Forest of the Unfanthomable {Private Roleplay}

[Leonidas Pelagios]

Narubia relaxed a bit; as long as Elas remained uncaring, she and Arryn were relatively safe for now. The young woman finished her meal as the guard continued to speak, having made the choice to protect the border to prevent another war, a war which resulted from potential infidelity within formerly friendly royal families on both sides. Because of the terrible choices from the reigning leaders at the time, both humans and the supernaturals ended up caught in their fight, and now they lived apart in uneasy tension. Even more, the incident was never brought up due to fear of the queen's reaction. "Is that why she's called the Blood Queen, then?"

As she waited for Arryn to respond, she couldn't help but stare uneasily the mead a bit before she took a few sips- quickly regretting the decision as as the expression on her face showed her distaste, yet it quickly relaxed as she laughed a bit. "I'm afraid I'm not courageous enough for this," she said, taking a few more sips before admitting defeat and placing the beverage down. Perhaps it was due to her upbringing, but she much preferred tea. However, beggars couldn't be choosers, and speaking of choices, Narubia felt it was time to continue their mission. "If Jahmal ended up being captured for slavery, he may have been sold... or with luck, he could still be on the market. Are there any places that will allow us to search the place prior to the next auction?"

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Given that the conversation was stretching on than Jahmal was hoping for, it seemed the chances of getting the blond was minimal, yet Jahmal wasn't expecting Gwinir to both cut the discussion short and give an alibi behind his interest in Turivel. Although initially suspicious, Elas seemed to be in agreement... on the condition of the elf attending a ball and relaying information about the human world in exchange. Jahmal wasn't expecting an easy trade, but this was a bit far-fetched; still, if it was what they had to do to get Turivel, he would have to play along- that is, if he were allowed to attend. For all he knew, he would be sitting in the stables during the event.

After Elas finally left the two of them alone, Gwinir breathed a sigh of relief as Jahmal grinned. "Gifted in finding the best slaves, hm? Well, I can't allow my talents to just go unused, can I?" However, that grin fell as he remembered their conditions for attending. "But we won't be any closer until we find this 'Arryn' woman and tell her what's going on. He mentioned she was here earlier; unless she left the village, we've got a chance to track her down. Just tell me what she looks like." It felt like his goal would be father out of his reach than he expected, but at least Jahmal and Gwinir wouldn't have to travel very far for who they needed.

RiverMori

[RiverMori]

Leonidas Pelagios

Arryn chuckled when she witnessed Narubia's reaction to mead. "Don't feel too bad, mead is an acquired taste. I grew up with it so I can drink it no problem." She pulled a canteen from her bag and handed it to Narubia, "Here, its spring water."

She thought about the layout of the village, "If nothing's changed the slaves square would be the place to look, its where people bring slaves to sell, buy, trade or show off." Arryn stood, stretched and offered a hand to Narubia. "Let's head that way and see if we can't find your brother and his friends."

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Gwinir gave Jahmal a look, "Hardy har har, it was the best thing I could think of at a moments notice." He scratched his head, "Years ago Arryn had white hair down to her ankles, its customary for elves to have long hair, but the last time I saw her she had cut hers as well and wore it up. She has tan skin and usually moves in a graceful way." Gwinir started toward the village square, "If she's here after so long I would think that she would spend a day here at most but I'm not sure. She's usually a loner."

[Leonidas Pelagios]

Readily accepting the canteen of water, Narubia thanked Arryn before taking a few gulps, listening as the guard spoke of the village square being the more popular area for slave dealings. "I just hope we're not too late; if so, all we can do is hope his new master lives within the village," she said, taking the woman's hand before she was pulled to her feet. "I'm not sure if you're familiar with his appearance... reddish brown hair reaching his shoulders, lighter tan skin, and eyes the same color as mine." She wasn't certain if it would help; if not, Narubia was certain she could point him out.

The two soon reached the village square, which was bustling with activity. Narubia did her best to stay right next to Arryn as they navigated through the many crowds and slave traders, especially since she feared some of them were eyeing her. However, the stares didn't deter her from searching for her brother as they stopped through each one they had encountered thus far, and unfortunately, not much luck. She remained silent throughout; she still needed to play the part of a slave herself to avoid suspicion.

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When Arryn's description was revealed, Jahmal stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds, snapping out of it to catch up with Gwinir as he swore profusely under his breath. "I'm as good as dead; if it's the same guard from Beltraine, I'm getting dragged back by my hair. Though it wouldn't make any sense... if she's an elf, what's she doing in a human village? There's nothing interesting for her there." Aside from the occasional human disappearing into the forest, he didn't believe there was anything worthy of their attention; after all, a large army wouldn't be invading the forest anytime soon, and as for their own royals, they were too preoccupied with determining who would succeed the aging king upon his death and keeping the population disinterested with the other side of the border.

The village square, upon their arrival, was abuzz with activity, with Jahmal playing the part of the loyal slave as they looked for his friends among the stands. Though he wasn't expecting them to come across the other two- for all he knew, they may as well have been dead from the forest creatures- Jahmal was still holding out hope for them to at least be up for auction somewhere. As he was close to considering giving up, he thought he spotted someone with white hair moving through the crowd. Given there were a few others with similar hair color, he almost let it pass- had he also not noticed the tan skin, the white hair pulled into a bun, and moving in a graceful manner with someone next to her. "Gwinir, look to your right," he whispered, then froze once more as he took a second glance at the cloaked woman hovering close to her, nearly cursing as he did. Medium brown skin, long black hair, gold eyes, and skinny as a beanpole. "...On second thought, let's go the other way."

