Time: Last night --> 9am
Location: Port Vanarosa (with some brief flashbacks to the River Fairy Kingdom)
Equipment:Black coat with fur trim on the hood, dark-colored, plain male clothing,
sword with unbreaking and return enchantments, strength enchanted gloves, 2 medium red potions, hygiene products, timeteller, wayfinder, a flask, standard backpack, a couple rings(for this post only) and an ama pouch with 2000-->1800 amas.
Ambience:TavernThe Seagull had been packed last night like sardines in a tin. The collective of all the talking in the room would welcome a newcomer with quite the mess of sounds. Dimly lit and occupied by what seemed to be every man and woman in Port Vanarosa, the basic tavern was what one might expect. Helio had a good time observing it all for the first half-hour after he arrived. An inebriated, overweight elf was boasting to his fellow sailors how it was him who had discovered the existence of trout eight years ago in Yenworth. Two men to his right were trying to keep their obvious drug deal under the radar and failing miserably. But most importantly, there were
definitely some pretty ladies in the room.
It did not take long for Helio to create his ideal situation. He seated himself with two women. The two women immediately exchanged glances. One had long, blonde hair and the other black short hair. They were dressed in rather feminine clothing for the location. To his initial dismay, the girls seemed to know
exactly who he was.
The red-haired man in his dark outfit took a swig of his rum as one of the girls trailed her finger up his arm, speaking with a tone full of honey as she did,
"Could it be? The fairy prince all the way in humble little Vanarosa?" "Oh and I heard he's been murdering innocents-"The blonde went to chime in but Helio quickly halted that statement
"No! No. Ladies, come on. Rumors. All of them. You know how jealous some people can be. They see a rich and handsome man and they just take his reputation and they stomp-"Helio gave the girls a smile as he turned on the charm, pausing to squish a small roach scuddling across the wooden table.
"on it like a bug."The blonde girl's expression melted into disappointment and she leaned back in her chair, folding her arms,
"That's too bad.""Yeah. We love a big...bad... man."The other woman moved closer and began to breathe in his ear as she emphasized each word.
Helio's brows raised and he straightened.
"In that case, it's all true. I just rampaged aaallll across Avalia, murdering innocents and taking whatever I wanted from whomever I wanted. " He moved his hand across the air to further highlight just how much of Avalia he had been to.
"I'm as bad as they get..."He paused dramatically,
"...and you two are looking like my new treasures." He added in the token wink after his statement.
The girls looked at each other and giggled. They were blushing.
Another win. This is going to be a good night.Music:ViennaAs if to taunt his words, the muffled sounds of a broadcast could be heard from outside the tavern. The talking became hushed for a moment as the sounds of wooden chairs being scooted backward filled the room. It quickly got loud in the room again as folks began piling into the front door. Helio shrugged it off. He had intended to stay right where he was, but unfortunately, the women stood up too and began making their way outside too. He exhaled heavily.
Once he made his way into the road outside, he turned his attention upward toward the broadcasted screen against one of the buildings. His heart felt as if it had dropped into his stomach as the events played out. Hushed whispering filled the air and he barely noticed a few finger points in his direction.
Echo. His expression broke and he began pushing his way through the crowd to get a closer view.
"No!"He found himself shouting in desperation as he watched his little brother get his throat slit.
"Fuck!" Helio threw the mug of rum on the ground he had in his hand.
His body trembled and tears brimmed in his eyes. This didn't have to happen.
"Helio. You don't have to go. Stay! You've been gone for so long already. Come on, I need my big brother."
"I gotta go, Echo. It's best for you if I do."
His knees unbuckled as the scene played out in his head further.
His mother, Elyna had stepped in and took her son's hands, "My sweet son...Oh my poor boy. We can make this work. We'll convince everyone it's you again. I-... I can't lose you again." Her voice had shaken and she had cried and continued to plead with him to stay.
But Helio couldn't. In everyone else's eyes, there would never be any guarantee he was truly himself again. In fact, he wasn't sure they'd even believe he changed at all. For the sake of his Kingdom, he had to go. "Exile me, mama." Helio told her softly as he moved over to kiss his weeping mother on the head. His father had looked on with misery.
It had not been long after that he had ended up in Roshmi, walking through the pouring rain. He had felt in his heart that he had made the right choice that day, but now...?
Helio did not want to imagine his parent's reaction to that broadcast and how worried sick they were over him currently. He knew he couldn't go back there now. There was nothing he could do and he felt as pathetic and powerless as he did that day.
"Are you okay?"A hand fell on his shoulder but he didn't move to meet their gaze. He fell silent for a long moment. Finally, he spoke up.
"I need more rum."He mumbled numbly as he slowly got to his feet.
He wasn't aware of his own movements as he went back into the bar and grabbed a rum bottle. The waiter's protest was muffled background noise as he began to chug it. What happened next was missing from his memory.
The sound of seagulls outside moved through into his ears eventually, his eyes snapping open once again. Helio scrambled upward on impulse and pain shot through his head. with a sideways glance upward, he became aware that he had hit his head into the bar table. He found himself sitting on the wooden floor of the tavern, the room deserted as the sun rays through the window lit up parts of the room. He had passed out on the floor at some point.
Great."Time to go, lad."Helio grumbled a few curses under his breath as he got to his feet, not immediately replying. His movements were slow and he felt sluggish. His gaze fell on his hands for a moment and he narrowed his eyes. Helio's gaze drifted over to the man cleaning a nearby table. He was the bartender from last night.
"They robbed your rings and what looked to be about 200 amas...The girls.""Of course they did."Helio replied blankly and pulled his bag back over his shoulder. With that, he made his way outside into the busy street of Port Vanarosa.
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