(T4, Kaionar) Like Herding Cats (18th Board)

Subject: (T4, Kaionar) Like Herding Cats (18th Board) Mon Mar 12, 2012 5:38 pm

Description: Stranger Deos and her aid, Falcon, are reunited in Kaionar. She arrives with quite the ambition; by the status of the Surahnian flag, Kaionar will find itself under a new kind of leader, quite preferably herself.
However, Kaionar is notorious. The toughest of people live here and their families will not simply roll over to just any proposal...

Setting:
All whereabouts in Kaionar
Time: 5am
This takes place two weeks after the takeover of Racksom

Day: 2nd of July, 3709

The weather is still cool at this point in the day, cloudless and hot later on as usual. This will likely be the first news of Racksom to the Kaionarians.

Joiners:
---Aero (Deos + Kaionarian)
---Nen (Falcon)
---Rogue (Kaionarian)
---Taj (Felren + Kaionarian)
---Peer (Zold)

(Anybody may join this board, SR affiliated/Kaionarian or not, Kaionar ruling-elites are wanted! Any other Kaionarians encouraged)

How long had it been since she had laid eyes on Kaionar? Her beloved city in all of it's splendor, laid out in the desert like a jewel amongst the sands. Of course, not all saw it that way, and she was certainly not one to idolize the physical appearance of anything, much less a town she knew to be corrupt to its core. But still, in those moments that their party could first see the city among the sands, Deos couldn't help but to wistfully remember her childhood home. It would be good to be back somewhere that she knew all the rules again. All of this bowing and scraping and pretending to be some meek helpless woman certainly got on her nerves. Though she would have to be careful not to let the Surahnian soldiers catch on to a sudden change in mood. No need to make such useful pawns suspicious of her movements.

Captan Hadanna lead his calvary detachment from behind Felren, the sight of a mounted unit of guards putting the local Kaionarians instantly on alert. Unlike the rest of Dragons Cove, Kaionar boasted a healthy market for armed soldiers that knew their way around weaponry and war, though to be displayed so openly was most certainly a shock. Most of the battles within the city occurred in the dead of night and behind closed doors. Still, even the dumbest of citizens knew capable men when they saw them, and so the small troop was given a wide berth when they entered, the bustling trader's market silencing uneasily as they passed.

She couldn't help the small smile that twitched at the corner of her lips. Yes. This is what is should be like when she entered any space. Pretending to be gutter trash was not her style at all. Now, if only these peasants were making way for her and not because of the horned man riding in front of the calvary… but all in good time. There was business to conduct first.

The heat had assaulted them long before they'd arrived in Kaionar. Sildred, in his black plate armor, complete with pauldrons, gauntlets and greaves, never remembered sweating so much. His helm, contoured to his head, with long cheek guards and a long nose guard, topped with a black wolf headdress, seemed to be baking his brain. At some point, he was squinting to see through the wavy heat lines he imagined were coming off of him and the ground all around them. The water had long grown warm, and it did nothing to relieve the heat, but it was imperative that he did not dehydrate. With as much water as he was losing whilst sweating, he'd make a fool of himself, his captain and his king if he collapsed now from heat stroke.

He would not have noticed any visible change in Lady Deorwyn as she sighted her city, so focused Sil was on the concept of remaining alive in the baking heat.

As they neared the city, he was aware of a stench that arose. Of baking clay and animal dung, of fruits and vegetables, meat, human waste and the stink of so many bodies in one place. As they entered the stink suddenly let up and the scent of saffron and spices, perfume and cooking food would wash over them. It did not bother him, in fact it was a welcome smell. He'd suffered worse upon the ships sailing to Dragon's Cove. There the conditions had become truly squalid by the time they'd landed upon blessed sandy shores. This was the smell of a city alive, one he faintly remembered as a boy.The duality of the smells reminded him that this was the city of the many-faced, people who smiled in your face with hidden daggers in their sleeves, or so he was made to think by the Lady Deorwyn and Captain Hadanna.

He rode on the Lady's left, at her elbow, so as not to be ahead of her, but close enough to protect her if need be. The hush of the crowd made him uneasy, and it took self control not to reach for his whip, coiled on his left hip. On his right he wore a cutlass, not the usual army standard issue. It was a sword he'd claimed as his prize from a corsair he'd defeated on the voyage to Dragon's Cove. His standard issue was sheathed and stowed in his saddlebag, in case he needed a replacement.

Despite the heat and his profuse sweating, the hush, the smells and the piss-warm water, he rode with his shoulders thrown back, tall in his saddle, eyes scanning the crowd for threats, never resting upon the Lady Deorwyn or her bodyguard.

