Order of Execution

[Rayl Torien]

Rayl waved a hand to the others as the guards left and followed them down towards the aforementioned in, reading the sign as he and his men went to tie down their horses. Once inside, the trio of blue clad knights made their way through tables and chairs to the group in the dark corner, though Rayl dismissed his men to go about their ways of relaxing and all that-namely alcohol.

With this, the holy knight turned about and leaned against the wall as Jya began talking, albeit he remained quiet. Why? because he felt the same way when he got out of training in Laus those years back and quite frankly: it was awkward to look back on with hindsight. Then that young priest began speaking up, and he found himself smiling slightly. The boy was right, violence was sometimes necessary to stop far more worse amounts of violence, and regardless one could make amends...with this the knight removed his helmet to wipe his brow but soon found himself transfixed on it, and his reflection upon it's surface. He had changed, hadn't he?

"He's right Jya, you did a good thing considering what you knew. You shouldn't feel bad about it...though you shouldn't feel excited about it either...now then, I don't believe I've introduced myself: I am Sir Rayl, Knight Commander and Ambassador of Pherae...and I THINK we've met before, young man." he made a motion towards Valorian, there was just SOMETHING about that young man...

[Valorian]

Valorian listened to Rayl, since the young boy didn't seem to have anything truly world shattering to say. He wanted to laugh inwardly, all these people had to go on was his word that she hadn't just murdered an innocent priest. It seemed insane...but this Knight seemed like he knew her. And anyone who knew Jya well would know that she wasn't evil...a bit morally bent, but not evil. Most of her violence was when she was forced into it.

"Sir Rayl." Valorian said, thinking back. Come to think of it, hadn't that group he'd run into in Laus been part of his division...what was their name again? "Your division, they are called the Golden Lance unless I miss my guess." He said. "I do believe I ran into your men in Laus, but I don't think we have...ever...met..." The sentence drifted off as he looked up at Rayl with a smile. Now that he had his helmet off, he did look familiar. He never recalled meeting him, but something about that face seemed familiar...and not at the same time. The general shape of it, the key features, that was what seemed familiar. The posture, the expression...those were all very different. Perhaps he knew him in the past...?

In the past?

Valorian became very quiet, looking down at the bottle of alcohol. As it swirled around the glass bottle, he couldn't help but think it reminded him of waves...waves crashing along a dockside...

And the bottle fell from his grasp, crashing onto the ground. It drew some attention to them, but the patrons quickly returned to their drinks. Valorian looked down at the broken glass, the noise snapping himself out of his stupor. "Ah...sorry. You can call me Valorian. I am...a Bishop of Saint Elmine." He explained.

[Jya]

Jya was surprised when Valorian stopped her and said what she did wasn't bad. It somehow did allow her to feel slightly more relieved and perhaps better for what she did. Yet it still felt a bit awkward, the new demands of being an assassin is truly taking a tole on her. Even Mr. Food Man seemed to agree or was it Rayl? Although he was food man, he hasn't paid her such foods.

When Calvin came in with his statement, she freaked out a bit. Valorian dropping his drink didn't help calm her nerves at all. It caused her to jump on top of her chair out of fright.

"I'm no hero, I can't be a hero," Jya stated towards Calvin. It was not possible for her to be anything beyond a survivalist. The idea of her saving others just didn't seem right. What can a girl like her do anyways?

[Isabel]

After re-arriving at the Blue Heron, these new people had sat down and started talking amongst themselves, with the priest ordering alcohol of some sort. Isabel, despite her dislike of priests and church and all that, found it a little odd that a holy man would be drinking... But it wasn't her place to judge. Not right now. Isabel had gotten caught up in a discussion about traveling with Andersmith for a few minutes, but quickly managed to finish the conversation and run over to the table with the others. She sat next to Jya, and quick enough to hear that last comment. Hmm... Time for sage words from a prodigy., Isabel thought with a small grin that didn't quite make it to her lips. "Jya, anyone can be a hero. Those people who become heroes are those who try to do good with what they have been given."

Isabel smiled at Jya. "Despite not knowing you for even a whole day yet, you seem like a good person and one who could do good despite their lot in life." There, I hope that helps..., the blue-haired pupil thought. It certainly sounded nice. At least it did to me.

[Valorian]

Valorian listened to Jya's reaction, he chuckled. "Hero is just a word. A word given to people they respect and look up to." He regained his composure long enough to look at Jya. "You should feel proud that people find inspiration in you."

