Strangers in the Crowd :: Stavehorn

Kane entered the streets without a single thought or disposition, attitude or purpose, care or meaning. He simply wanted to take a walk. Of course, he knew that walks generally ended up in a quest of some sort, as there was always some poor soul who needed a break from the damnable upperclass citizens. Kane never passed up the opportunity to put them in their place, and more than one government official has sung a different tune when a sliver shortsword tickled his voice box. Kane didn't care, and he didn't mind... he was sick of these society-choked lands.

He passed a noisy shopkeeper.

"Ah! My dear Lukkan friend, here, look at my wares! Fine coats to suit your everyday needs in your cold and icy cities to the north. Feel the coats, feel them sir! Are they not spectacular, are they not worthy of such a fine buyer?" called out the shopkeeper.

Kane turned towards the keeper in disgust and replied in his rasping voice,

"Do I look like I'm cold? I have a fur coat you fool, and it doesn't come off!"

The shopkeeper turned red as he realized his foolish mistake. With one last attempt to sell his product, he struck up the mechant's ace of spades:

"Please good sir, my children starve, and my wife has many beds... my family is poor and this is all I can do to scrape together a living! Won't you buy a coat... for the children?"

Kane's disposition remained sour as he asked the merchant in anger,

"Then tell me, sir, why have you not sold your golden broach?"

The merchant looked down at his valuable necklass, and fumbled with it, finally stuffing it down his shirt. As he looked up to find his disgruntled customer, he was dismayed to find he was gone.


Kane grumbled to himself as he weaved in and out of the crowds. He hoped he wouldnt have any more trouble... until he saw the strange fellow in the crowd. A circle had formed in the crowd, and two citizens were fighting it out. As one of them fell to his feet, Kane decided to investigate...

Mauyass had walked for days, away from her own beloved city and through the lands, day and night untill she reached Stavehorn. The lukka walked slowly through the streets, indulging herself now and again to look at something a merchant offered, but only if it interested her.

She would never buy anything, have only enough money at one time to feed and clothe herself, but she revelled in eyeing the pretty garments, raising the stallkeepers hopes, and then dashing then again as she walked away with no purchase.
Merchant calls almost deafened her as she walked on, the dust off the walk to Staveholm clinging to her pale grey fur, giving her the appearance of a weary, mile-worn traveller, that attracted many of the sad sacks trying to sell their wares, spying her for a tourist.

''Please miss, theese onyx earrings would look beautiful on a lukka such as yourself with a fair texture, and theese bracelets with such a pretty design would only enhance the desgins of those lovely tattoo's.'' An old female... something sat in a corner of a street, trying to pedal off her wares and catching sight of the newcomer, hoved in slyly, grinning through rotten teeth.

As a reply Maus just lifted up an arm, flattening back her black spines of 'hair' to reveal her ears, already peirced with onyx.
''Nah, not interested.'' She said a little coldly- all theese people were kind of starting to annoy her. Once, twice, even five times was okay, she liked merchants. But when the whole damn city and its mother charged at you trying to sell its wares, it was time to start smashing a few faces.

She wandered aronud for a while more, trying to find a place to stay that was'nt ridiculously overpriced, underkept, or a brothel. No such luck so far.
It was then the fight attracted her.
Coming out of a side street she saw the crowd, and had to investigate, her curiousity egging her on.

''Whats going on?'' She squeezed into the back rows, trying to get a good view. Stepping on a few toes with clawed feet did'nt hinder the process either.
The man beside her- some eastren creature in a innkeepers outfit pointed it out.
''A fight.'' He said in a gowled monotone.

''Oh.... right. Thanks for the help.''

It seemed like the average day in Staveholm. The rebuilding effort was making progress as per usual. Proteus was just out in the marketplace looking for supplies. As normal, he had his robe and hair glowing, his glasses shining, and just giving a general air of superiority as he walked through the crowd. His hair was tied in the back with his jeweled loop. He made a concerted effort to not run into people, but if they got in his way, oh well.

