Runaway Bride

[Quentin Boone]

Quentin sat in a particularly dark corner of The Serpent's Casque, drinking warm, stale beer out of yet another filthy jar. Watching a brawl between two filthy young vagabonds, he hoped that they would make their way towards him - it would please him immensely to be able to smash a couple of skulls.

He'd been lying low for the past week or so, squandering a good portion of the money earned from his last job on beer. While he could easily have afforded to waste a week in a much more reputable establishment, he had decided that, despite assurances of no reprimand, laying low was the best option after killing Count Burock's wife and eldest son. He'd no desire to have a run-in with the City Guard; that certainly would ruin him. The Casque also was a great place for finding other jobs, the pay given for the Burock job was impressive, but would last forever.

Oh great! An inaudible groan was given as, towards Quentin's darkened table, waddled an, unfortunately, familiar figure. Short, fat, filthy and with a stink that reached Quentin's nose even before the wretched idiot was half way to the table.

"Another job, I take it?" Quentin wasted no time as the fat man sat, once again, opposite the mercenary. Taking a deep gulp of the warm beer to stop himself from vomiting at the awful smell of this awfully abhorrent little round man, Quentin waited for a response.

"Ah, tha' there is. Ya t'..."

"Jus' gi' me the damn paper, and ge' ou'a my sigh'."

"Well, tha's t'thing, ya see. I wa'..."

In a smooth, swift motion, Quentin had drawn the slightly curved broadsword and placed the point of the weapon a half inch from the neck of this awful fat man, making it clear that no further conversation would be had. Of course, with the drawing of a sword, many eyes were drawn towards the darkened corner but Quentin ignored them for the moment, keeping eyes firmly on this abomination. The fat man threw down a piece of parchment, sealed with the same insignia as the previous job, then threw his hands into the air, massive dark patches on his attire where sweat must have been pouring from his armpits.

Standing up and backing off, waddling back to wherever it was he came from, the fat man left and Quentin resheathed his sword. Picking up the parchment, Quentin wondered what the Count wanted from him this time, also hoping the pay would be just as good. Breaking the seal, he unfolded the parchment, and read from the same pristine, noble hand:

I, Count Sorthus, of the Queen's Court, hereby request, due to your performance in executing the family of Count Burock's family, that you bring my beloved daughter back to me.
She has ran away from home and the responsibility of marriage. I am of the belief that others are assisting her; you are to also provide whatever punishment you see fit upon these people.
Precedence, however, must lie in bringing back my daughter unharmed.
For this repeated employ you will be paid either a sum of three hundred(300) gold pieces, standard weight; or one hundred(100) gold pieces, standard weight, and a weapon or armour upgrade at the local bazaar, the cost of which will be met by myself.
I look forward to doing business once more with you, and trust your success will be complete and swift.

Yet another seemingly easy job in the works gave Quentin a rather satisfied grin as he threw his feet onto the table, leaning back in his chair to get as comfortable as possible in this hell hole of a tavern. Taking his pipe and lighting it, the mercenary decided that an extra hour or so of rest would do no harm.

[Ariana]

The time of day was around noon;although you couldn't tell in this place. With the clouds covering the sun, you can't tell what time it really is. Especially inside this tavern.The smell in The Serpent's Casque was just disgusting; It smelled of booze and alcoholics. This kinda place was not the type where you would find two young women, Ariana and her best friend,Uroki. Once there they take two corner seats and just watch those who come in and out of the place. Keeping an eye for those who fit the description of the princess.

Now Ariana's outfit could lable her as the 'black sheep in the tavern'. The reason for that is well...Ariana stands roughly 5'6 with a curvy body. curves in all the right places. Her hair is pitch black. Her eyes are a bright yellow when calm and a blood red when enraged. Her hair is so long it goes down to her knees, but her hair is always in a braided ponytail. Her outfit, per say is that of a ninja. A black face mask to cover her face and her identity. A black long sleeve cloth shirt, which is tight yet not too tight. Tight black cloth pants with a black belt to hold her belongings. Her shoes are a simple shoe construct that when walking they rarely make any noise.

