[center][b]Shalodud[/b]

[img=http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100622173717/princeofpersia/en/images/7/7f/Palace_of_babylon.jpg] [/center]

What was once a beautiful city is now one in utter turmoil. Shalodud is being ruled by Namil Thargal, cousin and secret slayer of the past King Ethel. Namil has banned all magical usages and even cut off trade with those who use it. This has caused a severe split in races and created an uproar. Now, with the city in fear and many citizens vanished, the economy is very down. Our heros meet in this rough place, and with them comes change, quests, war, or some other mystery.

[HIDER=Things to note]
-This is a mature forum, there will be blood, gore, violence, use of drugs and alcohol, swearing and more. You have been warned.
-Leave two posts between yours, just so that others can join in too.
-If you cannot be here, let me know. If you have not been heard from through pm, post, signature or otherwise for seven (7) days I will take over your character. This is not to be mean, this is to keep the RP from dying. If you come back after, you may have it back.
-My skype is missmisto, add me if you want and we can discuss things and work on your posts easier there. Otherwise, do it in the OOC or PM's
-I'm so happy everyone is here and I hope we have lots of fun!
[/HIDER]

[center][b]Cast[/b][/center]

[HIDER=Melanie]
[IMG]http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/4bfcb9f707b7becf5eabc71a086df1c7/http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa129/Mix_Ice_Cream/anime/PrettyWhiteHair.gif[/IMG]

[b]Name:[/b] Melanie Florana
[b]Age:[/b] 37
[b]Race:[/b] Elf
[b]Appearance:[/b] Standing at 5'8", Melanie could pass as a human. She had pointed ears as normal and soft white hair that reached far down her body. Her eyes, blue as a deep ocean. She always, always wore a hood if she was outside her house, and sometimes within.

[CENTER] Personality [/CENTER]
Melanie had a sweet and gentle nature. She cared more about her family than anything, and would spend her days trying to provide for them. She loved spring, from the flowers sprouting up to the chilly mornings, there was nothing more pleasant. She would often pick flowers and herbs and tie them with ribbon and leave them on people's doorsteps, be they sick, sad, or just because. After the uproar, when she wasn't selling herbs, she would meet in secret with people who were either very ill or critically injured. This was the only time she felt whole again, healing those who need it with her special talents, and the lumps of money didn't hurt either. She had a certain love for all races, even the pompous humans, but especially animalistic. There was something sweet about the way they resembled innocence, like the lambs they used to raise. There was one thing she didn't like: Namil. If she could, she would capture him herself and purge him of his secrets, torture him until he told her where her family was.
She believed her family was still alive, and would go to the end of the world to get them back from the evil overlord. And she just might have to.

[CENTER] Background [/CENTER]
Melanie was a healer from a middle-class family before the uproar, not the most known by a long stretch, but talented nonetheless. This probably spared her from being taken away, as she was able to fade into the darkness and retreat to her family's home outside of town, leaving her apartment behind with her secrets. She grew herbs at this place and would take them into town to sell, until one day she came home to a shattered window. The house had been ransacked, but no goods were stolen. Much worse, her whole family had been taken at once to who knows where. For weeks all she could think about was her sweet mother, father and little brother suffering somewhere, lost, or just worried about her. Her sweet, unblemished soul then grew a pit of blackness into the middle of it. She was broken and had nothing left in the world. She made it her goal to bring back her family, along with one day being able to be a healer full-time again.

[CENTER] Skills [/CENTER]
Healing, can heal illnesses and wounds, but excessive use will exhaust her of the magic in her blood. She has a careful hand with a knife, as she has done minor surgeries. She knows her way through the forest just enough to find her house and to a cave nearby, where she finds some useful plants.
[CENTER] Gear [/CENTER]
[b]On self:[/b] Small knife, gauze, mana potion, small amulet of fairy dust around her neck, key to apartment and house, satchel, 15 coppers and some dinks.
[b]Also has:[/b] Basic household items, gardening items, basket, some magical scrolls(no access to) Money adding up to about 1,500 coppers left behind from her parents.
[/HIDER]

[HIDER=Fenras]
[img]http://i1003.photobucket.com/albums/af156/DrakeandKieve/Anime%20Guys/Picture626.jpg[/img]
Appearance: With a height of 6'1", Fenras has a tall, slim build, as most Réalta-Elves do. Although typically seen as "whimpy" and "frail", Réalta-Elves have noteworthy strength, due to an aging ceremony of combat. This makes them excellent fighters....and workers. Along his left eye is a scar that runs down all the way to his shoulder.
Name: Fenras Ravenshield
Age: 39
Race: Réalta-Elf(Star-Elf)