Proteus maneuvered through the crowd easily enough. He had become something of an icon, or so he thought, after the brilliant defense of the city those years back during the war. He had also provided a lot of help in the reconstruction effort. Right now, he was on a task which he was assured no one else but he could perform. He was out buying nails and braces for building the next house. He had been given a small purse of coins with which to buy a fair amount of nails and braces. As for carrying them back to the reconstruction area....He was still working that kink out of his plan.

He made it to the blacksmith rather easily. Nothing had happened, despite his assistant telling him that the job would be terribly hard. Proteus expected the worst when bartering with the blacksmith. Looking in disdain at the dirty environment around him, he called for the blacksmith.

"Sir, I require nails and braces for the construction effort, and I am prepared to pay top dollar!" Proteus shouted from the edge of the canopy.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on. I know you're from the reconstruction effort; I have your order right here," the blacksmith said, dropping what he was doing and heading toward the back room. Proteus waited patiently, or as patiently as he could. The man re-emerged carrying a heavy sack of clanging metal the Truan assumed was the order. "You have the payment that we agreed upon?"

Proteus brought out the bag of money and traded satchels with the blacksmith. "Pleasure doing business with you," Proteus said, a little perplexed as to why his mission was so easy. Pondering this, he grabbed the end of the sack and tried to pull it. It wouldn't budge. He tried again and heard a small chuckle from behind him. Casting a quick glare in the blacksmith's direction, he brought out an Earth card. "Terra Momentum," he said wearily and the earth began to move under the sack, shifting it along. Now he new what his assistant meant; the bag was heavy to move, making getting back difficult. In a slump of sorts, Proteus began the journey back to the construction site, the bag moving foward with him.

He did not get far though. Lost in his thoughts, his bag bumped into someone, knocking them to the ground. "Hey!" the Minore shouted in a husky voice as the bag moved around him after flooring him. "Hey! I'm talking to you, Truan!" The Minore started to run to catch up with his assailant. "Hey!" he shouted, knocking Proteus to the ground.

"Hey!" Proteus shouted in response. "What do you think you're doing?" Before Proteus had a chance to get back on his feet, the Minore leapt on Proteus and began hit him. Proteus tried to fight back, but to no avail. Finally, he gave up physically resisting, sheathed the Earth card, and brought out a Wind card. "Aero Balisti!" he shouted with thunderous force. A giant gust of wind ruffled through the street they were brawling in. The Minore was swept off his feet, up into the air, and landed in a heap a few feet away. Getting up brushing himself off, he redrew an Earth card and recast the moving enchantment. "Do not think I will be beaten so easily, Minore." Proteus said, walking off into the crowd that had gathered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a Lukkan running from the crowd towards him. The Truan turned around and asked, "Yes, may I help you?" with a certain condescending tone.

(Well I may as well post)

Mauyass pushed her way through the crowds, leading to some indignant shouts and pained yelped from the creatures she shoved out of the way to get there. A fire Nympanid chatters, slying around her head in annoyance after she batted it out of the way, but the Lukka ignored the little fire spirit, her eyes set on one thing.

That raw power- the Minore jsut got lifted off its opponent and slammed into the ground.Its raw power was beautiful an enchanting, at best. Maus did'nt know what she was going to do when she got to the Truan but did'nt really care, she just wanted to find out how he did that.
That could destroy or help build civellisations! Funny I've never seen one before. She thought, shoving through the front line of the crowd with an apologetic 'sorry'.

Maybe its just me being a tourist, but why would a normal guy carrying a heavy sack around weild something like that?
Maus had always been curious- even as a child it had alwaysgotten her in trouble for asking questions she did'nt need to know the answers to, but her thirst for knowledge fuelled this curiousity.
As for that power- she had heard once a tavern owner, a shapeshifting Yirditchi mumble on about the power to move sky and earth.
But the old man was drunk, so Maus never really paid any attention, a fact which she cursed now.

She walked up to the Truan, softly and from a distance lest he decided to deck her with the same power he used against the sad sack of a Minore who just had his own dignity handed to him.

''Hey.'' She called in that slightly raspy soft voice of hers, walking cautiously up behind the Truan. ''That- that was amazing.'' She pointed back at the Minore and the dispersing crowds.

''If you dont mind me asking, how did you do that?''