Ьȴʊє Ͻ a r a v a n 🚙 🚙 🚙 (new thread!)

Favorite Character Poll Round 10!

Lucien Balthazar Mchale - Vicious hunter of humans and dragons.	27.3%	[ 3 ]
Vasul Calim Shahrad - Crown Prince of Shahrazad and righteous eagle among a flock of vultures.	9.1%	[ 1 ]
Lorelei 'Ellie' Katerini - Knight Errant and Defender of Justice who will kick your butt!	18.2%	[ 2 ]
Inyri Ven - Sharp-minded beauty and budding lady of wares.	18.2%	[ 2 ]
Eriol Epheis - Mysterious man with an eye for the prize.	27.3%	[ 3 ]
Total Votes:			[ 11 ]

This poll closed on November 27, 2014.
No longer accepting new votes.

[anais nighteyed]

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artwork by Rainxxx

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Her smile broadened with relief, and most of her timid feelings were put at ease when she was welcomed to join them. “I’d be happy to help.” She gathered that the excursion was planned to be a casual outing, and she wouldn’t hesitate in taking the chance to escape duty and work for a time. Kemun watched quietly as the other woman outstretched a hand toward her, and a puzzled look flitted across her face. She paused and bit her lip, clearly unsure what to make of the gesture or how to respond accordingly to it.

Masking her uncertainties, she put them aside and reached out to take the seer’s hand in hers. Hoping her action was proper, she grasped her hand briefly before letting go. “Kemun. I’m a merchant,” she told them, intent on getting her introductions out of the way as quickly as possible. “Pleased to meet the both of you.” She was accustomed to the garments fashioned by her kin, so everything else seemed quite strange. She could admire the foreign clothes and fabric she saw throughout Albrind, but even the mere thought of wearing them discomforted her.

But Kemun, over the course of a few years spent traveling and carrying out her trade, had been steadily collecting knowledge from the various marketplaces she’d visited. There were things to be learned from posing as a simple customer and mingling with other peddlers. Her negotiation skills were improving, she could haggle shamelessly, and she found it easier to tell when someone was trying to swindle her. She had a fairly good idea of prices, and she could only hope she could be of some assistance.

“Oh, you could say that,” she said to the fellow, replying to his question. “I travel with the caravan, you see, and a few days ago we lost some of our folk to the desert sands. They’re supposed to turn up here, so naturally we’ve come to retrieve them. As our luck would have it, such a task is easier said than done. I’ve been looking for some trace of them in town, but I haven’t seen or heard anything of use. I doubt very much that the butcher’s promiscuous niece could help us.” Kemun heaved a sigh and shrugged. Her trade involved selling goods, not tracking them down. She didn’t think she could prove to be of much use in this situation. “I’m not well-suited for a hunter’s work, I’m afraid.”

[Watervoir]

Ѵeȴɩus Kɩɾʈɑ
ɳoble





There was a goal in him seemingly wasting time with this stranger he hardly knew. There was something powerful in having in one's hand the knowledge of others, and the longer he dwelled in the caravan, the stronger his thirst for such information and the hunger to wield it as he would a sword. When it came to the girl, well, what was her reason to be at the tavern? What was her name, where did she come from? Did she have a lover? A spouse? Had she lost someone at the oasis as he had and was looking for leads, or did she have another motive for being there entirely? And then there would always be the question of Whether her fainting was a one-time deal or whether it came in spells. He wanted to know it all. They had travelled in the same caravan for so many days, and she was the one individual amongst the caravan folk who he knew next to nothing about. Had she been any regular lass off the street, he wouldn't have given her a second thought after the little mishap in the tavern. The sole fact that she was from the caravan made her an object of interest.

"Hm... Do you ever shut up?" It was a mystery of nature how this girl could fit so much breath such a petite body. Aria was one in the same, in honest truth. He didn't sound mad though, simply contemplative, and when he glanced up to find her making faces at the wall, he chuckled. "Well then, apology accepted. Have a seat, why don't you, while you wait." And while he blasted off with his learning. "You seem to have quite the knack for causing a stir wherever you go. That stint you had with Aria barely went unnoticed, and now this. Is your fainting normal?"

