the true begining... (open)

[XaleManix]

the old house i had was falling apart, which was not a problem for me, i liked the dark, damp old villa. the main problem was my memories. from back when they were here. i still don't know what happened to them. most of the townsfolk thought they had been taken by bandits, but when i went out at the first, i found nothing, i followed their tracks for two days, and they went on, never beeing met. after i returned, i swore to myself i would find them. but at the time, the small fortiune would be spent trying to ready myself for the long journy. then, five years afterward, i left my estate to Ramen, and left town. i went on and on, following the few remaining tracks, how they survived i have no clue. when they ran out, ahortly after the point where i was sure i could go no further, i stopped. the simple road was sure to lead somewhere, or it would not be there. when i stood up to continue, i tried the other weapon module for my legacy. the "rod" as with the shortsword, it flashed from the small cylinder and solidified as a long bluish-steel quarterstaff. i walked till dusk, and saw nothing. i walked on, and found a small town to spend the night in. i asked about my parents, nothing. then again, it had been five years. not like anyone in that town would know them. i went to bed, and in the morning i asked the barkeeper where to go for info on some missing people, he said to go to a tavern called the peacful prominade.

so here i am, talking to all of you, looking for my parents. so, anyone seen one man, one woman, each about six feet tall, both wear heavy plate at all times.

[Yamihara]

Althanas was, indeed, a world of wonders and miracles.

Everything moved about, changing and turning over on itself time and time again, yet always remaining the same. The world was vibrant yet in equilibrium. A world yet to be fully understood.

And to Asuka, one of the most interesting places she had ever come across was the quaint, homely tavern in the middle of Underwood by the name of the Peaceful Promenade. Day and night, people from across the land ventured through these doors in search of adventure, wisdom or even a few loose change to keep themselves alive for another day. But for the Akashiman who had made this a second home to her, the Peaceful Promenade alwys held a special place in her heart.

And now, listening to this ragged-looking boy relating his life story to the crowd, she felt sad for his life. She felt sad that he had to endure such hardship at a young age, losing his family at such a critical time in his life.

The red-hair lass had been sitting at the bar, listening to the boy plead to the crowd with vague descriptions of his parents. She was unsure of how she could help - or anyone at all. A lot of people who come and go about the Promenade were usually warriors or vagabonds who loved to show off their armors already and spotting just the ones he was requesting was a task only those with impeccable memories could do.

"Hey, Pops." Asuka leaned back on the counter to speak to the barkeeper, "Have you seen someone like that passing through the Promenade?"

"Pops" merely grunted with a shake of his head, turning away to deliver a mug of bitter-tasting ale to a nonchalant customer.

Asuka looked back at the boy, sighing with a heavy heart. She wished she could help him in some way, though nothing came to mind at all.

"Hey, kid." The lass called out, trying to get his attention from the bar counter. "Come over here and have a seat."

After the boy had gotten closer, she hopped down from the chair and leaned casually against the piece of oak. "Can you tell me more about your parents, like what they look like? You know, their hair color, eyes... Uhh... or maybe something noticeable that would set them apart from the horde of warriors that come and go through this place on a daily basis?"

First rule of tracking down people, Asuka thought as she listened to his reply, You have to know what you're looking for.

[Alearto]

Seated nearby was a young man of dark hair and fair complexion. He was turned around on his stool with his back to the bar, his elbows rested comfortably upon the well-worn surface and his long legs splayed out before him as he surveyed the inhabitants of the Peaceful Promenade. On the floor between the legs of the barstool and the bar itself was a neatly folded black cloak, atop which rested a sheathed longsword. Idly turning a small mirror over in his hands, Alearto sporadically focused his attention towards one of the dozens of conversations floating through the room.

It was interesting, listening to what people talked about. Complaints about their lot in life, complaints about their husbands or wives, wishes for the future and regrets about the past. These made up the bulk of what Alearto heard as he observed the many individuals present. So many people with so many problems, so easy to be lost in the shuffle... And he could relate. Like anyone else present, he had problems of his own. What he needed now was to find the right person with the right problem; one that he could help with and, in doing so, help himself.

Among the chorus of regular chatter, talk of stress in the workplace, exaggerated fish tales, and low-voiced bargaining, one snippet caught his ear, and Alearto turned to his left to eye a young man who appeared to be roughly his own age as he finished his say and was confronted by a nearby girl. Slipping his small mirror into the satchel at his side, he listened more intently to hear what the other boy's response would be. With a little luck, maybe it would be something worth listening to.

[Jade]

Sorry if this post seems a bit muddled, i'm just trying to get a feel for my new character here ^_^, oh and please feel free to refer to her character sheet if you're wondering why men react so strangeley around her.

Vast and inviting, the world young Jade had been sheltered from for so long, was a place full of mystery, a place of unanswered questions and endless dreams. Naturally, if the world itself was a blank canvass waiting for Jade’s experiences to paint themselves across it, then the Tavern that loomed suddenly in the distance, was a pot of ink, in which, should her feet let her, she would dip her brush.

As the attractive woman slowly trod her way down a hill, closing the distance between herself and her destination with each passing moment, she fretted at the amount of dirt that now caked her leather armour, for despite her age, she wasn’t used to travelling. Once she was satisfied the tide of filth, which had been seeking to smother her, had been beaten back, she spent the remainder of the journey reflecting upon what little she had learned of the area, from a book.

“ Nestled in the sleepy town of Underwood, the Peaceful Promenade is a place to trade tales, drink your fill and meet new people” which to Jade, sounded like as good a place as any to find someone to show her around this strange and wondrous land. Gentle hands gave the door of the establishment a slight shove as she arrived, revealing a large room filled with chatter, which to some, may have appeared rather daunting, but Jade was a confident and resourceful woman, fully aware of the dangers that lurked behind false smiles and lust filled eyes.

A soft giggle rolled past her smooth lips as the stares of men and jealousy of women followed her from the moment that she crossed the buildings threshold. There was something fascinating about the way she swayed her hips, that drew them to her, and so by the time she had slipped through the obstacle course of tables and reached the bar, she found herself surrounded by a small crowd of ‘generous’ men. The warmth of her smile made their hearts melt, and when she spoke, they hung on every syllable” Hey there boys, how’s about you buy a girl a drink and tell her about this sweet little town of yours?”.

Immediately beset by a dozen orders, the plump barkeeper grumbled audibly as he hurried around, snatching up mugs and haphazardly pouring bottles over his shoulder whilst he rummaging in cupboards for replacements, for even he seemed rather taken by the strange red-haired woman. A broad grin slowly slithered across his face when he eventually brought Jade a drink, only to receive a kiss on the cheek in response, making him go redder than a tomato. The Barkeeper kept his eyes fixed on her as if mesmerised, whilst she raised the glass he had given her to her dainty mouth and took a small sip, until some coins, that one of the men had thrown, struck him in the face and shook him from his daze.

Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, the barkeeper blinked a few times and then went back to his duties, leaving Jade to ask in her honey-sweet voice” So which one of you big, strong men are going to tell me how to make a bit of coin in these parts?”.

[XaleManix]

"well, my mother has brown hair to her sholders, my father is bald, and both carry weapons a bit like mine," Xale said, taking out the small cylander he kept strapped to his belt,"my father wears an unusual type of armor, instead of what most people use around here, he has a black plate over a green vest, and he almost never talks." Xale looked around the room, trying to remember anything that would make his parents stand out. " well, my mother always had a purple silk sash" he leaned back into his chair, his memories of his parents were so vage, and thay might have lost some of their features may have changed. "i can't tell you much more, but to forget them is like to unlearn instinct, they are like De'ja vu, you can't place them, but you fell like you know it. his memories had been exausted.

[Alearto]

Alearto's attention held firm to Xale's words for a few moments before being torn away by the commotion at the bar's entrance. The sinuous beauty entering the room deserved the clamor being awarded her by the Promenade's patrons. Blushing furiously, he tried to glance away; he had no money, no standing in the community, no power to speak of... clearly any of the other men present would be more worthy of speaking to the alluring young woman.

Trying desperately to focus once again on the young man seated nearby, he caught some snippets of conversation... Something about a silk sash... And deja vu. Despite his best efforts, Alearto found it difficult to concentrate, his eyes once again finding the newcomer at the end of the bar as she charmed the throng of men surrounding her.

"Give it up, man... She's way out of your league. Remember what you're doing here... I'm... Uh... Oh, man, she's so pretty! Maybe I could just... No, no, I'm supposed to be doing, um, something..."

