Amongst the Flames — IC

[Namelessjake]

Sunlight streams into the dimly light room, through a small window by the ceiling. In the place of glass there are two wooden bars, letting the sounds of the street outside inside. Voices can be heard, the occasional shout, the bustle of a bazaar. The room itself is sparse, a few ancient looking wall hangings, frayed at the ends, a couple of tables with some books and candles well near the end of their life, and six beds. In the beds lie three humans, two women and a man, an orc and an elf. All of them bandaged in some form or another and wearing just simple linen clothes.

The occupants of the beds begin to rise to the morning sun and the noise of the outside world. As they begin to become more aware of their surroundings, a man appears in the doorway. He's a fairly large man, wearing an assortment of silks and a turban. "Ah you are awake." He says, not moving from the doorway. "I was beginning to think you might not wake up at all." He continues, still stood in the doorway. "I'm sure you all have many questions. Take as long as you need, you were all heavily wounded. I'll answer what I can."

[ratwizard]

Shira'stasa slowly sits up in her bed, too pained to do any more movement in a hurry. Her wounds seemed moderate, but not critical. Hoping she had access to decent supplies, she could be feeling better in a short while. However, right now the woman felt ghastly.

The scholar briefly looks around at the other strangers but the dim lighting and the throbbing in her head leaves her little patience to study their faces. She cocks her head to inspect the man at the door wearing silks and a turban. The belly and fine silks tag this man as having wealth, so it seems. I wonder what sort of trouble I've found myself in.

With his introduction, many questions rush through her mind in a matter of seconds, but she begins with the most logical. Knowledge of her situation was key, and the other injured people are likely as bewildered as her right now. "Sir," she says, clearing her throat. "Who are you and where are we?"

[Namelessjake]

"Welcome to Nhai." The man says in response to Shira, moving from the door and into the room. The light from the window falls briefly across his face. He looks to be in his forties or so and has a long, styled, black beard. "My name is Sarab El'kidd. I'm a merchant. Spices mostly, some silks." He continues, before pausing for more questions.

[Fialova]

"Is this a hospital?" Cleo asks, as she sits up and eyes the surroundings. So many wounded would suggest it was, but the girl had never been inside a hospital before. And a merchant would not likely be greeting them in a hospital. Probably not.

Before the man can respond, she has a realization and perks up. Nhai! Even closer to the capital! Getting attacked was not something she expected, but at least being incapacitated made some of her trip go by faster. It is at this point that it really clicks in Cleo's head that she does not really know any of the people with her. "And who are all of you?" she says to the others.

[Namelessjake]

"This is my warehouse." Sarab responses. "And these are your fellow survivors." He adds. "One of my caravans picked you up on the road from Azkahir. You five were the only ones left alive." It is becoming clear this man is making a point of not revealing too much all at once, however it remains unclear if this is deliberate or just how he is.

[ratwizard]

Shira'stasa stays quiet at the man's introduction and the little girl's question. Nhai. So we made it in one piece. She turns to look at the others, now, her sight strengthening as her eyes adjust to the room. Perhaps they had been with her on the road, but she does not know. Their faces do not seem to recall any specific memories.

She decides not to answer the young one's question, in fear of letting her status be known before understanding the situation. The Great Library no doubt would pay for her ransom, but she might lose candidacy of Elder Tenant for the trouble. No, they cannot know just yet. She keeps her mouth shut, her eyes flickering between the others, waiting to see who speaks first.

[Scratcherclaw]

Cameryn rises from his resting place and stretches his arms outward to loosen his stiff body. He pauses for a moment and looks down at his wrists. No shackles or chains. Am I free? I guess those attackers weren't hired by Akbal, that scum. Looking around, he examines the others present in the roof, while trying his best to listen to the conversation occurring. Nhai, huh. Well, at least it's far from Akbal and the rest of the rubbish of the Tenants. Cretins... Worthless cretins, all of them!

