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The Golden Age. Act 2: Converging Paths.


riariadne
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“No purpose?” Aaron couldn’t get his head around Timaeus’s actions. Just who is this supposed king anyway? He let out a dissatisfied groan, but a few seconds later he nodded. “Thank you for your information. Good luck, Raz.” he added, passing Fia and finally entering the city in true. He already had a location in mind - not a particularly kingly one, but he needed recognition for his new weapon, were he going to build his reputation. That made his destination fairly obvious.

 

TO THE ARENA

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Kaya left Telmara, wandering the streets of the city. She stayed away from the castle, eventually making her way up onto the wall overlooking the docks. Staring down at the ships, she sighed. This wasn't how she wanted things to be going, her doing her best to avoid a man she hated, risking missing something important because of it. Everything about this seemed wrong to her. But then again, there was nothing she could do but move forward. Her father couldn't hurt her. She was established as a prophet and as the leader of her group. What could he do to ruin that?

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Kolmar stopped in front of a store that both seemed to be open, and was stocked with booze.  Perfect.

He wandered in, taking a good look at the whiskey and wine selections.  Good for getting drunk.  Not good for impressing the ladies.  I like this place.  An oddly-shaped bottle caught his attention - while it didn't appear to be alcoholic, it looked VERY important.

"'scuse me," he said gruffly.  "What's in that bottle?" he asked, pointing towards the Rainbow Tonic.

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Joviana looked around the stalls to see if there was anything interesting to buy. The bustling market place had many interesting stalls out there, but the one that piqued her interest was a stall selling magical wares. There was a peculiar gem that piqued her interest. "I don't have much money on me, Velvet, but I would appreciate it if I could borrow some from you. See that gem? If I remember correctly, it affects the holder's experience with the different magical elements."

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A Madrigalian does not retreat

The Oceanside Arena had certainly seen busier days, but it was far from empty when Aaron approached, two mages locked in battle and deflecting each others' spells as about a third of the seats were filled- mostly by Knights, it seemed, but not exclusively so. "Hey, hey," one man near the entrance with a sword spoke up as Aaron approached. "Fancy weapon and everything? What, you think you're tough stuff? There's a line... it's open practice day." He didn't seem too familiar with the Lionheart's specific prestige- the weapon's exact appearance seemed to have been lost to time for most. Indeed, he pointed to a line, not too long of one. "The big-time mages got it set up so that attacks here won't be lethal... they still hurt, though, so don't break anything. If you're still up for it, that is." He had something of a sneer. "Don't look all that tough to me, personally. There's healers for your like after, at least."

Family Matters

Kaya's time of introspection was interrupted before too long by a younger girl with amber hair shoving past her. "Sorry," she spoke, heading off, before turning around. "You... you look familiar. But I don't know why." It was easier to see her better once she stopped moving. She seemed to be in her early teens, and did indeed look somewhat familiar, but not someone Kaya could put a name with- at least, not until she spoke up. "I'm Andrea. Why do you have dragon tattoos? Who are you?"

Strange Drink

The younger woman behind the bar turn to Kolmar when he asked about it, setting aside a glass she was cleaning. "Ah, you're not the first to ask of it. A Rainbow Tonic's what it's called- very rare, tastes rather horrid, but when you drink it, there's no feeling better. I've only the one vial right now available." She tapped on its price tag. "Not cheap, as you can see, but I'll part with it for the proper price listed there... unless you've got a better deal in mind."

Shifting Feelings

"An alignment gem?" Velvet asked. "Sure, that's not so much. They're decently common. You'll need, what, three hundred for it?" She pawed through her bag, placing the coins in Joviana's hands after a few moments. "If you wanted, it looks like there's a couple there... not sure how much use that information is to you, but it's there." She looked over the rest of the stall's wares. "Oh! Isn't that tome rare, Jovi? Starstrike? Do you think we should get that too?"

Edited by Reinfleche
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"Ah, no problem..." Kaya trailed off as she stared curiously at the girl. Her questions made her realize that she had forgotten her gloves, which she quickly pulled on. "Ah, my name is Kaya. Nice to meet you Andrea. The tattoos are because I'm a part of a... Religious group I suppose you would say. They signify knowledge that I have. I normally keep them covered but must have forgotten."

