Randomguy

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

"The house guardian wouldn't mind to use the house as long we maintain clean this shelter. It a bit angry to the elven woman for prying their stuff without it's permission. I too have guilt for going through the window but the spirit and I had already settle.

Anyway. Who's turn for the bath? I prepared a hot water for the bath tub and will boil some water again for the other's turn."

The eastern-looking man—seemingly oblivious to the somewhat tense atmosphere—suddenly joined the conversation with a non-sequitur of a warm bath. Something that admittedly sounded pleasant to Carnatia right about now.

Carnatia turned to the man, "I did not expect this dilapidated cottage to have working plumbing. Thank you for informing us, and preparing the hot water, sir...My apologies, I don't think we've been introduced. In any case, it might be a good idea to partake in a warm bath after we have ourselves settled. Though...who exactly were you referring to by 'house guardian'?"

Their conversation was then interrupted by Fia, who—understandably, Carnatia supposed—somewhat objected to Carnatia's previous remark regarding her.

“Unsavory? I barely said anything.” spoke Fia. She looked at the assortment of items that lay on the table. The flier caught her eye. Either the owner was a patron, or this building was a part of the route advertised. Fia reached over and picked up the clear case containing the hairpin. She looked at it as she twirled the case around in her hands. “Though, I suppose I am of the mind that if the previous owner is dead, what harm is there in repurposing goods that are will otherwise be forgotten?”

Once she finished her introduction, Carnatia replied, "Apologies, if I offended. It's not even that I am wholly against the idea, I do realize the pragmatism in your logic, but even from a utilitarian perspective, I do not think these...trinkets are worth it, no? As Sir Engelbert and I had alluded to, it would behove us to avoid trouble with authorities. This cottage does not seem to be that old, and considering the lifespan of an elf, it is not impossible for its owner to still live in other regions of Varenheim, or next of kin even. Either way, it opened up the possibility for us to be liable for unlawful seizing of property. While the chances are low that we would be accosted over these trinkets, as I said, such mere trinkets surely do not merit taking the chance? The swords Lady Evelyn found are another matter, and I suppose merit a discussion. In any case, our illustrious leader appeared to be against it, although..."

Carnatia then turned to the Gray Flame and Engelbert, "Pardon me, sirs. But it would appear to my eyes that you two were discussing something regarding the photograph Roxas found? In normal circumstances, it would not be proper of me to inquire into what is clearly a private matter, however...I would like to ask if it is something that might affect us during the course of our stay here or beyond. If so, I think we are at least entitled to some details given that it would affect us. Of course, I wouldn't demand you reveal it to us now, but I do hope if it is relevant to our situation that the two of you would reveal it before the night ends."

It was then, that Evelyn, who had been taking a look at the items chimed in with her reports.

"Everyone, please excuse my impudence, but may I take a moment of your time?" She paused to let her words sink in before continuing, "I've gathered what I could from these items, let me relay them to you."

First, Evelyn picked up the elven blade, "This sword is part of a twin pair alongside that one above the fireplace. It's enchanted with runes to reinforce its durability, explaining its pristine state even after decades of abandonment. The traces of dried blood revealed that the wielder was an elven man who was three decades old by the time the blood was spilt." She finished as she put the sword down.

Second, she procured the gold brooch with an emerald gem slotted in it, "This is an Arcane Focus, a trinket capable of improving various aspects of spellcasting. This one in particular is attuned to healing spells, enabling the caster to consume around half of the usual mana required for a specific spell. A great boon for any healers out there for certain." She set the brooch back down before moving to the next item.

Third, she held up the crystal-infused lamp, "This, for a lack of better words, is simply a lamp, although powered by mana instead of heat. When infused with mana..." Evelyn did exactly that to demonstrate, conducting a minor flow of mana from the environment into the lamp, causing it to illuminate, "It'll shine, providing illumination. A simple yet useful item for countless situations." The redhead shrugged lightly as she deactivated the lamp before returning it to the table.

Finally, she gestured lightly to the rest of the items; the dagger, quiver, hairpin, and pendant, "The rest are mundane objects, nothing outwardly notable about them, aside from any sentimental values, that is." And thus concluded her reports.