Finally, his internal wrestling match redirected his thoughts to his own mission, though not enough to ignore the young lady completely. At last he was able to direct his speech to Xale, though his eyes still flickered away occasionally.

"So, uh, what did you say your name was? And did you want help finding your parents, or what? Because, I'm not... Ahem..." he paused, swallowing hard in concentration, "I'm not doing anything much right now, so if you need some help I'll tag along."

[Yamihara]

The descriptions pouring forth from the boy came in unsteady trickles, though just a bit more than what was initially given. It was also around the same time another newcomer bursted into the tavern and looked like she could use a good bath or two for the evening. The crowd seemed enthralled by her and even the ex-noble herself had a hard time prying her chocolate eyes away from the luscious curves.

Uwow... Asuka's eyes drifted through the throng of heads, feeling vibrant charsima seeping from the stranger's lovely form. I wish I had some of that... Uh- Hey, what?! What was I doing a moment ago?

The lass tried to shake the irresistable urge tugging at her senses, focusing just long enough to catch all the descriptions the pleading boy. Her subconscious, however, mocked the lass for not having the proper plumage every other younger girls seemed to carry from the time they were born.

"Hmm... I see..." The red-hair lass muttered, trying her best not to drift off towards the gathering group of hypnotized men and stare lustfully for some of those curves herself. "So... All-black armor... green vest and purple sash.... Ah..." Vision of the pale-skin redhead came into view again and Asuka caught herself just in time to snap back to the task at hand. "Oh, uh, right! A... rod?"

It was different, that was something the girl would say for certain. The design of the staff was different from the ones she usually saw wielded by the mages, but even then she had not seen many kinds to know for certain. Still, someone in heavy armor and wielding a mere stick around would certainly have stood out in her mind.

"Well, I don't think I've seen them pass by here recently." She finally replied after the other person who was genuinely listening to the kid like her had finished his input, feeling a bit stupid for stating something so obvious. He did say it had been five years since his parents disappeared. It would be quite unlikely that those two would stop by at a busy tavern now, especially if they had left Underwood for a long time already.

"Hey, that's a good idea." Asuka's eyes lit up, sensing an adventure coming her way. The lass drifted off to glance at the alluring woman for a moment before correcting herself with a self-inflicted pinch. "Ow! Oh, right! Yeah, we can help you look for them if you need help!"

It was a perfect opportunity to get herself away from the irresistable aura surrounding the lust magnet nearby. And a perfect opportunity to adventure as well.

[XaleManix]

Xale stoped talking when she came in, he stared at her in disgust. she seemed to have tortured herself to look like she did. he turned around the room, and looked for anyone who wasn't stareing at her. he chuckled to himself, he knew no one would listen now. so he just sat down, took his glass of water, and resumed drinking, hoping sometime in the night the womans seemingly endless attractions would fade back to the normal. Xale doubted this considerably.

without a word he scribbled something on a scrap of paper, slid it to the lass he was talking to, and walked out of the bar, hoping someone would start a fight or something so everyone would forget about the woman in leather armor that was dusty as the old mansion he lived in for five years.

[Jade]

The adoring chatter of Jade’s new entourage, that had grown considerably in the last minute or two, made valiant efforts to drown out any other fragments of conversation in the tavern, so desperate were they to receive her attention, but Jade’s keen ears listened not to those that worshipped her, but instead, to those that didn't.

A few brave souls struggled to resist the seductive thrall of her aura’s presence, who she studied briefly, enjoying the spirit they displayed in fighting to maintain their individuality. Now these were the kinds of people she wanted to adventure with, not dullard flocks of sheep. Taking another small sip from the drink in her hand, the red headed temptress shifted her eyes away from the sex-starved stares, which traced the details of her body like the fingertip of a sculptor, and instead focused them on the disgruntled form of the young boy.

Words eventually spilled from betwixt his lips like wine from a bottle, though they came slowly at first, building momentum as the confidence welled up inside him and then finally, information flowed smoothly, sketching a vague outline of the treasures he sought. Now whilst Jade wasn’t necessarily concerned with the emotional value this child seemed to place on its parents, she did however, have a keen thirst for adventure, and so she slipped from her stool, amidst a hail of propositions and requests.

“ Over ‘ere love, you can polish me sword for a pretty penny” one man called in answer to her earlier teasing, though his smug grin vanished as quickly as it had arrived when she turned her gaze, once so beautiful and hypnotic, into a twisted and malicious nightmare. The visage of the lovely lady did not falter as another of her blood fuelled powers leapt free of her body and unleashed itself upon the crude brute in an invisible beam that started to transfigure and petrify his internal organs. To anyone that could steal their sight off of Jade long enough to watch the man in question, it would appear as if he had consumed too much alcohol as he clutched his chest and then hurried off to the toilets, leaving Jade to cross the floor towards Xale as he convulsed in secret.

Unfortunately for the ambitious temptress however, Xale had apparently grown tired of her drooling dogs and thrust something towards a plain waif of a girl, before beating a hasty exit from the tavern without a word. Frowning slightly, Jade walked over to the girl who had received this ‘gift’ and inquired “ Whatever is the matter with him?”, clearly oblivious to the fact her enigmatic powers had been the cause for his distress.

Just to clarify- Jade's face doesn't change or anything when she uses her Gorgon Gaze on the man, sorry if I described it badly

[XaleManix]

Xale heard what Jade said clearly, looked over to her and shouted, "the idiots of the bar, thats what's wrong with me, aside from my missing parrents. he returned his attention to those who had retained their sanity, then leaned against the wall of the tavern and sighed, nothing good had happened, why should anything else? he stared down the path he had come down to get to the tavern, wondering where things long lost were. he then looked back over to the kind man who had offered to help him, and shouted "thanks, but there isn't much i can do now, i've been on the road a long time, so I'll stay here for tonight,

[Alearto]

As the hypnotic beauty drew closer to where Alearto sat at the bar, her influence grew stronger. An inexorable tug on his willpower that increased with proximity like a magnet. It was all he could do to manage acknowledging Xale's answer with a wave, awestruck eyes fixated on the red-headed vixen nearby.

Dimly aware of the presence of other people in the room, he found himself ogling the woman shamelessly as his remaining reason shrieked in futile protest to his behavior.

Frantically, his brain tried to function, over and over like flint struck on steel that sparks but won't catch flame. Hardly a smooth-talker under any circumstances, Alearto found himself at a total loss for any intelligible words.

Finally, he regained enough composure to close his slackened jaw and tear his eyes away, focusing instead on the floorboards at her feet.

"H... Hi..." he managed to mumble, finding it easier to formulate words as he continued, "I, uh... I'm Alearto."

Seeming to remember that there was another girl close by as well, he shifted positions so that his body faced them both, without lifting his eyes from the floor. "It's... nice to meet you both. Can I ask your names? Oh, and did you catch that guy's name, by chance?"

[Yamihara]

Asuka blinked in curiosity when the young man shoved a scrap of paper into her hand and started to walk away. She offered her help to find his parents and all she got was a cold shoulder and a piece of trash?

Well, the lass was still in a daze when the temptress approached her and asked her what happened. Her voice was even more alluring than her lithe form, but the Akashiman managed to keep her wits about and turned to meet Jade with a steady face, if a bit hinted with natural rouge.

"I... ah... I don't know..." Asuka replied, embarrassed to have the attention of someone so much like her ideal form. It even felt like her heart was melting inside hre chest.

But you're a girl! And she's a girl! You don't want to go at it with another girl, right?! Well, she is pretty... No! Darn it, don't even think about it!

Asuka kept a straight face while her hand maneuvered the piece of scrap paper into her pant pockets while trying to divert the beautiful lady's attention away from it. She would take a look at that piece of paper another time, most preferably in the privacy of her own presence.

"Say... ah, you know what?" Absent-mindedly ignoring the stammering traveler at her side, the red-hair lass giggled nervously as she stole away from the bar in slow, careful steps. "I'm... I have to go use the room out in the back... I'll probably stop back here in... in a wittle- I mean! I mean, a little while later..."

Oh, boy. That was subtle, girl. She wouldn't know you're so nervous.

With a nervous little laugh covering her tail, Asuka squeezed her way through the unattentive crowd and snuck out the back door, relieved to finally be away from the enchanting aura surrounding the enigmatic temptress.

