[IC] Keratia: Tales of the Arisen One

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia commented amusedly in response to what they would sell, "Oh I see! Sounds like Pylia and I might be your first customers in Gransys. After all, the both of us are kind of new adventurers ourselves," She had indeed noticed how he took the weapons, and had a feeling that he was going to refurbish and sell them as well.

She blinked when she noticed Mica pawing at her bag. She smiled at the both of them and she answered Ferric, "It's quite alright. No harm done," At first, she did wonder as to what he was curious about, but when Ferric mentioned that he was a savant at magic, everything seemed to click in Sylvia's head after a minute. She commented, "A savant in enchantment, huh? Then I think I know what he's curious about,"

There was only one enchanted item in her bag: The doll.

She opened her bag and fished out the doll. Keeping it in her hands, she showed the doll to Mica and she commented, "You're curious about this doll, huh? I found it on the shores just outside of Cassari yesterday. Enchanted with divination magic,"

[Lucius Cypher]

Mica eyes widen when he saw the doll. "Enchantment!" But he also looked at the bag, still poking it. "Enchantment, enchantment!" If you didn't stop him, he would dig his hand into your bag and take out that rusty iron ring. "Enchantment!" Ferric kept his eyes on the road but spoke up. "Aye, sorry. He's great at weaving magic into things, and has a great nose for the arcane and such, but he's not... The best at explaining things. From the sounds of it though you have a few magic items. Once we hit the camp, I'll be more than willing to help identify them for you."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia was kind of surprised to see that while the doll did catch his attention, he still was poking at his bag. So the doll wasn't the only item she had that was enchanted...?

She let Mica dig his hand into her bag and pull out the rusted iron ring. She had forgotten she had that item! That was an enchanted item...? She looked back to Ferric when he apologized once more, and she answered "I appreciate the help, thank you. I honestly thought I only had one magic item," She didn't mind Mica. If anything, thanks to him she learned this fact. She was now really curious as to what kind of magic item the ring was.

Once she answered though, she decided to put the doll back in her backpack, and she looked at Mica quietly but hoping that he would get the message to put the ring back as well.

[Lucius Cypher]

Mica kept looking at the ring, shuffling it around in his hands or balancing it on his finger tip. He did this for quite a while before he noticed you looking at him. Then he holds the ring out to you, pointing towards your hand to the ring. “Ah! Enchantment! Try!”

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia blinked at Mica's words. She could guess what he was trying to say. He wanted her to try the ring. Again, she was curious, but she knew that they were going to identify this magic item later. Plus, it would be good to have some idea of what exactly she was trying to do with the ring before just randomly putting it on, and who knows if there was a downside to the ring?

Now to explain that to Mica...Would he get upset if she didn't try the ring? She felt her stomach and heart flip in anxiety.

Sylvia found herself wishing that she had spent more time socializing back home...

She told Mica in response, "I definitely want to try the ring and its enchantment, but let's wait until after Ferric and Pylia identified the ring, alright? Better safe than sorry. I'm not as knowledgable about enchantments as you are,"

She then told Mica "I'm going to put the ring back into the backpack for now so we don't lose it, okay?" She then gently takes the ring, and puts it back into the backpack, hoping that she doesn't upset Mica too much.

[Lucius Cypher]

“Okay!” He didn’t seem too bothered.

The rest of the trip was long, but fortunately uneventful. Snacks were passed out, bit’s of sweet fried bread and water, before the camp came into view. It was... Not that impressive, frankly. The walls were about six feet tall and simply wooden logs hammered into the ground. The towers seemed sturdy enough although they also didn’t look to be manned at the moment. As you approached a guard stopped the wagon at the gate, though Ferric was able to talk his way through. Inside was quite a site.

Up till now most of the people you e seen were human, maybe a bit elf, and recently dwarves. But this camp had all sorts of strange looking creatures. Humanoid beast folk like cats, bulls, lizards, and even birds. Greenskin and redskinned orcs. Elves who truly looked majestic, but some who also looked tribal and barbaric. There were even gnomes with colorful hair, and handling with their pudgy bodies and faces.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia was relieved to see that Mica wasn't too bothered by the decision. Along the way, she had decided to try and alleviate some boredom by initiating a game of "I Spy..." (it was also a good way to keep her eyes peeled for anything dangerous) or just continuing small talk. She was glad to have the bread with some water.

Soon enough, the both of them were able to reach the camp and head inside thanks to Ferric. When they got inside, Pylia would be able to see that Sylvia had the same awed look when she saw magic for the first time. The camp itself may not be impressive, but the people here...! She looked to Pylia and let out a small and quiet "Woah!" Sylvia even felt the need to try pinching her arm, only to find that it hurt.