Personality: Fenras has a strange mixture of emotions. He is an extremely happy person, but a brooding one as well. His friendly manners and positive look on life is quite enough to make "most" people feel better about their surroundings, but deep down he regrets this. Under his happy shell is a burning rage and sorrowful soul, which claws him inside to be released. It can be seen easily that he struggles from internal strife, as if he is still trying his true meaning in life, other then revenge. His most noticeable trait is his ability to keep getting up, no matter the odds...in a way, he is also a hot-head, and will not easily put down a challenge or let go of a grudge.

Background: Born in a land far from the city of Shalodud, Fenras was raised under the Réalta tribes noble ruling family. His early life was spent learning the stars and their constellations, their meanings, and their importance. The zodiac sign of Fenras, Leo, was a sign of his bravery. The people felt relieved and even proud that their future ruler would become a great King, one who would rule righteously and justly. Fenras's life began to plummet when the sister tribe, Scáth, raided the kingdoms walls. The Scáth were known for there obsessed hatred towards the human race and vowed many times to exterminate them from the planet. All they needed was the Réalta clans powerful magic, which was powered by the strength of the moon. However, the Réalta clan had denied request to join in human genocide. In the madness that had occured, Fenras was struck down upon by the blade of an enemy, while protecting his people from the attack. When he awoke, it was too late...his people had been slaughtered, driven as slaves, and burnt in body piles. A 30 year old Fenras sank into the ground, stricken with grief of the loss of his people, with only a scar to remind him of the horrors that he had witnessed on his family and friends.

With no home to go to, Fenras collected the family blade, and set off on a journey to find himself. He walked for days, weeks, months, even years, with no destiny or fate shining upon him. He held no emotion in his heart and was lost without purpose. It was only when he spotted an innocent caravan of humans, the creatures of legend that he had heard so much about, being robbed by a gang of robbers. Staring at his blade, he unsheathed it, and charged towards the band, fending them off long enough to cause the group to lose interest. When Fenras collapsed to his wounds, he found himself in the cart heading towards Shalodud...this is where he is now, entering the city with wounds on his body bandaged up. The last thing he promised himself before entering the city gates in the carriage was his vow to protect the lives of the innocent and to crush his sister clan...with the fire of rage still burning in his heart. This is what drives him on.

Skills: Although Fenras has not gone through the Star Ceremony in his tribe to obtain the powerful magic in his race, he still has a basic, sloppy more like it, knowledge on the world of magic. His only fighting skill, it seems, is an adept use of the rapier that belonged to his family. He still requires work on swordsmanship, but other then this, his most prominent skills is enduring pain, which makes him excellent for work and combat. This doesn't mean, however, that his wounds do not effect him at all. In fact, he is entirely squeamish about pain and will try his best to avoid it, if he can. 

Gear: Cloth Short-sleeved shirt, Leather vest, leather gloves, baggy cloth jeans, leather boots, golden earrings as a sign of Elvish nobility, and his family rapier.

[Img]http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q438/Bluefox91950/Roleplay%20Stuff/Everlast/Rapier01Jeanette.png[/img]
The Celestial Rapier seems to have an untapped power within it, however, Fenras is at an extremely inexperienced status to unlock it's hidden potential. The only noteworthy trait of the blade is the fine craftsmanship and the glowing it has at night.
[/HIDER]

[HIDER=Emma]
[B]Name:[/B] Emma Kratz 
[B]Age:[/B] 23
[B]Height:[/B] 5' 6"
[B]Weight:[/B] 154lbs
[B]Magic user:[/B] No
[B]Race:[/B] Human
[IMG]http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt152/Yzan/Forum%20RP%20stuff/EmmaKratz.jpg[/IMG]
Emma has caramel auburn hair that stretches down just under her shoulder blades. She has green eyes, and a soft, yet pointy face. Her skin is pale, yet with a slight tan. She wears a necklace made out of a sapphire and silver and lined with gold around her neck. She wears leather and cotton vest over a linen shirt, cotton pants with a leather belt at her waist and thicker leather at her groin; she also wears knee high leather boots and leather wrist protectors. She prefers mobility over heavy protection, since her outfit only protects against a couple of blows before it'll get cut through.
The vest is lined with golden strands and silver buttons, showing off her noble heritage while it's also made out of high quality leather from different animals, made for maximal protection that leather can offer.
[B]History:[/B] Emma Kratz was born and raised in the capitol in a minor noble family in the fancier quarters of the city. Her family had lived there for generations, even before the current ruler. The Kratz family had always supported the monarch, until the treacherous incident with the elf child; Ethel. At this point, the Kratz family started undermining the monarch, they wanted the support of the other humans that did not approve of this elf child, so they sent Emma away to one of the noble families, basically as a hostage, to gain their trust and to gain more power amongst the noble families.

