Gilded Eye and Ruby Heart (Closed)

[Glacies]

(Closed to Flamebird)

Glacies flipped through his notebook and circled the entry he'd made from the ledger about a mission to kill an ancient creature called a “steam golem.” He tapped his new pen against his chin and thought about it. He hadn't yet done an expedition in Alerar, and finishing this mission would give him a foundation to work from. It seemed simple enough, tear some ancient mechanical beast apart and harvest the parts for extra money on top of the reward money for simply ridding the country of a threat.

“It would be difficult to defeat something that uses Steam with my power alone, though. I'll actually need to conscript a few mercenaries, maybe a spellcaster who can handle a steam mech...” he said as he slowly closed the notebook. The man sitting next to him at the tavern table smiled and shook his head.

“Boss, you're overthinking this stuff,” the man said as he signaled a nearby waitress. Glacies glared out over the rim of his glasses at the taller, bearded man with a scowl.

“Yes, and that's what keeps us alive,” Glacies said in a rough growl. “I won't leave anything to chance that I don't have to, even if that means splitting the spoils with mercenaries.” He flipped a gold piece through the air at the waitress as she stood over them waiting for his companion's order. “Order whatever you like. I'll take a bottle of wine, middle quality, something fermented recently.”

His man looked at him with a somewhat bemused expression and said, “I'll take a flagon of ale and keep 'em coming.”

Glacies brushed an imaginary mote of dust off his white coat and looked up toward the vaulted ceiling of the establishment. The old wood was rigid from years of settling and ran through the establishment like a fossilized ribcage.

The ice mage looked around at the other patrons of the tavern. They all seemed to be here on their own business and didn't much seem to care to socialize outside of their own small crews of people.

“When they told me that this tavern was perfect for talking privately, I didn't think they meant that's what the clientele tended toward. I was rather hoping they meant it was too loud to make out what the next table was talking about without standing right there on top of them,” he said.

“I told you, Glacies, Alerar isn't like Corone or Scara Brae.”

“Micah, you know I'm aware, but even then... this is different,” he insisted.

The fighting man shrugged and took a swig of his ale as it was laid on the table with a clang that was somewhat louder due to the lack of noise.

“We're a favorite of businessmen of all sorts. They tend to want it kept quiet, so our bouncers don't let the working stiffs in if their looking to be loud,” the waitress said with a half smile as she put the wine on the table carefully. “Basically if you don't have two gold to rub together, you can take yourself to the docks and spend your hard earned coppers there. You want the rough and tumble crowd? You look there.”

Glacies merely nodded and slid another silver across the table.

“And what's this for?”

“The information. I'm a businessman, but I deal in a far more dangerous business than most. These fine folks seem more at home in the bustle of city life than in parts more... wild.”

“...What exactly does someone as well to do as you look do that could be so dangerous?”

“We call ourselves the Back Up Heroes,” he said simply. “We're basically adventurers for hire, but our specialty is finishing quests started but never finished for whatever reason, be it the death of the original team sent in or them reneging on their contract. Even if they don't hire us, during our downtime between jobs we follow failed expeditions and take over where they... ended, I suppose, and continue from there. What I need are people who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty and who'll do their share of the work.”

“Oh,” she responded simply and scooped up the silver. “And I suppose you sit comfortably in an inn until your boys make it back?”

Micah laughed and slapped his hand against the smooth wood of the table beneath them before he said, “As if we could keep this reckless dung hoarder away from the front lines! No, he personally vanguards every adventure we go on, and likely will until we have a second company to send out on missions. We're just starting out at the moment, but the work is plentiful if you know where to look, and-”

“I know where to look,” Glacies said. He took the bottle of wine, drained it in one go and placed the bottle gently on the table.”Soon we'll be leaving to finish a quest taken on by another team that... failed. I won't say much more, but I do need to find some more people. If you could have the word put out that an adventuring party is looking for a few extra hands, swords, and spells, I'd be grateful. I'll send Micah down to that bar as well to do a little recruiting. In the meantime, do you know a good inn nearby?”

“There's the Singing Trout next door. Our owner owns it. Cleanest linens in town.”

