Clearing the Trail[Plot][Closed]

[Aegis Hawk]

The story goes that an ancient city once stood in the Nabata. Though few know if it is more than myth or simply that, the tales of the Nabata Outpost are not as much myth. The city had sprung up over a short time, but had grown on the corner of the Nabata, resting as a hub between Etruria, Lycia, and the mighty desert. It was known as the City of Alabaster in its short life. Though it wasn't the largest place, the humble outpost was regarded as a city due to the sheer amount of wealth it brought. Adventurers seeking hidden, ancient treasures in the Nabata, forays into the bandit-filled mountains for rewards, or even to set their own traps for merchants, it didn't matter. Alabaster had it all, selling supplies but retaining a sense of true neutrality. It held no affiliation with anyone but the Desert, standing alone but safe from armies as it was a location that would favor neither Etruria or Lycia to take it. The mountains made it a pain to assault and also a rather unfruitful area to deploy armies from. It was, after all, only to serve as an outpost, not a military camp.

However, it was a short-lived safe place. The story tells that the mighty Nabata let one of its sandstorms roll over the city. While it wasn't in the desert, it was known for receiving the rare storm, but this wasn't the storm that ended the mighty city. It was the greed of bandits. Seeing the Alabaster Statue atop a tall pedestal within the city, they used the sandstorm to slip into the neutral place. During the night, they struck out and killed much of the unprepared guard. The city was sacked and, within two days, was nothing but a ruin. In time, the place was lost to time, being removed from many maps as it no longer was worthy of note. The City of Alabaster had become nothing but Ruins.

However, the news has been spread through Elibe, telling of a descendant of one of the founders of the outpost. The descendant has sent out word. An expedition to the ruins and then later one to see to its repairs was being planned. The first portion of the journey, however, was to follow an old map, which meant passing the bandit-spotted mountain border...

---

Aegis was quiet as he sat in the back of the small town's tavern. It was empty, the barkeep only allowing in those interested in the expedition would be let in. It had cost all the fortune his adopted father had left him to arrange it, but it was finally happening. The town had agreed to see that Aegis get the chance to find, secure, and then rebuild the mighty city he had been born in long ago. He looked to his tattoo, turning his hand over to look at his palm. Sitting alone, it let him think on things, mainly just how long he had trained with his weapons. His sword was resting on the top of the seating behind him, his shield resting on it. His axe, however, was on the seat beside him. There was no table, any who entered would be forced to stand before him. If they accepted the terms of the expedition, he would ask them to relax and take in the sights of possible companions. He leaned back into his seating with a sigh. "Long day ahead of me, I suppose...no telling how many may or may not show up..."

[OOC: This will be part 1 of the Plot. The thread will be open for ONE WEEK before it is closed and starts up. This is PURELY for interaction and joining on. After the week, the group WILL start off with the plot and it will change to a Closed thread. Be advised, you should only sign-up if you will be able to post actively.]

[Ryuzaki]

"Well, what have we here? An expedition... Heh, I've got some experience with those, I'd reckon to say...

Well, I do need money. And it beats simply cutting purse-strings... Maybe I'll go and check this guy out."

Flipping his cloak, Ryu brushed his hair aside and walked to the tavern indicated, stopping in front of the closed door. Throwing a few glances around, the thief peered in through the windows and looked around the building. Nothing... And the tavern appeared deserted. How interesting. Putting a hand on his sword, but keeping it concealed under his cloak, Ryu pulled the handle open and quickly slipped inside, shifting immediately to put his back to the wall beside the door.

His eyes flying over the tavern, Ryu noticed a bored barkeep and... Aha. A... Well, that was some impressive armor. And a sword and axe. Interesting... Well, there was certainly money here.

Keeping his left hand on his sword hilt, Ryu walked slowly toward the man, his feet making no noise whatsoever, and his eyes flitting to make sure there was no danger.

"I saw a flyer. This is the expedition to the desert... Right?"