Ariana, is sitting like a slouch, legs straight out over the side of her seat, sword between her legs with the hilt over her right leg, with the hilt towards her to make it easier for her to grab if someone attacked. Along the blade itself is an engraving which goes "Akusma Ta shinigami" which means "warrior to the god of death". Her pouch hangs at her side, maps crumpled up inside, ink and quills in a small container inside the pouch; parchment to write things down .Across from Ariana in the tavern is nothing but a room full of scum and trash. Somehow a fight between two vagabounds broke out over something so stupid. And Ariana swears if they come towards her she'd kill them both; quickly and painless.

As the fight drags on, Ariana notices a quite odd man, a fat man walk in and head towards someone on the other side of the tavern. She hears mumbling but suddenly the mystery man draws his sword. He says something inaudible and puts his sword away as the fat man gives him some kind of paper and leaves the tavern. So this raises Ariana's suspicion but says nothing as she keeps an eye on that man who is now smoking a pipe.

[Princess Uroki]

Sitting next to Ariana, twirling one of her braids in her hand, Toshiyokan Uroki stared into her tea thoughtfully. Ariana had dragged her here after hearing a rumor about a young woman running away from a bad marriage. Uroki would seek the young woman out and offer help, but she had learned that they were not the only ones with an interest in this matter. She sighed. It seemed that once again they were caught up in something dark and dangerous.

She stood up and smoothed her Yukata, a vibrant purple silk kimono with a wide Obi around her waist, and slid her feet back into her zori, soft shoes that made very little noise.

"This one is going to request more tea." She informed her companion, and walked over to the bar. As she walked, rumors abounded.

"I heard she's as beautiful as the setting sun, with eyes that shine like stars and hair like the night, black and soft!" declared one man.

A few feet closer to the bar she heard, " She ran away because her family wanted her to marry a man who wasn't handome enough, that's what I heard."

Uroki stopped at the bar, and when the greasy barman looked up at her, she told him, "This one would like some more tea, if it is not too much trouble."

He grunted, which she took to mean understanding, and returned to her seat to wait. Her eyes traveled over the crowd. The sheer amount of shady characters there made her glad her shukusen was at her waist, and her naginata at her back.

She smiled. Perhaps this princess was here already, somewhere in the shadows.

Wouldn't that be convenient? She thought, eyeing a form beneath a hood nearby. If she were right here, under our noses, all this time?

[Miehm]

My eyes scanned the room, and I spotted her almost immediately. She was stashed back in a corner, just like I had told her. A hand reached out for my coin purse, and I casually broke his index finger. "Do that again and you'll pull back a stump."

His friends looked like they might want to start trouble, but when nine inches of good steel materialized in my hand, they quickly thought better of it, and I walked through the crowd without any further molestation.

"Hey honey. I'm here to take you out of here. We're gonna head back to my place and you should be safe there. Our mutual friend has arranged to get you off the island." I had to admit she was attractive, at least to me. Most of the guys back home would have laughed their asses off. She was short, and while not fat, she was definitely not skinny. Very average in terms of weight. Her hair was a nondescript brown, but her eyes were striking. In this light they looked green, but when we had first met, at my employer's orders, they had been brown. And I knew that outside they would be blue. Her breasts were perky, and large, and I could not deny that I was entertaining indecent thoughts, especially since I knew that under her cloak, they were practically spilling out of her top, in addition to shaking like mad every time she took a step.

"Thank you. I was starting to get nervous. Please let's get out of here before anything happens." I held out my hand, and she took it as she stood up. The bowie knife had disappeared again to whereever I had pulled it from, and we worked our way towards the exit as quickly and unobtrusively as possible. From there we would head straight toward Count Burocks estate, and safety.

[Quentin Boone]

Eyes opened, and the filthy establishment was much the same, as was Quentin's inebriation. Blinking a few times, he tried to correct his vision in vain. He groaned as he saw doubles of each worthless cretin in this hell-forsaken cesspool; if not for the amount of stale, watered down beer, he would have blamed the nausea on the other patrons.

"Blood an' ashes. I 'ate this place." He slurred quietly, clumsily sliding feet off the table, wondering if he had put them there before sleeping - he couldn't remember. Shaking his head a little, Quentin noticed the parchment and reached out for it. Three times he hit nothing but the once varnished, now rough-surfaced wood of the table before actually grasping the employment details. A grip a little too tight perhaps, as he nearly screwed it up entirely, shoving it in a small pocket before making an attempt at standing.