Turning to Evelyn, Carnatia gave her a small smile of appreciation before speaking again, "Thank you, Lady Evelyn. Splendid work. Now then, as to the matter of these items...while most of them are mundane trinkets with little worth, the lamp, blades, and brooch are of some use, therefore as I've said, merit some discussion on whether we should appropriate them or not. Now, the common parlance of 'Finder's keepers' does not, in fact, hold true in many civilized nations. In Westernant, for example, finders of abandoned items are obligated by the law to turn them in to the authority for a period of time, upon which the authorities would try to find the owner, before filling in the paperwork to claim the items. If I remember correctly, Varenheim has similar laws. Of course, we are not in the position to turn them in to the authorities, so in this case, I suppose it is legal for us to keep them and turn them over after we are finished with our expedition and return to civilized Varenheim's regions. They do seem useful in the journey ahead. Well, we can table this discussion for later and move on with the introductions."

Engelbert then moved the conversation along as the orc in armour introduced himself.

"For me, I am Tillius Battakka." Tillius spoke, his tone seemed normal if not a bit low for an orc, but it carried underneath a gravitas befitting his status. "Unfortunately, I do not bring with me magic or technological marvels, only strength and techniques." He paused and laid a hand on his gladius to briefly indicate the gear he was using. "I was an officer in the Westernant Army, but in case you worry, I am now retired, and is merely an adventurer, just like everyone else. I am more than confident and honored to be serving with you brave comrades into the unknown."

"A former officer in the Westernant Army you say?", Carnatia remarked. She then continued, "I was originally from Westernant myself, thank you for your years of service, good sir. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

@Remuri v2@Randomness@Mas Bagus@A5G@Izurich@Conscripts

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

Having the introductions interrupted by a brief altercation between the elven girl and Engelbert, Carnatia thought that while Engelbert could be more tactful in the warnings, it was not entirely unwarranted. Engelbert himself had taken off to speak with the Gray Flame after a look at the photograph. A clear indication that something was amiss. Something that Carnatia intended to ask the two at some point. She might not get an answer, but at the very least she could try.

On the other hand, the other party of the altercation, the elven girl was currently conversing with the tall man—most likely an oni—before said Oni introduced himself as Forbann Spiser, a Ferromancer.

"I am a ferromancer,able to shape metal however i see fit.Unlike most ferromancer, i specialized in Cursed metal, and before you worry, it's harmless to anyone i don't wish harm to as long as i'm touching it

Reshaping the metal rose back into the gauntlet, he continued

"Much like Engelbard,i would do best when in the thick of it, though i'm more specialized for attrition fights than fast ones. Furthermore, i know curses and how to deal with them, even if i must admit my methods are...brutish, to say the least.

"Interesting, it's quite rare to meet another who blends the arcane and martial arts. In any case, it is good to formally make your acquaintance, Forbann," Carnatia remarked. She then continued, as she turned to the elf beside Forbann, "You are Roxas, correct? As Forbann said, while Sir Engelbert most definitely should have been more tactful in addressing the issue, it is not entirely unwarranted. The morality of stealing from dead people aside, as Sir Engelbert said, it would do us well to not get into trouble with local law enforcement. It would reflect poorly on both our employer as well as our own reputation, which could affect future prospects. And while you may not be of the sorts that would do such a thing..."

Carnatia looked pointedly at Fia, "Given the...unsavoury remarks from our latest arrival, others are more unscrupulous. Or perhaps merely short-sighted."

@Deide@Visyn@Randomness

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

Oh my~? What an interesting turn of events. At first, Evelyn believed that she was the last to arrive, but she was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. Two more interesting individuals made their presence known; the first one was an armored swordswoman riding a steed, a fellow human who shared a nearly identical hair color and style as herself, albeit her locks had an orange ombre to them and she sported amber irises instead. She was... gorgeous, for a lack of better words, at least Evelyn believed so. Little did the young girl know, she admired her father so much that she became subconsciously partial to people sharing his traits, and the warrioress who just introduced herself as Carnatia definitely qualified as one, small differences in detail aside. As such, without even realizing it, Eve found herself not-so-subtly staring at the exiled noble...

@Izurich

Just after Carnatia gave her greetings to her employer, she noticed the young girl who had arrived just before her looking curiously at her. The girl had introduced herself as Evelyn Theophania Konstantin. Carnatia, of course, was aware of the Helvetia Republic's ruling family. She was sure that their family—both being important families of prominent nations that border each other—has had some dealings in the past, though she, herself had never personally met anyone from the Konstantin family.

