It's early morning, just after daybreak. The sun has barely had a chance to illuminate the dew on the leaves outside of the tavern in Qeynos when a shadow overtakes them. A small winged figure, clad in chainmail and dragging a leather satchel lazily behind him, approaches the door and reaches up to tug at its handle. It's locked. "Of all the ... *sigh* humans." The fae looks around for a moment. The city is still asleep, so it will likely be several hours before the tavern's keepers bother to turn up and open the doors. But considering where he'd just come from, he really wants a drink and doesn't want to make his way back to Kelethin. He tugs his leather satchel around and reaches inside, retrieving a set of thing metal rods - a set of lockpicks that he was given by his guild's master. A few second later, the door opens to him and he's inside, locking the door behind him. He makes his way behind the counter, retrieving a small glass - well, small to human hands but more like a bucket in comparison to his size. A twist here, a pour there, and his thirst is satisfied by a very poor imitation but acceptible elven wine. In the back of his mind, he almost wished he had gone to visit the dwarven settlements.. at least they know how to brew a decent ale. Satisfied, he sets his now-empty glass near the water tap and decides to exit out the back door to avoid any questions from any passing guards that might be stirring in the front of the tavern, perhaps anxious themselves to relieve the stress of their shift with a pint or a passing grope at the tavern wenches. Before he leaves, though, he reaches into his leather satchel again and pulls out a worn card - a playing card used in some of the human games - though this one has been marked with a blue stripe across the face. He slips the card under the bartop nearest the stool by the door, and proceeds to make his way out of the tavern. By now the sun is above the horizon and the city has started to stir. Though he could slip beneath a guard's nose without being detected should he choose to, this morning he simply flies lazily and obviously towards a nearby fountain, stopping to rest on the grass. Here he will wait.. his contact should turn up soon, unless they were killed by the gnolls. [This is completely off-the-cuff since Kiara set this forum up for RP as well as other RP-type stuff.. feel free to jump in. Or feel free to ignore it if you hate RP. We understand.]
*cups hands ta catch fountain water* *takin a sip notices sumpin* Hey! You be one of dem' wing'ed peepls. Betta watch ya'self. Some no likes ya kinds and gonna try to plucks dems wings off yas. *feelin good did good deed fer day wanders off ta find some trouble*
((Just a warning, this char of mine can sometimes have a foul mouth!)) Daerriyn sat on the edge of the fountain, unaware that a troubled fae had fluttered up so near him. He was a fairly large half-elf and gave off the appearance that he'd worked hard throughout his life and at the moment... Well, he looked rather tired and lost in thought. The half elven miner ran fingers through his long-straw colored hair, huffing out a puff of irritated air as it failed to cooperate with him and settle neatly into a ponytail. Pulling off gloves, he dipped overworked hands into the fountain, had a sip of the likely filthy water and then ran his hands over his hair again. It was Azlana's voice that startled Daerriyn and he turned to glance over his shoulder, watching the person wander off before dark brown eyes settled on the fae. For a moment, he merely watched the tiny winged man, but eventually turned back around. "Odd warning that is..." He mumbled in a tone that sounded to himself, but it was evident somewhere in it what he was trying to say was: "Hello"
Aloysiius woke slowly and sat up, rather surprised to find himself on the ground, tucked under the lip of a fountain. The human sat up and promptly shoved his head under the running water. Yawning, he sat back on his haunches and shook his head, sending the dirty water from his brown hair before taking in his surroundings. "Good mornin' folks." He stood and stretched. (I had hoped someone would start one of these when I first saw the forum, but I was too chicken to do it myself. ^^; )
((It's about damn time)) Indeed it was still early, but the furry-footed halfling was up and about shortly after the fae's disappearence. Sweetened had recently been hired has help at the small Qeynosian tavern that had, prior to her, suffered with the food from a horrible chef. Not only was Sweetened an avid (and wonderful) cook, she was also a clean freak; anything to keep those little feet moving. She hummed a cheerful Rivervale tune as she dusted the bar top, pausing by the sink to look at the glass that had been rinsed. "Hrm..." she made a snarfing noise through her nose and looked around. "I..." she paused and looked around again, tuning into the world around her with her wolf-like hearing being a druid blessed her with. Nothing. "Must have forgot one..." No... no she hadn't, the glass was still wet. The doors! She pushed the glass across the counter towards her rag and quickly made her way to the doors to open them. Bumping into a stool on the way, she is forced to catch it as she trips. It lands on her and she can't help but giggle at herself. As she gets up, she looks at the card that's wriggled loose from the ruckus. "What's this...?" She flips it over and looks at it. Was there a message somewhere she was supposed to see? A blue stripe? Poor card... no one takes care of passtimes anymore. Forget unlocking the bar, she was going to find that Damnable High Elf that always found himself on vacation she supposedly worked for. What kind of crap was he into? She wasn't working for some underhanded Freeport spy if thats what this was. Out the door she went, card in tow.