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"Ah... of course." It was a silly slip of the mind, she should have left them with somebody before entering, probably Mikhaila. Now that she was here, Raz complied and handed over her bows. "Do take care about them..." It would be pretty poor for the facility if the guards were to run shady business with the weapons they held... but circumstance was the mother of trust. "Ah, those empty displays on the front... I'm guessing that's where the stolen assets were, huh?"

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You have to start somewhere, I suppose. Aaron figured, spotting the fairly empty stands. He'd been hoping to gain a little more attention, but having knights watch was better than nothing. Beforehand though, he had to deal with some tryhard bothering him. 

"I can handle myself, thank you." he replied, not really bothered by the man's taunts. Still, Aaron gave the man a curious glance. "Are you a combatent or a guard?" Either way, he didn't seem particularly knowledgable, if he knew nothing of the sacred axe.

Before combat, Aaron uses the Arms Scroll

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House Fernait

Andrea's eyes widened at her name. "You're Kaya? With poofy bright red hair and dragon pictures? Ah, b-but, father said to be careful of you..." She seemed incredibly nervous at meeting the prophet, stepping back. "He said you're scary! And he said you lived in a temple, not in Veiro when he's here on an important meeting. D-don't hurt me if you're scary, or he'll be so mad, and send everyone out to get you!"

Post Break-In

The first guard carefully placed the bows on a weapon rack. "Don't worry about it, you can have them all again as soon as you leave. Safety for the people and treasures comes first here in the House of Vert." The other guard, meanwhile, nodded at her question about the empty displays. "Indeed. There are still some pictures, if you want to see them. Retrieving any of them is worth a large gold sum, if you somehow manage it."

There were five differently shaped stands, as all five of the stolen weapons were of different kinds. They all featured nameplates as well. A spot for a sword was labeled "Blade of 100 Battles,"; a lance, "Venus Gospel"; an axe, "Umbrasyl"; a bow, "Sharanga"; and a tome, "Exodus". "Nobody knows how the weapons got their names. It must have been ages ago that they were found, and all attempts to trace their history are futile. They are at least as old as the Lost Age, but as with all things, the trail cuts off there- they could be even older, but it's impossible to say."

The Warrior's Spirit

"You must be new around here if you don't know at all, clearly haven't even watched yet. I'm Judas- a proper knight, and I'm the champ in these parts." Judas sneered at Aaron, who hoisted his sword onto his shoulder. "I'm taking the day off to let other people have a go, prove themselves as worth a fight. I tell you, though... I don't like your attitude much. I wouldn't mind stepping in to send you packing, if you're raring to fight that bad, huh?" His aggression probably tipped Aaron off to the fact that he didn't like many people's attitude.

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Kaya blinked in confusion, taking a step back herself, before a thought hit her. "... Ah. I have a half-sister it seems... Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you or your father. Honestly I would rather be anywhere but here with him here, but it is what it is. The universe likes to play tricks on people I think..." The last few lines were more mumbled to herself than to the girl and as she trailed off, she sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know what your father has told you, but I'm no threat to you or your brother or even him. I've no interest in playing his political games and I would never hurt the innocent like you or your brother. I'm here for something related to the temple I'm a part of, nothing else." She smiled, hoping to calm her half-sister at least a little. "I'm sure you'll tell him that you met me, but feel free to tell him I've no interest in interfering with his business here." Assuming he's behaving himself at least...

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A better deal, huh?

"You take a swig of that thing before?  Just how bad is 'bad'?  'cause someone in my group didn't want to do dishes on their night, an' they totally deserve a proper reward for it, no?"  Or maybe he could convince someone like Telmara to drink it.  Watching her face pucker up would be pretty amusing, as would Kaya's ensuing reaction to the debacle.

