[center] As Theow waited alongside his fellow Champions, his back to the flames of the fireplace as he sat upon the hearth, he couldn't help but think about the past. He'd been to Helsann before of course and in the past he had always been greeted with mild fanfare and genuine compassion and friendly conversation, both of which he had always returned with equal or greater enthusiasm. Back then he'd always been pleased to be surrounded by inquisitive AI and players, answering their questions, allowing them to inspect his equipment and test their own skills against his own. Back then he had enjoyed himself; now not so much. Roughly a year ago Theow had been made aware of a growing number of players (and even AI) that had begun labeling him as an outdated cliche that served little purpose other than to spread the propaganda of the corporation that held his leash. As a result he had slowly become less and less pleased with playing the role of a representative for his corporation, something that didn't escape the watchful eye of whoever was in charge of monitoring him. He was after all, as he was often reminded these days by corporation representatives, a public figure in Agar Myhos and one of the most successful combinations of Champion and walking advertisement. He couldn't simply stop doing what he was [b]made[/b] to do because of some nasty rumors.

 And so Theow had been instructed to take on this Mission despite his arguments, trekking to Helsann in the rain and taking out his frustrations out on various random trees along the way. He'd nearly blunted one of his blades before he had the sense to stop hacking apart of a grove of trees with bark like tempered steel. Luckily for him the only witnesses at that point and time had been several Player Characters that clearly existed for the sole purpose of gathering materials on automatic, as their basic attire and mindless woodcutting showed. He had little doubt that the watchdogs at the corporation had also seen his little outburst but he knew that they wouldn't bother reprimanding him. They didn't care what he did so long as it didn't cause problems for themselves. 

 When he had finally arrived at Helsann he had found the streets deserted, no doubt due to the rain and threat of attack, and upon making his way to the city hall he had been ushered in front of the fireplace along with several other Champions before being left to his own devices. This mostly included trying not to let others see how deeply irritated he was at having to be there.

Trying to stave off his irritation and possibly find a bit of pleasant conversation to distract himself from how long the Mayor was taking to get to them, Theow turned his attention to his fellow Champions, adjusting his posture into a more friendly one that had often worked to put others at ease in the past. He decided to try for small talk to break the ice, much as he'd rather discuss the mission at hand and how to get it over with as soon as possible.

"[i]Have any of you been to Helsann before?[/i]" He said, his gravelly voice reverberating from the depths of his cloak and helm, "[i]When it isn't being besieged by monstrous constructs of flesh and gore hellbent on devouring the living and burning the city to the ground I mean.[/i]"[/center]