Aledersaem - Latvia

[Zet]

A small town found on the plains of Aledersaem. On the way to the castle or the mountains, it makes a good resting stop. The place has some shops and things were one can purchase wares in order to help them wander about the nation. To go with this, it also has an arena of sorts more used for sparring than actual death matches in order to hone one's skills.

[Rain]

Rain rode on in, slowing down as he entered the town and looked around for the possible cause of what had happened. This blasted fog did not help in the slightest, but at the same time it at least made it where he wouldn't just immediately be shot by an arrow. Magic might still work though, and he preferred an arrow compared to being set entirely on fire from his own rushed recklessness. Then again so far, things looked like they could be fine. Perhaps it was a fire by some sort of accident or mistake of some kind?

"I can hope for as much, anyway..."

[Elaine]

'She descended at this point after arriving, knowing she didn't need to fly as high now. Plus upon arrival she could make out where it had happened, even if it had been put out now and in a fog. Which helped honestly since it meant they would be done that much more quickly. Once they could catch a break, and figure out what was going on, then she figured that she could get them all out of the dark about their present predicament and surroundings.'

"A fire happening in a relatively quiet place....I can tell this means trouble already."

[Thor]

And that was when they arrived, coming in as Thor jumped off and landed on his own two feet again. Railone stayed above the ground still, but lowered like Charlene as she took in her surroundings. It was a rather homely place, but it looked like it might not be as quiet as the port town they were at previously. The plains were large too, and with no small doubt Thor knew they would return to them in their search with Rain. And while he had no reasons to question the man, he was certain that by now someone was more than simply curious on things here. He couldn't blame them either. For now though, the situation at hand needed to be dealt with in a proper manner.

[Phantom]

It had been discovered that what had been burning was the house not too far off from their own line of vision. It hadn't been burnt down, merely set on fire with the blazes put to rest. They also noticed a nearby body, a fine sword resting next to it embedded into the ground. It wouldn't be hard to pull it out, seeing more too as there were two people in the center, a mage and a troubadour with various other unfamiliar faces to Rain near the center of the town. They seemed rather rowdy at that too.

[Rain]

Rain wasted no time pulling the sword straight from the ground and taking the scabbard along with it. The dead needed no weapons, but he would make sure the blade handed down the glory its former master would have gained with it. Him not recognizing anyone was awkward too given he actually didn't and shouldn't have been gone for that long. He started over cautiously, hand at the hilt of his sword as he called out to those there. Caution was tossed partly to the wind and kept nearby at the same time.

"Who are you all?! What are you doing here and who did this to that house?!"

[Elaine]

"And off he goes. Still..."

'It was clear that there had been some conflict here. Rain had likely known the man lying on the ground now, hence him taking the sword. She readied herself to dive in if necessary given it looked like things were about to get messy. While Rain hadn't paid any attention to the people, now that she thought back on the situation...the archer had looked pretty familiar. To go along with this, the priest had too once she had seen him sprawled out unconscious on the ground. And seeing a nature magician along with a troubadour together of all things made her think on it even more. They all seemed like they were part of a certain something...but she couldn't put her finger on it just yet. She'd know what it was once they engaged in battle at the very least then or in conversation. The latter of the two would be nice.'

"I think it's about to be time to tussle guys, so be at your ready now."

[Thor]

"Understood."

Thor had the same feeling as Charlene right now, unlacing his lance as he readied himself just in case. If things got out of hand and Rain became a target of aggression, then he too would become a target of that very same aggression right after he sent his lance into one of the people among the list of people standing there. They had considerable numbers for being in such a small town, so they couldn't have been from around here. If they were they would be more worried about the man on the ground than anything else. Railone wasn't as concerned or blaming the group there, but did keep herself alarmed given there was one casualty already.

"Alright."

She lowered herself slightly more, ready to head in if need be. Hopefully there would be no need for such a thing, but Rain seemed rather furious already. That or his normal tone for asking questions of strangers needed some work.

[Phantom]

One man in particular was standing with an axe in hand, possibly the ringleader since he had been the one giving orders from the looks of it. Though once he took a glance at Rain, there was a look of surprise on his face before he waved the axe in his direction, the men responding in return as they prepared for battle. The leader moved back with the mage and troubadour, the fight about to become underway. Looked like there was no explaining their way out of this one, but it did show that it was more or less their fault in this occasion.

- Outbreak: The Intruders in Aledersaem -

[Rain]

Rain grunted, dismounting from his horse as he landed on the ground and strode over to the dying brigand. He wasn't dead yet, but he was getting there. Knocking aside the halberd with his sword, he got down on one knee and lifted the man by the throat, glaring him in the eyes with his own pair with anger obviously present.

"You attack my homeland and then laugh at your own defeat?! What exactly are you after?! Just what is so hilarious about your present circumstances?!"

[Elaine]

'So they didn't want to fight after all...that was good to know. To be honest she had been partly worried that they were there to fight originally. The others had worked together and defeated Farkins, but he had laughed it off even in his last breaths. Rain was good in a fight, that was the second person he had taken down personally thus far. But Rain was a bit too excessive right now, heading over while her steed followed.'

