now, anyway."

"Well, I thought you needed another one" she joked as she sat at the edge of the bed.  Her eyes then flicked as she focused her attention downstairs, getting a status update of her own.

"Rena, Volkard, and Hangman are already downstairs eating. You're the last one up."

Nashya then balled the sheet up in her hands and placed it on the bed. While they were gone she was sure the innkeeper would come in and tidy up anyways.

"May God have mercy on her soul..." Eye flick followed by a giggle.

"By the way, after talking with Demagogue I decided I am just going to travel with you. I can't remember if I told you already."

Nervously Nashya then twiddled her fingers, not having had a chance to tell him what transpired between herself and her partner the day before. He hadn't taken the news as well as she would have liked and in the end, it led to her storming out of his office while he brooded over paperwork.

"So this means we get to spend even more time together."

"Oh yay...." Eye flick.

"What on earth is that boy up to?" Volkhard said as he began slicing another piece of food. "Speaking of, you know anything about that lass with the shadow? Haven't seen her this morning."

The man in the overcoat was done with his maintenance with the pistol in his hand, spinning it slowly as he inspected it in the light.

Yup, Sano was the last one up.  In fact, he was only just getting up now, trying to work some of the stiffness in his joints out while Nashya put the sheets down.  That was when she pointed out that she was going to join them on the entire journey, which he couldn't remember if she mentioned before either.  Something...seemed to bother her about that.  Nashya had explained enough about Golden Gear for him to get that this very thing might get her into trouble.  Well...they'd cross that later.  As she said, they get to spend more time together.

"That's good, because I remember you wanted to meet Keefe, and thanks to this Meeting Place, we can."

Strange how these things work out.  And yes, he had been noticing the eye flicks.  Someone didn't approve.  Well, that someone was in for alot of disappointment.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Yes, I know some things.  For instance, I'm pretty sure she's gotten him up."

She smiled knowingly and continued her meal before glancing at the other man.

"I guess you DO have a room then, Hangman?  You don't look like you slept outside."

Someone with an eye for detail like her would know.

"I'm used to sleeping outside." Was the only thing the man in the overcoat said, before he holstered the pistol in his hands and picked up the secound pistol, beginning it's maintenance.

Volkhard only gave a glanced at the man in the overcoat, before his attention turned to Rena as he placed another piece of food into his mouth.

"Didn't know they were that close." Volkhard said in-between bits. "But I suppose it's no differnt from most young people I've seen; I suppose it would relax the lad, a bit too tense that one is. Though I do hope she's not that rough with him, given you know..." Volkhard was more or less indicating to the side with his head and good eye. He seemed to be indicating at his own shadow for some reason...

Keefe... the woman responsible for bringing Sano to Nashya's doorstep. If it wasn't for her getting hurt Nashya probably would have never met him. Not to mention this woman was who raised him and made him into everything she loved. Of course, she wanted to meet Keefe if only to thank her for everything.

"Is she going to have a problem with what you are doing?" Nashya was, of course, refering to Sano gathering a band of people to go kill this monster.

"Does it matter" Eye flick..

"Of course it matters." Nashya sighed, rolling her head back as it was just simply too early to be fighting with herself already.

Of course it matters!  Sano shook his head at what was obviously an unwanted comment from the shadow.  Irritating pain in the ass...  You'd think she'd be looking forward to a vampire slaying.

"Keefe might have an issue or two, but a part of her is gonna want this taken care of too.  She'd even want to help, if she wasn't injured, but the point of this has always been to keep her out of danger.  After all, if she were there with us and the vampire found out too soon..."

You can imagine what would happen.  He would attack when they weren't prepared, putting them at severe disadvantage.  Sano now motioned to the door.

"So, shall we join them, then?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hangman's assertion that he had been sleeping outside gave Rena pause.  The half-elven woman had sharp eyes, and she didn't see any telltale debris or foliage on or near him.  If he was doing it, he was cleaning himself about as immaculately as those guns.  She smiled at Volkhard's comment.  Sano did seem tense and on-edge.  Then again, so did Nashya, at least to her.

