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Post by Tiz on Aug 1, 2015 20:58:12 GMT -6
"Haunted, huh?"
Tiz stood with folded arms in front of a poster hung in a tavern, upon which was written in an anxious scrawl pleas for aid. The few people around the Sacaean came to read, then dismissively waved their hands, taking their seats once more as they continued to drink the ale before them, electing that something that sounded so silly couldn't possibly have any merit to it. And that, for whatever reason, was what intrigued Tiz. A smile drawn on his face, Tiz cocked his head to the side, deciding whether or not to seek out this contact about the job. Supposedly, two warring families had attempted a peace talk in the form of an escort, but once the escort arrived, he had disappeared, and the doors to the home to which the man had traveled shut for good. Two weeks, no one had come in or out... Supposedly.
The man wasn't sure, and his brow furrowed as he considered further the cause of such an outrageous claim. Haunted, really? He wondered why. He also wondered where he might find the client to discuss the detail further.
"A-Are you... going to help me, stranger?" The voice was frail and weak-- stereotypically someone in need of aid. Not knowing any better, Tiz wheeled around quickly to face a much shorter, older man looking up at him nervously. Tiz offered the man a warm, genuine smile to diffuse his tension, but it didn't seem to work. "My poor Drexel-- I'm just not sure what to do. T-The Marquess won't help me, and the mercenaries of late have been... well, uninterested."
Tiz chuckled, but didn't say anything at first. He stepped aside, allowing the man room to see his poster. Arms still folded, Tiz decided to speak, though with a voice that seemed unsure of what needed to be said. "Seems so. Hauntings, y'know. That's a fairly niche crowd, old man." He joked, his smile still disarming. "But I don't mind. What's up, you just... sent someone over to coordinate a peace talk, and...?"
"Right, right! I sent Drexel, a carl of mine, over to the Mendrel residence because we've... Well you see, we've had some land disputes of late, and I simply wanted to move on and forget about it, but... As soon as I sent him in, I was worried. And then he never came back! W-When I went myself to retrieve him, all the doors were locked, and no one was on the property!"
It seemed fishy. Why had the man tried to open all the doors at the estate? If it wasn't his property, he shouldn't have... Ah. Tiz thought that perhaps that was the root of the land dispute. Maybe he was a bit too nosy for his own good. Still, he couldn't be sure. "Poster says two weeks, yeah? No one has seen... anyone... leave that estate? At all?"
"Why no sir. Not a one. Of course, maybe some passersby have, but... no one has reported to me." His voice grew sad, darkened with genuine concern for his aide. Tiz sympathized with that plight, but nonetheless remained skeptical.
"Well, I'll tell ya what. You let me find a... er... maybe one or two people to travel with me, and I'll at least go see if I can't figure out what's going on." He smiled again, and placed a hand gently on the old man's shoulder.
"Thank you so much. I frequent this tavern a few times a day, s-so I should be here with relative frequency. If you need me, my name is Amon. Amon Sade."
Tiz smiled and nodded, and the man walked away after thanking him. Sighing, the young Sacaean now had to figure out how he was going to rally up a group of strangers for something like this... Perhaps he'd gotten himself into something that was best left alone. There were too many unanswered questions.
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Post by Armitage Apolithymius on Aug 2, 2015 1:56:45 GMT -6
Armitage had spent a large portion of today at the tavern. With her recent extended stay outside of civilization, Armitage thought it wise to spend some time in a bar. The idea was simple--a lot of people passed through building in a day. It was a literal spawning point of interesting characters and happenings. She casually drank drafts throughout the day. Not always one for drinking a whole lot, Armitage took today as a bit of an exception. It wasn't often she bought herself a pint but absence has made the heart grow fonder. As she was finishing one more glass, her eyes caught the back of someone's head at the bounty board. Something about him seemed familiar.
As she rose from her stool and crossed the bar, she realized someone had been talking to her. They yelled a playful obscenity at her as she left but, being slightly inebriated herself, she payed it no mind. Her armor clinked around her and she became suddenly aware of its weight. She wore her standard, heirloom armor. Spear attached to its rightful place on her back and around her shoulders fell her recently acquired animal pelt cloak. Made of a patchwork of wolf, fox and bear, it touched the floor and gave her a very natural look. Her hood was down and her hair was loose.
