A Storm on the Rocks

[Maia]

((Closed to Corvus.))

Maia couldn't really remember the last time that she went out on a larger adventure. At the very least, it had been far too long. She missed the openness that came with traveling and making a living off of singing in a tavern ever once in a while. Most of the time she got enough for a night's sleep and a little food for the road. Of course, whenever she needed to really make some distance, her wings gave her a unique advantage over others.

Maia loved to fly, though she didn't do it that often. Her wings got sore rather easily, like running hard for an entire day. She made time quickly, but she also was exhausted at the end of every flight. Her last flight was a few days ago, and now she was fine. Thankfully, however, she could see a village within walking distance. It was a smaller town, and as the girl began to get closer, she noticed the crash of waves and salty air.

She smiled, the grass actually a little greener and the birds seemed to sing a little better. It didn't really cancel out the storm that was slowly and lazily inching across the sky. Great big puffy clouds the color of night were slowly coming in towards the town, and there was a small fleet of ships that were out racing it, oping to get their boats docked and to safety. Maia sighed a little, and began to move towards the town a little more quickly. She readjusted her bag on her back a little, moving one of her feathery wings out of the way.

The wind was picking up by the time Maia made it into the town and found the best inn there. She had folded up her wings reasonably well, mostly hiding them. They were still there to whoever looked, but at least now they didn't bother everyone who was behind her. The girl couldn't explain where they actually went, but she did have a few ideas about it. It was one of the more lax goals she had, and that was to try and figure out how her body worked. Maia wasn't exactly a dull knife in the brains department.

The girl sat down in one of the tables closer to the door. The storm was still a while away, and the sun was shining, but the inn was still crowded. At least, Maia assumed it was an inn. The name on the building said it was. She yawned a little as she entered, a little weary from the running she did to make sure she stayed ahead of the storm. It was begining to darken now, as what she would assume were locals began to enter. Not many paid attention to the girl though. She had a cloak around her shoulders like a blanket, hiding most of her pretty form in favor of a little bit more warmth. Her head rested on an arm as she thought about what to do for the next few days. She felt a couple gold coins in a pocket, and decided to simply buy a night to sleep instead of working for it.

[Corvus MacCallum]

Not far was another cloaked figure slumped at a table, a heavy black cloak that had faint patches on its colouring that suggested faded stains, not to mention frenzied scrubbing afterwards. The wearers hood was down and displayed a head wrapped in bandages, completely covering the top half of his head, merely exposing the mouth and bottom of his nose, large and very clear red stains coating the eyes along with many other sections... between the wraps came large spikes of black hair, the occaisional white streak among them.

His table had on it two gold coins and a bar of some dull metal, reaching out from his cloak came a gauntleted hand, gloved as well, but the furry clawed fingers were free to the air. Stretching his fingers out before with one movement tapped all three objects, satisfied with that odd motion he gave the bar a twirl, letting it knock the coins aside to new areas. The bandages wrinkled around his nose as he began to exercise those nasel muscles, attempting to pick up the scent of the coins, originally they had changed hands too many times and just made a farce of this test. But on entering here they had been soaked in the same scent of mead and ale that wafted from every surface.

No guesses were made towards the position of the coins, his hand staying above the table fairly still, though had the trembles of a fading adrenaline rush. Resting against the wall near him was a gigantic blade of iron, too big to be called a sword really, marks and colours embedded in the scratched surface let it reassure those who looked upon its massive form that the weapon had seen many lifes ended. A chain was wrapped around the handle, hanging slack at the front and in that gap was wedged a broadsword of intense simplicity, bog-standard with the exception that apart from the edge, every bit of the blades surface had been scratched and sheared. Ornamental markings may have adorned this weapon but the current owner saw fit to remove them in a suitably savage way.

A flex of the fingers and then suddenly the hand lashed out, a clink as the claw found its first mark, but then hit just the edge of the second coin, it took flight from the force, spinning upwards into the air. Then descended upon the winged girls table, rattling and winding its way back to lifeless rest, a quiet mutter heard from the cloaked figure, a rather simple.

