[ You all find yourself back in that first cave, watching the rain, which has gone down gradually over the last hour; it should pass by entirely before too long. You've all explored the cave beneath the huge ugly statue, but found absolutely nothing; it seemed almost like a dry well, but why would someone near the river bother with a well? ] [ There was also, of course, a feeling that you had missed something. But no amount of searching turned up anything. ] [ Session start! ] * Ada sits on her cloak and leans against the wall. A small frown is on her face. * Sei is standing and staring at the rain, pondering. * Ethan is idly sorting though his pack, rearrainging things. * Nebrinel is holding her hair out in front of her and looking at it with a frown on her face. She sighs. * Ethan pulls out a whetstone, places his glaive on his lap, and starts to go about sharpening the blade... *blinkblink* Well that was unexpected... * Fyril sits near the front of the cave, looking out at the rain. He fidgets with the strings on his pack. * Sei blinks. "Hmm?" * Ethan holds up the whetstone, which has a large groove carved in it where it was rubbed along the blade of the glaive. "Guess it doesn't need sharpening..." Lemme guess. It's wasn't dulled at- yup. * Nebrinel looks down at Ethan and his glaive with guarded disbelief. "You're lucky you didn't cut your hand off." ( Hey, it's a Great Weapon. If you had to sharpen it, it'd be a lowly Okay Weapon. ) If I had, I certainly would've said more than "Well that was unexpected..." Perhaps something more along the lines of "AAAH! MY HAND! AAAAAAAAAAA!" * Fyril flinches, then looks back over his shoulder at Ethan and rolls his eyes. "You don't need to do that that loudly if you haven't actually cut your hand off." Dramatic effect, Fyril. * Ada facepalms. * Nebrinel says in a neutral tone. "Perhaps. I wouldn't want to underestimate your pain tolerance." She pulls a rubber cinching thing from her pack, and scrunches her hair up with it. (How do you describe 'put a scrunchie in your hair, anyway?) (Like that?) Anything worth doing is worth doing to the point of complete and utter absurdity, I always say. (Exactly.) ( Yeah, that sounds about right for Ethan. ) Outside, the rain stops. * Ethan twirls the glaive idly, a slight gleam in his eye. "If it could do that to the whetstone... against armor... heh heh heh..." *strokes goatee; chuckles disturbingly* Ah, it stopped...pity. * Ada blows some hair out of her eyes. "Sounds right, coming from you." She stands and pulls on her cloak. * Fyril shakes his head, then turns back to looking outside. "Yeah. I really don't want to sit around in here anymore. He hops up, then leans down and picks up his satchel. I know what you mean. Feels like we've been in here for a month. A lovely rainbow stretches across the horizon. Innat nice? * Nebrinel says, "I am with Fryil on this. It's about time." * Ada nods and stretches, then heads out. ... so where to again? *follows Ada* * Sei shrugs, and follows. * Fyril walks out over the stones, following behind the others. I don't think we had much of a destination other than away from that tower. * Nebrinel points off in the direction the group was going before, which is southwest-y-like. "We were going thatway." *shrugs* Works for me. * Sei nods. Fine with me. * Nebrinel nods and makes sure her pack is on tight. Then she starts to walking with a slight smile of satisfaction on her face. * Fyril nods, and looks out that way. "Right." He grins, and moves to fall in step beside Nebrinel. * Ethan stows his glaive in it's holder on his pack, and whistles an jaunty traveling tune. * Ada sighs, walking after the elf and the other elf. * Fyril turns to Nebrinel as he keeps walking. "So... what's the next big place this way?" * Nebrinel hmms, and puts her hand on PlagueBringer. "Faydra's place." ... okay, time for me to play the ill-informed human, ignorant of the major players in the elven world. * Ethan clears his throat. "Ahem. Who's Faydra?" ( Ataboy, Ethan. ) * Nebrinel opens her eyes slightly wider, and sighs, muttering, "I forget where I am sometimes." She continues walking. "Remember the staff that was supposed to be in Friyas' place?" Vaguely, yeah. Yes. * Sei nods. * Nebrinel says, "That's Faydra's Staff. And we're going to Faydra's place." She pauses, "Or so she says." Wait, who says? * Nebrinel says, dryly, "Faydra does." Right. So Faydra is in that staff. * Nebrinel nods as she walks. "Yes." And we're going to her place why? Because it's there? ... * Nebrinel continues talking dryly, "Because she'll reward us for helping set her free. The possibility of a Great Weapon piece is certaintly there." * Fyril looks over at Nebrinel somewhat wide-eyed. "You didn't mention that before." * Nebrinel smiles wryly. "It wasn't really relevant until people asked." ... and playing the role of the overly-cryptic mage who knows more than she lets on today will be Nebrinel. Refreshments are in the back. * Nebrinel smirks. "But still. Even if we don't attain another