Of course, the question that ran through her mind—and probably most of everyone in the camp—was what a child her age doing here? Moral issue aside, there was also the political consideration that one would need to consider for being on this expedition with a child of such an important family. It did not seem like she was exiled like Carnatia, hence, Carnatia's other worry was what the repercussion and the political fallout would be if Evelyn was harmed or worse in the course of this expedition. She did hear that they had a daughter who was a tremendously prodigious artificer.

Before she could approach the girl, however, Evelyn turned around and started a conversation with the hooded elf—who apparently went by Gray Flame—and the heavily armoured knight who had arrived around the same time with Carnatia. It would appear that the Gray Flame was an acquaintance of Evelyn's father. Perhaps he was even here partly on behalf of Consul Konstantin to chaperone her daughter? If so, at the very least, were things to go south, the Gray Flame would most likely take the brunt of the responsibility. Of course, Carnatia wished no harm on the young Konstantin scion but alas, such were the considerations one would need to take when dealing with a prominent family. Of course, both on a pragmatic level of lessening the risk of political fallout and morally just by virtue of being comrades in this expedition if nothing else, Carnatia intend to keep an eye on the girl.

Although...seeing the young girl brandishing her rapier in a short exhibition of her skills, Carnatia could tell that the girl was not defenceless. There was that at least, although...being an adventurer involved more than combat ability. Carnatia couldn't help but cringe remembering her clumsy attempts at various other aspects of adventuring aside from combat—many of which would be common proficiency for commoners—before Master Tokimune picked her up as his student. Carnatia didn't know how much experience Evelyn had with those things, but well...perhaps she should keep an eye, just in case. Also, she was in that scenario before. Although, if it turned out this girl was actually more proficient than Carnatia was at such things, that...would be embarrassing...and mortifying.

---

Before long, they departed from their camp, starting their journey to Nuria. Being the only one who brought her own horse, Carnatia was tasked to be the outrider. A task that she acquiesced to happily, as she trudged along a few paces behind the wagon, enjoying the sound of the flute one of the elf adventurers was playing. Indeed, Carnatia was perfectly fine being the outrider. It was logical, and furthermore, she was getting paid a hefty sum of money, so she would like to pull her weight. There was nothing worse than someone who insisted on receiving unmeritorious dues, and she hoped everyone in the expedition shared that sentiment. They applied for this expedition with a huge reward, so it was only right that they turned in a performance that was worth the money they were being paid for.

As they continued travelling along the road, however, the weather turned foul as a fierce thunderstorm fell upon them. So foul was the weather that they were forced to stop their travel and seek refuge at an abandoned house. Carnatia was not exactly jumping at the idea of staying in such a dilapidated house, but she understood the necessity—especially in an expedition such as these—and it was a better alternative than camping in this thunderstorm. She just hoped the roof held and kept the wind and rain out. Carnatia got off her horse and had it settled.

Another of her fellow adventurers, Engelbert appeared to have taken it upon himself to take care of the horses. Carnatia had never personally met the knight, but given she was from a family who had a long tradition of knighthood, she had heard of the wandering knight by reputation. Giving the old knight a nod of gratitude, Carnatia entered the house, where she saw some of the adventures going to the upper level. Carnatia opted to remain downstairs. They did not need everyone to check the second floor, and it was important that we still have a lookout downstairs, and so she remained on the first floor.

After some time, Engelbert entered the house. Carnatia was about to answer his inquiry with 'Nothing much' when the eastern-looking man came down, asking for some flame for lighting before a newcomer entered the house, introducing herself as a member of the expedition who ran a little late. Carnatia would lie if she said it wasn't somewhat suspicious, but it was easy enough to confirm with Vesemir here, she assumed he had done a background check on the people he hired.

"Ahem! As we're finally in one place, shall we do a small reintroduction? It will be good to know each other better since we will be traversing into an infamously dangerous location soon enough. Jolly cooperation and all that, yes?" The knight-errant glanced around the room for a split second, continuing before anyone can sound an objection. "It is only fair for me to start. I am Sir Engelbert, but do call me whatever you're comfortable with. Old man, tincan, or just my name - I do not mind. As you can likely guess, I'm best at the vanguard. Scant few can penetrate my armor, and I'm strong enough that most things that get in range of my sword will likely have a very bad time. And... I believe that is all from old me. Nothing flashy, but it gets the job done."

