How to Train your Newbie Adventurer: Electric Boogaloo 2 in 3D [M]
 

--- Anreikland: Guild Hall ---

Wisp looked up from the tome she was reading and raised a brow, the look of unamusement on her face turning into pure agitation when she noticed the various people looking around so...Mirthfully. Disgusting. She hated just about everyone in this place and with the times turning more profitable, it meant more people would be coming through these halls with the high and mighty ideas of chivalry and helping others for the benefit of all. Wisp let out a soundless yawn and narrowed her eyes at the sheer heinous thought of doing any sort of guild work without profit the end goal in mind and to be frank?

Disgusting.

And of course there was her apprentice she was supposed to be assisting, the boy some backwards yokel with the grand delusion of being something more. At least the boy was listening to her and was standing next to her polishing a dagger and more importantly, keeping quiet and making sure no one was planning to assassinate her or anything. Granted his exuberence was a bit taxing, and the fact he seemed to want to sign them both up for the most diminished, lackluster jobs available - Christoval this time giving them the time-honored job of cleaning out greenskins from some peasant mine in the sticks to the west.

"Sir Christo?" Wisp hummed, her voice soft and tired, though rarely heard enough to make the younger cavalier jump in place for a moment before raising a brow at her. "Yeah miss?"

"I hate you."

Christoval snorted and rolled his eyes, looking at his superior with a rather childish grin. He knew the optimism was poison to her, and he wasn't about to start scowling for fear of people thinking he was too far gone beyond saving, simply for being put with someone with such a horrid reputation. The girl had some good left in that obsidian rock she called a heart, and he was gonna try and get some of that to come out at some point. "You say you hate me, but here you are sitting next to me, and guiding me and such." He beamed back at her, taking a seat finally, and watching as Wisp scooted a full foot away from him.

"I have to sit near you and guide you. Mandated orders. Speaking of. Start packing for the trip. And I believe others may be joining us. Terrific." Wisp spat out. "...Also pack my things. I'm busy today."

Arabella and Kastivi were running late, something unheard of from the shorter of the two. Arabella of the Daughters of Ash was a halfling known to take no nonsense. Always the best of intentions, she gained quite the reputation in the Adventurer's Guild. It was in this building that she now walked into, arm raised, one finger hooked around the gold ring dangling from a dark skinned girl, hunched over and wincing following closely on her heels.

Arabella released the ring as soon as they entered however and the latter straightened immediately bringing a hand to massage a sore ear. She didn't complain, however, as she followed the halfling, not missing a step. This didn't stop her brow from furrowing and her lips to form a small pout as she trudged behind the much shorter companion.

A quick glance around the guild told Arabella all that she needed to know and she went to the first person she recognized, amazed that she was even here. “Hello, Wisp. I'm surprised you decided to show up.” Kastivi looked from the spoken to Wisp to her own companion and smiled and waved. She assumed he was in the same position as her—a new adventurer, in need of training. The greeting went unnoticed by the halfling who cast only a glance at the boy before looking back at Wisp, “You have a new unfortunate underling? How long have you had him?” Then, switching to lower tone (though still audible to the boy) and leaning in with a wry smile added, “You don't think he'll die miserably like the last one do you?”

Kastivi was new enough that she did not recognize Wisp or the spoken about, but her eyes widened and she looked down baffled at her master. She can't be serious, right? She's going to scare him to death...

There was a sudden, less tolerable voice that had called out to the mage, Wisp looking up from her book, and then slowly downwards, before crossing her leg and giving the halfling something akin to a polite wave, before turning towards the other Daughter of Ash, the dark-skinned one and immediately frowning. It was another, longer silence between the three before Wisp finally spoke up, the girl darting her eyes towards Arabella. "I see you too have a parasite attached to your person. I suppose you do need someone to reach for reagents on the top shelf, don't you?" It was a playful jibe, though her tone had sounded deadly serious. "Hm, oh? The peasant-knight?" Wisp said, looking towards Christoval, who seemed keen on letting the two elders speak, and then grunting. "I have had him for a total of six days. The longest running survivor yet." Wisp grinned like a devil soon after, the glint of malice in her eyes and aura all too palpable. "They always do. Hopefully it's a quick miserable death."

Christoval finally swallowed and looked towards his mentor and then her short companion - brows lifted with suspicion. Wisp had other apprentices? She had never mentioned it to him. Or the fact their deaths were less than favorable. "I'm pretty sure I don't wanna know what exactly happened to them, do I?" He piped up, fidgeting with his fingers and then sliding out of his chair. Wisp had asked him to start packing things. "Besides, she keeps me around because no one else tolerates her, and she's lonely or something, on top of being forced to." Christoval chimed in, then immediately ducking the book Wisp had winged towards his skull, before laughing and shaking his head. He turned then towards Kastivi, and beamed towards her; face filled with delight. "Also nice to meet you! And your, mentor? Friend? I don't know with the Daughters, what you call each other. I've never heard about you until I came to this town."

Wisp of course, only seemed to be interested in replying and looking towards Arabella, the dark mage yawning and then gesturing with a free hand towards one of the chairs near her table. "My apprentice signed us up for murdering green things. You're welcome to join if you need to break in your new apprentice. Plus it's always nice having a second meat shield when they screw up and get us all nearly killed."

Arabella frowned with Wisp immediately searching for a taller person when at this point she most certainly should have recognized her voice. They'd been (unfortunately, again, from Arabella's point of view) paired together on countless missions—more than likely because Arabella would ensure that the job could get done without massive amounts of destruction following in their wake. “Hm? Parasite? No. I have a new Daughter and already she is showing more promise than the last few to join our ranks combined. I am thankful that I was the one paired with her.” Kastivi was beaming. These were things that she had never heard, and certainly wouldn't have guessed with her master's severity in virtually all things. Arabella paid no mind to the spoke of apprentice, however, and kept speaking, “It is true that this world is tailored to more human races, but I have my own methods of reaching the typically unaccessable.” This last sentence was uttered with a bit of a frown and inherited a snort from her apprentice. Had they been alone, Kastivi would have received the worst of glares, but as it was, Arabella paid her no mind.

Instead, her eyes shifted up to Wisp's tall apprentice and she gave him a snort of her own, “No. No you do not. I will tell you they died slow and miserable deaths, however.” Kastivi clapped a hand over her mouth with Christoval's response. She couldn't imagine speaking like that to Arabella. She'd learned long ago that height made no difference to the halfling and that one did not speak to her with anything less than reverence. “Then you have been living under a rock, knight. The Daughters have earned a very high reputation with the leaders of many great cities and towns, such as this one.”

Kastivi brightened and held out her hand to the knight, “My name is Kastivi. And this is my master, Arabella. She is training me in the ways of the Daughters.” Immediately, she hoped that they would be traveling together, a friendly face seeming that foreign to her. Life with the Daughters was good and all, but it was all rules and regulations. Reputation. Arabella narrowed her eyes, “We will accompany you. Not for your sake, mind you.” She nodded up at Wisp's apprentice, “But for his. Kastivi, come. We have to sign up and I imagine we'll be on our way come day break.”

Wisp couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself, bringing a hand and pretended it was a cough before quirking a brow at Kastivi. The girl seemed to be pining for those compliments, it seemed. And actually hearing them from Arabella? The girl must have had some show of promise when it came to hurling fire. Of course her mind soured almost immediately. That's all those Daughters were good for. Burning things. At least she could do more than just destroy things. She could torment and hex them. "With all these daughters, you would think that the world would be warmer. Huh." Wisp commented with a nonchalant shrug, before clicking her tongue. "I suppose your means of reaching resort to summoned stepping-stools and burning everything down to a more reasonable, crispy height."

Christoval looked less than thrilled when it came to Arabella's response; the young man sucking his teeth and then shooting a concerned look at Wisp, only to receive nothing in return. Same dead glare she gave just about everything. Great. "Well...Uh. Horrible death or not. Can't be a knight if I don't rush towards something dangerous that could kill me." He said, brushing a bit of lint off of his shoulder, and then moving the hand up to his forehead to pick at it with his nails in nervousness. "Well, I haven't really heard about you guys on the farm. Mom and Dad were more busy with important things like making enough food. Not, not to say you guys are unimportant." He added quickly, beaming sheepishly at Arabella.

Kastivi's hand however proved a decent excuse to end the conversation, and he took it, shaking it gently and putting on a small smile for the dark-skinned woman. "Christoval! That's my name. I think you heard her name, but if not, that's Wisp. Everyone calls her that, among other, less mentionable things." He said with a chuckle, before rubbing the back of his head and turning red in the cheeks. Some of those names Wisp had been called brought that blush to his face. Barn-Talk. That's what mama used to call it. Remembering his task, Christoval snapped to, and began to grab knapsacks behind him, pulling one up to the table and beginning to pack it with various things he kept in his cloak.

Wisp let out a small, sarcastic cheer at Arabella, before rolling her eyes and flaring her nostrils at Arabella, pale hands reaching up to push the mane of silky black hair back into place on the dark mage. "For his sake? You Daughters don't seem to give a shit about anything other than reputation. Why the concern over -my- apprentice. You should be watching yours. Would be a shame if a Goblin stuck her in the back." Wisp said venomously, a bit of purple balefire ekeing out of her eyes before fading away. "Spill it. What is your game here? Did the Guild send you to monitor me?"

“We use our flames only when necessary,” Arabella spat back at the dark mage, “Not enough to change mapwide temperatures. But then, I suppose you didn't take to your books as well as maybe you should have.” Kastivi's eyes widened. Arabella was on fire, ehm, figuratively this time. It was almost out of character, but then, she'd seen Arabella in dealings with other adventurers, constantly questioning and demeaning their motives. To everyone else, the halfling was put on this pedestal of light that may as well have made her just a pinnacle of good. She never broke a law, and the gods would smite the earth completely before she ever uttered a swear word. “I suppose that depends on the item in question. If it's a snarky dark mage that intends on killing everyone in her party, fire works just fine...” Kastivi again clapped a hand over her mouth. Was that a threat?

Come to think of it, Kastivi had wondered what they were late for. Generally their adventures were just things they signed up for whenever they returned, which was frequent—considering the Daughters had a reputation to upkeep. Now she knew that they were there to meet up with these two specifically. Arabella folded her arms, looking again at the apprentice, “Running head first into a battle you cannot survive is how you die without helping anyone. Another body to the count. Has Wisp not taught you this?” Here, she shot a glare at the aforementioned dark mage, leaving Kastivi to awkwardly scratch the back of her head, noting that her master-esque tendencies extended to all apprentices rather than just her own. She nodded back up to the apprentice though, offering him the slightest of all slight smiles, as if giving him permission to speak openly with her actual apprentice.

“That's a nice name. It sounds like a knight, even. I think it suits you,” Kastivi said to the man with a sheepish grin. She wasn't particularly used to being allowed to speak to many people outside of their order given their small stays at various places. Sure, they had connections just about everywhere they went. They only needed to utter their organization's name, or in more dangerous areas the password, and they were granted stays at various inns, town halls, even once or twice a brothel. It seemed the Daughters had connections just about anywhere they went. A good reputation earned you things, apparently, and she'd just inherited this reputation through proxy. She wasn't about to complain about it. “Well, ah...I'm sure not all of them are warranted, surely...” she murmured, doing her best to not cast a glance at the spoken of.