"... bugger"

[Maia]

It was amazing how some things ended up working. For instance, there were times when someone couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard they tried. The easiest example of this is the night before a child's big birthday, or when a farmer is worrying about his crops. But on the other hand, sometimes someone could fall asleep anywhere and in any position. Maia was currently in the latter part.

Her head was nestled in the crook of her elbow comfurtably, and part of her golden hair seemed to shine where exposed. Still, the girl was left alone for the most part. She was pretty tired, and looked it for the most part. Especially since she didn't really realize how worn out she was. She was nearly asleep when a small hard object hit her head softly before clattering to the ground and rolling into her foot.

Maia groaned looking up and blinking a little. Everything was even more fuzzy then it normally was. She looked around, not really seeing anyone who could have thrown the coin. She looked down, a delicate hand extending and picking up an object that seemed to shine compared to the dirtier floor. She blinked a few more ties, looking towards the other people again. One or two people were watching, and the girl's vision began to clear as sleep left her eyes.

She stood up and let her cloak fall behind her, actually showing everyone else in the tavern what she looked like. She stifled a yawn and walked a few steps to another table holding the coin. The patron had bandages about his head, but seemed like a nice enough guy. She grinned sleepily, her eyes still somewhat closed and everything sort of moving slowly.

"Sorry,"the girl said. She sat down at the table and kept her grin, resting her chin on the table and putting the coin in front of her. She pushed it across the table and almost snuggled into the crook of her arm again, keeping an eye on the man. "That yours?"

[Corvus MacCallum]

"hmm?"

The Highlanders head turned to look at the girl, despite the fact his eyes were entirely covered by bandages, majority of the blood-stains being around those eye indents. He wasn't used to being blind just yet and so hadn't picked up the habit blind folk develop of not looking at those who speak to them, still he had advantages over them and began a bit of subtle, silent, sniffery. Reaching out to the coin still upon the table, giving it a gentle flick on the side, this time it went into the air before landing against the back of his hand, was a simple bit of reflex skill... though Corvus remembered all the many times he buggered it up, most not even that distant in the past.

"Nah apologies are mine to give, sorry about that, heard your slumbering from here heh... just trying out a few wee tests of the senses"

Never hurts to be open, plus with her current condition the girl probably only heard one in every three words, possibly only bits of those words, all depended on the individuals attention span. His quick sniffing had told him a lot about the person currently sitting with him, she had the scent of sea spray about her, but very little in the way of earthen smells, likely she had come from sea or else not walked this distance. Female of course, that was one of the easiest of scents to distinguished, only men of a dodgy nature could smell that pleasing, a few scents of leather and traces of metal, not an armoured figure of combat, seems like just any traveller.

A few other strange scents were playing on his mind, but without a visual aid he just couldn't place them, did she have a bird perching on her shoulder?... nah the scents too different, nor is there the heart-beat or general scuffling of an avian pet.

"Shouldnae go sleeping on the tavern floor though, lots of fingers are more dextrous than mine... eh why not, names Corvus lass, how about you?... able to tell me before you slump off the chair heh?"

He had heard the legs scraping lightly against the floor, a creak as pressure shifted, his elbows feeling the texture of the table change slightly, as did the balance while the womans weight shifted it. Life without sight, didn't seem such a horrible prospect at the moment. At the very least, he could make do.

[Maia]

The girl adjusted herself on the table, letting her head rest on her arm instead. She adjusted her cloak again, wrapping it over her body so that she could be a little bit more comfertable. Her wings didn't ache that much yet, so she kept them hidden. Still, she breathed upward, moving some stray strands of hair out of her eyes as she managed to get a good look at whose table she just stole.

He seemed like a pretty nice guy, though Maia was more then a little put off by his bandages. It wasn't so much his bandages or that he was blind, but that there was enough blood on them to let a vampire survive for a month. Still, she grinned at little at him. She had a weird knack for picking out people who were undead. It was much more likely that the warrior before her needed a change of bandages then he needed to suck her blood.

