Welcome to Gaia! ::

The darkness that Jascen blew at Drak broke around him like a wave on a rock, the energies spilling over and past him, scattering to the winds to rejoin the stream of the ether. Drak simply stared directly at Jascen through the whole event, his eyes never leaving Jascen's own, whether Jascen chose to meet the ebony iris' of Drak was his own choice.

Another pause that Drak seemed to be so fond of, and then finally a sigh that even the most fatigued man would find hard to match.

"I need to remember, I need my memories. All I have now are the half-broken fragments of dreams, I need to remember who I am, why I'm here!

Can't you appreciate that, you foolish sprite!"

Drak'silithius stood up, his full height allowing him to tower over Jascen. The fire cast shadows over all his body, and though it was a perfectly sculpted, there was something off about it, like there was more to it, as though there was something elemental missing from it.

"Don't toy with me, imp, I tire of these games you play, now are you going to give me what I want, or am I going to take it from you?"

This last statement seemingly shattered the uneasy peace that had formed between the two of them. There was no threatening tone in Drak's voice as he said this, there was no hesitation, he simply asked the question as one would ask a friend for the time, all emotion sapped from his voice as he now stood, awaiting a reply from Jascen.

Figures moved to and fro, each with their personal agenda. Focusing was a simple task, should have been easy, yet became neigh on impossible. The gauntlets were completely unpacked now, but still needed to be untangled, unbuckled, and adjusted. Time marched on and the work was mundane. Distractions became the focal point for a split second though, sending Minion's mind wandering. Jingle of coins, ways different races mingled with others, least the races themselves, especially the woman, created a complex scenario for Minion, practically and emotionally.

There will be time for everything latter, but looklooklook, I've never seen that before... and what is it? Maybe a gourd? Why would they carry a gourd around like that? More importantly, there are all the woman-MINION! Blast it. I swear, you're inept without separating you thought processes. If it hadn't been for everyone back home, especially a certain someone, Shutu- I would likely no longer be attached to your shoulders! Just get back to the gauntlets, O.K.?

Turning back to work, that was as motivating as the rock wall, which happened to be rather interesting, somehow was not untangling itself as credo decreed. Futsing with the straps did little good, and seemed to only create more of a mess. Eventually, Minion turned his back to the populace in order to focus on the task at hand. Without the gauntlets on, a feeling of nakedness was always present in his mind. While it was bearable, if able to be dealt with, that was preferred. The bottom straps were the most difficult, requiring to be tightened in an order to prevent veins from being pinched, and muscles from tearing. Out of the twelve odd straps per leg piece, eight of them were reinforced by some kind of metallic lace, the origins of it were unknown to Minion, so the utmost care was taken when dealing with these.

The cavern, even though it was brightly lit, cause issues with vision for Minion. The straps before him, became fuzzy every time a shadow was cast over them. The concept of going blind slightly appealed to the pain slowly growing above his eyes, the drawbacks of this option were too great at this moment in time. After all he wouldn't be able to check out all of the supplies-!

s**t! I completely forgot to secure water....
s**t! I completely forgot to secure water....

What should we do? Well, once the lower section is secure, maybe purchasing water and a container would be a good idea. Yosh! Grow up, that's such a stupid saying. Yosh! Just go get some water...

Minion worked diligently for another half minute to strap the upper gauntlets together in a simple fashion, that he donned in a backpack like manner. Only instead of holding something, the gauntlets were simply there, crossed in an 'X' across his back, and the straps reaching around the torso and chest kept them from falling, or flailing for that matter. Nearly forgetting the small hand gun and cloak, Minion began to peruse some stalls, looking for water, without a way to pay for it, and a container.

The light blond hair, bleached by the dessert sun might have stood out among the crowds, had it been taller. The head bobbed around at 164 cm (5'3"ish), and had hair that could be termed as 'fuzz', as multiple... female 'acquaintances' had during Minions younger years. While the fuzz ball trotted from one place to the next searching for some kind of container, the rest of it's body was toned to slightly extensive conditions. Though the pink vest Minion had on covered his torso, his arms were another matter. They were not bulging, but definitely didn't fit with the his hight. Once someone compared his figure to something called an 'egotist', which had to be good if it was being coupled with him. The rest of his body mass was located in the legs, and abdomen. The white pants were baggy, and often dragged upon the ground, became distorted by the lower section of gauntlets that were under them. His nanny had occasionally called him a miniature minotaur when he was being rambunctious.