Arabella had no problems offering her take though in saying, “Don't count on that,” under her breath. “That is false. We uphold good and your apprentice is an innocent. The difference between my apprentices and yours, dark mage, is the fact that mine walk out alive and proceed to their own missions that they more than often succeed at, rather than dying miserable deaths. Mine actually have a mentor.” Kastivi looked down, flushing. Her master really was on fire tonight and she looked up to Christoval.

“So uh...is it always like this?”

Arabella spoke to Kastivi before she could receive an answer, however, “Well, it seems as if the cat's out of the bag here, Sylkrana. Alright, yes. They did, but many hands make light work, as the saying goes. It will be completed faster and more efficiently with more on the job. So, truth be told, we don't need to sign up. We were appointed. So. It seems we're stuck with each other for a bit.”

Wisp half-listened to the halfling, mimicking her words silently as her eyes rolled - Wisp opening and closing her hand. The insults about books were more or less ancient history. It was a standard insult to any sort of mage, and she wasn't going to let Arabella get any sliver of satisfaction from irritation. Christoval paused in his packing for a moment, watching the exchange as well and shaking his head, doing his best to stay out of the two veteran's banter. "Only when necessary. I suppose that means every time one of you stub a toe, as I've never seen anyone of your little cult hesitate to burn thing down." Wisp paused for a moment when it came to the implied threat from Arabella, and she looked over towards the halfling's charge, whispering to her self and then snapping a finger at the human. "Perhaps your books never told you to tread carefully with Dark Mages. It would be a shame if I happened to have slipped a finger and hexed her." Of course there was no wind of dark magic in the air. Just threats and instigation.

Of course though, things just seemed to never stay neutral for Christoval and the young man found himself searching for words to try and retort Arabella (And maybe earn a nod from Wisp.) The knight rubbing his temple for a moment and puffing his cheeks. "I know there's a difference between brave and foolhardy. I'm not that green, courtesy of my mentor. I could probably take you on if the situation needed." He said with a small shrug, looking towards Wisp, who had raised a brow at the man, before waving a hand at him. "Oh please, Sir Christo. I don't need a savior. I just need a shelf higher than five feet, and one of her books." The two snickered for a moment and Christoval peeked at Arabella, before turning back to Kastivi.

"I always said I sounded like some sorta fancy knight or something back when I was really young. Used to carry a sharpened stick around like a sword until I poked my dad, and he whipped my behind raw." Cue a nervous laugh, and Christoval pulling out a flintlock pistol from his cloak, making sure it was empty and unprimed, before tucking it into his knapsack. His mind raced back to his younger years, and he couldn't suppress the smile on his face while memories flooded into being. His first time riding a horse, and falling off. The "Armor" he had made out of a few planks of wood, that had managed to save his life when his brother had shot him on accident with a arquebus. "Oh um? The comments about Wisp? I know a few of them are warrented. She's kinda...Mean. And a bit venomous. I can't make any comments on the harlotry or anything. Nor would I really wanna find out."

Wisp reached over and grabbed Christoval by the ear, twisting it and making him wince and squeak in pain while she snerked at Arabella. "If you think I can't mentor anything, your quite blatantly wrong, Arabella. I don't have the luxury of parading around as a cultist, while the populace kisses your fire-breathing arse." Wisp spat out, twisting Christo's ear even hard and making him push her away - Wisp letting go. A nerve was finally struck, and Wisp leaned in towards Arabella. "It's no wonder your putrid goddess is only followed by daughters. No one else would want to worship her knowing something akin to you was a follwer."

"Whoa hey, enough." Christoval barked out, looking towards both elders and frowning at them. They were supposed to be working together, and the last thing he needed was two powerful mages hurling spells at each other. He didn't have the urge, or the prep time to even deal with the two if that happened. "If you're going to fight, you're going to do it after we help these people with the goblin problem. I'll...I'll smack both of your heads together if I have to." Christoval clenched a fist and then released it, Wisp looking towards him, and then pushing herself away from Arabella, the dark mage crossing her legs and then turning her head to side with a small 'Hmph.'

"Well, we're stuck with them anyway, Christoval. I suppose a mentor's lesson is in order. Enjoy watching them get all the glory while you slug and carry us through the thick of it. The guild doesn't give two shits towards us freelancers, so much as they care about the larger groups."

Christoval peered towards both of the daughters for a moment, and frowned. It couldn't be true, could it? No. Jealousy and anger weren't virtuous. "We'll see." Was all he replied, setting up his pack and then moving to take care of Wisp's.

Oh, this woman is infuriating, Arabella thought, clenching her teeth and watching the dark mage mock her. Her countenance, however, did not change and she kept a steady neutral look in her eyes, releasing little more than a sigh. “Then you have not been paying attention. You're spewing downright lies in order to seem somehow better. Pity, I would have thought you would have had something better than that.” Arabella smirked pulling out one of the aforementioned books, though her reasoning was unknown to Kastivi who, like Christoval, was paying the utmost attention to the exchange. Arabella continued, “Oh, they have. But you see, my books also said that dark mages will keep whoever they find necessary around and you certainly are not going to take away another pair of hands to do your slave labor, now are you?”

Kastivi pouted down at the top of Arabella's head, not liking the idea of her being used like poor Christoval was. The poor lad wasn't so much of an apprentice as he was a pack horse for the more experienced veteran. She raised her eyebrows, however, when the packhorse dared to step between them in favor of his master. When he tried to say that he could take her on? Kastivi burst out in a fit of laughter, tears streaming down her cheeks. It was a rich laugh, one that filled the room and drew eyes before Kastivi clapped a hand over her mouth to stop hersefl squeaking a small “sorry” before bowing her head. Arabella gave a small smirk at the apprentice in an obvious dismissal and turned her attention back to Wisp, “You'd have to be able to read the book to get any use out of it, mage.”

Kastivi exhaled and flashed an apologetic look to her fellow apprentice. “Your father sounds like a kind man,” Kastvi said with a sheepish grin, “Mine tried to get the town elders to ram a stake through my heart.” She looked down at the ground, looking up at the knight before turning her attention back to the ground and kicked her foot. “It sounds like you were made for adventuring. I just sort of...fell...into it.” She was found, in the nick of time by the halfling before her. Brought to be a Daughter of Ash for the very thing that almost got her killed. It was strange how quickly one's life could change. She wondered if meeting these two would be one of those life changing things. She laughed with Christ's honesty, “Well, Ara can be kind of mean as well--”

“I heard that, Kas. Your strength session has been moved one half hour forward tomorrow. By the time these two roll out of bed and ready to leave, you will have worked yourself out of breath. I'll look forward to it,” Arabella responded with narrowed eyes now looking up at the dark skinned woman.

Kastivi sighed. She was always good on her word, too. She'd punish herself too if need be. “Yes. We might as well try to get along,” the halfling growled. “Kastivi, I will be in our room,” she said, tossing the key to Kastivi who caught it without even thinking, “You can stay down here for a couple of drinks, but don't forget. You've got an early morning, and being hung over is not the best idea for what I have in store for you.”

Kastivi groaned and watched the halfling move to the stairs and she turned to the mage and the apprentice, “I'm ah...I'm sorry about that.”

"Spewing lies? Lies would be saying all your kind ever does is help people selflessly, rather than being motivated by praise and profit. Don't think anyone has forgotten what one of your daughters did to Enorah Cathedral." Wisp replied, before souring at the stereotypes that Arabella had thrown back at her and shutting her mouth. Both of those comments from each other had merit, if only Wisp was bringing up more or less an accident, rather than deliberate malice; A daughter of Ash accidentally burning down one of the biggest monuments in Jalriksson a decade ago. The city-state was still recovering from what the rumor mill had been spewing out.

Christoval narrowed his eyes at both daughters for a moment, before looking down at himself and then sighing softly. Was every single mage like this? The others he had met seemed to scoff at the mundanes. Yet when monsters came rearing at the door? They were often hiding in the back lines while people like him died in scores trying to fend beings off with simple iron and steel. Regaining his composure and biting his lower lip, and then turned towards Wisp for a moment, who nodded. Gaining her approval, Christoval looked towards Arabella. "Mages who use fire tend to cast spells on an average of 7.23 seconds between each verse or incantation. Seeing as how you focus on fire, a simple effort to reduce injury is to dampen clothes and skin - Wait for the first spell to be cast. Then I have 7 seconds to retaliate. A hand crossbow is more than capable of stopping or aggravating a mage into ruining a spell. Then It's simply forcing you in the defensive while avoiding emergency cantrips." Christoval said with a small shrug. "And seeing as how I can swing a sword with 6.7 seconds a swing, I could theoretically hit you before you finish your next big spell."

Wisp did admire the kid's gumption sometimes. In the six days she'd known him, he at least had a bit of a tactical mind, along with the troublesome knightly virtues. The dark mage looked towards Arabella and shrugged. "I wouldn't want to overshadow you with reading books. I am strong enough as it is without training." And maybe an infernal pact.

Christoval had simmered slightly, and wriggling a set of cold fingers to warm them up, nodding vigorously at Kastivi and giving her a sheepish smile. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't help the farmers chase off witches and such too when I was a kid. Didn't know any better. And neither did they. Then again, supposedly one turned my great-great uncle into a toad, and then he got eaten by a snake. Family story." It was most likely tall-tale, but it made for good talking, Christoval thought with a chuckle, before beaming at the dark-skinned woman. "Anyone can get good at this job! It's just prep-work and not being too zealous. I learned that the hard way on my first adventure, before Wisp took me in. It's also why I took this goblin job. Those things killed my first group of friends." Finally, there was a bit of a malevolent, angry look in Christoval's eyes, something one would attribute to being around Wisp. "Yeah, she seems a bit...Stern. And unfun."

With the halfling retiring after threatening her apprentice - Wisp's eyes shifted slowly over towards the girl - Wisp looking her up and down and then snorting. "Just goes to show you, Christoval. Daughters. College of Wizardry. All the same. Uppity and stuck spelunking their arses with their heads." The dark mage looked towards Kastivi for a moment and offered a seat across from her; the woman waving a hand as a spectral arm conjured itself and pulled the seat out for her - Christoval putting a few baubles into Wisp's pack, the knight shaking and wriggling in place. "It's no worries on my part. Not everyone is always gonna be friendly. Bit sore about her thinking Wisp doesn't train me though. I know a lot from her."

Wisp groaned and placed her head in a hand, watching the two converse. "...I would be a bad mentor if I didn't teach you. Plus you're more....Tolerable...Than the rest. Even with the stupidity you've lodged in your brain about right and wrong."

Wisp hit a sore spot, and Kastivi could feel it, wincing a bit and looking down at her mentor. The events of Enorah Cathedral had been taught to her as a lesson to be learned from, a reason to control her fire, and a reason to hold back when absolutely necessary. The burning of the mountain had been an accident, the cause of said accident now stationed there indefinitely until reparations were made. She was still there. “When you can tell me what I spend my profit on, then I will see your comments as worth a merit. As far as praise goes, I am often already on my way to my next mission before I can receive any praise,” Arabella retorted, keeping her arms folded. Kastivi could check both of those off as well. A majority of her profit went straight into more supplies, better weapons for her and her trainee, and even outside teachers to train Kastivi and herself in ways other than fire. During Kastivi's own sessions with outside teachers, Arabella would take her place beside Kastivi as a theoretical equal as student, learning and training beside her. It was actually quite admirable. And she never lingered around for praise. There was always something more to be done. Always.

