The Quest of A Lifetime, Part 1

[JackieCat]

Faelis took the bag and peered inside, drawing out a coin, he ran his fingers over, and then, satisfied that it was real, put it into the bag.

"So, where are we going to look for more mercenaries?" he asked. "I know a few places, we could go to one of them, unless you already know a place you could find mercenaries."

[Whim]

"Unstable magic's clinging to the ruins. I don't suppose you've anything to dampen it in that pack of yours? It looks ready to burst." He flashed a smile, "I might've accused you of over-stuffing it with clothes, though its a tiresome joke and you don't seem the type.

"And I don't think either of us know this game too well. This place was my one and only idea. Mostly rakes and gamblers and-" Ellis flashed a smirk. The elf probably was most of those things. "What's important is we have one sword-arm now. I don't suppose you know where we'd find more?"

The young man took a long sip of his wine and slid several coins across the bar.

[JackieCat]

"I don't have anything to repell the curse," Faelis said. "But I'm not a mage, so I would be able to go in safely."

He took another sip of his ale.  "And I do know many places where we could fine more people to hire, ah," Faelis smiled roguishly and slid the coins back over to Ellis.  "Keep your coins, you look like you might need them.  I have money."

Faelis smiled through his thinly veiled insult, he had suggested that Ellis needed the money, because the other man didn't have very much.  Faelis didn't think that Ellis was poor, but Faelis would insult almost anyone about nearly everything.

He slid his own coins across the bar.

[Ethereal-Star]

"Ready to burst with healing potions." Olwen answered Ellis. "Besides I think it's time to spread out the load a bit." Opening her bag, she handed both of them five potions each of varying strengths. "Don't use 'em all at once though." she smirked, but added. "And I have more if you need them." The bottles were pretty small, about an inch and a half tall or so. "And no complaints about the taste either. But some of them work better if applied topically."

To Faelis, Olwen nodded. "Yes, any places you know of would help."

Opening her bag again, she got out a couple gold rings. At first glance they looked like ordinary rings, but there was a definite magical enchantment present in them that a sensitive mage could readily detect. "Rings of Protection." she stated, holding one in between her thumb and index finger, the other on the bar in front of her. "They should help to shield us from any unstable energies. Could work against Fell's Curse too. We can hope."

Putting the one she held onto the middle finger of her left hand, she handed the other one to Ellis. "Just don't take it off." she warned him. "I've got a couple extra just in case though. We do need to give these back once the quest is through however."

The last of her drink now finished, Olwen stood up then. "Well, come on then. No time to dawdle."

[Whim]

Ellis' face briefly twisted into a frown at Faelis' intrusion. "Hardly my first free drink. I suppose my charms are irrestable.

"And thank you for thinking ahead with the rings," he slipped his on and flexed his fingers. "I was going to mention that potions might not be terribly useful to me - I tend to transform into things without fingers and can close a wound or two - best to spread the medicines around should we be separated."

Grudgingly content with Faelis' footing the bill, and hoping to death the elf's opulence meant he was living by the skin of his teeth, Ellis followed the others outside. "I suppose we're mostly berift of sword arms. Where to, Faelis?"

[JackieCat]

Faelis took the potions and put them into his bag before stepping outside.

"There's a place not far from here called 'The Everfill Flagon' I've seen many mercenaries there, I'm sure someone will be able to help you." He started off down the street.  After about ten minutes of walking they came to a wooden building with a painted sign hanging out front reading 'The Everfill Flagon' in large lettering.

The place itself was fairly nice-looking, not a place where Faelis would usually go, but the thief assumed that Olwen wasn't really looking for other thieves or killers.  They didn't even know he was a thief.

Faelis walked to the door and opened it, stepping into the tavern.  It was not extremely bright inside, but not dark either.  There was long bar to the right and tables scattered around.

[Ethereal-Star]

"Keep what I gave you anyway." Olwen told Ellis, while closing her bag up tightly again. It was still bursting though, but at least a little leeway had been given.

As they moved about the streets to this Everfill Flagon tavern Faelis had mentioned, Olwen kept a lookout for mercenaries as well as holding her bag firmly in hand in the case of thieves who might try to make off with it. Many people milled about the streets but none were the type she was looking for.