"I'm Maia," she replied simply, failing at making her voice make her seem alert and awake. She stuck her tongue out at him, then put it back in her mouth when she remembered he probably wouldn't get the gesture. "If you wanna talk, keep being interesting or get me some tea." The girl yawned, though she was now begining to wake up again. She stared for a few second at the man, wondering whether or not to ask. She decided to bite the bullet.

"So why are you here?" The girl asked. She swore under her breath, her words twisting from what she intended to say to something used to start small talk. She shook her head a little, burying her head into her arm a little more. "Also, do you want a change of bandages? Those look a little, used. I could get some for you." The girl smiled a little at the blind man, hand playing with the necklace she wore.

[Corvus MacCallum]

"I'm just here on a bit of travelling, I spent a few days in the wilds and got kinda sick of snoozing on boar skin..."

Wasn't a complete lie, he had actually chucked the boar skin for a very nice deer hide which he had been planning to snooze on tonight...

"... and no worries, this keeps the unscrupulous types away and besides... what difference does them being messy make to me heheh?... no wucking forries lass, no wucking forries"

He smirked and slumped back against the chair, it creaked and there was this very noisy shuffling of his cloak, in all honesty he hated the damn things, too stuffy and constrictive despite their flowing characteristics... but lately he'd come into contact with quite a few haters of demi-humans and figured using it to hide himself worked well. It was quite an irony, people will question anyone who looks a little different, but shuffle into town in a large sheer black cloak and no one bats an eye-lid, a tell-tale sign of it being a shadier habitat.

"Hmm, well if you fancy a cup go ahead and order, that sovreign resting near your elbow should cover the price with a few chunklets of change, not a big fan of hot drinks myself, prefer drinks that heat you up without the need for boiling heheh"

There was something faint wafting in from the entrance, but on reaching his nostrils it got so distorted and mixed he couldn't get a firm grasp, a scent of metal and leather, well worn, but there was something more to it... a curious scent of... nobility. Even he knew it was ridiculous to think you could smell characteristics and personalities, but something in that scent gave him the same urge that Broadsword filled him with on spotting it... it was drawing closer, more than enough time to study it, for now, the conversation.

"So Maia, you've asked me, so how about yourself?... whats got you secluded in this hidey hole of the nefarious and sea-stained?"

[Maia]

The girl though for a moment, then picked up the coin that the man had been playing with an inspected it. It was more then enough to pay for a drink, and the girl wasn't really in the mood for a heavier drink. She didn't get hangovers, but only the strong stuff could give her a buzz at all. When it came to other people's money, she wasn't a big fan of buying the strongest whiskey. She waited a second, sitting up and tugging on the wench who was going around collecting drinks.

"Tea please, or something like that," Maia said to the serving girl. She handed the coin and continued to sit up as she scurried into the kitchen to fetch her drink, holding the edges of the cloak to ward off the cold and keep her heat next to her. the room was actually begining to get warm, especially with the fire that someone started in the fireplace. Still, the girl didn't want to have to face the chill.

"Well, you are cute, really it's only the blood stained bandages keeping me from smothering myself over you," Maia commented with an excessive amount of sarcasm. She grinned a little, sticking her tongue out for a second at him. It was a little disconcerning to talk to a blind person. Most of the little body language Maia used was lost, and she was careful to change her voice appropriatly. Still, it didn't stop her from sticking out her tongue or rolling her eyes at the right moment.

"Well, I've mostly been traveling too, I've gotten some money saved up and I've been trying to see some of the sights before needing to return to Corone," Maia explained, making up most of it on the spot. She really had no real reason for traveling, and the inn was sort of just in the way. The serving girl came with Maia's tea, and gave her some coins as change. Maia thanked her, and slid the coins to Corvus' side of the table.

"Sides, I'm curious now," the girl began. She heard the door open and some people walk in, but didn't pay them much mind at all. Corvus interested her more. Especially since he apparently didn't need much in the ways of sight. "So then, how does someone like you manage to get blinded? You don't strike me as someone whose that weak in a fight."