Arabella raised her eyebrows at the apprentice. So he did learn a thing or two after all. Kastivi would recognize this look as one of approval, though she wasn't sure that Christoval would recognize it as such. “And when you're fighting in the north, tell me how well those damp clothes work with your hypothermia. Or when you're dealing with a mage who does not rely solely on magic...Mages who rely solely on their magic, they are weak. Pray it is those you come across in your adventures.” She stopped to look up at him, “If you, or Wisp for that matter, want to join us tomorrow for training before we begin our quest, you are welcome to it. We will meet here one hour before dawn.” Kastivi, being higher in elevation, her face somewhat hidden by her height to her master sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Yes, because being overshadowed by one of my own team is something that keeps me up at night,” Arabella growled. There was always room for more training, even for herself. She would never stop bettering herself. One day, perhaps, the world could see peace.

When the halfling was done extending her invitation, she left, heading up to their room leaving Kastivi to the mercy of Wisp and Christoval. When Christoval said that he'd taken part in activities like her own trial, she couldn't help but wonder how many of them were innocent...like her. How many of them had died for simply having magic run through their veins. Had she been a mage of anything other than fire, she wondered if she'd even be alive today, if Arabella would have bothered to save her without the prospect of becoming one of the daughters. She shook away the chill and looked back at knight having said he changed his ways—however slightly—and offered something resembling a smile, “Arabella? Stern, unfun...yes. She is very strict, but I learn new things each and every day, including the days that are just strengthening like...tomorrow.” She sighed. The strengthening sessions were never fun and she found her entire body would be aching for days after. They came once a week. Regular work outs the rest of the time. After all, magic became stronger with its host, and it was important to know how to defend oneself when fire was not an option. On more and more of their journeys she was finding that fire was used only as a last resort, and even then, only very carefully.

Kastivi took that seat with a grateful nod and clasped her hands in her lap, pretending like she didn't just hear what Wisp said pertaining to her family. The ones who had saved her. “Well, I don't know about their past...but from the sounds of it, the other apprentices didn't get to do much learning,” she said, chuckling. “But,” she said looking over to the mage and then back, “It seems she has found someone worthy. Was that it, Wisp? You like him more?”

Christoval seemed entranced by the conversation with Kastivi. Someone else in his shoes. Someone he could relate to. It was a nice change of past for the last couple of days. Wisp had been helpful, but the noticable way she looked down at him had left him with a lot of hesitation trying to make small talk with the dark mage that lasted more than just a couple of angry sentences from the woman. And it was rather weird to see someone like Kastivi, whose mentor seemed to have such a strict and varied schedule with training and the like. When asking about swordplay, Wisp had given him a rather condescending look, before shaking her head and just blasting him with balefire. It was his first and last time asking for those kind of lessons. "Strengthening is good, yeah. I kinda have to learn as I go for martial skills. But it's helped me get creative when it comes to fighting. And Wisp has a plethora of knowledge on the monsters that roam the place, so I know what to fight and what to stay away from!" Christoval chimed, smile on his face and the boy tapping on his knapsack while kicking his legs like a child. "Also flintlocks help solve a lot of problems. Armored ogre? Nothing a bit of shot and powder can't fix!"

"Speaking of monsters, and dealing with them. Red book. You'll read it tonight, and then explain to me the tactics one would use fighting a Flenser Cat." Wisp piped up, the Dark Mage looking towards Christoval, who nodded and gave her a small salute. Orders given, the dark mage looked over to Kastivi for a moment, and let out a deep sigh. Surrounded by the newbies. It was a fate worse than being left behind to die in the oubliette. "Stop sitting there prim and proper. No one in this guild cares how you hold yourself. Be free." She said plainly, flipping open on of her books and pausing, bellowing out a few words in whatever dark tongue the book was written in, only to cough and stop; spitting up a bit of blood in her mouth. "Urgh. You would think hexes devoted to breaking bones would be easy to speak out and memorize." She sighed, soon closing the book after. "You are correct. I enjoy Christoval's company. He's young and malleable. And he was the first apprentice I had myself that didn't squirm or whine when I started ordering him around. He's like a perfect little lapdog. If he wasn't so set in becoming something so virtuous, I would have groomed him into a Sorceress' Knight. My own little bastion of swords ordered to prick things with."

Christoval shuddered for a moment, looking towards Wisp as she talked to the dark-skinned woman. He had read the books on those kind of a knights. And the thoughts of being subservient to that level, as well as being her own personal guinea pig was something left to be desired. "No thanks. A normal order would be fine with me!"

"I would but you know, trade secrets and all of that." Christoval snickered, giving the woman a wink and then shrugging his shoulders. His creativeness just seemed to be a knack half the time more than anything. IT had managed to win him a few spars when it came down to dueling with Wisp, even though she had a habit of cheating. Still, not every creature in the world fought fairly, so lessons learned there as well. "But I mean, all you gotta do is just observe. You keep studying what's going on, and eventually you'll find an opening in anyone. Bet you a few coppers if your master sparred with me, I'd win at least once, if only because I'd find a pattern or a weakness in something." Christo said proudly, puffing out his chest and wriggling in place. Sparring with Wisp in general was one of his favorite things in the world. For a magic-heavy mage, the woman seemed to be rather spry on her feet when it came to dodging wooden weapons and dulled and safe arrows.

Wisp seemed more or less tolerant of the new girl, and a few eyes were locked on the trio as they noticed someone besides her chosen apprentice was lurking around near the dark mage. Covering her mouth and wiping a bit of bloody drool from her lips with the kerchief Kastivi had given her, the dark mage quirked a brow slowly at Kastivi for a moment and scowled, before tucking away the kerchief for herself. Let's see if she'd ask for it back. "Whose bones am I trying to break? Arabella's. She annoyed me." Wisp hummed, forming the words across her lips again and this time getting them right; a small crack of dark smoke flowing out of her mouth and drifting into the air before dissipating. More lies of course. It was just some simple incantations for keeping herself awake. But Kastivi was a daughter. And from what Wisp had experienced, they had a habit of not getting jokes.

"You want my book? I don't think your master would enjoy having to owe me a favor for assisting you. Because I will call one on her." Wisp chimed matter-of-factly, wriggling her foot and then recrossing her legs, only to make a bit of a grunt and then shrug a shoulder. "Actually, do borrow it. I'd love to see the look on Arabella's face when you're being helped by me. And feel free to help yourself to my other books as well."

Sure most of them were about rather heinous magical rites. But you couldn't keep a newbie closeted from them forever, right?

Kastivi laughed again, “Alright, sir knight. I figured since we'd be fighting together it made sense to help one another, but I guess I should stick my magics while you poke 'em with your pokey stick, huh?” She then shrugged, she'd continue learning elsewhere. Every single day she'd felt like she learned something new. Granted, that was usually pertaining to fire—but she'd picked up a few tricks of other trades as well. Kastivi raised her eyebrows, “Y'know, that may be so, but one rarely gets the opportunity to fight someone more than once, unless they failed at killing them the first time.” She looked down at the empty table, wishing she had one of the drinks that Arabella said she could have.

Instead of getting up, Kastivi looked over to Wisp, her eyes widening, “Surely you wouldn't do that to your own comrade? Traveling with someone with broken bones is not an easy endeavor...” The joke did indeed go right over head and her brow crinkled into an expression of worry. This could spell trouble. She'd had travel with someone with a broken bone before as well, and as Arabella was too small to carry the affected, Kastivi had had to do it. It was like strength training day all over again, except for the fact that she had been still sore from the last one. It was a task that Kastivi hoped she'd never have to do again.

Kastivi looked down, somewhat frustrated. The two didn't seem to be very sociable at all, particularly Wisp. They were definitely unlike anyone she'd ever traveled with before, and she'd traveled with quite a few people. “If you want to call a favor, call a favor on me. I'm good on my word,” Kastivi finally said in an attempt to be the bigger person. She was somewhat baffled with the change of heart, “I don't know how thrilled she'd be with my attempting to see what dark magic is about either...” She scratched the back of her head, “But I figure learn as much as I can while I'm an apprentice, right? Anyway, I'm going to grab some ale, either of you two want any?”

Christoval paused for a moment at the woman's comment. And then shrugged. "Tell you what. I'll teach you a bit, if you can give me a bit more knowledge about Daughter pyromancy. Does that sound like a deal?" He asked, fidgeting in place, and earning himself a rather dry glance from Wisp, who sucked her teeth and shook her head at the two. "Well, that's the good thing about this all. I'm sure your mentor isn't gonna kill me the first time I spar with her though, right? Well, I would hope I was right." Christoval said with a small, desperate chuckle, before sniffling a bit and trying to search for something else to talk about. His mind came up blank and he stammered for a second, soon bringing up his nails to bite at them before he was saved by Wisp.

"Well, surely if your mentor was almighty, she would be able to reverse a simple hex such as that. I'm merely testing her mettle is all." Wisp said rather innocently, clicking her heels together and then sighing. It all went over this one's head, did it not? Taking a deep, intentional breath and then exhaling slowly, she cocked her head to the side and slowly quirked a brow. "I'm kidding. I'm not hurting your precious little halfling trainer. What I'm doing is none of your business to be frank, Daughter-to-be." Wisp said, before leaning back at the sudden moment the girl got a little bit bigger than her britches would allow. Sensing a chance to at least flex her own muscle, Wisp stood up from her chair, shadows around the three seemingly growing a bit bigger and darker as Wisp smiled at the woman. "Oh don't worry. i do have a rather dire favor for you then. Something to please the darkest manner of lords that grant me power." She hummed, before flopping back into her chair; shadows and light resuming back to normalcy (Christoval looking none to pleased over the ordeal as well.) "Go forth. Grab me an ale in exchange for the books, I suppose. I don't have any urge to get up and speak to someone for it at the counter. People are terrible and I hate them."

Christoval looked at the two and frowned for a moment, excusing himself from the table and then moving over towards Kastivi. "If you don't mind, Wisp. I'm just gonna grab my own pint as well. I can finish packing after a drink or two." He said with a shrug of his shoulders; Wisp pulling up a book to cover her now-smiling features. "Should I make sure to knock on the door to our room? The last thing I need is to see my pupil deep inside a thorough studying session with an apprentice Daughter."

Christoval went beet red, and looked at Kastivi. "...She's kidding."

"I'm being precautious."

Kastivi pursed her lips and shook her head, “It's not...something easily taught. You see, the goddess has to smile on you and imbue you with the power. I can teach you meditations and prayers that might make Her notice you, though I'm not sure how fair of a substitute that will be.” She squirmed in her place, wishing that she could imbue him with that knowledge. Stronger party members meant a higher chance of survival and success. She chuckled, “No, she would not condone participation in a fight to the death with a party member unless said party member was a traitor. Perhaps you can learn to beat her, though, I recommend keeping your eyes open if you decided to do that. She does have...tricks...up her sleeve. But I bet you both will get stronger from it!”

Kastivi's head turned back to Wisp, gulping with the master's obvious distaste for her own. She breathed with relief with the word “kidding,” but shot Wisp a slight annoyed look and shook her head, her annoyance changing to fear as she watched the shadows grow, stepping back into a shadow hoping to make it go away. It didn't work, but she gulped and nodded, fishing in her coin purse and producing the coins she'd use to buy them all a drink.

She stopped her endeavors to freeze and blush, pressing her lips in a thin line, “There...is no time for love or ah...anything like that...for a...for a Daughter, anyway. I...I...I'm gonna get us drinks...”