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Sisters

"Oh... so you're just here by accident, not because of the meeting? That's a funny timing..." Andrea still seemed quite on edge, giving a little sigh. "I hope everything goes okay. Antonius is in charge at home for a little bit, with help. Father's kind of scary, too, not all that happy to do this meeting, but he said it's important that he comes still because Mr. Damas is coming too. Er, sorry. Duke Glaivor. But, it's probably easier that way if you don't want to see him. S-so, you're my big sister?" She seemed rather pleased at the idea. "What sort of templey thing are you doing here, then, big sis? What even are temple things to do?"

Pranks for the Memories

"Ha! That's quite the price to be paying for a practical joke!" The bartender gave a hearty chuckle. "It really does taste completely horrible, but you're not supposed to drink it because of the taste, it's about the effect after! Besides, even if it tastes awful, you'd be doing them a favor in the long run- not sure if that's what you'd be intending. Tell you what, I'll knock off the label... 20%." She tapped on the little tag on it. "Buying something like that just for amusement's sake, some sense of humor you've got, huh? Still, if you're one of them traveling groups, it'll probably come in handy. Just don't use it all in some sort of joke, you hear?"

Kolmar has Deal, so Rainbow Tonic is only 1420 gold if he wants to buy it! Woohoo!

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"Understood," Kolmar said lightly, ponying up the gold.  "She can't complain about bein' tired an' all if she drinks this!"  He flashed the shopkeeper his most charming smile before wandering out, his previous purchase of booze forgotten.  I think some salt and herbs should do for now.  Can't be spendin' all my money on seasoning their food.

Now, which places would possibly sell herbs?

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Joviana took the coins from Velvet gently, grateful to her for lending some money. "Thank you Velvet! Hmm... oh, that tome! You're right, maybe we should buy that tome, its pretty rare, isn't it?" she gasped, delighted to see an uncommon tome within her grasp. "It must be very costly though... are you sure this is ok? Its very powerful indeed but we'd be spending a lot on that...what about you? Do you want anything in this stall?" 

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"Well, you're right. I've never been here before in my life." Aaron shrugged, rather confused by the supposed knight's attitude. If he really was the champion, it probably was unwise to provoke him, but... "Why is a knight assigned to the arena when the city is on lockdown?" It was a rather confusing situation, Aaron felt. Surely they would want them watching the wall and not acting like twats to anyone who passed by.

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"I see..." These names sounded too elaborate and purposeful, and the fact they were stolen... I'm willing to bet they are from the Lost Age... we'll see how strong they really are. "It is truly unfortunate that such a collection was taken by force... If I ever come to learn where they were taken, I'll try to help out." There were many incognitos on the table for now to say anything else, unfortunately. "I take all the other attractions are intact, right?" How weirdly conservative, but it's nice.

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Colorful Purchase

"Ha! You be careful now, y'hear?" The barkeep waved after Kolmar before getting back to cleaning off the glasses as he departed the establishment. Not too long after, however, one of the bar's patrons followed after, a rather larger man.

"Think nobody noticed you in there, pal?" He glanced around briefly, before lowering his voice. "Alright, I don't have a problem with you, but you're a bit daft to just be walking around the place, especially on the street headed straight towards the bay. What brings you back here when you were avoiding it, Whitman?"

Shooting Stars

"Mm, I'm sure it'll come in handy. Better to be prepared, isn't it?" Velvet asked, handing the shopkeeper the needed gold for both gem and tome. "Hmm, as for me... well, I'm not all that in-tune with my magical side, so maybe not here, but..." She darted around a bit, looking at a few stalls, before stopping at one with some weapons. "Ooh. That's a rare dagger! I think I'll get that one for myself." The demicat withdrew further coin for the next shopkeeper. "And now we're better prepared for anything!"

Always Forward

"Huh, didn't you listen when I said this place is for training right now? And we upped the security already, but not everyone's gotta be on watch at all times- that doesn't make any sense- I work at night, anyway, and sleep in the afternoon." Judas punched at Aaron's shoulder, not so much as to injure, but clearly meant as a form of intimidation. "Those guys look like they're finished up. You don't impress me that much- fancy trying to prove me wrong?"