Upon closing the distance on the strangely familiar man, she realized some old crone was talking to him about something up on the board. Bits and pieces of it came to here ears and she tried her best to focus on the poster on the wall. Although not "plastered" she was currently experiencing what was colloquially referred to as a "buzz" and it was blurring her vision just enough to make it hard to read. She got a bit closer and focused on the spoken words. Someone was missing. Aww, how sad. Armitage mused playfully. A smile crept on her lips as she laughed a bit at herself. Her eyes fell onto the man's face as she examined his features, trying to determine why he was familiar. Hmm...he's kind of cute... Armitage shook her head. Focus!
"Hey!" Armitage nearly yelled at the man, after the older fellow waddled away. "Mighty nice of ya t'help that guy out like that." Nearly all refinement of speech went out the window, breaking way for a bit of a Lausian accent and slang in her voice. "I think I know you from somewhere? Armitage Apolithymius is the name!" She proclaimed loudly, pumping a fist into the air as she spoke her name. "Who're you?"
It would be clear to the man that she had been drinking. How long exactly? She wasn't even sure herself. Surely she started before any respectable person would consider it appropriate, but she hardly cared for that. Her attention waned momentarily as she considered grabbing another drink. A moment of clarity came upon her as a barmaid was making her way across the tavern and crossed right in front of Armitage. She slipped her finger into the handle of a schooner and gracefully slid it off the platter, without a hint of suspicion from the waitress. Clarity like a drunken master poured through her as she performed the maneuver, but quickly wore off as she let a mouthful of the mead into her throat. What was she doing again? Oh yea! This guy was familiar. She stared at him brazenly. She was waiting for a response from him, right?
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Jule
Thief
Anyone can be great.
Posts: 91
Affinity: Dark
OoC Alias: Zach
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Post by Jule on Aug 2, 2015 23:48:44 GMT -6
It seemed like most of her free time was spent in bars nowadays. Wouldn't Papa be proud.
From one job to the next, Jule found that she had wound up back in Lycia again. For however many border lines the map had drawn on it, not a one was visible enough to keep her from wandering around again. And the mapmaker the thief bought it from had the audacity to call her wares "the most accurate in the East". Pfft, as if. It had been believable back in the shop, but now a better fitting title was "not accurate in the Least".
Jule gobbled up the last of the scraps in her dish and drained the very last of her cider. At the very least, with her newfound funds there was never a day that went by where the transient ended up hungry before bed. Now that her belly was full, it was time to get to work. The girl decked in wolfhide went unnoticed among the murmurs of inngoers as she scooted her seat in and left for the bulletin board. Not that she was dining alone, mind you. None of the patrons seemed very interested in adding someone like Jule into their conversations, for some reason. Huh. Their loss.
Wait, where were the bulletins again? Jule scanned the walls, searched the faces of the others. A crowd of men were playing cards, tossing coins in a pile. One drunkard was hassling the barkeep about his empty mug. A waiter was making their rounds. Some redhead was having a ball with her friend. Jule scratched her head. She could've sworn it was right there when she first came in. There were just too goshdarn many tall people in the way - oh! Height. Riiiight. Jule pulled out a seat and scrambled on top of it, and lo and behold: right behind the pair standing in front of the wall. The swordswoman hopped down from her perch and shuffled past a dour-looking old man. He looked like he had places to be, anyway.
"'Scuse me," the girl blurted out. "Gotta just scooch right in there, don't mind me." Jule carefully tip-toed her way through the middle of the couple to get a closer look at her choices. "Hmmm..." Nothing particularly caught her interest. One mentioned monsters, but it was so old the ink was starting to fade. Eeugh, hopefully the owner just forgot to come get rid of it. Another mentioned guarding a caravan - though being a guard didn't sound too terribly fun, maybe it was best to mark the "caravan" part down in her head for later. And the last one...
"Haunted house," "missing person," "inquire within", among other less important things, had been scrawled on the page by a master calligraphist.
