[ OOC: Continued From (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=27087.100) ]
Kahroan followed River into the tavern. It was nicer than he had expected, and only partly a brothel. But that was the upper levels, and any adventurer or bounty up there was otherwise engaged. The bar and lounges had plenty of people, many of whom looked battle-ready. Hells, the bard performing was a gnoll of all things. He didn't know that those could enjoy people as anything other than food, let alone that one could sing so pleasingly.
"This is... quite a place." Kah couldn't think of anything else to say.
River winced the second they stepped into the tavern. If she'd been in her more canine form, her hackles would have been up and her ears pressed flat to her head.
"It's so loud," she replied, just as much one for stating the obvious as her mate, apparently. She looked around. "I'm suddenly wondering if we should trust any food we might get here..." It certainly didn't seem like the cleanest of places.
"It's okay!" Kahroan shouted over the din. What even was that music? Sure it was invigorating, but why so--was he playing an axe?! "Business wouldn't be booming if they poisoned the clientele."
The bard's set ended, and the volume decreased considerably after the whistles and applause. "Thank you, Ketra!" The gnoll bowed, reveling in the attention. "I'll be back soon, barring a glorious death in battle, of course!"
"Well, he seems fun," River chuckled as she and Kahroan tried to make their way through the crowd to the bar. She managed to grab a server's attention and gestured for two drinks. Before she could specify what kind of drink, the server was nodding and darting away.
Well. This would be...interesting.
"Ah, ale roulette. That's always fun!" said the gnoll as he sat nearby. He at least had enough class not to flirt with a woman clearly with someone, or maybe it was just the fact that she was with some degree of dragon. Even he couldn't say.
Kahroan gave River a look that said, "this guy probably knows the kind of people we're looking for, but do we really need a bard?"
River shot him a look back, one eyebrow quirked, responding: you see anyone else sober enough to carry on a conversation?
Glancing to the bard, she gave him a friendly enough if slightly wary nod. "That was a good set," she said, assuming flattery was always a safe starter. "Do you play here often?"
The gnoll smirked proudly, clearly a sucker for flattery. "Every time I'm in Ketra. They love me here."
The server returned with drinks. The gnoll ordered an ale for himself and tossed the young woman a coin before leaning against the bar.
"Name's Thraxion Swordbreaker, but you can call me Thrax. Bard, warrior, raconteur."
The wolf inclined her head slightly. "Pleasure. I'm River--this is Kahroan." She nodded to her mate. With a light chuckle, she added, "You probably noticed, but we aren't exactly locals. We're not so familiar with the city."
"Yeah, you definitely seemed too surprised by this place to be local. Like me, the first time I was in a proper city." Thrax nodded with a laugh. "It's big, it's chock full of strangely dressed people, and it's gods damned loud!"
"That... sums it up, yes. The second time I've felt that today," Kah answered with a small smirk. He was warming up to the energetic gnoll.
"You seem quite at home now, though," River noted with a small smile. Someone shouted at someone else across the tavern, and she winced, ducking instinctively closer in to Kahroan's chest--a move that seemed at first to be a simple, wary flinch, but to the acutely observant played rather like how a she-wolf would "cower" against her mate while in reality guarding his throat.
Thrax recognized the instinct. It wasn't exactly the same, but he had seen a lot of something like it the night the world as he knew it ended. The two were an unusual couple, alright: a wolf in human skin, and a man with enough magic in him to be a true dragon.
Thrax raised a furry brow. "A Yoreiqi ice dragon, and a woman who acts like a wolf, eh? Color me intrigued."
River arched a brow in turn. "Good nose," she said with a minute incline of her head. She flashed a smile, showing her too-sharp canines for just a beat. "I'd heard gnolls have an even sharper sense of smell than my kind--not entirely sure how you stand it in here."
"Oh, it's a lot, for sure." Thrax chuckled. "But I love the energy, and despite my hearing, I love the noise. But you... probably figured that out."
Kahroan nodded. "Your music is certainly loud, but... energizing, I guess you could say."
Thrax grinned proudly. "I owe much of that to Stormsong here." He gave the unusual weapon on his back a pat.
River found herself chuckling quietly. "I've heard of naming weapons, but not...instruments." She cocked her head, then mused, "Though I suppose yours is a bit of both, yes?"