He turns to face the particularly tiny girl, partially surprised that he could hear anything coming from the petite woman. Nevertheless, he answers her question. "I'm Cameryn. And who might you be, little Missy?"

[Fialova]

"What did you call me?!" Cleo shouts back to Cameryn, her face now red with anger. "I should smash your face in, you know!" She turns to face the man who insulted her and instantly notices his light hair and pointed ears. "You stupid elf!" she adds, before turning to face the merchant.

"Are we free to leave? I don't want to be around him anymore," she says to Sarab. Her eyes narrow at the man as she waits for his answer. She shifts in her seat, ready to make a run for it if he says no, but after moving she realizes that is probably not the best idea. Ow.

[ratwizard]

Her temper... I remember this one. She must have been a student in one of my lectures, Shira'stasa thinks as she hears the vaguely familiar tone of the young girl's threats. Still, she prefers to stay unnoticed until she has completely surveyed the scene. It takes much of her willpower to not chastise the girl at her intolerant tone toward the elf, but she keeps quiet.

Shira looks expectantly at the other two survivors, interested in hearing them speak.

[Namelessjake]

"I'm afraid not... Cleo." Sarab says turning to face Cleo. "You see money is valuable, yes, but there's one thing I value more. Favours. The way I see it, if it weren't for me you'd all be dead. In that respect, you owe me a favour." The man pauses for a moment. "From the possessions you all had left on you, you come across as people I can use, especially in these dangerous times. This needs to find it's way to one of my associates in Thesus." He says, pulling out a sealed scroll from within his silk robes. "Use my name around the bazaar and I'm sure you'll find him."

[PureZaros]

Eoli slowly came to, opening his eyes to stare at a field of murky brown. As his eyes focused, he began to see more detail and realized that there was a roof over his head. Turning slightly he surveyed the rest of the room, taking in the other bedridden people and the man blocking the doorway. He shifted more, attempting to sit up before weakly falling back onto the bed with a grunt. Closing his eyes again, he feels the bandages wrapped around his chest and head.

With a gasp, Eoli remembers flashes of the short-lived battle in the desert, though he would hardly describe it a battle. He remembered the men and women falling around him, even as he tried to protect them. "No, not again, not again, please not again..." he unknowingly mutters, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Rolling over, he curls into a ball and his mutterings are reduced to a whisper.

[kalis5]

From one of the corners, a man with his eyes shut sits in bed. He sits there for a few moments, the fingers of his right hand twitching slightly ever few moments, as if reaching for something before he opens his eyes, golden in the dim light. He stands and walks up to the man, taking the scroll from his hand and slipping it into his shirt, looking behind him at the door.
"I'll take it. Just don't go thinking I'm one to give favors out often. You helped me, I'll help you. Then we're even. That's the deal, right?"
He crosses his arms in front of the man. From what the others can see, he was bandaged pretty heavily, and must be in a lot of pain, though from the skin that can be seen, he has many scars across his body, and is obviously not one unused to fighting.

[Fialova]

"And what's to keep us from bashing your face in and just leaving, hm?" the young Tenant responds, still in a bad mood. "The are five of us and only one of you, and I bet I could take you all by myself."

She looks around the room, it finally occurring to the girl that she is not wearing her own clothing, and that the rest of her items are missing as well. "Oh yeah, and where is my stuff?" She shifts once more, and the effect is the same as before. Ugh, if only I wasn't so injured...

[Namelessjake]

"That's the deal." Sarab says, nodding once as Geral takes the scroll from him. "I am a powerful man, doing so would not be without consequences." He replies to Cleo, without turning to look at her. "Your things, or what hadn't be looted by your attackers at least, are in the next room." He adds, walking through the doorway and into what appears to be a storage room.