None of this was the catching point about Minion for those that noticed. His eyes occasionally caused a raised a brow. They were close to a pure ebony that filled the sockets, while single color eyes were more common in other races, a human having them seemed to be slightly odd. For the one possessing them, they were the bane of distance for him. He simply couldn't see farther than maybe 100 meters, anything in detail that it. Outlines and shapes were present, the rest of it was a blur of grey's. Looking that far ahead didn't happen often though, for the minuet details that could be seem up close were much more interesting. It make his look about mountains paradoxical, while they fascinated him, he couldn't actually see them that well.

Edit: Slight change, made post conform to Vintrict's (circle of control, circle of no-control)
Also formatted the layout slightly to make it read as I intended.

(( Not particularly up for making a large post now but don't want to leave it sitting overnight. ))

The halfling succeeded in getting the attention of his intended target... whether it was an intended customer or whether he had something else in mind for the boy was another matter entirely. Taking heed of the little merchant that had called to him, Anson drifted around another passerby on the street and towards the vendor's own wares.

"Yeah?"

He had a pretty good idea that this guy was going to try and dump some shoddy piece of junk off on him for more than it was worth, but there was always the chance that he might actually have something really cool stuffed under the counter. Of course, like any proper aimless teenager would know: you should never let the shopkeep know if you're completely broke; otherwise you were likely to find yourself chased out with a broomstick.

((Another thing. You guys do not need to make long posts. This roleplay is meant to be a little more lax than usual. Only make long posts when you really have to. A lot of people get burned out too quickly when they think they have to make large posts every time. Just relax and pretend it's a normal rp.))

Finally getting Anson's attention, the merchant proceeded with his usual mannerisms.

"You look new around here. I can tell already that you're different from the usual that come around here. More lively and more appealing. Handsome, too. What brings a visitor like yourself to these parts?"

"I don't know about any people looking for religion."

The halfling seemed to be half disappointed by the kid's talk of preaching. He wasn't a fan of religion himself. To him, as long as he had money, he was happy. But that didn't mean the kid here had to know that.

"I wouldn't mind some myself, but, I'm a busy man at the moment. Maybe later, eh?"

Then he asked the question. Two questions, in fact. The merchant was only interested in the first question.

"Business is fine, but I'm afraid I never heard of a Heathers. But, if you are looking for work, I may be able to help you."

The Halfling now knew that this kid wasn't going to be giving him money. But, he knew of another way to make a profit, which would involve having this kid run an errand for him. Disappearing below his counter for a second, he rose back up, placing a bag onto the counter. It weighed only a pound, and seemed to have something filling its shape around the bottom, like it was sugar or meal.

"There's a fellow I need to get this to. He's a kobold by the name of Jera. Lives over in the northern merchant district five minutes from here. I've been meaning to deliver this to him, but you know, a merchant can't always leave his wares behind. So, if you go take it to him, I'll gladly reward you for your work. Just one thing. Don't ever look inside it or open it. If the substance inside gets exposed to oxygen, it's useless to him. Understand?"

The Halfling was a bit startled by the kid's questions. But with a smile returning to his face, it was obvious he was confident in replying.

"I'll give you three hundred gold. Quite enough to get you a good amount of stuff to shop around here with. Jera just might tip you, too, if you're a good enough guy. And I already know you're a good enough guy, which is why I don't mind entrusting this to you."

The Halfling wasn't saying everything, but there was no need. A job was a job. Ask too many questions and he was better off asking someone else to do it. Then again, maybe he didn't have anyone else to ask. Buuut, hey, it meant money, right?

"Now," the merchant pointed in the direction behind Anson. "Just follow in that direction down that path. You'll come to an entry way with two guards stationed there. Here."

The Halfling handed Anson a card, one that had his signature on it and said "Exotic Access Permit."

"Show them this and they'll let you in. Jera's shop should be straight down, taking the second left. He's a red kobold, so he shouldn't be hard to spot. Once you're done there, you can come back for your pay. Do we got a deal?"

"Three hundred it is then," replied the Paladin with little hesitation; perhaps an unlikely lack of hesitation considering the magnitude of the payment that this halfling was offering for a simple carrier errand. Asking too many questions was bad for these kinds of transactions, but a payment of three hundred gold for a two silver delivery meant that what was in that small bag was worth far more than that to the right people. "It's a deal."

Sliding the duffel bag off of his left shoulder, the boy unzipped it slightly and tucked the smaller bag inside of it. The 'Exotic Access Permit' was stuffed into his pocket, and after throwing the straps of the duffel over his shoulder again the boy excused himself from the halfling's counter and headed north; following the directions he had been given.

Sure enough, there was an entryway with two guards not far ahead and preemptively the boy took the card to his hand in order to present it to the guards there if they asked for it.

He didn't have much time to spare, so finding this Jera without delaying was best for everyone.