It is another bright, warm, if somewhat excessively warm, day at the city of Zaphias, the Imperial Capital, as the people go about their daily lives doing as they normally would. Merchants are coming today and the imperial knights are on watch. The noble quarter is expecting a party today to celebrate the fact that a group of Imperial Knights, the Harken Brigade, has come back from slaying a rather powerful monster near the Imperial Capital. The nobles are all in a buzz as they insist on the party being thrown including the head of the local merchant's union, Thomas Meijin, whom has given almost half his profits towards this festival in order to honor the men he has insisted on 'sponsoring the Harken Brigadiers' in this event. So with the influence of Meijin and the grant by Lord Pembroke of The Imperial Five (a conclave of advisers to king whom dictate the politicians in the various areas and overall tend to specific regions at a time) the lower quarter's inhabitants are being hired by the dozen to get things together for it. However some of both the quarters are more concerned with one thing, the theft of various blastia around the city than the festival itself which coincides with various members of both sections planning on a mass search around the city to look for the person or persons whom broke the blastia or stole them through the city which has been condemned by the more active members of the Imperial Knights and ignored by the lazier sections. However the knights have outlawed vigilantes from doing much in the past few years due to a massive fight that broke out a couple years back between a merchant's group and the lower quarter. Since then the knights have been rather harsh on the lower quarter leading to some discontent amongst the citizenry. Thus we start out in the afternoon of this radiant day....
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Mutsu Honda was spending his day like everyone else in the lower quarter...preparing to deal with the heat of the day. He had his usual clothes drenched in sweat and a cold glass of water next to him as he sat more or less still in front of one of the only working blastia in the city. With the heat of the day they couldn't afford some scoundrel to come and wreck things. Of course he'd be welcome home up if he chose to go back up to them but he didn't think he could just abandon the lower section to a lack of able bodied men just yet despite how much fun the festival would be compared to....guard duty. He gripped his old sword, which he had been given by the lower quarter as a gift and he had taken it over the more high quality swords sold by merchants out of sentimental value. Of course he knew he'd have to give it up eventually after all it was really old and rugged around the hilt. It was made by the local black smith's son so he could forgive the poor design. He twirled the thing around for a bit before sighing as he adjusted his Bodhi blastia on his wrist instead. This heat was KILLING him and the only solaces was that he was getting paid for this and that water was nearby. What maniac would try to get this thing in the middle of broad daylight anyways? [B]"Man this heat sucks something fierce! But hey at least I got my trusty sword right....and I'm talking to myself....great....I'm not only sweating, getting sunburn, and dying of boredom but I've turned to talking to myself! I wish I had someone to talk to..."[/b] Mutsu commented bluntly as his old friend Cain came over and wrapped his arm around him suddenly from behind. Mutsu almost fell back into the pool of water behind of him before Cain caught him. Cain wore his usual leather clothes and he was almost as black as coal...or at least as black as a white man could look. Cain was a man who spent hours and sometimes days worth of time in the sun and was a Imperial Knight whom his mother had known from childhood. The man was older than him but no less of a friend. [b]"What's wrong little man?! Come on your uncle would hate to see you like this with your face all pouty!"[/b] Cain said laughing as Mutsu glared at him through squinted eyes. [B]"Shouldn't you be off partying or getting a sponge bath since your clearly to old to bathe yourself?"[/b] Mutsu commented towards Cain whom laughed hard, [b]"Still got your uncle's wit about you? I swear your more like him than your greasy old pa!"[/b] Cain retorted as Mutsu groaned but let a small smirk slip on his lips.