[Scratcherclaw]

Cameryn glances over at the orc man mumbling to himself, and he laughs silently. I thought orcs were all supposed to be tough and brutal slavers, not whimpering children. He turns his focus back to Cleo and is amused by seeing her miniature figure next to Sarab's much larger one. He listens to her threats to the man and snickers. She seems to think she can just smash everyone's face in. Feisty little thing... He snickers at the girl. "Yr wyf yn amau ​​y gallech hyd yn oed yn cyrraedd ei wyneb i dorri ei ynddo A fyddech yn hoffi i mi i gael cam-stôl chi?" he mumbles in Elven. After a moment, he takes notice of the woman who has hardly spoken yet. "Hey lady, cat got your tongue?" he says to Shira.

Elven Translation

[SHOW]

I doubt you could even reach his face to smash it in. Would you like me to get you a step-stool?

[Fialova]

"If you're talking to me, you should speak in a real language," Cleo responds to Cameryn. She is not in quite as bad of a mood as she had been, though mostly because she can't tell what he is saying. The elf still bugs her, though. She was never a big fan of elves, they always smelled strangely and wore ragged clothing. Ugh, if only they would take baths, she thinks as she catches a whiff of Cameryn.

Turning back to Sarab, she continues, "so that guy says he will take your thing with you, which means the rest of us can go, right? I am kinda busy, and Thesus is out of my way." Once more she shifts in her seat, and though it hurts still she is more used to the sting by now. Just let me out of this place, ugh!

[ratwizard]

Shira'stasa squints as the elf mumbles in Elvish. She could recognize the language, but was never able to study it, as their kind had been relatively recent arrivals to Voreld. She snaps to as the elf prods her verbally. "Perhaps, Cameryn," she says, her face giving away nothing. They've no need for my identity, but it is likely that the merchant knows. If he knows the girl's name - Cleo! That was it. - then it is likely he went through my belongings as well and saw my travel papers.

"The girl speaks logically," she says, her voice louder now, as she addresses the merchant. "If our volunteer here would deliver this message for you, must we all accompany him?" Heading toward Thesus would no doubt bring her away from the chaos of Azkahir and its recent revolution, but further from assuring her mother's safety. If only she would have left with me... she thinks, regretful of her mother's obstinance to stay.

[Namelessjake]

"As I said these are dangerous times, and from my point of view you all owe me a favour. In that case you should all accompany him." Says Sarab. "If you all help deliver my message I will consider the debt paid and if you ever find yourself in Nhai again I'll be willing to offer more work if you need it. You should probably leave soon in that case, as nice as they are you don't really have time to view the water gardens."

[Fialova]

"Fine, whatever," Cleo sighs, realizing that she was not going to win this argument. I can just ditch the group outside the city and head for Crescent Bluff anyway. She doubts anyone is particularly excited about delivering some random guy's scroll to some other random guy, especially seeing how there is no payment involved. "Sooo.... when do we get our things and head out?"

[ratwizard]

"Now, I presume," Shira says decidely, as she carefully stands up from the bed. Lightheaded, nauseous, and aching, she manages to get her bearings and breeze through the threshold into the storage room. Noticing an open chest with her belongings, she marches over and begins feeling through, seeing what was stolen and what remains. "After we deliver this message, we're even, right?" she asks, over her shoulder. I wonder if that orc will live. His wounds didn't seem too severe but he still hasn't moved. Perhaps he's sensitive.

[Namelessjake]

"I will then consider us even, yes. There'll even be the offer of more work if you want it. If you prove yourself to be so, I can use capable people." Sarabs says to Shira, leaning back against a stacked pile of rugs. "Also don't go thinking you can just go on your own way once you leave the city. I'll know." He adds, eyeing Cleo in particular.

[Fialova]

'I'll know,' blah blah, what a spoil sport. Cleo stands from her bed finally, and though the pain stings it is at least bearable. She follows Shira into the room and gathers up her belongings as well. She faces the wall as she disrobes and trades the rags she had been in for her own Tenant robes - don't need those men eyeballing me.