[NlETZSCHE]

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Ayn let out a soft sigh and had a seat on the bench next to Velius. As she sat her hair fell into her face. Her eyes met with the ground, before she smoothed her bangs out of her face and turned to look to Velius. She crossed her arms across her chest, and leaned back into the bench. Her voice and speech did not match her posture. She sunk into the chair like that of a young man, relaxing her legs apart as opposed to keeping them tightly and uncomfortably pressed together. This is why no one, of late seemed to believe her when she told them she was a princess, which was rare that she even did.

Clearing her throat, she began, "Well. I usually don't talk at all, if that helps." Her voice remained a calm ocean, "You've just caught me in a rare...form..." He'd never know how literally she meant that, "I prefer to stay back and watch, usually. Can't say I've gotten the hang of commmoooon folk-" she stopped, shaking her head, "What? What Stint? Who's Aria? Fainting? Oh, that....I wouldn't call that fainting...Do you snore when you faint?" She sat back into the bench. Her sleeping spells weren't the embarrassing part...it was the Dream pantomiming that she did.

She looked at him, "You...belong to the Caravan?" She blinked, "I assume that is what you're talking about?" She squished up her face as she thought, "Where is the Leader, anyway? I need to speak to him. You are with the Caravan....right?" IT would be pointless to talk about the caravan to someone not related to it.

She didn't know what to think of this person. She didn't know what to think of any person anymore. Her eyes soon trailed away from him, back down to the ground, where a small bug was attempting to lift a huge crumb and carry it away. She watched it struggle and sighed, picking up the large piece of bread, and ripping it apart to make it easy to carry. She set it back down, but alas, the bug had run away.

She shrugged and spread the crumbs out on the earth anyway, distracted with her task, she forgot there were eyes on her.


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[jadeshaw88]

Hey ladiesxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ho ladiesxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Come follow with mexxxxxxxxxx

Jon didn't understand what she wanted at all. He had used some of his best stuff and she was still cold toward him. He was honestly starting to feel sick now. How could he prove himself to her. It wasn't showering her with gifts and compliments. It wasn't offering to keep her safe. Did she want him to treat her badly? If so, he should give up now. He may not be the best man and he knew that he had hurt some women in the past. He had told himself time and again that when he left them, it was for their own good. What good would it be to have a minstrel around that no long felt the same amount of love for them as he once had? Staying with them would only be keeping them from future love. He was a jerk, he knew, but he had never hurt a woman intentionally and he had certainly never used harsh words with one. It was not his nature.

He sighed and let his head droop as he followed her out of the shop. He didn't even have anyone to talk to about any of this. He could ask Ari for advice but she would most likely just laugh at him. He could offer her noble man some advice about Ari in exchange for some help but he would probably laugh at him too. He supposed he could speak to one of the new people about it but he honestly didn't trust anyone enough to pour his heart out to them. Perhaps if they found the priest...priests were supposed to be good listeners. Or the little dancer girl. She had treated him kindly in Belorner and she seemed wise beyond her years. He would speak with the other dancer girl or Kemun but that seemed a little cruel since his attentions had been on them so recently. Besides he would probably get distracted by their beauty if he spoke to them.

The feeling of a body bumping into him and delicate hands pressed against his chest brought him back to the present. "Oh." He said as he raised his hands in surprise. This was incredibly awkward. He wasn't sure if he should embrace the girl or...or what. Fighting for control of his brain was difficult as well. He could feel the heat of her hand through his tunic and it spread through his entire torso. "Oh..." He cleared his throat at her words. "Of...of course." He cleared it again and tried to make his legs move aside but they no longer seemed to want to work. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus on her face, the emotions there. She was nervous...frightened...What? Had he scared her? "I...Are you alright? You seem upset." Yes, good Jon, bloody fantastic. He looked around for the source of her discomfort and spotted Ari, Kemun and some new man he had never seen before. "Ari!" He waved his hand in her direction. Halima said she wanted to meet her, right? Maybe meeting her would make her feel better. "It seems my seer friend has come to us." He tried to make his tone as happy as he could. Maybe the presence of another woman would comfort her.






Hey ladiesxxxxxxxxxx
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Come follow with mexxxxxxx

[H3p4tic4]

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Oh no no no no no!Halima was positive that this would end badly for one or both of them. How could Jon be so oblivious to her plight. She’d tried to escape back into the cover of the shop, but he had hindered her, and maybe if Jon had not brought attention to himself , Arin would have passed her on as if he had not noticed her there, but now with it confirmed that she was indeed out frolicking with(in would most likely be the scholars words) this desultory, libidinous ,driftless minstrel, there was no way he wouldn't raise a fuss. She wasn't even...frolicking in the sense of the word. Jonathan had simply offered to accompany her into town as a thanks for helping him and the Seeress back at the oasis. And what about the gift?She ended up asking herself in her head, Arin's smug voice being the source.