Sylvia did realize that gaping and looking around at the people is probably making her look like some bumpkin, so she kept herself quiet and tried to put up a poker face after clearing her throat.

[Lucius Cypher]

Ferric parked his cart near the gates, getting out along with his son. "Well, me and my boy will be doing some work repairing the cart and making sure our mules are alright. Doubtful that we'll leave today due to her injury. But if you're still around, I'll be more than willing to hire you two to come with us to Gransys! Roads are mighty dangerous this time around and frankly, I was planning to hire some guards anyways. So why not hire some people I'm familiar with eh?" Pylia turned to you and nods. "Doesn't sound like a bad deal. I'm all tapped out for magic anyways, so some time to rest would be nice. Maybe we could find some others here who'll be willing to take the job too. More hands make lighter work, yeah?"

There was many adventuring looking folk loitering around the camp, doing business with various traders, resting, or rough-housing. Surely one of them would be willing to take up this job.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

As soon as Ferric parked the cart, Sylvia hopped out. She nodded to Ferric and Pylia, "That sounds like a great plan to me. It'll also give us some time to prepare for the road ahead as well," At the mention of finding others who might be interested in the guard deal, Sylvia smiled and answered "Definitely!" She was looking forward to meeting the adventurers around here.

She then looked to Pylia and she asked "But first, maybe we should find a place to stay for the night,"

[Lucius Cypher]

"Yeah of course. Let's see... That area looks promising." Pylia pointed over towards a large collection of tents in the distance. The area looked cleaner than other parts of the area, with people actually cleaning and disposing of trash in waste holes. There were also a lot of adventurers here eating, singing, or just chatting. There seemed to be some sort of shouting match between some religious looking folk calling upon the end times of the Immortal Emperor or the Smiter. Not too many people paid them any mind. Eventually you and Pylia would meet with a rather tall athletic looking man in fancy robes. "Greetings! Adventurers or soldiers?"

"Adventurers. Just looking for a place to rest for tonight."

"Of course. Just one tent? Would you like to upgrade to a yurt?"

Outside of this tent was other tents of different shapes and sizes. Most were pretty small; might fit you and Pylia if you don't mind sleeping side by side. The yurts were somewhat bigger, at least as big as your room back at Cassari. Considering how crowded this place was, such accommodations were about as good as it gets. "A standard tent will just be 1 gold for a night, but a yurt will be 10 gold, and we will also bring you food and drink at dinner time." Pylia looked over to you. "I can pay for a tent, but I don't have enough for the yurt."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia followed Pylia's lead. When they passed the religious folk in a shouting match, she let out a quiet but annoyed sigh. But other than that, she ignored them. If they weren't in a shouting match with each other, seemingly trying to prove themselves and their ideals were better or correct compared to the other, then Sylvia would probably have more interest in figuring out who or what the Immortal Emperor or the Smiter were.

Soon they met up with a man and Pylia began discussing their lodgings. She looked to Pylia and looked at her own pouch of gold. She answered Pylia, "I have enough for a yurt, but I think it would be wise to save the gold and just go for the tent. Is that alright with you?" She also took out a single gold piece as though to say that she would pay for the tent. The both of them never knew what was laying ahead. They might need the gold for restocking supplies or weapons later on in Gransys.

[Lucius Cypher]

Scratching the back of her head she nods. "... Yeah, sure. Thanks." The man took the coin, checking it before smiling. "Thank you very much! Your tent is number 27. Please remember, we are not responsible for any lost or stolen items you might leave at your tent. Please do not anger the soldiers stationed here either, there will be no refunds if you are kicked out of camp! Is there anything else I can assist you two with? Perhaps a meal?" Behind the man was presumably his family, a wife with three children, working the kitchen and making stew and serving drinks. Pylia looked over to you and shook her head. "I'm not hungry right now. Why don't we look around, gather some information for a while about the road ahead? Who knows, maybe we'll find out something interesting."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

At the sound of the man's disclaimer, Sylvia decided not to leave her stuff at Tent 27. But she decided to keep the number in mind. At the offer of the meal, she also politely declined, "Not right now, thank you," She then turned her attention back to Pylia. She told Pylia, "Dirk gave me a lot of information about the road ahead yesterday. I can share what he told me. I don't mind looking for more information on the road ahead, but maybe we should focus more on finding fellow adventurers to join Ferric?"