When finished, the girl turns back around and is shocked to see that Shira is wearing Tenant robes as well, though not in the same style as her own. I know her! The realization is sudden, but she's sure she is right. "You're uh..." she begins, racking her brain for the name. "Uh... Tn. Shira'stasa, right? I had your class on Am-ines!" No longer in such a bad mood, Cleo seems delighted to meet her old instructor again. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

[ratwizard]

Shira'stasa's eyes go wide as the young girl recognizes her in her Tenant robes. "Yes, Cleo. You were one of my best students," she says in quick recovery, offering a gentle smile to the feisty girl. "Strange times have caused us to meet once again, so it seems." She had figured the girl would recognize her, but she now worries of the merchant's reaction.

The tenant retrieves her tome, dusting it off with care and ensuring none of her pages were torn or missing from the mis-care. I was quite worried I had lost this... she thinks, holding the thick tome close to her with sentimental comfort. All my notes, teachings, everything.

[kalis5]

As the others talk amongst themselves, Geral puts on his clothing once more, making sure everything is strapped on tightly before drawing his blade, running his fingers along the flat side of the blade to feel it for scratches and any new marks. Most of his equipment was taken, but he didn't have much with him anyway.
"I'd like to leave as soon as possible if you don't mind."
With that he walks to the doorway and leans against the side of it, looking out, posing as an obstacle to give the group some privacy.

[Scratcherclaw]

Cameryn gets up from his bed and begins walking toward the storage room. As he is in the doorway, he hears the petite girl mention of tenants. "Tenants? You're tenants? I should have figured with you've been acting. Especially you, Cleo, or whatever your name is, you ychydig o ast. You tenants are nothing but oppressive historians that only care about knowing useless stuff instead of helping other people. I've felt the cracks on a tenant's whips and they are cruel and unforgiving. Worthless and evil, the lot of you. In his anger, Cameryn unknowingly begins ranting in his native tongue, as was common in the past. "Ni allaf gredu bod bellach yn rhaid i mi deithio gyda criw o denantiaid. Yr oeddwn yn disgwyl rhyddid i fod yn llawer brafiach ac heb eu llenwi gyda'r un llysnafedd fel Akbal. 'N annhymerus' bet chi hyd yn oed yn gwybod amdano ac yn ei berchnogaeth o gaethweision ac nid oedd yn gwneud beth yn ei gylch. Puteiniaid warthus..."

Elven Translation

[SHOW]

"Especially you, Cleo, or whatever your name is, you little bitch."

In his anger, Cameryn unknowingly begins ranting in his native tongue, as was common in the past. "I can't believe that now I have to travel with a bunch of tenants. I was expecting freedom to be a lot nicer and not filled with the same scum as Akbal. I'll bet you even knew of him and his ownership of slaves and didn't do a thing about it. Despicable wenches..."

[PureZaros]

Eoli continues lying on his side for a few minutes, willing the images out of his head. After gathering his thoughts and recomposing himself, he rolls over, groaning as his bandages tug at his wounds. Eoli had been listening to the conversation in the room, so he knew where his gear, or what was left of it, lay. Gritting his teeth as he pulled a tunic over his head, tweaking various injuries in the process, the orc listened to the elf standing nearby insult the two tenants, getting more irritated with the foul mouthed brat the more he heard. Really now, is that behaviour entirely necessary?

Attempting to ignore the antagonistic behavior, Eoli quickly scoops up his other things, mouthing a silent thanks to Gan-holtra for keeping his amulet safe. Tucking the necklace under his tunic, he begins wrapping himself in his worn leathers before finally grabbing the gnarled branch he uses as a walking stick. Eventually, he gets fed up with the elf and walks to stand over him.

Waiting until he has the elf's full attention, Eoli softly speaks to him, just loud enough for the others in the room to hear. "Mae'n eithaf anghwrtais I siarad yn y ffordd honno I rywun, yn enwedig pan nad ydynt yn gallu deall chi." Taking a few steps towards the door, he casts another look at the elf. "One's occupation does not define one's character." Turning to face the turbaned man now, he warily leans on his staff.

