A Trip Around the Bend

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron sat at the table the next morning. It was early. Before sunrise. He held a mug of a hot tea he'd ordered from the inn keeper, getting his thoughts in line with the rest of the day. The inn staff had pulled an all nighter for their beleaguered town, trying to help wherever they could The simple act of allowing their common room to be used by those without a home was enough to impress the sage into dropping a few coins extra into the man's hand. It was the least he could do to help the town rebuild itself. He wouldn't be here.

His bag rested on the ground next to him, a heavy black cloak rolled up and stowed inside with the food supplies and tomes. Typically, all he needed was the blue cloak he wore. Lilith was busying herself taking care of a few things before they left, and Aaron was simply waiting, looking out the window to the darkness which would soon be rolling back into morning.

"Hope you're ready to go." He quipped lightly to his first new companion to approach. He was in a much better mood today.

"Hopefully we'll make some distance today. I'm planning on taking the smaller roads when I can though." Part of this was a test.

[Isabel]

"I usually travel light." the blue-haired girl responded, her always-present cat at her heels. "So yeah, I'm ready to go whenever." She pulled up a seat next to Aaron, and then proceeded to rest her elbows on the tabletop and then her head on her hands, yawning and looking all-around tired. "Could have done with a few more hours sleep, though." Isabel gave a little laugh, and then looked at the cup in Aaron's hands, tilting her head thoughtfully. "That's not a half bad idea..." 
 
The young shaman stood up, and then shuffled off to order her own cup of tea. She shuffled back over, pushed Solomon out of her seat, and then sat back down beside Aaron. "So, yeah. Excited to be off again... And I guess any road is better than no road, eh?" She chuckled, and then a mug of tea was set in front of her. She eyed it tentatively, holding it up to her nose, and then screwed up her eyes at the scent. "Ugh..." she stated simply, and then took a sip. She gagged, and then swallowed, shaking her head. "Disgusting. How do you even drink this crap?" Despite her complaints, she continued to drink the beverage. "Have you seen any of the others this morning?"

[Elias]

As if guided by the divine light of convenient coincidence, along came Elias at the exact moment everyone else was waking up. Well it wasn't really coincidence, he heard them talking because he was just over there out of view stalking the group for them to wake up as he had been awake for a good while now. He was, what some would say, a morning person. Others would say he's an annoying person. Point is he had so much energy, that waking up early was a foregone conclusion, he didn't need that much sleep to operate just fine.

"I thought I heard you guys talking, just get up?" He said with a wide and stupid looking grin, a light chuckle to his self. Standing there with a hand on his hip, his cape draping over it in a fashion he would call awesome. "I've been out looking for demon for, like, the last hour or so. Finally found him, probably terrorizing some poor innocent... carrot patch or something. He was just kind of wandering around town."

He looked at what the two were holding and made a sort of face, almost disgusted, but he didn't say anything. Needless to say, Elias wasn't a fan of tea, or this place's tea. It was unsure.

[Tearus]

Tearus had also awoken early. He had decided to go out for a jog. The air was crisp, but Tearus always enjoyed breathing in cold wind. He was beginning to seat when he saw the inn he had caught a few hours of sleep in. He opened the door a crack and slid in, closing it lightly behind him. He moved in between moving staff, and saw a slew of magic men and women talking at a table. He lightly tapped a woman on the soldier and said, "Coffee please." He smiled rather insensitively. Not on purpose, but she was probably not in the mood to smile.

He lightly slid into a chair at the table, while the red garbed man had a small monologue about carrots. Tearus waited for him to finish, then said, "Did you know that Horses actually don't eat tomatoes. For some reason, they can never get past the multiple different textures inside."

[Morgoth Animus]

Morgoth lifted his head from the table, still staring into space. He had been at it for hours, toying with various ideas and thoughts. He might have fallen asleep, but if so his thoughts had blead into his dreams. He absent mindedly pulled a bit of bread and cheese from a pocket in his coat. Nibbling it, he looked around, a far look in his eyes.

"Hmmm.....," Morgoth hummed, thinking. "So where are we off to now?" He directed the question toward Aaron, a more aware look coming to his eyes. Elias and some dude where swapping facts or something in the background as Morgoth reached his hands down to his sides. Both tomes were there.

