My first time... ((Open, PM to inquire please))

[Hyakureiki]

She had survived her grandfather’s training, and now, she felt ready to begin her very first quest. As she slowly began to dress herself, she pondered her new life as an adventurer.

Renata Hyakureiki had heard about the great adventures his grandfather had, although she knew her grandfather was the protagonist of al those adventures until just a few months ago. She felt closer to him than to her own parents, who were usually working out of town, and too busy or too tired to be with her when she was a kid.

But her grandfather was different. Different from her parents and from any grandparent she had ever met, actually. Renata’s grandfather still tried to act like a young man, despite his age, and didn’t act as solemnly as other men of his age. She had heard that her grandfather wasn’t exactly a very serious young man on his days, either.

Renata’s house was in the town of Radasanth, yet her grandfather had insisted that they should spend the night at the town’s Inn -“In my days, a lot of the quests began in an Inn, and we suddenly had to save the Universe the next day.”- The old man said, explaining his reasons to spend the night at the place.

And who was Renata to question her grandfather? It was her first quest, and the old man was there to show her the ropes, on what her grandfather described as “a noble, yet very, very dangerous job.” An old man will always rant, no matter how youthful he tries to act, Renata thought to herself.

She walked out of her room, and went towards the dining room, completely ready for a day full of excitement. She found her grandfather sitting down at the counter, a glass of what seemed to be water in his right hand.

The old man was an interesting character indeed; this was easily confirmed by the slight glances the few persons in the dining room directed to him. The old man had long white hair, and a white bandana. His eyebrows were gray and messy, and below them, a pair of brown eyes focused on the liquid inside his glass. His eyes conveyed feelings of a kind spirit, yet they also conveyed the feelings of a man who had seen a hundred battles, and a hundred deaths. A long white beard complimented the looks of a veteran warrior who had exchanged everything he had for a more peaceful life.

The rest of his persona wasn’t as interesting as his face, though; his body was strong, but it obviously suffered the effects of aging, he was dressed with a white shirt, and black pants and a jacket of the same color.

-Whazzup, my old man? - Renata said, slapping the old man’s back repeatedly as she sat down at his side.
-Renata, please…
-Lari. My name is Lari, OK?

Renata had never liked her own name. She usually presented herself with different names as she grew up, ever since she had memory of her actions. The old man simply smirked slightly, his eyes finally watching at his dear granddaughter directly. From his eyes, anyone could realize his granddaughter was his only treasure.

-“Not what your parents called you when you were leaving yesterday.”
-“Grandpa… What if I called you “Renato” instead of Neosaim, eh?”
-“That has no sense my dear. After all, Neosaim IS my name, and I like it.”

Renata didn’t answer her grandfather, and, for a while, there was silence between them. Renata became quickly bored and anxiously looked at the door.

-“So, what are we waiting for?”-Renata finally said.
-“I contacted a person to help us in this quest we will be going to. I hope this person comes soon… my knee begins to ache with this cold morning.”

Renata watched the door like an eagle after its prey, hoping the next person to enter the door would be the person they were waiting for.

[Rheawien]

She had no idea who this old man was, but he was either a few cards short of a full deck or just extremely bad at ascertaining things. Because that was the only way she could explain the salary she was promised for this little task. In a town such as Radasanth, where there were more sellswords then harlots, one could find an escort for half of that sum she was offered. Or a quarter of it. Hell, she knew brigands and knaves that would do it for a hundred and still spit out the change. Swords were the very pitchforks and hoes of Radasanth; people lived by them, fed their family by them, and ultimately most met their end by them. This kind of a mission - to baby-sit an overzealous wide-eyed lass and her ancient looking grandfather for a good price - was usually considered smooth sailin’.

But there was smooth and too smooth and the annoying sliver of suspicion in the back of Rheawien’s head insisted that it was the latter. It insisted that the old coot wasn’t crazy. Gnawed by the teeth of time, yes. Extraordinarily lively for an aged geezer, perhaps. But when they first spoke about this mission, she could see solidity in those antediluvian eyes, the kind that came with age and experience, the kind that was forged by perils. What that sliver further said was that because he knew what he was doing, he didn’t want to go for some generic nitwit with a sword and a month worth of training with a wooden dummy. If you want to catch big fish, you use big baits, it was as simple as that. And for some reason this old man needed something of a larger caliber.