Halima brought her hands back to her chest , clutching the jar as if trying to protect it from Arin should he see it.She could not say that it was compensation for her help, and she knew that the reason for Jon buying her anything was due to more then friendly emotions and appreciation. In the end the gift was a token of courtship. Blood threatened to rise to her face at the thought that Jon was actually trying to court her and not....“fiddle his was into her skirts”. Halima had to turn her face downward to make sure Jon didn't see her inner dilemma. He showed his emotions so clearly, she was sure he could just as easily tell the moods of others. And he seemed so easily wounded, she just couldn't get him caught up in whatever game Arin would cook up to punish her for this.

She need comfort, but she would not seek it from Jon, not when they were already in a compromising position. The mere thought of that made her realize that from any position they looked as if they we’re about to embrace. dammit it all to the Pits! Turning on her heels she took a few steps away from him, her head bowed in a automatic submissive manner.

“ I-I am well”She said and stopped before she got closer to the other group.She was prepared for a verbal assault that she would only understand, because no matter how upset Arin was he wouldn't risk outing her, Then again if he was already with the seerer he probably knew everything he needed to know.

“ Miss Aria I just wanted to see how your chest was doing? if you had any trouble breathing or pains”She didn't look up, she didn't want to make eye contact with anyone.Once she got that Ari was okay, she was going to make a bolt for the Caravan and not stop til she was hidden in a wagon.She tried to be angry at Jon for bringing this down upon her, but he was simply acting on one of her request it was just badluck that Arin had been with the Seeress.

