On the road again

[Jack Frost]

Closed To Fayne.

After leaving Underwood Jack and Fayne road hard into the night. By the time the sun began to rise they were almost in Jadet. Lack of sleep was beginning to get to Jack, and he was starting to get annoyed with Fayne ever so slightly. The first thing he did was buy a room at a tavern named the The swearing parrot. He bought one room not bothering to waste the money in case he and Fayne had to make another quick leave due to her killing urges.

He shot her a stern look that told her exactly what he might do if she killed anyone here, and then quickly crashed on the only bed that was present in the room. The rest of the room was barren of furniture, an lacked a window. The only light came from a candle, which illuminated Jacks features in an almost intimate lighting. His pale skin glowed softly, his silver hair reflected various beams of light off. His breath caught the light just so. He would seem an angel to the average eye. But really, he was a demon.

[Fayne]

Fayne was quiet the entire way. She noticed Jack was looking unhappy and ignored it until they reached the next inn. It was a smaller, more modest place and she was feeling tired as well. She had her fun in Underwood, and the hand kept away from the sword.

When Jack shot Fayne his stern look, all she did in return was remember it. For a rogue claiming to serve a master who performed horrible deeds, he didn’t seem as fun as she hoped he would be. She began to question if he really was a rogue. When Jack collapsed himself onto the bed, Fayne stood over him, away from the candlelight.

“You are annoyed.” she said, her voice expressionless.

[Jack Frost]

Jack huffed a cloud of fog from his pale lips. "You'd be annoyed too if your plans were thrown to hell due to self control." Jack said, slightly muffled due to the fact that he was laying on his stomach. "There is a time for fun, and a time to watch your tongue and actions." he continued. "For example, in Underwood, that was not the best of ideas, nor was it smart when you threw a fresh corpse on the guards boots back in Radasanth." Jack continued.

"However, you are interesting. I'm sure my master would enjoy your company." Jack said after a breif period of silence. He took the moment to secretly glance at Fayne. Something about her seemed to drive him insane, but at the same time he couldn't be mad at her. It seemed liker her bright teal eyes held him under some sort of spell. Perhaps it was her strange violet hair that did it.

He had no clue, but something about her just absolutely enchanted him...

[Fayne]

Fayne closed her eyes. “You hold too many plans.” she said, slipping her boots off. She walked up to the candle, casting him a look of warning before snuffing it out with her fingers. “That is why you will lose.”

The room goes pitch black and Fayne places her bow and quiver against the wall. She undoes the belt where her sword and knives were before undressing. Fayne knew Jack was listening. When she finished and approached the bed, her blade struck loudly into the floorboards quivering noisily as she slips in beside him, taking all the bed covers to better warm herself from his cold aura. Fayne wasn’t sure how smart Jack was, but the sword embedded into the floor within her direct reach should have been simple enough to understand.

Longing for some rest, she lets her mind wander off.

[Jack Frost]

Jack focused on where he thought she was, and left the rest to imagination. Sure she had a sword withing arms reach, sure she could probably kill him in a quick and painful manner. He decided that it was possibly worth it, but he wasn't going to try it at this moment in time. He quickly nodded off, falling into a deep sleep.

...
"At last...." a cold voice murmured in Jacks mind. Jack found himself standing in white space, full of snow. Before him stood a strange old man in elegant silver robe. It seemed like forever as the two stared into each others eyes. "Do you know who I am?" The old man asked. Jack didn't have a response. "Here's a hint, your past and what was my present are the same..." The old man replied. "your my father?" Jack replied. The old man growled. "I am Polaris Winter!" He roared angrily. "I am your past life!"

Jack awoke with a gasp like breath about seven hours after falling asleep, slightly refreshed. He thought back to who that man in his dream was. He was Winter? It didn't make much sense, but his dreams were his own. He glanced around the room, his eyes growing accustomed to the dark. Out of the corner of his eye he as the gorgeous form of Fayne lying beside him. He smirked, and then recalled how easily he could be demanned for such a thought.

Instead he reached into his bag of holding and pulled out tome one of the books he had received from his elder. He flipped it open to the first page of text, and started to scan the pages intently. If he was going to get stronger he would have to start somewhere. This book was somewhere.

