The wyverns continued their patrol, one could be seen looking at the group as it passed by, it glance but continued on it's patrol route. It seemed like there would be no problems yet. Tekun gave a sigh of relief. It meant that no one recognized him, that meant no combat. He smiled to himself, hoping it would be smooth sailing from here on to the capital.

OOC: Don't make this a big scene, I'm just posting to get DH off my back.

Serene looked ahead, thinking of Black King. She shook it from her mind, and focused on the road ahead once again. "Why are we still heading nowhere?" She asked aloud, irritated. "Shouldn't we have reached at small town at least?!" She crossed her arms over her body and let out a sigh.
_______________

J kicked open the door to a small inn and casually walked in, followed by Euphemia.
"You sure that entrance was necessary, Jay?" She asked
"It's all about announcing a presence, one of authority." J answered with a hearty chuckle. "My good buddy Endoh, the late Endoh that is, would have had the same approach."

Euphemia stared around the lobby. "I'm not sure I'd be comfortable in here...I'll sleep outside..." she muttered timidly.

J laughed, pulling his fat money pouch out. "Nonsense! My little cousin won't be getting second rate housing anywhere!"

Anna noticed that they had all been walking in silence lately, everyone thinking deeply about someone or something. Anna jumped slightly when Serene stopped to exclaim "Why are we still heading nowhere?" She asked aloud, irritated. "Shouldn't we have reached at small town at least?!" She looked over at Tania who looked like she was wearing a mask, her face revealed no emotion, she found it a bit unnerving, like the aura that she had. Though Serene did have a point they hadn't stopped to rest in a town for quite a while. They seemed uneasy to stop like they were being chased or afraid to enter. It was a judgement Anna based solely on her own gut feeling.

-------

Tania was annoyed. Remembering her training she concealed her emotion behind a gaze of impartiality, she wondered whether Serene could see right through it and knew all her emotions. Then again if she did their wouldn't be the tension between them that there was currently. Serene always had to be the sore thorn. Though she couldn't blame her completely, she had lost a lot while on the journey. She found it amazing that the girl had still decided to travel with them despite the loss of the man she had accidentally killed and the death of her pegasus. She never bothered to ask how her pegasus had died, she only knew that Windy came back filthy. Her mother would be proud of her continuing on without Black King. She wished that there was some way she could help her.

Rana squinted at the town ahead of the group. He could make out details, but his eyes weren't the best. Shadows flicked silently at his feet when he looked up to see a low flying wyvern, his eyes set on the group. The soldier passed on and did nothing. Rana felt relieved. "What will we even be doing?" He asked to nobody, his voice distant. He needed to share what had been told to him by the fool who thought he was omniscient, but it was most likely foolish to tell all of them. Perhaps, he thought, he would only tell Tania, and Tekun. The boy did seem immature, but not stupid.

Adélaïde suddenly jumped up and exclaimed "He's coming!"

Just then, Lex ran into the room holding a book. He was clearly out of breath, but began reciting lines whilst the French woman wailed wearily.

"Now is the winter of our discontent" he began, "Made glorious summer by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths;
Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;
Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings,
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures.
Grim-visaged war hath smooth'd his wrinkled front;
And now, instead of mounting barded steeds
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries,
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute.
But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks,
Nor made to court an amorous looking-glass;
I, that am rudely stamp'd, and want love's majesty
To strut before a wanton ambling nymph;
I, that am curtail'd of this fair proportion,
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
Unless to spy my shadow in the sun
And descant on mine own deformity:
And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover,
To entertain these fair well-spoken days,
I am determined to prove a villain
And hate the idle pleasures of these days.
Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous,
By drunken prophecies, libels and dreams,
To set my brother Clarence and the king
In deadly hate the one against the other:
And if King Edward be as true and just
As I am subtle, false and treacherous,
This day should Clarence closely be mew'd up,
About a prophecy, which says that 'G'
Of Edward's heirs the murderer shall be.
Dive, thoughts, down to my soul: here
Clarence comes.

