Open Chronicles All That Flows

[Lia]

Allir Reach - The RedGull Tavern

Lia sat calmly at one of the large dining room tables in the middle of the RedGull Tavern. There was a mug of ale in front of her, a Ranger to her left, and some kind of...dwarf? In front of her.

The man's beard was covered in some sort of liquid and there was a piece of what she assumed to be chicken stuck in his moustache. Lia couldn't help but narrow her eyes at it for a moment, lips thinning as she shook her head and grabbed the mug in front of her.

"Just one more." She told the dwarf who was sitting in front of her. "Then we talk about the tomb."

"Abssssssssssolutely!"​

The dwarf slurred as they clanged their mugs and downed their drinks.

Lia slammed the cup down on the table with a loud thud, the clatter of cups and plates sounding out across the table as the dwarf did the some. A hiccup suddenly escaped her throat, her cheeks reddening as booze and embarrassment fluttered through her.

"Alright no-" As she began to speak the dwarf stood on his bench and yelled.

"BARKEEP! ANOTHAAAAAA ROUND!"​

Lia let out a sigh.

Her vision was already getting blurry, and she wasn't entirely sure the man would ever talk about the tomb.

 

[Lectrix]

Lectrix had been wandering the Reach looking for some sort of clue to the latest case he had been trying to investigate. It was late, and his legs were starting to ache. Walking for a mile or two brought him to a familiar sight; a tavern, conveniently placed where Lectrix could finally rest.

Upon entering, he looked around, the building filled with what typically filled the floors of a tavern; low-lifes, drunks, and people looking for work. He took a seat next to a what appeared to be two rangers questioning a drunken dwarf looking creature. He took a quick look at them before ordering a pint, just when that Dwarf yelled out for the barkeep to deliver another round.

The yelling shifted his attention to the stranger next to him, when he noticed something that caught his face. He looked closer, realizing that he recognized the face of one of the rangers, but his mind drew blank when trying to remember where.

But as soon as his pint came, his eyes widened, and he turned away his head, hoping she was already too drunk to notice.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

"There is no substitute for hard work. Never give up. Never stop believing. Never stop fighting."
-Hope Hicks​

Another day, another assignment...another courier mission from his brother, that needed an big armored man to make sure that no one tried to tamper with the message...Karl didn't mind, it got him out and about the greater world...and he was still serving his family, Order, and people as he did...a win win for him at least...

Hopefully, this mission would be a bit less of an eye sore...the trip to Elbion had been a bit of an eye sore, to say the least...but it was still somthing to see, somthing different then the realm Karl was used to...and that was at least somthing...least this time, he was in the massive city of Alleria; one of the more enjoyable place upon this continent, if Karl had to say so. The knight must of been here on a dozen occasions, bringing messenges for Otto. Yet no matter how many times the lad had come to these parts, he'd always manage to see somthing new and different.

Perhaps this would be one of those times...perhaps he'd do more then see...

So how did Karl find himself in this particular town? Well...it had been late when Karl had found the appropriate office to submit his message...and the knight figured it was too late to make the journey back, give Daisy a chance to rest up before the journey...so really, he kinda picked a random tavern to stay for the night...didn't know why he choose this one in particular, perhaps it was the name?

Regardless, the knight had been enjoying his supper at one of the tables, some roasted meat and a pint of beer...of course, the lad was still cladded in full plate mail, one would hardly recognize him without it...but at the very least, his steel gauntlets were off, as he had been idly sitting there and eating his meal...

Now normally, a fully cladded knight with a red plume sticking out of it's helmet is bound to turn some eyes...had it not been for the dwarf, now standing up on his seat...and Karl? He didn't seem to even register what was going on behind him...sitting there, eating his peas...occasionally taking a sip out of his mug...minding his own business really....​

 

[Lia]

"YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE IT TO THE TOMB, LASSY?"

There was a loud hiccup that echoed from her throat, cheeks colored a bright red and face half hidden by the mug still on her face.

The dwarf had ordered another round of drinks, and obliged to follow along Lia had simply started in one the damn thing even though she knew better. Now he was yelling some such about how the tomb was dangerous and someone like her couldn't ever make it through.

Something that royally pissed her off.

"UNLIKELY, YOU'D DIE JUST AS SOON AS YOU STEPPED INSIDE."

Anger boiled in her chest.

Between her intoxication, the dwarf's boastfulness, and everything else that had happened through the last few months Lia had just about reached her wits end. She was so drawn in that she didn't notice Lectrix nor did she questioned the plumed Knight(Karl von Stehlen) quietly eating his meal.