RiverMori

[RiverMori]

Leonidas Pelagios

"If he's already bought the new master wouldn't be able to resist parading him around for a little while." Arryn began to scan the crowd around them, "Oh don't worry I know exactly what your brother looks like. He's been a pain in my backside for a long time, always trying to sneak around my defenses." She said bitterly as she moved them closer to where several slaves were displayed on a pedestal, all were under some kind of spell to keep them quiet while they awaited their fate.

An elf woman reached her hand out to touch Narubia. Arryn stepped between them, "Do not touch, she is here as a visitor not as property." The woman shrank back from Arryn and hissed at her, fleeing into the crowd.

She looked at Narubia and grabbed her hand, "Be careful, some will try to steal you for themselves." She stopped short when something in the crowd caught her eye.

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Gwinir laughed, the feeling of laughter feeling weird. "Forgive me, though it seems Arryn hasn't changed in all these years of being away." He began to look around in the crowd, keeping Jahmal close. "You didn't try to seduce her did you? The last man who tried that were fed to a pack of wild dogs." He shrugged his shoulders at Jahmal's questions, "You would have to ask her for her reasoning's, she's a hard person to understand but she has good motives."

When he heard Jahmal whisper he turned but paused when Jahmal changed his mind. "What are you talking abo--" A figure with white hair and tanned skin stood several yards away from them, talking to a young slave looking girl beside her. "Oh, isn't that Arryn?" He looked at Jahmal, "Are you scared of her? Or of the young one beside her?"

[Leonidas Pelagios]

Narubia softly giggled, both at the thought of Jahmal being shown off- he was a bit notorious with his charm and appearance- and of him being a headache for the guard. "That is certainly my brother; as much as he is a thorn in the backside, he does genuinely care," she said with a gentle smile. Even with his tendency to annoy, he did his best to not push the limits of others. Perhaps this would result in retaliation from the guard. "Please don't be too harsh on him... not everyone in Beltraine has been content with remaining behind the border." She was wary of admitting that she was one of them, though too skittish of actually attempting to delve into the forest. Well, until tonight.

If it hadn't been for Arryn stepping in, Narubia would have disappeared with the elven woman, who was agitated that her attempt had been thwarted before backing off. The warning of her possibly being stolen confused the young woman. "I don't understand; are there no laws to protect against this kind of thievery?" There was a code in the human realm- written and generally unspoken- that forbade others from stealing slaves that did not belong to them with the threat of punishment, yet the people here had free reign when it came to taking slaves? Narubia did not hesitate to hover closer to Arryn, not letting go of the woman's hand, even when Arryn stopped. "Is there something wrong?" Narubia asked before following the woman's gaze over to the area she was looking at. All she could see were more elves, the various slaves, an elven man with a golden-eyed human next to him- Narubia blinked for a second, taking another look at the man. Everything about his appearance fit, and his current mannerism of trying to sheepishly hide confirmed her hopes. Yet her joy dwindled upon seeing the black band around his eyes. Were they too late to prevent him from being sold?

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So Gwinir had a sense of humor after all, though it was at Jahmal's expense. When asked if he attempted to seduce Arryn, the darker man simply gave him a deadpan stare as he flatly replied, "I'd rather seduce a dung beetle; at least I would have a better chance with it than her." He didn't need any further explanation when a few townspeople pointed her out during his first day in the town; the general rule was to not make her angry, and follow her orders should you encounter her. Jahmal unintentionally decided to make it his past time to give her a challenge. Each attempt to sneak past the guard resulted in him being unceremoniously dumped at the entrance of the house before the first light of morning. Yet even with the arrogant acting displayed whenever he was caught, Jahmal did respect her, even if some of the other guards were pretty skeptical about her.

As for his current attempt to divert Gwinir, it failed- the elven man not only noticed Arryn, but also the other slender figure beside the woman, questioning Jahmal which of the two he was more scared of. "I'm not scared; I just wasn't expecting them to be here," he retorted with an eventual sigh. "She could have written me off for dead; I'm not going to hear the end of this from her. Last thing I wanted to happen was for my sister to drag Arryn into looking for me." Why didn't Narubia just stay home and allow Arryn to locate him? She was due to depart Beltraine in the morning, there would be no way they would make it back to town at this rate. Either way, if Narubia was here, he was going to be ratted out to their father upon their return.

RiverMori

[RiverMori]

Leonidas Pelagios

Arryn sighed, "No, I know not everyone is like that. It's human nature to be curious about things you don't know, so I don't hold a grudge against your brother. If anything, it makes my boring shifts more interesting."

She kept a hand on Narubia, sending out a small amount of magic around her as protection. "There are laws, but they aren't followed to the letter very often. Its up to the master to decide if they want to do something about it. Usually, slaves are not worth much unless they are used for a certain purpose. But that elf would have been put to death if she was successful. Since you are marked as a visitor no one is supposed to do harm to you, but there are those that are desperate."

Arryn pulled Narubia toward her brother, the black band was concerning. She came to a stop when she saw Gwinir standing with Jahmal. "Gwinir, greetings. I didn't think that you would finally find yourself a slave."

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Gwinir nodded at Arryn, "Greetings, Arryn." He glanced around at the people bustling back and forth around them. "Let's move to a better location, the wrong ears could be listening." He lead the way, weaving between people as he headed to a small cottage on the outskirts of town. With a small burst of magic, the door opened and the grouped entered, revealing a large and comfortable room that could hold fifty people.

"Please come in and make yourselves at home." He magicked the house as they all came in, protecting them against any potential attack. Gwinir wasn't crazy, just paranoid. It's kept Arryn and himself alive this long.

After getting settled, Gwinir finally relaxed slightly. He pulled Jahmal's cloth from his head, "Arryn, you know as well as I do that I wouldn't ever own a slave unless I was forced to. It seems like Jahmal knows the both of you and vise versa." He turned to Narubia, "Greetings, I go by Gwinir. And you are?"