"Any sort of knowledge is pretty good to know in general. Something you use to help you conjure flames could be something that ends up being a good manuever for putting a sword in a monster." Christoval beamed, kicking his legs for a second like a child. And of course it would mean getting to bother her with himself for just a little bit longer when the morning would come. Then came the topic of fights to the death, and Christoval gave a solemn nod. He wasn't aiming to actually wound the halfling, but sometimes accidents did happen. Though he felt more or less like he'd be the casualty in that regard. A small thought fleeted over towards Wisp, and what she would do if Arabella accidentally murdered him. "Stronger is usually better right?"

Ahh, the daughter-to-be was rightfully terrified, and a rather shit-eating, smarmy grin erupted from the dark mage's pallid face, before she snickered, her voice barely audible. The two were making it rather easy to pick on them, and she seemed to have found the sweet spot for her silver tongue to strike. The two seemed to enjoy their company a little more than anticipated. "No time for love? No wonder your cul-...Ahem. Organization...Is full of people with the proverbial stick up their ass." Wisp uttered a small, polite cough and looked at the two for a moment, suddenly feeling less like a wielder of dark, and more like a common matchmaker. If only her -own- master was looking at her now. "I've heard doing things tantric-wise is equivalent to a workout, if you're looking to kill two birds with one stone, apprentice and Christoval." A small pause. "Not to whore out my little knight-to-be."

Christoval was growing redder and redder, and his face felt like molten lava mixed with ghost peppers; a painful swallow creeping down his throat as he stared at both Kastivi and Wisp. Drinks. Yes drinks right now were needed. A lot of them. "Yeah. I...Need a pint. A big pint. Two pints." He stammered, spinning and nearly tumbling down onto his face before jogging to the bar.

Wisp of course watched Kastivi, to see if she'd follow the boy or not. "...I have other books if you need to chain my apprentice to your bed. I am unsure of your kinks, but I assume their less vanilla than you would lead on." Wisp chided, her snickering turning into outright boisterous laughter at this point. "I'm going to enjoy tormenting both of you. Relentlessly."

“Well then,” Kastivi said, beaming back at the knight equally as bright, “I'd be happy to teach you. But something tells me training tomorrow is less to do with learning new skills and more to do with just...strength. Arabella said that it doesn't matter if we are the magic users in our party; that we need to be strong regardless of if we use our muscles or not. You never know when you need it...But we'll have our chances over the course of the quest, right?”Kastivi sighed and nodded her assent, “Usually. But sometimes simply outsmarting the enemy is the best way to go about it. It's best to be prepared for either instance.” She knew she was echoing back sentiments that the knight already knew and agreed with and decided the moment he impressed Arabella that this was going to be an excellent quest, despite the presence of the dark mage.

Kastivi didn't like that grin at all and she squirmed uneasily in her seat. “We're not a cult,” came the slightly too fast response, “I can't think of any cults that do well by the people of this land, not like we do. She said nothing about the “proverbial stick up the ass” part, actually partially agreeing with her. Her allowance of two drinks this evening was a rarity, and equally as rare was any chance of fun. Maybe that would change now that she was grouped with someone about her age. She, however, now matched the knight in redness, the hues first appearing on her cheeks, then spreading throughout her entire face. “T-T-Tantric? You mean like...like...sex? I suppose I wouldn't know about that, and you've never been subjected to one of Arabella's work outs,” she spat out, hoping that turning the conversation to her master would take it away from her and the knight.

Christoval was attractive yes, and she couldn't help but notice that he looked almost more so when he was this bashful, which made what Wisp was saying all the more painful. Arabella would never approve, and Kastivi certainly had had no time for even friends, let alone lovers. It wasn't that the Daughters of Ash were expected to be chaste or anything like that. The goddess smiled with active procreation and family building—but family building while also being an adventurer was difficult. Either a long time caretaker for any children made was a requirement, or that child would be accompanying them on their many adventures, and most Daughters found themselves chaste by default.

Kastivi was no exception, so now she was more than flustered enough, “Kinks? I don't even think I have any of those...”

Christoval nodded a few times and forced a smile on his face, the young man reaching up to itch the back of his head. The most he heard learned about magic came from Wisp, and well. Receiving things from the gods and such were most definitely what he was taught about spellcasting. "Wisp always told me whispering to gods and shit for power was a joke, and that it came from force of will alone. I wonder which of you two are right then. Maybe both of you." He sputtered out. "Well, yeah. Eyes open. Mind open. That's uaully what I say to myself to make sure I fight well. I mean...I know a sword can't beat everything." He grumbled, patting his legs for a moment, "But I know for sure it'll at least cause a problem for even the toughest people."

Once Kastivi went off to get drinks, Wips looked over at the blustered and awkward looking knight and snickered, wriggling her fingers at him and perking a brow. "I would have taken you more for the Halfling. You have a thing for mentor-figures." She quipped, turning a page in a book, only to watch the knight close the back end of her tome; making her lose her page. Christoval frowned and flared his nostrils at the dark mage. "C'mon. You can at least be nice to the people we're traveling with." He huffed, crossing his arms and then closing the book again when she tried to open it. "I'll report you to the guild if you keep acting up. From what I know I'm gone, and it's the final strike in your record."

Wisp glowered at him and clenched a fist, before pointing in the direction Kastivi was heading. "You. Go now. Help her get drinks, and pray to whatever god you like that come tomorrow when we spar, you don't end up getting your life sucked out and fed to imps."

Christoval returned the glower with a dejected sigh and dragged himself along the way towards the Daughter-to-be; giving Wisp a few precious moments of peace to herself - Wisp letting out a grunt and recrossing her legs, before tossing the book she was reading in her own knapsack, and then moving over to peer into Christoval's.

"The idiot forgot to pack his rations again..."

Christoval was a bit more deft when it came to manuevering around the more veteran populace; the young knight giving people as wide of a berth as he could, and throwing himself to the side when a small group of older generations were walking together. Half of the reason was to avoid conflict. The other half simply was due to the fact the kid seemed to share some of the juju that Wisp had. People looked at him like he was some form of cursed being walking the Earth, and even touching them led to some form of altercation. More than once in their brief time, Wisp had to come his rescue, much to his embarrassment. Scooting his way past a series of knights in scorched armor, Christoval wrinkled his nose at the smell of burning hair, and carried onwards.

Once Kastivi's (gorgeous) presence was in sight, Christoval began fumbling the words in his head and was about to blurt out the first thing that came to mind in order to try and strike a conversation with her, the mention of his favorite breads getting spared from coming out vocally by her question. Sniffling and kicking at some dirt on the floor, Christoval scrunched his face and then rubbed his hands together to keep them from fidgeting. "I...Really can't say. I work well with Wisp. I think we'll get along. I'm just worried about our mentors. They don't really seem to get along. And the last thing we need is to pull the two of them out of an arcane fist fight."

Christoval held out his hands to take both the mug for himself, and to carry Wisp's mug as well; his face going into deep thought. "I forgot we even needed a healer to be frank. I hope it's someone who can mediate well. It'd be nice to have someone keep the peace. Or at the very least, I hope they're sweet and cheery. I could do with a bit less gloom and doom from Wisp, if I'm gonna be honest. Hard to try and be chivalrous when she's reminding me that being a knight is stupid." Christoval huffed. "It's not. It's a chance to do something good for the world."

Kastivi's smile was contagious in the sense that it just seemed to keep growing as Christoval approached. He was handsome. Very handsome. His blue eyes were like reflective pools, at once taking in the atrocities of the world and taking pity on it, a willingness to fight and die for it should the need arise. Where Kastivi was all fire, Christoval was all ice, snow white hair, pale skin, icy eyes. The two were the most unlikely pair, and they were situated together, freezing Yin to the burning Yang. Now, she stood, forcing her smile to be a bit more tamed, re-setting the mugs on the counter and straightening her clothes.

She didn't look much like the locals either, still after all of these years wearing the uniform of the Southern nations of sturdy, but well worn, well worked cloth, the color of earth, the top tight about her chest but exposing her midriff, her pants a comfortably fitting loose but not in the way. She'd earned her fair share of sideways glances, but most pointed at her and Arabella with a sense of reverence; everyone knowing immediately that the Daughters were here on some sort of official mission and wondering which one they would successfully complete—and who would be lucky enough to get them. They were bastions of light, a light that to Kastivi's dismay, could not be overlooked or unnoticed. “Ara is generally so even tempered. I was amazed to see her behave like that with Wisp. I wonder what kind of history they have,” Kastivi finally said with a sort of nervous laugh and an equally as nervous eyeroll. “I'm just hoping that they'll figure out a way to keep the peace, or that they are willing to overlook their differences for the sake of the world.”

She picked up her mug, blushing at the fact that he went to pick up his own as well as Wisp's. She'd intended to just bring them over, but was glad for the company. “If it...if it makes you feel any better, I don't think knights are stupid. The world could use some good, and it's up to us to put it there, yeah?”

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Percival Gray opened his inn door at the sound of knocking, wincing at the sound of the merrymaking emanating from the bar downstairs. It was loud, and he'd at least appreciated the fact that it was somewhat muffled with the door closed, now, with this nervous looking messenger in front of him there was nothing to separate him from the noise and he looked at the poor messenger with tired eyes, expecting the visitor to say something. He didn't, so Percy said something first: “....Yes?”

“Uhm...Uhm...Here!” The messenger couldn't have been more than ten, a lean lanky boy with shaggy brown hair looked up at the tall mage who in turn took out the paper that was being held up to him, his eyes quickly taking in the contents. “Arabella Fairfoot, eh? I've worked with her befo---And Wisp!? Who the bloody hells put together this list, and further, who the bloody hells assigned me to it?!”

The boy, expecting a strong, kind, jovial mage had all of his expectations shattered, and took a step back, his eyes wide, “S-sir, I'm just the messenger.”

Percy's eyes went back down to the boy, having to travel quite a ways down given his height, and he sighed, “Tell them I'll do it, but only because I have to. Getting paired with Wisp and two younglings is not the kind of job I signed up for. I'll be healing more from infighting than actual battles.”

“T-to be fair, sir, sir, Ara's apprentice isn't new. She's been her apprentice for years now, and she shows promise, sir,” the boy stammered, wringing his hands.

“What about the other one? This Christoval fellow?”

“He doesn't seem to be bad, sir. Talk of the guild says it's a miracle he's still alive giv'n his tutelage, s-sir.”

Percival scoffed and shut the door, plopping back down on his bed with a tired sigh. Undoubtedly, he at least had until dawn before he had to worry about the likes of that party.

Once they were conversing, everything about Christoval seemed to relax. A tense look towards his general gait seemed to relax and ease itself as the man let his hands break free and rest gently, the young knight taking hold of his own mug of ale and taking a haphazard sip; Christoval smacking his lips for a moment and letting the surge of cool alcohol cascade around his mouth and then trail down his throat, only for a burp to bubble up and leak out of his mouth; the man covering his face and going slightly red, and then smiling sheepishly at Kastivi. "Shit, uh. Excuse me." He leaked out, snickering and then shaking his head.

They were polar opposites, from the tone of their skin and shades of their eyes to personality. Where her clothes were worn and sturdy, the little knight seemed to be kept in well-worn and fresh looking, cool and breezy attire from the Summer Isles in the west. Definitely different, but not enough to stand out currently where they were. If anything the boy could have probably passed for at the very least, the son of a well-off merchant. It was always the brooding dark mage that seemed to have a negative impact for him. Not that he seemed to mind. Something about Wisp too made him wanna stay and learn from her. Maybe it was all more than just a test. Maybe it was a sign to try and help the mage out with her own problems. At least, that was how he was looking at it. "I've honestly never seen Wisp talk to someone as much as her though. Even though it wasn't exactly the most friendly of chats. Maybe we should ask them about it at some point. If we both show concern, they'll have to at least try and make sure we're not gonna be stuck with two liabilities. Not to say our mentors are such things but...You know what I mean." He trailed off and downed another few gulps of his mug, and then resumed. "Could definitely be worse. They could be on the wrong side of things. Evil and whatnot. I can deal with bickering if it means I don't have to see Wisp try and lay a city to waste or something."