"Well, if they really love each other, they'll overcome each other's problems.  That's generally how it's suppose to work."

Of course, she had meddled prior to give the man a hand in matters, bur we need not go into detail over that with these two.  One wouldn't care and the other might get too curious.

"Having someone to ground you is good, keeps your head from floating too far into the clouds." The veteran said as he wiped his mouth.

The man in the overcoat still said nothing as he began to insert a rode into the barrel of his pistol.

(I've got nothing to add till you two are done.)

Nashya nodded, not only to what Keefe would think but also to joining the other misfits downstairs for breakfast.

Standing up from the bed Nashya shot Sano a smile before making her way towards the door. "Perhaps you should get dressed first? I'll meet you down there." And she was off, letting the door click behind her as she prepared herself for conversating with those down below.

Once downstairs Nashya strolled up to the table, pulling out a chair and opting to sit next to hangman... at least he was quiet most of the time.
"I hate him" Eye flick.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that your opinion doesn't matter does it?" Nashya crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow, declaring her little comment a miniature victory. Well, that was until she realized she had just said that out loud in front of the three of them. She was sure at least one of them may think she was talking to them.

"Uh-" Nashya's cheeks flushed as she grew more embarrassed with each passing second.

"I think after this your opinion won't count for much either." her darker self-taunted.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that I uh-" Unable to handle the pure agony of them looking at her Nashya then covered her face with her hands as if that alone would render her invisible to the world.

"Just pretend I'm not here.." she whispered, sinking lower into her chair with her eyes still covered.

Dressed?  But he thought he was...oh.  Okay, not entirely so.  Pants, yes.  Socks, sure.  Shirt, no.  Sano smiled sheepishly as Nashya left to get breakfast, finding a simple shirt to use before they packed up and got out of here.  True, Nashya could do that instantly, with her powers, bur Sano didn't pack-mule until he was ready.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In the meantime, Nashya had just come down, took a seat, and then - while the others were eating breakfast or cleaning a gun - informed someone that their opinion didn't count.  She then, as at least Rena had an eyebrow raised, ask them to pretend she wasn't there, as she was embarrassed.  Rena decided to speak.

"Uhh...we were just...talking about how it was good that you were along for the mission.  I kinda' doubt you'd be disagreeing with that."

She couldn't have been listening in just now.  She had to be referring to something else.  Just then, Sano came down, got some food and drink...and then paused as he came upon this scene.

"Did I miss something?"

"I think so, but I'm at a loss as to what."

The man in the overcoat just glanced up, before he wen back to cleaning his gun.

Olkhard just raised an eyebrow, taking a sip out of the cup next to his plate, then set i down. "Hope it hadn't anything to do with you two taking your time. After all such a thing is only nature."

Her embarrassment only grew when Volkhard hinting at something else. "Oh, gods why?" she muttered, keeping her face buried in her hands.

Sitting up a bit she then peeked through her fingers at Sano, hoping maybe he could help explain the situation a little better. "I was talking to her and it sounded like I was talking to them and now they are assuming things and..." Closing the small gap in her fingers she sunk again, embarrassing herself even more as she spoke.

"Sano help me."

Sano gave Volkhard a look that either meant 'That's none of your buiness' or 'Give it a rest', dependent on how you interpret it.  Either way, he didn't think it was very funny, and as a serious comment, it was out of line.  He pieced together what it is that was going on as Nashya spoke up through the drawbridge of embarrassment.  Upon request for help, Sano straightened this out in one fell swoop.

"You know those shadow-things she has?  One of 'em talks in her head.  Gets under her skin, sometimes."

"So, it's like having a parrot on your shoulder?"

That put a smile on the young man's face.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it."

He sat down to eat at the only available space now, between Rena and Nashya.

"That would make a whole lot of sense." Volkhard said as he began to slice another piece of food. "Judging from the look on ya face an' what ya've been saying, that parrot of yours. Just be a right proper nuisance."

The man in the overcoat finished cleaning the barrel of the gun, now sliding the rod out. He took apart a piece of the gun, grabbing a napkin on the table, he began wiping it.