"Can we just get on with this?"

Elven Translation

[SHOW]

"It's quite rude to speak that way to someone, especially when they cannot understand you."

[Namelessjake]

"By all means, it's about 4 or 5 days walk to Thesus, the sooner you leave the sooner you'll get there which is good for me." Sarab says to Eoli. "I hope we'll be able to work together again." He adds as he show the group to the building's exit.

[Scratcherclaw]

Cameryn is slightly shocked that the quiet and whimpering orc knows his language, but he grows angrier at the orc's remarks, as well as the orc's knowledge of his language. "Pwy yw, pwy yw, pwy yw, sut y mae'r uffern ydych chi'n gwybod fy iaith? A phwy y uffern ydych chi beth bynnag? Dim ond baban yn crio a mynd ar goll oddi wrth ei fam? Ni allwch ddweud wrthyf beth i'w wneud. Dydych chi ddim yn gwybod yr hyn yr wyf wedi bod trwyddo. Nid oes unrhyw un yn ei wneud. A oes unrhyw un hyd yn oed yn gofalu. Felly peidiwch â mynd yn dweud wrthyf beth i'w wneud cyn i chi hyd yn oed yn gwybod beth am fy ngorffennol. O, a beth arall. Pan fyddaf yn mynd yn wallgof, yr wyf, yr wyf yn dechrau siarad yn Elven heb hyd yn oed wybod hynny. 'I jyst yn digwydd. Yn awr, os gwelwch yn dda yn gwneud ffafr i mi ac yn anghofio fy iaith, rydych baedd." He leers at Eoli, breathing heavily, his pale face flushed with the redness of anger.

Elven Translation

[SHOW]

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, how the hell do you know my language? And who the hell are you anyway? Just a crying baby who got lost from his mother? You can't tell me what to do. You don't know what I've been through. No one does. And no one even cares. So don't go telling me what to do before you even know a thing about my past. Oh, and another thing. When I get mad, which I am, I start speaking in Elven without even knowing it. It just happens. Now, please do me a favor and forget my language, you boar."

[ratwizard]

Tenant Shira'stasa frowns at the elf's accusatory outburst, feeling disgust and anger for the stereotypical hatred he has for her kind. Everything in me wants to fire back rageful words at him, but this is not appropriate for a Tenant. No, he must know that we are a gentle and caring people. Besides, he mentioned lashing. It's probable that he's been enslaved and is likely to have a biased viewpoint.

After Cameryn's cursing and angry words have been spit, she speaks up. "It's a shame that you rely on first impressions so much to stereotype an entire group of people. Whichever Tenant laid his or her hands on you was surely out of line, and I can assure you that such behavior goes against much that we practice. Should you tell me his name, I will report him to our council. The Great Northern Library tolerates little in the realm of torture and slavery." She stares at the boy as he grows angrier still. What a tortured soul. This must be how he chooses to express his adversity.

She speaks again, her voice more chastising this time. She clutches her tome tighter, bothered and frustrated by the elf's words. "It is also disappointing that you would choose to propagate such prejudism. It was similar racial hatred that brought many orc foes to label the original elvish immigrants as outcasts. Perhaps this mindset is all you know. Perhaps not. But know that I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my company, Cameryn. If you cannot rethink your attitude, keep your hatred to yourself and do not let it between your interactions with others."

She stops speaking, realizing her strained grip on her tome. Her hand slowly ceases to quiver as she grows calm again.

[Fialova]

"Why you..." Cleo begins to say, before her old instructor gives the elf boy a tongue lashing likely as brutal as any physical one he had received before. She had been about to fire back with her own insults, about how the boy was just a stupid elf, how it is just like an elf to be so hateful, but Shira's words calm her a bit and make the girl realize that she should heed the advise as well.

