Be It Ever So Humble.

[Zack Blaze]

Zack Blaze was heralded as a hero within the country of Scar Brae. Between being known as a Demon Slayer, an Adventure Crown Finalist, and a third place finalist in the Lornius Corporate Championship, the youth had started establishing quite the name for himself. Such fame was just what the street fighter needed to accomplish his goals. Soon it would not just be this country worshipping him as a legendary hero, but all of Althanas. For now, however, Scara Brae needed to know that its hero still remembered her.

It was why Zack was here today, in the small island nation. He had returned after his stint in the LCC, his trophy tucked neatly behind him, its hilt sticking out from behind his head like a sore thumb. Lately, there had been more and more people coming into Scara Brae with unique abilities. Zack was good at a lot of things, but his penchant always seemed to be for talent scouting. It was the whole reason he had his own team within the conglomerate known as Misery Business. It was why he always managed to come out on top. Zack knew who to trust and who not to. And each time, Scara Brae seemed a hotbed for picking up newcomers before the green on their skin turned a more professional color.

He walked down the roads of Valeena’s Country, the scent of fresh baked goods wafting through the air, tickling his olfactory senses as he made his way to the local tavern. He could feel the eyes of the Scourge upon him; yet he knew those thieves would keep their distance from him unless he started something here.

He opened the double swinging doors to the tavern, his ears catching the jolly tune being played on the piano in the back. The sounds of glasses hitting one another, of various conversations being carried from one group to another, of the various drunken girls trying to carry a tune in this place. The bar was disgusting, full of people either falling out of their chair or nearly choking on their own vomit. However, it was also Zack’s home away from home, and a good place to start his search.

HE approached the bar, his gloved hand running across the fine redwood and only lifting up to avoid the occasional mead stain. His eyes met with the bartender, who nodded to him as he would every patron who walked in here. “Zack…”

“Lionel,” Zack returned the first name basis greeting repertoire the barkeep and he had established. “I’m looking for some people. Some people with very unique talents. The first I need is a kind of demolitions expert, and the other one I need is an expert in lightning.”

The bartender raised one of his brown eyebrows, his mustache twitching back and forth across his face. “Looking for some people to help you train, eh Blaze? Can’t help you with the lightning, but I think I know just the person for demolitions…” He smiled and motioned his head down the bar before calling out.

“Franky! This lad down here would like to talk to ya!”

As Lionel called out towards the one known as Franky, Zack’s hand shot out in the form of the universal signal for ‘stop’, causing the little girl beside him to pause in her tracks. The boy patted the seat beside him without ever even looking at the youth, sensing something off about her. “Have a seat; I think you may be just what I need.”

And once again, Zack’s talent scouting skills reared their ugly head.

((Thread is closed to Franky and Slativ. A good little hint for your opening guys is explaining the bar and why you’re characters are there. Be sure to try and use as many senses as you can to describe the sight, smells, and sounds of the bar. If you have a problem with my bunnying, aka using your characters to move without your express permission, PM me on the Sei account and let me know and I will be happy to edit. Let’s get ourselves a good quest a-goin!))

[Slativ]

It was midday and Felyn was up to her usual task of redistributing wealth from other inferior creatures to her small pouch. Taverns were a great target with those sleeping drunks. Like Felyn, I could see two targets who seemed to be recovering in the small dark alley behind the tavern. I watched as Felyn silently crept up to the first target which was an oversized human who seemed as wide as tall. This creature smelled horrible to me but Felyn ignored it and carefully reached to its belt to cut off the bag of money. “Well, I guess this is better than a begger,” I thought as Felyn moved to target number two.

This creature appeared to be one of those short beings called a dwarf. From what I could see, the only difference was that “dwarfs” were shorter then other creatures and had hair on their face while humans generally did not. At first, it seemed like this creature did not have tribute for me as Felyn carefully searched around the leather belt. Lucky for her, the almighty me noticed a small bump on half way down it's pants. “Seriously, why are creatures on this world so ugly that they need to cover themselves? It would be dishonorable for me to cover up my greatness back at my home world.” I thought while inserting a few thoughts in Felyn's mind so she would check out that bump. With the 'enlightenment', Felyn found a hidden pocket and carefully moved those little lumps of metal to her pouch.