[Lucius Cypher]

"Ah, is that so? Well then, how bout we split up and meet back in say, an hour, share what we learn. I'll look for some more info about what's ahead and we'll compare notes. You should look for some new mercs. You might be new but you're... Approachable. More than me at least. Sound good?" Pylia suggested to you. She has so far never really interacted with anyone, at least not as far as you've seen. While she's nice enough to want to help others, it seemed that she was more of a person of action over words. Someone with more conversational spark might be able to chat up the others better than she could at least.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia thought about the suggestion before nodding and answering, "Yeah, sounds good to me! We can meet back up at Tent 27 when we're done and compare notes," While Sylvia wasn't confident in her own conversational skills, she could see that she had more of a conversational spark than Pylia. Plus, she was looking forward to meeting other people.

Once she had agreed to the plan, she said to Pylia, "See you at Tent 27, I'll go and find some mercs," She then headed off towards where she could find where the mercenaries or adventurers seemed to like spending time the most. She had a feeling she'll have an easier time recruiting there.

[Lucius Cypher]

You spend a while chatting with strangers. Most of them put on airs of tough and ready warriors, but after an introduction and a few honest words, many drop their act and speak much more casually. They're foul mouthed and quick to take up challenges, however they treat you nicely as you speak to them. Unfortunately, many of them were not available for an escort job. Most were simply resting up at this location, planning to head westward or south. The few going north didn't plan to stop by Gransys, and most were simply not interested. That being said many offered advice and information, some which may be useful for you.

Thanks to a steady stream of adventurers moving through the area, bandit activity has gone down a bit. Lone travelers will still likely be attacked, or ones without any noticeable guards, but most of the gangs have become very cautious about which groups to attack. A short while ago a rather unassuming dwarf was said to be prowling the roads looking for these bandits, slaughtering them alone, so most have gone into hiding until things blow over. Unfortunately, monster activity has gone up in exchange. Many note feral wolves and harpies. You remember seeing many harpies in your dragon dream.

There was one lead for an ally. An armored warrior with a dog pointed towards an isolated area of the camp. There were a few guards over there as well as a few cages. He mentioned that he saw a kobold tossed into the cages there under the accusation that he stole some items from the other adventurers though he knows this isn't true. He saw the real thief but he escaped before anyone could catch him. He thought about saying something, but he also knows the kobold is looking for new friends and he didn't want to disappoint the little guy. "Maybe you could convince the guards to let him go or try to free him somehow. These soldiers are lazy anyways, so I doubt they'll do much if the guy escapes on his own."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

While Sylvia was disappointed that many of them weren't interested in joining, she did thank them politely for the advice and information they gave her. She mentally noted the dwarf prowling about on the roads. Why would he be hunting for the bandits? Curious. Then there was a lead to an immediate ally. At the mention of the thief, she couldn't help but wonder if the thief was Dirk. Did he strike this camp before going to steal from Cassari? Maybe he was stealing from both at the same time given his camp was near the path.

She answered the man, "I see...I'll try convincing the guards. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it,"

Once she had the information and said her good-bye to the warrior with the dog, she headed for the isolated area in order to see the kobold and see if she could befriend and free the little guy.

[Lucius Cypher]

For an area that was suppose to hold criminals, there was only three guards. One who seemed to be napping at a seat, while two more looked bored and tired. They didn't even bother to look at you as you walked into the area. The kobold was sitting in a cage chewing on a chicken bone. When he see's you he stands up and steps back from the cage as far as he could, but seemed calm. "You, humie. You, new. Talk to Shortfang? About stealing? Shortfang no do it." He tried to look at you but he seemed to have a hard time doing so, partly due to the cage making it hard even for him to look up despite barely being waist high, but also because it seemed like sunlight in general made it really hard for him to see anything.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Sylvia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the guards. She decided to approach the kobold first and talk to the little guy first. Hopefully she can get more of an idea as to what kind of...person this kobold is.

Soon enough she was standing in front of his cage. She noticed that he was having a hard time looking at her, but also wanted to keep some distance from her. So she settled for resting on one knee in order to talk with the kobold, eye to eye without the sun blinding him. She answered him, "No, I'm not here to talk about the stealing. I know you didn't do it,"

She then continued, "Shortfang...that's your name, correct?" She then asked the kobold, "How do you feel about traveling with a caravan in return for being freed from this prison?"

[Lucius Cypher]

The kobold tilted his head. It was hard to get an idea of what his expression was. These kobolds were like little lizard men, very unfamiliar to you, almost terrifyingly so. “Travel? Hmm... No tricks? No lie?” He seemed to lower his guard a bit but still doesn’t get close to you. “Don’t mind... But why me? Shortfang... Kobold. Humies no like kobold. Plus... How Shortfang get out to go?”