Kaionar- city of thieves, city of people who wanted to get ahead in the world, and didn’t really care how they did it. For some, it was a place full of bountiful treasures, if one knew where to look; for others, it was like hell on earth. Of course, those were the ones who eventually either left the city in a hurry, or got murdered quietly (or sometimes noisily, it wasn’t uncommon) in some grotty back alleyway. For those who were in tune with the city though, and had a bit of luck (or a very good poker face), there was much money to be made. One of these people was Celandine.

She was well known in some circles; the ruling elite of the city, a little amongst the filthy underworld too, but as she rode through Kaionar on the back of a dappled grey mare, hardly any heads turned towards her in recognition. There were, naturally, those who looked her direction to admire her olive skin and looks, who she indulged with a voluptuous smile, and others who sized her up for her wealth (the handsome yellow dress she wore, with its billowing sheer sleeves was obviously expensive), whom she ignored. But there was nobody who knew her personally; to the inhabitants of the city, she was just a well dressed woman who happened to be travelling through it. But one day, she would change all that, and everybody would recognise her. The ruling men of the city she would persuade round to her side with her words; if they wouldn’t be persuaded by words- well, every man had his weakness, and a good few were notorious for their infidelity. Celandine had few qualms about using her looks to get herself what she wanted, and a little use of illusion magic would give them what they wanted, without putting herself in too much of an uncompromising position.

If only there wasn’t another woman on the block who seemed intent to take her place. Although, she hadn’t been seen in a long time- this meant that the coast was clear for Celandine to take her place. Certainly challenging the other had seemed foolish at the time, what with Celandine being young (even now, she was only twenty-five), but with her gone, this seemed the perfect time to start working. And already, she was starting to grow followers in both the underworld (slightly, but not as many as she imagined she had at the time) and in the “honest” world (again, not as many as she imagined she had). It was a good start, but still, only a start.

A small frown started to form on her face as she rode unacknowledged through Kaionar, flicking her long black ponytail away from her shoulders. They should be taking notice of her, not just… doing whatever they were doing. The road ahead was getting more crowded too, and they wouldn’t move out of her way either. She managed to force her way through the people a fair way, but then got stuck properly, her horse starting to play up when she found herself unable to move through the crush of the crowd. For some reason, a group of riders, dressed smartly in armour, were causing all the fuss in front of her, the crowd only parting ways when the party got close.
Celandine, however, refused to move. She would not stand aside for some rich noble who held such ridiculous riches to be able to afford a squadron of soldiers. She was, after all, part of the city’s ruling elite. They were equals.

Last edited by Taj on Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:52 pm; edited 1 time in total

Captan Hadanna sighed in a slight manner, making sure to keep his annoyances from his riders. The crowds were hard to keep security tight and this just made things all the worse. For the first time, he wished he didn't stand out. Sure, it had helped in the past to fend off some youthful thugs looking for a fight but now when he was to be escorting Felren, this just wasn't what he wished for.

Felren on the other hand was pissed, really pissed. This was something normal for him of late. When his eyes had changed color, going from a soft violet to a blood ruby red, his personality made a full 360 degrees. He wanted to taste blood, to feel an innocents life take their last breath and the lights leave their eyes. He had been too cooped up during the damn ride and now he was getting impatient. His red eyes stared at the back of Deos, burning a hole through her head. She had been the one to drag him out here and promise of healing him.

Zold definitely took notice of the riders. A middle-aged man with white hair, good fortune in house and finances, and elegance in everything he did, he was NOT pleased to see a small troop riding in the streets. He peered down into the city streets from his manor. His large home looked over the rooftops from behind them, so he could only see the street in some glimpses. Even so, it was obvious when there was a ruckus about. He was no fighter, but everything in this city was important to him. Every pawn was needed. He needed to be aware of everything.

"Rose," he called out. "Rose, stay indoors for the rest of the day," He instructed. "If I don't come back in five hours or less, hide yourself well."

With that warning given to the gem of his life, he put on his riding cape and came outside.

It wasn't long before he was in the streets as well, mounted. Since the troops had since passed his manor, he had to move ahead of them, intent to cut them off and demand an answer for their small invasion.

First things first. She had offered to get Felren fixed up from that creepy one-eyed parasite, which was unfortunately turning into a rather high-priority problem. Being a hero and all, she could scarcely afford to openly ignore his problem without incurring Hadanna's wrath. Or Felren's. Probably Felren's. The dragon-man would probably slit her throat and eat her liver if he had to continue on with his parasite much longer, an ending that she would much rather avoid if at all possible. So, reluctantly, she was going to head straight to Baldasarre's to see what the apothecary had to say about the whole situation. Perhaps curing Felren would make him more malleable, because at the moment he was proving to be about as flexible as a brick.

Her whimsical thoughts about turning the whole Surahnian escort into her personal pawns were cut short by a woman that stood in the middle of the road, serving as a roadblock of sorts. At first she tentatively hoped that it might be a city official who had somehow got word and had come to greet them, but if it was, she didn't recognize the woman. And Deorwynn knew a lot of people in Kaionar.