When he'd finished, Adélaïde pulled her flute from a hidden fold in her robe and smacked him repeatedly in the face. Lex didn't seem to mind at all, yet relished the peaceful pain she so steadily inflicted upon him. Not that he was a masochist, but he had always dreamed of a beautiful lady making him her underling by force.

*BOOM!!* A blast suddenly destroyed half of the northern wall of the inn, causing a terrible draft. A league of bandits were swarming the town, cutting down women and children alike and plundering anything they could get their grubby hands on. Lex and Adélaïde both gawked at the site before the hardy man turned to his foreign partner and exclaimed "Ferantous midli antuanil no comicho!" to which she replied "You have to break zees habit of making up strange languages when you are frightened!"

She shook him violently and tossed him into the closet. "Violet, I want you to play somesing lively, make my soul wish to dance!" Her rapier gleamed in the midnight sun as she unsheathed it and thrust it into a nearby ruffian. "Where is monsieur Leon?!"

OCC: Oh mon dieu!

Violet, violently awoken from the stupor she was in previously immediately strummed her lyre enthusiastically getting into a steady rhythm. She had no idea why or where the bandits had come from, she personally thought that the world had gone crazy or perhaps that she was still asleep. She continued to strum, humming a few notes warming her vocal chords up while gracefully hopping away from a sword that was wildly swung at her by the insane bandits.

She could feel the magical atmosphere thicken with intensity as her fingers strummed each of the chords.Violet hopped from her right foot to her left foot in a cheerful jig as she played the song "Morale", boosting the strength of her comrades as they fought. She kept her fingers quick and light so that she could immediately switch to the other song in her arsenal if they became overwhelmed with the rabid bandits.

OOC: *Tekun's group arrives in town, as does Euph and J.*

The city of Altair was busslling with activity. Merchant stalls everywhere, a few seemed legit other's obviously scams. Hagglers everywhere, shouting for prices. This was the neutral zone of the continent. On the way, Rana had let Tania and Tekun know about what had happened with him, the robed man. Shocking news to say the least. The group found an nearby inn, oddly empty, not active. Tekun brought Tania and Rana aside to discuss this further into detail.


Leon woke up at the sound of yelling and battling. He was on the 2nd floor of an inn, he peaked out the window and immedietly ducked out of the way of an arrow that went flying through the glass. He immedietly put on his armor and rushed out, weapon in hand ready for combat.

"God damn it!" He shouted. "Don't you people ever sleep!"

Euphemia sat next to a window in a small tavern alone. She admired the sword, running the tips of her fingers across the dull blade. "A strange weapon, if it ever was used as a weapon. It's too dull to even leave a small gash." she muttered to herself. She left the inn the caravan stayed in that morning, walking around the city. She also left Rourky in her room, so he could rest his wing. Looking around, she noticed some soldiers eying the sword and her as well.
She had her knife on the other side of the booth, hidden near the window, expecting something like this to begin to flare up.

J stood around an alleyway, his mallet slung over his shoulder, a note in his other hand. "I was told the ring was somewhere near here..." he said, glancing at the paper again. He only took this job because the merchants he was traveling with were out trading their goods. His client gave him clear instructions, but he ended up lost either way, thanks to his brilliant 'natural compass'.

Lex emerged from the closet, donning a particularly odd set of cleaning based gear.

"I'll clean up your act, vile fiend!" He cried as he whacked a large bandit on the head. "Looks like spring is here, cuz I'm cleaning house!" He yelled again, drawing on the comical heat of the moment. "You're all washed up!" The next pun revealed itself as water splashed everywhere. Adélaïde finished off five more evildoers, with the help of Violet's music, and looked to the horizon. For some strange reason, a horde of small, stampeding lizards was racing toward the town.

