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((Understood. I thought that she did it with her left. I don't know why. I did know it affected her whole body... just picked the wrong arm.))

Nekcal smiled, chuckling quietly at the sequential answers of the two elven ladies but had no time before his respectful attention was demanded by the 'leader' of this little group of potential 'adventurers'. His expression grew even more openly amused and more ironic at Anise's description of him. Heh, she's one to talk. If she only knew just how similar the two of us are. His expression became slightly more reserved, a hint of bitterness at the corner of his mouth.

Nekcal's attention only barely touched the gauntlet during Anise's demonstration. He had already conducted some research and knew enough to understand her situation. Her blunt description of herself and her goals, as well as the risks involved, caused a rather bored look and a polite yawn from Nekcal. I am more familiar with the idea of death than any one of these three. The question posed by Sachara would normally be considered valid but Nekcal's understanding of life and insight into Anise's situation made him wince slightly in irritation as it reached his ears.

"Sachara, Anise understands her condition and what it means far better and more personally than you could possibly understand. Unless you carry your own death in your veins of course. The decision is hers. All that we have to worry about is whether or not we will help her get there or not." Nekcal's gaze was hard and his posture erect. There was something deathly certain in his manner as he spoke and he turned to face Anise one more time with a strangely clear look. "I did my own research on that arm of yours. I'm going with you. Tell me when."

Nekcal turned away briefly to grab a chair from a nearby table and pull it over. He sat calmly but kept his grip on his strangely crafted staff. His posture was erect and his gaze focused when he returned it to the three ladies. There was little trace of the ironic amusement that had been present before. Apparantly something Sachara had said struck a nerve. Also, his eyes had changed color from their normal piercingly pale blue to a deep sapphire color. Black streaks were barely visible, stretching out from the pupil and into the iris of his eyes.

She rested an elbow on the table and casually looked over the map and the papers. She hadn't missed the headlines of the Daily Dragon if she could help it. "Well," she said, looking to the place that Anise had pointed out, and ignoring Nekcal's remark, "it does seem like a good place to start. However, I'm sure you're not the only one who has picked up on this pattern. If it is all over the papers, others are probably headed there as well. I do not think we would be alone by any means were we to travel there."

Leaning back in the creaky booth, she mvoed her staff form her back to leaning it against the outside edge of the seating area. "I vote we should move there soon. However..." Her voice drawled out slightly for a moment, making it seem as though her next remark would be extremly important, "....I don't want to travel there on foot very much."

((Wow... Nekcal takes things like this seriously doesn't he.))

Nekcal frowned in silence as his words were completely ignored by both of the elves. His eyes darkened still further with anger, their irises turning completely black save for a tiny fringe of dark blue at the outer edge. His aura shifted, becoming more energetic in its chaotic movements. These arrogant spawn are going to learn the hard way that ignoring my words is not wise... but... not... now. He forced his eyes closed, his grip tightening on his staff. After remaining in this attitude for several seconds he opened his eyes again to reveal a mask of control, a thin mask. His eyes were still mostly black. Anise is speaking now and she deserves respect from me... these elves don't change that. He focused on Anise, obviously still angry, as he absently began flexing his bandaged hand.

Anise's worn pack and papers did not terribly interest Nekcal but he payed determined attention to her words. Her identification of diseases and her deduction of the most likely location of the gate drew a slightly impressed look from him as well as helping him to calm down further, his eyes divided evenly between navy blue and black. His aura also began to stabilize, returning to its former state of dischord as he listened.

"I believe that you have chosen a good place to begin, Anise. I doubt that it will be the end our trip, however. I have heard rumors of its rather whimsical nature myself." Nekcal's manner was businesslike and tightly controlled. Apparantly, he had difficulty preventing his emotions from being expressed. His focus on Anise seemed to be what he was relying on to help him not start a fight in the middle of their first planning session. This had better be worth the effort. If I haven't run across any mention of that stupid swordsman by the time this trip is over... "You needn't worry about 'big bitey things'. I believe that we should be able to handle any creatures native to this region of the world. I can't make the same guarantee with regards to White Meadow but I do believe that I should be able to hold my own at the least."

Nekcal closed his eyes and leaned back. To someone who hadn't seen his appearance a moment earlier he would seem to be perfectly relaxed. His own preferences regarding departure times and method of transit would not have been worthy of mention if Sachara hadn't made a point of it.