“Nah, we need something that...” he glanced at Micah. “Well, we don't want your master having to burn his linens after we've slept on them.” Micah snorted derisively but didn't argue.

“Ah, the Shivering Salamander down the road caters to the more... worldly adventurers, and they're right across from a bath house if you need it,” the waitress said.

“Now that sounds heavenly,” Glacies said as he handed her another gold. “Let my man drink as much as he'd like. He'll stumble to the inn soon enough.” Without another word he slipped quietly out the door and made his way down the market street. His boots kicked up dust behind him as he made his way quickly toward the Shivering Salamander to reserve a room before the nightly rush went into full swing. He'd head straight to the bath house from there.

[Flamebird]

The Shivering Salamander.

A sturdy wine glass slammed against a rough, oak table. Laughter, talk, and small squabbling filtered in and out of flooded hearing range as two figures conversed in the corner. The shaded edge of the inn seemed to hide from the rest of the tavern. Dull golden light flickered across the cramped, crowded room as its torch flames flickered. The tables were tightly pulled into one another, awkwardly legged chairs having to squeeze as many diversifying adventurers and wanderers chattered over beer and maps, battle plans and treasure hunting parties. Usually, she would be joining them, jumping into the action sword swinging. However, with her more distinct goal in mind, she was avoiding much attention. There was indeed a prize she hunted for in Alerar. It was no bounty, jewel, or technological wonder, however. She searched for what could be seen as one of the greatest wealth’s of all: knowledge.

More specifically, knowledge on something important to her. A long time ago, an alchemist started it, then forced it onto her. Now, she was determined to finish it, put together the pieces. Unfortunately, it would prove to be a grueling task.

“Felicity,” the person holding the glass spoke, “You’ll have to be careful.”

Leaning against the wall, holding pear in her hands, Felicity blinked in bored annoyance. Her flame colored hair greatly contrasted her dark blue shirt and tan pants. Worn travelling boots relaxed against the table, she scowled, “You don’t think I realize that, Gwen?”

As she took a large bite from the pear, glare unrelenting, the hooded and cloaked boy sighed. He lifted the red drink up to his lip, long strands of white hair falling over his face, “Lassie-“ he took a small sip, then lowered the glass, “-You don’t get it. This is the Fourth Guild you are tangling with.”

She sucked the juice falling down her hand. Her green eyes never darted from his amber as she responded, “Who else knows the secrets of my powers though?” She sighed, lowering the fruit, “Daisuke doesn’t.”

The boy leaned forward, shaded outfit rippling as he chirped hopefully, “You know I know. I could always just tell-“

Felicity shook her head, “You can travel back in time, but can you somehow memorize a recipe that was never written down? Get information from a hidden lair?” She chuckled in a scoff, “You may be a Thayne, Gwenael, but you can’t magically fix everything.”

He sighed, hunkered over, “You’re risking so much.”

“You’ve seen my entire life, Gwen,” Felicity spoke with a smirk, “You know this is within my normal bounds.”

He did not say anything, only glancing aside. Wandering into thought, he looked into nowhere. There was only the sound of her finishing her pear as he pondered. The eighteen year old soon tossed her scrawny core onto a ravaged platter. Numerous bones from meats, pits and cores from fruits, and crumbs from bred sprinkled the multitude of plates. It was obvious that she ate all of it, grease and chicken sauce splattered onto her face. Gwenael paid no mind, however, as he warned her, “Just don’t make it obvious. Blend in.”

She turned her eyesight to the glass. He pulled it closer to himself, smirking, “This is grape juice, by the way. Can’t stand wine…”

He tossed coin onto the table, standing up. The chair cried out as the floorboards moaned beneath his feet. “Your meal is taken care of too!” He chugged down the last of the beverage, then disappeared into the crowd. As the sea of bodies engulfed him, Felicity sighed. He was right, she needed to look inconspicuous… maybe a bounty could help? She stretched her arms, yawning. Alerar was probably the strangest land she had ever encountered. Even stranger than Dheathian! She wished her half drow friend Yvonne was here to guide her. Alas, she was alone in a world of futuristic technology, gears, endless clatter and noise, wastelands…

If she were to take a bounty, it would help her to familiarize herself with this odd country better. She needed to be in a group though. No way was she facing Alerar completely alone, especially when her “guardian angel” could only offer limited help. She pushed the platter away, dished clanging, and rested her chin against the table. Footsteps sounded again. Her eyes batted up lazily, watching a tavern keep walk up to her. The black haired, green skinned drow spoke charmingly, “Are you in need of any more refreshment?”

