Seclusion: The Xandria Journey

::Still in the cover of the shadows, Wullfe sees Shen hand the flier over to the armor clad warrior. With a frown, he wonders if he made the right decision in allowing her to handle the two strangers.::

Wullfe: (She's very direct... I didn't think she'd be more blunt than me, but I've been wrong before...)

::Wullfe takes a closer look at the strangers, noting not only the outstanding items such as their garb, weapons, armor, scars and tattoos which would appear out of place, but also the subtlety of their actions. They way the moved, and flowed. He could hear by the way that the armor thudded when the man took a step that it was quite heavy, but the armored character carried himself quite well. When he walked, his footsteps were routine, and consistent.::

Wullfe: (He makes it look like that heavy armor isn't heavy at all!)

::And his companion, appearing smaller in frame, due mostly to the lack of armor and cloth on his back, seemed to be as quick as a snake. As he moves, Wullfe memorizes the manner in which he shifts his weight. He seems to be ready for war at all times, ready to spring to action at a moments notice.::

Wullfe: (By all means, they're far stranger than I, in both, mannerisms and apparel... Is approaching them so suddenly truly the proper course of action? It appears that my questions will soon be answered...)
 
The disregarded young girl who had magically brightened up, suddenly dimmed to frozen fear just as unexpectedly. Something, likely someone, she saw in the street behind Lethryn prompted her into distress, and the other children immediately caught on and began to make their uneasy exit. A fighter from upbringing, and an enthusiastic and a chivalrous youth in spirit, the red head pivoted his raucous shell of painted metal around to face what approached, his swinging foot sliding his stance wider with the motion. His gauntlet gilded arms were instinctively raised in reaction to a mysterious presence sneaking up from behind, and he likely projected the intimidating ferocity of a family guard dog. However, the harshness of his expression faded the moment he saw that the people walking towards him weren’t on the attack, and he shuffled back into a more casual posture as if the whole display was just part of turning around. The murmuring crowd that had grown when he wasn’t paying heed was a little unsettling, though.

“My name is Lethryn Malchord, and I am, indeed, a warrior.” It was an undisputable fact; an unbreakable decree; a divine mandate: or, at least that much could be gathered from the tone the overzealous youth tempered his response to the stranger with. If this woman was a respected mercenary or mercenary hunter, he’d need to look especially tough. He read the flyer, a little stumped at the vagueness of both the trouble and the request. Scratching his peach fuzzed chin in a rare moment of body language as if to deeply consider the job, Lethryn mostly pressed for time wondering if the pay looked fair, what in a snakes splinter this definition of a demon was, and most importantly, whether or not this woman (and company) might somehow be trying to dupe a pair of obvious strangers.

After what would seem like enough time to rub down the bone from his perplexed chin, Lethryn finally decided to mix up his stalling tactics. “Before I decide whether or not this job is suitable, I ask for the name or names of those who I would be risking my life with.” Genuinely, he did want to get an idea of who he’d be traveling with, especially their characters’. But, more important to the foreign youth, was not looking like he had absolutely no idea about what he was doing (regardless if whether or not that was indeed the case).
 
Shenorai's expression remained rather solemn during his inquiry. She figured she might as well answer whatever she can, lest she accidentally drives them away. She placed a hand on her chest, obviously referring to herself as she made the introductions.

"I'm Shenorai Eterna of the Bounty Hunter's guild, recently merged with the Mercenary's guild." The woman turned her head and nodded slightly, as to refer to her comrade in the shadows. "My companion over there goes by 'Wullfe'."

She had hoped that this would satisfy him, but her 'other' companion had doubts. Shen's eyes drifted to her right a little bit as she heard her whispering in her ear. Once her attention returned to the armor-clad lad in front of her, Shen continued,

"Knowing the people from that village, they wouldn't send a bounty unless they really needed help. I have another coming with me as it is, but they ask for a party of four. I don't doubt their judgment on this recommendation. Would you and your friend be willing to help us? I want to try to get there and help them as soon as I can."

Shenorai chewed the inside of her left cheek a little, hoping that would suffice. If anything, she didn't want to sound desperate. Desperation tends to drive people away more than it attracts them to help. As though in suspense, Shen waited with a slight lump forming at the bottom of her throat.
 