Still angry, but not quite enough to hit him, Cleo approaches Cameryn. With squinted eyes and a lowered voice she says, "Insult me again and I will burn you," just loud enough for him to hear. With this she follows Sarab towards the exit, barely able to contain her temper. Just breathe, he's just an elf, don't let him get to you.

[kalis5]

Geral stands at the door, listening to the group bicker and shout at each other, slowly starting to furrow his brow. Again and again they shout at one another, and he can feel the scroll Sarab gave him weighing against his chest in his clothes. More shouting in various languages, more arguing and bickering and... After a while, he decides that he's had enough, shouting out shortly after Cleo finishes her threat.
"ENOUGH."
He moves off the wall and stands in front of the group, glaring at each and every single one of them.
"I don't care where you came from, I don't care what race you are, I don't care what RANK you are, we haven't even left the building and already you're arguing like a group of school children! I understand each of you is upset about something the other one said, but it's not been five minutes and already, I'm tired of it! Either you will ALL make up and SHUT UP, or I'll bind you all together at the ankles, and make you walk to Thesus like that!

"So what's it going to be? Are we all going to play nice, or am I going to have to force the lot of you to do so? If you think the trek to Thesus will be easy, you're damned wrong, let me tell you that now, and don't think I'll be holding all of your hands the whole way there. I'm not in the mood to hear you all screech in my ear all day long, so either we'll walk in peaceful conversation, or dead silence. Do I make myself clear?"
He glares at the group for a few more moments, waiting for a response. He did not expect any of this when he woke up, and he definitely does not want to deal with this the whole way to Thesus, especially not if there's bandits on the way.

[Fialova]

"You know," says Cleo, a genuine smirk (not her usual expression, mind you) sneaking across her face, "if you tie us all together then you'd be all on your own if we got attacked. Not a very smart plan, mister 'do what I say' man." It is hard for her to place it, but his annoyed outburst - the fact that he is annoyed at everyone - calmed her down some. With this she continues to follow Sarab ahead of the others, eager to get outside and smell the fresh air once more.

[PureZaros]

At the elf's comment about his mother, Eoli stops and looks back, his brow furrowing. As soon as Cameryn stops talking Eoli's hand lashes out, the tip of his staff passing within an inch of Cameryn's face. "Who are you to speak of history, when you don't even know that of the ones you speak so harshly to." he says, searching the elf's expression. "The next comment about my family will cost you your nose."

Nodding to the man who had just lectured the group as a whole, Eoli turns and follows Sarab to the exit.

[Scratcherclaw]

Cameryn listens to Shira with anger on his brow and face. She doesn't make him angrier, though, as the orc's words did. Instead, some of it is replaced by guilt and a dash of sadness. He ignores Cleo's threats, his mind preoccupied by Shira's words. Just as he's about to respond to her, Geral starts screaming at them. With the new man's shouting, Cameryn is taken back a bit, but after a few moments, he begins snickering at the man's rage. Something about the man's annoyance was humorous to him. As Cleo speaks, he has to control himself lest he burst out laughing. Cameryn scoffs at Eoli's threat, but laughs a bit. My nose? That's his threat? Wow. Cameryn quickly gathers his things from the chest and begins walking toward Sarab and the others, having forgotten what he was going to say to Shira, or what she had even said in the first place for the most part. "Perhaps we could stop by the bazaar and buy you some earplugs," he says as he passes Geral.

[Namelessjake]

With the 'introductions' complete, the group leaves Sarab's building and heads out into the city. Nhai is known for the water gardens that are grown using the water from the nearby lakes, as a result vegetation is everywhere, however there is little time to enjoy the sights, rare for the desert region, as the party quickly makes its' way through the bazaar and towards the west gate of the city, out onto the road towards Thesus.