[Fayne]

Fayne slept soundlessly through the night. If it wasn’t for the occasional rise and fall of her chest, she looked more or less dead. Despite that, her eyes shot open hearing a loud gasp that interrupted her dreamless state. She murmured groggily to herself, unhappy with the freezing room she found herself in. Jack was reading something but she tries to sleep a little more before shifting herself up, rubbing one of her eyes softly when she realized it wasn't going to work. The sound of pages flipping was making it too difficult to rest.

“Nightmare?” Fayne muttered in question when she sat herself up, one side the bed covers falling away to bare her breast when she runs a hand through her hair.

It was one of the colder nights in recent memory, and she saw it as a problem.

[Jack Frost]

Jack murmured to himself flipping through the page, barely acknowledging what she said. "A bit, more of a slightly strange dream that seemed to make sense yet completely changed my perspective on life." Jack replied scanning the pages vigorously. Reading this book was an amazing experience, every thing Jack read seemed eerily familiar. perhaps he had lived a past life, in fact perhaps this Winter fellow would be an immense amount of help.

Finally he hit something that was more than just basic theory, in the chapter he had hit he would be making a small ball of ice and manipulating it without his hands. the thought of improving his skill stirred him on, and Jack took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and counted to three, then reopened them. He grinned, he could see all of the water particles in the air, regardless of how small they were.

He raised his right hand, palm up, and focused on a small point above it. Various particles of water began to condense around it. soon he had a baseball sized orb of water floating over his hand. He began to gather up all of his willpower and forced it into one word. "Freeze" The ball froze instantly, slightly expanding due to the change in matter, but at Jacks level of intelligence he had no idea what the cause of the expansion was.

A look of childish delight settled over Jacks face as he willed the ball to rise from his hand. It wobbled at first, but steadied itself quickly. He was able to move it about five feet ahead of him before he began to lose control of it. He quickly brought it back and began to explore with new tricks, having it float in spiral patterns and other stylish moves. He didn't have time to observe Fayne, he was focused at the task at hand. A grin sneaked across his face, the whole experience was thrilling.

[Fayne]

Fayne stared sleepily at Jack saying he had a life changing dream. Her look was neither blank or curious, maybe a little sceptical. She couldn’t help but smirk slightly seeing his amusement with the ball of ice he conjured.

Fayne didn’t think it was a very big deal and slips out the bed, pulling her frosted blade out the floorboards before covering herself with the coat Jack gave. She wondered if he could possibly be someone more of use than he first seemed, as the book he was reading didn’t look easy to understand. Either way, she gathered up her belongings and wordlessly left the room to find a warm bath. She was going to take her time with it, figuring he wouldn’t mind since he did have a ‘complete change in perspective on life’ all of a sudden, and the ice.

Fayne shuddered at the thought of his aura turning even colder as she padded down the hallway, already feeling considerably frozen as it was.

[Jack Frost]

Jack was too absorbed in his orb of ice to notice Fayne leave. Instead he tried reading the book and controlling the ball. It was an incredible strain at first, but soon he got the hang of it. He quickly started doing things like throwing it, letting go of the ball mid force, letting it coast unguided, then catching it again. After getting the hang of playing catch with himself he began to wonder what else he could do.

He began to try and form two more orbs, and tried to juggle them. Of course he failed epically, and all three balls, each hitting a wall. They shattered and Jack growled. He lied back on the bed and sighed, a cloud of fog billowing from his mouth. He grabbed a match from near the bed and lit the candle.

He then continued to thumb through the book further, scanning each page. He began to hit another section on controlling icicles. He sighed, he doubted that Fayne would enjoy all of the ice. Instead he tried something else. He tried to retract all of the ice that had formed in the room. He felt the strain on his body, but quickly managed to completely pull in all of his cold aura, returning the room to a normal state.

He shuddered, is body becoming colder, but the air around him didn't get colder. Perhaps Fayne would stop being so miserable around him. Although she had not shown any indications, he just assumed so, after all, he was a walking freezer.

[Fayne]

After taking some time to rest in a bath that quickly turned lukewarm, Fayne would sluggishly return to her room, eyes thinned in annoyance at the thought of stepping onto the frozen floor. She closed her eyes in acceptance and entered the room. Her eyes open as soon as she felt her soles not freeze, surprised as it wasn’t nearly as warm before.

“…”

Fayne slipped her feet into her boots, giving Jack a long look. She expected the whole place to be a wet and slushy mess after he was done having fun with his new tricks. But there was close to nothing, somehow.

“What happened?” she asked quietly, without concern.