Looking around the deserted back alley, seeing nothing but discarded crates and empty wine bottles, Asuka carefully fished out the scribbled paper and studied its content. The handwriting was not really eligible, but she managed to decipher the individual words and markings that remained from being crumbled inside her wam pant pocket. In it, the letters read...

[XaleManix]

The lady that entered the bar just now, her presence makes it impossible for almost anyone to concentrate. i can't get my mind off her, even though I think she tried to hard to "look pretty", so i am going to wait. my name is Xale, and i'll be here for a while, if you need me, I'll be around.

xale was standing aganst the wall, arms folded. his armor was sitting next to his black coat, which he had taken off. "so, she got to you to? Why am i not suprised?" he leaned his head back and chuckeled, "as is wrote: I'm around."

[Jade]

A soft giggle rolled past her full red lips as Alearto stammered an introduction, was her attention really that intimidating she wondered? Or perhaps he had no experience of being in the presence of a lady. Toying with a strand of crimson hair, in a manner most men considered to be highly attractive, Jade smiled gently towards the man, trying her best to look interested whilst her eyes roved piercingly across Yamihara’s body, dissecting it like a surgeons scalpel.

When the object of her infatuation finally managed to speak, Jade fought hard to conceal her disappointment, so he hadn’t confided in her after all?, that was frustrating, but before she allowed negative thoughts to overwhelm her mind, she noticed Yamihara had started to behave rather strangely. Frowning slightly when the woman excused herself and gingerly made her way out of the tavern, Jade turned her attention back to Alearto, hoping that he, at least, would quench her curiosity with some answers.

Allowing her eyes to wash over him for a moment or two, she eventually decided to slip neatly onto the seat beside him and butter him up a bit before probing him for information. Reaching out, she would attempt to take his hand in her own, in what she believed to be, a comforting embrace before responding with words as sweet as nectar.” Well hello there Alearto, it’s nice to meet you dear. I, am Jade, and i’m sure a smart, good looking man like you, heard what that boy wanted right?”, giving his hand a teasing squeeze when she finished to emphasize her desire to know what happened.

Jade was used to getting her own way, and so was sure that, dear Alearto, would be unable to resist her powers of persuasion for long.

[Alearto]

Jumping slightly as the radiant redhead took his hand, Alearto froze for a moment before offering an idiotic grin, still unable to meet her gaze.



At this point, there were several trains of thought going through Alearto's mind.



One voice was wondering loudly why, of all the people in this tavern, this woman was showing interest in him, and openly questioned her honesty; clearly there was something she wanted, and clearly it wasn't him. In fact, from the sound of things she was more interested in that moody guy who just left.

A second voice countered the first, pointing out that he did have certain charms after all, and perhaps he was simply her type. Besides, she hadn't given him any reason to doubt her. His ego swelled a little at this thought and he took a moment to peer smugly around the room.

The third voice was trying to be more practical, taking careful note of the fact that a number of the men in the tavern were shooting dirty looks in his direction, clearly jealous of the attentions being given him. Without passing judgement on the woman beside him, this voice argued that regardless of her intentions she was going to get him into trouble with the patrons of the Promenade.

A fourth scrambled to answer the question Jade asked, trying to recall what Alearto was listening to just a few moments earlier. "Oh yes," it said, "That guy who was in here a minute ago... He was looking for his parents, they disappeared and he was hoping someone here knew where they were." Satisfied, this voice proceeded to ignore the first three and speak aloud.

Relaxing a little now that his mind was made up, at least for the moment, he finally lifted his eyes to Jade's.

"Yes, yes I did. I didn't catch his name, but he's looking for his parents... Apparently they disappeared years ago," Alearto gained confidence as he continued, "The father is bald, the mother has shoulder-length brown hair. The mother wears a green silk sash, and he mentioned something about deja-vu... That it feels like deja-vu when you see them. Oh, and earlier he mentioned they are wearing plate armor."

With a little nod of satisfaction, Alearto literally beamed, seeming to grow somewhat brighter. His black hair faded for a moment, first turning midnight blue, then violet, then white. Catching sight of the strands of hair dangling in his eyes, he shook his head quickly and his hair became black once more. He blushed slightly, his eyes darting away to see if anyone else noticed.

[Yamihara]

Asuka literally jumped out of her skin when young Xale spoke to her, nearly dropping the scribbled note she had finished reading on the dusty back alley walkway. She did not see the young man standing there when she first popped her head out to inspect the area. That was her fault to deal with another time when she actually had time to admonish herself. Preferably alone.

"Oh, hi!" The red-head lass stammered, the obvious Akashiman accent filtering through her teeth. "I didn't see you there!"

An odd silence filled her mind after Asuka gave her apology, but it took a few more seconds later that the silence was actually in her head.

Stammering in embarassment, Asuka bowed her head in apology for not properly introducing herself - something that any self-respecting Akashiman noble would do, even if they had denounced their family status long ago.

"I'm Asuka. Yamihara, Asuka. But you can just call me Asuka." The lass finally said, taking another respectful bow. Her hair shimmered lightly in the shadowy alleyway as she tucked the stray strands of hair back behind her ears.

"So, you said you needed help finding your parents? I'll help you if you want me to."

Even though she was of noble birth, by right and by law of the kingdom of Akashima, Asuka was always one for exciting adventure and discovery. It was also one of the same reason her father had thrown her out of the Estate, the other for being so "tomboyish" by Akashima standards.

"So, Xale." The maiden ran her fingers through her hair once and looked around the tight little walkway, noticing the light traffic outside in the street. "If we are to find your parents, then we'll need to get right to it. Where do we start?"

[XaleManix]

It was Xale's turn to jump, he knew about the Yamihara royal family, and how Asuka had been disowned.

"well, uh, um, uh... maybe we should try to figure out a place to start... hm... how much land can two people cover on foot in five and a half years?" he stammered, wondering what 'Lady Yamihara' would think of him. he shivered. there was something terribly incorrect about the situation. he was nervous, something he had never been since he was ten. he felt like something ver bad was about to happen, possibly worse than the crisis he currently faced.

A shadow at the end of the alley moved. Xale quickly responded by shifting his feet so he could see of his noble aquantance's shoulders. he slowly and subtlely moved his hand to the cylander and switched the weapon crystal to the quarterstaff configuration, but left it inactive. he was worried. his nervous system was going the wrong way. he should be observant, wary, unafraid. he was now the oposite: preocupied, oblivios, fearful. something was definately very wrong.

[Jade]

Waves of satisfaction crashed over Jade’s consciousness as, with a little persuading, the man spilt the dirt on the young boy who had sparked her curiosity with his anxious and pleading gestures when she had watched him from afar. The pieces of the puzzle finally started falling into place as the beautiful woman reflected on the events, so he had been looking for them she thought as her gaze inadvertently drifted off in the direction of the tavern door, fixating on the spot that Xale had disappeared through.

Apparently oblivious to Alerato’s soaring confidence, the cogs of Jade’s mind ground together, churning out a whole host of idea’s and thoughts with Xale placed firmly at their centre, this could be what she was looking for, a way to breach the barriers her past had erected and launch her head over heels into a full blown adventure. The prospect of experiencing some of the things she had only heard tell of from books greatly excited her, fame, fortune, and maybe even a dragon! this would be marvellous.

Turning her dainty neck, so that her eyes met with Alearto’s own, she almost purred at him as she attempted to entice him into position, so that the play of her life, could finally begin to unfold. “ That poor boy!, I must find some way to ease his suffering...Alerato, darling, you’ll come along too, won’t you?”, she inquired, because after all, you never knew what kind of trouble a thing as simple as a search would get you into, in a world positively bursting with magic.

Producing another mind-bending burst of her enchanting aura, much like an animal would a pheromone, five of the booze ridden drunks, that had been ogling the devilish curves of her bottom ever since she left their side, suddenly pelted the bar tender with small bags of money, settling the ‘tab’ for Jade without her so much as lifting a finger.

Hopping down off the stool she had been perched upon, Jade smiled at Alearto before blowing him a kiss and leaving the tavern in pursuit of Xale and the plain looking waitress woman, calling after her” Don’t let me down pumpkin”. As Jade stepped outside the Tavern and started to look around for signs of the two humans, the sounds of a conversation reached her sensitive ears, leading her feet in the direction of the alleyway from which they came.

Jade didn’t know if Xale would share the burden of his missing parents, or even if they would ever find them if he did, but if the adventure started to unwind like a ball of string in a labyrinth, she would follow it with all her might, of that, she was certain.