Felicity looked back towards the plates, “Some water would be nice, please?"

He collected the pay and walked back towards to counter to get the drink. Within this moment, the door to Alerar’s stuffy, polluted streets opened. From the smog and smoke, newcomers arrived.

[Glacies]

“Ah, so refreshing,” Glacies said as he slipped into the hot water. He had managed to spring for a private room at the bath house, and was planning to enjoy himself. He slipped further down into the water, allowing the heat to slowly untie the knots in his muscles. The steam rising off the bath rose into the air and clouded sight of the small wooden room. The fires had been stoked to just the proper height to allow the heat to build through the water without being overwhelming, and the slight incline of the stones on the entrance side made it easy to just lie back and relax in the tub.

The ice mage pondered his next move a little more while the heat radiated through his body. He had Micah as his personal assistant and bodyguard, but he'd yet to buy the loyalty of any other sellswords in the area. Most of them had heard of the mission that he was planning to take on, a quest left unfulfilled for over a year now as each team that had chased that so-called golem had never been heard from again. It seemed like a fool's errand, some kind of cursed quest. It had gotten so bad that the reward had been tripled and still no one would take it.

“Damn... I'm going to need foreigners who don't know anything about this expedition to take this on... either that or someone fearless and capable enough to know that they can take on this mechanical monstrosity,” he muttered under his breath before he slipped his head into the hot water and let the air bubbled slowly leave his mouth.

He rose in all of his nude glory from the water and wrapped the rough towel around himself and sat down on the bench provided for slipping out of one's boots. He sat there for a few moments, his chin resting in his palms as he considered his options. He would of course check out the Shivering Salamander and see if anyone there was interested, but it was likely he wouldn't have any backers.

“I can promise only so much money upfront, too. It'd be a shame if I had to hire someone from Raiaera, Salvar or Corone. They'd cost more because of the expense of travel. I really need someone local...” Air rapidly passed through his teeth as he grimaced. “But who'd foolhardy enough to take on this mission with an unknown backer like me? It's not like I've run more than a small hand full of small expeditions so far...”

He sighed and sunk his head into his hands. He shook his head for a moment before he took his towel to finish drying off.

“Well, there's nothing for it. I can only do what I can,” he said to himself. He slipped into his freshly washed clothes and walked out of the bath house with an expression on his face that made the guard at the front of the establishment think he had been drinking sour milk.

He walked across and down the street a bit to see the Shivering Salamander. The sign was old, painted wood, but the paint was fresh. A bright red dragon surrounded by snow stood up on its hind legs, blowing fire into its palms, in a futile attempt to warm itself up.

“Cute,” he said with a roll of his eyes as he opened the door to the inn without any fanfare. His man would be behind him soon, or he'd be sleeping his drunk off in the gutters of the city. He walked through the door and saw what he had hoped for, a din of people all looking over maps planning expeditions and adventures while many others simply sat and drank.

Glacies found himself a chair somewhere between the walls and center of the room and took out a notebook. He started writing down things and reached into his pack to pull out a map.

“Alright,” he said as he took out his new mechanical pen and started circling the areas where the beast had been known to show up. “It seems to be sticking close to...” he drew a circle around all the areas the creature had been spotted, “roughly a two kilometer radius. Question is, what do I do with that information when I don't have a team?”

He smacked his head against the table.

“Trouble in paradise, sir?” a waiter asked with a half smile.

“You could say that,” Glacies replied with a forced grin. “I've been looking for adventurers who aren't afraid to face things that people say are impossible to overcome.” He tapped his finger against the aged, splintering wood of the table.

The waiter's eye lit up as he looked at the map and he said, “You're after the Bronze Behemoth.”