[Jack Frost]

Jack sat up and grinned at her, "What do you mean?" He asked. The change in his body temperature was drastic, had his breath been any colder Fayne would have seen his words. Instead several flecks of snow fell from his breath. He grinned and rolled out of bed, still in the clothes he had slept in. He grabbed his bag, which he had plopped down next to the bed, and slipped the tome inside it casually. There was a light thud as it hit the other books within, but the bag showed itself to be empty.

"You ready to find two spots on a ship?" He asked smiling. On the inside though, he was slowly dieing inside. The pain from holding in all of that ice was excruciating. It was like drinking three gallons of water and then trying not to piss for three days.

[Fayne]

Fayne walked over to pick up the rest of her things, giving a small nod. “I am.” she said before tilting her head slightly. “You give simple logistics more effort than we need. We could always stow away on a boat than spend your gold.”
Jack’s ways didn’t make much sense to her as he already purchased an inn room, supplies, horses and now it looked like it would include a ship passage. All those could have been simply taken by force. At the same time Fayne was aware that otherwise the road would have been much more difficult had they tried differently, yet she still couldn’t help but feel a little out of place.

While looking at him, she felt and saw that something may have been wrong. His lack of aura was already concerning.
"We may leave now. But I will not be slowed down by any illness. You do not seem well, Jack."

[Jack Frost]

(Forgive the minor bunnying)
Jack nodded, "I'm fine..." Jack said, more snow falling from his breath. He was colder, but he continued to hold in his aura. He started out of the room with Fayne once she was ready, and stopped momentarily. He opened the door to their room and coughed a small blizzard into the room, releasing all of the ice he had taken in. The room was bathed in ice, and the air temperature plummeted.

Jack closed the door and turned back to Fayne. "All better," He said still holding in his aura. It was still a light pressure on his insides, but tolerable. "Don't worry about the cost, Master Lorenor gave me money I would need for supplies and transportation."


...

The sweet taste of salt in the air confused Jack. He had never actually been sailing, he had never been on a ship in general, in fact he had rarely even said the word 'ship'. It was a rather charming word that sounded foul if said too quickly without enough pronunciation on the p. He glanced over and scanned the dock. Several ships were busy loading and unloading cargo and such. the taste also brought back memories of a trip with his mother before she died.

The activity seemed painstakingly tedious and cumbersome, something Jack refused to be a part of. Instead he began to look for passenger ships.

[Fayne]

Fayne had the slightest smile on her lips being close to the ocean again. There was something about the vast blueness of the place that gave her the sensation of being at peace, but she wasn’t sure why. Either way, she couldn’t see the sea yet as all the ships and various dock items were obstructing the view so her smile faded when she turned to Jack.

“Do you like the sea?” she asked as though it was merely an afterthought, something said out of boredom.
As much as she liked the water, she didn’t like boats, harbors and anything ship related. Most of all, she hated sailors. They, just like the docks were loud and uninteresting. Fayne hated loud people and places. Ships were loud too and a blemish on the grand ocean canvas that she loved to catch a glimpse of and enjoy when she was able.

Closing her eyes, she does her best to drown out the sounds and sights around her while trying to stay close to Jack.
She felt her hand stray close to her blade again. There were so many people. So many of the living she despised drifting about. Her fingers tighten around the sword hilt and her shoulders tensed. A pulsing desire stronger than she felt since Radasanth took its hold on her.

[Jack Frost]

Jacks thoughts shot back to a previous memory at her question. It had been a peaceful summer in Underwood, and his father had been given a vacation. He, Jack, and Amalia (Jacks mother) had set out for a trip to the shore. the trip was long, but it was full of fond memories with his family. Their actual time at the beach had been fun,but was short lived. It was back when there was still peace between Jack and his father. It was one of his last good memories with his dad.....

Jacks mind returned to the present and he turned to Fayne. "The sea is okay..." he replied. His companion was not one for emotions, and she would probably not care to hear Jacks long winded story of why he liked the sea. So he chose to take the neutral route, even though it was probably not required. He noticed her hand go to the hilt of her blade, and he set a cold hand on her shoulder.

"Now is neither the time or place." Jack growled calmly. He had seen what she was capable of, and didn't want that sort of thing happening again until he had formed a plan. Instead he led the two forward to a bar where he assumed he could get info on the ship he would need. He looked up and suppressed a smile. This bar seemed to be named the angry penguin. He just prayed that Fayne was not going to go crazy on this bar as well.