His thoughts drifted back to the reason he came there...and what had been happening. "I guess I should explain a thing or two." He said, lowering his voice. "I had reason to believe that priest was a Eturian spy aiming to destabilize the region. From what I gathered...he was going to give something very valuable to the Bern rebels. Something that would give them some kind of a leg up on pushing the Ilian's out, though I am not sure what it was. When I confronted the priest about it, he responded with hostility. If Jya hadn't appeared when she did...well I'd prefer to not think on it."

He paused for a moment, and then looked back at Jya and Rayl. "I'm not sure what the item is, or even where it is, but I do know where the drop off was to take place. Apparently there is an old fort a few days north of here, I believe it was the old hideout of a rather infamous group of bandits. The scroll the priest had directed to that location. Problem is, the Bernese Regulars know of that now as well. They may be moving to intercept it as we speak... I'm not sure what is going to happen there, but I very much doubt it will be pleasant."

[Calvin Toros]

Rayl and Valorian politely introduced themselves to one another. Calvin had finally learned the name of the kind man he had met earlier, aswell as the priest he had met most recently. He wasn’t sure what it was, but something about them made them seem... as if they were important. Calvin didn't let him bother him, he was more concerned about Jya as she freaked out and even jumped on top of her chair. Calvin wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, so assuming this was just something people did, he just chuckled and hopped up on his chair aswell, which was probably grabbing a little bit of attention… Even though he misunderstood the reasoning behind jumping on the chair, he had still learned something new as Isabel gave a more in-depth description about a hero. Calvin just looked to Jya and smiled innocently.

Calvin slid back down onto his chair into a sitting position. He didn’t know anything about anywhere so all this talk was just mumbo jumbo to him. He knew Bern was a place just like Sacae, but that's all he knew. Although the conversation sounded important so he listened none the less. The moment he heard the word "bandits" his ears seemed to perk. He didn't know much, but he knew exactly what they were. His parents particularly warned him about them before he left. He knew they were dangerous and that he should stay clear of them, however Calvin left on this journey to learn, he wanted to experience as much as possible, no matter the danger. This thought overpowered the warning from his parents, and he just saw it as another experience he had to have during his travels.

bandits... I must see them!

“Are we going to do something about this?”

[Isabel]

Isabel smiled a little at the priest's words. She always had had a feeling that priests and bishops were nothing more than a bunch of old, horrible coots. And here was proof! Although it did come from another one of those religious fanatics... The blue-haired girl rapped her right hand's fingers on the table, and then looked at the priest with a gaze that could have broken rocks and withered plants. "You are an oddity." she remarked, and then thought about what he had said about bandits and rebels and an old fort and some mysterious item of power. What else could it be? It had to be magical, and magical items did tend to be powerful.

"So when do you think we'll head out and see what this thing is?" she aske the priest barely a moment after calling him an oddity, hoping to leave no doubt in anyone's mind that she wouldn't stand to be left behind.

[Jya]

Jya was still a little on edge as she cautiously got down from her chair. Seeing Calvin copying her made it seem silly and not due to reflexes. With all this excitement her heart was still pounding. She simply set herself down and took deep long breaths... It almost seemed as though she was heaving. Before long she let out a series of coughs. Better not let anyone worry though.

"I want to help, let's do this!" she said, her coughs separating each word. It wasn't one of her attacks though but the whole thing was as tiring as ever.

[Valorian]

Valorian looked at Izzy as she spoke, and chuckled.

"An oddity eh? I suppose I've been called worse things, but you are pretty spot on." He let that one sit, no need to explain too much. When she and Calvin made their comments as if they were going, his face soured instantly.

"You are aware...we are possibly going into a war zone with two highly trained armies, or worse. You." He said to Izzy. "You're as green as can be, and you don't look like you've been out of your house for more then a week." He addressed the latter part to Calvin. "If I took you with us, you'd just get yourselves killed. Or even worse, used as a hostage against the others."

He was sounding cold, and he knew it, but he didn't want to risk people with no combat experience in this mess. He'd rather not involve Jya, but he knew that she could take care of herself.