"We're not stupid. We just want the best for the world. Well, most of us." Christoval said, pride booming in his chest as he smiled at her. "Sure, there's not always gonna be only good knights. But as long as I'm alive, there's gonna be one! Soon as I can find an order who'd wanna take me in."

Kastivi, too, could feel the tension leaving her muscles despite the reddening in her cheeks. Her face erupted into grins and a tamed fit of laughter when it was his turn to blush and she took her own swig, unable to suppress a grimace on her own face—but managing to get it all down on the inside rather than down her top. She wasn't used to drinking; it wasn't often that her master allowed her to, saying that nothing is better than clarity, and alcohol takes that clarity away. She wondered if that rule would be more enforced or more lax now that they were in a party with Wisp.

“I suppose we'll have to see where tomorrow takes us,” Kastivi said with a grin and a shrug. “We still have to meet the other members of our party. I'm guessing, since we haven't met them yet, that we'll be seeing who they are tomorrow. Arabella has the list with her in the room, and there is no way in hell I'll be going back up there to see.” She laughed, snorting a bit at the end and turned red once more. “Ehm...Sorry,” she choked out, trying desperately to get back to the conversation she added, “And there will be at least two good mages so long as Ara and I draw breath.”

She stood and stretched, grabbing her drink, “No, I never thought you were stupid. I've had a good feeling about you since I found out we were going to be questing together, honestly. My intuition doesn't seem to be wrong much these days either.” The smile she wore was genuine, radiant as the flames she could produce, “Why do you need an order though? Don't you think you're doing better going where the trouble is rather than waiting for it to come?” She took a sip of her ale and cast a glance in the direction of Wisp's table. There were enough people that she couldn't see the mage, but she turned back to Christoval, “Do you think we should be getting back?”

There was a bit of commotion as the the next person to make her entrance into the guildhall arrived; a few people pointing and looking on and then whispering to themselves. it wasn't often they had veterans coming through the doors these days, and especially ones that had done more to earn their keep. The woman was a bit on the tall side, muscled arms glistening in paint and sweat as she looked around before deciding on keeping the rather vicious and large looking sword she had on her person.

If they weren't looking at her because she was caked in war paint and dirt, it was definitely the lack of clothing. It seemed like the woman was something out of the hellish wastes to the southeast, where barbarian tribes ruled without question. A loincloth and and leather bindings were all that were keeping her decent, and the only real article of clothing someone could say she was wearing was the cloak of matted and dirty fur that had the faint smell of wet dog.

Enter: Deadwaltz.

It wasn't her real name, but rather the moniker other people had given her after they witnessed the woman dancing on the bodies of orcs and other monsters she had slain in front of people. Rumors abound, the woman was a monster among humanity. And she knew it.

One of the guildkeepers looked towards her and waved her over for a moment; Deadwaltz bounding over towards her and beaming like a child, before swishing her cloak around; the Guildkeeper wrinkling his nose at the smell, before shaking his head. "No contracts worth you salt. Nothing big around here in these parts. Unless you're looking for some sort of goblin slaying. Doesn't seem like your kinda w-"

"Gimme! Mah sword kills things, no matter what they are!" Deadwaltz said, booming with laughter that made her form jiggle a little; earning the eye of one of the younger recruits near her, before he went red in the face and turned away. "I ain't anything to fight anymore. Ogres is moving to the mountains to take their big sleep. Other guildie stole mah dragon. It's unfair." Deadwaltz pouted, crossing her arms and kicking at the desk, making it bounce a bit.

"Only problem is the contract is a training session too. A Daughter and her apprentice. And then. Ahem. Wisp. Also another healer. Don't know him personally." The Guildkeeper murmured, wincing and waiting for the response from Deadwaltz, who blinked a few times.

"Wisp? Ah love her! She's funny. Makes people mad. They walk away instead of punching her. No wonder people avoid her. I threw her into a river and she leaves me alone. Ah'll take it!" Deadwaltz offered a small bow at the befuddled Guildkeeper, before looking around. "Ah need beer. And to find mah healer we're traveling with. Hmph. Stupid healers. Ain't around when ah need them." Storming off, the woman began her trek, grabbing people by their clothing and pulling them in close to ask them if they were hunting goblins, earning bewildered responses and a few innuendos about gripping spears.

"Ah mean, I dunno why you'd want me to grip your spear. Ah got mah own..."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Looking down towards his mug and noticing a good portion was gone, Christoval sighed and then looked at the bit of ale meant for Wisp, longing in his eyes, though he steeled himself rather well. God knows what Wisp would have done to him if he had drank her ale, even a sip. The mage had a knack for getting him to admit things. The trip was starting to look better, with the thought of Kastivi being around while he was venturing. His redness seemed to subside a bit and knight-to-be was at full-ease while he soaked in every ounce of the Daughter that he could keep in his eyes.

"Tomorrow should be fun. Being in the woods is one of my favorite things ever. Reminds me of playing with sticks and pretending to hunt down monsters when I was younger. Dad and Mom would pretend to be beasts and such." Christoval laughed, shaking his head and finishing his mug. "Like I said, I'll do my best to rein Wisp in if needed, provided you make sure to try and keep Arabella from provoking her too much. And then we can explain anything needed to the healer." Christoval swirled his finger gingerly across the rim of his mug and sniffled for a moment, shrugging his shoulders. "We've got three. I don't mean to belittle you both, but Wisp is...Well, she's pretty good too. If a bit scary when she has to get really serious." Christoval said with a small shudder, his face going blank and pale.

Color returned, however, and the young man looked towards her and offered a small smile. "I'm glad you don't think I'm stupid. I got a lot of people telling me that. I guess people don't have a lot of faith in my choice of future. Times change and all, but I am not gonna let anything stop me." Her question made him wrinkle his face, and he looked upwards a bit in thought, biting his lip for a second while he tried to surmise an answer, before huffing and sighing. "I just...I guess I just wanna belong to something big and important. Peasants. Farmers. They...We...Don't get a lot of opportunity thrown our way. My luckiest prospect before starting this was hoping some merchant's daughter thought I was cute enough to marry....You're right though. Let's head back to Wisp. Surprised she's not looking for us now. She's paranoid when I'm gone too long."

Kastivi was already halfway through hers, but she was starting to feel the effects. It wasn't often she got her hands on a good pint of ale, and this pint was good. When she was a kid she'd had plenty with the mode of thought seeming to be that if they were old enough to spend a day in the fields, they were old enough to enjoy a bit of alcohol before bed. After all, what trouble did it bring? But the ale there was weak unless what she'd had was something meant for children. But after being taken in by Ara, her lips rarely touched the rim of a mug as a Daughter must always be ready and in clear mind.

She took another swig, sighing happily and moving to make her way through the crowd. “I love the woods as well, though they don't bring back childhood memories, thankfully. I was on my way to my second decade living by the time I first saw them with Ara. By then, I was well beyond pretend. The battles we had were real, though on the easy side for her.” Kastivi chuckled, snorting a bit, and rolled her eyes. “She'd stand by and watch my struggle, stepping in only when she saw that I couldn't do it by myself, shouting orders from the sidelines. Those were the times I learned the most, and I wouldn't be surprised if she did the same for this mission. It seems like one of the easier ones.”

Turning to look at him, she could feel her heart welling up seeing his small smile etched onto pale skin. He was the epitome of what a knight should look like, at least according to her own mind. Knights, after all, rarely came from the southern nations. They were all the fair-skinned blue-eyed northerners. Prior to her rescue with Ara, she'd never seen any of these white men, but now that they were well within the northern borders, her awe at them had subsided some time before. Now, she was more amazed than anything that one of them had not only bothered to give her the time of day but seemed to actually enjoy her company. That sentiment was returned. The pair were opposites, true, but in a complementing way. “And you shouldn't. Ehm, let anything stop you, I mean. You've got the right heart for adventuring, for protecting the innocent from evil. Just have to keep working your way up, right? I mean, there's something to joining this way of life willingly. I stumbled upon it. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's not something I'd ever dreamed of as a small lass.”

She chuckled, drinking in as much of those blue eyes as possible. “I don't doubt her, as I don't doubt you...My laughter from before was due to you claiming to take on Arabella. Don't get me wrong, she's little—but she's fast and powerful. One day, perhaps, but you, just like me, don't have the experience to take her on yet. We're too young. We haven't seen enough yet. We'll get there. But if you sparred with her tomorrow, just like if I were to spar with Wisp tomorrow—we'd both end up as defeated. Do you understand what I'm saying? Our mentors are strong and, for the time being, it would be foolish to think we can do anything besides learn from them. I guess that's just my own perspective now, but who knows? Maybe it will change!”

Laughing once more, she turned back to the crowd and started in, “C'mon, let's get back to Wisp. We'll have plenty of time to talk on the road, yes?”

"My first time actually seeing things didn't...Go well. I was the only one of two who managed to make it alive out of a group of seven." Christoval said plainly, the man looking deep into the empty well of his mug while he frowned for moment. It was goblins. It was always those green little shits. They harassed his family when he was farming with them. They harassed him and his little caravan when he had first arrived to his first guild, "Guess I learned a couple of things about battle. It's a struggle no matter what, for both sides. That, and every single little green monster deserves to get slain." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice, and for a brief moment he sounded like some sort of disciple in line with Wisp.

Taking a few breaths to cool himself down, Christoval collected his thoughts and recalled his own accounts with Wisp. "I don't think I've seen Wisp even use an ounce of what she's capable of. I've watched her chant something and then purple smoke made an ogre choke to death, and she just kinda...Shrugged it off. Not sure if it's because she's a dark mage or not. It's kinda scary to watch when you're just good at swinging metal." Christoval said with a nervous chuckle. "Well, if Arabella decides on hanging back, she's gonna have a really bad day. Wisp doesn't believe in that. She'll make her do her fair share, even if she has to paralyze you with a spell." Christoval hiccuped for a second and frowned. "It's...It's not a fun experience. I ended up the guinea pig for that spell."

Christoval's spine tingled and the young knight wriggled his toes in his boots; Pale eyes looking every which way except towards Kastivi as he tried not to let on the fact he was oogling her every chance he had gotten when her attention was directed elsewhere. The dark skin was rather...Tantalizing. He was so used to people with paler complexions, and like a smaller, more juvenile child, he wanted to ask her if it was the same as his. "That's the plan. Keep working at it. Who knows? I work a lot with Wisp. I'd be open to staying with her if she wanted. I'm learning and that's the important bit. "

Once their eyes locked, the boy was putty in Kastivi's hands though, the man smiling like a shit-eating, love smitten knight. "You gotta uh, remember though. They've just got experience on us. That doesn't make them better. Smarts can usually win in the long run. Patience. And then remember to do things they didn't teach you. They expect you to only know what you've taught them." Christoval shrugged. "You could beat Wisp. I've done it a few times. Her pride is the biggest weakness. Insult her enough and she acts out without a backup plan when she misses."

The two moved over towards the Dark Mage, only to see a large, blonde, near-naked woman hugging the Dark Mage nearly lifeless; Wisp kicking and snarling at the woman.

