[color=C6DEFF][center][h1]Bast Ragoczy[/h1][/center][/color] Bast heard carefully as Lord Barensia gave him his answer. Instead of being irritated or unsatisfied, Bast simply nodded, with a satisfied expression. Lord Barensia certainly knew who King Joshua was, and his prudent behavior regarding King Joshua were justifiable. Bast didn't knew Joshua that well, but just from the things he heard about him and the fact that he was smart and cunning enough to control someone like Araghast proved that he was indeed a dangerous opponent who deserved respect and utmost cautiousness in a confrontation, be it a diplomatic confrontation or a military one. "[color=fff79a]...I can't risk that to my family. Never.[/color]" "[color=fff79a]I'm sorry. But you will need to find aid elsewhere.[/color]" Lord Barensia said, after a long pause. [color=C6DEFF]"I see, I wouldn't blame you for doing so, Mr. Barensia, quite on the contrary, I understand your preoccupation. King Joshua is certainly a dangerous man. Even someone such as I need to be cautious when dealing with him."[/color] Bast said, with a serious expression. [color=C6DEFF]"In fact... The reason why I'm so interested in King Joshua is exactly because we're very similar... He surely will be an interesting person to talk with. Be it an ally or an enemy..."[/color] Bast said, with a grin. [color=C6DEFF]"Even though I never met King Joshua, just by the things I heard about him, and the fact that he maintains someone such as Lord Araghast under control..."[/color] Bast said, tapping his fingers on his cane, thinking. [color=C6DEFF]"It's really unfortunate, but this encounter wasn't useless. Lord Barensia, I can safely say that you are indeed an intelligent and honorable gentleman by the words you just said."[/color] Bast said, with a satisfied expression. [color=C6DEFF]"There is no shame in protecting what is precious to you."[/color] Bast said, taking off his hat and doing a discreet bow towards Lord Barensia. [color=C6DEFF]"I don't know if we will ever see each other again, but if we do, I look forward to having a nice talk once more."[/color] Bast said, standing up and extending his hand towards Lord Barensia. [color=C6DEFF]"I'm afraid we need to leave now. I'm sure Miss Eilidh is also here on the city to attend a request from the guild, such as I am, and I would hate to take more of her, or your time."[/color] Bast continued, smiling. [color=C6DEFF]"It was a real pleasure talking with you, Lord Barensia. If you ever need any help, or maybe just to have a nice talk, do post a request on the guild. Or maybe if you like adventures and having a bit of adrenaline on your life, I would recommend you to enlist yourself there. There are all sorts of incredibly interesting and intriguing requests."[/color] He said with a laugh, standing up and taking off his hat, in a polite greeting. [color=C6DEFF]"You might find it strange that someone such as me is working for an adventurer's guild, but believe-me, it's doing a wonderful job in killing my boredom... And sometimes I do get to make some nice friends. Pleasure and business at the same time!"[/color] Bast continued, laughing. [color=C6DEFF]"Even though we must leave, I took the liberty of paying for another cup of tea for you. It's one of my favorite mixes of herbs. I would suggest you try it before you go. It's certainly worthy of your time."[/color] Bast said, giving a discreet but noticeable emphasis to that phrase. Before turning to Eilidh, Bast looked directly to Lord Barensia's eyes, with a serious expression as he moved his lips without saying a word, sending a clear message to the man. [color=C6DEFF][I]"You have enemies on this town. Your carriage is rigged. Don't use it to get back to your mansion. Listen very carefully to my next words, they are a clue."[/I][/color] Bast said, with a clear emphasis on the last five words, which are clearly a clue to Lord Barensia, before he turned to Eilidh. [color=C6DEFF]"Shall we go now, my dear?"[/color] Bast said, extending his hand towards Eilidh. [color=C6DEFF]"Have you ever seen the cherry blossoms bloom? [u]Such a lovely shade of pink[/u]... It's a shame that its a very delicate plant and quite difficult to cultivate."[/color] Bast said, looking to Lord Barensia's eyes with a serious expression and a mysterious smile before gently taking Eilidh's hand, indicating that it was time for them to leave. Bast had it's way to do things. He was a mysterious and most certainly, very unpredictable man. With a little bit of effort, Lord Barensia would understand what that code meant. Pink referring to Lady Natasha's unusual hair color. Surely, it would be enough to narrow down the possible culprits to just a few individuals. Why Bast choose to help Lord Barensia, instead of simply burning his carriage? Maybe it was due to the fact that he hated being threatened, or maybe it was because he had enjoyed the talk with the man... Nobody knew for certain... After all, understanding Bast's mind wasn't an easy task... [@PaulHaynek][@Silver Carrot] [hr] [hr] [color=8dc73f][center][h1]Freyr[/h1][/center][/color] [color=8dc73f]"Pandemonium...?"[/color] Freyr repeated, confused. [color=8dc73f]"That doesn't sound like something very pleasant to hear about..."[/color] He continued, after hearing Haley's words about the dark priests. Freyr himself was a bit distracted talking with Haley and didn't noticed Ars. After she talked about him, he finally noticed that the boy was indeed a bit uncomfortable and clearly wanted to go back to the guild. Freyr himself didn't know exactly why he was uncomfortable, but he would respect his wish, it was about time for them to go back, and it was definitely safer to go together... The trip back to the guild was peaceful, albeit a bit silent. Ars did seem to be a bit uncomfortable around Haley and Freyr. He wondered if he said anything to make him that uncomfortable... [hr] As they arrived on the guild, Freyr heard with a chuckle as Haley talked about the guild, surprised on how quickly it was rebuilt and how different it was. "[color=2e3192]And in such a short time too. How? Did you guys use magic or something?[/color]" Haley said, intrigued. [color=8dc73f]"Dwarves. Their work surely is impressive, isn't it?"[/color] He said, answering both Haley and Ars, who had just asked about the guild as well. The guild was certainly different from what it was before. Now it was much more imposing. It would certainly help to make others to treat it more seriously. [hr] At the dinner, Freyr took a minute to look around before sitting on the table. It was certainly much more livelier than when he first entered the guild. So many new faces... Maybe it was the right decision to join the guild... As he sat down together with the others, an interesting topic came up. Bartholomew and Neil started talking about giving the guild a name. Surely it wasn't something Freyr thought before, but now that they said it he realized that the guild didn't have a proper name. Everyone called it just 'guild'. Freyr heard quietly as both Magnus and Rebecca gave suggestions about how to name it. Both were interesting, something with metal would pass a strong and reliable feeling and the ring as a symbol of unity was also interesting. Freyr wasn't that good in naming stuff, just as Neil said he wasn't but an idea came up on his mind after he heard Magnus and Rebecca... [color=8dc73f]"Metal for strength, ring or circle for unity... Maybe gold would do fine as a metal? It has a number of different symbolisms according to Alchemy... Such as immutability, eternity, perfection and also self-purification, according to the famous legend of alchemists turning lead into gold..."[/color] Freyr said, with a thoughtful expression. [color=8dc73f]"I'm also not that good with names, but I think I can give some advice on how to name it."[/color] Freyr said, smiling awkwardly. [@Silver Carrot] [@PaulHaynek] [@The Irish Tree] [@Rune_Alchemist] [@Kyun]