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*Ippi gazed out the window, looking down on Kumori. The great city was incredible, with the massive Temple of Darkness below.* Wow, I guess Kyle is in there somewhere, huh? *the dreamy glaze over her eyes returned, and once again she dreamed of her dark hero.* Oh, I guess it is about time to land. Get ready, Theo.

The next morning if it could be called that, her maid woke her up and it took a few moments to realize why she was being woken up before dawn. She got up and dressed and then went over to her desk and looked at the map again. s**t they would have to hurry if they wanted to be there on time. She got dressed as quickly as her maid would move, into her riding habit but packing her dress for later as well as basic toiletries. All the while she ordered the maid to wake Stazi up.

She was down to the kitchen in a matter of minutes, grabbing some simple toast and oat meal and down to the stables before too much time had passed "Come on Stazi, we need to go" Muttering to her self as she saddled her horse with a spare riding saddle , tho the side saddle was packed into one of the guards saddlebags and they were simply waiting for Stazi to appear so they could set out. It would be a fast pasted trip but Serefina was sure she could handle and she had faith in Stazi to do the same.

Her hair was bound behind her in a proper braid, and her blue eyes twinkled with merriment. She looked just as Stazi would have wanted her to look, minus the side saddle, but still a proper picture of nobility. She was going to get to go to Lab, perhaps even find a way to head over to the Silver arbitors. She wasn't sure about that just yet, but she would be sure to head over to the eastern part of town at some point. She did make sure the guard had her bow and arrows on his saddle as well, tho her long sword stayed with her and would continue to be so.

She gave her brother a gunuine smile and nodded "Of course, Stazi...hoever there is a problem, we are going to have a bit of race to get there in time, someone did the calculations wrong and we are going to be lucky to get there and have time to change" Already nudging her horse out of the stable and onto the road " Luckily I know how to dress quickly without a maid" Not realizing what effect the words would have on Richter.

The guard blushed slightly,hopefully not within Stazi's sight and moved his horse behind Stazi's as they all rode out. Once out of town Serefina giving her horse the head it needed to gallop for a bit, tho she didn't lose her wimple for once. She looked back at her brother and grinned a challenge and made sure to keep up with him as long as possible tho her stallion as wonderful as he was wouldn't be able to beat his war stallion it was fun to try and made the time pass quickly.

Finally they stopped at a Inn just inside Lab's walls where they were each given two rooms to change into their clothing for teh meeting, They had apx an hour till the meeting and Serefina was worried that they wouldn't make, tho she accepted Stazi's assurances they would be fine.

20 minutes later, 'Fina stepped out of the room she had been given, looked perfectly groomed as she knew Stazi would expect her to be. She simply waited outside as her saddle was changed to the side saddle and talking to Richter, who was putting her long sword in his own saddle. "Do I really have to be without my sword in the city as well?"Spoken just as Stazi walked out the door, fully dressed and ready as well. Richter looked at Stazi and hoped he hadn't heard that comment from his sister.

((Ok, now it's time to switch to the Kumori thread))

"Okay!"

Alexander would smile at this, giving Clethia a nod then starting to turn. He would stop though as she glanced towards one of the chickens. In truth Alexander had trouble telling them apart. He beleived it was the one named William though. Horrible name for a fowl, but it was not his decision to make on that part.

"Where can we find Adrian? Is there a particular inn we should stay at? How will we know it's the right Adrian? What if we arrive late?"

Alexander made an attempt to slow Clethia down too late. Thus the barrage of questions hit him full force. Which one to answer first? How much could he tell her? Did he even know which inn Adrian had chosen? Once more Alexander's heart fought his mind over the prospect of leaving for Laburnum that very instant. Once more that feeling was supressed.

"Adrian should be quite easy to find, mages are generally easy to spot. Just look for a man with long blonde hair sporting the clothing of an air mage. That will more then likely be Adrian. Please try and get there in at least three days time. As for the inn, I am not sure. I would suggest trying along the market district."

Sarrin jumped lightly out of the way as an entourage of horsemen charged past him on the high road. He caught a glimpse of the leaders of the party, probably a nobleman and his wife, late for some engagement... He made a mental note to bear those faces in mind, in case the information might be of use later, and continued on his way to Cameliard with a sigh. Leaning on his staff, he fell back into the practiced, even gait of one who has recently spent much of his time traveling on foot. he thought he saw someone or something pass him, moving in the opposite direction just beyond the trees at the side of the road, but he was too travel-worn to care.

"I should really get a horse..." he mused, but then shook his head, annoyed to find he was talking to himself again. it must be born of a lack of company... he thought sullenly. oh well... there is time enough for that once I move on my own ambitions. Perhaps I will one day be of great enough import to dine with those very nobles... and so he drifted into a state of daydream for a few minutes, thinking of being envied, of gaining power and social standing within the community, perhaps even noble rank... of dining with noble lords and Ladies, like those who had passed moments ago... of bloody, mangled corpses lying at the roadside, issuing an alarming amount of blood from numerous wounds on their... WHAT?