Daerriyn lifted a brow, grumbling to himself as Aloysiius crawled out from under the edge of the fountain... The half elf hadn't realized he was there. "S'ppose it was someone else's damned turn to wake up under there..." The miner muttered the words, lifting tanned and overworked fingers to rub over his face, easing away as they traced the long scar that separated his features: half his face on one side, half on the other... an irony that. "Swear this is the only place in Qeynos that ain't bobbing with mornin' people at this hour." Despite his apparent crabbiness, Daerriyn passed a small look over his shoulder to Aloysiius and offered a small grin.
Aloysius grinned sheepishly. "Funny thing is, I don't remember going to bed there. I have, on occasion, passed out after a night with friends, but I distictly remember I was on my way to the tavern." He shoved his hands into his pockets absentmindedly and paused. Aloysius pulled his hands out and checked his other pockets and the pouches on his belt. "I seem to be missing some items."
Daerriyn grinned lopsided, running hands through his hair to tighten his short ponytail. "I'd imagine you are," was his reply to Alloysius. Even Qeynos had its crime. Rubbing his nose, the half elf turned his head to look the human over, dark eyes scanning Alloysius' facial features. At length, he spoke again, the words accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders. "It's best not to carry anything too valuable on ya when heading to a bar, y'know... Seems something you should likely have known, though..."
The fae, content with his chosen patch of grass, partially entertains himself with the awakening city and the crowd around the fountain. Always easiest to be lost in a crowd, he thinks to himself.. even if he stands out because of his wings. He tugs his boots off, knocking the dirt out of them and giving himself a moment to wiggle his toes and relax when he catches sight of a halfling darting out of the very tavern that he had left his calling card. Squinting his eyes, he could see a glimpse of blue protruding from her hand as she purposefully makes her way. Did she find his card? No matter, it's just a card. Nobody in Qeynos outside of who he was here to meet would know it as anything but a playing card that got marred by some paint and accidentally lodged in the tavern. At least, that was his hope. Slightly annoyed by the loss of his calling card, he turns his attention back to the half elf and the human bantering in front of him as he decides how best to make contact now that the subtle route was taken from him. Upon hearing of the 'missing items' his ears perk up a bit. Maybe he'd have another avenue to meet his contact after all. In a soft voice, more like a whisper on the wind than anything else, he breaks his silence. "What sort of items do you seem to be without, friend human?" He did his best to seem friendly, despite his inner hatred of humans.
Aloysiius nodded in agreement to Daerriyn. "I really should know better. I run the Sandpiper Tavern over on Lucie Street. Lets see." He rummaged through pocket and pouch taking an inventory. He turned to the Fae to answer. "Well, the cat treats I picked up from the provisioner's are missing and my favorite set of quills. Oh great, that deck of cards is gone too. Those were a gift." He furtively slipped his hand into the secret pocket in his sleeve. "Ack. That little scroll Bella gave me for safekeeping. She's going to kill me." He bent low to check under the fountain. "Oh, wait, here are the cat treats and quills. He pulled out a smushed leather bag that smelled faintly of fish and a handfull of broken and torn quills.
The miner shook his head as the human crawled under the fountain to retrieve his things. It was about time to get moving, he mused, glancing to the gates to North Qeynos before casting a look back to the human again. Daerriyn shook his head slightly, though the remains of a grin faintly marked his face. Lifting a pickaxe, he settled it against his shoulder and turned to face them one last time before heading off. "Well... hope you find your things. Maybe I'll stop by that "Sandpiper" place sometime. I've got a job to do, so my time has come." The half elf began walking away pausing just before he had gone too far, "Daerriyn, by the way." With a wink and a mock salute, he headed to pass through the gates to North Qeynos.
Sweetened was surprised by the population of North Qeynos this early in the day and was headed towards the gates to Antonica to speak with the guards about the card. Someone -had- to have been in there. The spirit of the wolf sent her barreling over the fae who was making his way out. She lost the card and scrambled to her feet and the aid of the fairy she practically stepped on. "Oh! Uhm..." She flushed quickly, reaching to lift the fae and dust him off, checking his wings. Reaching for the card on the ground she apologized to him over and over.