In a way, it worked better than what they'd ever hope for. Instead of the people leading a revolt, Ethel left the city, leaving it in turmoil after casting a spell that wiped out her father's brother's family, a prominent merchant family in the capitol. The people became enraged with the elves, and magical users, and the Kratz family which had been speaking out quietly and sometimes publicly against those things gained more power and followers as an effect. They used the confusion and hatred to gain a better position and to gain more wealth.

Emma however, had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, she was just enraged that her cousin had gotten killed by Ethel and swore to hunt him down. While her family did not approve too well of this agenda, Emma refused to see it otherwise and her parents gave in after the third possible marriage had been turned aside by Emma's antics, since she wanted no marriage until she was ready for one and made sure the suitors gave up. This left Emma with a lot of freedom to act and go as she wished, but she had made a promise, to marry at the age of 25, at the latest.

Knowing she only had two more years, Emma left the city with her parents permission and support since it gave their family even more power since they had such a dedicated daughter. That she showed such dedication to rid the city of evils and supportive of the royal family now that Namil was in charge. She herself however, just wanted justice for her cousin's family, and find herself someone suitable for her marriage, rather than a match already made by her parents. She had been promised, that if she brought back the body of Ethel, she'd be allowed to choose anyone to marry, at least anyone her parents influence would allow.
[centre][B]Skills:[/B] Emma is trained in proper etiquette and diplomacy as fitting of her position while also trained to use a spear and the blade. She knows how to dance; and ride a horse. She is also a skilled archer.[/centre] 

[centre][B]Gear and fighting information:[/B] Emma carries a metal spear for when she needs to fight herself. When she fights with her spear she tries to keep the enemies back, circling the spear and poking with the tip when the opportunity arises. If poking isn't enough, she can turn the spear over and use the blade on the other side to slash at enemies. She is not against using dirty tricks, like kicks to the groin, or attacking eyes or groins and other sensitive places with her spear. She always tries to keep herself at a good distance from her opponents so that she can use the length of the spear to her advantage.

In and on her backpack, she carries the essentials. Make-up, a water-skin, a sharpening stone, some provisions, a bedroll, a small tent, a cloth bucket, some cooking gear, a tea set with some tea and honey, some clothes and some pocket change of 50 dink, 40 copper, 30 silver and 20 gold.[/centre]

[B]Personality:[/B] Emma is a very cheerful and optimistic person. She tends to speak what's on her mind, even if what's on her mind isn't the most appropriate thing to say. She almost never gets disheartened but keeps on going with a smile on her face. She is almost naive in her easiness to trust others and always think the best about them until the opposite is proven. She makes the occasional joke and she is very quick to laughter, sometimes she laughs at the most strange things. However, she carries a deep hatred towards the other races of the world, and magical users that use their powers for destruction. She, along with most humans, blame them for the troubles of the world, and Emma has seen it first hand when her cousin's family had been destroyed by magic from a hateful elf. But she's always wanted a pet.
[/HIDER]

[HIDER=Charlie]
[u][b]Appearance:[/b][/u]
[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wEqe5qj9qCA/TubSlQJ8IUI/AAAAAAAAAG0/HhLtinoEuWk/s1600/803837.jpg[/img]

[b][u]Name:[/b][/u]
Charlie. 