[Corvus MacCallum]

"Personally I thought I was more the ruggedly handsome kind... then again this probably negates a lot of that"

Reaching out onto the table he dragged the metal bar close to the coin he hadn't lost from pokerage and gave it a spin, sending the coin rattling aside and into an area he hadn't memorized yet. Conversation and trying to pin-point the coin, made a nice splitting of priorities, rarely is just the one thing happening in battle. She certainly spoke in a free nature, probably had nothing to do with being tired and simply being a woman that interacted more with adventurers than the general populace. Was always quite curious what could be brought forth from an adventurer with barely any effort whatsoever... Corvus, well he openly gave up information, he never had any reason to keep it.

"As for how I'm now fumbling in the dark, well it was self inflicted really, bit of a dumb notion but its paying off quite well... certainly bringing my other senses to the fore-front"

Curious

Without the worry of seeing what was going on around him, removing at least one layer of possible distraction he was slowly settling into the civilised... well reasonably civilised area. Pubs were comfortable enough, one of the few buildings he didn't mind going into but it all depended on the company, or if there were any boasting wind-bags that needed deflating. He had to wonder, what kind of odds would a blind guy get in an arm wrestling match...

"Ain't gonna go boasting but I'm definately not weak in a fight, couldn't be, thats my sword there... the one taking up a large portion of the wall heheh, you a native of Corone?... came from Salvar myself, way up in the snow wastes, just miles and miles... of white, even to a wanderer its pretty damn dull, plus no decent beasts to pull down"

His ear gave a twitch, there was some rising commotion outside, sounded like a peddler hawking his wares, there was at least the rythm of steady bidding and the clink and jingle, dampened by the walls but still present of goods changing hands of being switched about on an overburdened pack. The Highlanders tail giving a quick flick to the side and pushing against the side of his cloak while he pondered this little scene, he was pretty tempted to see if a merchant would short-change a blind guy.

[Maia]

Maia lifted up a hand, waving it in front of the blinded man's face. She had doubts of his total humanity, but Maia could have cared less. She lived in Sanctuary, a place where even the rocks could tell a good tale and humans were not a majority. The most that took Maia by surprise in terms of sentience was gone now. Then again, she couldn't really talk. She had two wings most of the time that threw her out of the human race as it was.

She noticed the sudden push against Corvus' cloak, but didn't really think much of it. The girl had a pretty inkling as to what Corvus was, but he seemed to be a little hesitant about it. The girl almost giggled a little at that, but a wider, almost mischevous smile was on her lips instead. She sipped her drink, brining the hot liquid down to almost the halfway point in the cup.

"So I take t you're not really blind then, and can see," Maia inferred. She took another sip and leaned back, moving her cloak to the side of her. The tea was warming her up a bit, and the fire was helping. The pitter patter of rain was begining to come in, and a loud, more obnoxious man entered into the bar, swearing a bit. Maia looked towards him for a second, though only enough to see he wasn't a good fighter and his sword was too good for him. It was amazing what a full years adventuring does to you.

"I honestly never met someone who had a sword like that before," Maia admitted. She blushed at a little at that, though mostly as she realized what she said next. "Still, can you use it well enough? I've seen a couple people with them, and mos of them got overwhelmd by a quicker person. Course', me meeting you most likely means you're pretty good with it. Then again, I'm not a fan of Salvar. Too cold and I like to wear tighter clothing then you need to survive up there. Couple of my friends lived in Salvar, though they were born in the more southern part. Bit jealous of the damn furballs at times too."

((Given how you want the sword, you get to describe the bandit-ey guy. I assume he has the sword and book for now. Have him do anything you want for now, though picking on Maia or something would be good. Also, hope this works, and this ooc thing will be deleated after your post.))

