[hr][hr][center][b]Skylar // Redsky[/b]
[color=598527][sub][b]LOCALE[/b] // Border Town -> The City of Thorinn
[b]TIME[/b] // Morning - The Day Before[/sub][/color][/center][hr][hr]

Red eyes flickered open, immediately attentive. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWq53IFXVQ]Something was amiss.[/url] Peeling the duvet back cautiously, bare legs snaked their way out and around, greeting the cold air with a slight shiver but not wavering from their mission. Quietly, she swept her entire body around until half of her frame dangled from the bed. Then, with the guile of a hunter, she leaned down until the underside of the bed greeted her. Her red eyes danced once more, trailing through every corner under the bed until she was truly satisfied there was nothing there. Despite that, the feeling that she wasn't quite alone didn't disappear. With a tug, she pulled herself back onto the bed and peered through the room. 

She had been mapping small hamlets along the egde of the known world and using the chance to sell some of her wares along the way. Unfortunately, most of the smaller places didn't even have an inn so she usually boarded with one of the residents which was the exact situation she just so happened to be in.

Feet met the cold timber floor and she slowly advanced forward, her posture shaky yet coiled to attack. Dawn blinked through the window, a silent observer to the strange hunt that was taking place. Tip-toeing forward, her eyes swept the entire room and she settled into a small scowl, as if the very bricks had done wrong against her. It was in that moment that she noticed a shimmer in the room, a momentary object breaking the light before slipping back into invisibility. Not wasting a moment, she leapt and collided with something. When the dust settled, Red was already grinning like a fool. [color=red]"Looks like your perving days are over, bu-"[/color] By the time her mind had already computed the small stature of the Feyling, the eldest son of the family she was lodging with had already flew into the room, fearing the worst. 

Needless to say, a grinning, half-naked fire mage holding a Feyling down was not one of the possibilities that crossed his mind when he rushed to her aid. He quietly exited and closed the door.

[color=red]"So what's the big deal, schmuck?"[/color] Playing it cool was her only option so she sat back and casually inspected her fingernails. The fairy-like creature summoned up the darkest look it could which was about equivalent to an angry puppy. Nevertheless, it delivered its message. [color=red]"The council want me to investigate it?"[/color] It nodded in response. [color=red]"Why don't they get one of the big shots to poke around?"[/color] Its dainty voice rose once more. [color=red]"They aren't idiotic enough to run a dungeo-? Hey! You guys really don't sugercoat it much, huh?"[/color]

With a shrug, the Feyling took flight and was away as soon as it had appeared. Well, it looked like she wasn't mapping anymore. The council probably knew her moronic curiosity would get the better of her but she was still confused as to why the council of fire mages were so interested in some dungeon. Whatever it was, it meant she got to blow shit up and claim it was for science.

Changing into her gear, she packed up what little belongings she carried on her and carefully held her hat under her arm as she descended down to the already busy kitchen. The eldest son didn't lift his head from his bowl of gruel. Poor thing. The family insisted she stayed for breakfast but after denying them more than enough times, they let her go with a lunch stored away and some information on a cart that had passed through in the night. If she made good headway, she could catch up with it.

Pinning her half cloak with a small broach and dragging her hat down over her weaves of hair, she was ready to roll. Taking off like an ADHD bat out of hell, fire licked at her feet as she set off along the road.

A number of hours later, she came upon the bumbling cart carelessly trudging along the road towards Thorinn. The driver initially thought he was being robbed when an out-of-breath wanderer jumped in front of his cart but after a quick explanation, they were off again with her taking a back seat in the cart. The ride was boring but she learned a great deal - the horse was called Jeffrey and he was quite susceptible to apples she commandeered from an orchard a few towns back. The trader was an old man but undeniably an NPC. She told him she was on a top secret mission to go to Thorinn and do the dungeon; he told her he was just going to profit off other people doing top secret missions. It was an interesting exchange.

They stopped on the side of the road for the night. She sort of hoped that bandits would try a raid so she could fry them but unfortunately, her night was spent talking to Jeffrey. She had a feeling he didn't listen too much.

By the time they set off in the morning, Thorinn could already be made out just above the horizon. The last leg of the journey didn't take too long and the road was already busy with traders coming to capitalise on the crowds that had gathered for the dungeon. She thought she spotted a craftsman she knew in his cart so she gave him a wave and a [color=red]"Hello Mr Blacksmith man!"[/color]

Thorinn was reached in a matter of hours and when they finally parted ways, she gave the merchant a small glass sparrow she had stowed away. He could probably get a good price for it so it would make the journey profitable, at the least. Seperating finally, she wandered into the bustling City of Thorinn. Despite having the looming threat of a massive dungeon, excitement ran through the air. Locals shared suspicious glares with groups of wayfarers and lamented that they could either hold their tongue or lose their homes. Red didn't care, however, she was there for one thing and one thing only - setting shit on fire. And blowing it up, preferably.

Using noise to guide herself, she finally found her way into the bustling Lefig Lawn. Trying to push through it wasn't exactly easy when it was swamped with tanks with pecs of stones standing around, looking pretty. Climbing a wall to get a vantage point, it was clear that a number of raiding parties were already being forged together under the bright summer sun. Sky never really liked parties but she would need one for a dungeon of this school. Choosing one was nigh on impossible but thankfully, she spotted something glittering in the sun. A voice carried over the wind and she made up her mind.

She needed something to clear the crowds out of her way so she quietly knelt down, clutching a handful of dust into her right hand. Standing, she raised her left hand and slowly formed a ball of flames. Suspending it, she set it into a spin about its axis and masterfully crushed the ball down to size. When it was flattened, she used her gloves to pull it out into a flat shape. This had already gained enough attention so as to have the vicinity cleared around her. Holding the shape steady, she raised her other hand and blew the dust through the thin wall of flame.

What emerged was a small creature, not even the size of a small dog but made entirely of fire. It had the body of a snake but wings adorned its sides allowing it to float peacefully through the air. Red called him Theodore - he was almost entirely useless, possessing no combat strengths but he looked cool and that was all that mattered.

Whirling around, it greeted her with a hiss that sounded like water boiling. She gave his head a quick pat which earned another cautious step back from onlookers. [color=red]"Right Teddy, clear a path! And if anyone gets in your way, I'll barbecue them and feed them to the crocs! I wonder if crocodiles would eat barbecued wayfarers... I suppose it wouldn't make too much of a difference from normal wayfarers. We should probably check sometime, for science, you know?"[/color] Snapping, he zipped around and did just that as cautious wayfarers made way for the floating fire snake and his estranged mistress. 

Marching in the direction of the glimmer with ease, she finally reached a less populated corner of the square. The group she found there were quite inconspicuous and one could be fooled into thinking they weren't overly powerful but they would be very wrong. Red knew nearly all of them for a good reason. They were all renowned for their individual positions and led by none other than the fiery healer, Elian Zefra. She sometimes got the feeling that every time she opened her mouth, the healer drew a little closer to letting her die in the battlefield but so far, they seemed to get on like a house on fire.

She wondered how she would make her grand entrance. She could coolly stand off to the stand and make a passive aggressive comment everyone would appreciate or she could have boldly stated her position. None of this worked out, of course, when Theodore took the approaching wall of armour (Thael) to be his enemy and boldly rushed into battle.

And thus, Red's introduction to the group was a series of curses aimed at a flying fire snake which was attempting to attack a tank a great deal larger than it. Overall, not so bad in her books.