[artfreek]

~~~~Nesa Comec~~~~


Nesa frowned a little at her proposition, but he made sense so she didn't protest. There was the chance that the man knew how to hurt them in some way. She glanced up a Rachelle, he was probably relieved to not have to see the man yet. Nesa nodded agreement at the plan, but the quiet man, who wasn't so quiet anymore, protested against Caden. He seemed the most distraught over the missing bodies. His reaction was justified, but it wasn't helpful in the least. Phedre gave the man reassurance, and good logic to the man. It made sense that if the bodies were...beyond repair, that they would know it. He did apologize though, that gave him some points.

As Phedre started forward Nesa followed after, not entirely sure what the members of the caravan could do. After walking for a while they finally came to their destination Nesa looked around, she didn't see any familiar people milling around the caravan. If she wanted to see someone she knew she would probably have to wander around town for a while. She was wondering if she should suggest looking around when Phedre starting neighing, much to Nesa's surprise. She watched her talked to the horse with awe. It was more for the fact that she was talking to someone or something that wasn't spirity. Although the horse writing in the sand did overshadow it a bit. She let out a laugh as she read the words. Now someone just had to read it.

“I hope it doesn't take to long for someone to find it.” Nesa said looking around. “There really aren't very many people around.”

[Watervoir]

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Arms were crossed. The priest's heated look was met with a cool flip side of the same coin. As angry as he might become within the next hour, he decided that one of them had to stay professional. So when the priest began demanding for certain answers, irritated though he was, Caden tried his best to speak patiently. "No, I'm not," was the solid retort. Before long, he would have to deal with similar challenges with his own family, if he wasn't still a ghost by then. What was this but some on-the-job-training. "But even if we found our bodies, what then? We can't very much waltz in and grab at them, unless you can think of some way to do so." On the other hand, if there was one person Caden thought could at the very least communicate with, he was confident that Medayo would be the one. But even he could not be a hundred percent sure, and so he had spoke nothing of it. "We're hardly blind. Rachelle has the man's location down, unless I am mistaken." A glance over to the boy, made as Draaz retreated from the group, was greeted with a small nod. "House." Another series of nods, before Rachelle headed off to follow after Phedre.

While the others were leaving, Caden approached Draaz. "Rough as it is, anger's unbecoming of a holy man, I'd like to think." He was preaching to a priest. How absurd. "Let's get a move on." He clapped him on his shoulder before turning to tail the others before they were out of sight. Their motley crew was one of the few things he could actually touch and feel. Too bad he couldn't sense him there in front of him too. As the days tolled by, it was getting harder and harder to stay calm without it, his sixth sense. The others might have had trouble seeing it, what with their unawareness to his little gift and his familial vow to keep it a secret, but the paranoia was there. Hints of it, from the way he jumped at every movement in his peripherals until only long after it had hit home that they could not interact with the physical world right up to that very morning, when he had made mild protests against Phedre wandering off to scout when the proposition had been first made clear. The nights got him the worst, the hours of which made it blind to vision and no fire could be raised to soothe. The forest was no friend in the matter, the thicket of trees only capable of obscuring even during the day. Given enough time, he might lose it, slowly, but surely.

The sight of the caravan was a warm relief -- warm being a relative term in their predicament. He tried to feel at the blue wall of a new wagon, only to have his hand fall through like it did through almost everything else. He turned and caught hold of a marvellous and unprecedented sight. Phedre's antics were met with bewilderment. "Is she...in her right mind?" he asked hesitantly to no one in particular, afraid he might have been missing something. When the blonde finally switched back to human tongue and exclaimed something about her approval of horses and writing, he was completely caught off guard. "What? No that's not possibl--" His eyes narrowed when the horse backed from his work. "...Is that really a horse you have there?" But wait... if this was really a horse and it could see them, then that meant... That fox from earlier! What if it really did see him, making vain attempts at a rock! "Loose bodies... That's an odd way to put it." Nesa was right in that they needed someone to see it. In the meantime, he would make a few rounds himself. Find out when the caravan would be departing and where it might be headed... and perhaps see if he was right that a little more help could be wrung out from this hodgepodge on wheels. "Maybe everyone went into town." As long as she didn't, then he could maintain a sliver of hope.

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[NlETZSCHE]

≼≽≼Yggdrasil "Draaz" Søren Freud≽≼≽
(Igg-Druh-S-ill "Droz" Sh-roun Frew-oid)
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≼≽≼Far too risky To feed you with bare arms.≽≼≽

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Draaz was silent to their calming instances. This was ridiculously frustrating. Extraneously frustrating. As frustrating as collecting every bit of sand, from every beach, from every planet from every galaxy. Probably not that frustrating, but frustrating enough so that he was thoroughly frustrated. When Caden approached him, he turned to him and attempted his most glorious and charming smile. The crookedness of it, growing evermore. Something he couldn't detect, so he did it anyway.

