Sutoratosu

Marek had largely followed in silence as their lodgings were shown to them. The city was not particularly impressive to him, compared to the vista's back home and all the grandeur the capital had held the first time he saw it. It had seemed nice enough from the air though, he supposed. Most of the cities back home didn't bother with very sizable walls- if they even bothered with them all. There was really no point, in all honesty... He could not help but notice the troubadour lagging behind most of the others though. Ah yes, Luggage... such a troublesome thing, just like having to carry your weapon in hand wherever you went. He himself prefered to travel light- in fact he carried nothing on his person at all, just the armor on his back. Sighing, he made his way over to Herrman as the others continued to talk to their guide. "Looks like you could use a hand there," and like it was absolutely nothing, he hefted the bags up and over his shoulder "You know, next you could just ask someone for help..."

"Biden." Cadence answered nigh instantly. She already knew they'd need explaining though "He was a mercenary friend of Kariks back before we broke him free of Gonzap. I dueled him on the ship and injured him, karik captured him soon after and I let him live if he promised to start a new life doing something honest. Turns out he survived the shipwreck like we did and ended up running a sword shop here- He's where I originally learned about this guy and how he's been visiting the poisoner before. I don't know how much more he might be able to help, but... it's at least a place to get other leads to follow."

"What? they went that far just to reinforce a damn door?" The spirits vouched for the man's assessment- there was indeed something not right about the door, just like there'd been about the nobleman. Whatever the hell this shop did on the side, the operators had obviously gone to rather extreme lengths with their security. "I mean geez, I've heard of people doing that with Safes and Chests but... gah, fine..." "Yeh, we might as well go inform the captain about everything. Hell, if anything this discovery just furthers the suspicion here. Seedy location, shifty shopkeep who got annoyed when I asked a few simple questions, a bunch of high end protection when it's in a damn alleyway and probably wouldn't be that likely to be robbed in the first place... eh, come on, let's get going. I'd like to get him here before they finish whatever they're doing and this scene becomes bust." Take Belros to go find Madante and report all this suspicious stuff (so that it can become his problem now instead of ours)

"yeah, yeah, just hurry up..." with that said, she reached to her side and drew her rapier, keeping it at the ready as she scanned both ends of the alley. Keep watch while Bel makes the Lockpick Check (And try to exude an air of authority as if they've got actual orders to be raiding the place)

"I've been told the man we saw may well be a political presence here on Z'ark... and that he's been seen poking around this shop at least once before a few days ago. Take a look around you, we're in an Alleyway. I was originally going to just brush this place off and ignore it, but... well given the circumstances and the location, I think we have probable cause to check it out. Besides, the Anima Spirits are practically going on high alert about the guy, and you saw how rich that dude looked. Why the hell do you think he'd be visiting a poisoner's den, of all places? Some people might say it's better to ask permission than forgiveness. But right now, I think this is one of those cases where it's the opposite. You know that coup we stopped yesterday? Well, who knows, maybe this guy's hungry for power and success just like Baron Roman... might even be planning to assassinate a rival or something..."

"Damn! of course the wandroughts locked themselves in..." Cade sighed at the sight of the closed storefront. "Too late, should've been paying attention from the start..." It was only then however, that she noticed the spy there as well... "Let me guess, something about that man didn't sit well with you either, did it?"

"..." Cade mostly stayed silent as she walked. The main market was in sight, but... something just didn't sit right about going back right now. "That guy... something felt... off about him. Like, more off than just the regular dudes who would go walking into a shop like that. God, why is this feeling so strong, like I've missed something obvio- oh... crap." "That was the guy... goddess damn it! I was so glad to just be out of there I didn't even notice..." The Anima of course, tricky dicks above the law as they were, suggested the very obvious and impulsive route to take, as Cadence hashed everything out "Go back... well I mean...I don't really want to get caught up in any more bullshit but..." The feeling of something being off only intensified. She finally realized what it was- the anima were actively trying to warn her... of something. What, she did not know, but... she hadn't really seen them act so strangely before. Then there was her own gut feeling backing up the push... "Goddess damn it, can't go even a full week without getting caught up in something. Fine, you wandroughts win... but only cause I've got a gut feeling about this anyway!" and with that, she turned on her heels and speed off back towards the poisoner's den as fast as her feet would carry her in the armored coat. Return to the Scene

"Eh, alright, alright. I can take a hint." Cade sighed, turning and walking out of the shop. Rather disappointing, that conversation was, both for the sake of curiosity and intelligence gathering, but she hadn't much felt like pushing the subject. Besides, these alleys weren't exactly the best places to hang around. Well, at least she'd finally replaced that piss-ant knife, so that was good. "Well, not like I got much else to do now. Might as well head back and wait for them." and with that, she set of, retracing the steps she'd taken from the docks to here...her handy still ready and waiting near her rapier, just encase. Yes, just encase...