She pulled her horse to a stop a handful of yards in front of the woman blocking the road and looked her over for some sort of heraldry or other identification that would give a clue as to what house she belonged to, but was not so lucky. Unaffiliated, perhaps? Well, if she was unaffiliated and making a stand when everyone else had clearly retreated to the relative safety of the side-streets, then she was an idiot. It took no work for her to keep the disdain off of her face, but many others would have struggled to contain a physical expression of the large amount of hatred she had for fools. Instead she wore a politely neutral expression and lifted her right hand to her collarbone, touching it gently with the tips of her fingers then twisted her hand around her wrist and swept her arm out forward in a seemingly singular elegant motion, replacing the traditional bow that would normally be given since they were both on horseback. A waste of a gesture, in her personal opinion. Someone should probably just shoot her through the heart and get it over with.

Hadanna would probably want to speak first, but she wasn't about to get shot by an assassin lurking on a nearby rooftop or something similarly stupid by letting the Captain open his demeaning mouth and ask dumb questions. She was the tour guide, after all. He would just have to live with the fact that here in Kaionar, she was the only one who knew what she was doing. "Good 'morn, my Lady. Would you move aside and let my party pass, please? We have journeyed long to come to the city, and our horses are in desperate need of rest." She projected her voice clearly across the space, her tone sweet, her smile pleasant. Aside from the obviously travel stained clothes she was wearing, her manner was the perfect picture of a gracious guest. Nothing to be suspicious of.

There was going to be trouble, he had forseen it, but that didn't mean he was okay with it. The woman blocking their way and the man that had suddenly appeared on the road, mounted, before them made him kick his horse to a canter, to bring him just behind the lady's left elbow. There would be more, emboldened by them, but at the Lady's word (or by the Captain's) he would strike as needed. He had no love for these people, no qualms about quelling a crowd with the whip. Still, he knew the importance of diplomacy. It didn't mean he'd leave the Lady to herself, her left flank exposed.

He had been given orders to remain at her left, to protect her from the left and that was what he was doing. The others would have been given their orders. Men to the back, to the right and in between those gaps. Hadanna himself probably had his own position to maintain, but Sil was presuming over much. His eyes narrowed, sweat pouring down his face and dripping off his chin.

If they could just get inside, away from the heat, Sil would be allowed to take his helm off, and air out his cooking brains.

He had one hand firmly gripping the reins, the other settled seemingly relaxed on his thigh, just waiting to snatch the whip from its clasp and deliver punishment to those that drew too close. On the command of his superiors of course.

The heat might have made him a little irritated. But he was a Surahnian soldier, and he didn't react with his emotions. Calm rationale was one of the many tenets of being a soldier in the Surahnian army.

Celandine shifted self-consciously in the saddle as she was inspected, then sat up straighter under the eyes of those in front of her. She was a noble in this town, she would be treated as one. But of course, she had to act like one too; this was Kaionar, of all places, and the only way to be acknowledged was to be vocal about it. She returned the woman’s graceful acknowledgement with one similarly well practised, if a little more modern; these things changed slightly over the years, depending on who you had been taught manners and etiquette by. It showed her youth… or this woman’s age.

“Good morning to you as well,” she said, keeping her pleasantries. They were annoying to use, to word things so carefully, but it had to be done, and it had been so beaten into her that she wouldn’t dream of doing anything else. She tapped the sides of her horse lightly, the beast skittering sideways, faced with such a battalion of soldiers, and now released from the crush of the crowd that had been before her previously, but she didn’t let the mare stray too far. No, she wanted to know who this woman was, what she was to have such a following of people. “You have quite the troupe of guards, one would think you had come to Kaionar expecting trouble.” She raised an eyebrow lightly, turning her horse in the direction of this woman’s to ride back towards the centre of the city with her. Hardly sparing a glance for the soldiers, except to look for some sort of mark she recognised (none, but they were all wearing quite distinctive flags, which if she had known before, would definitely have remembered), she noted those closest looked uncomfortable in the heat of the desert. Armour would make the heat worse, yes, but not to the extent that these men seemed to be in discomfort; they at least weren’t from Kaionar. Which meant something very interesting might possibly be at hand here. The woman, she couldn’t tell if she was a native, and she was too intrigued by the group not to let them leave now. She matched her horse’s pace to Deos’, looking across at the older woman as they rode ahead again.
“What brings you to Kaionar from such a distance, lady--?” she let the question hang, waiting for both a name and an answer.

Despite Deos' assumed leadership in bringing them here, Captan Hadanna moved to the front after ordering another one of his men to stay with Felren. After a reluctant look from the man, Hadanna moved next to Deos. "What reason do we have to give our agenda to an unannounced woman?" He asked, adjusting himself in the saddle. If they didn't have to say they had a war hero with some freaky parasite in him and needed it out then they wouldn't. He shot a look to Deos, letting her know not to say anything unnecessarily. Being brought up under Zartear, women weren't of much importance in political matters. Further more, he had direct ties to Lord Zartear and thus more than able to report unfavorably about Deos to him.