[Fayne]

Fayne’s eyes narrow when Jack tried to stop her. She saw no reasons why it wouldn’t be a perfect time to satisfy her blade, which felt more like an extension of herself than anything else. That part of her desired worthwhile blood and it was everywhere, just asking to be spilled.
“Coward..” she murmured low, wanting to scream at him. Her hand remained on her sword, gripped not as tightly as before and she follows Jack into the bar. She wondered if he knew just how much she hated bars. Was he really that slow?

Fayne wore a frown. Her eyes were narrowed, orbs dulled to the point where that gleam they once had, was gone. Anyone who saw her would feel the lifesaving need to back away a step.
She wasn’t going to lift her hand off from her sword, but figured she would try to control herself and let Jack get done what we had on his mind.

[Jack Frost]

The barkeeper was a bright man, and chose to talk to Jack when he sat at the bar. "What can I be gettin' ye?" He asked in a thick accent Jack hardly recognized. "I'd like some information." Jack said coldly. The man chuckled, "Loose lips sink ships miboy. I'm not much of a gossip..." The bartender started.

"Cut the crap" Jack growled. "I only wish to know when the next ship for Alerar leaves." Jack growled menacingly. Several patrons turned to glare at Jack. Those who weren't glaring at Jack were eying Fayne like a piece of meat. It made Jack sick to his stomach.

"The next ship for Alerar leaves with the tide. the captain of the vessel is over there." Jack turned to see the bartender point to a blond woman with pale skin who was wearing a knee length frilly red dress. "Its 'er ship so you're going te need to ask 'er for permission to accompany them to Alerar."

Jack nodded to the man and set a few coins down on the bar. "Thank you sir, might I ask her name?" Jack asked. "Her name is Ausra, and she runs shipping." Jack froze, the name struck him like a sack of bricks. He had no idea where he remembered the name from, but it was a strong name, and caused Jacks heart to beat furiously.

[Fayne]

“I will be outside.” Fayne said quietly, as Jack as both Jack and the bar were making her miserable. She left, and dropped the hand off her sword. As much as she felt the burning compulsion to swing her blade, a desire that only grew at the sight of the wretched patrons, she couldn’t be completely unhappy. After the voyage she would be in a warm place, as Jack promised, and be free to wander without fear of the cold. The thought kept her from a blade slashing frenzy so she settles against the building next to the tavern and waits for Jack to arrive. There were few people passing by that spot, and though it carried a chilly wind, it served its purpose.

Crossing her hands, Fayne figured she was going to wait a while. The captain, as much as she hated her already, did look pretty. Jack being the rogue he was, she already started to envision the possible conversation taking place. Fayne frowns, not looking like she cared, and unsheathed her sword. Slowly rotating the blade around from one hand to other and watching its gleam in the dull light, her expression seemed bored.

[Jack Frost]

Jack shot Fayne a look as she left. He rose from his seat and strode over to where the captain was seated with two other people. She saw him and smiled an amazing smile. She pushed a seat out and motioned for him to sit. Jack sat down and smiled. "why hello" she said, her gray eyes twinkling in the light. Jack smiled. "Greetings." Jack began and smiled. "I understand you are heading to Alerar." Jack continued. "Correct" the blond captain replied.

"Me and my companion are also interested in heading that way, would you mind if we joined you?" Jack asked smiling. "Well I don;t mind you, but who was the woman with you?" the captain said smiling flirtatiously. "Shes my...sister..." Jack replied trying to sound natural. "Sure..." the captain replied skeptically.

She paused and thought for a moment. "Why not, I'll charge you though, 100 gold each." She said nodding. Jack smiled and pulled the gold from his personal pouch. He dropped the gold on the table. "Here you go," He said grinning. "I look forward to voyaging with you, just respect the other passengers..." Ausra replied.

Jack smiled and left the captain with a smile. She was very attractive, and his intuition was telling him that he was probably getting lucky on this voyage. He pushed the door open and sought out Fayne. He found her leaning against the next building. "we have spots on the ship, we leave in a little bit...do you have anything you want to do?" Jack asked curiously.

[Fayne]

Fayne smirked somewhat at Jack and shakes her head no. “There is nothing for me here.” she said, eyes closing as she sheathed her blade. She would have replied to him saying she wanted the blood of every living thing from one side of the dock to the next but already counted on the fact he wasn’t going to consider that an option. She was feeling weary anyways. “Before we leave, what is the name of the town we are in ?” It seemed an unusual question but when Fayne opened her eyes, the dark stare Jack would see demanded a straight answer and no further inquiry.