Ryu stopped about six feet from Aegis, and dipped his head quickly in greeting.

"I go by the name Near. And you are?"

[Kyle]

"So, this is the place. . . Kyle muttered under his breath. He'd seen and heard about this 'expedition' it also sounded like a good way to get stronger. But what would happen to him? He wasn't too good in a fight, and if it was to the desert like he'd heard, there wouldn't really be anything for him to catch and cook. Well at least he thought so, he'd only been in some desert towns a couple of times with his Father. So he wouldn't be able to contribute too much. What if they turned him down outright? The decision to enter the tavern weighed down more on his mind than it should. He'd need some time to think about it. He continued to stare at the tavern with a calculating expression on his face, slowly stroking the big dog beside him.

[Dietrich Landrik]

A small group of mercenaries were walking about a small town, Landrik at the head. To his left was Berg, a few inches taller than him and very large. However, he wore simple and ornate leather armor and carried a bow. One would think his weight would be better suited for armor, but he was a hell of a shot and was surprisingly very good at hiding. To his right was the ever sly Fuchs. He wore very simple plate and carried a bardiche. The three couldn't contain their laughter as they poked at each other while walking towards their destination. A man was going around with a torch at the end of a metal rod lighting the lamps in the street, but it was otherwise very quiet. Up ahead there was the tavern that he read about and he had shown up just in time, well packed for a journey.

As they neared the lit tavern, Landrik sighed. "Alright, let's try to make a good impression. Hopefully these guys aren't a bunch of swabbies. Otherwise we'll need to find work somewhere else." He put his hand on the doorway, but before he could open the door Fuchs cut in with "You're a swabbie." Too late to punch him in the gut for that one, damn it. Chuckling, he opened revealing a man with purple armor sitting behind a table and some shifty looking mugger. The bright hair of the knight caused him to come over. "Uh... we came here for an expedition. Are y'all it?" he asked with hesitation. He was secretly hoping this wasn't it.

[Aethan]

Of all of his time traveling, the lands of Lycia weren't a place he expected to find himself. Maybe it was a certainty that he'd have come here sooner or later, but it wasn't the fact that he was here that was troubling him. It was why he was here. He had been traveling nearby, and while he was wandering aimlessly through a town, a flyer drifted through the wind and stuck itself to his leg. That flyer was the same one he was sitting on a bench reading now, in the town the flyer mentioned. It had to have been fate that he discovered a call for hired blades while he was down on his luck, right? Still... The thought of trudging through a desert was enough to make him shudder, just thinking of the heat alone. (At least, from what he had heard.) And on top of that, being in full armor no less... It wasn't the bandits he was worried about, it was dying of heat stroke and being buried in the dunes. Yet, despite the morbidity of this thought, it still brought a smirk to his lips. In a way, the new sights and the added danger made it seem a bit more exciting as work. Maybe that was just his way of sucking it up and taking one of the only leads he was able to find? Either way... He wasn't right in the head, and that brought a soft laugh from him.

Why not, he decided? Sure, it was unfamiliar territory, and sure, he didn't know the extent of the dangers he'd see, but like he thought before. This had to be fate, right? That's how he liked seeing it, anyway. And on top of that, there was always that thought of discovering some long lost treasure or something, like in the stories he'd hear as a child. He chuckled. That was a bit too optimistic of thinking even for him.

Aethan took one last look at the flyer, making sure he remembered the location before folding it and placing it in a pouch. It was time to get this started, he figured. After working up the energy, he stood from the place he had been sitting, the plates of his armor clattering as they succumbed to gravity's influence. Once everything could move, he stretched, and then grabbed his lance. One noisy step at a time, he made his way to the tavern. It was exciting to think of what might happen, or what sort of people would show up besides him.

---

When he arrived, he had it figured that he showed up in the wrong place entirely, judging by the lack of activity. He thought he saw a group of men enter from a distance, but then again, he never was so good with eyesight and depth perception. He quietly (at least, without speaking) moved past the man petting the dog, standing in front of the doorway and looking at the sign. He was pretty sure the name of the tavern was right. Not that there were many taverns in a town this size to mix it up with. Were there really not that many takers?