"And what are you planning? A destination without purpose isn't much of a destination," Morgoth added. Where is Irmo? This is his job, to talk to people. I'm trying to fix us. Now quit whining and live with it. Fix us?! It's not possible to just 'fix' us! You can't just wish for it and it happen. The only way I can think of is via the void and I don't think that would turn out overly well! Uh-huh. Not listening. Bye! Wait! I don't want to be in control.... Irmo! I'll kill you! Your threats don't scare me. I mean, come on, face it, your heart just isn't in it anymore. I... yes it is! Irmo! Hey, I'm talking to you! Irmo!

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron laughed softly as Isabel's reaction to the tea. Clearly not her thing. Not plain at least. By way of answering, he slid her cup closer, before taking a small bowl, and ladling in a generous amount of sugar. A fair amount of cream followed, and he stirred it for a moment. Elias came over, talking about "Demon". He'd made some reference to a demon the night before, but it hardly seemed the type the green haired sage had had to deal with.

"I've been up for about half an hour. Had a small snack, and thought I'd start laying the plans for the day.... What do you mean by... demon?" Aaron's face took on a puzzled cast, as he spit out the question.

He carefully slid Isabel's drink back to her with a quiet "like this" before his attention scattered, encompassing the room, the people, and their expressions. Tearus came in from outside, and joined them. Something nonsensical and nonsequitur about horses. Amusingly enough, only one of the number had actually passed, Aaron's test. A simple one, by his estimation. Only Morgoth seemed to care about where they were going. The spell slinger approved, so he answered him.

"We're going south. To the border between Laus and Ryerde. My Grandfather runs an arboretum there, which is home to many magical teachers and studies. I'd like Lilith to spend some time there. It should be very invigorating to her studies...." He couldn't say that he needed someplace he could be sure she would be safe, and able to recover, so he hoped his excuse was enough.

"I'm not stopping there though. I'll be going North-west, to Ostia's ruins. I want to see its skeleton for myself, and there's a tomb that needs checked on too." The tokb wasn't just any tomb. It had belonged to Roland, Champion of Lycia.

[Morgoth Animus]

Morgoth was still fuming when Aaron addressed him. "Magic? Teachers? Very tempting," he said to Aaron, pushing his anger aside. "Though I'd love to see Ostia again. Last I saw it was burning to the ground." But REAL mages! Morgoth thought. His eye's began to brighten. People who actually teach magic. A dream come true! But.... Ostia is quite the place to be I hear. Not to mention I am in much need of adventure. I've been couped up too long.

"Perhaps we could stay there a day or two?" Morgoth asked Aaron, trying to keep the excitment from his voice. He never got excited. "Or perhaps I could stay and then catch up with you?" At long last, a real teacher. Wait, do they have elder magic users? Morgoth's thoughts raced. No, that girl said Lilith was a elder mage too. He settled down, satisfied with his argument.

"So are we walking or what's the plan?" Morgoth thought a moment. "And how soon can we leave? I haven't traveled in ages." Staying a while at the school is a good idea. Perhaps we can find a way to fix our problem. Come on, it's my job to just give input! You take over. No, it's your body! Now bye, sorry I said anything. We're not done. We'll sort this out later. You hear me? Sure. What?! Morgoth felt his anger again, but the prospect of having more magic training kept it away. Whatever. He redirected himself to the outside world, hoping he hadn't missed something.

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron continued to nurse his mug of tea a little longer. Morgoth sounded interested in the possibility that he could find training at Barek's facility. The green haired sage remained noncommittal. It was possible. Training of that sort was occasionally done there, but it was common practice to send students who proved themselves capable enough out into the world, where they could earn their own knowledge, skill, and the control to use it properly.

"It's possible you could stay behind for a few days and hope for some instruction, but I'm not going to wait around." He was starting to feel a familiar burn in his heart. It was like an engine, fueling... something. He wasn't sure what he was doing yet, but that was the way all of his adventures had started. He knew he would find something around Ostia, if only because he would search until he did find something worth interest.

"Well, I'm walking. Unless someone brought a whole little herd of horses, or knows the secret of flight." The sage smiled as he said this, teasing them, and for a moment, there was a glint of his old self in his eyes.