Zold trotted up as smoothly as ever. In spite of his anxiety over a troupe entering his hometown, he was wearing the most pleasantest of smiles. Lots of people, yes, but not many of them were talking. He muscled his way past Celandine (probably as a show of disrespect to her, since he was certain HIS presence was FAR more useful here) and greeted the small army with a low bow from atop his horse.

"Good afternoon! It is a good question indeed that she raises, but perhaps standing around in the middle of the street isn't the best place for this discussion, don't you think?" He said quickly. "You're looking to talk to somebody specific, I'm sure... But allow me to introduce myself. I am Zold De L'aube. I actually hold much sway in this fine city. Perhaps we might be able to chat with each other about your reason for being here at my estate? Perhaps we can... find a way to help each other out."

As he said this, he "casually" put his hand on his belt - in the process, very intentionally flashing a fancy purse under his waistcoat, one that was sewn with a silken brocade and a gold clasp, and it jingled lightly with the motion. This was not at all a discrete show if his wealth. It was indiscreet. "I welcome everybody here." He glanced at Celandine too, indicating that this invitation was being extended to her as well. "I promise you," he added with a quirked grin, "I'm not offering you into my home to ambush you. If I had an army of my own, I would have brought it with me as a show of force. My intentions are genuine. It is often said that my house is a fine place for diplomacy. I think you won't regret it."

She didn't even look in the direction of the soldier that sidled up to her left side, paying him as much mind as the dirt under her horse's hooves. Or at least that's how it probably appeared to all the outsiders, which was exactly the target that she was shooting for. In her mind she marked the man's presence easily, assuming that he had seen some threat in the girl or their surroundings that she had not noticed while making pleasantries with this houseless waif of a woman. Her smile seemed no lest earnest however when she dipped her head in a small nod as the woman struck up a conversation, finding it fitting to go ahead and make herself a part of the escort. Before Deos could reply to the girl's line of questioning, however, Hadanna decided at that very second to go ahead and butt his way into the conversation.

Though no words passed between them, she understood the Captain's glare all too well, and was more offended that he thought she would blow their cover than she was that he'd rudely interrupted an otherwise perfectly civil conversation. Who did Zartear keep in his ranks? Monkeys? Nevermind. She had seen monkeys that were trained better than the oaf she was saddled with. Even with all of these thoughts floating through her head, the expression of serenity never left her features, and her gracious smile turned into a slightly apologetic one. "Forgive me fo-"

Lo and behold, another idiot on the horizon. This one dressed like a real noble, and it was with some disdain that she realized exactly who it was before the meddlesome nobody introduced himself. Zold De L'aube. She would recognize the man anywhere. He had interrupted more council meetings with dribbling idiot ideas than she could even begin to count. No, no, it was far too early to give up her cool just yet. Centering on an inner calm that was always present, she simply let go of her prejudices and nudged her horse forward just the slightest bit so that Hadanna would have to do a bit of maneuvering before he could reasonably expect to chop off Zold's head for being a pompous peacock.

"My Lord Zold." Again, she made the polite hand gesture toward the man with a slight bow of her head. "Thank you very much for this offer of your hospitality. If the Captain deems it safe, I'm sure that we would be most humbled to intrude on your grounds. We have traveled a long way and have faced much on the journey behind us. A place to rest our horses and the soldiers would be most welcome." She cast a brief glance at the soldiers mounted behind her that were wilting in their saddles, beaten down by even the cool morning air of the Kaionar desert. If they didn't get the men inside, then they faced a very serious risk of losing them to heat stroke. "Captain." She addressed Hadanna with a courteous smile. "The final decision is of course, up to you." With her face turned away, she let that mask slip for just the barest of seconds, letting him know just what she would think of passing up on this offer when they had zero guarantee of getting in the door anywhere else in this city of rat traps.

The cry of a bird of prey brought all but the soldier's eyes to the sky. None of them were bowmen, and didn't see fit to spot what they couldn't either kill or incapacitate. Cooking their eyes on the sun as well as their bodies didn't appeal to them.

Sildred stroked his horse's neck and looked over to the Lady they were guarding. She too had peered up for the briefest of seconds, but her eyes were on everyone else now, and she seemed to be in a very good mood now, if she hadn't been so thus far. He was an observant soldier and leaned to whisper quite softly. "My Lady you've been standing in one place for far too long." He had to protect her from her left, but he would yank her from the saddle and protect her with his body if need be. Sildred was known for getting things done, and although he had a single duty to uphold, a soldier like him didn't just do his duty. He made sure the objective was complete. No harm was to come to the Lady, and he'd make sure of that.

The falcon circled, crying out once more, seemingly content to keep above the party.