Paeakhe didn’t know how to respond to Lethryn. The situation was so alien yet so similar that it left a queasy feeling in his stomach. He quickly found himself lost in thought, and for several moments, he was completely unaware of his surroundings. He felt tied in knots. He knew what it felt like to lose your family. Memories like fresh scars were branded across his mind. He wanted to cry, and he wanted vengeance. Yes, he knew what it was to lose. But he couldn’t fathom the idea that these children were left abandoned. How could they just be left here like that? He tried to understand, but couldn’t find the logic in it for himself. He suddenly felt very far away from a home he couldn’t return to. The heartbeats around him were war drums signaling how he was different.

He wanted to do something for these children. Knew he had to. What could he do though? He had nothing substantial to offer them. But he would give what he could. He turned, and strode over to the cluster of children not that much younger than himself. Kneeling down a few feet from them, he swung his satchel off his shoulder, and pulled out a loaf of bread, and several pieces of salted meat. Wordlessly, he held them out toward the group. Just as silently, a young boy stepped forward, and with a grave expression, took the offering. Paeakhe nodded, then reached into a belt pouch, and pulled out several coins, glinting silver and copper. Another child stepped forward and took the coins, then both returned to the group. They packed together, and whispered to each other for a moment before quieting.

Paeakhe looked toward the little girl, in the edge of the group. He caught her attention, and motioned her forward. She, like the others, came with the caution bred of the streets, but there was no in fear in her eyes or her heartbeat. As she approached, Paeakhe removed one of the feathers from his hair. It was nearly 9 inches long, and red with a burst of yellow-gold. He held it out in front of him. “Thees es the feather of paeakhae. Et es mighty bird from my homeland. Et es very rare., and et’s feathers are very lahcky. I want eu to have et, et well keep eu safe.” He said with a soft smile.

The girl stared at him for a moment, looking a bit stunned. A slender hand reached out and accepted the gift, holding it carefully in her hand and marveling at it. She looked up at Paeakhe. “Th...thank you.” She said in a quiet voice, she gave him a shy little smile, then backed into the band of orphans.

Paeakhe stood at took a step forward, a look of determination on his face. He seems to want to say something. He wasn’t a good speaker, and the words caught in his throat. Shaking his head, he pressed forward.. “People cannat leve alone. Et es nat en our blood, or en our souls.” He paused, and looked at each of them. “If you have no famehly, you must make a new one. Eu need to be eech other’s famehly, be able to rely on each other. One leg might stand, but et won’t run.” He sighed wearily then. “Do nat knock each other dohwn. Eu are only as strahng as the weakest of eu. Raise each other high!” He said all this with a quiet fierceness, and when he was finished, the eldest boy watched him, then gave a small nod, turned, and left down the alley. The rest followed, and soon disappeared from sight.

When their heartbeats had grown indistinct, Paeakhe turned, and just now noticed the small crowd that seemed to have grown at the base of the alley. He was shocked both that he had been so apparently obvious, that the relatively mundane goings on in the alley had attracted such attention. He was also a little disturbed, and wanted to remove himself from this place. He somewhat tiredly made his way to where Lethryn was talking with a young woman who, Paeakhe mentally sighed, was at least as bizarrely tall as everyone in this place. Neither of them seemed to be saying anything, so he spoke up, though he was racked with cold and shivering mightily. “Lethrehn Mahlcord, would-must we keep going to the mehrsenahry home? I am more en need of money now than I was before. I...also need to eat something...”
 
::Wullfe scowled softly as he witnessed Paeakhe's selfless acts of charity. Contrary to his cynical outlook, the group at the base of the alleyway seemed to be quite impressed with Paeakhe's contributions to the thieves.::

Passerby: "That was mighty nice of 'im."

Denizen: "True, 'tis difficult to come across someone so kind in today's crazy world."

::Though Paeakhe's thick accent made it impossible for Wullfe to read his lips, and though he was too far to clearly make out the finer details of the boys speech, he could probably guess what the foreigner would be saying.::

Wullfe: (Here you go, like I'm helping you, help each other. Lean on me, so on and so forth.)

Wullfe: "The blithering fool!"

Wullfe: (He has just made those children weak! At least, before, some of them had a chance to survive, now they'd rather die together with each other than run and have a chance to live. Besides, nobody helps anyone in this world, and nothing is for free. He just set a terrible example. By giving them a handout, he has crippled them for life.)

Wullfe: "If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, but starve for a week. If you teach a man to fish, he'll eat for life."

::Though his thoughts would make him sound angry, in reality, he simply uses the anger as a veil, to hide his true feelings of sorrow and betrayal.::

Wullfe: (In this world, you can't count on anybody but yourself. Friends are simply a lie held dear by the weak who can't support themselves. In the end, when the time comes to act, no one will be there for you...)