Hope of Recovery

"Well, we appreciate the gesture, then. You are correct, however, the rest of the museum remains perfectly intact. Part of why it was such a strange break-in. You're free to look around wherever you like otherwise, miss, the gallery fee is 100 gold. There's a musical theatre on the upper floors, as well." The guard pointed towards the stairs, and then the rest of the gallery past an archway, a large statue at the front Raz would probably recognize as the Koermese Knight Captain Baldur from the Wind Age.

(Music boost: 500g, +1 spd/lck/res next battle. Art boost: 100g, +1 mag next battle)

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Kaya chuckled quietly as the girl seemed to be warming up to her more. "Yeah, I'm your big sister, I guess. As for why we're here, I'm working with a group of mercenaries. We're trying to find artifacts that need to be protected and get them to safety. We've also been fighting the forces of... well he calls himself the King of Time. We're not sure what he's after, but he's stolen some things from here, harassed some other towns, fought us before... It's not something I planned to get involved in, but we came here to find out some more of what's going on with that." She wasn't really sure she should be telling the younger girl all of this, but it was a bit late for that. "But mostly we're looking for the artifacts. Nothing too exciting really." She didn't really think it was necessary to go into depth about the so called adventures they were having, especially to a girl Andrea's age. Though... "How old are you by the way? And... Antonius is back home... Any other siblings I should know about?" She had a joking tone to her voice, but in reality, she did wonder just how many siblings she had that she didn't know about up until now.

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"Hey," Kolmar said, slowly turning around, a smirk on his face.  "Happens when you got company.  Someone's always gotta restock an' all."  He briefly thought about whether or not he'd want to reveal just how many others there were, but decided to stay silent on that matter.  "'sides, I told the truth back there.  You gonna help with the dishes?"

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Ah, so everything else was ignored, indeed. It wasn't so strange if her hunch was right, but it'd be best not to go blabbing about it. Committing the directions of the guard to memory, Raz nodded quickly, followed by a simple 'thank you' and walked towards the stairs. As much as paintings had their moments, some music to clear the mind sounded more appealing to Raz at the moment. She needed to stay on her sharpest senses, perhaps giving her mind a rest was overdue.

Raz checks out that sick music and pays the 500g fee.

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Sleeping in the afternoon? Perhaps I should come back later then. A glare flickered across Aaron's face as Judas hit his shoulder, but the adventurer concealed it as quickly as he could, instead staring inside of the arena. If he really is the champion, perhaps this is a fool's errand. But if I put on a good show regardless... 

Well, all he had to do was not make a fool of himself. There was a first time for everything after all. "If you insist." Aaron nodded, starting to feel a little anxious. "Still... were you not lecturing me about a line before?" 

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"We are, aren't we? Hmm...maybe we should talk to the rest before buying anything else. They might find some of these wares interesting! But what do we do now, Velvet? You know this place better than I do. Are there any interesting things to see here? A place of legends, maybe?" Joviana asked enthusiastically, hoping to learn some secrets about Veiro. Maybe I should ask her about her time in Grunan as well...I need to learn more about these demi beings, they seem peculiar.

Edited by Magnificence Incarnate
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Time Past at Home

"Oh, you're hear about that guy, too... so it isn't fully a coincidence. That's what the big meeting is for, to talk about how to deal with someone like him!" Andrea looked at Kaya with awe. "Wow, adventuring like that sounds so exciting. Father always says I have to be careful, I can't be too excitable, or I'll go running off like you, but all of the work in the castle is so boring. I'm fourteen. We have a little brother Atlas too, he's only three! The nurses are taking care of him at the Castle, and Antonius is... he always acts in charge when Father's not around, even though he just makes the advisors do most of the work for him. I'll show him! When we all go back home, I get to say I got to meet our awesome big sister first!"

Company

"Huh. Wouldn't have figured you're the type to hang with groups, you seem more like someone who tends to be running solo to me, from what I've heard..." The man chuckled at Kolmar's offer. "I'll pass, anyway, I don't have time to be running around all over the place. And I'm not leaving the glasses at the bar to clean 'em up myself, eh?"