"Hey, you two," the thief popped her head around to look at the pair behind her. "Do you guys know what a 'hunted house' is supposed to be?" ...Did she read that right? Jule skimmed the paper again. 'Haunt-ed'. Ohh. Wait, haunted?! Like, spirits haunted?" Her eyes sparkled. She'd tangled with doogs before, but never a real live (un-live?) ghost! Talk about a once in a life-time opportunity. "Heck yeah, I wanna fight me a ghost." Still, who was the young woman supposed to "inquire within" to? Even the old fogey she'd passed earlier was sitting down and having a drink with others. Gaea knows, he looked like he needed one. "Hey, 'scuse me, just one last time, you two. I'm standin' here, and you're standin' here... are you the guys I'm supposed to talk to if I want to fight a g - " Jule coughed, and stood up straight. Hopefully the fur on her coat added to her "serious business" factor. "Ahem, I mean... I'm looking for the one that put the ad here concerning the place that's 'haunted'? Are you who I should talk to?"
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Post by Tiz on Aug 3, 2015 6:46:47 GMT -6
"Huh?"
Tiz wheeled around quickly at the sound of a glazed voice, and immediately his green eyes locked onto red-gold orbs that were glossed over with the effects of alcohol. His own green orbs quizzically looked the woman over very quickly before speaking, realizing that he had been complimented by a woman clad in full armor. How had he not noticed her before? A large, goofy smile swept across his lips in no time, flashing his teeth, and his face brightened at the introduction. There was no way she was in a place like this! Of course he had heard the stories.
"Well..." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, his smile unwavering. "He's probably had a bad couple of days. If I can make today better for him, I guess I... Wait a minute," Tiz stopped himself, leaning in towards the woman who was taller than most. That's right... Tall, attractive, fierce in appearance, red-gold eyes and red hair... Was it really her? Detachedly, he gave his name: "I'm Tiz, uh-- Tizato Ciel, actually, you can... call me Tiz..." His voice trailed off as he studied her, his wild, green eyes narrowing as he did so. "Armitage Apolithymius... Not The Enduring Apolithymius. That's not you, is it?" He tilted his head at an angle, trying to confirm or deny the woman's identity before she gave her answer. Of course he'd heard stories of her brilliant battle strategy, her fierce, warrior-like spirit, and her capability as a leader. He had, of course, also heard about her direct disloyalty to the League, as they had called it, when she ignored her orders in defense of Laus. Piecing apart that matter and picking a side was too much for Tiz, who had found Laus to be his own, and he'd had no quarrel in the matter, so the young man figured taking sides now was of no import whatsoever. But he was happy that a capable warrior had showed up. Perhaps he could lure her in... He smiled at her again.
"I've heard of you," He said playfully, "I don't know that we've ever formally met, so--" Just then, he was stopped as a pint-sized little girl pushed between them to approach the board with fervent confidence. A girl so young was interested in bounties? Really? That seemed strange to Tiz, but then she spoke, and he was stunned.
The haunted house. She wanted the same job he was on. Without so much as a moment's worth of hesitation, and in one fluid motion, Tiz threw his arm around Armitage and pulled her into him, into the crook of his shoulder. He shoved a thumb into his chest and smiled gleefully at the little girl. He could wrap this case up right here and right now, and this was as good a chance as any to rope Armitage in. He wanted to know her story, and this was as good a way to hear it as any. He was in a run of great luck, Tiz thought.
With a confident charisma in his voice, he spoke loudly, the smile still on his face. "That's right! We're your pair!" His teeth shone through his smile, happy like a child. "Well... uh... Actually it was the guy, but he left, and I... Anyway, yeah, it's US! Glad to have you. Got much experience with ghosts?" Without speaking, he was volunteering Armitage-- without her consent. He didn't think that it could end badly, so he shrugged it off.
He nudged Armitage as he held her, and he could smell the clear musk of alcohol on her person. He looked into the glass she had taken from the barkeep, still half-full with liquid, and wondered how good an idea this was. As excitable and ambitious as Tiz was, he wasn't always great with foresight...