Rheawien didn’t keep her head wrapped around that reason for too long though. The money was too good to pass on. Sarah was sometimes a cruel mistress to her and kept her on a tight leash (sometimes quite literary) and that included her budget. And over a thousand of gold pieces would certainly erase most worried for at least a month or two. So even if there was a risk involved, the half-elf was more then willing to take it. After all, oftentimes she risked a lot more for beans.

When Rheawien stepped into the Silver Pub, the whole room seemed to stop for a moment, in a manner the time always seems to stop when something peculiar steps through the door. And Rheawien was certainly a peculiar sight. She was garmented in black, in her tight sleeveless tank top that ended up a couple of inches below her breasts (looking almost like an oversized bra) and a pair of leather pants that seemed almost like her second skin. The only thing that stood out of the sullen image was her pearly white hair and a small scarlet collar that stood fastened around her long pale neck. Needless to say, she was eye-candy for the men and the inspiration of envy for the females. The whispers and mutterings paused, eyes shifted and the entrant, and even the bard that seemed concentrated on his instrument missed a pair of tunes on his lute before he, like the rest of the room, regained the composure and return to the usual tavern monotony. Rheawien smiled amicably. Some things never changed.

Placing her hands leisurely on the hilts of the two blades that hung at her sides, she ambled through the dining room and towards the duo that were to be her “cargo” of the day. The old man she saw before, the crumbling temple of what was once probably a mighty warrior. But the girl was a new sight to her, and surprisingly pleasant one at that. Her hair was as black as the raven feather that stood tangled in Rheawien’s rich messy ponytail, as black as Rheawien’s hair once was. Her eyes were azure and keen like her grandfathers, but there was so much youth in them, so much innocence that the world was bound to corrupt sooner or later. In a way, she could see herself in this girl, some twenty years ago, when the essence of her worries was in which manner to waste another day. So much youth... so far away.

“Greetings, my lord.” the half-elf spoke in a stern tone, allowing a minute emotionless smirk on her lips as she bowed her head gently to the old man in respect of his age. “And same to you, young one. You must be Renata.” she then turned to the girl, offering a friendly handshake. “I am Rheawien and I will accompany you in your little endeavor.”

[Hyakureiki]

((Sorry for the lateness))

The warrior had finally arrived. The old man Neosaim stood up to greet the woman that would help him in his quest. Renata, meanwhile, was at first intimated by the strong presence of Rheawien, mesmerized by her looks; she dreamed about becoming such a hardened warrior. When she replied the warrior's handshake, it took her a while to release Rheawien's hand, feeling it was a dream to meet such a warrior. It was only until she realized of a certain thing that she stopped her daydreaming.

-"You told her my REAL name, grandpa?"- the girl said, as she pulled the old man back down to his chair.

The old man grinned with mischief -"Heh heh. Excuse me my dear, but I am old, and I can only name things the way they are meant to be named."

The old man looked back to Rheawien -"As you can see, she hates her name. I think it is a pretty nice one, but, alas, at this age, young folk tend to be so... rebellious."- He then looked back at young Renata -"So, how are we meant to name you this time?"

-"Lari"- the girl said, not feeling very pleased with what his grandfather said.

-"You heard her, Rheawien. Call her Lari, if you will."

The old man stood up, took a deep breath, and began to speak about the mission. He tried to sound deep and meaningful, as if the quest they were about to participate in was an important one.

-"Any of you know about the hidden city of Dressed Fish Town?"-without waiting for an answer, Neosaim resumed his briefing-"You see, this town was the link between men and The Angels that Guard the Sky. I say each letter in uppercase, so it sounds cooler."

Renata turned her eyes at Rheawien, looking completely puzzled. She watched her grandfather then, hoping to ask him what did he mean with that.