She'd come back, at last. No one could keep Deorwynn Xerceis from her rightful place in Kaionar.

Narrowing her eyes in annoyance at the smart general that sought fit to block her from finding out who these people were, Celandine convinced herself that now, more than ever, she needed to know what was going on. She wanted to know what business was afoot that made this man so reluctant to talk; surely it was something important.
“Do you mind, I am—“ she began snippily, meaning to take this soldier down a peg or two, but before she could get any further, Zold muscled in, shoving her horse right out of the way with his own steed to get a word in. Well! So, he wanted to play dirty tactics like that, did he?

She forced her horse sideways back where she had been again, letting her mount push against Zold’s without any heed for politeness. Well, he should have thought of that when he had shoved her to start with!
“It’s not the afternoon,” Celandine muttered mutinously, still put out by the older man’s actions. She bit her tongue from saying more however, not trying to put too much of a distance between herself and the rest of the group. Unfortunately, manners occasionally got people places. She had heard of this Zold, seen him at a distance once or twice at a formal gathering, but had never had the chance (or wish) to talk to him. His actions now settled her mind as to why he had always had a small crowd of followers at these things; flashing money around like nobody’s business, and acting the wonderful host. But actions like that, in a city like Kaionar, were going to one day get him robbed. Shame. Terrible shame. She wasn’t going to tell him that though, the old fool; he could find it out himself. She was feeling particularly spiteful today- maybe it was because it was so early in the morning. Despite that though, she was pleased she had been invited to whatever discussions were about to take place. Such an inclusion fit her place.

“I too, will accompany you,” she said, inclining her head and spurring her horse to keep up with the others. The annoying beast had a habit of falling behind and following the leader, rather than taking a little initiative. She was very interested to see where Zold lived; she had heard tales of great finery, and had often wondered whether they were just elaborate rumours, or truth. Now she would find out!

Captain Hadanna seemed all too unsatisfied with the amount of people that seem to stack up around them so quickly. He didn't trust the people in this town in the slightest but if Deos had the gull to block him then it had to mean something. This Zold seemed like an arrogant prick that normally got his way with money but...With a frustrated sigh, and a look back to his exhausted men he gave a curt nod. "We'll accept your offer of generosity then, thank you." The captain said and then perked slightly as if remembering something but decided to keep it to himself. He thought of giving warning about Felren to the leeches that grabbed onto them so quickly but thought otherwise. If they died, they died no loss to humanity there. He moved back slightly to let Deos take the lead once more, and follow the arrogant man.

Felren on the other hand was starting to show signs of aggravation, wanting more than nothing to rip someones throat out. His eyes had gone from the soft lavender to the blood red that signified the switch of personalty in the man. One of Captan Hadanna's men that was closest to Felren backed off slightly having seen his flip personality in action.

He raised an eyebrow at Celandine, still smiling graciously. "Details," he explained to her, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm happy to have you join me as well."

Then, to the rest of the crowd, he nodded. "Yes, it will certainly be for the best if we don't get any more attention out here, hmm?" As if he had been leading the entire party to begin with. Like he had always been in charge. Even so, the older gentleman had such confidence and such grace, and was handsome for his age... Well, his charisma worked on those lower class, at least.

He turned his horse and began to lead them away. It wasn't far enough to be completely inconvenient, fortunately. In fact, although the houses around his were much nicer than the ones in the dead-center of the city, his stood out quite a bit from theirs, and tall enough to see over the rooftops of others. His seemed to be a rather large, out of place estate in the midst of the upper-class apartments. There were high enough gates, though, and plenty of butlers and servants.

There was something, though, that appeared to be a hidden script, imbedded in the ground. It could have been decorative. Within the cobblestone that surrounded the gated estate, the script was carved into the stone, and inlaid with a black marble, which was possibly further inlaid with trace amounts of gold, either in flecks or thread. In spite of these ornamental runes, they weren't displayed very well. The only place they were visible was immediately in front of the gates, and even then, they were muted and blended in with the cobblestone. Surrounding the gates were thick bushes that went all the way around the estate as well, and the rest of the foreign-looking letters were hidden by the neatly trimmed shrubbery.

Zold led them in through a wide gate, nodding towards the stables, indicating that they could dismount there.

---

Everybody seemed to be all right with following Zold, which was okay with Zold. It made him happy.

Now, a peculiar thing happened when people entered the gates. A sort of odd spell kind of went off - a magic-user might notice it, but it was very subtle. Once people crossed over the magical runes, everybody felt much lazier.

Not sedated, not tired, just ... it was an awful lot like fighting was far too much effort. Arguing seemed like much of a moot point. It was kind of an effect that made people want to shrug and roll with whatever was going on.

Like all not-spell-enduced laziness, though, it could be overcome by heightened passion (like if the core values of a person's morals were greatly offended, enough to snap out of it) or powerful willpower, but it wasn't a particularly harmful spell. It was just a defense, of sorts, to keep people from wanting to ambush Zold in his home, or to keep people from starting fights at his table. Hence why he wanted to make sure everybody was here, instead of starting a fight in the middle of his city.