[Corvus MacCallum]

"Well about as blind as can be in the fact I can't see shit heh... and yea I use it quite well indeed, evidenced by these heh"

With a scuffle of foot he nudged his bag into an easily reached spot, plucking it from the ground and then dumping it onto the table. He was hearing the boasting bastards out-cry of his talent but ignored it for now, that curious scent was on him though... so while the words were gone there was still some noise touching upon the Highlanders attention span. Reaching within the bag his furry hand became a bit more prominent, rummaging within he brought out a fairly expanded upon fang rope. Among all the twists and turns of the rough, frayed material were stabbed in fangs and teeth from a wide assortment of beasts, monsters and a few dragons.

"At the least, I can swing it enough to hold my own heh... urgh that guys so bloody loud"

Standing near the bar was, well sadly Corvus wasn't able to see but he could just feel that what stood there was a lanky streak of piss. To those who hadn't blocked their own sight that assumption was highly accurate, a pasty skinned, weasel of a creature, greasy hair... though that could just be sheen from the rain hitting him. Sprawling out of the sheen were thin strands of brown hair, not a remarkable brown, one you might find in mud or a very dark pub table... the same was with his eyes, they were blue, that was obvious to those close enough but it just lacked anykind of spark. The look of a man who had ambitions very, very low to the dirt.

"Lookie here boys, a sword worthy of a king and its mine hah!"

"Pull it out, less ga a look in 'ere"

His lackeys, of course the black garbed bandit had lackeys, men of bigger muscles but far smaller minds, not that this current boaster was a remarkable thinker he just had the intelligence to walk and talk at the same time, or close his mouth before a fly buzzes in. Three of them were huddled at the bar watching their leader with awe, between the few brain-cells shared out they were probably going along the line of 'a' las da boss have weapon to suit him'. Black garbed, ah yes, Corvus could smell the dye, not to mention the material, simple cotton, but beneath the layers were a mingling of leathers and simple steels... under armour to help trick those into thinking hes unprotected but then blocking a weak blow. That was a curious hint of intelligence.

"Don't suppose you could do me a favour lass?... tell me what sword that gits boasting about, its sparked my curiousity"

On the Bandit leaders hip was a very large leather satchel, slapping against his thigh while he posed and twirled the sheathed blade, heavy with much of the peddlers prized merchandise perhaps.

[Maia]

Maia was expecting any number of things. She expected a small logbook filled with dates and descriptions of battle. She expected a dagger with notches in it, or a worn shield. She even would have expected a bright fairy trapped in a clear glass bottle. The girl did not expect the grotesque, yet morbidly interesting necklace he held up. Maia didn't shy away, and even scooted her seat a little closer to see some of them. Every seemed to be on there, from a larger tooth that could only have come from a dragon to a wolf's tooth. Maia whistled in amazement, smiling broadly at the man in front of her.

"Nice," Maia commented. She could have almost hit herself for such a bland statement. Her eyes flicked upward for a second, noticing Corvus' hand and its near lack of similarity to her own. Maia shrugged a little, finishing her inspection of the prize necklace and pushing it towards Corvus a little. "Might want to get some better leather though. That one if fraying. Though if what I think is on there is, you might want to try for demon skin. Stuff hardly ever gets cut or tears."

Maia grinned, rubbing the small hem of her own demon skin shirt. It was hard to the touch, but able to bend without much effort and soft on the girl's skin at the same time due to some modifications. She had a silk underlining for the shirt, making it into effective armor and traveling cloths. Her breasts and back weren't chafed red and raw either with the silk. She tuned out the noises made by the people behind her, mostly dismissing them as worthless. She had seen the group come in, and also identified them as the wrong sort to hang out with. She did what Corvus asked though, and she was surprised.

"Big sword," Maia commented simply. She turned back to Corvus, sipping some of her cooling tea and listening to the rain outside. "Bit like an over-sized katana or something. Looks like a good blade hough. I can't recognize the metal, but it looks expensive. Wooden handle I guess, can't tell. Still, has to be an expensive bugger to look so good in the hands of scum like him. Course, he's also the type who would use it in a couple bandit muggings, then get killed himself."