::With a rather sad sigh, he looks up at the sky and finishes his thoughts out loud.::

Wullfe: "In the end, you can only count on yourself..."
 
Lethryn’s display of insincere consideration was dragging a little too long, and not a single new thought about this job had manifested since the show began. He smeared a stress dampened hand on his cloak as he faked re-reading, and made generic noises of deep thought to drown out the pounding he thought he could hear his heart making against his chest plate. The task certainly seemed reasonable, and with his knowledge of currency in general, this seemed like a good amount of money. But, even without taking all other factors into account, he certainly couldn’t accept this job on behalf of his new companion without first speaking with him about it. Of course! How could he have forgotten; Paeakhe would offer his input. The uncertain adolescent in steel looked around hopefully, and felt his anxiety melt a little at his companion’s approach. But, before the red-head could extend the offer subtly, the dark young warrior had blurted out the magnitude of their desperation in a most unflattering manner.

“Ee-byuh..” Lethryn coughed away his stammer and touched his circlets eye with a free hand to level himself. Was there any way of redeeming their credibility as warriors at this point? He then lowered his hand from his face in realization, and looked Paeakhe in the eye with what was probably his first sincere smile since he had left home. Glancing down to the job flyer as he held it out, his voice was a little less harsh than normal. “Paeakhe, it seems fortune may be on our side today. A job from the mercenary guild has found it’s way to us, and it has even brought along some veteran help.” A simple gesture to both followed. “Shenorai Eterna and Paeakhe...Mayk...tad, I’d like for you to meet one another. Mayhaps we can find something to eat in the while.”

What the boy had realized, was that he had been acting as young as he was. Being deceptive about your inexperience was only going to get you lost, maybe killed, down the wrong path. Even so, Lethryn was still too proud to go back and reveal his facade to the woman, much less apologize for it. On the bright side, as apparently drained as he was, it was clear Paeakhe looked a little happier than he had a while ago. Hopefully whatever he did for those poor kids would make a difference.
 
Shen looked from Lethryn to Paeakhe, half wondering if he was supposed to be the youth's guardian. Then again, seeing just how different the two were, she passed off that notion. She extended her hand out to him as well, as though in a notion of closing the introductions.

"Nice to meet you," she said, though her tone was drifting towards being rather half-hearted. She had hoped that she could recruit quicker than this. Perhaps she's just not as good as she hoped she was.

"Pardon me for sounding rude," she urged, "but I don't want to arrive at Xandria only to find everyone slaughtered. So do either of you wish to accompany me?"
 
Paeakhe listened to Lethryn's short but hasty speech, and after deciphering it, gave the two of them a genuine but slightly weary smile. It was fortunate if a job had come to tthem, as he imagined it would be difficult to find one in his current state. It did seem a bit strange that the mercenaries would be out and about looking for likely allies, but he wasn't used to this place, and he was sure that the extremely tall woman being introduced to him was better informed than he was.

He was going to reach out and take a look at the flier Lethryn was holding, when the woman (Shenorai, Lethryn had called her), offered her hand to him and simultaniously pressured them for an answer to her offer. He stared at the offered hand, blushing underneath his dark skin. It was a second later when he realized this was the accepted way of greeting one another in this area, and hastily took her hand, which was blessedly gloved. Still though, he could feel her pulse strongly through the contact, the thruming of her heart, and quickly let go, blushing again. He wondered at the ceremony, and how it came about. In fact, he realized, he knew nothing of this city's history, it's founders, it's past, or even why it was called Xandria. Xandria? No, wait, that was somewhere else. Ah, Shenorai had just mentioned it. Wait, slaughtered!?

He snapped back to reality, focusing on the situation at hand. He took the flier from Lethryn with a shivering hand, and quickly read it. Nodding to himself he turned to Shenorai. "I accept eor affer. I see that time es not weth me and you." He paused, trying to find the words he would need. "We...shood make ready to leave as soon as we can. Eu know way we mast go?"
 
What a strong accent, her ghost noted after she deciphered his words.

Shenorai took a little longer to figure out what he was saying, mostly due to the ghost interrupting her thoughts. She gave a nod after realizing what he had said.

"Thank you," she said with a bit of warmth in her voice. She looked to Lethryn, nearly expecting him to follow, "And you?"
 