Testing the waters a bit, she asked, "So that's what you do, then? Perform? I don't meet many bards who travel on their own--it tends to be dangerous."
"Most bards can't throw a decent punch, let alone swing a big-ass axe." He grinned proudly, flexing a muscular arm. "I, on the other hand, can more than hold my own in a battle. No mere bandit is going to scare me."
"A warrior bard? Interesting. But I suppose combat is in your people's nature, isn't it?" Kahroan asked.
Thrax agreed with a laugh. "I mean--you're not wrong. My clan certainly enjoys a good battle, and we're one of the more peaceful ones."
"So what does scare you then?" River prodded, voice light and playful, but a bit of a considering shine to her eyes. She was trying to gauge whether he was just boastful, or if there was some skill behind the confidence.
"Besides boredom?" Thrax smirked playfully, but his expression faltered for a brief moment as he uneasily gazed at the flickering flame of a wall lamp. "Well, angry dragons for one. What fool isn't?"
He smirked bigger, his eyes on Kah. "You seem chill though."
He groaned. "Sorry, that was awful."
River groaned herself, but she was smiling crookedly when she agreed, "It was. You should meet my father, he'd love that."
Glancing back at Kah, she added with a small smirk, "I'm honestly surprised he hasn't used that one yet."
Kahroan chuckled. "It's the Kilanthros. Everything is chilly. Kinda kills the ice dragon jokes."
Thrax laughed. "Wow. You two really aren't from around here."
"No, we're not," River agreed with another quiet chuckle and a shake of her head. "I've worked in Adela before, but Ketra is definitely...new. I mostly stick to the Draconi when I'm here."
"Me too, only with the coast," Kah explained.
Thrax appeared thoughtful. "So, what brings you to Ketra? You two look like the adventurer type, am I mistaken?"
"You could say that." River let her head bin from side to side. The server reappeared with their drinks, and she gave hers a cautious sniff before taking a tiny sip. "Mm. That's not bad, actually."
Thrax winced sympathetically. "Oh... yeah, that's what you get for not being specific. You get expensive stuff. I hope you didn't spend everything on supplies."
Kah gave Riv a worried look and Thrax laughed. "Oh it's not actually that bad. Its not the really expensive stuff. They only serve that upstairs."
River blinked. "What the hells is upstair—ah. Right. Never mind."
She shrugged and gave Kah a vaguely sheepish look. "Well, hopefully we have a pretty decent payoff coming up soon, right?"
Thrax snickered as she figured out his meaning. Then his own drink came, and he was momentarily distracted by the lovely server. Until the subject of a payday caught his attention.
Kahroan shrugged back. "As long as that armor leaves us a little travel money, we should be okay."
Thrax stared at them with a slightly greedy smirk. "A payoff, you say? What's the job, if I may ask?"
"A hunt, of sorts." River inclined her head slightly, eyeing him with a certain amount of calculation. "I'm a bounty hunter by trade. Seems there's a bit of a menace on the high road that some folks are willing to pay nicely to see gotten rid of."
"The Validor job? With just the two of you?" He looked at them like they were either the toughest bounty hunters ever or completely insane. "I mean, sure, you've got a dragon, but that bandit's gang has no known name for a reason; everyone who's had the privilege of hearing it is dead."
River started to grin. "Scared?" she asked pleasantly, and took another sip of her drink. "We're not suicidal," she continued. "And we've both got good survival skills. If the job's too much, we bail. If not..." She smirked. "That's a hells of a lot of coin."
"Not scared, smart. I wouldn't take that job with any less than three people." Thrax said, unsubtly angling for a share.
Kahroan rolled his eyes as he looked at River. "What do you think, is his bite as big as his bark?"
River shrugged, purposefully casual. "He seems to think so," she noted, as though Thrax was not within earshot. "I dunno though. We've yet to actually see him in action. Offstage, I mean."
She sipped at her drink again and quirked one eyebrow meaningfully in the bard's direction.
"Oh? What sort of audition do you have in mind?" Thrax smirked after chugging some ale. "Or is it a reference you seek?"
Kah rumbled thoughtfully. "Perhaps an easy multiple target hunt to observe him in action? Maybe with multiple candidates to get that all done at once?"
River nodded thoughtfully. "That could certainly work. We'd need to find more willing candidates." She quirked an eyebrow at Thrax. "Know anyone foolhardy enough to take the job?"