"Eh, it's fine, man. You just sell the stuff, not make it. No big deal," the girl shrugged, though she wasn't quite done yet. Biden's words still echoed in her mind about the seedy nature of the shop and the nobleman. Though in truth, she was more curious than anything else- father had... dabbled in a few alchemical pursuits, and she was fairly certain smitty had too. Even if it wasn't strictly magical in nature, the art had always interested her a little. "What's your supplier's name though, if ya don't mind me asking? Who knows, I might have even heard of them before."

"Alright, here you are." Cadence said as she subtracted the appropriate amount of coin in her hand and placed the 530 on the counter beside the Iron Knife, taking the Poison one in exchange "By the way, I was wondering: what do you use for your poisons? Nightshade, Hemlock, Arsenic, maybe Strychnine? perhaps the venom of a certain snake or other exotic animal? Or do you just concoct your own formulas out of many different ingredients? I could understand if you don't want to answer though." Exchange 530 vespers+the Iron Knife for a Poison Knife

"Oh really? Doesn't concern me? Well I thought it would, considering you're the one whose apparent reputation nearly got not only yourself, but nearly a few others among our party killed by those damn rogues. Oh, or maybe you just want me to play dumb and brush this whole thing as not suspicious. You know; Despite all the crap you told us after we cleaned up that mess, which you, might I add, had only made bigger with whatever you'd done to piss literally everyone around us off?" She would've gone on, but the Anima stopped her. And as the voices of the spirits filled her ears, all she could do was stand there and glare at the man, before shaking her head and turning away. "Tch, is that so? Fine then, rogue, whatever. I don't care. Whatever you intend to do, trying to poke around about this guild of yours, just try to avoid dragging anyone else down with you this time. I and the others have better things to do with our time than clean up the messes of a former criminal. And just fair warning, if you do drag them into it and anyone dies cause of you and whatever you did in the past, your little guild won't have a chance to finish you off." She still glared right at belros. There was a momentary flash of crimson in her eyes and a sharp spike in the surrounding air temperature, a few strands of hair beginning to rise with some unknown pressure as she gave that warning. Almost as if the very space around her would combust. Soon enough though, the glow and the raw heat faded alike as she turned her attention back to the shopkeep, flashing him a smile as she spoke, "Oh, and sorry you had to listen to all of this, sir. I just wanted to make sure my acquaintance here understood a few things. About that poison knife though?"

"..." the young woman stood in silence, for a moment. Who would she find already there, but one particular rogue with a habit of pissing off other thieves. Even with his face covered by that shoddy hood, he was wearing the same damn outfit and she would've recognized that same, nigh damnably blaring blue hair and eyes anywhere. Honestly, who did he think he was fooling? "well, didn't expect to find you here." she said, approaching the counter beside Belros, "You seemed to have no trouble finding this place. Why am I not surprised?" with that said, she reached into the breast of her coat and retrieved 800 vespers and the Iron Knife after glancing at one of the display cases, turning to the shopkeep "I'll take a poison knife. I can offer this iron knife too, if you accept trade-ins. It's still in pretty good condition." before going right back to belros "and I've got to say, this is the single laziest disguise I've ever seen in my life. I don't know why you're trying to hide your face like this, but if someone already knows what you look like, wearing the exact same cloths and gear you always do isn't the best idea." Buy a Poison Knife (and try to pawn off the Iron Knife) and interrogate Belros on his shitty disguise tactics

"Huh, I see then... well, thanks. I'll go check them out. And don't worry, just a few days ago we had to put down some asshat of a Baron trying to perform a Coup over some girl who didn't want him. I've already had more than my fill of any noble nonsense for now..." And with that, she saw herself out, but not before passing an extra 100 vespers Biden's way "here, to comemerate you turning a new leaf. And to thank ya for keeping that promise. I'm sure karik will be glad to hear you're still kicking." Then she was back in the streets, trying to find this supposed poisoner's shop, hand on her rapier as scanned the alley ways. She had more than a few ideas why the place would go to the trouble of hiding it's store front amount the dark and the refuge, especially if it was as seedy as Biden had warned...