“Of course.” There was no hesitation in his response to the woman. Not accepting the job after this long string of coincidences would be insulting to whatever forces may be. More importantly, Paeakhe’s show of strength had inspired Lethryn. Despite obvious hunger and fatigue, the dark stranger had shirked it off the moment he knew innocents were in danger. That warm desire to help others had ignited a flame in the armored youth’s own heart as well, and it’s fires shone resolve though his blue eyes. Helping the helpless must have been his calling; the focus his muddled life was missing. He just needed to continue along the road that was paving itself for him, and all of his doubts and distractions would fade away.

At least, that's what he was sure of at the moment.
 
"Thank you both," Shen said sincerely. Her tone went from sincerity to businesslike. "We will be heading south, past the mountains. We'll probably end up going on foot and it might snow before we reach the village, so be prepared for that. I'll meet you two at the southern outskirts of town in one hour. That should be enough time for you to do what you need to and prepare for the journey."

Shen glanced back at Wullfe, as though contemplating something. As much as she didn't like dealing out coins to random people, she figured that they might need to pool all of their money and split it between the four of them if they needed anything else. Pretty much, everyone in this little group seemed foreign to her and might not know the currency very well.

She turned back to her new companions and asked, "Do you two have enough money for food and supplies?"
 
((Yar...this is taking too long...I'm going to go ahead and fast foreward everything.))


The hour was nearly finished with and Shenorai paced rather impatiently. Where was everyone? She told them she'd meet them at the southern outskirts of town in an hour. Shen was constantly looking back towards town as she paced with her arms crossed. Her hood was down, so not recognizing her couldn't possibly be an excuse.

She kicked a pebble idly with a sigh. If they didn't come soon, then she would have to try going on her own. And where had Eldon gone? He should've finished his business by now...
 
Eldon approached the edge of town quietly and stopped directly in the shadows of a nearby building. 'Tap tap tap'. He started tapping his foot on the ground in an impatient manner, then leaned over against the side of the house. 'Looks like I'm walking my way out of town,' he thought. He paused and caught a glimpse of Shenorai, pacing back and forth around the main exit-road. "Hmm..." He lifted an eyebrow and slowly pushed away from the wall, then began sluggishly scuffing his feet against the ground as he walked towards her. "Ahem." He cleared his throat to make known his presence as he came closer. "Where is everyone?"
 
Shenorai looked up at Eldon and smirked, glad to see that someone had bothered to find her. She stopped and shifted her weight to her left leg, brushing her dark locks out of her face.

"That's what I'd like to know," she replied, annoyance in her tone. "I managed to find three others and told them I'd meet them here. The hour I gave them is nearly passed by now."

Her weight shifted over to her right leg as she glanced back towards town again. If anything, she expected at least one of them to pop up out of nowhere and apologize that he's late. Leondra assured her that they'll come eventually, but eventually seemed too long for her.
 
Eldon rummaged through his pockets and pulled out a small brown colored paper-package. He combed his fingers around inside and lifted out a thin white cigarette. "I'm ready to get the hell out of dodge." He crudely struck a match against the surface of his pants and lit the tip of his tobacco-ridden concoction, then wiped a small streak of charcoal off of his leg. "There aren't any motor-bikes in town anyway..." he began as he threw the match towards the ground. "No bikes, and no horses. Not on our wages." He drew in a heavy puff from his cigarette and let out a deep breath.

A mild wind began to stir, carrying a slight chill through the entrance of the town. He glanced over towards Shenorai with a distant look in his eyes; he paused momentarily then shifted his stare towards the town's exit. "Who else were you expecting?"
 
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Shenorai's gaze shifted upwards in thought. Her hands slipped out of the fold of her arms and ticked off the expected party as she listed them off. Her right index finger began at her pinky and worked towards her index finger.

"Well, there's Lethryn, the youngest one. Has a lot of armor and wears a weird-looking circlet on his head. And there's...Paeakhe, I think? Definitely not from around here. Kinda reminds me of a tribesman who lives in the East or something. Then there's Wullfe. His eyes are stranger than mine. Something seems off about him, though..."

After a moment of pondering, she let her arms dangle as she shrugged. "Well, they looked capable of fighting, at least. They should be useful for awhile."

Shenorai figured that Eldon would give her a strange look after finishing her description. She didn't expect him to accept them right away, but rather wonder where she got such an odd troupe. Shen held her breath a little as a puff of the foul smoke drifted her way. Obviously, smoking wasn't something she really approved of. However, if her comrade felt like ruining his lungs and shaving off his lifespan, it was his choice.
 
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