[b][u]Age:[/b][/u] 
16

[b][u]Race:[/b][/u]
Human

[b][u]Personality:[/b][/u]
Charlie has the tendency to be rude, sarcastic and while they give off a welcoming vibe they can be closed off at times. They’re extremely loud and can be obnoxious if you catch them on a bad day, and show more emotions than they'd like (crying spontaneously, getting too angry, being over dramatic), but most of the time though they’re pretty friendly, not in the sense that they would do anything for you and are made of flowers and roses, but, if you don't piss them off they'll typically treat you alright. 
They’re good at giving pep talks and making people feel good, but, bad at taking that advice themselves, having extremely low self esteem, while they joke about how much they love themselves, they have extreme anxiety about how they come off to other people.They truly try and look out for other people and tend to put others before themselves, while they seem like all they do is hate on others they are really just trying to push them further, although their methods are not the best. 
They can get really irritated really fast and are really bad about holding grudges, but while in a rage can easily be calmed down. Typically, they’re a fun person to be around if not a little annoying at first, they tend to speak their mind and have the courage to say what others don’t, while they have a shaky moral compass, they tend to do what’s right in the end, or at least they hope so, they do what they think is right in the moment, having no forethought, usually they end up screwing things up more than they help. They're a 'tough love' kinda person, ambitious, a leader, and just kind of a confusing person. 
They're really awkward and while they're good at talking to people they can come off as kinda, weird.

[b][u]Background:[/u][/b]
Charlie was born in a family that was well off, or, as well off as you could be in this place. They had a older sister, and a younger brother. 
Being the middle child he was pretty neglected as cliche as that is, they were. They didn't mind though, they liked being left alone anyway, so this was no case of angst for them. Their life was completely and totally boring, at least to their standards, their parents ran a bar that kept them fed, and they made most of their income on a wonderful cake their mother made which made their family quiet a success. 
But, Charlie didn't like the slow comfortable life style, they liked fast, dangerous, and being rebellious; this of course meant they started practicing magic, they wanted to be let out into the world, to discover new things, but that all ended while they were out one night and were attacked by thieves, hitting their head during that encounter caused them to loose their memory, family believing they were dead never found them. And they've been making it by on their own ever since that night. 

[u][b]Skills:[/u][/b]
Charlie used to be extremely gifted in the magic arts, having practiced since they were a child, but when they lost their memory they lost the ability to control magic, although while emotional or while trying extremely hard they can coax small amounts of magic from themselves. 
Other than magic ability they are extremely handy with a knife, daggers and throwing knives are their best friends. While they're not the best marksman, they know how to handle themselves. 

[b][u]Gear:[/b][/u] 
Weapon:
[img]http://www.swordsknivesanddaggers.com/daggers/daggers-metallic-twin-dragon-scroll-daggers-hk-25912-c.jpg[/img]
Outfit:
Shirt:
[img]http://image.dhgate.com/albu_261640892_00-1.0x0/2012-new-men-s-vests-slim-fit-pure-cotton.jpg[/img]
Pants/Shoes:
[img]http://m4.sourcingmap.com/photo_new/20120405/g/ux_a12040500ux0291_ux_g03.jpg[/img]
Extra: 
[img]https://thehunt.insnw.net/app/public/system/note_images/119524/note_preview/b3ed803e71591bc7fdae50a29b04a9df.jpg[/img]
Gear: 
Inside backpack: 
Spell book 
Knives
Jacket and blanket along with few rations (a loaf of bread, water, little more)
[/HIDER]

[HIDER=Meliodias]
MELIODIAS
[img=http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs29/f/2008/141/2/1/21353841fc8775841e062e1ee3de7409.jpg]

Appearance:
Average height for a human, has dark black hair with strands of blone hair, His only unique feature
is his scar which runs down vertically next to his mouth.

Name: Meliodias Margaden

Age: 21
Race: Human

Personality:
A cold, distant and mysterious person, he tends to do everything himself and doesn't depend on other people,
a 'lone' wolf. He has a distrust of other races and people due to an experience in his past.
Although he seems not like it, he always helps a person in need. His humor is often crude and laced with tidbits
of sarcasm.

He has another side which he only shows his loved ones and close friends, in which he puts all his guard down.
In battle he is ruthless and doesn't show hesitance in killing people who proves a threat to him, or people in general,
but tries to avoid doing this and instead choosing to leave them unconscious.

Background:
Born and raised by parents, who did not plan to have him, but nonetheless still cared and love to him.
His childhood was pretty much normal, Except that he was bullied by people his age.
He had a childhood friend, Miranda, who usually fended them off. One day, much to her horror, sees him
bleeding near his mouth, and hears children giggling and running away. This has earned him his scar and
his distrust or other people and races had started from here. He always contemplated why other people
are like this and never found an answer.
During his teenage years, he was often socially inept from people and had little to no friends. Miranda always told him
to look for more friends and stand up for himself. Miranda soon had to go away due to her parents demands, much to
Meliodias dismay. Life was pretty uneventful at the time, until one night, a group of people broke into
their home, Meliodias' mother hid him in the pantry, but he could see everything that happened. His parents
tried to give them what they demanded, and when they were given what they wanted, they were shot dead. This event has led
to both his parents death, and his personality growing ever colder and darker. The only thing he did notice from his
parents murderers were that they all had a red Z tattoo on the back of their necks.