[Jack Frost]

Jack smiled at her strange question. "We are in Jadet." He replied glancing around. "Well since we have a little bit of time to kill would you like to accompany me on a bit of a search?" He asked smoothly. He had something he was looking for, but he was also more interested in what they might just find. Lots of things could be found in a port like this.

He glanced around and sighed. Perhaps he could try to push his luck, just maybe. He had a back up plan, but he was more interested in Fayne. she was interesting, and he respected her. But he also wanted to be 'with' her. He smiled at her, something warm seemed to radiate from it. Something thaty despite his actions and his look he actually cared. Why? Because he was lonely, and the thought of having someone was comforting.

[Fayne]

“Jadet. I want to remember.” Though he had told her many times they were going to Jadet, Fayne let the name slip past her. Jadet was but a comma, a mere afterthought on her long, seemingly never ending road. But the town became more than that. It struck a nerve with her, something that didn’t happen often. Though place both annoyed her, it was a temptation, a sweet fruit hanging close to her reach, so much so that she could smell it. But she had a path to take first and Jadet was not going to leave anywhere.

Fayne tilted her head down hearing that there was still some time left, casting Jack a small glare. She leaned herself back against the wall, closing her eyes to relax. “Is it worth my time?” she asked in a low tone, bereft of any feeling. Looking back up at Jack, seeing him smile, she blinks curiously. “...” She figured he was looking cheerful over his talk with the captain. It must have went well. Fayne decided she had nothing against it. Why should she? After all, she thought of him of as nothing more than a cowardly vagabond she barely even knew that kept standing in her way. Was he underestimating her?

[Jack Frost]

Jack paused, considering the his idea. "It's not like we have much else top do, I'm just going to look for a few things that might be useful later." Jack replied frowning at her bluntness. He decided to start towards the market by the docks. He would have plenty of time to peruse the wares.

He started by finding a stall filled with boxes upon boxes of books. He scanned the titles, scowling when he found that none were the ones he was looking for. The old crone shopkeeper smiled at him as he glanced at other titles. There were a couple mystery novels priced at a few gold prices each. He selected a few and continued to glance at the various titles.

Soon he had a nice stack of novels, a bestiary, an Almanac of the "Known" regions of Althanas, and a Tome full of maps. He shelled out the gold and deposited them into his bag of holding and smiled. He was starting to develop his own little library.


Not: all other purchases so far have been with a traveling fund. The following transaction occurred from Jacks fund. He shall lose 100 gold for the following books.

[Fayne]

“This is what you wanted to find?” She asked, her voice raised seeing him buy what appeared to be useless books. Fayne arched her eyes, as the whole experience was incredibly dull. “How much time is there left?” If there still was a lot, she figured she would do something on her own rather than follow Jack. There were plenty of things to do that were unrelated to her sword. Regardless, she wondered how everyone was able to live with themselves in such a place, selling and buying things that meant nothing to her.

[Jack Frost]

Jack scowled, "No this is not what I came to find, but it will suffice." He growled, obviously frustrated with his findings. He would have to look into it in Alerar, and if needed he would ask Lorenor about it. "We have plenty of time, and if you would like to do anything I suggest you do it." Jack replied boredly. He then trudged back to the bar he had been in before and sat down on at the counter, ignoring all of the details around him. "Do you have any elvish wine?" He asked curiously. He hated his home, yet the drink he had grown on him recently.

The scruffy bartender stared at Jack trying to decide if he was even old enough to drink. He decided he was and quickly poured him a glass of the fruity drink. "I'm guessin ye don't like rum?" the scruffy man said trying to make conversation. Jack smiled pulling the Almanac from his seemingly empty bag. "That and I hail from Underwood, my adopted parents were elves." He replied flipping it open. "Homesick are ye?" the bartender asked. "Not really, It just tastes good." Jack replied grinning.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the captain wink seductively in his direction. He returned the favor and raised the glass the barkeeper had set in front of him to his lips. He sipped the sweet drink and grinned. "Could you tell me the news around these parts while I sit here?" Jack asked politely. The bartender eyed Jack, and then pulled up a seat behind the bar and sat down. No one else was sitting at the bar, so he had time to chit-chat with the young man.