"Don't mind me. I'm just terribly stressed. Usually I'm rather calm, if you'd believe it, but I find this state uncontrollable, with my emotions. Perhaps restraint is harder without a body..." He frowned, and then visibly forced another smile, watching them all disappear as they headed into town before getting up and following. He lagged behind them, reaching the group just as the horse began to sketch upon the earth. It was a strange site to see a horse do. Caden was right, was that a horse? Perhaps it had once been a cursed human.

He rose an eyebrow. He'd only met one other cursed human being, but they hadn't been a horse. At least he was an animal that was respectably needed, if he was cursed, that is. He looked around the caravan, seeing not a single familiar face. However, that wasn't too difficult to imagine, he was new to the travelling caravan after all. He looked towards the main buildings of the town, having memorized them over the past three days. The one he was most familiar with was the library, a smaller building for scholarly types.

After a moment, he looked back at the caravan wagons, "How'd they know to come here? Is this where they were headed. That's quite the coincidence..." he spoke flatly, "Maybe...Someone was looking for us all. It didn't sound like this is where everyone was headed."

He looked at Caden, "maybe we should split up and see if someone can help us. I assume you might have someone in mind, or else, why would we be here?"



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≼≽≼How can I protect myself from you?≽≼≽

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[jadeshaw88]

If only night could hold you...
Ari rolled her eyes at the man though he could not see it. His poor opinion of women on a whole annoyed her and she was determined to prove him wrong...Unless this was just some sly way to get her to shop faster in which case she would take her time. Then again, that would prove his first point and he would still win. How frustrating. Well, he may have won this round but she would get him back. That is what friends did, was it not? She hoped so, she did love a challenge. Of course, it was possible that she was just being paranoid and that the man was just an a**. She seemed to attract those and it was wearing on her nerves. Mother forbid that she ever accuse a man of thinking. She should just turn to women and get it over with. Although women angered her just as much. She was destined to be forever alone.

She could tell that she had offended him in some way by how she had spoken of the bandit king. Whether it was simply that he was a prickly person or he really had idolized the man was beyond her. Either way she found herself becoming even more annoyed with him. She had meant to find a companion and friend in this man but she believed that he was correct when he admitted that he would be a bad friend. He almost irritated her more than Velius and she had thought that that was impossible.

However, she was going to be the adult one in this situation and bury her anger. She had a tendency to pick out the worst qualities in a person and judge them solely on that. Oddly enough her closest friends were some of the biggest jerks. How she managed to overlook their failures and not those in others, she would never know. So, she was going to press on here. If she didn't like him, he must be a good man. "You will have to forgive me, sir. I have allowed my own personal feelings to color my words against the bandit." She sighed and shook her head. "I also have the misfortune of being friends with a minstrel who is obsessed with the man." As if on cue, Jon began calling her name in the distance. "You hear him there? I have no doubt that he has showered poor Kemun with sonnets and ballads of her beauty and assaulted her ears with praise. So too is it like that for Rashiek. Jon would gladly lick the dirt off of his feet and beg for more. After weeks of being confined in a wagon with him moaning on about how the bandit king left us, you can understand why I might be sick of hearing about him." He had been whining about not being able to find the healer as well but she decided not to share that bit of information with him.

Instead she changed their course towards the sound of his voice and prayed that her companions would keep her from running into anything. Despite his attitude toward her kind, Alan seemed to be a gentleman and she doubted that he would be so cruel as to let her run into a wagon or walk into a puddle. She didn't know about Kemun but she seemed to have a kindly manner. Well, in any case, if they let her do such things, she knew that Jon would help her after. He was an a** but he could be oddly protective of her if people were teasing her. He was no help at all if she crept into the wrong bed at night but he wouldn't let anyone make fun of her.

She stopped rather abruptly as a woman's voice sounded mere inches in front of her. It would seem that she had nearly toppled her over, poor thing. Clearing her throat, she took a few steps back and smiled. "My chest feels perfectly fine and I assume that I have you to thank for that." Her smile widened into a true smile rather than a forced one. "You needn't be so formal with me. Not after healing me. Do you require compensation? I would consider it a worthy expense." Ari used healers frequently enough that she knew better not to stiff one. They had ways of communicating and the last time she had shorted someone on payment, she had found a nasty boil on her rump. She had had to pay double to have it healed and to make up for the slight.

...Where I can see you, my love

[_Siphon_Malice_]

Λ r i n Ģi l o u i s

____________xx T H ExxScholarxx
____________☇〔 intellect is the greatest weapon. 〕

『xxxI stand at the border of falling off my path.xxx』