Adopted by a mysterious man named Kreinat a retired old soldier of war, who decided to settle down.
Meliodias was always wondered why he adopted him. The old war soldier had said something
about wanting a son, or something of the sort. Meliodias dismissed it as an old man who
wanted some relatives. Harboring a feeling of vengeance for his parents murderers,
just from first glance he knew this man had experience in battle and begged him to teach him how to
fight, though reluctant, he agreed. During the training, Meliodias quickly learned all that was taught to him
at a suprising speed, but in the meantime Kreinat was instilling a sense of justice in him so that he always help people
who are in need. Now with his training complete, he is on the hunt for his parents murderers.
Skills:
He's an experienced fighter, taught by his adoptive father. Is a battle-genius and can think of many ways on how
to end battles but does not have much real battle experience since he was mostly trained.

Has a cloak, primary weapon is a katana, and chooses kunai for far range targets.
[img=http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs26/i/2008/140/f/7/Hooded_Man_I_by_angelxcross.jpg]
[/HIDER]

[HIDER=Sali]
Sali
[img=http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs18/f/2007/138/a/0/__monkey_king___by_porkbun.jpg]
Height: 3'10"
Weight: 87lbs
Gender: Male(?)

Name: Sali 
Age: 9
Race: Monkey Animalistic (Of a smaller species, definitely no greater ape)

Sali is a rather rambunctious and trouble making individual who has absolutely no respect for society as it is today. Not with Animalistics being treated like horseshit (even the equines!). He really has a kind and caring heart, but good luck getting him to act serious long enough. Most people will find Sali running around on rooftops or pretending to be an actual monkey(Not that hard) in order to get through human towns. He has an affinity for stealing food, jewelry, and anything of value, he's a klepto. 

Sarcasm is something you need to watch out for when dealing with Sali, because it's often hard to tell if he's being serious or not. He often says things just to see how people will react, and will sometimes blatantly lie to watch people make fools of themselves. Afterwards he gets a good giggle. He sees it as his job to make trouble in town when he can. 

Sali is a rogue performer who travels the world earning some pocket change by doing acrobatic feats and comedic bard-like displays. He's done this for about 2-3 years, and took up petty thievery along the way. Nobody really knows were Sali originates because of his weird dress and awkward headpiece. If you ask Sali he'll pretend to be a normal chimp and not speak a dribblet of common. Which is just as well, because any intrusions on his privacy tend to make him disappear.

In truth Sali isn't quite for sure where he comes from. His earliest memory is with his mother and father in the back of some caravan. From there, a large blank space in his memory exists, and the next memory is of living with a monk who read silly books all the time and dressed different from most people Sali has ever seen. The man gave the little monkeyboy his headpiece and put him on a caravan one day to protect him from some sort of danger threatening the monk. Sali never really questioned it.

He's been travelling ever since. His loneliness compels him to act partially insane to get attention. He's made one or two friends in the places he's visited, but he's mostly alone in this world. Being an animalistic can be pretty shitty if you don't live in a group of them. 

-Sali is good with staff-like weapons and spears, but tends to stay away from fighting directly
-Sali has only ever had one magical ability. He can't really cast spells, tear foes asunder, cause lightning bolts to drop... but he can do one thing. He can disappear! He's there one minute, then he leaves a clone-like illusion in his place and scampers away.
-Sali is also good at making messes.
[/HIDER]

[center].

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[/center]
[center][b]Act I - Scene I[/b]
[i]"You're making a mistake!" He shouted, but his cries were lost in the anger of the crowd.[/i]

[img]http://oregonlink.com/elsinore/images/northviewfromstairs.gif[/img][/center]

It was a lovely Saturday night, as the air had cooled from the hot summer day. The theatre was filled with people loitering around the entrance and filing inside. Today a rather famous group of actors had made it’s way to Shalodud, which excited rich and poor equally. Through turmoil and sadness, there managed to be something left sacred in the city. Many of the upper class society decided to show up that night, and even many of the lower class, because it was worth scraping together some money for a little entertainment. Lately, the town has been quieted. Namil sits inside more often, and his troops only make daily rounds, even the numbers of people accused for magical practices has slowed to a hault. It was as if everyone anticipated the theatre with glee.