[Fialova]

Cleo stays silent for the early part of her walk, giving herself time to cool off after all the heated discussion in Sarab's house. Despite the man's warnings, she is still seriously considering ditching the group and continuing her trip to Crescent Bluff. That no good old man. I hope his friend ignores his stupid message.

After the group is far enough away from Nhai - far enough that anyone following or spying on them would be easy to spot - Cleo runs up to the man who had yelled at everyone back in the warehouse, the man who agreed to this job without any questions. "So you aren't curious at all about this scroll, huh?" She looks up at the man, a twinkle in her eyes. "Well I am," she continues, before the man can respond, and snatches the scroll from his person. Cleo takes a seat on the ground and starts looking the scroll over carefully. I wonder what it says. Maybe I'll take a look.

[Namelessjake]

Cleo

[SHOW]

The scroll appears to be fairly ordinary. It is about 8 inches long and is sealed with red wax with Sarab's initials imprinted into it. The scroll is rolled too tight to be able to make out any words by looking down the ends.

[kalis5]

Geral rolls his eyes as the woman starts examining the scroll, moving past her and, in one smooth motion, from many years of having trained with swords, takes the scroll from her hand and brings it up, bopping her on the forehead. He spins it once across his fingertips before sliding it into his clothes, turning to look at her with a smirk on his face.
"I can live without knowing. I'm more concerned about who else wants this scroll. You know, cutthroats looking to earn a few extra gold cutting the throats of messengers and leaving their bodies for the vultures, the kind that can pick their targets out in a crowd. You know the kind."
He rests his hand on his sword at the thought, however, wondering if there are any groups that are looking for some silly scroll. He dismisses the thought though.

[Fialova]

Cleo becomes frustrated as the yet-unnamed man snatches the scroll back from her before she can open and read it. The frustration turns to anger when he hits her in the head with it. "Hey... whatever your name is... I was going to read that!" she shouts as he shoves it in his shirt once more.

At the mention of cutthroats, she looks him up and down, and then the orc, before replying, "You two look like you could beat up some bandits, we will be fine. Besides, I am not as helpless as I look. Hit me on the head again and you will find out." She glares for a moment at the odd man before turning her focus back on the path ahead.

[kalis5]

Geral shrugs at Cleo's frustration.
"Tell that to the last group of bandits we faced. I don't remember that fight going very well, do you?"
He shifts the scroll a bit more in his clothes, trying to be careful with it.
"Besides, the thing's sealed anyway. If you want to know what it says so bad, just wait until we deliver it and you'll find out. In the mean time, why don't we reintroduce ourselves so you don't have to call me 'whatever your name is' all the time? It's Geral, if you were wondering."

[Scratcherclaw]

Cameryn snickers at the notion of Cleo taking on Geral. She's got quite some fight in her. Scrappy little one she is. At the mention of reintroductions, Cameryn rolls his eyes. I would hope they still know my name after what went down back there. Despite this, he complies, to make sure they know his name and they don't forget it. "Cameryn, as you probably already knew. Oh, I'm an escaped slave too, so you've got a fugitive on your hands, sugnwyr gwael. Poor suckers."

Elven Translation

[SHOW]

"poor suckers"
Even though it's repeated right after, I wanted to make sure it was clear.

[PureZaros]

Eoli chuckles at the antics between the two youngsters. "Come now, lets keep moving. Surely introductions can be made while we walk. There's still some distance to go, and we are in the desert," he says, beginning to walk in the direction the group had been heading. Responding to the man, Geral he had called himself, Eoli introduces himself. "I am Eoli. Cameryn, you need not say the same thing twice."

[Fialova]

"I'm Cleo," says Cleo, not really intent on saying more at the moment. The thought of hitting both Cameryn and Geral still runs through her head, and her thoughts drift to arson a bit as well. Overall it has been a heated - both literally and figuratively - day so far, and she would rather just not talk to anyone for a bit.