"At any rate, I intend to find out what this object is, and attempt to recover it before the trade can take place." He looked to Jya as she started coughing. "That sounds better then it did before, but I'm still worried about it. Anyway, if you are ready we'd best head off before the regulars get too much of a lead on us." He looked to the others at the table. "I appreciate the help, really I do, but you should move on and not concern yourself with this. It'd just be for the best."

[Isabel]

Isabel up at the priest's words. He had just challenged her pride! Geez... She folded her arms, and then made her response. "I can handle myself in a fight, so long as I don't get too close to any action! And if they did take me hostage, they'd release me within five minutes. I'd talk their ears off! And if they blind and gagged me... Well, for shame! I'm sure Mr. Knight here wouldn't be too happy with that." Isabel said with a slight smile. "Look, I don't care how hard you try to keep us away, me and Calvin are coming, and that is final."

[Calvin Toros]

Everyone was trying to get in on the bandit job, which made Calvin that much more excited. First Isabel and then even Jya! There was no way Calvin would be left behind now. Calvin still had much to learn about people and social interaction etc… He didn’t know how to take a hint, or when someone was being cold or passive aggressive and so on… However he did get some sort of odd feeling from Valorian’s tone and facial expression. After a short while, it became clear to Calvin. Valorian didn’t want them to go! A frown creeped its way onto Calvin’s face but he did feel somewhat relieved that Valorian appreciated their offer. Perhaps he was just doing this for their safety? Calvin couldn’t fight and Isabel was just learning. Unfortunately that was more of a reason to compel them. After passing up the opportunity with Tirion and the others, there was no way the pair would be left out of this. Calvin’s frown was replaced with a joyful smile as Isabel spoke. That was the Isabel he knew, for some reason he felt he hadn’t seen her in quite some time. He looked over to Isabel and grinned anxiously as she seemed to be rubbing off a little on Calvin. His journeys with Isabel had certainly taught him something… whether it was a good lesson or not was another story.

“Yea! I’m not going to let anyone hurt anyone, especially not my friends!.”

He leaned over to Isabel and whispered quietly. It was probably too quiet for anyone else to hear.

“We’re going to follow them anyway, right?”

[Isabel]

"Naturally. But that's just if this religious-minded guy doesn't see reason." Isabel whispered back with a slight smile. The boy caught on quick! Good thing too, otherwise Isabel might have had to drop him off somewhere so he could fend for himself. And I think we both know how that would end, Isabel thought, and then returned her attention to Valorian.

[Jya]

"My sickness is much better than before, so don't worry about it!" Jya said her coughs finally subsiding. She wiped off a little bit of blood that had gotten on the table as quickly as she could. Valorian would probably reject her if he saw it anyways. As far as she was concerned no one should worry about a girl like her. If there was one thing that she could boast it would be her will to survive. That was perhaps her only redeeming factor...

"Besides you'll need a thief like me!" she exclaimed, slamming her lockpicks onto the table.

Although she had mroe work concerning killing people more than stealing to survive, her sticky fingers never went away. She still had lockpicks available at all times. They remained relatively in good shape and always within her grasp when she need them.

[Valorian]

Valorian sighed at the insistence of the kids. That felt odd...they were all around the same age...

"Fine. But when a fight breaks out you two stay out of the way. I have a hard enough time with my own opponents." He did spy the blood on the table, but remained quiet. Jya may have been sick, but she hated feeling useless more then any sickness. He smiled at her statement.

"Careful how loud you are about that. It's not a very safe profession to be bragging about." He added with a chuckle. "Anyway, if we are going to head to the fort, we'd best be on our way shortly. If you have anything you need to get from town, you should do it now."

He stalled for a moment, clearly thinking on something that made his face become serious. "I imagine there will be a good deal of danger there, so you should probably make sure you have whatever you need." He stood up, and looked towards the door.

"I need to find something myself. I'll meet you north of town when you're done." He said, moving to leave.

[Tara]

OoC: ahh, sorry I haven't posted, I'm so busyyyy

Tara had followed Isabel to meet with the newcomers. With a young priest, a feminine-looking mage, and a rather attractive paladin, they were a strange group. She remembered her Luth, and how he had trained rigorously until, and even after, he held the rank of paladin. Gone now, Like Bryan because of her foolishness. She sat back in her chair and tried not to look too miserable. She held up her hand when the conversation turned to another battle and said, "I am no warrior, but I cannot stand idle when children head into harm's way. Even if I can only be good for taking an arrow in place of Isabel or Valorian, I will come."