“So I've been told,” Glacies responded with a slight nod. “No one else seems keen on trying to kill the thing, no matter the amount of gold involved.”

“For good reason. The damn thing's killed over twelve parties that went after it... my nephew among them.”

“Oh... I'm... uh... sorry for your loss,” he said.

“You'll be lost too if you don't drop the idea of going after that thing,” the waiter said, loud enough for a few of the other tables to hear.

“Can't, I'm afraid. If I'm going to build a reputation, it's going to be by doing jobs like this.”

“Your funeral, friend. Can I get you anything to drink?”

Glacies slid two silver across the table. “Water, for now.”

[Flamebird]

The opportunity just laid it itself out on a silver platter, with good purpose behind it too.

The redhead leaned in, listening into the conversation between the waiter and the new visitor. Her eyes were initially softened by sorrow over the waiter’s loss, then anger for justice swelled up in her chest. This bronze behemoth, whatever it was, was destined to fall for the lives it stole. Felicity swore, in that instance, that it would be her delivering the killing blow. She clenched her fists, face red, as this blue haired man ordered water.

She turned her head away, understanding the need to keep composure. Attempting to control her fiery temper, she practiced breathing exercises as she thought things through, This is perfect. I need to “blend in” and here I can! A solid bounty mission, with a good cause behind it…

After several moments of cooling down, nearing steps prompted her to open her green eyes again. The waiter came to the table, setting down one water before setting the other one at the “impossible quester.” The girl took the water and immediately gulped it down. It felt as if the hearth of the room, plus her outrage towards the monster, caused her temperature to rise. The cool water helped her to bring her temperature back down. As equilibrium returned to her body, she took in a deep breath, then exhaled. The sigh emitted, she started off on her new objective: joining this young man’s impossible quest.

She stood up, her alchemy kit rattling as she stepped out. She had to weave between some people, despite the closer distance, before standing squarely in front of the man’s table. As she observed the map, she cleared her throat. As the sound of chatter, laughter, and anger rose behind them, she spoke. Arms clasped behind her back, she was straight to the point, concise.

“Pardon the eavesdropping,” She started, “But I hear you need people on your team?”

She pulled one hand out, counting her fingers, “Well, I climbed one of Althanas’ tallest mountains, survived Dheathian, dispatched a drave, and took care of a golem-kind of…” Awkwardly, she lowered her hands. She had the small part of being the punching bag as her friend Nevin slew the gravity golem they fought back then.

Face slightly red, she looked towards the man. As if he had already included her, she extended her hand in a handshake, “Name’s Felicity Rhyolite. You are?”

[Glacies]

As the water was placed in front of him, Glacies was almost immediately assaulted by this young fiery haired young woman who spoke as though she had heard every word he had just said. He was at first stunned into silence, but as he looked her up and down with a slight frown, he mentally shrugged. Here was a gift, presumably from the Thayne themselves, and he was questioning why she would even bother to get involved? No! He needed the help, so why look a gift horse in the mouth?

“Glacies Frost,” he said, shaking the woman's hand and motioning for her to take a seat. “So, I take it from your... eavesdropping that you're aware of what my expedition will be hunting?” he asked. Without waiting for an answer he motioned toward the map.

“This is what we're dealing with. The thing moves within a certain area of Alerar. It probably has a home base somewhere, or a place it's guarding. The creature is apparently a mechanical golem, roughly three to four meters tall, made of something resembling bronze but far tougher,” he said. He looked up and sighed slightly as he took a sip of his water.

“The problem is the area the thing wanders in, according to every report I've heard, is roughly two square kilometers. This is a very large area for a small party to search,” he said, motioning back to the map, his pupils almost pinpricks. At this moment, the door opened and in walked Micah. The older man stumbled up to the table and sat down heavily. The solid oak chair under him creaked in protest.

“Ah, Micah, good,” Glacies said as he poked at the map. “We've got a new member. I'm briefing them. Mind telling me what you remember, in case I've forgotten... any...” The sound of snores from the man told the young ice mage everything he needed to know.