Thinking his sanity had finally left him, he blinked several times and looked again. The heinous apparition refused to dispel itself when confronted with the logical stipulation that bloody, mangled corpses don't tend to appear on roadsides on warm, sunny days for no apparent reason. The logical assumption would therefore be that that these corpses did not, in fact appear, but had instead been here, and gone unnoticed (despite their foul stench) by Sarrin simply due to his reverie. that would also explain the rapid approach of the mounted city guards. It felt good to be back in civilized society again, where logic applied so much more readily. Sarrin was starting to feel proud of his deductions when he felt a nagging feeling coming from somewhere in the back of his head... he knew this feeling well, because it was the feeling he got when he knew he was over thinking, and therefore overlooking a simple but none the less important fact... irritated, he ran through his recent train of thought... it must have something to do with the...

"oh... no..."

The group of four guards approached, and glancing from Sarrin to the fresh corpses, drew their swords, and the leader spoke. "hold! throw down your weapon!"

Sarrin, thinking it best not to alienate himself from an entire populace by way of being falsely accused of barbarous homicide and probably lunacy, decided to come up with the best excuse e could on the fly... "Forgive me friend, if I am slow to comply, but you'll find you have come upon a bystander rather than a culprit." Sarrin eased into an easygoing stance, his mouth forming a quirky smile.

The guard's eyes narrowed. "oh? what proof do you offer of that, knave?"

"well,to be sure the situation doesn't look good, but if you'll check, my rapier surely could not inflect such wounds..."

"you have the look of a mage about you... what you say means nothing."

A sudden idea occurred to him, and muttering a silent prayer to Darkness, he continued on. "well, believe me or not as you will, but the true murderer is fleeing from town on this very road! he was running through the trees stalking a contingent of nobles, and I fear he may mean to cause further deaths if he is not stopped!"

the guard's eyes widened"if what you say is true-"

"If what I say is true" Sarrin interrupted "then you are both wasting time, and imperiling the life of a nobleman of Avalana!"

"but-"

"Make haste, fool! MAKE HASTE! your bumbling may already have cost his life! he had bodyguards, but surely they do not expect an attack so soon after their departure!"

The leader seemed to be getting increasingly alarmed."but what if-"

"what if you arrive too late?" "b-but" "you and you alone will be responsible for the death of a nobleman of the great kingdom of Avalana! or would you enjoy that?" "no I-" "are you a traitor to both king and crown, to wish that one of his most loyal and trusted servitors is laid low whilst you should have been there to come to his aid?" "but I-" "I should have you tried in the high court for treason this instant were that the case! now begone!" Sarrin was really beginning to enjoy his new role... if only he didn't over do it...

The leader, now confused, flustered and fearful to a great degree, could think of no response, but to charge wildly down the road yelling "FOR HIS MAJESTY!" at the top of his lungs. His equally confused contingent had no choice but to follow, leaving Sarrin behind, with a pair of corpses and a bemused expression. (this expression was soon replaced by a scowl when he realized that he would have to avoid the city guard for a week at least, since they were bound to eventually see his lie for what it was.)

Moving on, Sarrin continued into the city to look for lodging.

(( arrow minor compulsion - a minor spell that makes one more believable for a short time. it can be used to increase the chances of someone's believing the caster, but what the caster is saying must already be plausible, and the subject must be relatively weak willed.
Casting time : Instantaneous | Spell Duration : 1 minute + 1 minute per rank gain | Casting Range : caster only | Target Number : caster only ))

Sarrin had been getting on quite well since his shakey start in the city... it had been a few hours, and no one had yet accused him of stealing babies, nor had any crusaders happened by and thought it a good time to burn him for heracy against the temple of light. In all, no one had taken much notice of him, and he was starting to get lonely. It was one thing when there was no one to talk to while out on some gods forsaken road in the distant recesses of the kingdom, but to be surrounded by all these people, yet still be alone was nearly unbearable.unfortunatley that had all changed for the worse. his impatiantce had finally cost him, and he found himself looking at someone he knew. This someone wore armor, carried a sword and was riding on a charger. He would have looked quite gallant and dashing if he had not been quite so annoyed.

This man was Captain Regis of the city guard, and a few hours later, he had been sent galloping down a road on a wild goose chase set by some murdurer. This murdurer was rather nondescript, but had fine features and pale skin, as well as a rather thin build. He wore all black, and had the look of a mage about him.

he was probably a heretical mage of darkness too the captain thought with a sigh. he looked like a trustworthy sort though... he looked very much like that fellow over there... wait a second... "HALT! MURDERER!"

And things had been going down for Sarrin ever since then. His face was easy enough to forget, but no one could have been simple minded enough to do so after a few short hours. So it came to be that Sarrin found himself leaving the city under cover of darkness after having to hide in various back alleys. There were places in the city that weren't as pleasant as the richer sections, and Sarrin had surely had to make use of nearly half of them to avoid being caught.

He set a rapid pace for himself and kept to it. his thoughts raced along with his heart for quite some time, but when he stopped to rest, he realised he needed a destination. (it is to be noted that during this period, he also came to the unpleasant realization that he had probably also forfeited his deposit at the inn...). Sarrin fell back into his nervous habit of thinking out loud without having the force of will to keep it in check. besides, it did sometimes help him concentrate.

"I suppose I need to stay away from the capital then... I have always wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Temple at Kumori, and this might be as good a time as any...this really doesn't warrent fleeing the country though... but still, kumori is quite a draw... but I don't know how to get there... I'll travel by route of laburnum to ask directions, and continue on my way... I hardly have the supplies or means... but come on, it's KUMORI!... but I'll arrive in a shambles... KUMORI!"

and so his destination was decided, and he set off for Laburnum.

(( xd GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK! YOU HEARDS US! xd ))

((Editing out a tripple post -V))