Instead she stood from the table, knocking her chair back. The Dwarf stopped for half a moment, though only because as she stood Lia drew out her swordbreaker and stabbed it into the tabletop. "LISTEN HERE YOU LITTLE TWIT! I'M GETTING FED UP WITH THE BULLSHIT!"

She felt the hand of her fellow Ranger on her shoulder, but it was too late.

"TELL ME WHERE THE DAMN TOMB IS!" Her cheeks were flushed, her tone was none too pleased, and her body language screamed of murder.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

Karl just took another long sip out of his mug as the women belligerently began to yell, closing his eyes the moment he heard the blade being drawn, counting the seconds before it hit the wooden table...which seem to last as long as he thought...before putting down the mug and stared back to his food...

Well, there intentions were no secret, least not to the compatriots of the tavern...which word would no doubt spread about this night...wonder what big bad baddy would be intreasted in this "tomb"...whatever purpose it served to warrant the attention of these two...people.

Karl could only hazard a guess of who they were, but they had somthing official about them...even if the women was screaming like the dwarf bad kidnapped her mother.

It didn't supirse Karl that the women sounded like a lightweight, most humans were a bit weak in this aspect...but Karl honestly expected better of the dwarf. The knight had known many of such dwarves in his lifetime, and he had never been able to stay conscious long enough to see them drunk...although they were not your "average" dwarves...still, the knight probably could of drank more then the dwarf, to say nothing of his younger sister...actrually, most of his family could probably out drink this dwarf...perhaps it was a family trait?

Regardless of the fact, Karl still had very little reason to get involved...he was here for one reason, and he had completed it...sure he’d spend the night, but that be all for this trip Allir...

Right?​

 

[Lectrix]

Lectrix looked over to see the flushed cheeks and widened eyes of the ranger as she slammed the serrated dagger into the table. Her yells of a tomb of some sort intrigued him, but looking at the situation at hand, he let out a sigh of relief that the ranger was too busy to try and recognize him. Either way, his hood was off, and he hoped with time that she had forgotten how he looked like.

He looked back at his drink, chuckling a bit too loudly at the thought that she would now have to pay to get the tavern a new table. The inappropriate timing in his humor never ceased to amaze him.

Still however, mid-chuckle, he slowly realized that the situation could get bad. Surely the compatriot of the ranger would not be stop the woman from ending the life of the drunkard, and the only other person of authority seemed to be a knight who was enjoying his food too much to care. Slowly calming his laughter, he unsheathed a throwing knife from his belt and placed it in his right sleeve.

If things went bad, it would probably be up to him to defuse the situation.

 

[Faurosk]

Faurosk was tired. Terribly, incredibly tired.

His life had seemingly gone off the rails in recent months, leading to encounters with terrible beasts, droves of undead, and one adventure too many into the terrifying red mists of Pandemonium. Only a few days into his journey from the new portal stone of the Allir Reach, he reached the RedGull Tavern. He figured, hey, it might be just the relaxing locale to grab a pint and relax! Well, we can all wonder at how that turned out for him.

The dwarfish man had started out as a mere nuisance, but the situation had severely worsened over what felt like only a few minutes. The mage had recognized the Allirian Rangers for what they were, having idolized their faction in his youth. He peered at the motley trio; Two of them were quite obviously drunk, and their respective tempers were being put to the test. Faurosk could feel the energy of their fury building in the air, tingling his senses in a prickle of gooseflesh and the faint scent of ozone. If nobody interceded the conflict on behalf of peace and reason, he feared it may sprout into violence.

It was about then that Lia rammed the pointed end of her swordbreaker into the table, rising to her feet and screaming in such a way that might make a weaker-willed person piss himself. Her chair clattered out behind her, nearly falling over entirely as the violence came to its crescendo.

The mage stood from his seat, only halfway across the bar, and after three long strides he was beside their table. He looked rather plain, all things considered, disguised in a set of common clothing. Still, the numerous component pouches strapped around his waist and the hollow rod hanging at his hip would denote him as a wizard to anyone clever or sober enough to notice.

"Friends, Rangers!" he said, a hint of supernatural calm entering his voice. He extended a hand towards both Lia and the dwarf, about half a meter away from making physical contact. It might have seemed to be a gesture of deescalation, but in actuality, the mage tapped into what little Empathy magic he knew to take the edge out of their anger. It wasn't enough to make peace-talk a guarantee by any stretch, but he simply hoped to make the violence more polite-- Less bloodshed, less death, all those nice things.

