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Post by Talus on Sept 2, 2017 14:08:19 GMT -6
About a week or so later after his near-death experience, Talus had put up a request for traveling companions. Today was the first day since he had posted up that request, and Talus was eagerly waiting for people to show up. He had practiced what he was going to say in his head so many times already. Although knowing himself, he was going to more than likely deviate from his own script depending on what happened. He hoped to god this worked out well. He was hoping for at least one person, at most three others. That would make a nice start. Victor had told him once that most of the people that he'd meet on his journey that he'd become friends with would be from all over and from all walks of life, as evidenced from his own experiences. Victor's group had initially four people in it. Talus wanted to have that exact same number as he did. Soon as he had that, assuming there was any days left until his request expired, he would go out and take a small job nearby to see how well those people fared in actual combat. Sounded like a plan to him, anyways. Thus, he paced nervously around his room, waiting for a faithful knock. Would anyone answer? Time would tell. But if anyone did knock, Talus would be sure to answer it. From there, it was anyone's guess as to what would happen next. Maybe this would be one of those moments that changes one's life, or perhaps not. If Victor saw this, he would have been proud of his pupil taking that first step to becoming the kind of person he wanted to be.
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Post by Armitage Apolithymius on Sept 10, 2017 19:54:59 GMT -6
It had been more than a few days since Armitage’s arrival in Ilia and a war was waging against her restlessness. She had followed it, that bright light, all the way across Sacae and into Ilia. Why had she stopped chasing it? Well, she had simply stopped seeing it. For the first couple nights she thought she was crazy. Of course. A mix of her old wounds, dehydration, and stress induced hysteria and driven her literally crazy. But then, after a day or so, she cut herself some slack. Maybe it stopped showing up because this was where she was supposed to be. Maybe, just maybe, something or someone needed her help in Ilia.
She had traveled between the various cities and farms in the area looking for any signs of strife or danger. Maybe there was some bandit king that needed rooted out. Or maybe, perhaps suitably less grandiose, maybe there was just someone who needed a simple helping hand. Armitage wasn’t sure. And she had no idea how to be sure. She felt so certain while traveling across the plains. So full of hope and purpose. Those feelings weren’t necessarily gone now but she was starting to feel like she was missing out. The worst part being that she didn’t even know what it was she was missing out on!
Armitage rested her head in her hand. The other rested on a flagon of some sort of liquid that made her head and stomach feel warm. She had spent most of the day out in the weather and was resting by the fire for just a bit before heading out to do more patrolling. The common room of the inn she was staying in was plush and made up of thick wood. Gave the whole building a warm and welcoming feel. She, along with other travelers were resting in large chairs circling the fireplace at the far end of the room. Merchants, families, and sellswords it seemed all manner of person made their way through this town. The feeling was starting to return to her extremities.
With a push, Armitage rose from her chair. Pelts and furs fell around her shoulders and waist as she stood. Underneath was a patchwork of leather and armor. Her fur was layered in such a way to protect her from the elements but only impede movement by their weight. Her range of motion was unhindered. Leaving her cup on a table to be bused, she made her way to the door, waving a thankful hand to the keeper that was making rounds and making sure everyone was comfortable. As Armitage was making her way past the doorway another warrior was pushing his way in. A breeze from the open door sent a slight chill over the surface of her skin. She watched the wind also catch the paper on the notice board, blowing one loose. It didn’t fly wildly through the inn but instead floated languidly toward her feet. With equal measure amusement and incredulity, Armitage bent down to pick up the notice and pinned it back up to the wall, pausing only briefly to read it.
Traveling Mage seeks travel companions for journey to Nabata. Any treasures found will be split evenly amongst companions for pay. Qualifications: None needed. If interested, please ask for the inhabitant of room 9 of the Snowbound Inn for more details.
She spun those words over in her mind for far too long. Anyone watching her probably would have thought her stupid. Or maybe they saw her muttering to herself while trudging through the snow and figured she actually was crazy. She thought of the light that lead her here. This seemed so mundane. So simply. Is this really it? Determined not to be grounded by indecision, Armitage decided to meet the tenant of Room 9. At the very least it was sure to be more productive than wandering around the continent aimlessly. And maybe this way, she’d remember, at least a little, how to feel human again.
Making her way up the stairs, Armitage raised a sure hand and rapt on the door twice. Her fur hood was down and thankfully, though Armitage never kept much of a mind for keeping up appearances, her hair framed her face in a pleasant way. Her face was full of color, both from the weather and the drink she had, but she tried her best not to give off an aura of naïve optimism.