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No wonder he did not mingle or socialize with people often ,if at all. The blind woman on his arms was proving to be cumbersome to him in the matter of comprehension. He realized, as he realized with others, that the lady simple would believe what she wanted to believe regardless of words spoken to her daft ears. In her case ignorance was not only bliss, but blinding as well, since she just continued to harp on about Rashiek, and how she felt that his praise was ill due,how a friend worshiped the man and what not. Arin could only nod his head and make subtle “uh huh’s” for her benefit for he had ceased really listening to her bitterness about the man. He would have to find some other way to get the information he wanted , if this woman would only provide him with her personal opinion and not an educated hypothesis on the origin's of the ex-caravan leaders immortality. When the fair haired merchant, Kemun was her name, mentioned the accident that had led them here, he gave a sympathetic sigh.

“ I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had such misfortunes. I would be glad to help anyway I could”He said to her in a low voice just as a voice called out to them. Or to specifically the woman Ari, who had said something he had not caught while paying his respects to Kemun’s words.

It was almost instantaneously that his tensed up and narrowed his eyes at the man for the briefest of seconds, not because he felt threatened by the man, but because he had guided Halima over with him. He’d missed something, that was for sure.

His eyes shifted from the almost bubbly individual, to the meek healer who refused to look up at any of them.His eyes falling down to something clutched in her hands ,he put the missing pieces together and it all clicked together like gears.Slowly he relaxed and gave a deceptively warm smile...what was his name again.

“Jon is it, its a pleasure to meet , Madam Aria was just telling me about you”He searched his short term memory for bits and pieces of what she had been saying but all that came to him was the man’s name. Another once over of the younger males name , provided more information on him. He bore a lute and no armor, not a caravan guard but an entertainer. The two of them were built similarly with Arin being a few inches taller, but Jon didn't exude the presence of a learned man, he was handsome, no facial hair, and a cheerful demeanor.

“ You’re a bard?” The tone in his voice was both of surprise and slight disgust. What did Halima hope to accomplish by linking herself to a bard. A Bard who gave her gifts at that. He really thought that if she was actually foolish enough to run she would have picked someone who could at least provide protection or wealth for her, he’d always thought she was a practical girl. Trying to cover up the initial shock, he cleared his throat a little.

excuse me, my experiences with bards have often been bad, but non were as young or as appealing as you seem.” Arin's eyes drifted lazily over to Halima who was speaking with Aria. Was the slave girl already in good with her? if so whatever Hal knew would be of benefit, but he would have to wait until they returned to the caravan for such.
“ And who is this,your little sister? she is shy?”Arin returned his gaze to Jon waiting to hear his reply.


“.










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[Watervoir]

Ѵeȴɩus Kɩɾʈɑ
ɳoble

If they were sitting across from one another, Velius would be leaning in, hanging onto her every word. However, since they were seated next to one other, the most he could manage was to swivel his head and eyes in her direction with the corners of his lips played into a bemused smile and brows knitted in a cross between sympathy and condescension, which was fair enough. This girl, she girl was responding to a million things at once, and the rate at which she went about it only made his own questions propagate proportionally. No, scratch that. His own curiosity was growing exponentially. What made her believe that he would like her better quiet? What made her refer to people as 'common folk'? And a rare form? Did that mean that these fainting spells had precedence? And if they weren't fainting spells...

"Not fainting? Then what do you call it, princess?" Unbeknownst he was to her identity, the royal address was delivered in pure jest. Mostly to poke fun at her posture. Nonetheless, he was far from considering her as a normal girl. "A fiesta siesta? Having a snooze? Restless unconsciousness?" A pause to let it sink in. "Active sleep?" In spite of the mocking tone, the desire to learn the answer consumed his being. "You become quite the thespian when you're asleep. You'll have to explain this talent of yours to me sometime." What sort of strange condition was this? He would either discover something incredibly exciting to marvel over or find a nutcase that he couldn't care less about.

At her question of whether he was from the caravan, he laughed. A fit of chortling. A most undignified act, but it was an effortless, refreshing sound. Gentlemanly. "Well," he managed between breaths. "That's a tad offending." He didn't sound offended in the least, however. He was to intrigued, anyhow. He remembered the scene like it was only yesterday. No more than five meters had separated them that afternoon. She had raised her nose at him, a most rude and unbecoming behaviour, and yet her mind held not a zilch of memory of the encounter. Such an impressive stunt, and he couldn't have been the one in the wrong here; he was sure he had the right person. "Why yes, I belong to the Blue Caravan. Rasheik left when we were at the oasis, along with a countless number of others. Where had you been?" Such accusing words given in such a perpetually polite tone. There was no telling whether or not she was even holding an ear to the words he spoke though, what with her preoccupation with the crumbs on the floor. Was she that bored? Or maybe she felt awkward talking to him. Maybe she forgot he was there. That would have been rather offending.