“Well, then. Alright, so my plan for this. We'll find the thing's home base, be it a cave or some kind of ancient ruin... perhaps even a ruin in a cave. I honestly have no idea what it will be. Odds are it will return there at least to do a quick sweep every once in awhile. I can only assume it was designed as a guard, and has slowly expanded its patrolling range over the years for one reason or another.”

“Well, those are my thoughts, anyway. Do you have any ideas?” he asked as he tapped his chin. He attempted to figure out what else he could have possibly left out, but was drawing blanks.

Dammit, Micah, why'd you have to get drunk enough to pass out?

[Flamebird]

As this man, Glacies Frost, spoke, Felicity listened attentively. Arms crossed, face hardened in intent and dedication, she paid attention to these details. She had heard of golems before. Heck, she fought one first hand! Yet, these “technology thing” golems, she never heard of. With the mechanical creature being something new to him, Felicity grew nervous over its kill count. She had experience with magic and ancient powers, technicalities and enchantments from around the world, but this…

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She had to stifle her nervous swallow. Her eyes narrowed as she reminded herself, I need to do this! So it takes no other lives!

Hopefully, it would not take hers.

Then, yet another thing caused goosebumps of anxiety to prickle up her spine. A guy was drunk, super drunk. Of course, he had to come to this table. She had hobbled over, almost fell over, barely able to stand. She plummeted into the chair, not even sitting straight – or right, if there was a way to sit right. What made the situation worse was that this man, Micah, was an acquaintance of Glacies’.

The redhead took a noticeable step back, body leaned away from Micah. Her eyes were wide. Crossed arms were now tightened in a self-hug. She barely hung onto the chilly named man’s first half of his sentence. Then, she had to hastily pick up and listen in on the rest. The plan seemed solid enough, but Micah had put her off a lot. Usually, she was spit balling anything else someone would not have thought of, enthusiastic and energetic. Now, however, she was silent. Honestly, this man’s very name put her on defensive as well. She had a very bad history with the elements of snow and ice, his name clearly reflected those things. As her post traumatic stress of events past tightened her chest, she had to bite her lip to shake herself from her brooding thoughts.

She shook her head, perhaps too forcefully, “No further ideas. Your plan is fine.”

She had unconsciously tip toed to the opposite side of the table from Micah’s. A shortness of breath overtook her, causing her to close her eyes. Pale skinned, sweat beads formed along her forehead. She took a deep breath, then exhaled. “A-apologies, I- The air is thick in here.”

The seemingly distant, faded, distorted shadows of the noisy, sticky, oven hot bar floated from far away.

[Glacies]

Glacies raised an eyebrow as the young woman backed away from Micah. This was not an abnormal sight, as Micah's large nose, crooked due to healing wrong, combined with his crooked smile and the few potholes on his face made him into a less than becoming suitor. He said he didn't mind, though, as it made sure his wife didn't have anything to worry about. The young mage didn't know for sure if this was some kind of joke or something, but shrugged and laughed along with the older man, agreeing so that he could keep his pride.

This, however, was something of a different problem, he sensed. She was backing away from him, and Glacies could think of only two reasons she would do so. Either he smelled to high heaven, which he often did, or she couldn't stand being around drunks for some reason. When she answered his question with the softest of possible answers, he shook his head.

“My apologies, but that is not acceptable. I can tell you're uncomfortable, presumably because of...” he indicated Micah with a sharp nod of his head before returning his attention to the map, “but if I can't count on you to be honest with me in the course of this search and destroy mission, I can't in good conscience bring you with me, no matter how much I may be hurting for the help.” He tapped the map with the butt of his pen and looked back up at her.

“Now, I ask you again, have you anything, anything at all that you can think of that might give us a better edge in either finding or dealing with this thing once we've found it?”

He cooled off just a bit after saying his piece, but then shook his head and sighed.

“If it's because he drinks, he only does that when we're in between jobs. On the road he's as sober as I am right now. Hell, I drink more than him when we're traveling.”

[Flamebird]

A crunch sounded as the redhead lowered her head. Shadow covered her eyes. Her fingers clutched the edge of her side of the table. Her face appeared red. Her body shook. It was as if she was a volcano, about to erupt.