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Post by Talus on Sept 11, 2017 0:28:47 GMT -6
He answered the door, opening it. The mage, a full foot smaller than her, looked up at the taller woman before him. "Hi. My name's Talus El-Melloi. Are you here about the offer I posted up?" he said curiously. She had nice red hair, and looked fairly healthy as well. She would make nice help on his quest. He mentally checked the box for physical qualities. That was the easy part though. He had to get a grasp of how she thought. He didn't want to be associated with a maniac, after all. Although there was one other thought that passed through his head. "... not that I'm complaining, but what is it with me meeting older women lately?" he thought. That wasn't to say it was a bad thing. Hell, he was ecstatic on the inside to have someone that presumably came for the offer. But lately all the new people he met that were of importance to him lately were women older than him. First that dark mage Althea, now her. Come to think of it, even before that, Victor's younger sister had taken a liking to him (he saw her again in Bern for the arena). "Um, come in so that we can talk about the details of the request. Other people might show up as well too, so, um,I hope you don't mind."he said as he stepped inside to let her in. He also still had trouble talking to women. "Especially the pretty ones." he found himself thinking before mentally blushing and dispelling that thought from his mind. The inn room was small, but clean. A bag layer beside a bed that had been neatly made, and nearby was a table with some chairs, one of which had his cloak on it,which was where he would sit. There was a window as well by the bed that overlooked the street that he took a moment to look out of.
That was when he noticed his beloved stuffed ducks was still on the bed, and prayed she wouldn't notice it. The duck was well cared for by Talus, who had taken quite a few pains to keep it in pristine condition.
He took his seat at the table, and made a motion for her to sit. "So, um... tell me about yourself so I can get to know about you a bit. What's your name,for starters?" he asked her.
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Post by Armitage Apolithymius on Sept 11, 2017 14:23:08 GMT -6
As the boy opened the door, Armitage found herself perplexed. She was clearly in the right place based on his tone and greeting but seemed decidedly too young to be the right person. For a moment Armitage wrestled with her notions of stereotypes. Whenever she hears the word mage it usually denotes someone old and storied. Perhaps someone old and wise enough to tell her more information about the weapon she stumbled on in the woods that was now leading her by the nose on a wild goose chase. This was not the mage she was expecting. Or, if she was being completely honest with herself, hoping for. Still, Armitage was over being ruled by her indignation. Seizing the moment would have to do for now.
”Yea. I’m here about the notice. It kind of…fell into my hands? Figured I’d take it as a sign.”
Armitage suddenly found herself feeling a bit foolish. Saying things like that out loud. But she would have felt equally foolish lying or changing her story. Damned either way it seemed. A smile eased its way onto her face as she looked the boy over. He seemed so…so young. She never felt particularly old. Nor did she feel she looked her age either. Though this boy was challenging that perception. It had actually been quite some time since she stopped and took real stock of her age. She was already an older woman when she first started her journey and now? Well, suffice it to say she was probably looking a great deal older than she thought. The creases around her eyes and laugh lines of her face felt like they burned with age.
She pushed the worrying paranoia of judgment out of her mind. It had been awhile since she tried to maintain an honest to goodness conversation with another human but she wouldn’t let agoraphobia get in her way now. As Talus made his way into the room and welcomed Armitage in, she followed. His words and the way he motioned for her to sit made it clear they were going to be staying at least a bit longer. It wouldn’t do to be this bundled up. No sense in looking like a yeti if you’re going to meet new people. Unclasping at a few key points around her shoulders and waist, Armitage removed the large overcoat of furs that she had been cocooned inside. Her figure was noticeably more womanly now that she wasn’t buried under five layers. The furs fell on the chair behind her as she sat.
Armitage still wasn’t quite used to being so light yet. No longer entombed in her heirloom armor, her movement was a bit more free and light. Entombed. Interesting word choice. Is that how she had really thought of it? Since her armor had been mostly destroyed, she opted for a more utilitarian feel. She was looking decidedly more mercenary and less royal knight these days. A form fitting leather gambeson and reinforced pleated leggings served as under armor. Her upper and lower body was armored in pieces of thick leathers with some metallic plating. Legs in leather boots but hands and forearms still armored. Over her shoulder was the last piece of heirloom armor she possessed that wasn’t demolished. She barely felt worthy to wear it at all.
”My name is Armitage…” Normally this would be where she’d throw in her last name and nearly her entire family lineage. She didn’t feel like dealing with that baggage right now.
”I’m traveling across the country. Kind of like a vision quest…” Armitage wasn’t keen on lying, even by omission, but she was even less willing to seem crazy so immediately. ”See as many fights as I have and you need to do something to clear your mind. I’ve been trying to find myself for awhile now and it seems I just found…you.”