"Well, if we are all settled and awake, how's bout we talk bout what are we to do from here on out." Volkhard said, placing another piece of food into his mouth.

"Did they seriously just compare me to a parrot? A stupid parrot!?"

Nashya sat up in the chair a bit, happy that Sano could explain so well what was going on in her head.

"You have no idea.." she added to Volkhard's statement.

Then it was all business as Volkhard began asking important questions. "I imagine it will take a while to travel, and let's not forget that we still have to go to The Meeting Place so that Sano can speak with Keefe. Maybe we should split up? We could meet you guys in Connlaoth and that would also give you a chance to get an ear out on where the vampire is...." Nashya then paused as she looked to Sano.

"...unless you want all of us to come with you to meet her?"

Oh, Sano was loving that parrot comment.  It was a boon to their journey, getting that out of the way, and so humorously.  Seriouly, Volkhard was bringing forth a few snerks from the red-eyed one.  Still, their plans, now that they were all here and awake...  They would go, they DID have to hit the meeting place, but should they split up or all meet Keefe?

"Well, we don't all have to."

"I have to show you the way, at least.  They're not on the map or pointed out with any road signs.  You just have to know the way...or stumble onto it."

"How did you find out?"

"Dad showed me, when I was little.  It's a few miles from home, actually, a cave in the Terrin Mountain Range, right when you meet solid rock."

"Why's that hard to find?

"It's a long mountain range, it's not close to town, and it gets woodsy over there."

"I see.  Well, anyone who doesn't want to go, doesn't have to.  I need to, so does Rena, and Nashya wants to.  You guys can get into Connlaoth ahead of us."

"Either way works with me. If you need me to go ahead of time, I'll go." Volkhard said wiping his mouth again. "Else I'll just come with you."

Otto just glanced up, and asked. "Would you rather me tell you the location of the ambush point? Or do you want me to guide you?"

"A cave... how excellent."Eye flick.

"Don't go getting any smart ideas now.." Nashya muttered to herself as she leaned back. Her eyes quickly darted between everyone at the table hoping that they would be able to tell she wasn't talking to them.

"Volkhard I think it may be best if you two head ahead. I think with the two of you working together you could quickly distinguish not only the most recent area in which the vampire is hiding but also any obstacles that may appear."

"And maybe if we are lucky the vampire will kill them before we even get there." Eye flick.

"I do think we need to set a day and time in which we can all meet though." Nashya then turned to Sano.

"I've never been to Connloath so I don't know any places."

Hmmm.  So, with thoughts of them splitting up for now being made into plans, what they really needed most was how to organize that.  He, Volkhard, and the Hangman knew Connlaoth the best.  He had no idea if Rena had ever been there or not, but her silence said that she probably wouldn't get lost.  Even still, Sano was obviously the guide for his part of the group, once they entered the country.  Still, questions were put to him on the matter of how to set this up.  He was the one in charge.  He had to decide how this was going to go.

"What day depends on how long it'll take to get to the Meeting Place.  Rena?"

"Well, ya got any horses?"

"Not yet.  Why?  Did you come in on one?"

"No.  I actually do alot of walking.  If you're in a hurry, we could take carriages to our respective destinations.  They could go up north and start investigating.  We could head west to the general area of the place."

"A few days by carriage travel, or as much as a week at least, on foot.  I think we'd better go by carriage."

He looked over to Volkhard and the Hangman.

"You'll be getting into the country a couple days ahead of us.  Tarkis is the southernmost town to Seren lands up there, right?  There's as good a place as any."

[OOC: I figure once we split up, Blink and I can have a Meeting Place thread.  Electa, is there anything you might want to do with Otto and Volk in another thread before they all regroup?]

"That is fine, we'lol get there." Volkhard said putting the napkin down just as Otto was clicking in the
Sat piece of his pistol, and bolstering it.

"No objections" was the only thing he said before crossing his arms.

(Nah, I'm good, I'll have everything that goes on in between Otto and Volkhard implied in the next thread. Just tag me when you want to regroup.)