Then h said something Jack didn't count on hearing. "Did you hear what happened at our sister bar? The Jolly Lemur?" He quickly hardened his face into a mask, not showing surprise. Slightly over three days ago he and Fayne had gone to town on that bar, killing the bartender and the passed out drunks. "no." he said sipping his drink calmly. "Tell me."

[Fayne]

“Speak of it later.” she said, feeling curious as to what exactly it was he was trying to find. “I have nothing to do here. When it is time, come find me on the southern end.” she said, sounding neutral. Fayne decided she gave Jack too much thought and she was letting him get to her too much. He had his own style of doing things and preferences. As boring as they were sometimes, she figured she’d have to accept that as long as he was travelling with her. She also figured she should have been thankful he wasn’t nearly as dull as the common vagabond. “Goodbye..”

Appearing melancholy to the passer-bys, she walked down one end of the dock toward the beach, which wasn’t far. Stepping onto the sand, Fayne decided there was no better time to train. Gazing about, there were no other people wandering alone. Her sword really would have to wait after all. Sighing softly, Fayne sat herself on a rock. There were no trees to be found either, and she was in the mood for a climb. Looking towards the sea, she remembered it was months since her last dive. She wondered if she was still capable of swimming down that long. But it wasn’t a bright day and the air was cold, so that was out of the question.

Closing her eyes in annoyance, she decided all she could do was wait. Her mind wandered off, but a sudden sound perked her up again. There were gulls. The memory of her shooting at the Radasanth guards returned, as did the feeling she had seeing her arrows pierce through their chests. She smiled slightly, forgetting so soon her love of the hunt. Reaching for the bow across the back, she takes an arrow. Some of the birds did not soar high and were darting across the sand for food. Grinning ever so slightly, Faybe shot at one swooping for land but missed. She walked to collect her arrow, as she had few left. Firing again at another, she missed again. Repeating the process, she was no longer bored. On her eighteenth try, she took one out mid-flight. The sight of the fowl spiraling toward the earth in a scarlet trail brought the brightest smile to her lips.

[Jack Frost]

Jack listened to the bartender tell him a story he already knew. Of course he listened intently, and faked the correct reactions smoothly. When the bartender was done Jack had finished his drink. The man poured Jack another glass and the two exchanged words over various things. Jack was mostly fishing for information. Had he been fishing for go sip and legends he would have been successful. Unfortunately he wasn't in fact he was listening for new of his earliest exploit with Lorenor. The raid was surprisingly unheard of.

After a little bit Captain Ausra came and sat with him, bringing several sailor types with her. The conversation soon steered towards sailing, which Jack couldn't contribute to. Instead he took the time to silently reflect on his drink, and he also checked the captain out. To put it bluntly Jack would enjoy taking her to bed. She was incredibly beautiful. Her body had just the right amount of curve in all of the right places. Her gray eyes kept meeting his every now and then. The two were flirting with their eyes.

After a while Ausra rose. "well boys, its time to start prepping the ship. Jack go get your lady friend and meet me in front of the ship named The Hanako." Jack nodded and rose, leaving after the captain. The barkeeper laughed roughly as Jack checked out the captain from behind as she intentionally strutted out of the bar. He smiled slyly. Part of him was all for going after the captain. Another part felt guilty for cheating on whatever he felt for Fayne.

He left the bar, almanac in hand. He strode down to where Fayne said she would be. She was facing away from him when he approached. He smirked as she finally hit a bird. He quickly huffed out a cloud of fog and grabbed three icy needles from it. He threw them quickly at a seagull. Due to the cold moisture in the air they grew, and quickly became dagger sized, all three finding a gull.

"Nice shot." He said laughing. He stared at her looking rather pleased with himself. "Well its time to go, the captain will meet us in front of the ship."

[Fayne]

Fayne widened her eyes seeing three gulls fall out of no where and spins, looking as though she didn’t know what was going on. She saw Jack then, and narrowed her eyes, aiming her bow at him thinking he was eavesdropping. She bit hard, angry that her session was interrupted. At the very least he gave a compliment on her shot so she slings her bow grudgingly and approaches Jack after collecting her bloody arrow. If he had laughed because she looked silly, she vowed he would regret it next time. “..Please lead.”

As dull as her voice sounded, Fayne looked a little excited to finally be leaving, as much as she believed she would not enjoy the voyage.

[Jack Frost]

Jack raised his hands in pseudo surrender when the bow was aimed at him. "Relax a little Fayne." he said letting a rather calm look cross across his face. He lead her down the even busier dock now that ships were getting ready to leave with the tide. He pushed past several sailors, each on shivering as they made contact with the cold young man. He finally found Ausra standing in front of The Hanako. She smiled at the icy young man.