"Let's go on and leave now." Aaron took a moment, and then finished his drink. They were all up, and were obviously ready. There was no more cause to delay.

He moved to pick up his bag, and slung it over his shoulder, under his blue cloak. Then he went outside with Lilith, and turned to look over the town. The sun had risen high enough to provide just enough light to see the outline of the buildings. Scars remained, but he was certain the place would recover, if it could manage to avoid incurring any more negative attention.... There wasn't anything more he could do for the place. It was up to them now. He turned and walked out the path he'd come up only the day before.

Trees standing like tall sentinels stood watching them as they made their way southward on the slow bends of the downward trail. They would give way to open grasses before the group made it too far, but for now, it seemed to cluster the group closer together. Aaron wasn't sure whether it was an illusion, or if they really were sticking closer together. He chuckled at the thought.

"So who's got a story?" He said suddenly, still walking down the way.

[Isabel]

The tea was a little better after Aaron sweetened it up, but not much, and Isabel found herself wishing she had known about the coffee option. Coffee would have been a much better idea this morning, as she was setting out with an almost entirely new group of people, with only Solomon still at her side. Unless Calvin decided to show up, which, at this point, the shaman was finding unlikely. A few minutes passed with very little talking, and then a flurry of activity followed, with the group getting up and heading out. Solomon was once again in her bag, her tomes stuffed in there beside the black cat. Her cloak had been neatly... Well, she had taken it off this morning and given it a nice beat-down, relieving it of the wrinkles and some dirt and grime. Nothing compared to a good washing, and hopefully Aaron's relative's place had a way for her to accomplish that.

The sage started the inevitable group discussion as the walked their way out of town, by asking who had a story. If only Calvin would run up, taking out his little sketchpad with illustrations, maybe pull out his flute and do a musical number... The shaman found herself already missing her long-time companion, her best friend. But what was she to do, other than to move on? She still had Solomon, and he'd always remind her of him, and every time she cast a spell, she'd think of his endless, often-annoying curiosity regarding the subject. Did she have a story? Yes, she had a story now, but was it worth telling without one of the most important characters? No, no it was not. The book containing an actual tale of heroics and heroes and other such nonsense was now in the hands of another, given as a gift before the two parted ways... She could tell the group about her time before she went to study with Daryl, because there were some entertaining little tales there, but no, it didn't feel right. She could tell them about Jya and Valorian and Rayl, but that would remind her of Calvin. So, no... She had no shortage of little stories to tell, but she wouldn't be telling them today. "I don't!" she replied, perhaps a little bit too loudly, and then spun on her heel, looking back at the village.

I was kidding myself; you aren't coming this time, are you? Calvin... I'll miss you. Good luck, you crazy bard! she thought, giving a wave back to the village with a little smile, and then turned back to the group. "Sorry about that... I was... Just saying bye to a friend."

[Tearus]

Tearus followed the others out of the inn. He sauntered along, taking in the scenery, arguing with himself about the advantages of different cutlery. Then Aaron asked if anyone had any stories. Oho. Big mistake. Tearus cleared his throat, but then waited for the young shaman girl to say her good-byes. He then cleared his throat once more, "Once, there lived a man named Handsome William. He was said to be so handsome women would travel from all around just to try and catch a glimpse of him. He was the heir to a throne in Lycia, and could have had any woman he wanted, but he never chose, for none were as beautiful as he himself.

Well, one day, three women came to see him. A beautiful young Etrurian priestess, who had given up her faith to try and wed William. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, with chestnut brown hair extending all down her back, soft brown eyes, an elegant thin nose, and delicate lips. He simply refused her, saying the woman he married must be as beautiful or more as he himself was. She hurled herself off of a cliff, knowing she had no life to return to. Not two hours past her arrival, and her brother appeared. He claimed he had come to return his sister, to the life she had first chosen, but drew his sword as William told him of his sisters death. William killed the poor boy in self defense, and wasn't entirely pleased with himself.