He'd no idea for how long he had slept but decided that it did more harm than good. Placing palms on the table, he slowly rose, swaying from side to side as he stood. Taking his first drunken step of the day, he stumbled, the lead leg seemingly giving way. Catching hold of the back of a nearby chair, the mercenary managed not to fall onto his face, but he did manage to be the aim of several filthy glares. He stumbled on through the crowds of this awful place, bumping into several people only to swear at them like it was their fault. Pushing a few people aside deliberately, regret ensued near immediately as Quentin's boby continued forward, making him land on the offended party only to be shoved off quickly.

Finally reaching the street, the drunken Quentin missed the small step out the door and fell on his face. Too drunk to move, he made the blurred decision to just stay there for a while, on his stomach in the middle of the street. He surmised that either he'd be ignored or someone would move him to an ally.

[Ariana]

Ariana watched this man the whole time. She had an uneasy feeling about him, one that could easy turn the tide on what she does next. She could ask him what the fat man wanted and maybe more. But that would take time and Her and Uroki do not have time.

So when the strange man got up and stood, wobbly she knew his head must be pain splitting. "His head is gonna hurt like hell now." Ariana says to herself as the strange man turns and almost fall flat on his face "Humph. Shows you right for drinking all day." is all she could say before he walks out the door. "Uroki, I shall be back before nightfall ok? I'm gonna 'weasle' some info out of this guy ok?" And with that, Ariana grabs her sword and stands up, wiping the dirt from the stool off her body and then walking to the doors and opens them and sees that same guy face flat in the dirt.

She walks over to him and grabs a neaby stick and goes to poke him a couple of times. "Hey buddy, are you ok? You got a room we can go to so I can put your ass to bed ?" Ariana says as she pokes his right arm a couple of times. that don't seem to be working so she next bends down and puts her hadns on both his shoulders and starts shaking him.

[Princess Uroki]

Toshiyokan Uroki only nodded as her companion left. Her eyes were rooted to a man who had just taken the hand of a young woman. She very much suspected all was not as it seemed. This lady matched the description given of His Lordship's daughter. She watched as he slipped his blade back into the depths of his wardrobe and led her out the door.

Uroki rose softly to her feet and walked to the door. Leaning aginst it, she peered out the window to watch the direction he had taken. A smile toyed with the edges of her lips. That was the direction of Lord Burock's Manor House.

"This one suspects foul play." She murmured. Returning to her table, she reslung the strap that held her naginata to her back and adjusted her shukusen for easy draw. Leaving a few coins for the barkeeper, she slipped out, shouldering her pack and silently following in the wake of the noblewoman and unknown mercenary.

She kept to the darkest places and tread lightly in their footsteps, catching up in a very small amount of time. She waited, biding her time, until she could get close enough to the girl to draw her from right under his nose.

[Miehm]

I look like a tool. It was the only thing I could think while we walked down the street. My right arm had an attractive woman on it, pressed way too close to my body. My brain was getting slightly fuzzy, and I started listing every cuss word I knew in every language, alphabetically. Anything to distract myself from the breast pressing against my arm...dammit!

"I'm going to get you out of here. Where do you want to go?" I had been planning while we walked, but knowing what she was thinking would be an immense help.

"I had planned on hiding in Corone. It seems safer there than on the continent right now." Her voice was soft and mellow, and was yet another distraction, but it was one I had to work around, since I couldn't avoid talking to her.

"Corone. I actually have a house there. It's not a bad place to live. I'll see to it that we get you there, and safe." My neck hair stood up, and I felt my butt pucker up. Something was wrong. My free hand took up a position that left me free to draw or throw my knives, and I walked a tiny bit faster.

"We're being followed. If we get attacked, I want you to run for the manor house. I'll hold off whoever it is, and catch up when they're dead. If you're captured I can't guarantee I'll be able to free you again." She stiffened slightly, and nodded. The last time I'd felt like this was just before the Baron's wife had been killed. I was too slow that time. I wasn't going to be too slow again.