Of course, instead of questioning himself in circles, he decided it might be more practical to ask someone who might actually know. Like, say, the man with the dog. No, he didn't look much like the mercenary sort at a glance, but he never was one to judge by appearances. Why not? He cleared his throat, hoping to catch the man's attention.

"Hey, ah... This is that tavern where they were gathering all those people up, right? Were you gonna be part of that, happen to know if anything changed? Seems... Quiet," Aethan said, scratching his chin and continuing to look at the building. He realized full well that he could've been blathering on to someone unrelated to the flyer entirely, but in a way, part of him was amused by that thought. And on top of that, it was better than standing outside wondering.

Of course, if this man didn't know, he'd just have to head inside. He could've done that in the first place, true, but that would just be silly to ask a question and leave, wouldn't it? Instead, he rested using his lance as a support, patiently awaiting an answer from the man.

[Reid]

Reid had heard news about an expedition setting out in search of ruins in Nabata, his entire body tingled in joy. He had spent most of his life researching such places by reading books and passages written by those who actually step foot in them, he longed to do such a thing but he couldn't drag himself away from his research. He did eventually start to explore the world in search of new clues to the origins of Elder Magic due to him taping every source of information dry, while he hasn't learned anything new he did find some interesting leads and then he overheard a couple of brutes talking about that expedition. Chances are any information he could find will be there later, exploring those ruins was a once in a lifetime chance and he wouldn't let it pass him by.

Oh goodness graces, what kind of supplies would he need? What did explorers normally take on such journeys? Obviously he would need a couple of empty books to keep track of his findings, oh some charcoal to "sketch"(or chicken scratches that resembles a drawing) some of his findings, he was in such an excitement that's all he bothered to think of bringing. Once he finally made it the destination before the group would leave to search for the ruins Reid had felt out of place. A man of his intelligence shouldn't be caught dead in this... dump but the reward was worth it. He had wondered the town until he found gathering place of the oafs he took a deep breath before he pushed the door open and walked in. He wished he had a good book to read, these... people? weren't the type he would associate himself with, he was able to spot a small gathering so he walked up towards the group.

"I'm Reid Quinn, I will accompanying you as you travel to those ruins"

[Orcleous]

Orcleous had heard about the job from a friend of a friend and figured it would be a good score. Expeditions were always money makers, or at the very least money makers for the mercenaries evolved. Even if the rich sap who started the thing did not find what they were looking for the mercenaries were always payed. Still Nabata was not Orcleous' favorite of places. He remembered well the heat of the sand and the dryness of the air. The young mercenary made sure to pack plenty of water with him before he even walked up to the tavern.

"Well here I go", spoke Orcleous as he walked up to the group. "The name is Orcleous", spoke the lad as he placed his hand on the hilt of his silver blade. Orcleous noticed a familiar face amongst the group. "Sup kido, dog", spoke Orcleous as he walked by Kyle and his dog. He then walked into the Inn and began to introduce himself to their new boss.

"The name is Orcleous. I am a traveling mercenary. I heard you were looking for blades to help you cut a path through the desert."

[Kyle]

The first people to disrupt his thought were a noisy group of three, Kyle paid them little attention. But then, in mid thought, Kyle was able to hear the distant clanking of armor. Slowly but surely it continued to grow louder until it suddenly stopped and a man was standing next to him, resting on a lance. Asking if this was the place where the expedition was supposed to be. Kyle nodded with a quiet "Yes" as he saw a red haired man walk past him and into the building.The group was starting to grow, maybe he should enter.

Suddenly he saw a face he never wanted to see again. Orcleous. Orc walked right past him, and even called him kido. Kido? They looked to be the same age! That just made Kyle even more mad, to the point he drew an arrow and carried it quite unnoticeabley in his right hand and walked in after him. Just in case.