The girl chuckled a little, setting the tea down and resting her hand on the hilt of her dagger. It was unconscious, but Maia realized it a moment later, sliding her hand off. "Were you thinking of taking the sword from him or something?"

[Corvus MacCallum]

"Pretty much yea"

He gave a quiet chuckle and leaned back against his chair for a moment, he didn't follow it up with a story of why, or bother her with the issues of how he was going to do it. Probably wouldn't be all that interested, but to him the scent of that git and the blade were far too detached, there wasn't a single hint of mingling done, even the Peddlers scent had a more fitting similiarity to the blade. Flicking a proper smile to Maia... at least he assumed he was smiling in the right direction the blinded Highlander rose up, leaving his blade behind for once, he hadn't performed a good round of fisticuffs for some time.

This was quite disorientating, scent and sound were absolutely fantastic for picking up movement, how faint the scent or strong it hung in the air let you know if the person passed three days or three minutes ago... it was not that immensely helpful on things that were stagnent, nor was trying to hear. A few settling creaks of chairs, some conversations but trying to sort through where everything was in exact detail was quite a feat Corvus couldn't quite manage. So while he had wanted for an immovable object kind of approach to the bar counter, he had no choice but to stub his toes a few times and stagger in some portions... he was just glad the braggart was loud enough to find easily in the murk of babble.

Finally he had approached the bandit and his cronies, one of which was scuffing his heels off the wooden floor, tch couldn't even pick up his own legs... heavy thuds with the pad too, big guy.

"Fuck you wan?"

"Well thats a curious question"

He wasn't much for being wordy but he was inwardly grinning at battling wits with an unarmed opponent, at the very least he was going to gain some vital facts by using the thugs typical bragging mentality to his advantage.

"Wha' you mean by tha?"

"such a deep, booming voice, must be from a rather tall gent, well built too"

"Hey one a dem, flowery guys?..."

"No merely curious, take it your the muscle of this bunch"

"Dats right, Crusher!"

Wonderfully original... there must be an almanac all brigand and bandits have that list nicknames...

"Guessing your nearly pushing six foot six, would that be right?"

"Uh..."

At the moment Corvus was well covered by his cloak, due to that he had hunched and scrunched himself down to get just shy of his usual height, the gits breath was running through the underside of his hood, must be around collar bone level... rest of the body running downwards... slowly the image of this git was forming in the Highlanders mind and then painted onto that mental image was a big target.

With a sudden swift movement Crusher dropped like a sack of shit carrying three tonnes of ignorance, the Highlander couldn't help but snicker on hearing him fall.

Could have sworn I heard them crack heheh

The bandits suddenly gave this blind cloaked figure a bit more respect and finally saw him as a threat, blades of various ill-condition were drawn... for the most part anyway, a few used clubs and most importantly, the boss was unable to draw his blade. Corvus could hear the reason but why explain it to the paniced, the idiot had left the clasp strapped over the hilt in place.

"out, I said out!"

"Thats perfect"

His fangs were bared on one side of his face, the hood falling back a little, Corvus having his blood stained patches on the bandages stare straight to the Bandit leader.

"Just who I was looking for"

Fear, well perspiration was being given off by them all, he could guess how they were standing, where they were standing and this was the best opportunity. Giving a loud bark he heard them all shuffle back and then he charged, his shoulder caught one of the smaller bandits right in the chest and sent him hurtling into two others, then as Corvus put his next foot forward it landed upon another bandits foot, his claws digging in deep and crushing the moving appendage as he sped up. Leaping at the leader Corvus bowled both him and that git right over the bar and behind, a few of the patrons deciding this was a good course of action, some were against it...and others... well it was an excuse to have a barney.

[Maia]

His answer didn't surprise Maia in the slightest, though his sudden rise did. Most people she knew who were about to get something talked about how, or gave a reason. Simply rising up and beginning to stumble over wasn't what she was expecting. She grinned, sipping her tea and finding it a little sad that her cup was empty. He put it down, scooting her seat over so that she would not be caught in anything that would end up hurting her.