Briefly, he wondered how long it would be until her friend would arrive to steal her away. Would it be someone from the caravan, or might it be a villager? One would provide him the chance to perpetuate his influence on the group, and the other would contribute to his search for Caden. Aria had claimed that the fallen few would wind up here. She better not have made a mistake.

[Dayum We Roll Hard]

Somewhere in Lenti, Bethryl...

A hiss pierced the silence of the dim room. It was a deadly sound, one that caused the man to scramble to open the emergency exhaust to drain the toxic fumes before hastening out of the room and shutting the soundproof door behind him. He let out a sigh. That was too close. From here on out, walking into that room would be a death sentence, or at least until the entirety of the noxious gas would be filtered and pumped out of various vents that opened out into the forest. He had made a mistake. He should have anticipated the lethality that saturated wolf’s blood would hold. But no matter. This temporary setback only meant that he would have the time to look into other issues.

Issues such as the small package he had picked up that morning. He entered another room, one that was a story above the chamber he had holed himself in only moments prior and was still underground. His entire laboratory, of which sat beneath a tidy brick house, was a concrete maze of halls and corridors that was dedicated to the study of science and magic combined.

“Well well.” He knelt down to one of the figures that sat limply against the wall. “I never thought that I would see you again. You should have long rotted by now.” Gently, he traced his hand against the lion’s tail that belonged to the young boy before picking it up near the end to stroke it fondly. “And I see you have made friends. Maybe you are not as much a failure as I’d initially thought.”

Beside the boy – Rachelle was his name, there was no way he could have forgotten it – were four other equally sagging forms. Bodies. Corpses, not so much as he had first assumed. The five were as close to lifeless as one could get, capable of merely breathing. Even their metabolism was held in suspension. These vegetable folk could not starve to death in this state. Having worked with magic all his life, the mage could guess with a striking level of certainty that the ethereal substance had something to do with it. He happened to be a channeler of the mystical energy. How lucky for him.

“Pass me the stone.” The only source light to the room currently was from the open door behind him. Through it, a small ape-like creature lumbered over and placed an object into his open palm. Curling his fingers around the enchanted stone, he held it up against the chest of the body of the oldest male, the one with nice shirt and long black hair. Then, suddenly, he pushed, but where there should have been a pulse and a soft glow as the colourful man’s soul was sucked right out of his body and forced into the confines of the magical stone, there was nothing. The transfer failed. He snarled. “Get me the other one!” he hissed at his slave. They were all his creations, and him their master. The replacement was fetched in a matter of moments. He tried again, and again it was in vain. “This is impossible!” It was like the slumbering man had no soul! He attempted the trick on the other three humans, with no luck, before rounding to face his own monster boy and, though he practically drove the transfer stone right into his heart, nothing happened. How was this possible? They might as well have been dead. Before him were empty shells, and yet they were breathing. It was one of the most infuriating puzzles he had ever faced and one that he had no interest in solving.

See, what he had hoped to achieve was to take these bodies in and tear them apart. From his experience, human flesh was the most versatile of ingredients. But, the task could only be achieved when he had the corresponding soul, a mechanism with which to breathe life into the dismembered limbs, to work with. These lumps of flesh were soulless and a waste of space. He might as well toss them with a weight and let them sink to the bottom of the lake as a treat for his bottom feeding creations. Alternatively, he could take the bodies and use them to make a profit out of the shady Dreywood market. Ah, decisions, decisions.

In the midst of his new playthings, he had almost forgotten that he was due to make a few rounds into town that day. With the Blue Caravan at the village amongst the other such convoys, there was plenty of meat on the market. How he’d hate to miss out on that opportunity.

[Dayum We Roll Hard]

Out on the streets of Lenti...

It was excitement unlike any other. Silently, the canine creation panted, wagging its tail in glee. Once again, he could hunt for his master, the way a real dog did for their owners. Find, fetch, catch, kill. He could only go so far, however. His master took in his prey when they were alive and in one piece. There were many such quarry to be found among the village streets, but again his master was picky. He only wanted the ones that did not make Lenti their kennels. The Blue Caravan that his master had whispered to him about, he had no idea what it was. But it was a seasoned hunter of travellers, and his master was not particularly fastidious about which one of those he caught.

And it was with this purpose that the creation tore with gusto through the streets. It could not be seen, even in the canopy of the trees and the shadows of various buildings. It was only in the dead of night that the inorganic materials that comprised its being would shimmer into the visible spectrum. His master took great pride in the stealth advantage this brought about.