He of course made sure that extra soldiers were taken care of - he made sure that horses were properly stabled, tied, and fed in his own stables, and that everybody had enough room to lounge about on his yard. But the important people were coming inside with him.

So he led everybody to his dining room and a lean, fancy-dressed servant served everybody a glass of wine as well as a glass of water. Zold gestured for people to have a seat.

"Now then! May I ask why, then, you're bringing an army through this city?" He asked.

Once they were under way, Deorwynn was all polite smiles and graciousness, sitting erect and proper on her horse as they toured through the city. The second they were into a manageable file to be parading down the street, she pulled back a bit so that her horse walked even to Hadanna's, noting the soldier to her left that guarded her flank with little more than a flick of her eyes. "Please Captain, if we want to get out of here without incurring the wrath of the whole city, let me speak. Men like this…" She nodded subtly to Zold's back as he strutted in front of the group. "…like to talk. I am under the impression that a certain individual in our group would not be keen on the idea of talking." A glance at the angry Felren glaring is way through the crowd on the edge of control was all that was needed to convey her meaning. Her point hopefully conveyed, she fell back into the parade, silently observing everything that the mansion they had been lead to had to offer. When her horse stepped over the line of runes in the ground she felt the wash of magic smooth over her skin and attempt to soak into her soul. A frown creased her brows briefly in the battle against the charm's effects, refusing to let any outside source bend her will to do anything she didn't want to. The struggle could hardly be called such and was over nearly as soon as it started. She'd heard that there was something about Zold's house that made arguing hard, and now she knew exactly what people had been talking about.

Once their horses had been taken care of and they had been seated, Deorwynn briefly took stock of the room they were sitting in then took her glass of wine and swirled it gently. Now came the questions, and Zold did not disappoint with his conversation starter. In response she smiled a little sadly and tilted her head in a small dip. "My lord, as you may be aware, the trip to Kaionar from across the desert is no easy feat… For years there have been reports of dragon attacks on caravans, so it should be of little surprise that these fine men are simply here for protection. You do not live long on taking large risks, after all."

If there was one thing the Tribal Battleblood hated then it was not getting what he wanted. And right now, Xaoc definitely was not getting what he wanted. Ever since he had left Racksom to hunt down this petty little human with the dragon, Trible Battleblood nonetheless!, smell over him, Xaoc had wanted to get his talons and teeth on him. He would rip that being to shreds and if it was the last thing he did. Such blasphemy should not be allowed to live!

He had reached Kaionar in the blink of an eye, stopping only briefly to sate his bloodlust on a small group of travellers, probably refugees from Racksom, but he did not care. His target was Kaionar, and ultimately the human.
The scent of his ancestors’ blood was growing stronger the closer he got to the city and he quickened the beating of his wings, excitement and anticipation edging him onwards. He was somewhere in that city, but he could hide wherever he wanted, Xaoc would get to him.

The Tribal Battleblood followed the trail like a dog would and soon roared in satisfaction when he realised that he had found the human. Touching down on a larger, and somewhat sturdier building than most others he had encountered so far, the dragon roared again and had set a few possessions on fire while doing so. Smoke was weaving out of his nostrils and his bloodred runes were pulsing with the desire to tear into human flesh, of feeling blood run down along his lips.
Ripping off the roof he had just been on as he lifted himself up again with a powerful flap only to carelessly dropped it on the people who were suddenly running screaming through the streets in their panic, Xaoc immediately tore into the next building.
The one where the scent was strongest.
The one where he knew the human would be.
The one where he would get his retribution now, where he would avenge the blasphemy of his ancestors’ blood being defiled in such a manner.

It was impossible not to hear the screams and the crashing about outside, and although Sildred had felt calm, this new development had him reaching for his sword. He moved by the Lady Xerceis's side and leaned down to murmur in her ear. "Something is going to happen, there is screaming outside and--" The roar was unmistakable. "--Stay behind me, I will protect you with my life..." Because if something happened to her, then the King's campaign for Kaionar would grind to a halt, and if the Surahnians wanted to conquer this land, they needed every inch they could be afforded.

This woman's life meant Kaionar, that was more than an inch, it was an entire city.

He stood behind her chair, a hand rested on the back of it, his other hand clasped around his sword. He was on high alert, as were the rest of her guard detail. The screams and the roar had not escaped their hearing either.

This detail was starting to become much more interesting. If they were to fight a dragon, Sildred only hoped they could either capture or kill it. It would be a glorious thing to say they had slain a dragon on Hadanna's detail whilst protecting the Lady Xerceis. They would surely be given some recognition and maybe a bit more relaxing duty when this was all over.

Sildred didn't even think about dying.