piece, it won't hurt much to free her, and it's someplace that the large Black Knight doesn't know where to find us. It works for me." Mmm. Why do you say it won't hurt much? * Nebrinel suddenly gets a very serious look on her face, and turns to look right at Ada. Then she points at her pack and taps her ear. ... there's a monster that tries to bite off your ear? * Sei facepalms. * Nebrinel then goes back to walking normally. "No, Ethan. Those _would_ hurt a lot." Well, only if you let it get close... but what were you talking about? * Nebrinel rolls her eyes. "Nothing, Ethan." (What time is it?) * Fyril rolls his eyes, and turns to face Nebrinel as he walks on next to her. "So her place isn't near anything?" ( 11:20 EST ) ( In the game world? Mid-afternoon, if I remember right. And if I don't remember right, it's mid-afternoon anyway. ^_^ ) At least tell me if there's something I'm gonna need to whack repeatedly about the head and shoulders. * Nebrinel says to Fyril, "Not much, really, no." She then throws back towards Ethan, "How would I know?" ... right. (And mystically, we aren't going South-west, we're going north!) ( I should make a correction; you're actually going northwesterly. *whistles innocently* ) * Ethan mutters something under his breath, and goes back to whistling. * Nebrinel continues walking. "The only real guide is that it's two-hundred miles east of Adrilanka. I'm sure she'll guide us more once we get closer." (How far is that? ^^;) * Ada sighs. "I should hope so." ( I'm gonna say about four day's travel. ) * Nebrinel shrugs. "Talk to her yourself if you feel like it, Ada. But after we finish today's travel." Reasonable enough. I'll wait. * Ethan adds a vocal track to the tune he was whistling. o/" Oh I would march 500 miles and I would march 500 more, just to be the man who marched a thousand miles just to lay siege at your door... o/" ... * Fyril winces at Ethan, thinks briefly, and looks hopefully over to Nebrinel. "She tell you what her place was like?" * Ethan shrugs at Sei. "It's a military march song." * Ada groans. * Nebrinel looks up at the sky, and back to the road. Then over to Fyril. "No, I'm afraid not. Although..." She pauses. "Sei?" (Not pauses walking. Pauses speaking.) Oh, it's nothing. * Sei smiles evilly. "Unless you'd like me to sing some of the songs I know." * Nebrinel says with a hint of annoyance, "No, I was going to ask you if you had any romance novels for Faydra to read." * Sei considers, and then digs in his bag. Quite a few, but I'm afraid that none of them are very, ah, worthwhile. If you wanna sing, then sing away. Variety is the spice on the Steak of Life. * Nebrinel says, "A pity. I figured you for the romance type." She continues walking, with a small smile on her face. * Sei keeps walking as well, a bit disoriented. * Fyril pouts slightly, and thinks a bit more before grinning. "But I bet it'll still be good there. And did she actually ask for romance novels? How would she read them?" * Nebrinel raises an eyebrow and says meaningfully towards Fryil, "The same way she can tell what's going on in a room. And yes, she did." * Fyril nods, and looks around the area. "Right. I get it." He purses his lips. Worst comes to worst, I can probably make up some sorta romance story to tell... "Her eyes pierced me like a well-thrown spear sliding between my ribs...: ... * Nebrinel comments almost sarcastically, "Sounds like a pageturner for the sensitive army man." * Fyril rolls his eyes. "I think you'd be better off leaving the storytelling to Ada or me." He blushes slightly. "Although that's not really my kind of story." * Nebrinel chuckles to herself. * Ethan grins at Fyril. "You sure? I can see you being good at that kinda stuff... the dashing rogue, stealing the hearts of women like they were shiny baubles..." * Ada smiles faintly and shakes her head. He may grow into it. I sense great power in him. (*snerks*) (These powers can be used for good...or for evil.) (Bwaha!) (Dear me.) * Fyril shakes his head, slightly embarassedly, and says, "I think it's easier to stick with the real shiny baubles." He sneaks a quick glance at Nebrinel. "It might change, but I think I'd be happier with just one person." It has potential... "The Rogueishly Dashing Fyril! He'll sneak his way into your hearts, and possibly other parts of your anatomy!" * Sei grins. * Nebrinel can't help but grin at this point as well. (Well, if you need any tips...) * Ada chuckles. (You know where to find Ethan. ^_-) * Fyril turns to look at Nebrinel. "You too?" He puffs out his cheeks slightly and pouts. "It's not like that's what I'm after." * Ethan whistles. o/~ * Nebrinel says in an amused tone. "We can't help it. You just blush far too easily." Seriously, Fyril, that's the right attitude. Not everyone's lives allow for it, but... You're one to talk, Sei. * Sei smiles. "Indeed." ( Uh oh. ) * Nebrinel says dryly, "I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we should introduce you to Ethan's girlfriend. I'm sure she could settle you down." (Random encounter: Penguin Monster. @_@) (What a tasteless joke. But man, is it funny.) ... she's *not* my girlfriend. *shudders* * Sei shudders. "We've met." * Fyril turns back and smiles thinly at Ethan. "Your girlfriend? Don't think I met her." 