Corvus was a good fighter, especially considering he was blinded by the bandage around his eyes. The girl's smaller grin went to a full blown smile from ear to ear as the scum were quickly dealt with, and the ensuing bar fight began. She hadn't ever really seen such a fight start like that ever before. Most of the time it was just one guy who decided to fight another guy, then a friend got pulled in, then the rest of of the bar got pulled in. Having one single person clobber three or four guys was a change of pace.

Maia giggled, noticing Corvus' rather obvoius extra additions to his body. It made sense that he seemed to be part wolf or so. She remembered something like that happening to her, a long time ago. Still, at least two or three began to attack him from behind, and one was going to grab a chair to stop the wolf man from continuing his little game. Maia quickly weighed the options, deciding she liked Corvus a lot more then any of the nameless faces in the bar. She stood, walking over as the man held up the chair. She kicked him soundly, and he dropped the chair behind him and fell to the ground, clutching one of his more vulnerable spots. No one said Maia had to play fair.

She turned, actually using what she knew in the art of fighting to attack this man. Her open palm connected solidly with his jaw, pushing it and his head to the side. She kneed his knew hard, and caused him to stumbled into the girl's body. Whatever joy he had in being hugged by Maia was lost as she let him drop, not before a second knee his even hard into his kidney. They were basic shots she learned while at sea and in the Brotherhood, and it was amazing how they stuck with her even now.

[Corvus MacCallum]

Another standing at the bar was about to bring down a large bottle to Corvus when the wolf-man shot up and gave a puppyish bark, the bandit sneering as he raised his arm up higher.

"Funny git"

"Thanks for that"

A fanged grin met the now located bandit, claws flashed out and through the air sailed cloth, flesh and a few tendons usually located in the elbow joint of a bottle raising arm. The Highlanders free hand grabbing the falling bottle as the glass sounded against the rough hands of the screaming bandit, quickly his fingers rolled it around in his grip, clutching at the main body and then lept up for a moment, smashing the wide formed bottle into the bandits face, leaving him to fall back with a yelling gurgle.

I shouldn't be enjoying this so much, but its a curious twist to combat...

On landing back to his previous quarry there was a loud 'gah' of pain as his feet hit the bandit leaders bread-basket with all that Wolfy weight. A feeling of small weight as large flecks of blood hit against Cors shin, the blinded fighter looking down... however redundantly to the bandit leader, his fallen prey still clutching that clasped sword.

"Give it to me"

"n-n-.."

The next two noises were a very ferocious bark and a tiny bladder releasing squeak, there was also a finishing sound to make it a full trio, the sword being thrust into Cors hand. He gave one last kick to his beaten opponent and tapped his claws along the bar counter, sweeping aside a few shreds of glass and rather eagerly chewed pigs ear, nice clear landing spot. A quick vault up and he was now looking over the whole slew of carnage... just a shame he was missing out on it, he liked the look of a good bar brawl, how everything flowed and ebbed in such a wonderfully violent way. A few people were ready to attack around the bar, Corvus never got the idea he was in the eye of the storm right now, no they weren't quite ready to tackle a blind guy who had taken down several bandits with little trouble and was now armed.

"I wouldn't but then, thats me"

He smiled and hopped off from the bar, ear twitching as there was a resounding clang of metal, some guy yelling about a broken shoulder and an outcry from one of the lesser dented drunks.

"What the hell is this thing, no one uses a sword that big!"

Lets test the waters heheh...

His voice was loud, it was clear and it managed to reach all corners of the bruise filled drinking hole.

"Actually, that swords mine!"

The sound in that corner where his iron blade rested halted almost immediately, slowly fanning outwards, hushed whispers transferring the message all through to the patrons that were still in the land of the awake. Honestly, he never felt it was that impressive, but this was a small port, bandits, brigands and a few paltry adventurers... this was not a place monster hunters or slayers of the larger opponents would visit, nothing remarkable about this area...