(My turn) Auxillery wakes up from her nap on top of the bank roof. How she got there she has not a clue but all she remembered was a strange card and a flash of light.
[Time to get it running again] [Place is: North Qeynos - Time is: Early Morning (as far as i can remember)] The Door opened and from the Crafters House slipped a Person, covered in Red Robes and a black Cloak, his hood drawn deep into his face. Holding in his Hand a Cup of something hot, walking slowly to the Fountain, mumbling to himself in a strange language till he stops. He seems to be looking around, then he walks to a place on the Fountain which is farthest away from any other person sitting in the vicinity. Slowly he sits down, takes a sip of whatever it is and removes his Hood. His grey skin without any Hair on his head reveals faintly glowing red runes all over, a mark of his eruditian heritage. As he seems to relax, looking into the morning sun the runes' glowing descends till it seems like just another tattoo. If someone with very good ears would sit in the near of him (and speak Druzaic) he would hear snippets of what he says to himself: "... uncovering arcane, not elemental fire... ...ice and destruction, would fit in... ...equotation of the [*gibberish*] principle could be..." As he looks into his cup, he sighs, speaks some words until his hands start to glow like a candle; it seems that the cup itself starts to glow and the beverage in it steams again. He takes another sip and just stares into the Morning Sun...
Aloysiius checked his pockets again for the missing item. He saw an Erudite sit down on the edge of the fountain. "Excuse me, sir?" He approched the muttering Erudite. "You haven't by any chance seen a little scroll around here, have you? It's quite important."
The wandering of the Erudites Mind was suddenly interrupted, as another person approached him, the word "missing Scroll" got his attention. "What ? Missing Scroll ? Did they again leave Scrolls unattended and got them lost in their Chaos in the Tower ?" *he looks at Aloysiius, thinking that he might not mean the Chaos in the Magetower, orders his thoughts a bit and asks, now a little more calm* "Ah, now, of which kind of "Scroll" are we talking about ?"
"Well, it's about this big rolled up," Aloysiius held out his hands to indicate the size to be about four inches. "It's got a pink ribbon wrapped around it and it's written in Ratongan. It seems quite a strange thing for someone to want to take. Bellacouste is going to be quite sore with me if I've lost it though."
"Oh, seems to be a normal Scroll then... nothing extraordinary. Lets try to solve this little puzzle." The Erudite places the (now empty) Coffeecup aside and looks at him. "There's a few variables where i need the answer, which could help in finding it." He closes his eyes for a moment and looks up again. "Is your Rattongan Friend a Spellcaster ? Could it be a Magicians Scroll ? Is this Scroll of great personal worth ? Does it have any connection to your Friend ? Maybe the Ribbon, of what was it made ? Was the Scroll made of Parchment or Papyrus ?" He waits a moment, his eyes following the Guards Path. "Maybe i could weave a Spell to find the Item, but there are questions to the Scroll involved... and this works only if your Friend has a connection to the Item. Like... the Spell couldn't find a Piece of copper which you have lost, but it could find the missing earring from your grandmothers heritage, for which you have the other piece. Items of great personal worth - not necessarily monetary worth - could be found." "Hm. This looks like the Diversion i hoped for and which i badly need. Stuck in an Arcane Experiment, you know ?" *looks again at Aloysiius* "Otherwise, probably not. But anyway, can you do some research of the Scroll ? Every Detail helps. And if you have a piece of the pink ribbon from which the one was made which was wrapped around the scroll, or the ink and feather with which it was written, that would greatly help." *he stands up* "I will have to do some research myself for the Spell, care to meet me again, here, in the afternoon ?"
Aloysiius nodded while the Erudite spoke and waited for an opportunity to answer the questions. "Bella is an Illustionist, but the scroll isn't a spell or anything arcane like that. It's the only memento from her grandmother that she managed to save when she fled Freeport. It's quite old, in fact, which is why she gave it to me to transcribe to newer parchment." Aloysiius too, stood up. "I can get some of the ribbon and bring it back this afternoon." The Human extended his hand. "I greatly appreciate this, sir."
The Erudite takes the hand, shakes it, nods, stops and says: "Oh, where are my manners. Mandragore, my Name. I'll be in the Magetower for the Research. Looking forward to see you in the afternoon." His Mind seems to have wandered again as he stands seconds still, his lips moving slowly. Suddenly he looks back on Aloysiius. "Ah yes, till later then." He turns around throws a small piece of fabric in front of himself, which instantly increases its size to a large enough Carpet, hovering just a few inches over the Ground. Taking a step onto it, the Carpet ascends a little and flows away, heading to the South Qeynos Magetower.