'Mentally Unhinged Suitor' would be a more accurate term. * Ada raises an eyebrow. "You have a girlfriend, Ethan?" ... I'm gonna have to explain this, aren't I? Yes. * Nebrinel says, "Ah, right, Ada was drunk at the time, and Fyril was busy. So not everyone has seen her up close." * Ethan sighs. * Ada chuckles. "I wasn't *that* drunk." Okay, as you may've noticed, I don't exactly have what one would term an ideal military temprament. * Fyril nods vigorously. My parents had tried various less-than-nice methods to try to get me to fall into line, but all those did were make me even more dead set against them. The details of said efforts are... a story for another time. * Ada nods and gestures for Ethan to go on. * Sei nods. So my parents get the brilliant idea that the way to get me to act like a proper soldier was to marry me off to a woman domineering enough to beat me into shape. Thus, Sadira, an axe-wielding, egomaniacal psychopath in a metal bikini. She was up for it, because she'd be marrying into a powerful family. I... * Ethan scowls. "I was... less thrilled, shall we say." * Nebrinel chuckles to herself. I can imagine. Not the only reason I left, but certainly the final straw. Thus, my desire to avoid her... if she finds me, she can challenge me, and that's *bad*. * Fyril tilts his head. "Challenge you? For what?" * Nebrinel says, "His hand in marraige. You are obviously unfamiliar with some of the odd things humans do in their haste." * Fyril starts slightly, and looks at Ethan oddly. "She can do that?" * Ethan chuckles darkly, shaking his head. "Another fun local custom. Arraigned marraiges are allowed where I come from, but the participants have some say in the matter. If one party refuses, they can get out of the engagement by defeating the willing partner in combat." * Ada eyes Ethan. I never thought I'd say it, but now I'm almost glad I didn't come from the Eastern Kingdoms. Who came up with that? Or, rather, the willing partner can FORCE the unwilling partner to agree by defeating them in combat. So basically, Sadira wants to fight me because, if she beats me, I have to marry her. Okay. Two questions, Ethan. * Fyril shakes his head bewilderedly. "That's about the strangest thing I've ever heard." Dunno who came up with it... Makes no goddamn sense to me. First, who's to say that she would beat you? * Ethan blinks, then freezes, eyes widening. "Err, well... ah, crap. Was hoping to keep that a secret..." * Ethan clears his throat. "This is a bit embarassing, but bear with me here." * Ada mutters, "When is anything not embarrassing with you?" Y'see, back when I was a kid, my sister and I used to spar a lot. Wasn't much else to do, since 'playing' wasn't really looked upon kindly. One day, we got ahold of some real weapons, and were sparring... and I accidentally hit her for real. * Ethan narrows his eyes at Ada. "That was unnecessary." * Ada blinks at Ethan in surprise, then composes herself and nods. "My apologies." ... anyway. It really wasn't that bad an injury, but there was a whole ton of blood, and it freaked me out really bad. Ever since... well... * Ethan pauses for a moment. "I guess you could call them... problems fighting women. Namely, I can't." So you can't fight females because you accidentally hit your sister. Pretty much. Sounds stupid, I know, but... * Ethan shrugs helplessly. "Any time I've tried to fight a woman, I just freeze up. I can block, do some basic attacks, but I can't go anywhere near all out." * Nebrinel chuckles to herself. "Well, we could always try to beat them out of you." She grins ferally. "I'm sure I could make you fear for your life." Going full out I could beat Sadira. Holding myself back... I'm not so sure. And I'm not about to take that chance. What about dirty tricks? I imagine you'd be hesitant to use them, but... * Ada runs a hand through her hair. "Well, Ethan, that would be the other question." You're not in your home country anymore. Why do you need to adhere to that custom here? * Ethan tilts his head to show a rather nasty scar along the base of his neck. "I nearly got my jugular sliced when I got stuck fighting a female bandit a coupla years back, Nebrinel. Fear doesn't make a difference." Dirty tricks are an option, but she's a helluva lot better with them than I am. I've always gotten by without 'em. And as for the custom... * Nebrinel says coldly, "Not when you're dead, no." She adds, "And I think Sadira, if she ever beat him, could carry him back with no trouble." *smirk* Exactly. If she beat me, she'd beat me to a pulp, and by the time I woke up I'd be tied up in the back of a wagon headed back to Urik. And once I got back home, if I resisted, I'd either be hung, decapitated, or drawn and quartered, depending on what kind of mood my dad was in. So, basically, I'm