Going through Felyn's thoughts, I could see she was going to order that horrible soup thing again in the tavern. “Ugh, I can't stand it any more,” I nearly said to Felyn before catching myself. Giving some more thought, I remembered that bread food Felyn had stolen the other day. That actually tasted somewhat decent but being chased by the noisy metal creatures called 'guards' was not fun. Sighing, I decided to let Felyn get her usual as she quickly entered the double doors of the tavern and slipped past the large guards.

I quickly took in the room as Felyn scanned for the exits and possible threats. First off, the music was horrible. It was barely better than those stupid elders choking up 'poetry' back in my home world. And the awful smells, how could these creatures stand it? Where were the screams of my enemies and pleas for life? The more I looked, the more disgusted I felt. Those inferior beings couldn't even keep those drinks and food in and were throwing it back on the floor. I watched as one or two drunk creatures fell out of their chairs. Holding back my thoughts from flowing into Felyn's mind, I noticed that the one individual at the bar seemed a bit different than the usual mix.

Maybe it was the way he held himself about but I could tell this creature was smarter than most others and a fighter. And although my senses were not what they used to be, I could smell a faint bit of magic coming off from him. However, what attracted Felyn was that big pouch of money, which could probably feed us for days.

“Franky! This lad down here would like to talk to ya!” I heard the bartender yell.

At the same moment, I could feel Felyn tense her small muscles and prepared to try to take the pouch while this stranger was distracted. Unfortunately, the guy seemed to sense us and raised his hand to let us know we were found out. Felyn was about to disappear before getting into more trouble when this guy patted the seat besides him inviting her to sit beside him.

“Have a seat; I think you may be just what I need.”

I could sense that this guy was more powerful and he could easily catch Felyn if she tried to escape. However, I didn't smell bloodlust so I decided to kick out Felyn for now and see what this stranger had to say. Groaning slightly from the hunger pains, I somewhat awkwardly climbed into the chair. “Having a solid form is inconvenient and hard to use,” I said to myself silently as I waited for the stranger to say something.

I tried to write a good opening. Let me know if I need to change something and/or how I could improve.

Thank you again for taking us along with you Sei.

[Franky!]

Franky was approaching broke at a dead run. If she didn't find money from somewhere soon, she'd be lucky if she could afford food by the end of the week. In hindsight, maybe taking a job at a firecracker stand hadn't been the best idea. She was sure no one had seen her sneak in after hours, but maybe she should have blown off the lock rather than used the key she'd been given. Still, they couldn't prove anything, and her boss had adored her, so charges probably wouldn't be pressed.

Was a shame about the cat though. Poor thing's whiskers would probably never grow back.

She snickered as she entered the usual pub of drunks and lowlifes. It was refreshing to enter an establishment below even her standards of destruction; a bomb here probably wouldn't make much of a difference. "Lionel!" she greeted as she came in, and took a seat at the bar. "How much to get pissed, and where's the easiest target?" Franky loved talking to people, and in general she knew how to talk to different types of people, or at least she found out the hard way. Lionel was staring down at her, unimpressed.

"You find a job yet?"

"You gonna let me work here?" She inquired again, and he burst out laughing, head thrown back and eyes watering.

"So you can blow up my shop too?" He sighed when he saw her pout. Sometimes he felt bad teasing her when he knew she couldn't control herself, but it was a mystery to him how others didn't realize that wherever this girl worked, destruction followed. "Maybe you just need a different type of job, eh?" This didn't seem to help her. "Aw hell, alright, go sing with the girls, the piano man always buys them a brew and some soup in the hopes of tumbling," he motioned the group with his head, "and he's so pissed he probably won't notice the scars either."

Immediately, Franky brightened, "thanks pops, you're tops!" And chuckling, she began feinting drunk and wandered over. The girls were sloshed, and welcomed her in to the group as though she were one of their own.

"You havsh boootifoo hair!" screamed the one closest to Franky, catching the attention of the piano man for a split second. He stared through bleary eyes at the scarred red head, hands playing the correct pattern on the wrong set of keys and filling the pub with an eerie melody. She looked back, hiccoughed, and managed to produce a little wave before slamming down on to a stool beside the drunk.