Just pleased that she was being included in all the discussion and happenings of this little group, Celandine was content to follow Zold to his home. It was a fair journey, enough to let enough time pass that it was not so horrendously early any more, faint warmth starting to make the air slightly less cool, slightly more unpleasant. It would be another ridiculously hot day, no doubt.

Little wonder people were up ridiculously early, it was the only time to get things done without fainting from the heat.

Once they were within Zold’s grounds, she looked about with interest, especially when they were shown into a room where they were allowed to sit. This was quite impressive, no wonder the man had so many tagalongs. There was even a choice of drinks to pick from, for each of them- she hovered over the wine, but she had not yet cultivated a taste for it. The water, too, would keep her cool. The last thing she wanted was to overheat, especially in this man’s house. It would be completely unprofessional, she would never be taken seriously again.

But keeping cool physically was completely different to keeping her cool, and all thoughts of pleasant, collected conversation was lost as the sound of screams and destruction came from outside. She looked to the window with wide eyes, her fingers tightening around her water glass.
“Were you planning protection against what seems to be a rather large, angry dragon?” she asked, her voice going up in pitch at the sight of said dragon heading their direction. She settled her feet a little more firmly on the floor, ready to make a dash for it if the brute so happened to decide to continue to head their direction. It looked entirely possible, and Celandine had no wish to be even this close to an annoyed-looking dragon, let alone be in the same house, with a definitely-annoyed dragon.

Captain Hadanna followed Deos with little resistance with just a glance at Fleren. While he seemed like a killing machine and war hero to their Lord, he just couldn't put any amount of trust in the man. He only hoped to please his lord and aid him in his dream. As he entered the mans compound he felt his shoulders relax and an almost contented sigh escaped his chapped lips.

Once seated in the lavish room however whatever semblance of peace left his body. Screams were heard up and down the street clear as day only to be followed by the roar of a rather pissed off sounding dragon. Oddly, it reminded him of Felren and he turned his head in the direction of the man to ensure he was still there. When the woman who had tagged along spoke up he leveled a gaze at her. "I assure you this is the first we are seeing of the beast." He knew that Lord Zartear had little dealings with dragons and only knew that he had imprisoned some of them for transport. Why would one come after them?

Felren paced in agitation around the lavish room. The attempt of magic to soothe and relax him only pissed him off more. No one was in control of this mans emotions more than him, not even the human he had taken over. He stopped dead in his tacks however when he heard the first roar of the tribal battle blood flying around the city. A satisfied smirk curled onto his lips as he listened to the screams of humans scattering to flee the beast. "It seems I have a brother on my tail." He mumbled to himself only to find Hadanna giving him a cautious yet confused look.

"Tribal Battle Blood." Those three words sent ice shooting through the captains veins and a weight to drop into his stomach. No wounder he thought he might have heard Felren. What the hell was it doing here? To kill the entire city with Felren? Doubtful...In all his knowledge TBB's never worked with others, even more so those of the human race.

Zold had been just about to start a nice long discussion with everybody... figure out people's motives. As the shrieks and the roars ripped through the town, Zold stood, ever keeping himself ever collected. He idly smoothed out the satin tablecloth in front of him, racing to look for new questions to get to the bottom of this new situation. He managed to find some focus on Felren as he seemed to be unaffected by his protective runes, and then he was mumbling... anyhow, he just became the target for Zold's attention. He was sure that the shrieks could agitate anybody even with the runes, but ...

"In fact," Zold said to Celandine, keeping his eyes on Felren, "No, I had not. My apologies, I believe this little discussion is going to have to wait after all. For everybody's sake, I believe we should all leave my house at once." Well that had been a lot of ceremony for a very anti-climactic dinner.

"Though if anybody knows about this, it might be wonderful if you enlightened everybody else. " That was pretty much directed without subtlety at Felren. But there was no time to wait for an answer. He had much more than his home at stake. "Though if anybody wishes to stay here, you're more than welcome." But the last thing he really needed was a bunch of good fighters under the effects of his runes. It wasn't an effect he could really turn on or off. "There's a basement for those who can't fight."

He began leading the others back out towards the entrance of his home, grabbing a small, fist-sized crystal ball off of the table as he did, and pocketing it. Truth be told, HE didn't really want to fight, but no way he was going to be harboring a bunch of strangers in his home during an attack either. What if one of them HAD caused it? What if that's the entire purpose why they were here, to lead a dragon here?

Last edited by ElizaFlame13 on Sun Oct 07, 2012 5:25 pm; edited 1 time in total

What a strange turn of events! A day ago everything in Kaionar was going just fine according to a thief she decked on the way over. Now people were panicking and running through the streets screaming. There were shouts about a large dragon among the sounds of buildings being torn down. The city was under attack? That was new. Geronimo kept her calm and wandered through some of the less destroyed streets looking for the house she was supposed to get to. She recognized the general vicinity despite the architectural carnage all around her, and the first person she thought of was that sly old snake Zold.