Soon, they entered the well-to-do establishment. The place was pretty dim but not overly so, so Olwen headed for the bar and sat down, looking around. There were various types of fighters and sword-arms here and she spent a moment looking them over first, before making a decision. Her companions could keep themselves occupied in the meantime while she scoped the place out.

((OOC: Now's as good a time as any for @Hakan and @Aura to jump in!))

[Aura]

Avarosa normally kept to herself on her journeys but she had stopped at this town for two very important reasons. The first was that she had already traveled all day and needed a decent meal and the second was that after she bought that decent meal she would be almost completely out of money. That meant it was time to find some way to make money, whether it was looting bandits or taking an honest job. Which she didn't care. It was just a matter of what she came upon.

She entered the Everfill Flagon and walked immediately up to the innkeeper to request a meal. After the brief moment of him looking at her draconic features, along with the other patrons of the tavern, he smiled politely and nodded, heading off to prepare something for her.

She looked around the room to see what kind of crowd she was in. People passing her by for the first time kept giving her funny looks but she was used to that by now. For the most part she could tell this was a fine tavern. Thinking about her meal again her stomach rumbled. Hopefully it wouldn't take too much longer to prepare.

She noticed a few other people who appeared to be travelers, or at least from the looks of it about to be traveling. They carried many bags with them. It was an odd group to look at at first. There was a female with dark hair, who was not particularly large but seemed to have an authoritative presence. Then there was a small, youthful looking boy. The one who stuck out most particularly was the elf with his light gold skin and black hair with golden strands. They seemed to be together, though they appeared to have little to nothing in common.

Her meal came and she handed the innkeeper her money. Then she began to eat, taking her time and relaxing. She was waiting to see if anything came up that looked particularly interesting. If not, she would simply move on to another tavern after she ate.

[JackieCat]

Faelis noticed when the dragon/elf woman walked in, but not because of her strange appearance, no, Faelis was very used to seeing all manner of strange beings on his travels.  He noticed her only because of his perceptiveness, his constantly alerted sensed, always paying attention, always knowing what's going on around him.  She was quite attractive, despite her draconian attributes.  He watched in his peripheral vision as she ordered some food and sat down.

He wondered what her profession was, because if she was a bounty hunter or mercenary, having someone like her along on this quest would most certainly be helpful.  Many draconian beings had strong magic, and even if this woman didn't, her wings, claws, scales and tail could be extremely helpful in a fight.

He tapped Olwen on the arm.  "Over there, there's a dragon-woman, perhaps she would be interested in joining our escapade?"

As he spoke, he did not look in the direction of the dragon-woman or make any indication he was talking about her, and he spoke very quietly, so even an elf where the dragon-woman was sitting wouldn't be able to hear his whisper to Olwen over the noise the crowd in the bar was making.

[Ethereal-Star]

Having spotted the dragon-elf woman soon after Faelis pointed her out, Olwen nodded and stood up then. "Let's go find out then."

Heading over to the draconic being who was currently eating, Olwen flipped her hair over one shoulder and cleared her throat to get the woman's attention. "Am I right to assume you're some type of mercenary?"

[Whim]

Ellis trotted after Faelis and Olwen toward Avarosa. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She wasn't his romantic taste, mind you, but a near-perfect fusion of elf and dragon. Blending aesthetic and functionality is the apex of any transmuter's craft. He'd have to ask if she was born or transmogrified... when it was polite.

The apprentice cracked a faint smile at Olwen's blunt greeting, and brushed the red tangles from his eyes. "Hopefully, your will be yes. I don't fancy the sort of dimwitted and homely farmboy-swordsmen we might have to hire... if you're not. We've a long journey ahead."

[JackieCat]

Faelis followed Olwen over to the table, his hands casually in his pockets as he sauntered over to the dragon-woman's table.  Both Olwen and Ellis said something  to the woman, be it a blunt question, Olwen, or a hopeful comment, Ellis, Faelis decided to say something as well.

"If you are, indeed a mercenary, and are looking for work," Faelis started, pleasent enough, then a mischievous smile bloomed on his face and a light sparked in his eyes. "I must say, I've just met these two, and I have no idea how sane, or insane, they are, so just be careful."