"Bit of a big bastard isn't it heheh?"

A few fights were still going, not everyone had the benefit of multi-tasking after all, would be foolish to think so. But the majority were all looking at the blind, cloaked man who was currently clutching in one hand a sheathed sword of rather exotic design. Deciding now would be a good time to head for his table, only took a moment or two, was much easier to travel when people moved aside, scooping up his fang rope, stuffing it inside the bag, slinging that under his cloak and against his arm.

Decisions... decisions...

Well his weight training had been paying off well, time to flex those muscles... well in a moment, he grasped the broadsword hanging by the Slammers chain, slipping it under his buckler to rest against his fore-arm, then with his left hand grasped the handle of that gigantic lump of iron. The patrons standing immediately around him, they were so clenched a staffordshire couldn't pull a pin out of their arse. His fingers closed upon the handle one by one, then hoisted it up, bringing the flat of the blade up to his shoulder, readjusting his hand and then turning to the audience, giving a quick shrug.

From below the bar the bandit leader was planning out his revenge, at the moment it seemed entirely unfeasible, all he had left was some worn out looking old book, figuring it would be worth a few more coins to some learned individual. Pulling himself up his eyes locked on the blind man and his sword, there was a tiny murmur of sound, his grip loosened on the book and he just slid back down into the recesses only landlords dare to tread.

Corvus-

Spoils: Five foot long samurai sword with an oak handle wraped in leather and tungsten blade. Including hard leather sheath.


Maia-

Spoils: Book of Vampire: A special book that tells about vampire culture, history, legends, ect. Used to educate newly sired vampires. Written in the old vampiric dialect.

Both items bequeathed by Grim137.

[Call me J]

Total Score- 48.5

First of all, let me apologize on the delay. It took a while to get done, and should have been treated better. Anyhow, this thread feels as if it’s below both your potential. It seemed that your motivation here was to come up with the simplest plot to get Grim’s stuff.

• STORY ~ 13/30

Continuity (4) ~ I really didn’t get a feel for why anything going on mattered to either character. There was just nothing that jumped out to me that explained why this thread needed to exist.

Setting (5) ~ You guys did an adequate job describing scenery, but for the most part it was uninspired.

Pacing (4) ~ There was really far too much small talk I really didn’t need in this thread.

• CHARACTER ~ 16.5/30

Dialogue (5.5) ~ I really like the way Corvus’ speech was so distinct, but you both need to learn to use dialogue better. At times, you advanced the plot, but at other times, I felt like dialogue focused too much on minutiae that told me nothing about who the characters were.

Action (5) ~ There was nothing here that really leapt out to me in either a positive or negative way. The characters actions were all justified, nothing really struck me as strange, but there was nothing particularly memorable either.

Persona (6) ~ While it’s clear that both of you have a good idea of who your characters are, it didn’t really come out that well in this thread. Corvus’ dialogue was the one distinct thing that really jumped out at me.

• WRITING STYLE ~ 13/30

Mechanics (5) ~ Maia had quite a few silly spelling errors. I didn’t notice that issue with Corvus as much as that he had a tendency to slip into a passive voice in situations where it wasn’t appropriate. Some people will tell you there are no appropriate situations for a passive voice, and while I don’t agree with that, you do need to learn not to use it as frequently and as unnecessarily as you do now.

Technique (6) ~ This was by far the strongest area of the three as far as writing is concerned. I could tell that you guys have talent from the technique, and quite a bit of creativity as well.

Clarity (2) ~ This thread was just really hard to follow. I had to read it quite a few times to figure what the heck was going on, and in some ways, I’m really still not sure. In many cases, it feels like what you were going for was lost in translation.

• Wild Card (6) ~ I like the way that Grim’s items are being carried on through a legacy involving other characters.

Spoils
Maia receives 860 EXP, 70 GP and the Book of Vampire
Corvus MacCallum receives 720 EXP, 70 GP and Grim’s sword.

[Karuka]

EXP/GP added!