The large, long curtains split in the middle and were pulled to either side, revealing five men on stage. The curtain had been cleaned, as it hadn’t been used in years, but one could easily see more dust upon it. In fact, the whole place had been prepped for the play, the floors were swept, the creaky boards on stage were replaced, and and the cracked windows were repaired. If the whole town were to follow suit, Shalodud would look like a lovely, family-friendly city.

The show appeared to be a comedy, since the first act started with a man finding a tack in his shoe. The act had the audience rolling laughing, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Perhaps this really was a turning point for the city! Everyone gathered to enjoy the night in one place, and nobody cared who was or wasn’t a mage. Really this idea was brilliant, and a great way to bring the city closer once again. Act two of four has begun, obviously three of the men are on an adventure, and the other two play as the multiple threats they face. Every time they slip and fall, the audience roars with laughter once again.

During one, extremely funny slip up, an unnoticed chip of the ceiling falls down. Nobody hears the creak much later, along with another chip of the ceiling that is simply brushed off of a shoulder. The audience has no cares, and why should they? It was a wonderful time, most were a little tipsy, and the show was astounding. Nobody would have predicted the next act. In a less-subtle display, the chandelier burst from it’s seams. Pellets of wood flew outward as the giant, glass decoration began it’s painfully slow descent. The people under it looked up, some began to scurry and crawl over others, while some were stricken stone in fear.

Ethan was sitting behind and a bit above where the chandelier was falling, because of the arrangement of chairs bolted down in the theatre. Before he could think, or even blink, he stood up and splayed his fingers forward. A gust of wind powered by fear and repressed magic escaped from them and separated the crowd, creating a circle where the air hit. People fell over each other and were squished against the chairs, many flipping over the backs of chairs. A few audible cracks could be heard when arms and legs either got caught or smashed against someone. The actual chandelier crushed only one person, glided across a few, and maimed many more with flying shards.

~

“Three dead, dozens injured” Namil shouted at the raging crowd, “Tomorrow at noon, we shall punish this magic user for what he has done! The crowd cheered and chanted, then Namil gave Ethan another disgusted glare and smacked the bound man again.

Moments ago, crippling silence ensued before people the theatre had looked at Ethan and began to murmur. One man shouted, “A mage!” followed by more panicked speaking and another shout, “He did it!” the crowd became hostile toward the pleading man as arms came for him. After the crowd had hoisted Ethan from the theater, they were met by the army and Namil himself. They pulled him to the fountain square and tied him to a chair. After accusations from the witnesses were taken in, the mage’s death was decided. After this, they all went back to their cozy homes, told their family about the crazy thing that happened today and got into their warm, fluffy beds without a worry. Meanwhile, Ethan was being interrogated, beaten, and lay on a cold floor, bound by hand and foot.

---

“Morning Mr.Puffball”

Melanie pulled the caterpillar off of a leaf and sat it on the ground. Today she was going to bring in some vegetables along with her herbs and didn’t want anyone to get a furry surprise on her lettuce. She also had an appointment this evening, a man who has told her his child needs her help. The boy was not only dehydrated and pale, but had blood in his stool. She had agreed immediately, and offered to come earlier, “No, the doctor requests to see him first to make sure he isn’t contagious. If the boy is suddenly well, we might all be in trouble.” he had claimed. It was hard to argue with logic, and she needed to prepare anyway.

After picking her various foods, she put a small vile of essences of magical herbs (the plants conveniently hidden in a nearby cave to dry) and a mana potion, just in case. She headed down the same trail into town, as any other normal day. There was one difference, though, when she arrived. Unlike lately, there were armed guards patrolling the perimeter of practically every square, and many more on duty in horses. Although peculiar, she figured that the Horrible One just wanted to show off his pointy things. 

Melanie had to change her route slightly and sell in a different location. This shouldn't hurt her sales too much, seeing as most people chose to change their locations also. After a few hours, she noticed many people flowing into the town centre. It was about eleven thirty, and she hadn't heard of any new entertainers for today. She figured that the turnout of the highly anticipated play was so well yesterday, they decided to do an encore for the whole town. Or maybe mister big shot wanted to tell everyone why the guards were out at lunchtime, when the most would be able to listen. Either way, Melanie’s curiosity was piqued. She followed the multitude of people into the centre, making sure to keep her head down. Little did she know, this moment would change her life.