Jack returned a smile and the captain guided the two onto the rather large ship. Once on Jack felt slightly sick. Being the smooth criminal he was he didn't let it show. Instead he watched the sailors get ready to set off.

[Fayne]

Fayne kept her gaze drawn low and hidden when they got to the ship, looking like she wasn’t completely there. She was surprised though that it was a very large craft and knew she was going to be exploring the lower sections soon. For now she keeps with Jack, wishing to get familiarities done. “How long will the voyage last..”
She didn‘t get sick when it came to sailing, but it didn’t hurt to know how long they would have to remain.

[Jack Frost]

Ausra smiled at Fayne. "We shall be on the seas for about...two weeks. We have enough provisions to live comfortably, and you will find it easy to entertain yourself with the various games the sailors and I have invented." she said cheerfully. She found this woman fascinating. Who was she? was she Jack's lover? She hoped not. Her sword seemed really cool, she was tempted to touch it, but the young woman seemed a little scary.

She turned her smile to Jack, who despite his best attempts was beginning to look a little green around the gills. "Three weeks..." Jack said quietly. He almost vomited, but still managed to hold on to his grace. "Yep, three weeks." Ausra said again. She motioned towards her cabin. "Perhaps I should introduce you to the other passengers who will be joining us."

She strutted over to the door and opened it, motioning inward. Jack walked forward and entered, not knowing what to expect.


Spoils:
Various books: Jack bought a small collection of mystery and romance novels, and almanac, and a atlas of the known mapped regions of Althanas. He spent 100 gp of his own gold for them, and they are in slightly used condition. they are not for resale, and will be used as gifts when he is done with them. After all, one should always pass on a good book.

Edit:
Jack has also learned from his beginner tome of Ice magic to...
Be able to see individual water molecules, this will be used to compliment other abilities.

Create and control up to three balls of ice about the size of baseballs, and control them in an area of up to ten feet away from Jacks position. He can throw them at an average pitching speed. OR He could make one big bowling ball sized ball of ice with the same throwing speed and area of control.

Jack has also learned to withhold his aura. This can be used to build up pressure and let him exhale small gusts of ice and wind about the strength of a slightly above average storm wind. The ability can be about twice a battle, and causes a large amount of stress on his body. A third gust can be used, but will pop Jacks lungs.

[Breaker]

Music: Lover/Fighter by Hawksley Workman
Mood: Restless

First off let me say this is my first judgement in awhile, and also first on the new rubric. It was a nice light read to bring me back in to the system. If you have concerns or want further criticism/clarification, feel free to contact me via PM or AIM. Also, I picked the album for this judgement based on the title, because Lover/Fighter is notoriously good travelling music.

Story ~ 2/10
This wasn't a complete standalone story. It felt like the rising action in a larger storyline for your characters, and read like the sub-plot of some Elizabethan era dramedy. The good news is that you're both already proficient at tying your overall storyline into a thread. The problem is that alone just doesn't make an interesting story. At the end of the thread I finally learned why they left Underwood, but I really already knew because of the way Fayne played her character. Now, if you had played that up from the beginning and made the bulk of this story about these two outlaws being chased by an investigator, it would have been much more interesting, and easier to include a proper climax and falling action.

Continuity ~ 2/10
There were a few details which helped ground me in Corone - Jack's heritage, the shopping spree and talk about Jadet, the accents of the locals, and references to Fayne being from somewhere warmer. While these things were all good, they fell short of adequacy, and I noticed several continuity errors besides. In post #6 Fayne "slept through the night" and yet woke up while it was still night. Jack made references to Lorenor and other people he knew without explaining who they are. Most of the backstory was given through insinuation, which has its place but should not be a standard.

Also, if Jack had consulted his new atlas he'd have discovered that Alerar is far north of Corone and therefore considerably colder. If you're looking for a warmer climate than Jadet, Fallien is your best bet.

Setting ~ 3/10
The setting was largely incidental in this thread, without ever being really well described or utilised at length. In particular, both of you transition far too rapidly from one location to the next. Jack, when you went from the inn to the seaside, at first I thought you were on a ship, and your transitions in and out of the bar left me blinking and re-reading. The basic method to a high score in setting is to describe the setting using all five senses, and have your character interact with it, impacting and changing things.