Once again his gaze fell across the audience, as if encouraging someone to step up after.

"So! Who's next?"

@A5G

As they all gathered on the first floor, the old knight introduced himself, before proposing a small reintroduction. It was probably a good idea, they hadn't properly gotten acquainted with each other, and now was as good of time as any.

Carnatia stepped forward, "Well met, Sir Engelbert. It is an honour to be working with such a decorated knight." She then turned to the others, "My name is Carnatia, all of you may call me how you wish. I do not mind as long as it is not meant to be derogatory or an insult. As for my skills...well, I am a fencer, of sorts, though I rely more on magic rather than sheer strength. I also have some skills in dismantling magical enchantment, though I am far from an expert. I look forward to working with all of you.

Roxas came down the stairs easily, and moved to the dining table. She set the items from the chest down, and the pamphlet for the business, then set the pendant and draft a little bit away. She looked up to the group. "Oi. I found all this upstairs. The quiver and other items were in a locked chest. This pendant, picture and draft.. were behind a locked bedroom door. Why it was locked, don't ask me. Anyone who can.. I suggest seeing if they're magical items, or if they can get information from them." She looked back to the items, the quiver pictures in particular. They looked so drastically different, but what was the time frame between them.

@Visyn

Carnatia then turned to the elven girl who just come down with various items, "I could try to take a look at those things you have to see if any are magical. Although..." She turned to Evelyn, "I presume Lady Konstantin there would be the one best suited for it if we are talking about magical items."

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

---

Carnatia scooped the last of her breakfast into her mouth, before wiping her mouth with a napkin. Each gesture was meticulous and deliberate in their graceful mannerism, something that betrayed her noble background despite her insistence on being 'a mere adventurer'.

She then smiled in delight, before her lips curved downwards in a small frown at some disappointment at the fact that it would probably be a while until she could sample such a delicious dish. Indeed, the Herb-Infused Morgia Jewels Pilaf with Saffron-Buttered Basmati Rice was just the treat she needed before she departed on the expedition to the Land of Twilight. Her stay in the most luxurious inn in town was costly, but well worth it. She...probably spent more money than she should have given that she could stayed at a cheaper inn, but alas, that was simply how things are.

She sighed, as she tried to justify her poor financial choices tactical financial choices.

'I-It's not as if I'm some sort of out-of-touch highborn. But as a former daughter of a Duke, my taste simply can't be helped. Were I to force myself to stay at a cheaper inn, I wouldn't be able to relax and recuperate as well, thus possibly turning in suboptimal performance on the expedition. Indeed. Verily! 'Tis all more for pragmatism absolutely not merely because I am a former noble. Not...entirely at the very least,' she thought, trying to convince herself more than anything.

Having settled things in her mind, Carnatia paid the last of what she owed to the proprietor, before heading out to the stable to get her horse. Between the inn and the new horse, Carnatia had but a paltry sum of money remaining. She did have a horse previously, but...she had sold it to make ends meet just before her last job. She could probably make do were she to rent a room at a cheaper inn, but once more, she's avoiding turning in suboptimal performance. Yes, purely pragmatism. Most definitely.

It's not as if she could not camp. As an adventurer, being able to camp was a necessity—though she had to admit she had no idea how to even begin camping before meeting her old master, the wandering Monk Tokimune—but really, should the chance arrive Carnatia would most definitely recuperate in luxury. It's really nothing different from some adventurer who likes to gamble in their downtime or go to the massage parlour or what have you. It was her money at the end of the day. Furthermore, as she would insist over and over again. There was a dimension of pragmatism here.

Getting on her horse, Carnatia held reins in her hands before starting to head to the rendezvous point. Before long, she reached the encampment outside the city limit.

She looked around for a bit, noticing that several individuals had arrived, before moving toward her employer, Vesemir Barandir, who had been referred to her by her Eldest Brother, Rodrigue de Luson. They had some contact via letters thanks to Rodrigue's introductory letter, but this would be the first time they met.

As such, for the moment, Vesemir was supposed to be the only one who had known that she hailed from a Duke household of Westernant. And she would like to keep it that way, for as long as possible anyway.