[XaleManix]

Xale was bombarded by informtion, he was using his sence of sight to observe the eavswatcher at the back end of the alley, his sence of hearing was fixed on the exiled noble, and he could feel the mind-consuming preasance of the woman he had shifted through his head for the name of, and had identified as "Jade". he unlatched the small shaft of orichulum from his belt and placed his finger on the activation switch. he stared the suspect shadow, as if staring down a wolf who is prosed to attack, waiting to strike out at him. his six months on the wild roads had sharpened all his senses.

"Jade, your strength is your weakness. one who resists will then use it to monitor your presance. so, approach slowly and stop sculking." he said calmly, thinking he'd suprise her and be able to have a laugh to break the tension. but he also knew that Jade was at the front end, while the eavesdropper was at the back end of the alley he hadn't multitasked like this before, and was struggling to keep up.

[Alearto]

Alearto nearly fell off his stool as the renewed wave of the temptress' aura struck him like a wave of cold water. Trying to regain his composure as Jade slipped away towards the alley, all he managed to do was stare vacantly in an idiotic euphoria.

Again, his mind struggled to function amidst the amorous haze she left behind, his thoughts feeling sluggish and detached. For several moments he simply sat there gazing after her, a dimwitted smile tugging the corners of his mouth.

Gradually, his brain began to resume cognitive functions, synapses sparking back to life. Piecing together the situation, he slowly came to the realization that Jade was leaving, and she asked him to come with her.

And he was just sitting there.

After briefly processing this information, Aleart came to the conclusion that he should follow her. The gears of his mind clicked a couple times, but nothing further happened. Seeing this, he added a bit more urgency to the message. Jade was leaving, and he needed to follow her. Now.

...

NOW.

Shaking himself slightly, Alearto stood from his seat and grabbed his sword from the floor, buckling it back into place at his left hip. Draping his cloak over his arm, he began to make his way to the back of the tavern, but was stopped short by a large hand on his shoulder.

Alearto turned slowly, his eyes traveling up the treebranch-like arm to the broad shoulders and bearded, scowling face of a gargantuan man.

"Where're you and yer girlfriend off to, kid?" the behemoth asked as several other men drew closer as well, forming a loose circle around Alearto.

"Um... I ah... wouldn't exactly call her my girlfriend," Alearto stammered, eyes darting around to take note of those surrounding him.

"Well then," jeered one of them, "You won't mind if we go spend some time with her, will ya kid?"

"You know, you can't all have her. There's six of you for one girl!" Alearto pointed out, hoping to turn the lust-filled brutes against each other.

The man who still had a grip on his shoulder leaned in close to Alearto's ear. "I figured we'd all take turns, real gentleman-like, see? And I think we all agree that you don't deserve to get a turn. So why don't you sit right back down at the bar like a good boy? I promise we'll take good care of your friend there."

Alearto glared at each of the men in turn, but ultimately dropped his head in defeat. The man holding his shoulder pushed him roughly towards the bar, and he and his cronies made for the alleyway.

Snapping his head up, Alearto raised his hands, and the room was suddenly flooded with intense light that caused those inside the Promenade to shield their eyes. Quickly dropping his hands, the room was just as suddenly plunged into almost total darkness, causing cries of alarm throughout the room.

Alearto began carefully threading his way towards the men who confronted him, keeping the light from the Promenade's lanterns snuffed as he crept up on them.

[XaleManix]

Xale contined to stare at the man at the back end of the alley, moving all motor funcions to the shadow. it moved again. "all right, both you and I know you can't stay still forever. so, why don't you step out and identify yourself, before i decide to do it for you." he shouted the shadow shivered, xale took advantage of this. "why were you evesdropping?" he recived no answer. "oh, Alerto, hury up!"

[Yamihara]

Asuka stared at the young Xale curiously, wondering why he had suddenly turned timid and started stumbling over his own tongue. Surely, it was not her doing, the lass thought. She was quite certain her little fiasco back home would not have been so far-reaching so as to maker her a nefarious young rebellion by mere mention. Her mind immediately lent itself to his query, to which her mind began cycling through the probabilities and answers to their little dilemma.

But before she could utter a word of prediction to the traveller, Xale began shouting threats and orders at both ends of the tiny alley. Towards one end, she clearly heard him address someone by the name of "Jade." Jade? Is that the name of that really beautiful lady with all the curves and... Oh, snap out of it, girl! The gorgon's presence was slowly winning over, but there was another person also present in the cramp alleyway that caught the girl's attention.

Pushing the irresistable urge into drawers at the back of her mind, Asuka tried to focus on the dark, moving shape at the back of the alley. Xale shouted a warning and she saw him thumbed his weapon nervously as if ready to spring forward at a mere drop of the hat. As her eyes began to adjust to the dim light, she noticed the dark, shaggy hair and high cheek bones protruding out from the side of his face. Like a comical carp she had caught with her friends when she had snuck out of the Estate long ago. Like...

"...Tokita?" Her voice rang out quizzily, sensing the man stirred and slowly rise from the large pile of crates he was hiding in. "Tokita, is that you?!"

The man rose up to his full height, dressed in shaggy rags and a messy brown mop that said the same thing about his social status back home.

"Asuka! It is you!" Tokita exclaimed, his heavy Akashiman accent announcing his foregn status to the world. "Thank the Grace of Aosor, you're still alive!"

The two of them rushed out to greet each other, but the young man was given a rap across his forehead instead of a friendly hug from his long-time friend.

"How dare you say things like that about me!" She chided, turning her disapproving frown up into a friendly grin. "Of course, I'm still alive! I wouldn't be able to give you this if I was a wandering spirit, would I" She ended with a hug, releasing him shortly before he even recovered from the knock on his head.

Realizing that there were other people with her as well, Asuka turned around and sheepishly introduced her age-old friend to the young traveler.

"Oh, yeah. Tokita, this is Xale!" She announced, though something told her that it was a rather useless introduction. Xale already knew the other Akashiman's name, but at least now the both of them knew neither to be a threat. "Xale, this is my dear friend Tokita!"

The Akashiman lad bowed humbly, giving off a shy smile to the dark-looking wanderer.

Just as the new acquaintences were getting to know each other, a loud crash came from inside the Peaceful Promenade which startled the two Akashiman natives.

"Hey, what's going on in there?!" Asuka shot a worried look at the back door, then at Xale. "I hope it's noth- oh, no!"

She remembered another young man was also in there, Alearto if she was not mistakened. There was a chance that something, or someone had started a bar fight and the tavern was about to go up in flames. Again.

"Oh, no! Not the Peaceful Promenade! Not again!" She shouted, grabbing the door handle and flung it open in a single fluid motion. "No fighting in the tavern, you apes!"

The maiden has had it with bar fights closing this homely little tavern of hers. The place had become a second home to her and, by the name of Kazen, she would rather not have this place close down again from a fire.

Jumping into the fray, the lass was intent on beating some senses into these goons and yell into their ears that they should stay clear of the lanterns and candles.

[XaleManix]

"pleased to meet you." Xale said blankly, "I would cover your eyes if I were you."
Xale said, pressing the switch that activated his weapon. the flash of light gave way to the dark blue quarterstaff. he sliped into the barroom. "lady Yamihara, I see there aren't any open flames in the room. i'll remove the lamps anyway." Xale used the long rod to remove the lamps one by one from the posts, and set them outside the building. one by one, he hoped to have removed anything that could light the prominade aflame. he then left to see if Alerto had managed to get out before the fight had erupted, and leaned on the wall behind Jade. he turned his weapon off. "so, Jade, were ou supried i knew your name?" he said, smiling at the fact that he had been able to avoid the "persuassive" skills Jade possesed.

a muscular grunt came out of the bar, he saw Xale and shouted, "What're you doin' with my girl?" he cracked his nuckles.

Xale stared him blankly, "and she's yours, why?"

"' Cause I saw her first!"

"well, women arn't objects, so, go find someone who actually loves you. and don't worry, somewhere theres a wife, even for you.

[Jade]

Laughter trickled out of Jade’s throat like a faint and bubbling stream as, upon turning to glance after Aleatro, she saw several liquored louts advancing towards him. A little honey can go a long way in a world as cruel as this one it seemed, and the fleeting attentions that she had paid her new found friend had caused more than his pride to flare violently.