"Hmmmm... weeell..." She pondered it over for a few moments. A Specialty shop like this would probably have weappons specially designed for killing horsemen, peg riders, the peg riders and the like- just unsaddle them with a thrust to the right place and let the weapon do the rest. Though... horses, Pegs, and Wyverns... there was one common theme among all their riders: a nasty penchant for poking people on the ground with lances. Hmmm... she doubted she'd do terribly much to a Wyvern even with a special arm... pegs would probably go down fairly easily, horses a bit less so but still possible. But then again, she did have this little gem Biden had sold her, and in all honesty it could make short work of at one of these three on it's own... given well... Pegesi and strong wind never mix well. "Nah, I think that's about it for now, oh wait..." taking the gale blade and attaching it to her belt, he drew the iron knife from it's place and put it on the counter. The blade was surprisingly clean and polished, despite all the blood it'd tasted since entering the girl's possession. Had to do at least some basic maintenance to keep it from wearing down any quicker than necessary, afterall... "I've got a feeling that this old thing has outlived it's usefulness to me- I've been trying to find a poison knife to replace it. You sell any here, or know where I might find one? Could use this as a trade in..." she, of course, neglected any mention of the phantom knife from the pawnshop- even if she might be going crazy and clearly seeing things that she knew were there yet vanished seconds later, he didn't need to know that.

Dear mother of god this is actually happening... I... I don't... okay, breath, Cade, just breath, in and out. You're excited yeh, but don't pass out... okay... "It's definitely a deal!" she said, rather enthusiastically as she pulled out that proper vespers and handed them to the man. It actually took a sizable bit of self-control to avoid screaming like a fan girl, but she managed it "Its... perfect, exactly what I need. Thank you. About this four swords guild though- do they mainly stick to Pasir, or could I find them on other islands too?" Pay 1400 Vespers for that sweet, sweeeeeeeet proto-type Wind Sword, thank the lord, hallelujah

"well, what swords do you have? Wait..." she turned away from the man for a moment, the chattering of the anima holding her attention What the hell are you wandroughts on about now? What? What the hell is a wind sword? ...wait... my goddess... is that right... well... "Ummm... on second thought, this is probably a stretch but... you wouldn't happen to have any... enchanted swords, would you?" The memory of the poison knife that she still to this day knew she had seen in the pawn shop flashed by. She continued on with "It's uh, fine if you don't. I'd be fine just looking at whatever you have if you don't have any, poisoned knives especially."

"OH, uh... well, I see. Yeh, sorry about the arm, I... didn't really mean for it to be... permanent, ya know...If that random storm hadn't rolled in and destroyed everything like it did, you probably could've gotten it treated... a lot faster... uh..." By the goddess this was awkward. She took a breath, using her centering technique "Um...anyways. At least you've remembered our deal, that's good. Not many people would, so I'm glad I ran into you here instead of say... working for yet another mad man out on some battlefield. So..." "I hope there's no hard feelings. I was just wondering what you might have to sell- if... you're still in the mood to do business with me, that is."

let the games begin...

"Huh? What are you screa..." She stopped when she actually saw the man's face "Dear goddess, it's you... the mercenary who was working for Gonzap...I..." She didn't know what to say, honestly. She had never expected she'd cross paths with the man again, especially considering the storm. Why, not that long ago she'd thought him surely dead or worse. "...nothing." she finally said, "Calm down, I'm not here to finish you off or anything; hell, I didn't know you were even still alive, let alone that you were running this shop. How... did you survive that shipwreck and the storm though? Surely you couldn't have floated the entire way here from so far..."

Well, hopefully there's something here that's worth my time. Cade approached the counter, taking note of the wooden prosthetic. Not many places she'd seen their like before, but she wasn't about to go prying into how the shopkeep had gotten it. She cleared her throat before asking "Excuse me sir, I was wondering what you might have in stock right now.

Cadence walks past the stalls without much interest, entering the sword shop and looking around...

"Hmph... is that so?" Figures, nothing she was all that proficient in to begin with. The last thing she needed was gear that would encumber and impede her more than it would help her stay alive "Nevermind then, thank you." and with that, she turned started to wander off towards the market of the port. Perhaps there'd be a shop or two with something she could actually use effectively.