She directed the end of her sentence at Talus. Not with malice or venom but instead a tone more like genuine curiosity filled her voice. There were many questions she did not have the answers to. Did he? Armitage relaxed her body language; with the chair at an angle, she leaned back into the nook draping one arm over the back of the chair and resting the other on the table. Her long legs were crossed in front of her body. If the other person in the room didn’t look half her age the action would seem quite coquettish. She heaved the thought from her mind. Worry was awfully persistent. She tried to remain as relaxed as her posture. Her eyes met his.
”So Talus…give me some of the details on our journey. What makes you want to set out for adventure?” She was certain she didn’t sound patronizing. At least…87% certain, give or take.
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Post by Talus on Sept 11, 2017 22:26:39 GMT -6
"It did? Huh." he said, inwardly cursing himself for not securing it better. At best, maybe some other people had seen it before hand. At worst, it had flown to her before anyone else that might have taken him seriously. Oh well. At least there was one person who showed up. She was rather womanly now that he saw her as she removed the five layers of clothing she had on previously. Then again, he thought, so would almost any other woman wearing that much clothes on her. So her name was Armitage. He made a mental note of that as he listened to her story. As he listened, he felt something about the way she said it without malice or venom, but actually curiosity. It got him actually interested in her. She was quickly ticking all the boxes in his head. Also, the pose she then took though made him nearly consider that she was trying to hit on him, judging from the previous lines too. It took all his mental self-restraint not to express that thought out loud. "Actually, that might not be so bad. She does look kind of... no! Bad Talus! Bad! Now is not the time to get sappy!" he thought, once again mentally slapping himself.
Still, his mind drifted off somewhat for a bit, but before it got too far down the mental river in his head, she managed to get him back into reality with her question. "Huh? Um... i'm out to see the world. There's many, many fascinating things out there that one of my favorite mentors told me about that i'm eager to see. That, and i'm only young once. I figured I might as well have my adventure while I still can, y'know? To be honest, that, and, well.. i'd figure I meet myself some friends along the line." he said in a tone that had a mix of eager curiosity, yet a sort of self-reflective tone as well, a light blush creeping up his face, having to will himself to not break eye contact.
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Post by Armitage Apolithymius on Sept 14, 2017 18:55:52 GMT -6
Only young once…
Armitage couldn’t help but dwell on the words. Looking back on her past there were a lot of regrets. A lot of wasted time. If she had to relive it though she had no doubts a lot of it would have ended up the same way. All her life she had only reacted to what was happening around her. She could probably count on one hand every decision she made completely of her own volition. Did this even count as one? Or was this simply another reaction. Armitage shook her head. Introspecting had this way of just grating on her soul.
”Friends can be nice. It’s been a long time since I’ve considered someone a true friend. Think you can earn my friendship?”
Her tone was playful, trying desperately to infuse some brevity into her tone. She couldn’t help but get brought down a bit anytime aspects of friendship or trust were brought up. She had been burned badly by both. The saddest part was that it was never the people she trusted or counter as her friends that would let her down. It was simply life. Many friends had died. Many things she had trusted then taken for granted were destroyed or stolen. It was hard to hold on to anything, difficult to even want to rely on others, when you knew that eventually they would break your heart. Even if they were always true and dependable—that just made their future and eventual death all the more wrenching. Some might call her fatalistic. It wasn’t that she liked thinking that way; it was just true so often it was hard to ignore.
”So has anyone else stopped by and taken you up on your offer yet? Or is it just the two of us?” She struggled to get out of her own head.
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Argus
Knight
A young knight from Carrhae, currently in charge of the Order of Maltet.
Posts: 51
Profession: Mercenary
Affiliation: Order of Maltet
Affinity: Light
Profile: Argus
OoC Alias: Argus
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Post by Argus on Sept 16, 2017 1:17:06 GMT -6
Argus entered the Snowbound Inn. He had read the request for adventuring partners... Well... For anyone who knew Argus well, he could never quite say no to adventures. What could he say, he really just liked seeing the world and meeting people.... And killing things, but that only came up sometimes.... Most of the time it didn't... Er... His helmet had quite a few dents in it from his headbutts. He headed up to Room 9 to say hello and join up with the party. It would be nice to get some cash from this endevour as well. Argus needed the money, what with weapon repairs, his home, his armor needing even more repairs than his weapons... Least to say he had quite a few bills to pay, and Argus didn't like the thought of going to prison as a debtor.
Argus walked up the wooden steps, and towards the room, his footsteps hearable on the carpeted floor as he moved as quietly as he could in his armor... For courtesy's sake.
He finally reached the room, and knocked on the door, before saying. "Hello? I'm here to apply for the adventure!" Argus said, the excitement practically smell able from the way he spoke those words, those words sounded like they came from someone ready to set out, and be a hero... Or... At least beat some bandits or something. One can't always do really cool things after all, but... Argus cut off his rant and decided to simply stay quiet until either the door opened, or he was turned away.