"Fanksh!" she giggled, throwing her arms around the inebriated young woman. She liked this one, maybe she'd blow up the piano man's stool on her way out of the pub. Bet he wouldn't be able to swindle her in to bed if he had to keep ice on his -

“Franky! This lad down here would like to talk to ya!” Lionel's voice carried over the now correctly played melody.

She eyed him up; too cute to be calling, and not drunk enough to have lowered his standards. As she made her way up to him she noticed the local thief girl take a seat next to him. Now that was interesting.

"Well, it ain't ever day a man comes calling on poor maiden Franky," she grinned at the blonde man in the stool, "what can I do ye and your cute friend for?"


I agree, thank you for taking us along. Please let me know (and this goes for literally anyone) if there are ways I can improve my writing, or my post.

[Zack Blaze]

((Your opening posts were great! Now we’re going to try and add some more depth to our current setting while working on some development while our characters get to know one another))

The little one who sat beside Zack had suddenly seemed different. Whereas she seemed reluctant for anybody to see her moments ago, she now carried an aura as if she wanted the attention drawn to herself. While he did not understand the sudden change in demeanor, the youth respected someone who could switch personalities like such on the fly. “Hey Lionel, get this kid some cookies and milk.”

“On it,” Lionel said with a chuckled in his voice, taking a reprieve from cleaning the glass he was working on to go fetch the required items. Zack turned back to the youth, a smile upon his face as he began to speak. “I’m going to need someone who can get into small areas, and someone quick with their hands wouldn’t hurt either. Now, as for compensation…”

By this time, the ginger had made her way over, sitting on Zack’s opposite side. As she spoke, Zack’s goofy grinned widened a bit. She may not have known it, but Zack had a penchant for women with red hair, a weakness the boy was definitely aware of. When I get my hands on Lionel…

Almost as if he called, Lionel returned to the trio, a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a clean glass of milk in each hand. He sat them in front of the youngling, looked to the woman known as ‘Franky’ and nodded. He ducked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle and a glass, pouring some strange liquid within it. “Don’t worry about it this time, Franky,” Lionel said, the mirth in his voice increasing, “I’m sure Zacky-boy has ya.”

Zack nodded, reaching for the large coin bag that Felyn had sought not moments before and setting it on the table. The coins rattled as they hit the bar, Zack pulling on the string to the coin purse and grabbing a few of the gold pieces within to pay for whatever it was ‘Franky’ was getting.

“I do indeed,” the boy said, turning to Franky with a smile, “It’s nice to meet you, Franky. The name’s Zack Blaze, and I may have an opportunity for you and your unique set of skills,” Zack looked back and forth between his two new compatriots. “I work for some people who seek to improve the state of affairs here in Scara Brae. They’ve tasked me with assembling a small group to make sure that their plan goes off without a hitch. I’d be able to reward you both handsomely for your efforts.”

The boy pointed at the bag of money before glancing at the two of them again, a laugh emerging from his person. “But enough about me, why don’t the two of you introduce and tell me a little about yourselves before we agree to anything. Wouldn’t want the two of you feeling uncomfortable taking a job from a complete stranger, am I right?”

[Slativ]

This human creature seemed to notice me taking over. While I was glad someone finally took some notice of my greatness, I also felt humiliated that all my greatness now amounted to this pitiful body. Also, I was concerned about this blond head creature. This guy seemed to be one of those crafty thinkers. Normally, I would blast these guys first since they would cause the most trouble left alone.

“Hey Lionel, get this kid some cookies and milk.”

“On it,” Lionel moved with a small laugh.

“Cookies? Milk?” Not quite sure what these things were, I quickly scanned Felyn's memories. Apparently, the 'cookies' were some kind of treat that only 'rich' people could afford while 'milk' was that white stuff she sometimes stole for that hideous 'pet' thing she called Patches. This didn't make sense. Why would this stranger try bribing me with this 'treat' and then trying to downgrade me to the level of 'pets' with the 'milk'? Is that why that ugly creature on the other side of the wood plank laughed?