"What blades do you have then?" Cade asked, stepping out from among the others. She suppressed the sigh she would usually have given in the past when it came to such weapons- one way or another it seemed she was stuck with this fighting style regardless of feelings to it. Might as well get used to it, try and make the most out of the skill, like Father had advised...

"It was... years and years ago. Back when I was just a boy. You see, Beoulve was a noble household, once upon a time. The path that fate had in store saw the end to that, though..." ---------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- "In the end, I was found by a few guards in the town who had come out to investigate the fire. They pulled me from the river, put me into the hands of a local priestess... I don't know how long I was out, but I always dreamed of that same moment where we locked eyes for the last time... and he killed them all. They found him half-dead on the river bank, said that his final words... was to tell me to keep going. To find a new way and not let what happened drag me down. It was... hard, more than hard- impossible for a few years... but eventually, I started to see the light of what he'd said... thanks to a friend of mine... sadly he ended up much in the same position. But that's a story for another day... another time... another place." "What happened to-" "Les Orages? It seemed Zalbaag had killed the vast majority of them that night, Magnus included. He gave his life to deal them a blow so savagely brutal, they never recovered from it. He'd given the guards some idea of what had happened before he died, and once I told everyone about what they had done... well, those few who still remained had a strong motivation to flee the island as soon as they could. Probably became mercenaries or hired killers or who knows. With Magnus dead, the chances of them reformed into anything of substance elsewhere was slim to none...and therein lies my point Cadence. My brother did all that with Wild Magic- destroyed an entire Order of fighters in a single night, avenged our family, and probably saved me in the process. It cost him his life. But he bought me a chance at one in exchange. Just as his own mother has bought him a chance at life, at the cost of herself. That's the price that Wild Magic eventually takes, Cadence. It doesn't matter whether you accelerate to that point gradually, or completely expend yourself all at once. When you reach a certain point, the price for power will be your life. Remember that. Because you're heading towards it much too quickly... all these things you've done, how far you've grown, you've done enough cadence. I'm proud of you. You don't have to push yourself any further, if you do..." "It might be the end of the line..." "Exactly. Wild Magic... it should be reserved for last resort at worst, and never at best. There's a reason that most sane sages are sparring with it's use- we know what we pay every time. And that there'll come a point where the toll it extracts can't simply be healed away with a vulnerary or a staff. If you're going to use it Cadence, make it count. Don't waste it to kill rabble, don't use it for tasks you could easily acheive without it. Whenever you feel the need to tap into it, ask yourself: is what you're about to risk yourself for really worth it in the end? Just like Zalbaag asked himself that night. Do you understand, my dear?" "I... yeah. Yeah dad, I do..." "Good. And don't forget, not just my blood runs through your veins. You've other skills and gifts you can rely on. Learn to fight with them as you have the Spirits, and you'll be much better off for it. Trust me..." He was fading. Slowly, but surely. Instinctively, Cade tried to hold onto his cloak, but quickly found her fingers slipping away into nothingness. "And be weary of Mara, Cadence. There is far more to her than meets the eye...but I've still much to sort through on that front. Until next time." And then... he was gone. Cadence stared at where he had been for a good long few minutes... then finally lay down. But as she tried to drift off to sleep, the Tears came unbidden to her eyes. And they would not stop.