"Good day. Apologies for my slight tardiness. I am Carnatia, pleased to have formally made your acquaintance at last."

Journey Through Aereos

Aelyeth

Aelyeth watched as the warbeast sprinted away from her and Ebthor. There wasn't really much to discover simply by watching, but the warbeast with red fur in a purple robe and decorated headwear made for a striking figure, at least. Aside from that, Aelyeth could notice a backpack that appeared to carry several pieces of equipment—which looked heavy, but then again not everyone lucked out with having their own personal pack mule as herself—the warbeast also carried his weapon in his hand, clearly a precaution were he to encounter the unsavoury sort along the road.

All in all, if Aelyeth had to make a guess, the warbeast was indeed an adventurer/sellsword. And considering they've been walking for a while and the warbeast is keeping some paces ahead of them in the same direction. Probably her initial deduction of him being a fellow hire is, most likely, correct.

The warbeasts...for better or worse, they had shaped much of this world's history, due to the existence of the Rose Holder. Nations were created—and conquered—by their battle. Nation lines constantly needed to be redrawn to the point mapmakers gave up. And yet, this violent period of blood and venom was brought to an end by another warbeast, Carleria the Rose Holder of Shadow.

Obviously, the warbeast ahead of them was not a Rose Holder—at least she hoped he wasn't, considering the sheer potential turmoil their mere existence could cause—but nevertheless, Aelyeth would be interested in getting his opinions on several interesting historical events pertaining warbeasts if time allows. The same with her other future coworkers, really. This Simon Henrich appeared to be collecting an eclectic group of people from all walks of life, all surely coming with their own perspective of things, which would be valuable—and intriguing—to explore.

With that thought in mind, Aelyeth continued the trek to Noble Haven

Into the Land of Twilight

Carnatia de Luson

Name: Carnatia de Luson

Species: Human

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Appearance:

Expression Sheet

Bio:

The third child of a ducal noble family from Westernant famous for producing knights, Carnatia was born without the necessary physique and skills for the martially oriented family, making her a black sheep of the family of sorts…at least until she got it in her head to secretly start using magic to enhance her performance. She started winning tourneys and gaining recognition…until she was caught at one of the tourneys and was eventually exiled for bringing shame upon the family.

Being too used to a life of luxury, Carnatia has had it hard at first, having either irresponsibly spent or swindled off most of the money her elder brother secretly gave her. Eventually, a passing monk took pity on her and took her under his tutelage. After determining that Carnatia can at least survive on her own, the monk continues his journey, occasionally sending letters to Carnatia.

With her only other skills aside from statecraft being fighting, Carnatia became an adventurer, selling her services to various clients—some discreetly introduced to her by her elder brother, unbeknown to their family—with her Golden Prerogative skill, one would think Carnatia would be rich by now…and she would be if she had saved up the money instead of using it to support a luxurious lifestyle. It’s not a matter of status to Carnatia, but as a former noble of high status, she had simply gotten too used to a luxurious lifestyle to do without. She’s trying her best to be more ‘down to earth’ but alas, one glimpse at her and most would definitely think ‘Ah, noble’.

Vesemir Barandir is but the newest client introduced to her by her elder brother. With the huge reward, the hope is that Carnatia can use it to buy a piece of land and perhaps open a business, leading to a more stable—and sustainable—lifestyle.

Passives:

Golden Prerogative
A skill somewhat common among the nobility. Some say it is proof of a noble’s Divine Right to rule, other say it is merely a passive skill cultivated by noble families. Allows its possessor to have a better chance of stumbling upon valuables and getting a better price.

Prescient Defense
A skill obtained due to Carnatia’s seamless blending of magic and swordsmanship. A form of arcane divination that allows one glimpses of attacks made by their opponents, therefore allowing one to dodge or counter if their body can keep up.

Spells:

Arcane Enhancement
Magic that supernaturally enhances Carnatia’s weapon, allowing it to be sharper and strike faster. Carnatia can also use it to wreathe the blade in flames, though at an increased mana cost.

Zen Focus
A skill learned from her monk master that allows Carnatia to hone her mind to seek that one vital spot of her opponent, allowing for a single ‘critical strike’.

Mirror Image
Illusion magic that creates eight copies of Carnatia to confound enemies. The copies are incorporeal and will and thus cannot harm enemies, but are otherwise indistinguishable until they are attacked, after which they will disappear after one strike.