“Ugh, so confusing,” I thought to myself. Maybe I best let that Felyn creature out so she might be able to work through this for me. Lords should have servants. Even back at home I had a few. Besides, it would allow me to observe the surroundings better too since I wouldn't have to deal with all this work of keeping this body from falling off this 'chair'... I didn't want to reveal myself to Felyn but this situation would cause too much confusion otherwise so I figured that it might be worthwhile. After all, I could always erase her memories if that turned out to be a mistake.

Over the next few seconds, I 'enlightened' the Felyn creature with the situation including very clear information of what would happen if she disobeyed me by getting off the 'chair' without permission or trying to share anything about me to those other creatures. Overall, I think that it worked. She always kind of knew I was out there and me talking seemed to rightly terrify her into obeying. I just hope no one saw her shaking with absolute horror since that was totally unbecoming of a great lord like me. Then again, that thinker right next to her probably did...

“I’m going to need someone who can get into small areas, and someone quick with their hands wouldn’t hurt either. Now, as for compensation…” the creature next to me continued to speak to me while another ugly human came over on his other side. This one had blood red hair and appeared to be a female. Her body seemed a lot better built than this body both being bigger and stronger. Then again, there were those things that human got called scars. These ugly things were all over the face. “Guess I shouldn't complain quite so much about this body. At least it isn't disfigured like that,” I thought to myself.

For Felyn's assessment of the new red haired stranger, she seemed to immediately look at the waist and then the body. The dagger seemed to be very interesting to her and she seemed to think it was somehow different than other sticks of metal like that. “Maybe I should learn more about those sticks of metal.” For the body, Felyn didn't really think about looks but instead focused on physical abilities. Overall, I got the impression Felyn thought she could run away from this red head and that she was a lot weaker than the blond-haired person next to us. The two of them spoke but Felyn was still so nervous she didn't catch it like she normally would.

Finally, the human that people called a bartender for some reason, came back with a plate of 'cookies' and the 'mik'. Felyn silently and quickly grabbed a cookie when the plate came in front of her and also asked the barkeeper in a quiet shaky voice if she could have some water. “Like I thought, this 'milk' must be 'pet' food,” I noted to myself as I thought over the stranger's offer. Then again, these 'cookies' were AMAZING. Of course, my homeworld had much better stuff but this was the best thing by far I had on this world. It was the difference between Heaven and Hell when compared with that nasty soup Felyn always went for.

Well, the blond-haired guy talked some with the red hair while I thought a bit more about the current situation. Felyn in the meanwhile found a new home for all the cookies while no one was looking using a mix of her stomach and the various pouches across her cloak. What she was focused on was the big coin bag that the guy (I believe Felyn caught his name as Zack) put on the table. The large bag hit the counter with a solid thunk and rattle showing that it was full.

“I work for some people who seek to improve the state of affairs here in Scara Brae. They’ve tasked me with assembling a small group to make sure that their plan goes off without a hitch. I’d be able to reward you both handsomely for your efforts,” the Zack creature pointed at the bag of money before glancing at the Felyn and the other creature he called Franky. “But enough about me, why don’t the two of you introduce and tell me a little about yourselves before we agree to anything. Wouldn’t want the two of you feeling uncomfortable taking a job from a complete stranger, am I right?”

This small speech had Felyn and me both rather confused. Felyn was a young thief and not very aware of all these big concepts like state of affairs and I was likewise at a loss since I always skipped those stupid boring “state of affairs” meetings at home. The one or two I did attend were just a lecture on a certain lightning lord who was a bit too battle hungry and should really calm down and find better stuff to do.

To give myself a bit more time to think up some good questions to ask, I 'encouraged' Felyn to introduce herself (NOT me).

“I'm Felyn, please don't hurt me,” was all that came out in a soft, shaky voice.

Sorry for taking so long to reply. Real life has been very busy lately for me. Anyways, I hope this is decent and not too bad. Could use feedback as usual on how to better improve my writing.

[Franky!]