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Post by Talus on Sept 16, 2017 18:28:33 GMT -6
The playful tone of her voice really began to make him wonder even more if she was trying to hit on him. The wording she used didn't help either. Of course, he did his best to force such thoughts from his head mentally. After all, he had been raised to treat women nicely, at least. At her next questions, he was about to answer no and yes to them when he heard another knock on the door. He smiled. "I think the answer to those questions are about to be Yes and No." he said as he opened up the door to find a rather sizable knight outside. "Alright! Perfect timing! Come in, and have a seat, meet the other person that came too. Introduce yourselves to each other. The name's Talus El-Melloi, by the way." he said as he stepped aside to let the knight in.
Good, good. This was getting better and better. Now he had a chance to observe how well the two got along. Worse came to worse, he'd have to drop both of them, but he was hoping that at the very least, he'd have to choose one or the other if they disagreed. Mainly, though, he was hoping that the result was they'd all get along nicely. He sat back down on his table and watched them. Once the knight sat down, he'd ask him: "Alright. First off, what's your name?" he said, having a much easier time talking to a fellow man than a woman in this case. Also, it helped to alleviate his worries that this could potentially wind up... wind up... "Nooooo! Must! Think! Pure! Thoughts!" he thought, mentally banging his head on a wall.
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Post by Armitage Apolithymius on Sept 24, 2017 14:42:43 GMT -6
Armitage made note of armored footsteps in the hallway as she made polite conversation with Talus. He wasn’t reacting which meant he either didn’t notice them or wasn’t concerned about being attacked. Attacked? What was she thinking about? Military habits die hard but had it really been so long since she was in a “normal” situation and could just sit at ease? She suppressed the urge to reach for her spear. Admittedly part of that was because she wasn’t even carrying a spear since her last broke and she had no desire to look foolish. When she heard the voice announce its purpose outside she was able to truly relax. Talus jumped to open the door. He really is excited about this isn’t he?
Her mind flitted through the faces of the people she had met on her journey. Every relationship was brief. Every interaction fleeting. Had they all left her? Or had she left them? If she really thought about it, which she often tried not to, it was actually very hard to think of the last person she would consider a real friend. Her eyes lingered on Talus’s face. He seemed trustworthy enough. And earnest in that hasn’t-quite-seen-too-much-ugly-in-the-world-yet sort of way. It was endearing. Armitage hoped it was also infectious. She had always considered herself a slightly cynical person, even in her earliest years, but that cynicism was starting to turn bitter. She had already seen glimpses of the type of person that bitterness could turn her in to. It was not a future she wanted for herself.
Standing as the new partner entered the room, Armitage found herself throwing her fist over to her shoulder in a sort of lazy salute/greeting to the new member of their entourage. Old military habits really did die hard. Looking him over, he seemed a tad bit heartier than Talus. Perhaps it was just the armor giving that impression however. His armor looked well-kept and cohesive. A tinge of regret flashed in the pan of her mind. She did her best to stop it from showing on her face. Both from his tone and the look on his face he seemed excited. Hopeful. Armitage let her own hope swell within her. She thought of her younger self. She thought of the mysterious glowing weapon that lead her here. Had that been why? Maybe to learn a bit of hope from these young adventurers? All she could do for now was trust. A warm smile crested her face.
”Welcome. My name is Armitage."
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Argus
Knight
A young knight from Carrhae, currently in charge of the Order of Maltet.
Posts: 51
Profession: Mercenary
Affiliation: Order of Maltet
Affinity: Light
Profile: Argus
OoC Alias: Argus
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Post by Argus on Sept 27, 2017 10:42:11 GMT -6
Argus smiled at the two of them, and looked over at Armitage, and gave her a small wave in response to her salute. He looked around for someplace to sit, carefully sitting in a chair. "Anyway, my name is Argus! And I'm from Carrhae... I'm fully trained and... Oh, yeah, it's nice to meet you!" He said as his smiled widened. "Anyway, I assume that you..." He pointed at Talus. "Are the individual responsible for the ad?" He then pointed at Armitage. "And you are also joining up with him. Wonderful! Always good to have a good group of people with you while you travel!" He said, laughing quite a bit, before he acted as if he'd forgotten to do something... And he had. He went over to the corner, and set his shield and Lance in the corner. "There we go! Nice and out of the way. Anyway, anything I need to know?" (Yo sorry this is so small I just need to pump this out atm
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Argus
Knight
A young knight from Carrhae, currently in charge of the Order of Maltet.
Posts: 51
Profession: Mercenary
Affiliation: Order of Maltet
Affinity: Light
Profile: Argus
OoC Alias: Argus
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Post by Argus on Oct 31, 2017 20:02:11 GMT -6
((hello? Guys?
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