Once he was inside he gook a quick glance around the building and noticed another face he was dredged to see. Near. This expedition was quickly turning quite shifty, he needed to tell the guy in charge, which appeared to be the man sitting down in the nice armor. Now wasn't the time, but he needed to warn him soon none the less. Kyle then proceeded to lean against the wall, agitated about Orc and Near, and waited to see if the armored man or any others would show up.

[Feren]

Well, looks like the right place.

Feren thought as he approached, noticing a heavily armored man outside the tavern.

"Going on the expedition too, eh?"

He didn't wait for a reply as he strode past and into a...

"Rather disappointing tavern."

He muttered to himself as he went to the bar. He hoped the drinks would be more entertaining than the company. Not one of them telling jokes, scarcely talking, let alone telling the stories he was accustomed to hearing amongst other mercenary gatherings. He leaned against the bar and waved for a drink, taking a quick look at the others. He noticed the odd assortment of people, two of which scarcely looked like the mercenary type.

Mages perhaps?

He shrugged the thought away, so long as they were on his side he'd put up with them. It took him a moment to realize, but he also noticed a distinct lack of helms which worried him. He didn't need the people watching his back to go dying on him and going into battle without a helm was almost asking 'Please kill me.' His hand went idly to the ragged remains of his left ear.

Learned that one early.

His brief observation over, he grabbed his drink and waited.

[Aegis Hawk]

Aegis had never been one for a large traveling group. First, a man named Near, though he doubted that was the man's name, had come forth to sign-up for the initial expedition. That had been good and all, but then another arrived with two in tow that were clearly followers. Aegis had frowned at his simple warning. Though he may not look it, Aegis had been raised with the best intentions of aiding his father, a traveling merchant. By no end was he laid-back like most warriors.

"Indeed, this is-"

He was cut-off when another person entered, carrying himself with intellect that seemed he thought himself the smartest there. No doubt that wasn't far from the truth, but it did make Aegis frown. He told them that he would be going along without so much as asking him? Was this the kind of company he'd be forced to travel with? When the last two entered, he finally stood up, narrowing his eyes at the crowd that had been inside. The only one outside would hear his voice well.

"Quiet, all of you! Have any of you ever worked for someone before? This is not some simple stroll! You will not find riches from this, as long as I have my say! This expedition is purely for finding the ancient ruins, no more and no less!"

Aegis looked them all over, finally sighing. Waiting had been one thing, but to see that the entire crowd of recruits were all so set to either treasure or the chance of a big score was discomforting.

"I did not promise riches from this, nor did I promise there to be a lot of fighting. The trails we walk will be old, mapped long ago. I am sorry for my outburst, but we cannot just be so simple and to the point once we get out there. The lands of Lycia suffer from the roaming monsters that took Laus...do you not think it wise to prepare for whatever we may find? Everyone in the expedition will be in charge of a task in the group. We have to ration our supplies for this trip."

It was a long moment, his eyes studying the group further, before he finally turned and sat down, motioning to the scattered seating in the room. "Sit and relax, everyone...ask questions and I will try my best to answer them...but I needed to ensure all of you know the risk and the reward. We aren't here to delve into the ruins to pillage them...I wish to find them and rebuild them. Any treasure along the way to the Ruins, however, you are free to divide..." Closing his eyes, he rested his head back against the chair, reaching his arms back to rest along the top ridges. What he wouldn't give to be able to seek the ruins out alone, but he was no fool. Few could survive such a dangerous trip through such a remote section of the mountains. But once the path was cleared, it'd allow him to convince plenty of merchants to supply a recovery team to take the city. It was the only way, however, to ensure the Ruins were still found using the path.

[Ryuzaki]

"Hehehe, I don't need the money, boss... Although I'm sure I'll find a little something or another...

Anyway. Monsters or bandits or whatever, it doesn't faze me. I've got skill with the sword and the scythe, and I'm particularly good at opening doors, finding traps, and, how shall I say this... 'reallocating' resources."