"Get off me you large, ugly oaf."

"AAAAH! WISP. YAH STILL LOOKING LIKE YAH HATE EVERYTHING. MAH FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU."

Kastivi surveyed her mug's innards seeing that she still had half left. Christoval had drained his. She'd been in parties with deaths before, but she'd been given the leisure of starting off at beginning level quests, working her way up. She'd been with Arabella five years before she saw anyone belonging to her group die. She thought then that she'd never recover, and then it was only one. But then it had happened again, later, and still again after that. At some point she'd come to recognize it as a fact of adventuring, a fact of life. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry, though she didn't know for what. It wasn't her hand that claimed his friends' lives. But then, he spoke of their deaths so casually, perhaps he was simply saying that he'd seen plenty—which she didn't doubt, even as an apprentice. Hells, she'd been an apprentice for a decade. She'd seen her fair share as well. It was his next statement that made her look from her half-full mug to the knight, hearing that bitterness, “Well, starting tomorrow we'll be making a dent on that undertaking, yes? We're going to make the world a slightly better place, in our own small way, until we can do it in a larger way.”

Kastivi pressed her lips together, feeling the tension that emanated from Christoval's person and waited for it to subside before offering a grin and a what-can-you-do sort of shrug, “It isn't like Ara is lazy. Just the opposite. But on those missions that are easy enough for a beginner, she saw those as good opportunities to take off the training pads, so to speak. Let me struggle so I could learn in real time. She'd never let anything bad happen to me, believe you me. Besides, when she let me fight on my own, it was more rewarding than anything, and she worked just as hard observing and giving advice.” She shrugged again is if for emphasis, “But, I'll be sure to pass the word.”

She looked down fiddling with her hands, that smile lighting her up brighter than any flame and she tried to bite back her own schoolgirl-crush smile, “Ara says the same thing. Smarts is where it's at, though I still don't think I can beat her though. She's incredibly strong for coming in such a small package. I'll never forget seeing my shock at seeing my rescuer--” Kastivi's voice trailed off when she saw what, or rather who, was waiting for them with Wisp. She'd never seen anyone quite like her, though obviously Wisp knew her.

She blinked at Christoval, “Do you know her?”

In and out. Deep breaths. It's like Wisp says. Sometimes anger is good. Sometimes it's bad. This is a bas time. Christoval murmured in his head as he subsided his anger and sourness towards his own stories. Death unsettled him beyond all reason. There were so many reasons and places to go when one had died, it was impossible to even imagine where he'd end up. Let alone his own mother and father, and the thought of them, along with all the grand people he had met earning a sulfurous, anguishing eternal end made him shake a little, though the thoughts faded out as soon as they arrived; Kastivi's voice the siren song that lulled him back to the Tavern, and not in the realm of 'What-if.' and worry. "We'll make a dent on everything. Doing good for everyone. Ending the lives of evil things, and monsters. " Christoval huffed, shaking his plume of white hair and bringing back that smile. "Can't dwell on the bad. Knights don't do that, right?"

"I guess that's unusual. Wonder why Wisp is taking a more...Caring approach to me then. All the rumors seem to point that she doesn't like working with new people like me." Christoval uttered, staring incredulously, and then suppressing a sneeze that had happened to try and creep up on him. This damn place always seemed to trigger some sort of allergy, and soon enough his nose was beginning to grow pink. The thought of Kastivi in the heat of a skirmish however, sent the young man's mind racing, both towards the imaginings of seeing her fight. And the inevitable aftwards of glistening skin. Delicious. "It's weird. Hearing you struggle and such, and then have to deal with a lot of the training. But look on the bright side. You have someone who will teach you how to do everything. I'm stuck just...Hoping for the best when it comes to swordplay. Least the healer will be here if I screw up really bad..."

Her smile was going to be the death of him at this rate, and the more Christoval looked towards that gorgeous face, the more and more his smitten heart raced like a dog after a hound. "It's true though. People don't beat ogres with strength. They outsmart then. Same thing goes with a lot of monsters that I've read about in Wisp's books." Christoval beamed, wriggling in place and then swerving out of the way of a larger, Northern looking man clad in splint mail. "Just gotta have more faith in yourself. I mean, I think y-" Christoval himself was flabbergasted and just stood there as a blonde-haired, dirt-coated woman was hugging the life out of Wisp; the young knight moving in and trying to seperate them, only for Deadwaltz to simply flex and shoulder bump him off; Christoval landing backwards on his ass in front of Kastivi, looking back at her and shrugging. "I have no clue who she is."

"Ahhhh! Yah got younglings too Wisp!" Deadwaltz screamed, finally dropping a sweat-coated Wisp onto her feet; the dark mage looking similar to a cat who was thrown into a bathtub.

"One of them is mine. The boy you slammed to the ground. Christoval. The other girl is his love interest." Wisp said plainly.

Deadwaltz turned on her heels and beamed at the two, clapping her hands together and then resting them on her cheeks. "Ah! Lovers. Cute and whatnot. When yah gonna have kids, ah wanna see them! Though you look really young for...Ah...Slamming pelvises and shooting kids into another. Hold hands first. Then fuck like rabbits."

“Mm, I imagine some might. I mean, with different motivations and all that. It would depend on the kind of knight you are, I guess,” Kastivi said, honestly and with a smile. The knight was as pleasant to look at as he was to talk to, and Kastivi was going savor the conversation as much as she could before returning to one of the mentors. She found herself wondering if on their journeys they'd ever have some time to themselves, like it was now. As soon as the thought struck her, however, it dawned on her that she'd never hoped that for any of the other parties they'd been paired with—Christoval immediately setting himself apart from the rest. He, like her, was just an apprentice, and yet she saw in him a kindred spirit--that type of fellowship rare--and she hoped it wouldn't be as temporary as just this mission.

“Something tells me you're doing just fine. Besides, maybe it's better to develop your own style than to abide by the rules put in place. They won't expect it. Hell, Ara might not even be able to pick it up at first if she hasn't seen it.

Kastivi had been preparing to hold out her hand to the woman to introduce herself, believing introductions were indeed in order but was stopped in her tracks with Kastivi's words, cinnamon colored cheeks turning the shade of a fresh picked tomato and for a moment just stood staring dumbly at Wisp, mouth half agape, eyes wide. She kept that same expression looking at Christoval and waited for him to deny it. He didn't.

She shut her mouth, tried to wet her mouth that had gone dry, and tried to bite back a sheepish smile. He didn't deny it! She could have been over the moon at that moment and her eyes were still shining as she tried to force an ineffective scowl and put her hands up, “I don't know that I'll have kids, ma'am. Being a Daughter is hard enough work as it is....” She, too, wouldn't deny it.

It was hard to describe what he felt for the darker-skinned girl in his head; the emotions and attempts to bring about what he thought about her into a coherent thought in his head being swirled and thrown about in a tumultuous cacophony; several orchestras being played in unison together. Christoval could only smile, and at the same be confused and memorized by the woman. Christoval's brain finally succeeded in quieting the vast ocean of loud thought, and only one word was still reverberating in his mind, and that word was 'gorgeous.' Such a simple word to try and describe the ethereal beauty she was.

"I've got bits and pieces of everything. Flitterdancing with smaller swords from the East. A few tricks the Orcish fighters know. I think I even managed to sneak in one hour of training with a arqubusier brigade before Wisp yelled at me for wandering off." Christoval said with a broad smile. Maybe his confidence was doing wonders in making Kastivi believe in his prowess. Or she was just indulging a naive younger man when it came to the prospect of going toe-to-toe with her own mentor.

Moving back up to his feet and dusting bits of straw, animal fur, and dirt off of his pants Christoval looked at Wisp and Deadwaltz in a bizarre fashion of horror and morbid curiosity. Who in the hell was this person so casually walking up to Wisp and hugging her like she was one of the larger woman's kin? And why exactly was Wisp not screeching like a wounded animal and clawing at the girl, like she had done with nearly everyone else he had witnessed trying to get physical with Wisp? Kicking his feet and pressing his hands into his back, Christoval's fruit punch colored face shot like a rubber ball between Wisp, Deadwaltz and then Kastivi. "You all make so many claims! I barely even know her...Though she's definitely already one of the best people already getting to be called friend by me." Christoval stammered, wishing to bury his head in more mugs of ale. At least he could have said his drinking was an excuse for the blush overwhelming his features.

Deadwaltz was content enough in how embarassed Christoval looked to hold back on picking on him further, her attentions now aimed towards Kastivi. The barbaric looking woman was pleasant enough in her demeanor, and she wriggled in place, before taking each end of her own fur cloak with her hands and wrapping herself into it like a cocoon. "Ah shit, Wisp. Yah got the Daughters running around with yahself? I thought yah said they was dumber than two kobolds arguing over whose dick was bigger." She bellowed, no filter or adjustment in volume with her crude language. "PFfffft! Girl, Daughter. Whatever yah name is. The moment that lad puts it in yah, you got the chance to get a kiddo." Deadwaltz boomed, hearty laughter escaping her voice, before holding up a sliver of paper. "Ah, shit! Ah guess yah lot is the group I'm traveling with as well! Ah was looking for the healer too. Ah got this itchy patch on mah left cheek of mah ass. Kidding. I just gotta make sure the bloke knows what he's doing."

Wisp took the brief moments of clarity from being swarmed by Deadwaltz, to introduce the woman as well as glare at Christoval and whip him back into the semblence of a knight, and not a younger lad whose virility and interest in Kastivi was being discussed out in the open. "Christoval. Your face is red. Stop. Also, you said you were coming back with ale." A small cough. "This is...This is Deadwaltz. If you're familiar with her, and her exploits. She's tolerable, and a welcome addition in my opinion."

Kastivi looked at her companion in admiration with just how many fighting styles he'd managed to glean from, any tricks learned shrouded in mystery. She very much looked forward to seeing him in action—especially given the fact that his mentor actually said she saw something in him. Even having just met Wisp, she could tell that that was no easy feat. Her understanding of his fighting would come when she saw him fight, however, and if he looked as attractive as he did now, red-faced and stammering at a bar, she may have to avert her eyes. Ser Christoval was the picture perfect vision of a knight, clean, pure, crisp...perhaps even chivalrous. Other knights that she'd worked with had been less so, offering to pledge fealty to her in exchange for crude things done to her—but she'd chased them all away easily. They lacked maturity, discipline, or any semblance of civility that even the lowliest adventurer should have been at least aware of. Christoval was different.

And there it was: the denial. Kastivi couldn't help her face contorting slightly to one of disappointment, but his words rang true; the knight did barely know the firedancer, and the firedancer him. Her eyes went up to meet his at the word “friend,” and in a moment's notice her smile was already sincere and on her face. Her eyes went back to Deadwaltz, however, when she spoke—about the Daughters of Ash no less. Kobolds, really?! Her eyes went back to Wisp for confirmation and unlike Christoval, the denial was not there. Cheeks flushing, she pressed her lips together in a firm line, choosing not to say anything in response to that, Ara's words echoing in her head Keep your head down, and if you can't say anything nice stay silent. Silence was golden after all. So instead of speaking, she drained the last of her ale almost choking at Deadwaltz's next comment.