Now, there were decent instances of this from each of you. Jack handled his ice magic's interaction with the room well, and Fayne's bit with the gulls on the beach gave me a really nice (well, maybe not "nice") mental image to finish off the threads. But this is the kind of minimal attention to detail I'd like to see in every post in the future.

Creativity ~ 4/10
There was a certain flair to your character interactions that made this thread not too unpleasant to read. But there wasn't a whole lot to make this thread original. The worst instance I noticed was in post #9 where Jack wrote that he "failed epically" at something. That's conversational in a modern context and takes me out of the moment. My favourite moment in this thread was Jack's line in post #11 about how if his breath had been any colder, she would have seen his words. That is an elegant metaphor young man, and I urge you to write more like it.

Character ~ 3/10
Before you can hope to score much higher in this category you need to learn more about your characters. Details are what makes a character seem real, and what makes a reader form emotional bonds with them. One of the best pieces of advice I can give you is SHOW don't TELL as much as possible. Rather than just saying "Jack felt annoyed" or "Fayne appeared melancholy", figure out how those emotions manifest physically and mentally and describe it. Also, you both usually told me how your characters felt, but not why they felt it, which is actually more important. The why paints a picture of your character's personality for the reader.

My biggest issue with Jack here is consistency. Frost's persona seemed to slip at times. Getting more into re-reading out loud and editing will actually help you develop your character, because you'll start to think of things you could have written and add them in. For Fayne, I honestly still don't understand why she didn't kill or abandon Jack. She didn't seem to like him or have any particular need for his company. Jack, on the other hand, had reasons (his clan and sexual interest) for staying with her.

Interaction ~ 5/10
This thread was probably three quarters interaction, and for the most part it was well done. In spite of the fact that Jack and Fayne weren't really fleshed out as characters, they did have some interesting moments talking to each other and the intrigue of their relationship kept my attention through most of the first page. Basically you're already doing this well, and it will get better as your characters become realer. My one note for writing technique here is to watch how you write your dialogue. Most of the time you both got it right, but remember to always start a new paragraph when someone new speaks.

Strategy ~ 4/10
I saw some effort to create intrigue, especially from Fayne, and Jack did a decent overall job of running this thread. But the action of the storyline felt forced for the most part. Jack's spontaneous decisions to go in and out of bars, search the docks for books, and other such things should be rooted in reason. When your character repeatedly does things without any apparent reason, it ruins any illusion of personality. I think you two would benefit from more planning and smaller numbers of longer posts.

Mechanics ~ 4/10
It appears you may have spellchecked your posts, but that is a greatly lacking editing process. I noticed frequent instances of capitalisation, punctuation, and verb confusion. Any time you start a sentence or use a proper name, it gets capitalised. And if you start off telling a story in past tense, it should stay there. Right now you both waver awkwardly between "He picked up the knife" and "he spreads peanut butter on his toast". These are the kind of things that stop a reader from enjoying a thread (or from reading it) even if it's a good story.

Clarity ~ 5/10
Giving anything higher than an average score here would be inappropriate. While for the most part I understood what was happening in the thread, I had to re-read a paragraph every five posts or so, and I didn't understand why most of it was happening. I feel you might be sacrificing clarity for irrelevant intrigue, and I recommend that you stop trying to give your stories that film noire feel until you're a little better at telling the story straight.

Wildcard ~ 4/10
I gave you can extra point here because I read Sei's judgement of your last thread and believe you took his advice to heart. Keep it up and so will your improvement. And Jack, be careful with powergaming your ice magic (I'm talking about the instance of killing three gulls with one throw). That seems beyond the scope of your characters skills and abilities. I didn't take any points off this time, but future infractions (especially in competitive RP) could lead to penalisation.

Also Jack, under the new system all abilities have to go through the RoG at standard level updates, so please stop requesting new abilities as spoils. If you'd like you can continue making note of what Jack has learned at the end of your threads, but judges cannot "approve" new abilities.

Total ~ 36/100

Jack Frost receives 337 EXP
Fayne receives 200 EXP and 60 GP

The following spoil is approved for Jack Frost. I deducted the 100 gold from your reward GP as requested.

Various books: Jack bought a small collection of mystery and romance novels, and almanac, and a atlas of the known mapped regions of Althanas.They are in slightly used condition. they are not for resale, and will be used as gifts when he is done with them. After all, one should always pass on a good book.

[Silence Sei]

Exp-GP added.