"This is utterly ridicule!!" She shouted. The noise of the the lute and the screaming townspeople, the battle cries from the brutes, the stampeding beasts, Lex's bad jokes, Leon's complaining, her own head's pounding... it was all a bit too much for her to handle. She stowed her sword uncovered the Jiahu Crane Flute that was hidden in her sleeve. She lifted it and blew gently as the commotion ceased. Each bandit was sent into a spiraling depression and the townspeople were calmed. Lex was unaffected by it and just picked at his ear.

OOC: Ahaha, I love the fast-forwarding...


Rana's hood was up, shadows covering virtually all of his face. He wrung his hands nervously, terrified of the crowd outside the building. He knew his antisocial tenancies were silly for the most part, but it didn't matter. He looked down, then at Tekun, then at Tania. "What do you think?" He asked both of them quietly.

Tania thought back to the night that Rana was guarding her room for reasons that were once unknown to herself. It all made sense now, she wanted to wrap her arms around Rana thankfully, he was always so concerned for her safety. Though now was not the time for that, the impending threat of war had been prophesied though Rana seemed sceptical, Tania did not doubt whomever it was that spoke to Rana while they were at the inn. She turned to Tekun, the boy's mind always seemed to be whirring "What do you think Tekun? Do you think we can avoid such a war?" she asked hopefully.

Serene wandered the city. She avoided Eton earlier today so she could go out and see the city herself. Her stomach groaned as she spotted a small tavern. She wandered inside, as it really made no difference where she ate at this moment. It was quite packed, and Serene stood there a while, looking around for a chair or booth.

Euphemia looked up from the sword, and instantly saw Serene. "It's her! Endoh's niece!" she muttered loudly. Gripping the knife in one hand, she dropped the sword onto the table, already at a running start towards her.

Serene turned her head quick enough to see Euphemia racing right towards her. She stood there frozen, unable to move in terror. Euphemia knocked her to the ground, and knelt on her body, pushing her against the floor to weaken any last minute attacks. She held the knife at Serene's throat, ready to slit it in any second.
______________

J threw the paper away, and left the alleyway. "That was an easy job! So much for the evil lord and his goons!" he exclaimed with a roar. He set his mind on other things, like the old merchant's fine daughter, as he turned to corner to see the street around him filled to the brim with some type of onlookers. The sounds of shouts exclaiming "Fight!" arose through the air. J shrugged this off, and pushed his way through the crowd to reach his next situation, completely oblivious of the battle raging inside the tavern.

Eton wandered the streets as well. Serene needed some time alone. He allowed it, though he constantly worried about her. As he wandered, he heard something from a tavern and went in, having heard the word fight being chanted. There he saw Serene with a knife to her throat by someone who appeared fimiliar. He pushed himself through the crowd and drew his knife.

"Hey!!" Eton shouted. "Get the f*** off her!"

----------
Tekun believed everyword.

"Only way is to follow every single word, try to do it down to the letter." He said rather nervously, he clang to Tania a bit. It was clear he was a bit intimidated. War meant something more. "We're here, we just need to wait around for somethign to happen. I'm sure.....something will."
---------
The bandits were all but finished before Leon could even so much as get an attack off, instead of them being dead, they all seemed depressed and began to kind of just leave while the towns people just sat there and watched. Then these lizard things came through the town and then left right through the entrance. Leon wasn't affected by the music much either.

"So, what did I miss?" He asked rather confused.

Lex thrust the cold, wet mop onto Violet's back and snickered. "Oh, we were just about to raid the local shop whilst everyone else sways in their stupor. Care to join me?"

Adélaïde began licking her flute clean, as was the custom of her society.

Violet was pleased when the bandits all fell into a state of depression, clearly the works of Adélaïde. She would have to ask later how to gain such control over someone else's emotions with her lute. She suddenly felt a sudden coldness dampen her back, she playfully swung her lute in the direction of Lex's body.