Welcome to Gaia! ::

[The Games have their next target... -grins-]

An eyebrow arched as Forenthiel listened to the other's reply, her smile widening in response. She had a feeling that she would have to watch her step with the being before her...but she liked the dragon all the same.

"Lady Forenthiel," red eyes fell upon the man standing within the doorway, "There has been a report of a theft in the Standard section of town."

"Oh really? Is such a theft a rarity? If not, then why am I hearing about it?"

The Watcher straightened, as if she had called him to attention before continuing, "The thief in question was a little boy with long black hair and purple eyes, which is odd enough in a human boy. Another oddity was that he was only ten."

The silence that rang through the air was positively charged with the inner thoughts of the young dragon known as Troden as he listened, his clawed hands tightening. Forenthiel slowly released her hand and idly walked over to the Watcher, her hands cupping his face, "A ten year old boy? Show me." the man nodded and moved over a nearby screen which he soon inserted a disk. A few moments later, the image of a young male running away from a disgruntled shopkeeper was seen, the mischievous smile sending goosebumps through Troden as he looked upon it.

"The grin of Ashra himself...by the gods...." Troden murmured, staring into the screen, "I thought I was ready to see such a thing, but to see another who looks exactly like one of the Ten is a shock nonetheless..."

Forenthiel looked upon the picture calmly, a smile upon he face before turning to the Watcher, "Tell the betters that we have a very special round of the Games going on, one that will not end until this child is caught," she said, "And Troden...perhaps you should invite your lovely sister Kanna to play It for us. We both know how she becomes so involved with the game."

Both the black dragon and vampiric elf looked at each other for a long moment before Troden grinned, "Why that sounds like a wonderful idea..."

Amateru, Rasuki. Let the little puppet go free to walk around the city. Pull her strings when she reaches her target.

"In a way, it was very necessary. After all, we could use a bit of a chuckle now and then, can't we? Besides, that stupid smile on your face tells me there's hope for you yet."

(He's paranoid, and all the world is his toy too. Just wait until I add in some other new things about him. twisted )

Sable made sure she had everything before taking off after him. She lengthened her stride until she was even with him then matched him. For a few yards she said nothing but she did take a few moments to appraise the Alpha of Signet City. Well formed, healthy, she could feel his power even while he wasn't flexing it. For all intents and purposes, a perfect specimen, if she were a lesser wolf she'd be on her back exposing her belly in a heartbeat. As it was, she was an alpha as well, and hard knocks shaped her personality. She wasn't planning on submitting to just any Alpha if she was submitting at all. Lone Wolf status was lonely but it kept her sane and it kept her safe.

Daystar stood perfectly still where she'd been left. Her hands at her side, listening. She was not at all sure what the Games were, but she knew that the world was capitalized and that she most likely would not find it in good taste. None of her thoughts were apparant, her blocks firmly in place, her expression pleasantly blank. She made herself invisible in that she made herself less noticible. It was a subtle magic that wasn't really magic at all. It was the habit of those in power to ignore the mundane...so she simply made herself mundane.

Arcturus rolled his eyes at Karrot, but did realize no one else would have known the ice would disappear as soon as everyone fell. He had personally not done a thing that would have stood out so far, and unless anyone had looked at the bottom of his cane while it triggered the spell they wouldn't have known. Chances are no one was watching it. In any case, he walked over and stood by the table.

"Karrot, subtlety was never your strongest attribute. Or at least, it wasn't fifty year..."

He stopped mid-sentence, quirked an eyebrow and looked at Artanis. A human, but unlike any I've seen before... It might be interesting to experiment on him when we're done with the Ten.. So few have been worthwhile, except for the blood of course.

"Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself or my companion. I am Arcturus, formerly known as Othello. This.." He motioned to Salen, "Is Salen. Who might we have the pleasure of meeting here

Artanis didn't like the way he was being looked at. Then again, he was quite possibly the only human in the building.. The thought sent shivers down his spine, but at least he figured he had a much better chance than normal people did. He enlarged the sonic bubble around them so they might have some privacy... Something they would have had more of had the ice not slipped everyone up and the Karrot call over to the supposed perpetrator.

"I am Artanis," he said simply, his eyes narrowed in slight distrust.

Fenrir kept walking for a few more minutes in total silence. He wasn't sure about this newcomer in his territory. He preferred to be in control and she wouldn't be controlled. On the other hand, part of him found that intriguing.

He entered the restaurant he'd mentioned and sat down at the nearest booth. It was essentially a texas themed stakehouse but it served meat that he liked. He shoved a menu toward Sable and sat in silence.

"While I'd like to continue with these introductions, I'm afraid Neyre and I have to be going. Sir Gaaron, Now that we've met, I hope you'll now understand that I need to request your help. But I will send more information when I have it, look here." She pulled a small slip of paper with a wax seal marked on it. "When you see this seal on a letter, it will be from Lady Thespion. When that day comes she will be requesting your help. Can we now ask, will you help us?
Karrot sighed and looked Thespion straight in the eye, "Understand this: Normally, I would request substantial payment for this kind of work. And while I wouldn't mind payment, Family is family. Even over millenia, we are still related, and my loyalty to my brother is extended to his decendents. When you call for me, I will come as quickly as I can. My name is Karrot Gaaron."
"Thank you, Lord Karrot, we must be leaving now. And I will pay you as much as I can for your service when you arrive"
Karrot started to laugh loudly, then suddenly felt a shiver up his spine and stopped with a shocked look on his face. Then he smiled again.
"I'm sorry, but calling me 'Lord' reminded me of old Dante... and I sense soon that others will be reminded of him as well. Farewell Thespion, Sage of the Dwarves, and Neyre, Guardian in Shadow!"
Thespion and Neyre bowed, and then left the Nocturne.

Karrot, not missing a beat, says simply but quickly,
"Roma Nescar you first met as Roga, the red spirit that is by Kaiser's spell bound to my soul and by his own spell his soul and that of his brother are also bound so that when Kaiser bound Roma to me, his brother Aron Nescar was part of the package deal. While they do have seperate bodies we still share a collective conciousness."
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In the distance, Torrent heard a faint sound "pssshhhh!!!!" and mentally grinned.

Another uneventful night had passed without incident, something Xavier could only be thankful for. The days when there were no raid attempts were the only days when the humans of the city, as well as the races who lived with them inside Lower Town, could truely live in peace and without fear. For just a day, it was possible to forget the hardships of life in Signet and to be free.

Xavier had left Lower Town and headed back towards what he called home, the building he used as an office for his courier service. It wasn't much of a building, it was pretty run down and full of defects. However it was the only place he'd ever really felt at home it, a three floor office block that was partly converted into somewhere livable on the middle floor where he had his office.