"I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding! Our compatriot here just doesn't know who he's dealing with, that's all." The mage gave both rangers a steady glance, letting them know that he wasn't entirely taking the dwarf's side in this conflict. "Perhaps if we get him a round of the good stuff, on me, we might be more keen to hashing this out. Sound fair?"

Faurosk gave a slow weary glance between both parties, the dwarf and the Rangers, hoping beyond all prayer that he didn't just get himself into something troublesome. After all, he was tired. Terribly, incredibly tired.

 

[Lia]

Lia stared at the man who had interrupted her, more than a little annoyed that someone was barging into the situation.

She would never really have hurt the dwarf, she was drunk, not a fool. The man was just one of those boastful fools who would rather talk about himself than what people were actually after. It was supremely annoying, but not enough for her to murder him over.

At least not as long as she was a Ranger. "Maybe."

Lia contended to the mage.

In truth though she was done buying the dwarf drinks. She and her fellow Ranger had been doing so all night and she was more than a little sick of it. The Sword breaker moved slightly in the table as she pulled it free from the heavy wood, her expression sour.

"Or." She held the swordbreaker. "We can drag him out into the streets and make him talk."

Anyone who knew the Rangers knew that they likely wouldn't do that, but the threat made the drunken dwarf begin to stammer out an answer.

"N-no! J-just one more drink and I'll tell ye what ye want to know."

 

[Maywynn Wrath]

Maywynn was not a happy camper.
She had been storing bodies in a tomb near the cave of her shrine. A freshly killed merchant caravan that had decided to take a short cut through her territory with....a less than desirable outcome in terms of their life span. She had only just left when she heard a cry of excitement.
She quickly hid and observed a dwarf poking around.
He hadnt entered but had seen some markings indicating something worth excitement she guessed. He had then raced off on his horse before she had the time to right the wrong of his existence.
So she followed.
He had been approached by two rangers as he entered town causing Maywynn to tense and curse under her breath. To be honest she knew very little of the tomb, and had simply been storing bodies pretty close to the entrance. It was a perilous journey to it if one wasnt already close.

On top of that they already smelled of death and few were inclined to enter them.
A perfect hiding place.
She knew little of what it actually contained and any rangers patrolling the area of her territory ended up screaming and gutted as they were sacrificed.
She never left survivors to tell tales. So while she doubted the rangers were looking for her little operation she couldnt have them poking around that tomb. Even if it was for a totally different reason they would find bodies and the armor and swords of some of their fellow rangers.
They werent looking for her now, but one step in that tomb and after they found what they were looking for deeper in it's depths they definitely would be.
She had hoped they would go to a house, Maybe some kind of secret meeting place. Somewhere easy for three more bodies to go missing, but her luck continued to sour as they chose a pub.
She didnt do people places. However she waited for them to enter and slowly followed after a few minutes taking a table in the far corner of the room. She seemed slightly out of place as she slipped past a mage and another cloaked figure along with a knight enjoying his food. She kept a low profile. Knowing her aura of death alone was usually enough to make curious parties take their curiosity elsewhere as many felt A sudden chill and irrational fear of the girl as they neared her even if it passed quickly.

A server walked up. she paled for a moment as she spoke "W-what will you b-be having this e-evening dear?" She tittered nerviously as Maywynn didnt even glance at her.
"Two ales please and some cuts of beef. Raw if you would." She said in a sweet tone though her black eyes never left the dwarf. She didnt even notice the look the server gave her as she hurried off to complete the order. He was drunk off his ass. Good. And by the way one ranger was acting they werent having much luck. Very good. However they seemed about at the end of their rope with the poor fellow and would soon start pressing him harder. The sever clunked her order down on the table.
"Sorry about that. Had to cook the beef a little, Cook said he wouldnt serve nothing raw asked if I was taking orders for a dog.." The server said with a nervous chuckle getting over the irrational fear she had felt beofre wondering what on earth had driven her to fear this young girl. She followed Maywynn's gaze towards the dwarf.
"Some people just can't hold their drink." She lamented dryly. "Those rangers been buyen drink for him all night. If they werent rangers I suspect they wouldve already dragged him to the street and drowned him in the horse trough til he talked bless them." She said glancing at Maywynn for a response.

"N-no! J-just one more drink and I'll tell ye what ye want to know."
He had said.