"You've more odds of killing him that way rather than receiving honest answers. Calm down."

'She'd focus on any injuries later, though they would have to move the bodies they had laid about too. One bright side to magic is that most of it usually didn't leave behind a body to clean up afterward. She moved over to remove the man from Rain's grip, letting the brigand drop back on his back still.'

"He asked the questions and you lost to him in the fight. The least you could do is answer us before you pass on, right? Think of it as a final paid courtesy that you got from whoever employed you."

[Thor]

"That's what you get for underestimating me."

She was glad she had beat him in the fight, taking the halberd that Rain had knocked aside. No point in wasting an honestly good weapon, Thor shaking his head afterward. He supposed that was how the cookie crumbled. The man had tried too hard and got his just desserts for his wrongdoings, and Charlene and Rain had done the questioning. That left him to simply remain vigilant of their surroundings, in case something else came their way. Railone dismounted herself now too, her wyvern landing down to take a break himself as she kept her eyes on the bandit, just in case he wanted some more. They were ones to never take defeat lying down usually after all.

[Phantom]

The man was being choked at first, and had not Charlene interfered with it he possibly would have died before any answers were given. Still he dropped back to the ground, groaning while chuckling a bit more. He coughed afterward though, choking a bit on his own blood before he started to breathe shallowly. He wouldn't last much longer, but he had a bloody smile, literally, on his face now.

"I was merely...told to be a distraction. Dying now bites, but it's funny because...those two who got away won't get far....at all!"

He started to hack and wheeze around then for why it came out louder than the rest, but he recomposed himself quickly enough to continue speaking.

"It'll be fun...watching you all squirm..."

At this, the brigand promptly spat his own blood at Charlene. Whether or not it was a successful hit or not didn't matter to him, laughing again afterward before he starting coughing once more.

[Rain]

It took all of Rain's personal restraints not to stab the man again where he lie. Not only did he work for someone and not say who, but he had distracted them possibly for some underhanded plot and had the nerve to act superior about it, furthermore spitting his own vile blood in Charlene's direction. Face instantly turning into that of a scowl, if anyone deserved to end him, it would be Charlene. Instead kicking the man with all his might as he lie dying.

"You can die like the filth you are, scum!"

He wanted to take off again and head after the two. After all they might still be able to catch up after all. Turning with disgust from the man, he worked on formulating a plan on how to get about now. It shouldn't be too hard nor take too long should things go accordingly at least, which so far it had. He had likely failed in distracting them long enough at the very least given his sudden case of death after all.

[Elaine]

'So he had served as a means to stand in the way so they wouldn't catch on to his other goal? Well, he did good work at that. They had wasted too much time fighting him, yet alone taking the time to get this information out of him. Closing her eyes, she started to weigh their options against their newly gained knowledge. It probably would be fun for him if he got to watch whatever they were here for be successful because of his own loss against them, but...'

"To give immediate pursuit now wouldn't be good, but then there's--"[/color]

'She should have stayed focused on the brigand, but she figured he wouldn't be doing anything else now that he was gloating about their predicament. Her own train of thought was cut off when he promptly spat in her face with his blood, not even attempting to stop Rain from what he did next as her eyes remained closed as she more or less remained silent for a few moments. Raising her left hand and wiping the blood that landed on her cheek then. When her eyes opened, their usual carefree nature was replaced by hard glare.'

"We'll keep your words in mind as we move on then. You just focus on staying there and dying now."

'Rather than simply stab him herself and give him a painful but quick end, he couldn't move and he'd be feeling the various slash and stab wounds from Rain along with what the rider had done after. Turning on heel and walking away from the brigand, they had more important things to think about than his taunts. He was a goner either way now.'

[Thor]

Neither of them blamed her for being upset. Railone personally considered Charlene to be better than herself actually. She would've ended it then and there if he had done that to her. Still, she supposed that was that then. The man wouldn't be going anywhere now, so they had to come up with a plan now. The fog was thick enough where traveling through it would be a hazard if anything else. That meant they couldn't pursue the two that left to warn them, unless they took the risks that went along with it. They went after Charlene of course, leaving Farkins to the fate he had chosen for his own self after all.

"So what now? Do you wait until the fog clears up?"

[Phantom]

The man coughed up more blood, no longer laughing after Rain kicked him. As they each had said before, he wasn't going anywhere. He had made his own bed, and now all he could do was lie in it. On the other hand the ominous fog still filled the air, and the villagers and people that were about were beginning to calm down. For now, it seemed as though they would have to rest for hours before a fog this thick would subside.

[Rain]

Rain walked away, leaving him to rot as he followed the others. They were right, but the fog would last a good few hours while halting their progress. And while this irritated him, he used rational thinking to come to a conclusion instead of impulsive thinking.

"We'll help the people out here first, maybe learn a little of what happened. You can also resupply here and take care of any injuries sustained in that last fight. After that, we can rest until the fog lifts. Then we move out."