“He hasn't put anything in me!” Kastivi stammered, voice cracking on the word 'anything,' already flushed cheeks darkening. She had to keep herself from adding “yet” but thankfully caught herself on that one. He said it himself. Friends. Yes, that was it. Besides, who could tell where they would wind up once this quest was finished? He would go with his mentor, she with hers; they may never see each other again. Best not to get attached as Ara would say. She cleared her throat, setting her mug down on the table, “Well, if you have Wisp's approval, then I am predicting a smooth journey and I'll be pleased by your company. As far as the healer goes, I have yet to meet him. The list simply said 'Percival' and Arabella seemed pleased by it, so I am sure we are in good hands.”

Best to start off on the right foot, so kind words and etiquette were in play here—both things that Arabella had taught her. The small farming community that Kastivi hailed from was not one known for being polite, its populace consisting of strong farmhands whose knowledge lay deep in the scent of fresh tilled soil, the sights of a myriad of colors painting the scenery at harvest, the sweat of the brow of a hard day's work, less so learning the proper utensils when eating such and such a dish. Harder than teaching Kastivi the manners themselves was telling her why. It was a concept that lay just beyond Kastivi's reach then, finding utterly no need for it. Why shouldn't she talk with food in her mouth if she had something to say? It wasn't like she was spitting it on the table. No, Arabella went through painstaking measures to see to it that she learned, and she did learn—in manners and literacy. Now Kastivi resembled the southern nations in appearance and dress only.

The conversation carried on in much this manner and Kastivi found herself relaxing after a spell. Deadwaltz was harmless, she gathered, so long as she was on your side. Thankfully, she was. She picked up her second allotted ale and the fellowship continued until she looked down at the empty well of her mug in dismay saying, “As much as I hate to cut this short, we leave at dawn tomorrow and I really must be ready for it.”

++++

As Kastivi predicted, dawn came too early when she was awoken by the scent of Arabella's tea. That was all she needed to wake up, opening her eyes to see that the sun had barely begun its ascent into the dawn's sky, the orb just a small sliver in the horizon now. She sat up, rubbing her eyes seeing the halfling packing the few belongings that she'd gotten out of her pack.

“Good morning, sleepyhead. Are you ready to begin our adventure today? I put a few extra ingredients in the tea today, should ease your head in case you drank more than the two last night,” Arabella said, uncharacteristically chipper.

Kastivi's eyebrow raised and she eyed the halfling with suspicion, “You wouldn't have been mad at me?”

Arabella chuckled and stretched, arms extending to the ceiling but only going about as high as Kastivi's shoulder as she sat in bed, “I wasn't going to be upset; I saw the way you were looking at that boy. I would have understood. I was young once too, you know.”

Kastivi flushed as she got out of bed, taking the cup of tea that was extended to her. Instead of mentioning Christoval Kastivi looked to her mentor a tired but playful glint in her eye, “I only had two though. I listened.”

Arabella brightened further, if indeed it was possible and reached up to ruffle Kastivi's wild hair taking note of the absence of a certain boy in her words. This she took as an assent; she'd hit the nail square on, “Drink up. The others are meeting in the hall downstairs.”

+__+__+__+

Percival was the first in their group to get to the hall, and the first of the customers to order a round of eggs and some cheese curds with a hot cup of tea. As he waited, he opened one of his tomes, flipping through the well-worn book and bringing out a quill and pen. These he kept in his innermost breast pocket for safe-keeping as well as ease of access. He began an entry.

Deadwaltz had to admit, that watching the two try and defend their virtue with one another and their relationship was probably the most interesting thing she had managed to get out of them so far. The fire in their bellies was gonna erupt at some point, though. In her mind, if anything, they might as well just began the skin-to-skin tango and just get it over with. Deadwaltz crossed her arms however. That's not how things were done here at least. 'Courting' or whatever the more finicky populations in places like this was the way to go. A complete waste of time in Deadwaltz's eyes. Mimicking Kastivi, Deadwaltz snickered and snorted like a boar, her icy eyes rolling and the large barbarian crossing her arms. "Ah repeat mahself. Yet. But that's a talk when you all do the nasty and whatnot." Deadwaltz cooed in response.

The mystery healer had Deadwalt's interests piqued and the rather predatory, inquisitive look on her face made it all to apparent, before the woman placed a hand on her chin and began to scratch in thought; her other hand itching under her chest as she grumbled under her breath for a few brief moments. "Well, ah made mah living killing things -really- good. Ask Wisp." Deadwaltz beamed, taking the assumed compliment from Kastivi and puffing out her chest. "I watched her get swallowed by a dragon, only for her immense bulk and heaving features to choke the beast to death." Wisp quipped, going back to her own doings while Deadwaltz cackled like a loon. "Mah axe just got lodged in their was all. Not mah tits. But yah. I'll do mah best. Fucked for thought on who we got as a healer. The only blokes ah know around here who heal are Gastus. But last ah heard, he ain't right in the head anymore."

"He ended up in the hands of a succubus. Tried summoning her back. Ended up bringin out a horned monstrosity that most certainly was not a succubus. I had been called to assist with that." Wisp croned again, sighing and shaking her head. "That's why I advise against devil and demon summoning, despite the hypocrisy."

The name was mentioned, and Deadwaltz lit up at the mention of the man on the list. "Percival AH! Mah favorite healer. Good one. Grouch. You think healers would be ah lot nicer about the whole getting hurt thing."

While Deadwaltz and Kastivi were locked in conversation, Christoval had moved over towards Wisp, who seemed to look at the young knight's presence with a bit of suspicious - Christoval frowning, and then instantly turning the frown upside down when she gestured to the seat next to her; Christoval plopping down and doing his best to point at Deadwaltz in the most non-noticable way possible- Wisp leaning in and whispering to the boy, whose eyes went wide at her. Christoval whispered back, and the two were lost in their own hushed conversation, though the duo looked towards Kastivi when she began to make her departure speech, the young knight giving her a broad, brightened smile. "I'll see you when Dawn is approaching!" His voice streaked with enthusiasm - A stark contrast to the brooding Wisp who offered a small "Go away, then."

=-=-=--=-=-=D A W N=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Christoval had woken up to his shirt pulled open from his body, and a slew of body paint adorned with symbols he did not recognize, the boy throwing himself out of bed and then turning towards the sole, obvious culprit of the defilement of his body; Wisp sitting on her bed and watching him like a hawk, before she shrugged and offered him a proper morning greeting.

"You only tossed and turned three times in your sleep. That's a vast amount less than normal when I normally watch you at night."

Christoval yawned, blinked and then smeared and rubbed off the body paint; the scowl on his face giving testement to how his mood was going to be so early in the day. "Y-you watched me sleep all night? How are you not tired? Why...Why would you even do that?" Christoval sputtered out, moving over to a washbasin and splashing lukewarm water on his face to try and lighten heavy eyelids. "This was so completely uncalled for, Wisp."

"One, I can't ever sleep in places like this. Too many people to try and kill me in my sleep at night. Second, the symbols were to protect you of course. I would be in deep trouble if my apprentice was found dead. And considering I have no alibi, it's best to not take the chance." Wisp replied, sliding off her bed and twirling her finger around. "Look away. You have Kastivi to stare at now. I don't need eyes prancing on me when I change."

Christoval did as he was asked, before snorting and letting a sliver of snark leak out of his tone. "Because you leave so much to the imagination to begin with..."

"...So you do stare at me when I'm not noticing."

"Th-that's not what I meant!"

Wisp snorted and snapped her finger, the door to the room opening, and the dark mage pulling out her clothing for the day and sliding and tucking everything into it, before she slithered out the door, her voice sing-song as she went down the stairs. "Christoval ~ The young little lecherous knight, who likes to stare at innocent damsels ~"

Christoval was soon dressed himself, and carrying both of the bags, along with his slew of weapons, rolled his eyes. A rough morning already, but he was going to make the most out of it. Come training, he was gonna make sure Wisp got at least one good whack from a practice sword, as a bit of respite for now...

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Deadwaltz was found to be the second of the group to enter the mainhall, the woman munching on a leg of some form of meat while she stomped down; boots clinging with metal jingles from various baubles; her fur cloak wrapped around her like a blanket as she flopped onto a table and closed her eyes. The lot could wake her up when they were ready to be out the door, and the large woman soon snoring loudly enough to make others look at her with annoyance.

Percival lifted his eyes from his writing just long enough to see Deadwaltz flop down on the table. A couple of the other customers, the sleep still in their eyes, glared at the snoring woman. Percival continued writing. Her presence didn't bother the healing mage, if only because he didn't notice her name on the list when it was handed to him. The list, he realized, was still in his pocket and he reached for it now – if only to be sure. Breathing a sigh of relief, he pocketed it only to have to put away his journal seeing two of his troop mates.

Arabella Fairfoot waltzed into the room, her Daughter-in-training trailing just behind. Again, he sighed with relief and got to his feet, kneeling down to Ara's level and holding out his hand, “It's good to work with you again. I'd hoped upon seeing your name that our expedition would be a simple one, but then I saw that Wisp's name was there. You're sure that this wasn't a mistake?”

“I'm afraid not. Her apprentice holds hope though; seems to have a head on his shoulders. I'm proud of what she's done with him,” Ara answered with a warm smile, tilting her head back to watch him as he rose back to his feet. The man was tall by human standards. By halfling standards, he may as well have been a giant.

“And your apprentice?” Percival asked, just now looking at Kastivi. The woman in question was wringing her hands, enough to make up for her lack of fidgeting in her feet. “How is she?”

“She is the best apprentice I could have asked for. The Goddess has smiled brighter on her than any I have yet to see. At times I believe this includes even myself,” Arabella was nothing but warmth, not looking to see the blush that she was there on Kastivi's cheeks.

“Ah, so this should be a fairly quick and easy expedition then, yes? I am in dire need of a break. I haven't had one in months...” Percival uttered, jutting his jaw out so he could scratch under his beard. “It looks like Deadwatltz is here too, waiting for her unfortunate party.”

Kastivi cleared her throat and looked down, “Uhm...”

Percival's eyes went to her again, “Yes?”

“She's here for us. She's coming with us,” Kastivi squeaked.

Wisp was the first of the less...Desirable party to slide down the stairs, the dark mage letting out a small yawn, and rubbing an eye with a finger as she moved past the rest of the group, only to stop at Deadwaltz lying there on the table of the guild tavern. Shaking her head the woman moved over towards the barbarous girl and snapped her fingers sharply in the blonde's ears, making her jump awake for a moment. "Ah shit. Ah fell asleep again." The barbarian was awoken once more and Wisp coughed softly and turned to the rest of the group. "I assume this is the entire group. Good. We don't have time to train. We should just go." She grumbled, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"Ah just got back on mah feet...Lemme have a drink. Or seven..."

Christoval was soon enough gliding down the stairs; red in the face and carrying both his bag and Wisp's, though the expression on his mug was one more filled with determination and readiness than exertion. Sweeping his glance over towards Kastivi, the young knight flashed her a small, pleasant grin and whispered a quick hello, only to notice the other man - Christoval raising a brow before he realized the man was most likely the healer they were waiting for. "Wisp just wants to leave early because she doesn't tip room cleaners."

The truth was out, and Wisp narrowed her eyes, only to sigh and shrug her shoulder, the woman looking over to Percival and snorting. "Oh. It's you. Shouldn't you be retiring? You've been saving people for too long now." She murmured, flaring her nostrils and peering behind the group. People were starting to head up the stairs. They'd find out how much of a miser she was now.

Percival paled, knowing that his job was now going to be exponentially more difficult. Here, he thought this quest would be relatively easy. He placed his journal in his pack and slung it over his shoulder, “That's all well and good. I am sure your apprentices will appreciate it as well.”