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Post by Armitage Apolithymius on Aug 12, 2015 8:38:14 GMT -6
A spark shot through Armitage’s brain as her old nickname bounced around her head. The Enduring... She hadn’t heard that in awhile. It had come up a lot when she first started her mercenary career. Once she got out and away from Laus she realized she had “Big Fish in a Small Sea Syndrome” so she had partially cast the name out of her mind. Thinking back on it, it was hard to remember the origin; did it come from her resolve? Her stoic demeanor in battle? Or had it come from the way they saw her deal with grief?
It became suddenly apparently to Armitage just how long she had been blankly staring at the man. Her mind blazed with a strange, sterile, sober clarity as she thought over how to handle the namedrop. Others had used it to fight her. Some to fawn. Others to seek training. A strange phobia in the back of her mind told her to run. With a deep breath, Armitage downed the last of her flagon. Courage anew fled through her body as she slammed it down on the table behind her. For now, she would cast away her doubt and the small fears that poked at the back of her mind.
“THE ENDURING!” She unintentionally bellowed. “That’s ME alright! It’s good to meet you Tiz. I’m happy to see a familiar face, even if I’ve only seen you in passing before.” She realized just how sober she was sounding. To reassure herself she was proper toasty she punctuated her sentence with a burp. Whatever passed for “ladylike” decorum had gone out the window far earlier in her career.
It was then Armitage realized a little girl was talking. The voice had fallen below the range of what she normally paid attention to. Her ears were attuned to a life of listening for a commander’s voice. A life like hers left her with maternal instincts for horses and wyverns in a battlement, not children. Haunted? Ghost? What in the gods was she talking about? She looked to Tix with a face full of confusion only to find that he seemed to be agreeing with the girl! What in the world was going on around here.
Suddenly, a realization dawned on her. As Tiz pulled her in, his words went fuzzy to her and she focused on the board. It was just then, in that moment, that Armitage realized she was the only one of the bunch who had not read whatever bounty had been posted on the board. Her eyes searched, her vision hazy but intent frantic to find the post. Her eyes settled on the words haunted house. A proverbial “dundundun” reverberated through her mind. Suddenly, a desperate need for more alcohol flooded her body. At that moment she was sure; this is how she would die.
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Post by Tiz on Aug 31, 2015 14:41:21 GMT -6
As the woman's eager, excited voice permeated the air, Tiz felt his load lighten a bit-- at the very least, despite the ominous sound that this mission reigned down upon him, he would be in good company... Or so he assumed. In his mind, any soldier of Lycia was good company, and he had qualms with very few, especially since now Dak had been effectively dealt with. At present, it would be easy to focus on making a new friend in the same military he'd once served. And sure, he'd heard the name-- he was sure everyone had. For better or worse, here she was, presumably willing to help him out of this hole he'd found himself in. Could be fun, Tiz thought. After all, it had been a long time since he'd gotten to do something that seemed at the surface quite menial.
His arm resting on her shoulder, Tiz's beaming smile faded a bit as she expressed herself, then looked to the board."Good to meet you, too," he laughed, his green eyes blinking between the woman's red hair, the girl in front of him, and the board upon which he'd found his charge. Easy enough it would be to get things going with a group of two or three... Hopefully this wouldn't be as dangerous as some of the previous situations Tiz had found himself in of late. "Hah, yeah, I guess... It probably hasn't been many times that I've, uh," He watched carefully, saying nothing, as the woman finished her drink. He said nothing, but he had to stifle a laugh-- it was getting difficult to keep this situation serious at any level. "...Seen you. Anyway, I guess it makes sense. I was captain of the 1st Swordfaire Division, and most of my tasks wouldn't have been grouped with yours. And I... don't serve anymore. But always good to meet a wartime buddy, I guess." Her eyes were glazed over, but intrigued and excited all the same. Tiz finally let out a short laugh at let his arm fall down from around her shoulder to gently brush her back before resting at his sides. Sword at his waist, Tiz guessed he was ready.
"So." He said definitively, a bounce in his step as he perused the room. His eyes were bright, ready for adventure. "I guess we should head out. Can't say it's wise to keep a ghost waiting, after all. He winked at Armitage, stepping towards the door, holding it open in front of her. If she could even walk, he figured now would be the time to find out. If she couldn't... He'd have two jobs on his plate.
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