With her gear in hand, Cadence had retired to below deck before long. On the way down she had paid little mind to the two mages and the nomad by the door- though her gaze had briefly lingered on Helena as she passed -nor did she to any of those partaking of the wine once she was inside. She tread deeper into the vessel, towards where they all had made their makeshift beds and sleeping quarters, considering this ship had no such amenities already in place for a crew that was not supposed to exist on board in the first place. Her own ramshackle sleeping space was a bit removed from most of the others, nestled behind a few crates and barrel. It still wasn't much better than anyone else's though, just had a bit more privacy. She set her sword down on the crates, preparing to take off her coat when his voice rang out from the darkness. "Hello, Cadence..." The flickering flame of a candle bloomed to life nearby, the tell-tale whisper of anima rumbling all around them. The spirits under her own command practically cried in joy at the sudden presence, as opposed to how much trepidation they'd been drowning in around Mara, in fact they practically gravitated towards the man... or, specter, rather. Cadence slowly turned around, and there he was, sitting. waiting for her. For how long, she didn't know, but... she supposed when a man was dead, time stopped having as much meaning as it once did. Before she could even open her mouth though, he continued. "Take a seat, dear. We have a lot to discuss. There are things you need to know about... or rather, be reminded of," and with his spoken words came action. He held up a hand, drawing a burning sigil of divine aura in the air, and as he did a solid, thick line of white light drew across the entrance to the nook. Cadence knew just from the sensation of the seal that trying to leave would be pointless. But at the same time, she also knew it's purpose wasn't to keep her there with him... with little choice either way though, she took a seat on the bedding, opposite from him... waiting. The silence grew between them. Her father closed his eyes, seemingly in thought, taking a breath. It was the exact same centering technique he'd taught her as a girl, to see him use it now though... and with this dreadful quiet that kept dragging on... Cadence shifted where she sat, gazing nervously at the floor "So... what did you want to...?" "Hmmm?" One look in his eyes and she knew he'd been utterly lost in thought for a minute there. Even in death, he was still the same man she'd always known... "Oh yes, right... forgive me, there's been... quite a bit to sort through, ever since... well, I won't bring that memory back up for you. I've just been looking into things... regarding Mara. And the Sidow Order. But that's only part of what I want to discuss with you. What I'm more concerned with lately... is the spike in how much raw magic you've been using." "Wait, what? Why, what's that got to do with anything? All my life I've wanted to learn, and those two never let me, so why the hell is my practicing now such an issue-" "Because you're endangering yourself." The ghost sighed, rubbing one of his temples as he felt his way through the rest of his words... "Look, don't get me wrong, I'm proud- well, proud doesn't even come close to describe it, but it'll have to -of how hard you've been working on your own, how determined you've been to teach yourself. Not even I could've foreseen you're true potential; you've come farther in just these last two weeks or so than most pupils could hope to do with years of training and discipline. And some of the things you've done with wild magic would be unthinkable to most mages if they were to lose their tomes... but therein lies the problem cadence. Tomes. They exist for a very good reason. Do you remember what I told you when you were little?" "Yeah... tomes hold the instructions and the energy spirits need to manifest themselves, and mages use some of their own power to tap into and release that energy when they need to call them, that's why Tomes degrade over time like normal weapons. But... that's the thing- I've already experienced what happens when you try and use the anima without one, like sages like you do... I've already figured out a way around it though, if I can feed them with something other than my own life force then I'm fine." She stood, eyeing the white boundary as if intending to leave "I don't need to be lectured like some little k-" "Sit. Down. Now." The sage seemed calm as ever, yet his voice carried all the weight of thunder as she felt an unsettling vibration tear through her, making her legs tremble as she immediately plopped back onto the crates. Again, her father sighed, rubbing his temples "I'm sorry... but you don't understand what you're talking about. Cadence, this problem has existed with magic users since times immemorial, if there was as simple a way to negate degradation of one's health as to just use emotional impulses as a catalyst, Scholars would've figured it out centuries ago and we wouldn't be having this discussion...and I could've easily taught you magic regardless of what your Mother and Regis wanted. You are going to regret the consequences nature has in store if you keep this up-" "Then... that means...god, why the hell did you wait till now to say anything?" "Being dead isn't easy dear. As I said, I've had many things to look into... unfortunately that meant that I put off this discussion until now. But not anymore... Power always comes with a cost cadence, regardless where it comes from... especially in matters of the Arcane. When you use a Tome, that cost is mitigated to practice and proper training. When you don't use one however... well it starts small, negligible at first... but then it always turn into something much, much more. Do you understand, this is life and death here, if you continue you will be no better off than I am right now, and all this time you've been steadilly pushing yourself closer and closer to that edge like a godsdamned fool..." There was more he wanted to say, in his anger. But he stopped. Just... stopped. Couldn't go on so harshly. So much fear on her face, so much uncertainty... all he'd wanted was to warn her off the destructive path she was on, and yet all he'd done here was nearly bring her to the verge of tears. Sighing, he got up from his own spot and sat next to her, bringing her in close with an arm over the shoulder. And for just a moment, as she rested her head on his shoulder... he was reminded of when she was small, when her sisters were younger. Of times before this mess and all the death... or rather, times in-between all the mess and death, for they never truly ended when House Albus was involved. Mara may have been suspect, but she was right about that part at least. "I never told you about your uncle, did I?" "You... have a brother...?" "Aye... once. Not anymore though... not for a long time..."