Welcome to Gaia! ::

Raven didn't jump, but her eyes did that slight flinching thing that sometimes happens when someone knows what is going to happen, but they were really hoping that it wouldn't sweatdrop

"Did you miss the part where there were four of us last time and we didn't win?" oh this was an even worse idea than entering HoH had been "I mean just you and me going to Eden? That would literally be suicide Matthew!"

She had that cold feeling in the pit of her gut, the one she always got when she was stupid enough to think over the memory that Verandi had given her, the one where she had gone to Eden and ended up very dead! "Unless you have an army that you want to bring along...."

Raven shook her head and simply pointed up at the sky "Yes Eden, and the tower of Babble... but unless you can fly you are gona' need me to take you there... especially if you want to get there while the b***h is away!"

No way was she going to be left behind this time, even if she had to go on her own... didn't matter that she was still afraid of that place, all that mattered was that she needed to get over her fears as quickly as possible.

"Well, telling you where it is would be rather difficult...since I technically have no bloody clue...but I do have the ability to go there thanks to an old friend!" Rae absently started playing with her hair, twisting a few strands of red around a lock of black as she watched Matthew from the cover of her bangs.

"And as for speed...well I have yet to meet anyone who can move from one place to another as fast as I can! From what I have seen portals are fairly quick, but they require a large amount of magic to construct and then maintain, and people who can see or sense the flow of energy will never fail to miss a portal...my way is a lot harder to spot!" This lesson in magic all had one point.. to distract Matthew from his little tirade about her having to play safe while he left to do only gods knew what! xp

Apparently Matthew knew her a lot better than some of her friends, but luckily he didn't know her well enough yet to start avoiding her like some of them had...

"Yes..." She was still pretending to not look at him, even as she got back to her feet and tossed her hair back over her shoulders as she held out a hand to him. "Ready?"

o_0

Rae blinked a few times and even let Mathew drag her a step away before she caught up with herself and smiled shaking her head.

"Silly!" whee The both of them would disappear in the blink of an eye as Raven bounced them back to Eden, hopefully this time she wouldn't end up dead... sweatdrop

((continued on Eden!))

"Ah, yes... The armour..." Omikron stopped to contemplate that for a moment, "I have found that our world is a strange one and if I bundle enough it is rarely noticeable. I must have revealed too much."

And then came the big question. At first this worried Omikron, this provided an extremely easy explanation to why Mr. Maximos was so calm. He simply did not know what he was. Worry washed over the one eyed creature as it asked itself far far too many questions. What would happen if he was honest? Would his new companion lash out? No, the shade couldn't think about this. He needed to have a bit more faith.

"I am a shade, a being created from a stolen soul by a being the universe wishes not to exist." Ok, perhaps that came out a bit more blunt than it should of, "Specificly I am a shadelord, a greater shade meant to command the terrible forces of this being forgotten."

A lot more blunt.

"Through some small miracle I have broken free from said entities power. I have only strived for redemption since then."

If Omikron had a throat he would clearly would be swallowing hard right now. A long blink was about the best thing he could manifest.

"I know it must be hard to beleive... Either my origin or the fact I may be able to break free." Despite all this his voice maintained its sure quality even if the being himself was unsure, "But it is the absolute truth."

Likely there would be a pause here. Omikron would look down at his tea, and shuffle slightly in his seat. Then a scan over Maximos to see firstly his reaction to all this, and secondly if he needed anything else. Another shuffle as the great shade adjusted to not being confined by the one armed sweater anymore.

"If you will permit me questions, I do have some curiosities of my own." Something to break the silence or at least keep Maximos from thinking ill of him, "You have suffered great injuries, and while this tea has allowed you to recover quickly... Well, surviving them in the first place is quite the feat. You have been nothing but understanding in my presence... I cannot figure out what would do such a thing to such as you?"

Rett Halryn set foot on land for the first time in days.

Promptly, he spat to his side and let free a low rumbling steady stream of curses. Truth be told he was still standing on Latent's docks, right beside the gangplank of the ship he'd arrived on, but it was close enough for him. Sailors had taken notice of his paling color, and paling it still was, early on and given the man no rest all through the trip. For their efforts, two had lost teeth, and one had gotten away clean thanks to a well timed bout of seasickness.

Clean may not have been the right word, but the only tooth he was missing he'd already been lacking when the large man set eyes on him.

Halryn was quite the intimidating visage when he wasn't colored like a ghost. Tempting to call him seven feet tall, the man was built broad and powerful, with an angry scowl set up and a wrinkled and scarred face, and most likely there was a wealth more of little memories hidden under the thick, well trimmed beard that had gone from one sense of peppered to the other, and now hints of what had probably been a large black beard to be proud of in his younger days was reduced to a short trimmed mass of spotted gray. His shirt, large as it was, simply failed to hide his size as a barrel chest and thick armed pressed the garment tight, and he even had to undo the first button after his collar for his neck. Custom tailoring would have fit more comfortably, but he wasn't one to fuss with the extra effort of such things when they required it. However, his temper was shorter than usual and the thing not only sticking to him but holding sweat against him was only aggravating the old fellow more.