Dispelling Strike
A spell wreathed through Carnatia’s weapon to ‘cut down’ a magical construct. The blade itself needs to physically touch the spell—or things affected by the spell—to dispel it. The amount of slashes required to cut down the construct depends on the strength and complexity of its arcane component. Outside of combat, this spell can be used as a channelling spell that can thoroughly dismantle magical enchantment.

Mundane Skills:

Through her education as a former noble, Carnatia is adept at various aspects of statecraft, such as diplomacy, knowledge of laws, fief management, and so on. Of course, basic life skills for commoners such as cooking, sewing, and cleaning are…adequate at best.

Equipment:

Rapier, well-decorated light armour, a courtier’s outfit with jewellery, an adventurer bag with various assortments of tools, and an expensive enchanted tea set able to store and brew various flavours of tea.

A cursed dagger retrieved from the vault

Other:

Duties and Obligations were what had been taught to Carnatia since she was young, and it stuck until now. However, for her, what those duties and obligations are... depends on one's circumstances and position. As a noble of House de Luson, she would never take advantage of her subject for her duty and obligation is to take care of the realm. She didn't do it out of an inherent desire for benevolence, rather to Carnatia, being a noble is an occupation with a social contract of making sure their subjects are taken care of, and in return, they are afforded wealth and respect.

To her, nobles who shirk their duties to their subject do not deserve an iota of their wealth nor respect given to them. Now that she's been exiled, however, those are no longer her obligations and duties. She won't take advantage of a person simply because she can, but as long as it's within the bounds of the laws of the land and she is in great need, (because the law had to be respected so everyone can live in a civilized society) she has no qualms to 'taking advantage' of the law, rather than upholding the spirit of said law.

She also doesn't particularly care to stop injustice if it doesn't concern her because that's not her duty and obligation anymore. She will, however, ensure to do her best when hired and abide by the rules of the contracts honestly and never entertain betraying her client even when offered higher pay, because to her those are the duties and obligations of an adventurer for hire.

While no longer part of a Ducal’s Household, Carnatia has grown too used to luxury that more often than not she ended up paying more than she probably needed to for that extra luxury. For example, Carnatia can only drink alcohol of the high-quality ones, in particular high-quality wine. On her days off, Carnatia enjoys relaxing on a bed with a book, or practising with her rapier if she's in the mood for more physical activities.

Journey Through Aereos

Aelyeth

"If they inquire, we simply withhold the details. What's the worst that can happen? Are they going to challenge us?" Ebthor casually brandished his claws, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "Let them try," he added, punctuating his words with an equally wicked laugh.

Ah...of course this musclehead would say this, Aelyeth thought. It was just as well, if someone actually tried to dig deeper, Aelyeth would just fall to one of their cover stories, but for the time being, simply saying they were friends should do.

Hopefully, should that happen, she'll pull off the act more convincingly than her attempts to butter up the Royal Respite's proprietor. She's usually more subtle than that, Aelyeth supposed she was a tad too excited at the prospect. Oh well, she supposed you can't win them all.

As they were making their way to Noble Haven, Aelyeth noticed that the warbeast—who had departed the Royal Respite at around the same time—was walking in the same general direction, albeit several paces ahead of Aelyeth and Ebthor as befitting as his heritage of a warbeast. When Ebthor and herself were hired, they were informed that they would be working in a group. And presumable, it was not unlikely that other members of the group would also be set up in Royal Respite. So perhaps this warbeast is...

"Do you think perhaps that warbeast is also one of the hires?" she asked Ebthor as the two continue making their way to the mansion.

Journey Through Aereos

Posted. Also, should we make a discord group or something for ease of communication? You know for ruling and such

Journey Through Aereos

Aelyeth

Aelyeth was rather enjoying her breakfast in the Royal Respite. She would most definitely miss their cooking after today.

Being in Fiuginia was a novel experience for Aelyeth. She had lived most of her whole life inside the confines of the Mausoleum of the Exalted, and afterwards, she traversed the wilderness of the Dominion of Acoscosia—a feat that she shamefully admitted she would not be able to do without Ebthor, considering her cloistered upbringing—before making their way to the Union of Axue via chartering boat from the Dominion of Guinispo so they may lay low.