A small vial slipped open from her wrist as it poured a clear liquid into the tankard of her second ale subtly as she gave it to the server.
"I think he's funny. reminds me of an old friend honestly. Lost him Long ago....Bring this to him will you. I think the rangers are done buying drinks for the poor bastard."
She said looking in the servers direction closing her eyes in a warm smile as she handed her second tankard to the server and watched her go to the table. The smile vanished like water in the desert as the server's back turned and Maywynn waited. With any luck this would be the end of her little problem.
She glanced at the stairs ready to slip away should her plan succeed. If so It wouldnt take a genius to figure out who the culprit was in this dunder heads demise.
She waited to see what happened next hoping her luck had finally turned and she could leave this place and keep the ranger activity around her home and area in general down to the few easily missed strays she normally got. She didnt hear the words as the server handed the dwarf the tankard. Her breath was baited even though her demeanor remained calm. It would only take a sip. If even a drop of that poison touched his lips he would be stone dead with his intestines rotting through his ass in seconds.

 

[Karl von Stehlen]

Welp, that was enough for one night...better to hit the hay and not get involved...wonder how Daisy was holding up?

Karl was just finishing his meal, taking a napkin and cleaning his mouth, before dropping it onto his cleaned plate. The knight would proceed to down whatever beer was left in his mug, before reaching over and grabbing his metal gauntlets...quietly strapping them on...before grabbing his shield and standing up.

The commotion back there seemed to pick up, but Karl didn't really wanted to get involved with...any of it really, given how all parties were acting...but as he turned around to leave, the knight must of been distracted, or perhaps the server was distracted. Either way, they managed to somehow walk into each other...well, it was more like the server ran into the brick wall that was Karl, in the process spilling the drink all over Karl's armor.

Now this was just inconvenient, now the knight had to spend some time cleaning the mess off his armor...well...to be fair, he was going to polish it anyways...but still...at the very least, none of the mess got into his plume...now that would be a real pain in the ass to clean.

"O-oh my goodness! I-I'm so so-"

Karl, not really even emoting to what had happened, just closed his eyes and sighed, interrupting the server midway.

"Do not worry...I should have been more careful with my movements...please..." Karl opened his eyes again, patting the smaller women on the shoulder as reassurance. "...Go fetch another drink for your customer...while your at it, get yourself somthing...and put both of them on my tab."

If there was one good thing about being a noble and a knight, was that money hardly was an issue for the likes of him. Sure, Karl didn't go about lavishly spending...but a few coins here and there were hardly going to drain the realm's funds.

Regardless, the server nodded timidly, and hurried back to the kitchen to fetch another mug...no doubt returning later to serve it up to the dwarf. Karl said nothing more, instead glancing back at the commotion that he no doubt assumed had order the drink. Maybe he'll actually tell them where the tomb was this time...Karl wouldn't know...he was now clanking towards a side door within the inn...exiting it into the stables, where his good companion was resting....​

 

[Faurosk]

Faurosks blood ran momentarily cold once Lia turned her ire on him, thinking he might need to make a quick exit if his gambit had failed. The stress visibly dropped from his shoulders, though, once the Ranger relented. His hands went back to his sides, thumbs looping comfortably into the belt which held his component pouches.

"Well, a 'maybe' is still progress." The mage adopted a small smile, but the expression faltered momentarily as the Ranger wrenched her weapon out of the table. He tried to speak up in the dwarf's defense, but the words got lost in a small choking sound of surprise. Luckily enough, the stranger spoke up in his own defense, claiming that one more drink should set him right.

"See? One more drink, and he'll get to talking." The mage gestured amiably out to his sides, cocking his head in the dwarf's direction. "And if he doesn't, well, I won't stop you from doing what you deem necessary." The mage finished with a sardonic smirk to the rangers, hoping to coerce the dwarf into cooperating while simultaneously clearing himself of the woman's anger.

He looked between both parties momentarily, taking a respectful half step backwards. "Now, I'll get right on that drink for you, sir. Why don't you start telling them where the tomb is while I'm gone?"

With a cheeky nod to the stout drunk, Faurosk turned on his heel and walked off to the bar, unaware that the barmaid would arrive not ten seconds later with another tankard of ale.

 

[Lia]

The barmaid arrived with a fresh mug of ale, one for Lia and one for the Dwarf.

The Ranger was of course unaware that a man had probably just saved her and her counterparts life on accident, but sometimes fate was all one truly needed to get by. That was what her father had always said. "Great."

She sounded stern now.

"You have your drink." Damned alcoholic.