"Mounts aren't terribly practical in the Shelk'ma from what I've heard. Also, staffs and magic can be more difficult when riding on an animal that is panicked by the scent of some beast." His words were cold, spoken almost without emotion. He was still having difficulty restraining his impulse to blast the rude and arrogant elf across the tavern. "A pack animal or two wouldn't be a bad idea for a long journey though."

Humans were so funny. None of the People, the last of the elves in the Shelk'ma Forest, ever showed emotion. Fao had been raised under a mask. Much like the one Neckal was attempting to shroud himself in. She'd felt his magical conflagration. She didn't respect him very much if he couldn't control his magic.

If Anise had been a normal human, with her feelings in her hands all the time, she wouldn't respect her very much either, and probably wouldn't have shown up for this meeting. But Anise wasn't a normal human. She had to deal with this...this monster inside of her. And on top of that, besides her little outbreak just now, she seemed to be controlling herself quite well. For a human.

But she thought she understood why Anise was scared, even Fao couldn't avoid getting scratched up a bit traveling through those arcane wilds and Fao believed Anise's bloodfire could be triggered by the smallest scratch.

They did not need to go through that again.

"Haven't you looked at your maps? The Coran'thyn Ruins force you to travel quite a ways through the Shelk'ma." She traced her finger from their current location, up through the Forest to the ruins. "I know a lot about the Shelk'ma and those ruins, and I know that the only other way is by ship."

"And Neckal. I may be able to arrange outposts we can use, so we don't need pack animals. I am from the Shelk'ma after all." She did not like the...vibes...this man was giving off. He smelled angry, and he was breathing patiently, indignantly, like something had made him angry.

((Yeah, Nekcal mad is a very unhealthy thing to be around.))

Nekcal opened his eyes, revealing their still divided coloration, and looked straight into Sachara's narrowed eyes for a moment. His gaze clearly revealed that he had been insulted but that he was not going to yield to his emotions that easily. His aura rippled slightly and the temperature around him decreased by several degrees. The control issues that he possessed seemed to be around his emotions rather than his magic since the temperature change only affected the few inches above his skin.

He had remained silent while the others had been speaking, showing them respect. Now, with the cooler air helping to calm him, he noticed both Anise's panic and Sachara's obvious discomfort. So... they fear the Shelk'ma... no. Anise fears it. The other two are just... wary. He blinked once, slowly, as he came to a conclusion.

"If the three of you don't want to go through the Shelk'ma then we go by ship. I personally have no preference as to land or sea. If you wish I can handle the actual business deal when we reach the port of Velica." Nekcal's voice had softened and his eyes gradually shifted back to their origional pale blue color. His voice also seemed to convey a slight weariness, almost a reluctance. "I will be able to easily cover the cost." His voice picked up again in volume."That is assuming that we are heading to the nearest port, of course." This substance is easily valuable enough to purchase a ship with a very small quantity. There shouldn't be a problem. His thumb ran over the weave of his staff idly.

((*gasp* YEAH! Castaways and all that jazz...heh...heh.

I'm just giving a complete guess of how I think distance on that map looks, correct me and I'll edit it later.))

Fao smiled at Nekcal, that was a very kind gesture when he'd only just met the two elves. "Nor do I have a preference between the Forest or a ship," she agreed with Nekcal. "I'm perfectly comfortable in the Forest, but, since the ship will keep going when we sleep, it'll take less time than through the Forest. All the way to the ruins, I'd say would take about...four days...at the most," she answered Anise. "And thank you, Nekcal. If you could cover that, it would be very nice."

((Sorry it's short, I'm about to go to the homecoming football game, but I wanted to post and not leave you guys hanging.))

((Hi Artemis--Kurikins here. Changed the time from two weeks to four days, which is more appropriate. ^^ Also you spelled Nekcal's name wrong. And left your sig on. Thanks for posting though!))

((Right, sorry. Thanks.))

Nekcal nodded at the three-fold acceptance of his proposal. His pale eyes rose to look at the three ladies with gravity. He was pleased that they seemed to take pleasure in his initiative but he had to get it out in the open...

"I'll take care of that then. There is one question that I need to ask. Do any of you have a problem with small amounts of blood on a regular basis?" His bandaged hand rose to take a position of rest on his staff.

If they have a problem with blood... this could come to a rapid halt. They don't need to know everything yet but... I need to know... for when the time comes. Nekcal waited in silence for their answers. He fully expected a reaction of vague confusion and questions that it was not time to answer yet. He began to think about what he would need to purchase for the stocking of the ship while he waited for their reactions.