Dominion of Acoscosia, Dominion of Guinispo, and Union of Axue were all frontlines nations, there were conflicts of course—there was most definitely conflict in Union of Axue, some of which Ebthor had participated in as a sellsword—but the demon horde was the reality of every day life there, and for the most part took precedent. Comparatively, the Dominion of Fiuginia was one of the outer layers nations, and the stark difference, as Aelyeth immediately noticed was that they had the luxury to focus on disputes that seemed somewhat petty and arbitrary, as evidenced by their escalating tension with Caranepicia and Sihian tribes. In the frontlines nation, tension escalation such as this was rare as they were all too busy contending with the demons. As history has proven, people do unite on a common enemy, these outer layer nations, on the other hand, did not feel the reality of the demonic horde as tangibly as frontline nations and thus had the luxury to bicker with each other for paltry reasons.

Still, it was not all bad. Aelyeth did enjoy the...lighter ambience, for lack of a better word. With the demonic horde not being as much of an issue here, Aelyeth did find the mundanity of life here...rather quaintly charming, despite the rising tension with its neighbour. Yes, despite everything, Aelyeth did rather enjoy her time here. Though it would be hard not to when their employer had them stay in the finest inn in Fiuginia. Looking at the living wood that made up its structure, Aelyeth could not help but imagine what unknown parts of history had happened in an inn such as this. How many backroom meetings before treaty signing had taken place here, she wondered. How many clandestine meetings under the guise of vacationing? Perhaps even a secret tryst or seduction that takes place here before some noble house started feuding? Indeed, throughout her stay here, Aelyeth could scarcely hold back asking the proprietor of rumours and interesting tidbits they had experienced or heard in this very hall. None of what she found out can be substantiated of course, but they were still interesting. The proprietor had been happy to oblige an important guest, besides, Aelyeth could be rather charming if she wanted to.

Alas, the respite had ended and their newest employer had finally asked them to meet in his place of residence. Apparently, they would be working in a group. Aelyeth primary concern was, of course, to make sure Ebthor did not draw unwanted attention considering his...unique circumstances.

As Aelyeth finished her breakfast, she and Ebthor headed out of the inn, finally starting to make their way to the manor. She then turned to her companion.

"So, let's make sure we get our story straight once more. This Simon guy had wanted to hire you, but obviously, due to our circumstances, I have to be your 'plus 1' so to speak. So our cover story this time is...?"

Their usual cover story was just that they were a pair of close friends who were travelling together. However, if people did dig deeper, they usually had a 'second layer' ready as a 'false secret' that would explain why they were cautious and wanted to lay low so that when people found out they hopefully wouldn't dig deeper. This second secret had ranged from Ebthor being a former knight who had broken an oath and deserted to Aelyeth being the daughter of a noble who had not approved of her relationship with the 'filthy commoner' before the two ended up eloping.

Aelyeth then quirked one of her eyebrows, waiting for Ebthor's answer.

New York By Night (A Vampire The Masquerade RP) (CLOSED)

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Ian noticed Enzo's somewhat discomfort when he suggested the two of them investigate outside. It was not as if Ian did not get his sentiment. Certainly, there were risks involved. He himself had thought that, considering that whoever was responsible had possibly taken down Ludwig. Still, there really weren't many choices in the matter. Whether they liked it or not, all of them were very much tied with Edwina and Ludwig, and so it really was in their best interest to at least try finding out what had happened so they would not be caught off guard in the worst-case scenario.

Had this been Steele or Elizabeth, Ian might have entertained having some words to address their concern, but Enzo was the sort to keep to himself, furthermore he had always been the more professional sort, so it would probably be more conducive to let him be and take the 'wait and see' approach for now.

The group arrived in Sheol with little fanfare. As Elizabeth started heading inside, Ian turned to Alex, who was sitting in the driver's seat.

"Do not turn off the engine. Be ready to make a quick getaway just in case," Ian said to his ghoul. Alex nodded, before giving Ian a two-finger salute "Got it, boss. Good luck with...well, whatever your business is," he then turned to Enzo, "You too 'course."

Ian gave him a nod before turning to Enzo, "Well, then, any suggestion? You are the one with access to more...esoteric arts, do you have anything useful that might identify any supernatural activity around here? Kindred or otherwise."