"Oi!"

He folded his arms across his chest and shouted up as a plain faced man with half-lidded eyes passed the into sight up onboard.

"Start moving the lot and let's get away from this bloody thing already!"

Dolcmer nodded without altering his flat expression as much as an acknowledgment, and nearly blindsided his larger companion as he tossed a case down at him. With a new string of curses, but it was still securely shut and he simply piled it atop the chest he'd hauled down behind himself. His own things he could have carried the greater part on him and never minded, but the old fighter had a few others who didn't travel quite so humbly. Seth Iicard, the blasted rogue, was already inland finding the couriers that had been arranged. At least he was being useful, if in his usual way, never doing a bit of the actual work himself. Halryn would have been quite a bit more endeared to the man at the moment if he had dirtied those pretty little manicured hands of his a moment in carrying even a single one of his own rather vast collection of possessions down off the ship. On the other hand, he was the one who knew these lands and had found the people to do everything from guiding them to the proper docks for the shortest trip to the Gaian continent, to finding an appropriate ship, to the people they'd be traveling with from here. The only arrangement he hadn't made was of their final destination- he'd had quite a few ideas on that which he wasn't nearly shy enough about sharing, but they'd all been politely put down as quickly as they were raised- that was just the manner Andell had about him.

It didn't matter, within a moment he was busy catching the smaller bits of their luggage as sailors tossed them down, setting them in stacks and sorting out the whole mess he'd been grumping about a moment before quite efficiently.

By the time he was done, wiping sweat off of his brow, he was watching men start to cart the things off to take elsewhere. One of them wasn't human- not to judge by his horns and unnatural ease lifting the boxes too hefty for someone of his size. Trying to distract himself from the devilish thing, the old retainer started trying to sort through the people shuffling on and off of the boat for one of his companions. The obvious ones were missing from sight, and he almost missed the other until he was halfway to him.

"Benjin!"

This time Halryn was a bit less short. He didn't know much of anything about Dolcmer, but the man was practical and didn't get caught up in any foolish frivolities which was enough to garner him some level of respect, in the large man's case. Even if he was entirely too difficult to pick out of a crowd. Even in this bizarre place that dusty brown hair seemed to be plenty common.

"Where's that addle brained pretty boy?"

"It's too early for him to be honeying his tongue enough for the master," Halryn blinked angrily and almost corrected him before his mind caught up to it. He let his companion finish, even though he didn't really need to hear the rest after that. "So he'll be in the most comfortable place in the parts."

"Poxy p***k."

No doubt ingratiating himself, flirting, or flaunting his inflated sense of self importance. Has the audacity to pamper himself all day and then wear purple in present company...

He almost missed the figure coming off the ship toward them until he saw Dolcmer bow, and quickly turned his shining bald dome down as well.

"I believe we've covered this," a cultured voice chided in a tone not entirely serious. "That's unnecessary. We haven't the time to make a spectacle over old niceties. We have no titles in this land, my friends."

Reluctantly, Halryn looked up. The man was tall by most standards, just enough, though the aged retainer towered over him. Short platinum blond hair combed back, though a few gently curling strands got away, he stood straight but as much at ease as Halryn felt leaned up against a counter with his hand clenching a mug. He flashed a calm, reserved smile and strolled down besides them, letting the sea winds kick out his long royal blue surcoat out behind him, simple but presentable black clothes beneath very neatly smoothed, even though he'd already been wearing them for several hours. But what caught Halryn's attention and filled him with feelings and memories far too mixed for his tastes was the pair of deep red eyes staring right back into his own.

"Not as of yet, we don't," Andell Pendragon finished.

"Not as of yet."

Xehart moved away from the merchants district a little lighter than he came into the place with. The book he'd been carrying was gone now, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about that.

So Xehart walked the streets with an absent mind, his search had led him away from war, and to this place, and now that he was here, he might as well enjoy himself. There was mischief to be caused in a city such as this, large, with many hiding spots. Perhaps a few casual murders to clear his mind. He was free from the Empire's grip for a few weeks, perhaps a month if he was lucky, he intended to enjoy that time.

He walked towards a large market of some kind, the heat was extreme in this place, Xehart would allow his body to sweat rather than just changing his body to adapt to the heat. It was easier this way, even if it was more like the living.

Xehart had never understood the Empire's obsession with the problem of the living, but then again, Xehart had been around for a long time. So long in one body, so long without returning to the void. It had changed his mind, driven him insane.

As he moved past merchants he whistled a happy tune, looking for an opportunity to have some fun.