It Begins

[Tearus]

Tearus was having a real problem. He seemed to be unable to stop coughing. Mor-cough, Morty obviously, then Kade and Mortin. The Balrogs of Morty? What a strange name. Tearus slid toward
Morty, "Tearus, Tearus Martell. I'm from Laus, I was in a band of thieves, and have a small knowledge in lock-picking, shadow-walking, diversion tactics, sleight of hand, scavenging, and pick-pocketing. At your service."

Tearus made sure to position himself in between the pink haired lad and the captive bandit.

[Morgoth Animus]

Morgoth watched and listened as the two introduced themselves. Yes, this is shaping up nicely, he thought. At long last, it begins. What path will we take, where will time take us?

"Good, just what we could use," Morgoth said. We can use the Sakura's hatred of bandits to help, but I have to keep him in line. But then again I can barely keep the others in line. And Tearus vaguely reminds me of someone I've met before, the type of person who brings trouble and disaster every time they turn.

"Alright, now that that is settled, what have you got Mortin?" Morgoth questioned the hulking man as he swung to face him. "Anything useful?"

"There is a rendvous point for the various groups," Mortin said, trying to look stern and serious, typical sage information giving. "It's not too far off from here, a good half day direction. But it's the opposite direction the villagers are going. And there will be a lot of them."

Hmmm..... Morgoth thought, looking downward with his hand on his chin. Infiltration would be good, but with so many of them.... that could pose a problem, especially if the kid loses it. But this could be our chance.

"Sakura, can you put your hatred aside for the sake of a mission?" Morgoth asked, a grin beginning to form on his face. Lets see. Kade and Mortin could pose as bandits. I could.... be a captive, and Sakura could be.... a recruit! But what of Tearus.... AH! "And Tearus, would you mind being in the bag again?"

[Sakura]

Morgoth question amused Sakura. In his mind killing bandits was not the first thing that came to his mind. That spot was reserved for the Pegasus, but from their earlier conversation it might seem like it to the other members. This was a mistake Sakura needed to clear up immediately.

"Of course Mr. Morgoth" spoke Sakura making sure to show proper respect. "It is true I hate bandits more than the next guy, but I don't let it rule over me. I am not a monster who goes around hunting them for pleasure. I simply show them no mercy once we cross paths."

After finishing speaking Sakura took a slight moment to glance at the bandit tied up. He truly wanted to see the bandit dead, but the group did not. He decided to place the will of the group over his hatred of bandits.

[Tearus]

Tearus noticed that Sakura said Morty's name wrong. It was probably due to Tearus' coughing while the dark garbed gentleman had said it. The blue haired thief didn't want to embarrass the man, so he wouldn't mention it. Then he was asked if he'd be willing to hide in the potato sack again. Well, not particularly, but if he had to. He undid his Asi from his belt.

He looked at the men. He wasn't much good at fighting, but he cared about his blade. An lancer wasn't going to hold his sword, just no. An axeman, was iffy but probably not. Sakura... No. He'd not give his blade to a man who'd kill in cold blood. It would also leave him unprotected with to much trust in the other man. So all that was left was Morty. He flipped the sword, extending it Hilt first, saying, "There you go Morty, no use for it in the sack, am I right?"

[Sakura]

He is relinquishing his weapon though Sakura. He found it questionable that a man would give up his weapon so easily. Especially when they are about to go into a den of bandits.

"I think you should keep that" spoke Sakura. "You hid it well enough when you were in the sack. I don't recommend not having your weapon. When things start to get bloody you are going to need to defend yourself."

[Morgoth Animus]

"It's just Morgoth," Morgoth told to the two. What have I gotten myself into? he thought, trying not to roll his eyes. At least Sakura isn't as simple minded as I had thought. I know I was back then. Tearus handed him a sword. Morgoth was surprised, he had never really touched a weapon before.

"Uhh, yes," Morgoth said, taking the sword. He wasn't sure what to do with it, so he slung it over his back. Now he looked exactly like a sacaen swordsman, which made him feel odd. "Ok, so here is the plan." He took a deep breath.

"I will pose as a captive," Morgoth began. He looked at Mortin and Kade. "You two will pose as guards. Sakura, you will be a new recruit joining the bandits. Tearus, you'll be in the bag and Mortin will have you over his shoulder. We're just going to go and gather intel, and see what happens from there.

"Tearus, you are the secret weapon. You are going to need to keep still for quite a while. Can you do that? If we get into trouble it'll be up to you to do something." Morgoth took a breath. Lets see. What will we do once we get there? "Mortin, are there anymore specifics you can give us? What exactly is this meeting?"

[Sakura]

Sakura began to ponder on the plan. It seemed alright, but he did not have enough information. His time with the merchant enlighten him a bit. Knowing the terrain was half the fight. From the information he was given he could not tell what the bandits had. However this was not important for him at the moment. He had a job and that was to play as a new recruit.

A new recruit thought Sakura. What kind of person would want to join a group of bandits. Sakura knew his image of a bandit was to harsh. Members of a group of bandits were not completely monsters. If he acted like one he would be denied entry. This was not a simple task as it seemed. Sakura would have to place himself into the shoes of a man with low enough moral values to join a group of bandits that attacked innocent people.

Sakura mind began to flood with images of bandits he saw on his journey. He began to recall their actions and their mannerisms. If he wanted to succeed in his task he would have to play the part.

"Acting" spoke Sakura out loud despite he meant it for himself. "I would never have thought I would have to act."