-"Our quest shall be to find that city, and know what happened to its inhabitants. Hopefully, the answer will let us know why that town was called the link between humans and angels."

The old man Neosaim took an old, worn out map. It wasn't any older than he looked like, but it had signs of being used quite a lot of times.-"The town is located north of this town. We must cross a forest and a lake that is inside that forest. Do not ask me why nobody has found this town yet, if there are such meaningless obstacles, though. Maybe it has something to do with those Angels."

Renata had her eyes wide open the very moment her grandfather mentioned these last lines. A forgotten city, and angels guarding its secrets! She would probably be the first one to ever see the city and solve its mystery! She didn't even stop to think that the old man had this quest completely planned out.

-"By the way, Rheawien, if you have any survival equipment, you can let our lowest ranked adventurer Lari carry it the whole way. I know I will."

He nodded towards the barkeep, who immediately put a heavy bag full of bottles, small boxes and other trinkets on the counter. Renata looked at it with disbelief. Did she have to carry all of that?

-"What's all this? You told me that one has to bring only the most necessary items to a quest!"

- "They ARE necessary for me. Those are my medicines, you see... You'd let an old man carry such a heavy weight?"

Renata sighed and carried the whole weight over her back. She could barely keep herself standing up.

"Do you have any questions before we depart, Rheawien?"-Neosaim finally said-"About your payment, I'll give it to you once we get moving... about the bottles of wine I promised, you can ask them to the barkeep over there..."

Neosaim's plan to stop his granddaughter from being an adventurer had begun.

[Rheawien]

The black haired lass seemed genuinely impressed by Rheawien’s entrance, her azure eyes open wide with interest and her handshake significantly weakened by the enchantment of the situation. The half-elf had to suppress a chuckle; she couldn’t even imagine what the girl would have done if somebody like Letho strolled in. Acute frown, brooding mood, gallant voice of a king, six feet of muscles honed in the heat of many a battle... It would have swept the youth off her feet for certain.

For some reason beyond Rhea, the girl had a strong dislike towards her name. As far as Rheawien was concerned, Renata was a sweet name, certainly better sounding then Lari that she used instead. But young people were... young people. Their spirits were rebellious, their mannerism constantly defiant. It didn’t matter who you fought at that sweet age of sixteen, maybe seventeen. The world was against you and you felt you had to fight back. Rheawien knew that. She knew it because that innocence was a dream that the life murdered in her in cold blood. It backstabbed her again and again and again until there was nothing but numbness that forged her into what she was today. A frigid bitch. She hoped that Renata doesn’t end up the same way.

“Very well. Lari it is.” she ultimately replied with a rather indifferent nod, waiting for the disposition of the old man on the mission that they were about to undertake.

Once again, it seemed to be one of those too smooth missions. Nobody paid a load of money to locate a “forgotten” town that just so happened to be located on the map, beyond a small patch of wood and a lake. Rheawien figured that the old man still had the nose for trouble and he knew that the layout of a plan oftentimes differs from the real-time execution of it. She didn’t mind much. That’s what he was paying her for in the first place; to slice and dice and paw the road for him and his wide-eyed granddaughter. The brown eyes of the half-elf carefully studied the map, noting the location of the town in her head and combining it with the knowledge she had of Corone wilderness. Perhaps she wasn’t an expert in tracking, but she knew a thing or three about these lands, especially after being a scout for the Brotherhood. If there was a thing to worry about, it was the highwaymen. And she knew how to deal with those knaves alright.

When the old geezer provided the luggage for Lari, Rheawien’s suppression of a chuckle failed. “What in the world is he carrying in there? A human corpse?!” her mind commented in sync with her chuckle. Her hand grasped the girls shoulder gently.

“Don’t worry. I travel light and I won’t add to your burden. But you might want to tighten the shoulder straps on that thing. This way you won’t feel your spine by the time we leave Radasanth.” she offered girl a piece of advice, her tone inadvertently softer. She couldn’t help it; she just felt sorry to see the lass under the heavy burden.