Although the Demi-Gorgon would have liked to witness Alearto ‘putting them in their place’ she had not the time, for suddenly a voice called to her out of the darkness, brushing aside the element of surprise like a timid insect. Blinking a few times, as her eyes grew accustomed to the shadowy alley-way, Jade eventually discerned the lithe frame of the boy she had seen storm away earlier, so much for the thrill of the hunt she thought, this was too easy.

Rattling off a retort quicker than a thief could pinch a purse, she turned into the alley and replied “ Worry not my precious peach, were strength needed, it would not be wasted on you”. Clearly Jade had never been skulking at all, simply enjoying the first sparks of a bar-room brawl, but now that Xale had noticed her, she had no choice but to plunge deeper into the piss-riddled sanctuary he had fled to.

The night grew stranger still as Xale started shouting at a figure who’s face Jade could only guess at, from this distance, was the boy under attack? Or simply hallucinating she wondered. Fortunately though, the red haired woman that had dashed after Xale managed to shed light on the situation a moment later, when the spectre emerged from the black blanket that covered him. Jade watched in amusement as Yamihara first painted the man’s head a burning shade of red and then seemed to reconsider her reaction, embracing him with a hug.

Silly humans and their emotions Jade remarked, within the privacy of her mind, when her mysterious behaviour didn’t end there and she revealed that the man in question, was actually an old acquaintance of hers. Shaking her head, more in disbelief than anything, Jade was just about to introduce herself to this ‘Tokita’ when Yamihara cried out in alarm and burst through the promenades back door.

With a nagging sense of obligation tugging on his conscience, Tokita promptly followed her, leaving Jade to try and decipher why everyone was so upset over the prospect of a fight. Perhaps it was because Jade had never experienced her jaw being broken, or her hair being pulled, for to her, conflict was the glue that held a tale together, something that inevitably happened when adventurers met in public. Relief teased her senses when the door of the tavern quivered and then opened once more, though it was short lived as through it came not two people ready to continue their adventure, but instead, a spot laden ruffian, jabbering about owning her.

Normally, Jade would have used and then discarded him, toying with his affections until he outlived his value, but Xale stepped between them in a gallant display of bravery, to defend her ‘honour’, and refute his claims. Deciding that she could have a little fun with the volatile situation, Jade mischievously interjected “ That’s right!, this man has already tamed my heart, so depart before he teaches you a lesson!”.

A snarl ripped its way past the drunkard’s lips at these words, as he immediately lumbered towards Xale with his right arm balling into a fist. “ Yours is she? I’ll show her what a REAL man looks like, and then we’ll see who’s bed she’ll be laying in!”. Leaping forwards, the thug unleashed a bestial roar as he flung his arm towards Xale’s face, apparently hoping to bruise the youthful features Jade was so ‘fond’ of.

I apologise if my roleplaying Tokita is against the rules of this forum, since I am new here and just thought I would move him to help the story to keep flowing smoothly.

[XaleManix]

xale was truly disgusted, "who said i care about it? i'd never be that affectionate about a nymph!" he said, swapping the red blade crystal with the blue rod one, his quarterstaff became a blade. he continued his assault of words, "a nymph uses you, plays with your human emotions until you have outlived your usefulness, then discards you. it appears this one may not have overused me after all. as it seems i have more obligation now that i am sane from being used by four nymphs to defend them. they are useful allies, and devistating if you end up on the incorrect side of there fury." he held out the blade in a fencing stance, then continued, "this one happened to come closest to actually having me take the hangmans neclace for her. why i defend her now, i do not know. but it is not love, nor lust. in fact, emotion escapes me, all but fury, hate, and grief evade me."

"your point?"

"step near her, and i kill you."

"impossible."

"want to put money on that?" Xale asked, making his fighting stance more defensive.

"no, but ill prove you can't!" he said, lunging at him. xale answered by slicing his hand, but not removing it. the man grunted.

xale retracted the blade, puting the hilt to the mans head. he smirked "if you try again, i reactivate my orichulum weapon, and the blade goes int oyour head, and you depart for oblibvion imideatly. if you are very lucky, maybe someone will come buy and send you to the farplane, not that i belive in it.

[Alearto]

Gradually, Alearto released his hold on the light inside the Promenade, and the sheath of blackness slowly dissippated. The rest of the thuglike men moving towards the door peered around carefully in the yet-dim light, limited now to what filtered through the windows after Xale removed the lanterns.

One of them cried out suddenly and collapsed forward, falling unconscious into one of his companions. His weight toppled them both, overturning a nearby table and, in turn, spilling the drinks of a few more men.

From here, it wasn't far to go before the tavern erupted into a brawl; punches thrown wildly in the dim light connected with unrelated strangers, drawing more potential combatants into the waxing conflict. Glasses shattered, chairs splintered, and bones broke, adding to the cacophony of bellows and yelps from those being hit and the laughter and jeers of those doing the hitting.

Alearto, meanwhile, having struck the initial blow, now snuck past the brawlers to crouch behind the end of the bar close to the back door. He was about to make a break for the alley, thus meeting up with the others, when he realized that Asuka had made her way inside.

"Aw, dammit, why'd she have to come back inside? What's that she's yelling about lanterns?"

Unbuckling his sword but leaving it in his scabbard, he prepared to move back into the fray.

[Yamihara]

The Peaceful Promenade, her home away from home, laid in shambles as the lass entered and began kicking the more unruly and heavily intoxicated bunches out the door. But there was no hoping that the day was going to end without as much as a few patching up or fixing a few chairs for the next day.

The bar room was totaled beyond a mere clean up would fix.

Stammering angrily at the mess these unruly drunks had made, the Akashiman lass proceeded to land a forceful shove of her boots against one of the bar brawlers still left inside who was about to start a fight with some uninterested loggers, sending the thug flying sideways on unsteady feet and landed in a heap with his shaggy brown mop smashing against an upturned table.

"All of you drunken, good fer nothin' oafs!" She hollered over the din, clawing at her long copper hair in a fit of frustration. "Out! Out! OUT!"

One of the blinded drunks staggered up to her, trying to blindside her with a waist tackle and a grin as wide as his entire head smeared across his face. Asuka spun around just in time to see the man lumber forward, but there was no time for her to draw her hooded katar out and give the fool a smack across the forehead.

It was Tokita who came to her rescue, landing a jaw-shattering rising knee that literally struck the Coronian logger's jawbone out of its socket. The neutralized lumberjack slipped and collapsed harmlessly on the floor like a sack of potato, his eyes rolling back into his head and laid still like a log.

The lass gave her age-old friend a thankful nod, returning her attention to a fight that had broken out between young Xale and a bear of a man by the name Zachariah Thompson, one of the more rowdy and less-friendly loggers of Underwood.

The Good News: The brute definitely has more brawn than brain. His motto, from what the lass had learned from old acquaintences and bar rumors, was "Think with your fists and everything works out in the end."

The Bad News: There was a reason there were many old acquaintences of his and not many of his "current" ones. He holds a deep, enduring grudge and often resorts to dirty tricks that left many disheartened and angry. Still, he was one of the harder-working lads and no one wanted to get on his bad side for too long.

Asuka swallowed hard when the scent of fresh blood flew through the still tavern air, her head snapping to attention just as she saw Xale tapped his weapon against the brute's head in a rather casual manner.

Oh, no no no...

No more deaths. She did not believe in killing to stay alive. Why would they need to fight each other to the death over a woman? A very busty, alluring, curvy, coveted woman... But still, a woman. It was irrational. It was just plain stupid.

"Alright, you two! Stop it right now!"

Asuka finally fought up the courage and stepped in, pushing the two conflicting parties away from each other's reaches before heads were about to roll.

"Now..." She cleared her throat, Tokita standing at the ready behind her like a watchful sentry at a palace gate. "Let's all take a moment and have a word with each other... Have you two completely lost it?!"

Turning her accusing, fiery eyes at Zach whose face was still scrunched up in a vicious scowl, the lass let loose her first volley of words and wit. "What is it with you and women!"

The bear of a man was about to spit at the floor and retort, but he was immediately cut short by the Akashiman lass he did not even have time to gather his saliva.

"Women are not objects! You don't own her! You don't own us! Nobody owns us! And quit thinking we're so easy for you, you... log-biter!"

Turning her eyes at Xale next, she snapped like a cobra that had its tail stepped on and startled from its sleep.

