Evan's Campaign [IC]

[napsii]

Michiko, feeling flustered, didn't feel comfortable in the bar all of a sudden. Before the barkeeper could so much as distract from his duties to tend to her, she had slipped out of her seat, hand again on the grip of her ninjato and shimmied past the collection of characters here towards the exit.

Unlike the nobility, she didn't have the luxury of much free time. An unsteady income usually occupied most of her days with general adventuring and mercenary work in between meals and finding lodging. She disliked the life. It would have been so much more comfortable to live in some kind of castle or estate. It was a good tradeoff, she thought to do some assassination and espionage work for a lord in exchange for his "blessings" so long as she didn't have to do...well, what had just been outlined in the page of her book she just read.

She shivered unnoticeably and exited the tavern, uninterested in the Quest Board, at least for now. She had her fill of food for now and not in the mood for hired work, she deemed to explore the local area.

The kunoichi was well aware of the Ruins of Lemias, to the north, but admittedly hadn't scouted out much of the surrounding area and thus she was sure there were other areas of note hidden from her. The element of danger involved, as well might have been a barricade for some to pilfering its treasures. As much as Michiko respected relics of the past, she was more aware of their monetary value and how profitable they might be versus a stipend for conventional work. It was a gamble, but she was already well on her way to the town exit before she had even made up her mind and from there she had settled on it.

She stepped through the streets, largely ignoring any passersby as she made her way to the hills outside of town. Border Town was pleasant, but she preferred solitude versus being surrounded by people most of the times. Anywhere away from a settlement was an excellent receptacle for that.

Soon exiting the town, her steps became wary as she tread across the grass, looking far ahead to the north at the Ruins of Lemias.

She redoubled her pace and made her way towards it alone, well prepared for any sort of ambush or trap.

[Zender_Solarheart]

Chloe's words help ease Joseph's muscles, which still bore some slight tension from his little maneuver with the would-be robbers. Though, it might be a little more peaceful of a state than what she'd expect...anyhow, her suggestion to take a sip of his own mead does give Joe a slight blush, as that's what some would call an "indirect kiss"...but then again, would he really mind such an occurrence with a lovely lady like her? The answer to that should be obvious.

"Well, if you'd like that, I'm willing to share. I can always buy more if need be." Joe says with a smile and a wink, feeling comfortable in that he has the money to compensate, should Chloe end up wanting more than just a sip. It is pretty good ale, after all, and something tells him that she'll enjoy the flavor as heartily as he does.

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

Daeris takes a small sip over her ale
"What do you do?"

[dndman997]

sasuka sat her cup down "i am an assassin for hire, i usually work alone. however business has been slow" she then sighed watching the rest of the tavern

[Lady Foxy]

Chloe noticed Joseph blush, smiling brightly as he seemed quite cute when he did so. ''O-Oh, all right..'' She said gently, noticing his wink while her right hand was slowly going over to grab tankard of ale, curling her fingers around the handle before bringing it close to her lips and giving it a long sip. She gasped as it was tasty before putting it back down between them, letting go of it as it was actually quite good! ''Thanks for the drink, feel free to ask me to dance anytime!..'' Chloe said with a wink of her own, feeling quite comfortable with Joseph now.

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

"So your the exact opposite of me?" She looks at her with a dark glance

[dndman997]

She tilted her head "what do you mean?"

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

"I am an honourable swordsman and you are an assassin that works only for coin? What a combination this is...."

[dndman997]

"im sure we will get along just fine" she gave a faint smile

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

"I hope so" she finishes

[dndman997]

"well" she said "when do we leave"

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

"Now....." she pays and stands up, as she stands Sasuka comes to the realisation that Daeris is carrying Esterna, the cursed blade

[dndman997]

"interesting blade there" sasuke said putting her part of the bill down onto the table

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

"Yes....it is said to drive the unworthy mad" she said with a snicker as she began to walk out and down the street. Stopping at every armoury and blacksmith in town, looking for swords worthy to add to her collection, she finds none and lets out a loud sigh, "ugh...."

[dndman997]

Sasuka silently followed daeris looking with her "whats wrong"

[Angel_Slayer_Alcatraz]

"There is NOTHING!!!!!!!!" she lets out an angered sigh
(move to Pm?)

[dndman997]

"im sure you'll find one" she said trying to cheer her up

[yeah for a bit give others time to post]

[Oroboros1337]

On his way into the inn, Dax's casual questions for coins to be spared for wanderers don't fall upon deaf ears. A shame they weren't upon more generous ones. (Charm rolled, 2) "Road's free for you, it's my taxes that pay for it. Tell you what though, I won't charge you to use it." Swing and a miss, the middle aged labourer pushes past Dax after giving him the brush off. Looks like he'll have to be buying his own lunch today. Getting through the crowd itself isn't too terribly difficult and when he finds the lady propriater, the brunette Tessa gives him a warm and friendly smile. Her hair is waist long, and the simple blouse she has on fits snugly against her ample breasts while the flare of her skirt helps show off generous hips. "Good afternoon, traveller. We've got just the thing to feed you today, we've got a hearty bowl of Salamander Stew available. Meat stripped from salamanders a few days back, seasoned to perfection and allowed to cook. Since Salamanders are fire elemental creatures, the stew will stay warm until you are finished eating it, guaranteed. In fact, if you are looking to travel on today, we can pack some up for the road as well. It'll stay warm and good to eat for three days. I can spoon you up some and a roll to go with it for three coppers. Ale is from the Redfort Brewery, if you've heard of them, a copper for a pint."