Ryu crouched on the floor, hand still on his sword beneath his cloak. He looked around... Aw, no. No way. Not Kyle again! What would he be here for? The last time he worked with him, it was awful. The guy was about as standoffish and cold as you could get.

"Hmm. I don't know any of you," he said, hoping the kid would get the hint. "So... Why don't we all get to know each other, if we're to watch each other's backs for monsters and all sorts of fun things like that?

In truth, Ryu couldn't care less about who they were as much as what they could do. He didn't want to get on a sinking ship and later have to swim to shore...

[Orcleous]

Orcleous looked around for a moment to see how everyone reacted to the out burst. It was true that many people came on the guise of getting treasure from the ruins. Shoot that was the very reason Orcleous came. Still even with the city being unlootable it still sounded like a good job.

"Well I guess I will introduce myself next", spoke Orcleous following after Near. "My name is Orcleous, most of you probably never heard of me. I am a mercenary out of Bern and has been traveling the land testing my sword. I can guard and protect the supplies or run point if needed."

Orcleous looked around and noticed that Kyle had a sour expression on his face. The sight however puzzled Orcleous as he did not remember wronging the archer the last time they meet, nor did he do anything, to his knowledge, to offend him this time. Still Orcleous would rather address it early rather than have it shoot him in the back later.

"Kyle right", spoke Orcleous as he walked up to the hunter.

[Aethan]

Aethan closed his eyes, a soft smirk forming on his face. First the man he asked the question to decided to take out an arrow for whatever reason, then there was an outburst from inside. This was going to be an interesting trip indeed. The moment the shouting started, he took his lance up once more and decided to walk inside, doing his best to keep the clatter quiet during the speech and maneuvering his lance and helmet through the doorway. He took up a spot in the corner, waiting for the talking to be through.

He could respect the man's focus, at least. A willingness to take charge, as a leader should. Would that carry to the field, he wondered? If fighting were to break out, would he be able to command the same authority? Looking over the group that assembled, he highly doubted it. But then, he highly doubted even the highest of kings could command a group so motley as this. Maybe he'd be delightfully surprised to find out otherwise, though. He chuckled a bit to himself at the thought.

The first one to introduce himself was the thinly veiled sneak, who he could probably safely assume the profession of. Aethan didn't exactly consider himself so righteous a man that he didn't see the merit in having such skills on your side, rather than against you. He wondered if there were any "righteous" men standing in this room. After that was the mercenary, Orcleous. Truthfully he hadn't heard of him, but Aethan wasn't usually the type to be in one spot long enough to hear about many things anyway. He'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

Those few seconds he spent in thought were ended when the man chose to talk to the other one, Kyle. Casting a quick glance over the group, he decided there wouldn't be any harm in letting the two talk and trying to keep the momentum going with the rest of the group.

"You know, being in a tavern I'd say we could all get to know each other over a couple of drinks instead of this awkward silence, but... Guess showing that we're all competent enough for the job first wouldn't be so bad of an idea either, would it?" he said, stepping forward slightly with the same soft smile as always on his face, perhaps looking as though he weren't taking this seriously, but keeping his posture proud and confident, "My name's Aethan. I'm fairly certain most of you would be able to guess what I do at a glance. And for those of you worried further than that, this isn't a suit I wear for show. I'll have your backs if you have mine. Any other takers on the introductions then?"

He laughed a bit after the last sentence. In truth, part of him still would've rather sat in silence waiting for everything to go underway, but that wasn't any way to win trusts or good sentiments, was it? Admittedly, the warmth he showed was partly just to establish these things alone. He didn't have any intention of befriending these people in a legitimate fashion, nor did he care to make any bonds or attachments when everyone was at a high risk of death along the path. But the thought of traveling with everyone annoyed at and distrustful of each other was even less appealing.

Still, as he said before, he'd have rather done this over a drink. That look he carried, the sleepy look that some might take as a lack of seriousness or gravity for the situation, matched with his thoughts exactly. But that was just who he was. He already knew that, though.