fucked. * Fyril blinks, and shakes his head bewilderedly. "Your family would actually do that to you?" * Ada frowns at that. ( Yes, they're all such nice people in Urik. ) In a heartbeat. Military discipline and all. Plus, my father and I are not exactly on the best of terms. One other thought...out here, there's no way to ensure that we won't intervene on your behalf. * Nebrinel shrugs. "It seems to me, Ethan, that Sei has hit upon the solution to your predicament. I, for one, am far less reserved in my fighting style. And you're too useful to let get trussed up and dragged to... Urik." * Sei nods. No go. I may think the entire military system of honor is a load of crap, but the one thing that did get through was the honor of the duel. If she challenges me, I can't refuse, and I can't let your guys interfere. * Sei ponders. "Can we interfere after you've been beaten to a pulp?" Probably, yeah. But I wouldn't put it past Sadira to be traveling with a small army of retainers. She knows how... stubborn I can be. Mmm. Assuming this small army isn't enough to stop us, I still don't want to face them. So it looks like you're running, Ethan. Until, that is, you manage to get over this fear of yours. And you're *going* to get over it. * Ethan nods at Ada. "Best option I got at the moment." * Sei opens his mouth, then closes it, and "hmm"s to himself. * Ethan swollows hard. "I've tried, believe me." * Nebrinel looks back at Ada with a faint grin. * Ethan sighs. "I've got a couple of tricks I can try if she tracks me down, try to buy myself enough time to slip away... but I dunno if and for how long they'd work." * Ada nods, not altogether unsympathetically. "Then the only long term solution is for you to get over it. And I know you tried, but you're going to keep trying." ... this is going to involve me taking multiple beatings, isn't it. * Ada grins. "Maybe." Well, by the "greatest happiness principle", that's a better solution than the one last idea I had. Me'n my big mouth... better than being burned at the stake, though. We could arrange that, if you really wanted. * Nebrinel chuckles to herself and looks over at Fyril briefly. No thanks. My dad would swear eternal vengeance on you for denying him the chance. By Urik's law, do marriages have to be conducted there before they're recognized? * Fyril just looks confused, mostly. Eventually, he sets down his pack to listen. (I didn't realize we were stopping. ^^;) (We weren't.) Not in cases like this. Once the duel ends, if the willing party wins, the marraige is official. The ceremony is just a formality. Oh, I mean in general. (We are now. I'm obviously too confused to keep walking. =P) (Heh.) In general... you mean, does Urik recognize marraiges performed in other places? For example...if you were to marry someone before she finds you, would the duel override that marriage? In theory, no. In practice, since my dad is the military leader of Urik, whatever he says goes. * Sei snaps his fingers. "So much for that idea." * Nebrinel quirks a smile. "Well, if his bride was worthy..." * Sei blinks. "You have a point." 'sides, I wouldn't marry someone just to get out of this predicament. Wouldn't be fair to that person, and a bit too scuzzy for my tastes. (Oh, but I wouldn't mind a bit, my dearest Ethan.) (Aww, a match made in Heaven!) ( They'd probably kill you on sight, Sei. Elves aren't very popular. =P ) (Hey, I'm good at disguises.) (So marrying Fyril is right out, eh? =P) ( Nebby would kill him if he even suggested it. ) (So you think.) No way I'm dragging anyone else into this any more than I have to. (She wouldn't? ;_;) (Well, it depends...) And as for the worthiness... I suppose finding someone who could beat Sadira *could* work, but Sadira's a damn good fighter. * Ada considers, then she smiles, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "So if I were to challenge Ethan to a duel for his hand in marriage, say, he wouldn't be able to turn me down?" Oh, my. * Ethan shakes his head, chuckling. "That's the gist of it, yeah." And if I were to win, then Sadira would have to acknowledge it? Nope. Oh? That doesn't make sense. Like I said, that'd be up to a court back in Urik. And my goddamn father controls the courts. * Nebrinel smirks. "So, unless your father thinks Ada is domineering enough, he wouldn't support it." * Ada snickers. ... oy. Well, I think I could do *that*. * Ethan rubs his temples. * Fyril nods decisively. "So just go with Ada. Then you don't have to worry about it. You like Ada, right? And I bet she could beat this axe girl. It doesn't have to be real. Just real enough." (Aah, Fyril. That's why we love you. So blunt.) (Yep!) (Fyril, you're wonderful.) (Why nick at something when you can hammer it, I say. ^^) * Ethan *glares* at Fyril. * Fyril looks back earnestly and innocently. "What?" * Ethan scowls, and turns to stare intently at the road. * Nebrinel grins to herself. * Ada chuckles. ... I'm glad my personal problems are so amusing to you all. *scowls; speeds up slightly* [ Session end, yo. ]