[Aura]

"Mercenary? That's not quite the word I would use, but accurate enough." Avarosa said as she looked this group over once more.  "I do need some coin. If you're looking for someone who can fight, maybe I could be of assistance."

When the elf came over and made his comment, Avarosa grinned and let out a small chuckle. "I'm willing to take a risk on that one. Well, so long as the reward is promising."

She then turned back to Olwen. "So, what exactly is it that you need?"

[Ethereal-Star]

At Faelis's comment, Olwen merely retorted back. "I'll have you know that I am plenty sane. Pretty elf boy." she added in as an afterthought, smirking his way.

"The three of us here are embarking on a quest for my school to find at least two magical artifacts, a pendant and a runestone. We have a vague lead as to where the pendant is located but we will need to find someone who knows more about what we're looking for. There is one such person in Altas Verde possibly who might have the information we seek. At any rate, the journey will be very long and dangerous so we can use all the help we can get. You will be paid for your services, don't worry. I trust a sum total of 200 gold suns is sufficient? You will be paid most of that upfront if you decide to accompany us. The rest will come later." Olwen explained to her.

"So, what do you say?"

[Aura]

Avarosa took a minute to think about the offer, not because she thought it was a bad one, but because she wanted to make sure she completely knew what she was getting into. Then with a shrug of her shoulders she smirked and said, "Why not? Sounds interesting enough."

[JackieCat]

"Why thank you very much, my dear Lady Olwen!" Faelis said, smiling and bowing to the mage and a very condescending way. When he straightened his eyes were still gleaming mischievously. "I definitely think of myself as extremely pretty!"

He looked to the dragon woman, the smirk still playing on his lips, as she agreed to come with them. "We shall be very glad to have you with us-?  What is your name?" the elf asked. "I am Faelis."

[Ethereal-Star]

"Oh yes!" Olwen said, still smirking. "No doubt a certain boyish charm in an utterly prepubescent sort of way." she remarked dryly. "But never mind his trivial attempts at a graceful and elegant preamble of self. I am Olwen and I am very glad you've decided to join us." Casting only a cursory glance Faelis's way, before turning her whole attention on the dragon/elf woman.

"What kind of skills do you possess by the way?" she asked, while putting a hand inside her overstuffed bag to grab the pouch of coins she was to pay each hireling up front. Soon she located it and handed it over to the dragon lady. "One hundred fifty gold suns upfront as promised, the rest will be paid in full once the journey is complete."

Olwen also handed her some potions as well, further lightening the load in her pack. "Those are healing and restorative potions in case you need them."

[JackieCat]

Faelis only smirked at Olwen's comment, he wasn't perturbed, or irritated in the slightest.  There would be plenty of time for returning jabs on this quest, after all, the mage assumed it would take a while to complete.

He waited to hear the dragon woman's answer to Olwen's question.

[Aura]

"Avarosa." She said with a small bow of her head, taking the pouch of coins in her hand. She shook it around so she could judge the weight for a second or two then put it in her own pack, which was a small black leather sack. Looking back up at Olwen, she grinned.

"Skills?" Avarosa said with a grin. "Well, I know how to fight. Dragon's blood courses through my veins, so my strength is far superior to that of a normal human or elf. Aside from that, I have powerful magic." With that, a spark of darkflame magic appeared in her hand before shimmering away. Then with a chuckle she added, "Though if you want a demonstration we have to go somewhere else."

After a brief pause she returned the question. "How about the three of you?"

[Ethereal-Star]

"Well Avarosa, I'm sure you'll make for a great asset to our cause. After all, I can't refute your draconic qualities now can I? Dragons and the dragon-blooded are said to have great strength and powerful magics as it is, so I don't doubt that you have the same." Olwen responded with a grin tugging the corners of her mouth.

"I won't speak for my companions as to their skills, but as for my own, I am a blood mage. My blood magic takes three different forms, that of healing potions, harming spells and summoning rituals. The potions I have already given you some and yes, they do contain a bit of my blood in them. It enhances the healing properties of it all. The summoning rituals can only be performed in special summoning chambers at my school, yet I did bring with me a summoning stone my teacher and I had crafted to use on this journey if needed. So my main method of combat is my spells, fueled by own blood in which I use a ceremonial knife for such purposes." Olwen finished by showing her said knife.

"It should be an interesting journey if all goes well."