"Oh perfect, gotta deal with him again." she muttered to herself as she tried to find her way around while still avoiding the castle-sized dragon rampaging about. Likely enough the dragon already knew she was there and where she was going, but that didn't make any worries for her, she was sent as an extra guard for Lady Deorwynn, and that she would do just fine. If she only knew how to get into the house, hang it all! She was highly tempted to ask the dragon to break in the door, but that didn't seem like the best idea either. Finally she just grabbed a dagger, went to one of the windows at the back of the mansion, and jimmied it open before climbing in and searching for the lady in question. "Hey is anyone still in here?!" Clad in traditional Surah armor and uniform, she hoped to at least not be attacked on sight.

She had just lifted her glass of wine to take a drink, admiring the look of real Kaionarian wine and the deep red hue when the world suddenly dropped away. From the outside, it would appear that she had simply frozen in time, her eyes gone glassy and was completely unresponsive to all outside interaction. Deorwynn didn't even so much as blink when Sildred told her to keep behind him, didn't offer an apology for the incredulous tone Zold was adopting, and paid zero heed to the fact that the screams outside were steadily getting louder. She simply sat there on the couch, staring into her wine like a live painting captured in the moment.

On the inside, however, she was screaming.

The glass of wine had become blood, churning with the darkness of the heart's water and an image played inside of the glass for her. Claws, teeth and fire, laced with so much horror and revulsion that if she were allowed control of her own body then she would be curled up away from the awfulness of the vision being played before her eyes. A form resolved, dark and menacing against skies turned red with the smoke of burned buildings, demonic red eyes peering out of a carapace blacker than a starless night. Then her gaze suddenly swung dizzyingly about and a man appeared with his head capped in white, but it was not a holy figure of relief. He carried the same darkness, the tainted blood bubbling to the surface as grotesque bony wings ripped the flesh off his back in an attempt to escape, draping over his shoulders like a cape dripping red with blood as fleshy tatters of skin hung off of glistening white bone. The creatures paused and regarded one another quietly, then joined together in a flurry so fast that she couldn't comprehend what happened next.

Then the vision released its grip on her and she threw the glass from her hand, breaking it against the wall and splattering the contents all over. In a daze, Deorwynn stood from her seated position on shaking legs, her head still spinning as she raised a shaking hand and pointed it with all of the authority she could muster at the strange person who had just crashed through a window, dagger in hand. "You," The command was otherworldly, as if voiced from the throat of someone entirely different than who Deorwynn had been just seconds ago, chatting with Zold in his home. "Take the blooded one outside." She hissed, keeping her finger on Geronimo but looked directly at Felren, the dark entity that lived inside of him standing clearly before her eyes as if she had laid hands on him and was searching his soul. But she did not flinch from the sight, for the beast tearing up the city outside and the one in her vision had been far more terrifying than this man. "Go, meet your kin and end this chase. Whatever the ends, only you could save this city, King's Hero, Dragonblood and Dragonslayer."

Her message delivered now delivered, it was as if something had lifted off of her shoulders and Deorwynn suddenly became weak, her knees buckling as her eyes rolled back in her head and she seemed to lose consciousness and simply lost her balance.

Sildred was there to catch her. A chill had gone down his spine when she rose and spoke, and he could only attribute it to whatever foul magics worked in this place. He'd been warned that Dragon's Cove harbored magic and those with the ability to wield it. He supposed the excitement coupled with the heat and their strange circumstances had gotten to the Lady. It was the only explanation he could offer. He was the last one in the room to understand what had just happened to her, let alone what was happening. Hoisting her in his arms, bridal style, he watched the man of the house walk toward the entrance. He looked to Hadanna and the other soldiers, ready to go out and fight this dragon. For glory, he supposed, but he couldn't help but find the action stupid. They were sent as a guard for the Lady. She was currently fainted. They had no dealings with a dragon, and Surahs were indispensable. Wasting men on a dragon they need not fight seemed foolhardy. Not to mention that sure they'd gain some recognition for Dragon-slaying, but recognition is not what kept a fainted Lady alive and safe. Whether or not she was in immediate danger, lying prone as she was in his arms... he couldn't leave her alone to run out and fight a dragon. He wasn't being a coward, he was doing his job, and his job was to protect the Lady Deorwynn. He headed into the house and stopped a panicked servant to ask for the whereabouts of the basement. He was told, and he made haste toward it, descending the steps into the basement carefully. He laid the Lady somewhere comfortable (against some sacks filled with grain) and lit a lamp before pulling the door closed. The last thing he wanted was for some unsavory type to get into the basement. He was a Surah, and he would fight, but it was always best to avoid situations altogether. It was the smart thing to do, and Sildred was nothing if not smart. He set the lamp atop a barrel and sat across from the Lady, the sounds of the altercation thankfully muffled.