Kastivi grinned catching sight of Christoval, blushed, and looked down shifting her weight from one hip to the other. Arabella grinned as well, though for a different reason, as she dug around in her pack only to produce two flat, circular plates with holes drilled on either side, “That's alright. We'll train on the road.”

Her apprentice's smile faded to a grimace and her shoulders slouched in response. “Not the weights,” she grumbled, taking the weights. Ara handed over some ribbon, and Kastivi already being well-acquainted with the much dreaded objects began to fasten them to her ankles.

“Well, thankfully, I left behind enough that the cleaners should be more than satisfied,” Arabella said, then fishing for a second pair, then joined Kas in a kneeling position to fasten her own set. Strength, she made it a point to say often, would diminish over time if not consistently put the test. Lest the student surpass the master, Ara always took it upon herself to participate in the training imposed on the younger Daughter. “I'm feeling kind today, Kas; you can take them off on hourly intervals. I don't need you being too sore in times of combat,” she laughed, “And I don't know how long I'd last.”

Percival raised his eyebrows, obviously impressed. Christoval's lack of complaining also left a positive impression. He seemed to be the first of Wisp's pupils that didn't have a bad tongue in him, and it was to his master that he now spoke. Upon seeing Wisp's name on the list, he'd been fully prepared to hate every second of the mission, but when she spoke to him he found that he couldn't disagree, “Ah, would that I could. Not enough healers in these parts these days. I'm needed, unfortunately. Perhaps I should take on my own apprentice,” he mused. “But come, let's go so we can get this over with. I trust you all have checked your maps and properly prepared?”

Wisp sighed and looked over to the boy who was now hefting both bags, and beaming with anticipiation to go towards the great outdoors into adventure, and then towards her hands. She could make him run agility courses again if they got a decent a break along their travels, though her thoughts were interrupted with Percival's voice. "My apprentice will just have to be worked twice as hard then." She mused back towards the healer, the woman shrugging her shoulders. "I have you to mend anything broken." Twisting her back and letting a few vertebrae pop back into their place, the dark mage rubbed where she had stretched and puffed her cheeks. "I've slept in streets comfier than this place. I hate guildhalls. No respect towards veterans who want appropriate accommodation."

Christoval's strength returned the moment he got a flash of smile from the daughter-in-training, his groggy eyes growing less heavy so his bright blue hues could soak in as much as he could of the girl before he had to blink. His resolve swelled in his heart. This was it. Time to actually go somewhere where danger was around the corner, and all the gods and devils in the world wouldn't be able to save whatever tried to harm the lass he was staring at. Glancing at his two bags, and then towards the two Daughters, Christoval sniffled and perked out with a small voice. "Excuse me, Ms. Arabella? If you have another set of weights, could you fasten them to me as well? If I have no training with Wisp, and have to wait for Deadwaltz when we rest, I still wanna keep testing myself."

Deadwaltz was busy readying herself, the woman carrying two swords and peering at the more intricate looking blade, the weapon seemingly locked in it's scabbard with a set of chains with a small lock. The other one was a simple, crude looking thing. A Zweihander of crude, rustic Northmen iron that had seen more than its fair share of combat; Waltz peering at it and giving it a small kiss on the pommel before setting the two swords on her back. "Ah'm ready to bash mahself some good monsters. Ain't gonna be anything big though right? No fun." Waltz boomed, swishing over towards Percival and resting her head on his. "And we got tha' best healer in mah opinion. No deaths today!"

"Not enough healers. Most people want to delve into the lightning and hurling fire." Wisp replied nonchalantly to Percival, eyes looming over towards the Halfling and the apprentice. "At least the road some of us went down was something that requires a clever mind to stay afloat in." The barb put to the back of her head for later in case Arabella needed to be snarky once more, the Dark Mage shrugged her shoulder at Percival. "The Dead whisper the directions. No need for a map. The goblins are near Prayta Monastery. Roads don't exist on the way to that place. They like their privacy."

Percival saw nothing wrong with working the younglings hard. He'd been worked hard as a lad, and felt himself all the better for it. “Nothing but improvement can come from a good training or strength session--” He'd been ready to tell her that he approved before she mentioned that she might actually break her poor bright-eyed apprentice and he shut his mouth for a moment, pressing his lips together tightly, “I am not here to heal party-bred wounds. I would appreciate it if you didn't make me use unnecessary magics to mend uncalled for breaking.” He took one last swig of his ale before handing over a canteen to the bartender, “I'll pay you to fill it to the top with something heavy.” He turned back to Wisp. It was strange how often he found himself more or less agreeing with her. The bartender disappearing with his canteen, Percival deemed it alright to respond, “Hells, I've slept in caves comfier than this place. Their version of hospitality is rivaled only by those of cannibals.”

Arabella sighed seeing that conversation take place. She knew that Percival was up to any challenge as far as healing went. She'd worked with him in the past, and generally so far as socializing went, he'd always kept to himself silently preparing spells and making sure the party stayed alive. Now, it seemed he'd regressed into alcoholism now tired, a lone healer lost in a sea of warriors. She was all too happy to be taken out of that train of thought by Wisp's young apprentice, “Sadly, I have only two pairs, however, I can take them back at the hour intervals if you'd like. It will be less to carry, and I would appreciate it.” She knelt down unfastening the weights and handed them to Christoval. “May they serve you well,” she said grinning up at him and stood on her tiptoes, loud whispering, “If you need helps with the knots, Kastivi knows how to tie them properly to avoid chafing.”

Kastivi turned red, accidentally catching it and scratched the back of her head turning away. She'd put the weights over the pants, and they were fastened close enough that they didn't rub against her ankles, loose enough that it didn't cut circulation. Instead of responding, she looked to Deadwaltz. She found that she seemed to like the woman almost instantly despite her initial dread. “I'm anxious to see you in action, Deadwaltz. I've heard tales of you, and meeting you in person it's easy to believe them.”

Percival blinked, remembering now that Deadwaltz was not one for personal boundaries. She had none herself and expected none from anyone else, “Well, I'm glad you're putting such high faith in me. I suppose I am in practice and haven't lost anyone for a long while, so I hope that faith is well placed.” He looked to Wisp, traces of a smile hinted at the corners of his mouth, “If there isn't truth in that statement, I don't know what truth is. The healing school is the smallest distinguished universities on this side of the continent there is. At this rate, it seems I'll never retire.” He nodded with approval. No preparations necessary, and her words matched up with his conclusions at study the night prior, “Very well. Can they lead you the way? I believe preparations have been made and we are ready.”

"Essentially it wouldn't be me breaking him. It would be what I summoned to have his agility training begin." Wisp said, a rather malicious smile escaping her face as a small pit of shadow formed in her hands, the braying of some beast leaking out from her palm, before she closed her hand into a fist; the inky spot leaving as soon as it came in. "I simply work him half to death because no one else is gonna give him leeway when he becomes...A knight." She said, sticking her tongue out and shuddering. "I'd rather keep him for myself. I'd give him the metal plate and a title myself, if he is so craven for it." While the Tender began to fill the healer's canteen, and pulled out her own. "When you can, Tender. Sweet Water, if you would be so kind." Turning her head towards Percival, the Dark Mage crossed her arms and nodded. "The company of demons is preferable. And I do speak from experience."

Bending down a little to take the weights from the Halfling, Christoval nodded at her and held them in his hand for a moment, the comment about chafing whisking over his head for a brief moment. Slowly but surely however, Arabella's comment began to click in his head, and the face went from a light pink, to a deepened crimson as it took hold on his mind. His thoughts turned from the weights to the thoughts of Kastivi being that close to his person, and soon enough the crimson in his face almost went purple from sheepishness. "Uh...Ahem. Err, I'm sure I can tie them too." Was all he could sputter, shooting looks at both Daughters. He wished he could have burrowed his head in the sand, but it was too late. The Damage was done. For now he throw the weights around his neck and fastened them like a necklace, the boy already sweating from the strain.

Deadwaltz leaned into Percival, letting her body ooze over him while she addressed Kastivi with a large, boorish smile, and breath that reeked of salted meat and stale ale that wafted into the healer's nose (the poor bastard.) "Ah! Ah'll make sure to put on mah best show when I rip an' tear them green folk's head from their shoulders. Ah could probably crush one in muh thighs too, but the last time ah did that, Percival was there and Ah saw him get stiff if yer catch mah drift." Deadwaltz boomed with laughter, and the barbaric woman pushed herself from the Healer and itched herself. "Hrrrn...Ah wonder if yah magic folk can magic away mah fleas."

Deadwaltz then addressed Percival with a shrug. "Ah ain't seen any other healer last like yah do, mah sir. Compliments earned and whatnot. Ah'm hoping we all make it out. Ah hate seeing people get hurt." Waltz frowned and wrinkled her nose, shooting an iron glance at Wisp, who returned it with a cold, dead stare - The Dark Mage shrugging her shoulders, and prattling with Percival. "I considered the path of healing myself. Fates change. I can lead the way, but we go at my pace, and I won't hesitate to leave people behind so the Wodnik can eat you."

=-=-=-=

Wisp took off at a rather hectic pace, the skies a morose shade of grey with the faint hint of rain on the horizon. A few paces down the town was where the neer-do-wells were dealt with; the trees littered with a few hanging, swinging bodies that marked people as thieves and murderers; the Dark Mage stopping and tilting her head towards a few of them, before carrying on.

The party, not expecting Wisp to actually hurry had to jog to catch up to the dark mage. This was the first time Kastivi was seeing town in the daylight and she looked around taking in the sights. It was a pale day, clouds preventing all but glimpses of the sun's rays, still being low in the sky. The early morning mist still hung over the town and most houses were still locked against the night, its inhabitants not yet stirring. Kastivi put a hand to her hair, dismayed at the effect the moisture had, her hair springing to life.

Arabella had seen this place dozens of times, and was for not the last time grateful to be leaving its borders. However, there was a spring in her step, with her favorite weather guiding her path with a distinct lack of extra weights on her back or on her ankles. She paid the bodies no mind, save for the fleeting thought of wondering how many of those condemned were actually innocent of the crimes they paid for. “It's a good day for travel,” she mused out loud, reveling in the nice chill the mist left on her skin. The colder days meant the bodies smelled less, so that was yet another benefit.

“Travel, yes. Traveling out of this hell-hole,” Percival muttered, scratching his beard. “That uh, thing that Deadwaltz said earlier? I didn't – ah, I didn't. I was never more flaccid in my life.” He was still bitter at Deadwaltz for bringing up things he thought would die in time. But then, he'd never imagined traveling with Deadwaltz again.

“Thank you for that valuable information, Percival,” Arabella said, laughing. “Kastivi, pick up your feet more, you'll wear the soles of your shoes down dragging them like that.”

Kastivi sighed, but did as she was told. It was for the better anyway. She would get more benefit from the weights lifting her feet than not, and Ara was right (as usual) about the soles of her shoes. She'd taken to following along behind the group, half hoping that Christoval would do the same, but knowing that he'd more than likely linger close to his master, and therefore the healer. He seemed to enjoy having someone as cynical as himself around, and Kastivi expected he would be striking more conversations with Wisp than she, Ara, or Christoval. “Uhm, Wisp? Should you be messing with the dead like that? Isn't it ah...”

“Of course she should,” Percival said, drawing his cloak closer about him, “She uses dark magic. The rest of us folk, just...we shouldn't question. She could very well be communicating with them for all we know. Dark magic is...well, it works in mysterious ways.”