It was time to see what everyone else was like.

[Feren]

Feren raised an eyebrow at the scolding, amused. He simply raised his drink in response, at least it was better than the silence of before. He was glad to see this wasn't like so many other 'leaders' that simply hired people without organisation. He'd seen how things went when supplies ran out halfway through a march, it rarely went well for those involved or those in the surrounding area. Feren himself had no illusions about become rich on the journey, and the less fighting the better. He would be occupied enough traveling in unknown territory, or so he hoped.

He sat quietly while the others introduced themselves, giving each a nod in turn, before speaking.

"Aye. I'm Feren, just another mercenary for hire."

He finished his drink before turning to their employer.

"I have little interest in looting the ruins. A thriving city is by far more profitable for my line of work. That aside, I can stand guard and cook. Unless you have another task in mind."

[Dietrich Landrik]

Landrik wasn't even able to be processed at the table with his two comrades before some red-haired bookworm jumped in front of him rudely demanding to be part of the expedition. Did this guy not know what it meant to sign up for anything like this before? He mustn't had spent much time around people to act so selfishly. The blonde man wasn't in a rush to get signed up - he knew they wouldn't be leaving tonight. May as well let the scribe get his minute to shine or whatever he was doing.

Berg took good note of the others in the tavern, noticing a very large and brutal looking man take his seat at the bar. He felt a bit better knowing someone was around who knew what they were doing or at least learned the hard way once before. He also looked intently at the shady looking man with white hair. He knew from right there he'd have to look out for him. He was already getting bad feelings about the expedition if the purple-armored man would hire him.

Fuchs stood around, a bit uninterested. He noticed the scribe move past the three and chuckled. "He knows we're going out into the sun, right?" he said hushed to Landrik. The mercenary smirked, but left it as that. He didn't want there to be any animosity between the members of the expedition.

All three perked up when the purple-armored employer had an outburst. None of the three were expecting anything special or noteworthy about the trip other than getting paid to find a couple rocks sitting on top of one another. If anyone, it was Fuchs who was a bit curious as to see Nabata other than the ports they visited. Berg was eager to test out his gear he bought to see if it could handle the journey and the desert sun.

--

Respectfully, Landrik didn't want to sign up for all three of them - it would be good if their employer got to see all of them and check them out himself. Not only that, but this was a bit of a test to see how professional the employer was. With much more capable looking mercenaries coming through the door, Landrik felt at ease. The mercenary stepped into line and presented himself to the purple armored employer. "Afternoon. My name is Dietrich Landrik. I'm quite handy with the sword, but by trade I've been a sailor with my hands on carpentry. I know quite a bit about sewing and leatherwork as well if repairs need to be made. Will we have a wagon with us for this journey?"

Next up, Fuchs stepped forward and rested on his lance a bit. "Hey, I'm Alwin Fuchs from the Western Isles. I'm pretty good at navigation both on land and at sea in case we need to travel by the stars. Otherwise, give me any job and I'll do my best to accomplish it in a timely manner." He made way for Berg who came in behind him.

"Howdy, I'm Colton Berg. I use the bow and do fairly well with it. I can operate as a foot-scout if you need one. I can cook or find ingredients in case we run out of stock if we need to scavenge. I don't know too much about the desert, though." He crossed his arm and stepped out of the way for anyone else come and sign. He was putting quite a bit on this as the three didn't have much money and he was in charge of managing their finances. He turned to the other two and spoke. "No drinking tonight, we haven't the money. But we should get to feel these people out. I'd like to know the person in front of me knows what he's doing and the one behind me won't get lost with our supplies if you know what I mean." he mentioned, putting a pointed glance towards the white-haired man.

Landrik agreed, looking off towards the red haired man who pushed past them earlier. "Hey there, the name is Landrik. What about this trip makes you so fired up? Is there something out there we should know about?" he asked, resting his hand inside of the opening in his coat.