“And there is no need for payment yet.” she added, turning to the gray oldie that was slowly getting up to his feet. “We’ll settle the score after we reach this Dressed Fish Town and my job is done.”

She hated the treacherous sellswords that gave the whole line of work a bad name by taking the money in advance and then bailing out when the shit hit the fan. Being a merc wasn’t the most honorable work in the whole world, but there was honor involved, at least for Rhea it was. She liked to keep it clean and simple and above all, fair. Her father’s teaching demanded at least that much from her.

“As for the bottles, I’ll pick them up later. Alcohol and long treks seldom work well together and we do have a long trek ahead of us today. So shall we?” she motioned with her hand towards the door, offering a smirk to both of her companions before they left the Silver Pub.

[Hyakureiki]

"That's fine by me."- the old man said, nodding approvingly of the situation-"Lari, take that in mind, learn the hardships of this business from Rheawien."

"Right, right, but I'm sure none of her lessons would be about carrying other's luggage!"-Lari said, still unable to keep balanced from the weight of her grandfather's things.

"That reminds me, Rheawien, do not help Lari with what she's carrying. That's an order from your employer, and... she needs to carry heavy stuff, she's too thin, poor thing."

Until the three were at the town’s gates, Lari kept a pouting face, trying to get some mercy from her grandfather. The old man had taken care from the young girl ever since she was born; he already new how to resist her pouting, and thus, Lari’s efforts were useless.

Lari watched the gates of the town, and her heart trembled with excitement. She suddenly forgot of the heavy weight over her; it was the first time she left town, in sake of adventure. Stepping forward, she watched the road ahead of her; it would be the first of many adventures, she was most certain of it.

Her thoughts were broken by her grandparent’s voice –“Hey, slowpoke, hurry up, unless you plan to stay at home!”-he yelled.

Lari immediately tried to move her feet, but, with the escape of her thoughts came the realization of the weight she was under. It took her a while to reach her grandparent, who would wait for her and the run through the road again.

He kept this prank during half of the way, and he would have kept doing it for a while longer, but, something stopped him. Lari tried to look under her heavy weight, and saw a figure, a human figure with something shiny in it’s hand. She understood what was going on when she heard someone say:

-“What motherload! You must have a fortune inside all that luggage, old man! Now, tell that bitch to drop it off!”

Lari happily obliged, but her relief suddenly turned to terror when she saw that three men with knives were in front of her grandfather, one of them pointing his to the old man’s throat. Neosaim had his arms crossed, completely calm. Lari thought the old man didn’t knew the danger he was in.

The three thieves had already noticed Rheawien’s presence, but where pretty certain she wouldn’t do anything with a hostage in tow. With a movement of his head, the thief with the hostage told one of his accomplices to pick up the package. One of them was strong with a build and a face that revealed he was the muscle and not the brains of the trio; he was the one who carried the excessive amount of luggage, single handedly.

The other one, a small guy whose physique resembled more of a frog, began jumping in his place frenetically, yelling to the top of his lungs:-“Wa, ga, Gya!! You got a hostage, we can tell them all to strip for us! Bol, you take the young girl, I’ll take the older one!”-he said, looking at the gigantic man, who looked pretty uncomfortable with the proposition.

Neosaim blinked nervously, since he didn’t knew who he meant with ‘the older one’, whether he meant Rheawien, or maybe himself. His thoughts were interrupted by the person menacing him-“Shut up Gluv! This must be quick and silent!”

“Just a strip, just a strip-tease, Boss!” –he said, sticking his face close to Rheawien-“Do it, before we kill your old ma-an!”

The person called ‘Boss’ looked towards Gluv, trying to remind him that they were meant to be quick in mugging the people going through the road. A perfect chance! Neosaim immediately pointed his thumb towards the Boss’s knife, his finger glowing with a slight amount of power.

“Pierce!” he said, as the Boss’s knife flew away from his hand, a great signal to tell Rheawien and Lari that their time to battle had come!

Lari instinctively ran behind Rheawien in order to protect herself from harm, though.