The next woman was a young Pegasus Knight from Illia, leaving her unit to come for the chance at William's hand, and she was even more beautiful than the last. She had light blue hair, combed perfectly, icy blue eyes, a strikingly straight nose, fair skin, and a perfect smile. But compared to William, she was just not good enough. She met the same fate, her Pegasus tied up so as not to save her. An hour later, another man arrived as well, her father, to return her and cover up her desertion. William was forced to kill him the same as the last, but grew more annoyed with this duel.

The last woman was a commoner from Bern, who'd left her family, simply to see him. She made the other two look like wrinkled old hags. No description I could give this woman would do her justice. William got on one knee to propose to her, when the girls husband arrived and shot William through the heart. He took his wife, and went home, and Handsome William never broke another heart." Tearus took a deep breath. "Maybe it's not the happiest story to start out with, eh?"

[Elias]

Elias the Crimson Mage had been uncharacteristically silent for this period of interaction between folk. Instead of paying close attention to the other intrepid travellers traversing forward for a singular purpose, he instead focused on one person in particular. Staring even, eyes squinted as if he only saw a difficult puzzle in front of him, rather then a person. Intent on solving the puzzle above even paying attention to whatever the others were droning on about. Oh MAN. I just know I saw her before but I can't remember where and my mind is crumbling apart at the foundation just trying to recall. They weren't present most of the time, in fact this was really the first time he ever even got a good look as this little lady.

He suddenly snapped out of his daze, so sudden that if you listened hard enough you could actually hear the pop. "Oh what sorry. I wasn't paying attention, did you say something?" Who was it? Tear something? Pft, who names their child after the wussiest of all bodily functions. Now Elias didn't know this fella, but that didn't mean he couldn't jump to any conclusion he wanted. "Oh we're leaving?" He added, somehow not even noticing it despite having walking this entire time.

He held two fingers to his mouth and let out a loud whistling. "HEY DEMON, GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!" He called, the natural mating call of obnoxious horses and their mage owners. Sure enough his call was answered by one light gray stallion, trotting up next to Elias as if he had been there the entire time. "There you are I swear." In opposition to his words, he stroked the horse's mane. Not angry as much as amused. Hoisting his self up with a small grunt, Elias looked at the others. "This is demon. He is the spawn of the devil, would anyone like a ride?"

[Morgoth Animus]

Morgoth followed the other's out, still thinking of the possibility of a little training. I haven't fought in months, he thought. Sure, I've used magic since I got out of jail, but it's not the same. Besides, even a little 'proper' training would be nice. As a mage you can't just blow this and that up, eventually it will quit working. Elias said something about his horse as Morgoth passed by.

"The spawn of the devil?" Morgoth questioned him. "Seems a bit... presumptuous. Sounds dangerous." And then he walked on.

What was that? What was what? And ha, I got you to come out! So this was all a ruse? No, it just worked out that way. So then what was that? I don't like the guy. He's annoying. And a horse the spawn of the devil? Obviously he doesn't get out much. Or it was meant as a joke... Oh. Well then I supose it was funny then. No, really. No, not really. Still isn't funny. Now about that magic training. You said 'work together. Are you saying you think we can achive full ability by working together? Yes. Theoretically of course. But back to your social skills- Hmpf. Well then, I guess thats one of the things we need to do. I won't let jail cause me to fall behind. It's not like you meditated everyday. Yes, well, one of us had to something besides stare at the wall. Whatever.

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron grew quiet as he saw that not everyone's attention was focused forward. Some was turned back, and with regret. The blue haired shaman he'd met the other day was one. She'd had a companion before, yet he wasn't here now. She didn't stop though, and didn't seem to want to speak about it, so Aaron just continued as if he'd noticed nothing.

It was with mild surprise that the sage heard Tearus speak up. While it was true Aaron had asked if anyone had a story, he hadn't expected anyone to be so ready with one. He listened to the tale of Handsome William. The story left a bitter taste in his mouth as it trailed off. It seemed like everyone in the tale was inconvenienced and troubled. Most even seemed weak willed. The first two women, their relations, and William all ended up dead, a more tragic waste scarcely possible. The last woman was inconvenienced by William's approach, and the last man's jealousy burning brightly. Truthfully, he couldn't find anything happy about the tale. Maybe the lesson in the tale was to be content with what you had. Aaron would rather think that it was a warning about the dangers of rash actions. Had they all taken a day or two to sit down and think things through, they would have realized that they could continue living just fine.... Suicide was a long term solution for a short term problem.