[Tearus]

Tearus nodded, secret weapon, he liked that. Then Sakura said something that caught his interest. "Acting! All you have to do is clear your mind of who you are, and think only of being something else. I'm sure you'll do just fine." He'd space out for all of what Morty had said but the words "secret weapon", and wasn't sure what was left for him to do.

He slowly walked back to the sack, and undid his cloak. He stuffed it in, and checked his pockets. Yup, he still had the little pick he'd taken the day before the guild was taken, good he thought he might need it. He turned, "Not too tight please, Morty?" He slowly climbed into his prison of choice. I hope it's as tight as can be. There you are. Where was I going to go?

[Sakura]

Upon hearing Tearus comment Sakura lowered his head in a attempt to hide his facial expression. He was ashamed of his habit of talking to himself out loud. Even worse so someone else had heard him do so. Most of the time he was by himself.

None the lesser Sakura meditated on Tearus's words. He began to place a character in his mind. A young man with a hard background. One who sees strength and force the answer to all questions. He began to form the soul of that man. A man who would kill without thought. He turned his hatred for bandits to that of authority. After creating this image he implanted it into his own soul.

"Alright lets go split some skulls" spoke Sakura in a cold tone. "Weakness is a sin, and these rabble are sinners. We shall purge them of their sin with our blades and purify their souls with their own blood." Sakura was now in character. Turning himself into a man who's aim is to join a group of bandits.

[Morgoth Animus]

Morgoth just stared in shock. Wha- he shook his head, trying to disovle the confused look on his face. "You guys do realize we'll be traveling most of the day, right? You don't have to get in the bag now, Tearus, and you don't really need to be in character quite yet..." He put his head in his hands again. This is gonna kill me long before battle.

"Alright, go ahead and get ready while i talk to the vilagers," Morgoth told them. He turned and headed over to the villagers.

"Well," Kade said with an evil grin, "Acting! Yes boys, this will be fun indeed." He ran off to where the dead bandits were and returned with several articles of clothing. "Arg!" He said, an eye patch over his left eye. He threw a torn jacket on. "Heh."

"How should I-" Mortin began, but Kade was suddenly there, throwing stuff at him. There was a flurry of movement, and then Kade stood by Mortin. His beard was all ruffled up and he had a jacket on that was too small. The leather he wore was frayed at the edges and worn.

"Ta-da," Kade said. He turned hungrily toward Sakura.

[Sakura]

It took Sakura a second to come back to normal. He had placed the soul of the character within himself. The moment he returned to his normal state he felt a great force of embarrassment. He had made a fool of himself.

Sakura noticed Kade running off to were the bandits were. He saw Kade take the clothing of the dead and place an eye patch on. "Oh I see" spoke Sakura. He stopped and placed his clothing sack on the ground and pulled out a brown cloak he used during his journey to Ilia.

"Brigands are not the only people who join bandit gangs" spoke Sakura to himself out loud. He pulled his brown cloak out the bag and placed it over himself. He wore it like a thief. His black Sacaen shirt was now covered by a brown cloak. still for Sakura this was not enough.

"Not good enough" spoke Sakura out loud. "If I am going to fool anybody I am going to have to change my hair as well." With that Sakura pulled out a black peace of cloth out of his bag. The moment Sakura pulled it out his mind wondered back to his mother. She had made this cloth for him five days before he left.

"Don't worry mother I will become strong" spoke Sakura as he folded the cloth hot-dog style. He then placed the folded cloth gently on the ground as he moved to fix his hair. He then ruffled his hair breaking up the style he had before. He then placed his folded cloth around his forehead and wore it like a bandanna. Now he had his ruffled hair leaning over his newly formed bandanna.

"Perfection" spoke Sakura as he finished his thief disguise. He was proud of his work. After finishing he looked up to see Kade staring at him. The last time someone had stared at him so he was robbed. Still he knew Kade was not the type, or he thought he was not the type. "Is something on my face" asked Sakura in a attempt to discern the meaning behind Kade hungry expression.

Attachments:

[Sakura]

Before Kade could answer Sakura question. The young novice heard a familiar voice coming from the crowd.

"What a dark skinned pink hair boy" shouted the voice. "That is the person I am looking for. Were is this young man?"

There was no mistaking it. The husky voice he heard from the crowd could be no one other than old man Priam.

"Impossible" spoke Sakura out loud as he turned toward the crowd. Despite the many people making up the mob he could still see old Priam green armor. The old man had followed him here. There was no mistaking it.

"I have to go" spoke the young Sakura as he began to walk backwards. The very thought of the Priam's wrath made him shake as if he seen a ghost.

"Sakura" spoke Kade, but that was all he could get out of his mouth before the young novice took off. Sakura began to sprint off at full speed. The mission, the bandit, and even the very reason he wanted to join Morgoth's group did not matter to him anymore. Young Sakura ran at full speed till he disappeared from view. Leaving old man Priam searching an crowd of villagers with no Sakura in sight.

[Morgoth Animus]

Morgoth walked back to the group. Good, he thought, the villager's will be safe. He honestly didn't care, he would have done what he wanted anyways. But a part of him told him that he should care. Now, to the mission! He looked at the group and realized someone was missing.

"Where's Sakura?" Morgoth asked, trying to keep his voice level. This boy is becoming even more annoying than Kade.

"He... disapeared?" Kade hesitantly said. "Some dude showed up and he ran off."

Morogth sighed. I swear.... "Well, I'm sure we'll find more people. Mortin, grab Tearus and lets go." He turned, and they were off.

end thread