Thrax thought it over with a sly smirk. "I can think of few that might be up to the task."
Kahroan soared through the sky, four figures clinging tightly to the white mane that extended down his back. It was crowded between his wings, but he was just big enough to support them. It wouldn't be long, however, for they could already see the clearing that the wounded bounty hunter recovering in Riverglen had said was near Validor's hideout.
It had taken Thrax a while to get used to the idea of flying. He was from the plains, where heights weren't an issue, and his trek through the Thunderblacks had only prepared him so much. But as they neared the end of the flight, he was grinning like a kid. Riding a dragon was epic!
"Ooooooo this is so high," the woman clinging to River's waist enthused, sounding delighted.
"Mhm," the shifter agreed, giving one of their new companions a brief look over her shoulder. She didn't exactly know what to think of the kitsune—or the gnoll or half-elf behind her, to be honest—but there was no doubting they were all competent.
"I know, right?" Thrax grinned excitedly. They were rare in civilization, so it was hard to age a gnoll. But, judging by his behavior, he couldn't be much into his twenties, which made him the youngest on the team.
Kah began his descent, circling towards the clearing. He hoped the bandits weren't looking up. Approaching with the element of surprise was always the best. Eventually, he landed as quietly as a medium-sized dragon possibly could, his large breastplate briefly bumping against the ground.
River gave the rest of their team a quick, quieting look, and Hanako subsided in her narration of the earth passing below them.
The wolf shifter quickly dismounted when they touched down, slinging a new hunting bow off her back and testing the draw strength. She preferred to fight as a wolf, but a bow was better for initial stealth, particularly going up against an enemy they didn't know that much about.
When everyone was off, Kahroan attempted to become his half-dragon self. He succeeded with surprising ease, having spent enough time in that shape to visualize it easily. "Good, it worked. This form is better for combat."
Thrax nodded in jealous approval. "Storm. Now I kinda wish I was part dragon."
The older half-elf ranger smirked. "That's... certainly an interesting image."
"What? Like this?" Hanako swirled her fingers through the air and created a palm-sized, vaguely transparent illusion of Thrax with dragon wings and horns, snarling impressively.
River huffed and shot her mate a look that said "Why did we bring the children along again?"
"Hells yeah!" Thrax grinned approvingly. "That would kick ass!"
Kahroan shrugged, as if to say, "Because we couldn't find anyone better."
Zeldrinn, the ranger, frowned. "Remind me why I agreed to this?"
River and Hanako both shrugged and said "Coin" at the same time, then gave each other slightly startled looks.
"Well." She shifter gave herself a little shake. "We should have a plan before we just rush out there."
"Agreed." Kah nodded. "First, Hanako, I'd like you to shift into a fox and scout ahead. You too, Riv, but be careful—they're much more inclined to attack a wolf. And Zeldrinn, you will watch the approach from the trees in case they have to run. Thrax and I will wait as close as we can."
"Sound like a plan?"
Both women nodded, Hanako's ears perked curiously.
"I don't go with the regular little fox often," she said with a grin. "This will be fun."
There was a brief pulse of silvery firelight around her, then she was in vulpine shape, fluffy tail waving energetically.
Much less theatrically, River fell forward into her own animal form. She pressed herself against Kahroan's leg briefly as she passed, giving him a quick, fond look and urging, Be careful.
Kahroan held on to her bow and nodded down at her. I will. He hadn't actually used beastspeak out of full dragon form before.
"Gods, you're so cute it hurts." Thrax groaned at Hanako with a smirk.
"Save the youthful flirting for after we come back alive." Zeldrinn rolled their eyes and started walking towards the trees.
The little silver-white fox flicked her tail and licked a paw primly. Unlike River, she could speak plainly in her animal form, and replied to Thrax with something of a challenge in her voice, "Oh, darling, don't press your luck."
River chuffed at her, and she was suddenly all business, nodding and darting off into the undergrowth on the wolf's heels.
They split off from one another as they neared the bandits' camp, Hana scampering to the left and River prowling to the right.
At least a dozen, River told her mate through the ever-strengthening connection they had in beastspeech.
To her surprise, Hana's voice chimed in to both: Sixteen, there's a few more asleep in the tent on this side.
[ OOC: Continued In (http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=27091.0) ]