Sick Beats

Even with all the commotion in the city, the music hall is at near capacity- or maybe because of it, with how much attention the House was receiving after the break-ins, in an ironic twist. Still, Raz managed to find her way a good seat before the show began not too long afterwards. A tall blonde woman walked onto the stage, interrupting all the idle chatter when she lowered the lighting with a wave of her hand before turning to face the orchestra collected there.

The performance began with a brief yet thunderous, blisteringly-paced prelude largely focused on percussion, before transitioning to a much calmer piano and violin centric waltz, one that lasted for over half the allotted time itself. Next, it moved on towards a quicker-paced woodwind piece, though not nearly one as rapid as the beginning, pausing briefly before the finale, a grand piece with the clamor of cymbals and a distinct tone of victory about it. "Thank you for your time, I hope you all enjoyed," the woman spoke briefly before leaving the stage, one of the officials audibly approaching her for going slightly past the time limit. Still, it was certainly enjoyable.

Cutting Line

"Shut up. This is my place- I say we're up next, that's how it's gonna be." After the two mages did finish leaving, he walked into the arena, hoisting his sword. "Listen up! This hotshot thinks he's got what it takes to beat me, and you all know how that ends up! Time to show this punk how good the Knights of Koerm are, huh?" He pointed his blade towards Aaron. "Go on, I'll even let you get started first if you want... it won't make a difference!"

Aaron (8 damage, 60 hit, 1 crit) vs Judas (9 damage, 100 hit, 0 crit)


(Aaron deals 13 countering and takes 0 when attacking)

(20, 83) (15, 20) Aaron 28/28 Judas 22/30
(46, 76) (17, 42) Aaron 19/28 Judas 9/30
(84, 16) (45, 100) Aaron 19/28 Judas 9/30
(77, 49) (25, 99) Aaron 10/28 Judas -4/30
Aaron wins!

Judas fell over, his eyes wide with shock. "Wh-what kind of guy are you, ignoring half of that...!? That's just not right, must be something crazy with you! I'm a tough guy, b-but that was--"

"You're an idiot." It was a voice Aaron recognized, and clearly Judas did as well, with his expression becoming even more sullen hearing it. Fia made her way into the ring, drawing her own sword, a lustrous green rapier. "Others are working hard to train or defend the city, and then I hear that you've come over here like you own the place, parading your ego about! Is that how you represent the Knights of Koerm? I'm increasing your watch time, Judas. If you've got time to laze about and pretend you're 'directing' the sparring that goes on here anyway, you've got time to defend our city. You didn't recognize his weapon- I don't know how he got it, but that's the Lionheart- an axe for a brave fighter, unharmed on the assault and relentless in defense. Even if you didn't know how it looked, you should've known what you were up against when he brushed off your first attack. Hardly worth calling yourself the best duelist if you don't know when to call it quits... and awfully convenient to leave out people you lose to when they're not around. Like me. I don't want to hear your excuses- next shift's starting soon, and if I hear you weren't on it, you'll be feeling a lot worse than bored. Or need I give everyone a reminder of how our duels always go?"

Judas glared, but walked off without complaint. "Hmph. He's right that he's not a bad fighter, but he's got a bad attitude..." Fia sheathed her blade. "Being Captain is a lot of work. I was out front since 3 AM, and now I still have to check on everyone here, though it seems fine other than him. You're not too bad yourself there... Lionheart or not, you had some pretty decent axework. Judas really is one of our best fighters, and you did well- whether or not you'd win with something else, I can't say. Sierra always loved dueling, too... I only ever beat her once, out of a lot of tries, but at least I don't lose to anyone else."

Edited by Reinfleche
fucking SF spoilers
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Kaya chuckled and shook her head. "Well, I wouldn't suggest running off just yet. You're still pretty young for all of that. But maybe some day when you're old like me, you can go on our own adventure, alright? But no need to rush that. For now just enjoy having a family and a safe place to live." She couldn't help but wonder if she might have been like Andrea if things had gone differently. Living in a castle, longing for adventure, always being told to quiet down, behave, listen to her father. It would have driven her mad and she wondered just how similar her sister was to her in that regard. Still, it was far too late to be worried about any of that now. "So where is your father now? Is he just letting you wander the streets of the city alone?"

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