[Rheawien]

((Terribly sorry for the delay. I was away from home during the last week.))

There was a thin line between not telling and bending it until it served your purpose and Rheawien was rather certain that Neosaim balanced himself on that line, especially when it came to Lari. It was somewhat understandable that the information given to the half-elf was on the need-to-know basis; she was after all just a hired sword. But while she could understand the professionalism, the teasing demeanor with which he treated his progeny was somewhat disconcerting. Not only did he let her lumber the mountain-sized backpack, but he actually made an effort to make it more difficult for the youth. He constantly changed his gait, accelerating, decelerating, and repeating the two so many times that even Rhea and her natural limberness started to get irked and depleted by it. What Lari did to deserve this lesson, Rhea couldn’t tell, but she stoically toted after her grandfather, resolve adamant enough in her eyes to keep her knees from buckling under the weight.

Neosaim seemed agile and supple enough to keep the charade going for the rest of the day – much to Rheawien’s surprise – but soon he was forced to allow a break for his granddaughter. He sped up again, detached himself from the two females and just when Lari and Rhea wanted to restart the catch-up game, he found himself facing the tip of a dagger. Two more sprung from the bushes to the side of the rode, one a muscle-bound grotesque and the other a hunched dexterous knave that instantly started to drool around the two females. His voice was almost a hiss of a snake, his eyes bulged as he measured the curves of the two and requested a striptease as if they were in an exotic bar and Lari and Rheawien were about to perform. And while that instigated some interesting connotations in the mind of the white-haired female – namely the ones about Lari in some really scant clothing - her face was strict as her hands darted to the blades at her hips.

“Do it, before we kill your old ma-an!” the slimy brigand warned her, getting his decrepit grin and despicable visage closer to her own. However, even as he finished his pathetic deterrence, Neosaim made his move, knocking the threatening blade away from his attacker as if it was a mere horsefly. The two brutes that stood before the two girls snapped their heads sideways instinctively, creating a cue for Rheawien to make her move as Lari sought refuge behind her back. The girl seemed a complete stranger to melee combat, her eyes surprised, frightened even. Rhea had to keep the two away from the black-haired maiden.

Using her ample fleetness, the half-elf darted to the larger of the two, her right hand calm on the hilt of her katana, her thumb pushing the weapon out a mere inch. The blade flashed in an upwards slash half a second later, falling short of cutting the man across the torso. But that was Rheawien’s intention in the first place, because even as her blade finished the upwards arc, the woman spun gracefully and brought her heel at the temple of the brute in a roundhouse kick. The landmass of flesh and bones crashed into the dirt with a dull thump, but there was no time to finish the job. In the corner of her eye she could see the slimy highwayman moving in on Lari, his dagger gleaming menacingly.

Rheawien didn’t engage him in combat though. Her left forefinger joined the middle finger as he mind focused on the remnants of magic within her, courtesy of her late mother. Her telekinetic grasp immaculately grabbed a hold of the dagger, snatching it from the hands of the thief that instantly put on his dumbfounded face. Or just dumb, Rheawien thought. The dagger seemed inbound to hit the half-elf, but a small twist of her joined fingers stopped the bolting weapon and made it levitate in mid air. The confused eyes of the knave looked at the ardent confidence in the eyes of the woman. Rheawien couldn’t hold back a smirk as she turned the blade around, using nothing but her mind and the minute motions of her fingers, until she ultimately sent the blade after its original owner. The bandit dodged the first flyby with a roll, but even as he got up the blade veered around and came at him again, making him jump backwards. The third time around it scraped his shoulder before disappearing into the bushes. Rheawien strode swiftly to Lari, unsheathing the longsword at her side. Behind her back the bear she downed with a kick was struggling to regain his footing.

“Here, Lari, take this and go help your grandfather. You do know how to use a sword, right?” the woman spoke, looking keenly into the eyes of the innocent youth. There was no time for a reply though. The two rapacious men started to come around and prepare for another attack. Rheawien took the girl by her shoulder, ushering her towards Neosaim before she got ready for the incoming pair.

[Letho]

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