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[b]//O7 - Outskirts of Oratorio[/b]
[b]“Religious sort, huh? Guess there's still those types coming in.”[/b]

There was no condemnation in the corpse collector’s tone as he looked at the gathering of gravediggers. For Lethe and his followers, perhaps this was a duty that must be fulfilled, a task that was meaningful, but for the two who drew a wagon through the worst parts of Oratorio? It was just work. There was no need to justify it, especially when there were far worse jobs out in this city. The wheels continued to churn against the earth.

[b]“Maybe you’ll find some sorts in the Adventurer’s District, aye. Little space for proper graves though.”[/b] The sprawl of the Outer Layer, how it seemed to expand outwards like a stain, made it clear that Oratorio was, whether by circumstance or design, a place where there was always a limited amount of space for the affluent and the capable. [b]“Folks that aren’t sent back to their hometown are burned to ash instead. Saves more space, and the price of a casket would get you a pricier-looking vessel too.”[/b]

The younger of the corpse-collectors spoke up. [b]“Plenty of opportunities though. Just not for a digger.”[/b]
[sub][@Thayr][/sub]
[hr][b]//O3 - The Underpass[/b]
Hollow eyes, sunken cheeks. A grief that is still raw, reflected in eyes still stained with naivety. He was a man, an average man with sunburnt skin and limp, dark brown hair. His clothes had not yet gradated to rags. He had not been like this for long.

Yet, incapable of perceiving anything of his except for his form, all Elys could understand instead was that he was missing a leg. That the smell of old blood and burnt flesh clung to him. That the calluses on his hand, the hand which he used to grab her wrist and pull off his shoulder, had yet to fade.

[b]“Don’t preach to me,”[/b] he spoke, voice shaking, voice hoarse. Was it pride that kept him like this, able to lament but unable to beg? [b]“I lost everything, and now I can’t even turn [i]back[/i]!”[/b]

Around them, they were but an obstruction, the flow of people passing around them, no one interested in sparing more than a half-second in recognizing that the two existed. Perhaps a few kinder souls would have silently approved of Elys’s action, the risk she took by simply interacting with a denizen of the Underpass, but that was all.
[sub][@Estylwen][/sub]
[hr][b]//A7 - Ordo Benevolence[/b]
[b]“A small giant? So a big human?”[/b]

Despite Laina’s joke, the red-haired acolyte remained somewhat amazed at the statement. Even the smallest giants were still bigger than the largest orc, a veritable hulk that, while not immune to sharpened steel, could still flatten a man with a swing of the fist. And that discounted those giants that used actual weaponry, swinging trees like clubs, tossing boulders as if they were pellets from a slingshot. Perhaps there was a sense that she saw Cantor in a new light, even if most of it was accomplished through a lie of omission.

[b]“There’s no sin in thought and emotion,”[/b] she replied. [b]“So long one doesn’t act on baser intents. And so long as those baser intents aren’t what’s informing this invitation, I’ll be happy to show you around, Brother Cantor.”[/b]
[sub][@Shovel][/sub]
[hr][b]//A5 - Market Plaza[/b]
The foxboy’s face brightened up at Sebi’s smile. He hadn’t actually expected them to accept; it was more of a shoot-his-shot kinda moment.

[b]“Oh, no, we’re all pretty new at this ourselves, so you’d fit right in!”[/b]

It didn’t even register to him that perhaps wasn’t a reassuring thing to say, but on the other hand, it looked like his party was wholly willing to make some concessions in order to integrate two foxgirl mages into the party. Introductions went and passed quickly as they travelled up the wall that ensconced the Abyss. The foxboy, Allen, had travelled to Oratorio with the troll, Gam, in order to seek their fortune within the ruins of the Perishing Star’s devastation. Millie was the porter-slash-guide they hired with what money they had left after the trip, having signed a week-long contract to figure things out properly. A day had passed since then, and between Gam’s axe and Allen’s sword, it was apparent that they’d need some form of ranged attack.

It was apparent too then, that Sebi and Sumiye would have been interchangeable with anyone who had a bow or even a slingshot.

Regardless, in an amount of time both lengthy and instant, the newly-formed party descended down into the Abyss, its First Layer opening up to provide both prosperity and danger in abundance, the scenery of a mountain’s plateau within the depths of the earth. Trails of blood traced towards the wall, evidence of adventurers forced to evacuate due to their injuries, while in the distance, the howling of monstrous beasts sounded in defiance to nature’s guidance.

The party of adventurers tightened their grip of their weapons and their gear, before Allen let out a small nod.

[b]“Ok, here we go!”[/b]
[sub][@Asuras][/sub]
[hr][b]//O4 - Underpass Marketplace[/b]
[b]“I-I-,”[/b] the woman stammered, clearly in shock from the sheer display of brutal, efficient violence that had been delivered at the hands of the royal bodyguard. She looked between the two of them, two elves who treated the taking of mortal life like it was nothing more than a visit to the grocers, and could only shake her head in response. If she knew, perhaps she wouldn’t have made that mistake to begin with, wouldn’t have been in a position to lose a limb, to lose her ability to make her livelihood.

She swallowed. Even if it was clear to anyone that these elves weren’t heroic by any means, she still was saved, and gratitude had to be put into action, lest it be misconstrued as a sign of disrespect. Standing up with support from her fallen wagon, the herb-collector bowed once, before offering up a few bundles of dried medicinal herbs that had not yet fallen out the cart.

[b]“Th-thank you. Please t-”

“You stupid! Knife-eare! Brutes!”[/b] An older merchant, pot-bellied, screeched at them, even as he hurried packed up his own stall of roasting meats. His face couldn’t seem to figure out if it ought to go pale from terror or red from rage, but his voice was hysterical enough to be understood as both. [b]“The Blackhand Butchers’ll make an example out of all of us for this! We had a goddamn understanding with these!”[/b] He shook the hanging ornament. [b]“Why did you fucking ruin it?!”[/b]
[sub][@Click This][/sub]