“Excuse me, gentlemen?”

Felicity recognized that voice. In response, she growled. Her lips were curved in a tight scowl as footsteps approached the tense table. From the sea of strangers and drunkards surrounding them, a boy submerged. His long, white hair hang across his grey trench coat. He wore a white shirt and black trousers beneath. He seemed to walk a bit awkwardly, as if he was a toddler who only nearly mastered how to take steps. Yet, his fair eyes were calm; his face was far more relaxed compared to the fuming ragechild.

He took a proper bow, at least the bow he was accustomed to. Legs crossed, he lowered his upper body and tilted his head down, “I see you’ve met my partner. Has she found a case?”

He swiped a chair from a nearby empty table, sitting down between Felicity and the drunk bounty hunter. The girl grew even redder, his face more of an awkward frown, as he continued. One leg hung over the other as he laid back. The chair moaned as he motioned towards the blue haired man. “I apologize if Felicity here is awkward or whatever. She has reasons to experience paranoia everywhere she goes.”

“Gwenael!” She hissed a bark, “Shut up-”

He cut her off, continuing. “See, she’s eccentric.”

Her fingers slipped from the table. Visible marks were left from her gripping it so hard. She did not fight back, however, as he employed diplomacy.

“Lassie's one of the sweetest people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. No wonder we’ve joined forces. So, if we’re doing whatever mission you folks are on, let’s get to it.” He raised a hand in the air, snapping his fingers to get a waitress' attention. She came over, he spoke, “An orange cream soda pop for me, a hot chocolate with frosting on top for her, please?”

As she walked off, drowning into the background of meshed people and voices, Felicity's thoughts penetrated his. What are you doing?!

This mission you just took on is too deadly to partake alone. He shifted in his seat, eyeing the group’s captain. Besides, if I left you alone one more moment you would of become a living bomb. Please control your anger?

She stood up, “I need to use the fresher.” Still the color of a tomato, the heat of a jalapeno, she silently stalked off.

“Now then,” Gwenael shrugged, “While we wait for her to cool off.” His eyes softened in tender seriousness. “Not only is she sweet, she’s an incredible fighter. The way I see it, you need all the muscle in this party of yours as you can get. Felicity is honest, but she also…”

The waiter placed their beverages down. His finger was on his lip as he searched for the words, “… For someone her age, her experience and strength came at a cost. She's wary for a reason.” He cupped the pint of bubbling soft drink, “Please give her a chance? She needs this job more than you know, and you need it too.”

He smirked, “Besides, I’m with her!” He lifted the pint to his lips, “And with me in the group you can’t go wrong!”

He took a long sip of the soda. “Ah! Only in Alerar! This soda stuff is a dream!”

[Glacies]

Glacies watched the two... friends, associates... whatever they were as they had their little back and forth with a nonplussed expression. Whoever this other person was who had just walked up, bowed, and started talking was certainly making the attempt at being a charmer. The ice mage smiled emptily at the man, following his every movement from behind his spectacles. The other man started to explain the woman's outburst, but she cut him off before excusing herself to the building's facilities.

After that, the young man before him continued his explanation, without going into any detail. This was fine. Glacies had no need for the life details of the people he was working with beyond what possible use they could be for the mission. They could share more or less as they pleased, as long as they were trustworthy in the long run.

Besides, the man spoke true.

I'm going to regret this...

“You're right, I do need as much muscle as I can,” he admitted. “The problem is I must also be able to trust them not to do something stupid for emotional reasons.” He tapped his fingers against the table absently as he considered his options. “You know what? I can accept the help, as long as you can keep any... problems under control.”

Glacies kept his eyes on the man before him. “You'll be responsible for the two of you. You seem far more... collected than she is. If this is acceptable, you're welcome to join the expedition. Now, we just need to find a way to find this creature, and then to kill it.”

“Like I said before, all ideas are welcome. Anything could be useful... anything at all,” he said as he pressed the tip of his pen into the ink sitting on his table. “I mean, unless you'd rather spend the next fortnight in the jungle walking in circles with no guarantee of even seeing the thing?”