Aaron looked over in surprise as Elias spoke up.

"Of course we're leaving.... Where have you been?" The crimson garbed magician seemed a bit odd to Aaron. He'd been walking right beside them this whole time, but he seemed to have blinked out, or something. And he had a horse named Demon. Morgoth commented on the name. Aaron was thinking it was downright silly to consider a horse the spawn of the devil.

"You don't know what you speak of...." The green haired sage's voice slipped out quietly, but he amended the direction of his speech.

"No thanks. The last time I had a horse to ride, he left me in Bern, and I ended up walking miles through the mountains. I don't think he could carry everyone anyway." The last bit was said in a bemused voice, as he looked up at the rider.

[Elias]

Cocking a brow, Elias simply shrugged. Oh boy, to be burdened with those who cannot take a joke, truly a fate worse then not being Elias. Oh, and death too, perhaps. Well if they didn't want to have a ride, he'll be lazy all by himself. "Alright then." He waved it off like it didn't bother him, and it didn't. However both Green and Creepy's expression at him saying his horse's origins made him groan, on the inside that is, groaning on the outside was decidedly not cool. A rule he just made up and will probably forget about in a few minutes and break, but at this exact moment it was a law to live by.

He didn't know if Demon was annoyed either, but he decided to pat the horse on the head regardless. It let out a small, annoyed sounding, neigh. Ha, how uncool, groaning out loud. He wasn't on his A game today, or his B game, in fact he'd have to put it around his R or T game. Something was just throwing him off, he was his usual obnoxiously jolly self. His eyes narrowed slighty as he looked around. The source of the distraction was obvious, it was that blond girl who was driving him crazy, like he knew her but it wasn't even on the tip of his tongue, it was hanging way back with the tonsils and chilling out, knowing it was driving the insane mage crazy. All smug and crap too, gosh he hated that guy.

"Well, uh, where are we going?" Wait did he already tell them? Couldn't remember. Elias didn't like to dwell on such things. He could also say 'why are we going' but he was doubly sure he wouldn't be interested in the answer. "Is it Laus? This road looks like it leads to Laus." He came the other way though... maybe? Wait where did he come from? Hrm... Oh now he just confused his self. "I went to Laus once, well several times really, but the most recent time there was zombies everywhere and bandits and I think I lost my eyebrows I don't remember it that well. Then I went to Ostia, and it exploded because of I don't know, but I think my blacksmith friend had a hand in it. Then this blind guy was fed up with traveling with me and ditched me in the middle of Etruria where I was confronted by an archer and swordsman who didn't seem to like me that much so I just said whatever and left the country all together because seriously does anyone enjoy Etruria? Even Etrurians are like, 'man screw that place'."

[Aaron Winsett]

Now that was a story they could talk about. Elias had had plenty of travel from the sounds of things. Aaron tried to piece together the timeline of The other magician's dialogue as he let the breeze wash over him. So far, he'd mentioned a couple of Lycian territories, and an entirely different country. Before Etruria began its war, he'd considered traveling there. As it was, he'd only been on the fringes of the country. To a relative's house, he'd later figured out. It had been nice there, but he could hardly judge a country off of one visit. Since the Inquisitorial Army had begun its fighting though, he was fairly certain he wanted to stay away.

"I already said. We're going to make a stop in Laus, then I'm heading on to Ostia." He was going to start ignoring them if they didn't get on the same page as him. He didn't much fancy the idea of answering the same questions over and over again, after all.

"Before the war, I heard stories of Delphia and its great libraries of history and magic.... You never hear people speak of those things anymore...." The sage let out a whistful breath and stopped remembering.

"You were in Ostia when it exploded? That must have been...." Aaron paused in his speech, hoof clopping competing with his voice for dominance. Terrible? Exciting? Terrifying? ...Dangerous was the obvious answer.

"I hope everyone had had time to evacuate from the area before that happened. Still, it's got to be hard on the people who lost their homes.... Not only did Etruria take their city, nature itself had to swallow the remains." It was a dark line of discussion. Darker than Aaron had intended, but it was better than nothing.