[ratwizard]

Shira'stasa keeps quiet after Geral's shouting for silence. Insulted, she returns to studying her companions. Geral is quick to anger, so it seems. Not a man of patience. As she watches the orc snap and threaten to remove the elf's nose, she scoffs under her breath. The orc seems to be easy to goad into action. Although I do favor him more than the warrior or the elf, who is quite a bedsore. She studies the young woman as well. Cleo has a fiery temper as well, but I do not distrust her. I would do well to stick with her on this forced errand.

She continues walking with the group. I worry that we will quarrel amongst ourselves to a grisly end before we can even finish this task. She begins thinking of a plan for the worst-case scenario, should it emerge. She is deep in thought before snapping out of at Eoli's words.

"I am Tenant Shira'stasa, Scholar of the Divine, of the Prehistory, and of Death," she says, her tone giving away no emotion.

[Namelessjake]

The day drags on as the group make their way along the road, the initial tensions leading to little conversation along the way. A sand storm can been seen, far off to the north, but the wind keeps it moving away from the ragged band of travellers. The road is quiet for most of the day, only a few merchants and travellers passing the party. As the sun begins to get lower in the sky, two buildings, surrounding a well, can be seen amongst some rocks a bit further down the road. A possible place to stay and rest during the cold night of the desert.

[Fialova]

Ooh! An inn! The day had been exhausting, and Cleo was ready to sleep, perhaps even take a nice bath first if by some luck this place had a spring nearby. "We should stop here, it's getting dark," she says, stating the obvious. "Come on, stop dragging your feet!"

The girl excitedly moves to the head of the group as the approach, eager to get inside as quickly as possible. Some nice food and a bed would be great, but even just poor food would be a welcome change from the travel rations that she had been munching on all day. "We should sleep in tomorrow. That old guy didn't give us a deadline to be in Thesus by, so I say we take it slow and leisurely."

[Scratcherclaw]

"I'm up for that. It'd be nice to sleep in a bed for once rather than on a cold stone floor like my damned master made me." A scowl paints Cameryn's face as he thinks of his former master. "Bastard deserves to burn for what he's done to me. Deserves to rot in Lis-beht's belly for eternity... Not wishing to get angry and cause another argument, he takes a few deep breaths to calm himself. "Alright, let's get a move on. I'd like to get inside before sunrise, you sloths." Anxious to enjoy a real bed again, Cameryn dashes ahead of the group and waits at the door impatiently. "C'mon, you slow lot! Tortoises move faster!"

[ratwizard]

Hurried along by the elf, Shira'stasa hastens her steps, feeling the aching soreness from her healing wounds. The day's walk had been rough on her. I could use a rest to rejuvenate my spirits. This is quite the miserable lot, she thinks to herself.

"To stay at an inn requires that we have a bit of coin on our persons. Make sure what you had wasn't stolen by the bandits on the roads. It wouldn't be very agreeable to have to sleep outside."

She reaches into her pack, ensuring she had enough to pay for a night at the inn.

[kalis5]

Geral reaches to his side and pulls out 10 gold.
"This should do the trick... Alright, guess we can stop for the day. We're still a bit wounded as well, so a day of rest isn't a bad idea... So long as that is an Inn I mean. Could just be a hut for animals for all we know."
Despite the Elf's taunts, he keeps a good, calm pace. Best not to run at an Inn when you're with a party of armed men and women. They might think you're raiding them.

[Namelessjake]

The group's discussion must have been fairly loud as the door of the closest building flies open, revealing a man wearing a cloak, common for those who spend most of their time inland, covering him head to toe. "It's 3 gold a night." He says, pulling down a mask like part of his cloak and revealing his face before speaking. "There's beds in the other building and I'll bring through some food in a bit. Don't be put off by the price. We don't get too many passers by since the war and those that do don't have much. Myself included if you're with those bandits prowling around Nhai." He adds with a hint of bitterness. "So, you want a bed or not?" He asks impaitiently.