Sure Lia had occasion to drink at times, now and again she would even go above what was strictly...necessary, but not when it came to situations like this! The only reason she'd indulged in the first place was to get the information about the tomb, information this dwarf was being stingy with.

A scowl pulled at her lips.

"Aye, aye Lass calm yerself."

She nearly smacked him.

"The tomb is real, don't ya worry, it's just..."

Lia grabbed the sword-breaker a bit tighter."

"I may have forgotten..."

 

[Maywynn Wrath]

Maywynn sighed as even though the server had handed the mug to the dwarf her eyes must not have been working properly as she instead somehow had run into a knight that was clunking around in full armor and spilled the drink.
She rolled her eyes. It didnt matter. He seemed to have forgotten.
She remained sitting as she ate and drank her ale.
She would wait for him to speak of its location if he remembered. If he did she would need to strike and make a get away. It would be risky but easy enough.
They would have no way to follow her trail and she could fade back in obscurity.

 

[Lectrix]

The man who tried to calm the interrogation was successful, yet Lectrix knew that it was pretty foolish to get in between a ranger and an interrogation, especially when it was pretty clear that the dwarf didn't know anything, and was only using his interrogator as a fountain of alcohol. His thoughts were confirmed at the audible voice cracks in the alcoholic's Irish accent.

Lectrix looked over, his eyes trained on the handle of the ranger's dagger. Her grip tightened, and her eyes beamed at the dwarves face, a fire ignited in her pupils. This was not going to end well in the slightest. An impatient, highly trained ranger under the influence of alcohol was not going to take the lies of the dwarf well.

He slid the throwing knife from his sleeve to his hand, positioning his hand in a way that would allow for a quick, accurate throw to intercept a killing blow from the ranger if she were to succumb to her anger.

Although he thought the newly introduced negotiator was pretty foolish and stupid for interrupting, he still hoped he saw some success in his attempts.

If not, there goes the reputation of the Allirian Rangers.

 

[Faurosk]

The mage ordered a drink appropriate for the dwarven drunkard, acquiring a stout mug of heavy ale before turning to head back to the Rangers' table. Once he noticed that the man had already been given another drink, though, Faurosk simply hung back at the bar. He took a seat on an unoccupied stool, observing the interaction from afar.

It didn't seem to be going well.

The man continued to make an ass of himself, and the Ranger seemed to be nearing her edge. When the dwarf noted that he might have 'forgotten' where exactly the tomb was, Faurosk planted his forehead into his palm and downed a swig of potent drink. "When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging," he said, loud enough to be heard by Ranger and onlookers alike. "You really should've cut your losses and ran, friend."

 

[Lia]

Lia was a lot of things, but a murderer was not one of them.

Oh she was tempted.

There was a fire in her heart, one born of drunken rage, but even gripping her sword-breaker as tight as she was The Raner had no intention of actually killing the dwarf. The man irritated her, but death would come to no one save for her true foes. The Dwarf was not one of them.

Just an idiot. "Well good thing you're still here then."

Lia prickled as the Mage in the tavern said something, though she tried not to respond to him and instead withdrew her sword-breaker from the table.

"Means you can head into the forest with us." She jerked the blade back into it's sheath. "Until your memory's jogged."

The dwarf paled.

 

[Maywynn Wrath]

Maywynn smiled. It was an errie sight and not one with any warmth or pleasantness. It was a cold smile of malice. Going into the woods were they? The dwarf paled.
Good. He knew of her forest's reputation. He would warn them.
They would disregard it as drunken foolishness or him dragging his feet. They would go, and meet their end like their brothers and sisters in arms.
She loved killing, but the rangers were her favorite.
They were a rare occurrence too be sure, but blood of such virtue was sweet to the tongue and pleasing to her masters. She enjoyed the female rangers the most. Fiery blood...Good. And so she left.
"Wait Mrs.!"
Came the server's cry. She was a sweet looking girl. Blonde with piercing blue eyes and a light smattering of freckles. "Mrs.!" As she got closer and entered her aura she simply paled and turned walking the other way. Something about how she felt told her following that young girl out would be the last thing she ever did...and her decision was indeed correct and allowed her another day on this earth. Maywynn would wait, and they would come to her. Like a spider in its web. When she got to the door she simply faded. In the crowded bar she doubted anyone noticed. She simply passed right through like a black cloud of smoke. dirfting through the town until outside of it where she reformed. Then she simply walked into her woods and in the darkness faded out of sight. Waiting.....