Elric, the bartender and other owner, is about to head on over to chat up Michiko when a waitress turns up to place some more drink orders for the dwarves. He sighs in irritation and takes the order, passing the mugs over to the buxom serving wench before he turns to go over and say hello, amused by the blush on her face as she reads her book. Icarus' demands then reach his ears and he promptly ignores the Hatter. Rainbow strikes rapidly change his tone, "Ooh, you! Stop that! It's making me feel so happy!" He gives a little sneeze as one of the rainbows takes him in the nose, the sneaze shattering the rainbow like a pane of stained glass and sending it shattered to the floor. He serves up the ale and slides it to the Randomancer, then turns to go find that ninja girl. Except.... she's vanished! Fine thing for a ninja to be doing....

Chloe's words of greeting for the bard get her a ready smile and a reply, "Fine day, and a fine fresh breath of air you are as always." He however lets her get back to her work, watching her thread through the crowd. He still hasn't figured out that she's just using it as a cover for pick pocketing. Some day it'll catch up with her, but so far so good! Speaking of Chloe, once Joseph has his bag back on him, he's sure enough able to quickly discover the reward money he'd been playing cat and mouse with her over was indeed slit along the side, most of it's contents made off with by a clever cutpurse. All that was left was a small handful of coins. Adding what he has to his savings, he's left with 2 gold, 3 silver, and 5 copper. Two of those gold handed over to Chloe, and now owing for his ale, that leaves him with 3 silver and 4 copper left. Yeah, time for him to start looking at how he's going to make some money.

Sierra's stunt with the fire magic gets some attention from the bar patrons, but unlike in most places, it's more of a moment of anticipation, to see what is going to happen next, than shock at the spell itself. Adventurer's place, adventuring stunts don't cause panic. Everyone turns back to their meals as the conversation goes on. And speaking of those by the quest board, there are some quests posted!

Stephenson, the owner of a local lumber company, has posted a notice of reward for the return of his brother's body. The brother's body is to be found in the Dark Woods and will be able to be identified by a family ring that features the head of a bull upon it. Return of the body itself is worth 25 silver, the head of the monster that killed him is worth another 5 gold. Stephenson's brother had been in the forest scouting for some prime lumber harvesting sites and never came back.

The Duke has placed a bounty upon the head of goblins that have been plaguing he mountain pass of the Do'om Mountains to the east harassing trade caravans. Each right ear brought to to the Duke's senshal is worth a silver, plus any goods recovered by the adventurers belong to the recoverer, not the merchant they are taken from.

A monster known as the Night Stalker has been terrorizing the farmer's fields near the Dark Forest, abducting women in the middle of the night, the women never to be found again. It has claimed four victims and a bounty for it's capture has been posted for 25 gold.

Someone has posted a notice offering a reward of 10 gold for information proving that Duke Nesitus, the Duke of Border Town, is in fact a vampire. Rumor has it that Princess Ellena of the Lionheart Empire's capitol is on her way to visit in roughly a week, so anyone that can find the evidence before then will be well rewarded, and will be doing the kingdom a service by saving the Princess from the vampire's clutches!

Michiko's travel to the Ruins of Lemias goes smoothly, the long walk pretty pleasant due to the weather. It's just starting to hit dusk when she makes it to the ruins. They sprawl across the valley of a cluster of hills, spreading out for nearly a mile. Above ground, they are the skeletal remains of stone buildings, columns and walls jutting out of the ground and overgrown with various vines and shurbbery. The remains of the buildings can sometimes serve as home to those who lurk in the area, so approaching it carefully is important. As she draws near, she does indeed notice something amiss. (Cunning roll is 3, compared against the hider's roll of 3, tie) Lurking on the second floor of a dilapidated building near the edge of the ruin is a humanoid figure laying in ambush. He or she doesn't seem to have noticed you have become aware of them yet. On the other hand, they almost certainly know the ninja girl is approaching since they are laying in ambush for her.

[napsii]

The only way Michiko could stop herself from collapsing of boredom, she felt, was to delude herself with the imaginary idea she was on a mission of assassination for the royalty themselves. Or perhaps a respected Duke. Either was fine, but royalty was often snippy, and the duchies tended to like starting war in order to vie for the throne, which meant plenty of action. Incidentally, she was left wondering of the ruins' history over the course of the day, even more so as they came into view as a breathing diarama of some great tragedy in history. The life had long since dissolved from the structures here, as she noted. Only mice and birds should populate it now. Her keen eye, though, did make out just a trace of similarities between the architectures of what she guessed were taverns and homes of some kind and their more alive counterparts in Border Town.

For some reason, the idea of Border Town's ruins being a place on a map wasn't one that fit awkwardly in her head. The city would die some day. All the more reason to enjoy it (or stay away from it) now.

During her slow survey as she reaches the ruins' edge, she's unconsciously aware of something around here. It's a snippy feeling, but it's enough to make her head turn like something's about to jump out at her. A feeling not so outlandish in her mind, because the idea of monsters lurking here isn't hard to swallow, but she isn't exactly sure what in the world it could be which is igniting this warning inside her.

She didn't reach for her ninjato, however. If someone was watching her, it was best not to tip them off she might have been aware. So she continued walking along with tender footsteps, but made a note of stepping into the widest and most open area possible. There was no real use in hiding, but several extra seconds to let her react to a surprise attack would be precious.

She paused and her hands hovered around her sash. Not that close to her sword, but proximate enough for an easy quick draw. Most fights with Michiko lasted only a few seconds; she could draw and decapitate a guy with her ninjato before they even recognized the split-second twitch of her muscles as they gestured to draw her blade most of the time.

[Sortaix]

Sierra went back to the quest board and spoke to the elf.
"Well, we could take out some goblins, that are raiding caravans, looks like good opportunity to find some valuable loot. We can also go hunt for a missing persons's body as well as the monster that killed him for some extra gold. Or if your feeling really adventurous we can go hunt down a monster that has been kidnapping women. I think we should go after the goblins,what do you say Miss...?"