This Zack may have a point, Franky thought. She had only been listening to him speak for a few minutes, but suspicions were sizzling along the fluids of her brain. This mystery man was too well dressed, too rich, too well spoken; he reminded her of an aristocrat. To add insult to injury he had suggested "improving" Scara Brae, and also referred to the people he was working for, mystery people who may not like being involved if things went boom. Besides, Frankly liked Scara Brae. It may have its issues, but people on the streets didn't stare as much as they could because they'd seen it all before, and they didn't try to arrest her for the series of bizarre explosions surrounding her either. It was a pretty sweet gig, and if anything was going to change she wanted to make sure it'd be "better" for all parties involved.

Franky had opened her mouth to state exactly what she thought of changing Scara Brae when the small thief caught her off guard.

"I'm Felyn, please don't hurt me."

How was this adorable, terrified little girl supposed to help this man with his plans, exactly? Franky had wondered, sometimes, if her sense for magic was acting up around the girl, but the honest fear coming from the child put her curiosity to rest.

"Well then," Franky walked around Zack and took the seat next to Felyn, "wouldn't dream of it, sweet cheeks," she grabbed a cookie from the plate in front of the girl and winked. "Hey, Lionel!" She waved the cookie at the bartender, "Grab me another plate of these, and something that scorches on the way down!"

"Yeah? Got any money to cover that with?"

Franky made a split second decision with a smile, "I think my new employer has it covered this time. He wants to 'get to know' us! So then, Sir Zack," she rested her hand on her palm and looked around the girl to the well-bred warrior, "what's this about 'changing' Scara Brae?"

In the poor life it was work or starve, and Franky thought maybe she could get used to it.

So it's short, and it's late. Life's been so hectic lately that I did't think to come on to Althanas until someone brought it up. Sorry it's been so long, but I figured I'd post this short one for now just to keep the story moving. I won't take that long again. Sorry sorry >__<

[Zack Blaze]

((No problem, my own apologies for the delayed post. Work/kids/admin stuffs, ya know.))

Zack’s Cheshire grin found its way on both sides of his face. It seemed as though the two were at least a bit perceptive to the street fighter’s idea. It seemed extremely lucky to the youth that he had come across the two types of people he needed upon his return to the beloved country. As Franky began to drink down the Braeka (A play on words, but essentially a mixture of moonshine and vodka exclusive to Scara Brae), and Felyn nibbled on a cookie, Zack began to elaborate.


“Do either of you know what the Dajas Pagoda is?” Zack’s eyes darted between the two. Franky slammed her mug of Braeka down with a sigh of delight, nodding in the process. Chances were that the country’s signature drink had singed her throat for the moment, as Zack himself wouldn’t even handle sipping the stuff. Little Felyn shook her head back and forth, showing her innocence to the world of fighting. “Well, the Pagoda is that giant, red and brown building here in Scara Brae. Aside from Valeena’s Palace, it is the largest building in the country.”

“People used to conduct battles there to test their might against the ‘Grand Masters’ of the Pagoda. A list of these Grand Masters includes Max Dirks, Sei Orlouge, and Joshua Cronen. It has an illustrious and prestigious history among Althanas as a place for new blood to prove their mettle against some of the most skilled fighters on the planet.” Zack slid some coins to Lionel, payment for Franky’s drink and Felyn’s meal. His eyes shifted towards the bartender, who locked his own orbs with the boy.

“’Er majesty shut it down though, as the fights were becoming so violent, that they were breaching the magic of the Pagoda, and spilling out onto Scara Brae itself,” Lionel explained further, as if he did not trust the street fighter to add in that little detail. Zack nodded as he watched Franky take another drink. “So Zack, what exactly is Miz Biz planning to do with the Pagoda?”

Zack laughed a bit, his own hand reaching for the handle of Franky’s mug as the redhead sat it back upon the bar. “Simple Lionel, we’re going to destroy it and rebuild it.”

Zack took a small sip of the drink, the intense spice and heat from the lukewarm liquid almost scalding his throat as it made its way down to his gullet. Several drops of sweat rolled down the pretty boys face as he set the glass down, his posture straightening in an attempt to mask the pain his mouth, throat, and gut were now experiencing. “We’ll rebuild it somewhere where it’ll have more magic than it did before,” the boy whispered in a hoarse voice, “And with the help of these two, we’ll make sure that Scara Brae gets the building it needs to support such an ambitious project…”