"And, you, sir! Enough with the killing! Why do you insist on spilling blood so eagerly! Is there nothing left of you to even care what the other person has to lose by ending his life?! And what about your search for your parents?! Kill him and you're guaranteed to live as a jailbird for a very, very long time!"

Not even giving the conflicting parties time to reply, Asuka lashed out with her tongue again.

"And you, Miss Jade! Why do you have to be so pretty with all those curves everyone near you fall heads over heels for you, even me!"

Realizing what she had just yelled out in frustration, the maiden paused for a second and contemplated on the spoken accusations.

"Um, scratch that. Never mind I said that last part." The lass blushed and stepped back, hearing her friend's bemused chuckle ringing in her ears.

"Carry on." The lass ended with an apologetic smile, but returned her stern gaze at the three people again once she recovered from her embarassment.

Glancing about the dim-lit room, Asuka also noticed the fighting had died down and most of the people left were either too sober to throw a fist or lying unconscious on the floor with bruises and black eyes.

"Come to think of it..." The Akashiman maiden muttered, placing a hand on her hip. "Where is Alearto, anyways?"

[XaleManix]

xale was suprised the noble could get that angry in just five seconds, and over a scraped hand and a bluff, no less. he understood the fact that he seemed to be slightly sadistic, since he had spent four months atempting to gain that sort of an attitude. he holstered the weapon he had deactivated to use in a threatening bluff, and bowed to Miss Yamihara, "im sorry, ma'am" he said, as gentlemanly as he could. he then turned his attention to the missing journyman, Alerto. he turned to jade and said, "nymph, did you see where that kid you were messing with earlier went?" he prayed that the worst-case senario hadn't actually happened. he then took command of his mind again, and snaped out several places to look for Alerto, "Asuka, Check the kitchen. i'll look in the alley, jade, well, you make some inquiries about Alerto, i'm sure that's what you'd be best at right now." after saying what he had, he ran to the alleyway to look for alerto.

[Alearto]

Seeing that the situation was now in hand, thanks primarily to Asuka's raging temper, Alearto heaved a sigh of relief. What remained of the Promenade's occupants were apparently through beating each other senseless.

Catching most of Asuka's rampage from his hiding place at the end of the bar, he began to get concerned. To him, the Peaceful Promenade was no more than another tavern, like any other. Just because the word 'peaceful' was in the name didn't mean no one ever picked barroom brawls there, and he hadn't expected such a strong reaction to the violence. Many of its patrons seemed to be warriors of some kind anyhow, so to hear someone so outspoken against violence caught Alearto off guard.

He emerged slowly from behind the bar, reattaching his scabbard to his belt as he did so.

"Not to worry, I'm right here. Just keeping my head low is all." He offered a sheepish grin, somewhat ashamed of his lack of courage in the midst of the fight.

Pausing for a moment, Alearto held his hands before him, palms upturned. Raising his palms slightly, the light from the windows flooded the room, making it bright enough to see without the aid of the lanterns.

"I think it's probably safe to put the lanterns back in here. Seems like the fight's been knocked out of most of these guys. Maybe now we can actually go look for Xale's parents, since I'm pretty sure that was what we were all planning to do."

Glancing around, Alearto noticed a few suspicious eyes turned in his direction from some of the semi-conscious combatants; fearing they would connect his photomancy with the sudden darkness that helped instigate the brawl, he quickly dropped his hands and held them behind his back, allowing the lighting in the room to return to normal. Quietly, he began to inch towards the back door, deciding he'd seen enough of the Peaceful Promenade for one day.

[Jade]

The thin brows of the Demi-Gorgon twitched slightly when Xale, outspoken as ever, started droning on about how he had been ‘burnt’ by the warmth of a Nymph’s embrace in the past, making it seem like he wouldn’t get his hands dirty after all. These fears however, were dismissed a moment later, as the boy boldly proclaimed that he would kill the intoxicated goon if he made any more advances towards her.

Refusing to heed Xale’s warning though, probably due to the ‘liquid courage’ coursing through his bloated veins, the lumberjack’s subsequent lunge was met by a surprisingly elegant slash from the boy’s peculiar blade. Licking her plush red lips in delight as the Orichulum device drew a line of blood across Zachariah’s hand, Jade smirked maliciously as she watched the boy level the, now dormant weapon, at the ruffians head, threatening to send him to the afterlife lest he comply with his demands.

Fortunately for Zachariah though, the timely intervention of Yamihara, returning momentarily as she shooed several drunks out the door, prevented Xale from keeping his promise. Underwood’s most infamous logger wasn’t out of danger yet though, for instead of simply breaking the scuffle up and returning to the tavern, the infuriated Yamihara started to savagely chide him. So annoyed did the red haired maiden appear to be however, that once she had finished with Zach, she immediately whirled upon Xale with the destructive force of a hurricane.

Jade sighed gently as Yamihara continued to blow off steam, letting her eyes wonder thoughtfully towards the back door in search of Alearto, wonder that is, until she was abruptly brought back into the thick of things with the mention of her name. Peering at the woman inquisitively, Jade listened as she complained that her luscious curves were so enticing that not even she, was able to resist them.

Instead of getting annoyed by this statement though, Jade felt rather flattered and thanked her for the compliment before planting an affectionate kiss upon Yamihara’s mouth” Aww you think i’m pretty? Thank you!” she said, pulling away from her just in time to notice Alearto emerging from behind the bar as she glanced through the open door.

Chirping up helpfully, in response to Xale’s request, Jade remarked “ There he is now” and, with a smile, pointed her finger in the direction of Alearto. Now that the altercation inside the tavern had burned itself out, she hoped they could do as Alearto suggested and finally begin to track down Xale’s parents.

[XaleManix]

xale stared at the lot of adventures that had somehow found some sort of common call to assist him, questioning whether leaving verma was a good idea in the first place. he finnaly spoke up, "is there any reason this awkward silence has fallen, aside from the fact that jade just insulted the ex-noble?" he asked, refering to the rather unusual action jade had made towords Miss yamihara.

zach got up and attempted to strangle the younger man, only to recive several punches in the stomach, a kick to the side, and several assorted blows to the neck. "why you little-" he bagan, odviously meaning to stand up and try to kill him again

Xale flashed out at him, "be glad lady Yamihara has me on a leash, or i assure you, you wouldn't be here, you'd either have a blade sized hole in your stomach, or be a pile of ashes, i'm just glad for your sake that I'm highly acustomed to complying with nobles!" his anger was burning through his bady, begining to manifest itself as small flames, barely the size of a burning pine needle. he walked into the street to avoid seting the prominade aflame, and sat down in an attempt to supress his anger.

[Yamihara]

A kiss.

Asuka blinked in stunned silence as the alluring lady's lips left her own, somehow the warmth lingered still even in the absence of flesh against flesh. To any girl her age, be they among the nobility, the aristocrats of Akashima or even the simple farm girls in the open southern fields all yearned to have their first kiss brought to them. They would dream of a noble knight, armor shining in the glory of dawn and handsome, chiseled smile melting away their hearts before planting his lips upon their own, drawing their minds out into the Stream of Spirits where all worldly troubles could not penetrate.

Asuka could not believe she has, just now after nearly twenty years of her life had passed by, been finally given a kiss that felt entirely different from what she had felt. It was not a lover's kiss, nor was it a mere peck that would usually make her recoil in shame and disgust.

She actually enjoyed it, however short it may have been. It was her first kiss with another woman, something she had not dared explore or even think for a mere second in her life.

A shy cough shocked her back to reality, immediately noticing that it belonged to none other than her childhood friend Tokita, who saw the entire thing play out in front of his stunned, wide eyes.

Asuka suddenly felt like someone had set the entire tavern on fire, yet there were no flames licking at the beer-soaked table tops nor the frail, wavy curtains. Her face buring a deep shade of pink, the Akashiman lass shot daggers into her guy friend's mind.

"Shut. Not a word of this."

Tokita stifled an amused chuckle, nodding whilst trying to keep his gigantic hand slapped across his mouth as the tomboyish lass turned around to face the crowd again, the distinct pink shade still painted across her rosy cheeks.

"Get out of here before some real trouble will start happening to you, Zach." Asuka glared down at the subdued trouble maker slumped on the floor, who promptly cursed her under his breath and stomped out the back door without another word. She knew he would be back and more than ready to stir up more trouble. He may not be the most liked of the town, but his frequent visits and comparatively heavy pockets almost always ensured his continual pratonage.