Avoiding objects and remaining undetected was its specialty. Its eyes were as keen as a hawk’s. Its senses were razor-sharp. There. It slowed to a walk while it was still far from the members that made up a group of travellers, far enough so that they would not have taken notice of him even if he wasn’t invisible to their naked eyes. It advanced slowly, taking the time to select which of the four to lure away from the group and into the forest. None of them seemed to be the type to be able to put up a fight against an unseen fishing hook. They would all have been prime candidates, but he could hardly take them all in one go. There was one with a cover over her eyes. That human was easy prey; he wouldn’t need to be invisible to take her. There was a scrawny man, but the rounded stick on his back might prove to be a commendable weapon. Another woman with a soft face, her hands were dexterous and might prove to be of quality material for his master’s jaws. A third one boasting pale beauty and of whom could bring gentle elegance to future creations of its master. Then, finally, there was a man. A rather average sized one, but one that put on an air of those experienced in human matters. The decision was made in a flash. If it pulled any of the others away, that man might be smart enough to figure the creation out. On the other hand, if he dragged the man away, the other four would probably be too shocked – or blind – to do anything about it.

The creation tensed itself, ready to pounce, and – all of a sudden, a spasm coursed through its body. Its mind reeled and jolted. All control was lost. The creation’s body launched itself into a run, barrelling into the five with the force of a tornado, shocking them all with the strange shove at their legs and perhaps even knocking one or two of them over and trampling on them as well. After unceremoniously breaking up the group, the invisible creature continued to run, turning the corner and leaving the scene without any glance back at the chaos it would have induced…

[Dayum We Roll Hard]

Not far from the two nobles...

The backdoor to the Greenwillow burst open, and a group of hearty cooks and kitchen hands spilled out into the tavern’s back alley.

“Toss the trash there, Jim.”

“Yeah yeah.”

“It’s always fun to let the beggars have at those leftovers. Hear hear!” A match was lit and passed around. Curls of smoke billowed out, children of the men’s tar addictions.

“Say, the Blue Caravan’s come around.”

“Who’re day?” a gruffer one asked.

“Ignis bless you. You live under a rock, chum?” A round of laughter. “But s’ppose that’s fine and dandy. It’s famous. One of the safest of the safe! The best of the best! The–”

“Yeah yeah. It’s the jewel of the desert. We get it.”

“Nah, that’s not right. The jewel’ll be Shahrazad, the desert city, that’s what you’re thinking about.”

“Heh. Whatever, scruff. Jewel or not, they’ll see the Mage if they know what’s good for them. If not for him and that magic stuff he did, my Shirley would be a goner. And mind you she’s quite the fierce one, if I do say so myself. Remember what happened to the last ‘safe’ caravan? No cocky a** safe s**t can do against those beasts.” There was the sound of a round of murmuring agreement.

[NlETZSCHE]

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❥ Narcoleptic❥ Outspoken❥ Tomboy❥

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Ayn was silent for a second, watching the trail of the bug in distraction. However, as if the world had stopped for a moment around her, she almost seemed to spring right back into the moment. It was as if he'd just asked his questions seconds before her answer billowed out of her mouth like silk.

She sank back into the bench and eyed him in shock, gathering the words he'd just said. The sparkly title that sat in the back of her mind everyday. The little dainty part of her that she didn't much care for. The glorious gold plated crown that just made living like a peasant, faithfully so god damned hard. She made a strange face, as though trying to read him like a far away sign. He couldn't have known by looking at her now. She swallowed the lump in her throat throwing her hand to her chest, feeling if the intricate locket she kept tucked away under her attire had found it's way to the surface. No, it was safe and sound, so he couldn't have known. She didn't remember meeting him before, no matter how long she searched the endless hallways, creases and dark depths of her brain.

"HAHA! HA" She laughed, "NO...It's...like. I. " She pulled up her hands, calloused and rough but still somewhat graceful in mannerisms and spun them around her wrists like bike pedals in a pondering sense, "It's not me. It's someone else...I can't explain. I don't really remember what happens, I just know it does. I suppose it's like dreaming, but the dreams aren't mine. Like I'm living someone elses dream. A form of sleep walking, perhaps?"

She frowned, suddenly, "Offending? Have we met somewhere?" she certainly didn't want to offend him already, "I.....have a terrible memory. Sometimes I wake up in the beds of strange people with no knowledge of how they got there." She scratched her cheek, "Or in places I don't remember being." She smiled weakly, looking back to the ground and then back up to velius. She was half checking on the bug, and half embarrassed. "Meeting like this, I shouldn't forget, I feel quite conscious..."

She frowned deeper, learning that the caravan was without a leader, "Oh, that is unfortunate, about Rashiek, I mean. I've never met him, but I did have some pressing questions to ask him. I have been, mostly, in my wagon." She lied, "Writing...." She lied again, "Poooetryyy...." She ended the lie. She'd been with the other caravan goers. The poorer ones that travel with the group for short times (usually) and really don't do much but stay in the background of all the business.

"See. Rare form." Though, this "form" she was taking had become almost foreign to her. She barely left her wagon as herself.

".....By the way." She held out her hand, which was oddly tan for being in a wagon all day long. "You can call me....Uhm..." She paused, "Ayn. Do you have a name?"


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