"Yeah, now that everyone is here..." The copper hair lass glanced about the room, light starting to return to the darkened tavern as Pops began bringing out his spare sets of candles. With the increased lighting, the lively mood and upbeat chatters started to return as well as some of the more courteous barflies tipped the upturned tables and chairs back onto their legs.

"Why don't we plan out what we are going to do about Xale's parents? I could use some adventuring myself!" She smiled light-heartedly, feeling the tension inside slowly fading away as if nothing had happened a moment before. However, she was rudeyly interrupted when her friend placed a heavy hand on her shoulders. A gesture she knew meant something was not right.

"I'm sorry, Asuka. But you might not be able to go on another adventure right now. Not for a long while."

It was strange to her, how the reckless young boy she knew so well and was always at the forefront of an adventure would suddenly try to stop her. His voice was unusually heavy as well as his eyes... Sorrow... Despair...

"...What's wrong, Tokita?" Asuka gazed into his eyes, silently asking for a reply she knew would come sooner or later. Still, something was not right and she needed to know right away.

The man averted his eyes from her, choosing to stare down at a stain of alcohol spilled onto the floorboards at his feet instead.

"... It's your father... Duke Yamihara..." His voice solemn and cold, sending an ominous chill down the spine of the Akashiman ex-noble... "... He's dead..."

[XaleManix]

Xale's eyes grew wide with shock, he knew the dukes death would be sometime within the next few years, but something about his death wasn't right. "ho- ho- how did he, how did he..." he couldn't finish, his cloak of seemingly unbreakable unfeeling, he bust into tears. he had heard from his parents amazing stories of him, and his mother said to seek him out should he ever need help, but not if something had happened to them, just if he needed to have a place to eat or sleep. he finally supressed the pain, "how did he, how did he, oh, i can't say it! Miss Yamihara, i share your grief, my parents knew your father, and spoke highly of him. I spent most of my cildhood wanting to meet him, and... now... i will never have that pleasure." his pain was manifesting itself in his magery, turning several of his tears to ice, just as his rage had created flames. he broke down. suddenly he unfastened his legacy and began striking a standing post with the rod configuration. when he finally stopped, he asked the young man, "how, how did his life end? was he in pain? do you know the cause?" he fell, almost like he had been struck by the most powerful lightning spell in existance.

Xale calmed down and asked tokita again, "how did he die?"

[Alearto]

Alearto opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it. He didn't know anything about this duke, but realized that this would most likely be a bad time to ask.

He looked at each of the others in turn, first at Asuka, then Tokita, then Xale and finally Jade. He offered the latter a helpless shrug, unsure of what to do next.

He considered relating his own story; after all, for all he knew his own father may be dead as well. The thought caused his breath to catch momentarily in his chest, and served to remind him of the urgency in his own quest. He had to become strong enough to help his father, and all this talk was getting him nowhere.

Knowing, however, that he would need time to grieve were he to hear the news Asuka just heard, he quieted his impatience. Painting a look of concern upon his face, he turned to Asuka and waited.

[Jade]

I'm really sorry to have to do this, since i've enjoyed playing on here over the past few weeks, but i'm afraid i'm going to have to withdraw the character from the Roleplay. The reasons for this are firstly i've been really busy with work lately and am finding less and less time available to actually sit down and write posts for her and secondly, when I do manage to sit down, i've been fighting through writers block >_< . I apologise if this will be a problem for the story, and I give permission to any of you that want to Roleplay Jade leaving the tavern or saying a witty comment as she goes etc.

[Yamihara]

((Permissoin to bunny granted by Jade in the previous post))

"...What?"

Asuka froze in her tracks when her friend broke the news, her will nearly breaking along with it in the process. She was so sure she would still see the old man, as stern and bull-headed as ever, when she finally succumbed to the outside world and come crawling home on her knees. The news of his death seemed like something so unreal... so unbelievable it could very well be a simple trick in the old man's gigantic book of manipulating the mass. But then again, she knew Tokita was one person who could not lie. He had never lied to anyone about anything, even when she begged him to one time she tried to sneak out of the Estate in the back of a wagon. She was caught soundly even before the coach even as much as moved an inch.

"Father... He's..." The lass tried to speak, her voice visibly shaking and a giant bead of tear gathering at the edge of her eye. "He... He was still so healthy when he threw me out..."

"I know, Asuka. That's why I had to find you." Tokita drew his eyes off the floor, leveling them with Asuka's own chocolate orbs. "I suspected foul play in the Estate."

Turning to Xale, the young man who was a hair away from skewering the Akashiman messenger, Tokita replied grimly.

"Duke Yamihara was found lifeless in his bed. The guards found no sign of any struggle and quickly concluded that he died of old age. However, I was the first to arrive in his chambers after hearing the Mistress scream and I knew for a fact he was poisoned by a prick at the back of his neck. Someone wanted him dead and succeeded. Someone on the inside."

"Wha... Wha?" Asuka blinked rapidly, thinking she had heard something wrong. "Wait... Wait, wait, wait... Mistresss?"

"The Duke remarried, I presume?" It was Jade who spoke up, a thin line spreading knowingly across her face.

Tokita nodded. "A few months after you left, Asuka. She looked a great deal like our late Mistress Tomoko, may her Spirit be at peace, but the resemblance is merely skin deep."

Asuka kept a stiff upper lip as the realization that her very own Father died finally sank in, the images of his years of scrutiny and stern gaze tumbling through her mind like a turmoil of whirlwind. True, he was ruthless and effective, both in dealing with his own men and his family, but there was always a hint of affection laced under those caustic lectures. True, he kept the lass on a very tight leash and tried to "force" her into the ideal model of what an Akashiman "noble girl" was supposed to be like, but he never threatened her with the tip of his sabre. True, he was forever gloomy and always cynical, but his callous hands were warm and forgiving even in the coldest of nights when he, herself and little Mariko huddled together in front of the fireplace.

Tears started to tumble forth from both of her eyes, the dams finally giving way to emotions and regrets. Hobbling forward and slamming her fists angrily against the tavern bar, Asuka let out a low sob before roughly wiping away the tears with her grimy, tired hands.

"... Good riddance..." Asuka finally worked up the courage to speak, trying yo mask her grieving sob with callous words. She was failing at it miserably. "... At least he passed away without much pain..."

"I hate to be the Harbinger of Bad News, Asuka." Her long time friend sat down on an empty chair wearily, knowing full well that he would get the beating of a lifetime when all of this was done. "It gets worse. The Mistress is about to hold a contest to 'find' you."

He sighed heavily, knowing that Asuka would not like the news anymore than he did, but he needed to continue.

"The Mistress posted a reward for anyone who can return you to the Estate. I suspected that she will have her own people impersonate you in order to claim the Yamihara Estate as her own." He grimaced, shaking his head in despair. Completely oblivious to the curvy lady's alluring aura, or her background, he blankly threw out a snide comment. "I never like that bitch. She's as cold as a viper."

The phrase must have struck a nerve in the lovely half breed, for at that moment Jade scoffed and noisily stomped out of the tavern in a fit, looking for some other place to spend the night while happily toying away with some other dim-witted fool. The attention she was getting in the Peaceful Promenade had vanished and she was getting any fun from her present acquaintence.

"Good luck with getting your home back, Yamihara." Jade commented as she walked out the front door, a hint of mockery laced under her sweet overtone. "You'll need it."

Tokita blinked blankly at the pale lady as she walked out the door, wondering what on Althanas ticked her off. Returning his gaze to the sobbing maiden, he finally broke the ice with a word of advice.

"You don't have to go back. I'll have my folks help Mariko get out of there and transferred to a safe house. Then we'll deal with these usurpers-"

"I'm going back." Asuka cut him off in mid sentence, glaring back at him with a tear-stained face. "I have to go back to the Estate."

Turning to Xale, she bowed solemnly to the young man.

"I'm sorry I cannot help you in your search for your parents, Xale. My little sister needs me by her side. My family needs me to uphold what little honor House Yamihara still retains. Here... These may help you in your quest..."

Reaching into her belt pocket, the Akashiman maiden gently took Xale's hand and placed three tiny balls of clay into his opened palm. "Use these smoke bombs if you are ever in a tight spot. They have saved my life numerous times already and I'm sure you will find some use for them as well. As for your parents..."

Finally letting go of his hand, the lass started to walk away. Her spirit, weighed down by the barrage of despair and sorrow that were finally taking its toll on her, groaned feebly under the emotional strain yet her body kept moving forward, powered only by sheer willpower.

"Head north to Radasanth... There might be people there who know where your parents may have gone..."

Stumbling away on unsteady legs, she stopped to lean against the door frame and turned to look at Xale and Alearto, the two remaining adventurers in the tavern who still remained without a table or a beer in hand.

"May the Winds be Fair..."

With the words still hanging heavy in the air, the two Akashiman disappeared into the night. One with a mission and a heavy heart... Another with a solemn gaze and a plan...

((And... I end here.

Note to the Judge: No GP reward, please, and deduct 3 Smoke Bombs from my Inventory. I currently have 6 Smoke Bombs and should be left with 3 after the transaction. Will finally make my Level 1 Update following the judging of this thread.))

[XaleManix]

xale continued to stare blankly at the noble, he finnally made up his mind. he would leave underwood for the time being, and focus on justice, one family at a time. he turned to alerato and said blankly, "good luck with your father." he then ran off, trying to catch up with the two Akshiman.

"Xale, what on earth are you doing?" xale's conscience aked him.

"what I should have done five years ago!" Xale yelled, doubleing his pace.

"you'll never find your parents this way."

"shut up, hallucination!" he said, silencing his conscience immediatly.

im REALLY sorry to do this, but i grinding to a halt in my creativity, so I am not going to continue signing on to Althanas much anymore, i WILL log on, but not as much as i used to... again, Sorry.

[Alearto]

Thanks for a good time, everyone. This'll be my last post as well.

Alearto was caught off-guard by this sudden turn of events. What had looked to be a promising evening ended even more quickly than it began. But after all, Asuka lost her father; from what Alearto could glean they had a less-than-ideal relationship, but it was still her father. Of course, she made it clear that her family needed her, so he didn't fault her for leaving.

Jade... Alearto didn't know what to think about Jade. She managed to flip a room full of people on its ear just by walking in the door, and now she was gone; somehow, the alley behind the Promenade seemed less energetic without her presence. Now that he was free of her aura, Alearto was able to see that there was something about her which made men... and apparently women, too... lose their senses entirely. Remembering his behavior, he blushed in the darkness, embarrassed at his own ineptitude when it came to the opposite sex. Apparently, though, she had no tolerance for being offended, so presumably she was off in search of some more easily manipulated playmates.

"Doesn't get much more easy to manipulate than me..." Alearto thought, mentally kicking himself for his stupidity in the face of a beautiful woman.

And now Xale, so dead-set on finding his parents before, was off to help Asuka with her family instead. "Did he say something about my father before he left? I... don't remember mentioning him out loud..." he mused, finally moving to the stack of lanterns Xale carefully set outside at the onset of the barfight.

Assissting the bartender and a couple other patrons in replacing and re-lighting the lanterns, Alearto stayed a bit longer to right the few tables which remained upturned. Though no one knew it, he was partly responsible for the brawl, and while he wasn't ready to confess he at least wanted to help.

After a quick drink for the road, Alearto sighed heavily and stepped out the front door of the Peaceful Promenade, stretching his arms high above his head. Pausing before he left, he turned around and glanced back inside, where a waitress could be seen sweeping up shards of glass from broken tankards.

"What a waste of a perfectly good barroom brawl..."

[Letho]

Judgment time!


CONTINUITY – 5

Random quests that start and end in barrooms and have the usual brawl somewhere in the middle are prone to being rather uninventive and bland. However, there was definitely some additional spice in this story, with Xale’s search for his parents and Yamihara’s unexpected twist. The former was good for binding you all together and the latter made a fine cliffhanger conclusion. Still, I found it rather unusual that a bunch of people that just happened to be in the tavern decided to help Xale the moment they heard his story. Introducing your characters and their demeanor a bit better would help in this section. Remember that your writing says about your character just as much as your profile sheet.

SETTING – 4

I feel this could’ve been done a lot better. I know it’s just a tavern and a brawl, but seeing the same archetype environment over and over again tends to be a bit dull. Try to add some life into the setting, intricate little details that you sometimes see by accident. Jade interacted with the environment well with her seduction tactics and Yamihara did a good job describing it and her character’s feelings towards it, but Alearto and especially XaleManix should put an additional effort into what goes on around them. Try to evade making the typical barflies and brutes though, since they always come a dime a dozen in every story. Another thing that bugged me about the setting was inconsistency. One moment Xale and Yamihara are talking in the alley and Jade is coming from one side, then she’s back in with Alearto in another post. The transitions between the scenes should be smoother and better explained.

PACING – 5

Not too shabby, not too great. Basically what we had her was the introduction part, the fight part and the rather intriguing conclusion. While there’s nothing wrong with these parts individually, they weren’t linked together in the best manner. I think this is mostly because none of you knew where this thing ought to be going. Always try to have some vague idea of what you want to do with the story, especially if you’re leading it. I’m not saying that you should have every detail planned in advance (where’s the fun in that?), but there should always be some ultimate goal to strive for.

DIALOGUE – 6

I generally liked this. Alearto’s dialogue depicted his half-seduced, half-confused demeanor very well, Yamihara had the usual amount of her sass and compassion, Jade made it clear that she was there to draw the gazes of both the people in the tavern and those of the reader and Xale was good at making his character look desperate about his parents. Keep in mind, Xale, that not all of your dialogue has to sound and look cool, even if you are playing a level-headed character.

ACTION – 6

I was rather uncertain on what score to give in this section. On one hand, all of you seemed to play your roles well and the action corresponded your characters. I especially liked Yamihara’s anger that reminded me of some random anime show where a chick character goes ballistic and starts fuming and hitting people frantically. On the flip side, there were some discrepancies that I failed to understand. How did Xale know all this stuff about Yamihara? From what I could gather from his history, he didn’t come from Akashima and I doubt that a random stranger knew the happenings in Akashima. Also, the readiness of Jade to aid Xale didn’t seem in tune with her vixen character. I expected her to search some kind of gain in all of this, but it seemed like she was just another do-gooder in this instance.

PERSONA – 6,5

Despite some minor deviations from your characters, I think this was where you all excelled. Jade made it certain even in her initial post that she was there to sway hips and lure men (and women) with her seduction, Yamihara played the role of a wandering tomboy very nicely, Alearto was the usual wrong time-wrong place character that was too good-natured to let the whole matter slip, and yet too mundane to do any real heroics, and Xale was the seeking man in distress. I would like to see more of these facets of your characters in the future. Try adding some introspective, some thoughts that would further shape your characters within the story.

MECHANICS – 5

Significantly different styles here. Alearto has a nice, clean style, very few mistakes and nice balance when it comes to brevity. Yamihara tends to have one or two mistakes per post, and all of them are mostly just typos or just missing letters. Jade’s style of writing reminds me of another writer, Abbie, that’s no longer on Althanas anymore. Not too long-winded, but still gets the message across. Be watchful for run-on sentences though. I caught several instances where you went crazy with commas, turning an entire paragraph into a single sentence. XaleManix, I advise you to use some of the word processors with automatic correction option, or at least running your post through a spellchecker before you post it. There are several free on the net. You have an abundance of missed capitalizations, punctuations mark, misspellings, most of which a single spellchecker would correct. Don’t worry though, it’s nothing that a bit practice wouldn’t help with.

TECHNIQUE – 4

I’m afraid I haven’t seen too many special literary methods here. By definition, the technique in this case is telling the story with more then just words written by the basic rules of the language. You should all try to explore various literary devices more. Technique is one of those segments which you can improve only by reading more and, in a way, trying to copy someone’s style and mixing it with your own.

CLARITY – 5,5

There were several segments – especially when Xale and Yamihara went out in the back alley – where the story became rather confusing. Combined with one or two instance where Jade mixed the narration with her character’s thoughts, I had to reread some parts of the story. The best advice I can give you is proofreading. Read something you wrote several days after you wrote it, and if it takes some effort to understand it, then something is wrong with it.

WILD CARD – 8

I was going to give a 7 for the effort, but the kiss between Jade and Yamihara added an extra notch to this score. ;)



TOTAL SCORE – 55

Congratulations!!!


Yamihara gets 715 EXP and 50 GP. She also loses three smoke bombs.
XaleManix gets 450 EXP and 50 GP. He also gets three smoke bombs from Yamihara.
Alearto gets 500 EXP and the bartender gives him 200 GP for helping him clear the mess.
Jade gets 400 EXP and 50 GP.


EXP/GP added!