➶ quest

[Wolvine]

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A sickness is winding its way through the county. People grow weak, they find themselves bed-ridden unable to move, soon withering away to nothing at all. In town of Aelhaven itself, rumours exchanged between mugs of ale in the Filthy Unicorn suggest that the Viceroy himself has fallen victim to the plague. Though these whisperings are often hushed by those fearful of being accused of treason, but the nagging doubt is there. The theories have only been strengthened by an announcement that has been nailed to the sides of houses everywhere, claiming to seek experts to locate the Chalice of Alduin. Much of the tale has been lost to time, it is supposedly an artefact with healing properties, capable perhaps of dispelling the effects of this mysterious illness. There is little time, and many lives at stake. Aelhaven is looking for a champion. Aelhaven is looking for a saviour. Aelhaven is looking, perhaps, for you.

[Wolvine]

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➶ please follow all cs rules.
➶ none of that godmoding, powerplaying junk. no fun.
➶ please pm me reservations and forms, where i'm more likely to see them. one i give you the a'ok post it to the discussion thread so it can be easily found
➶ two characters each max please. the current cap is three characters per class. avoid repeating specialisations
➶ this is a semi-lit rp, so i expect you to be competent enough with grammar and spelling and whatnot to be understood. there's no min or max word count, but do your best to match your peers! its kind of annoying if you write six paragraphs to have someone reply with two lines.
➶ if youre posting ooc please make it clear
➶ as you can probably tell, i'm a pretty lousy coder. because some people love to make fancy forms, i havent provided a skeleton. that being said, please include the following in your forms: full name, age, race, class (and specialisation if you wish), personality overview and appearance. you may include a brief history. you may use either a written description, a faceclaim or a drawing (that complies with cs's image rules of course!) for appearance.
➶ its completely up to you how experienced/inexperienced your character is. regardless, they will learn and develop as the rp progresses.
➶ if you can use pretty headers, great! if you can't use pretty headers, also great!
➶ if youre quitting the rp, please have the courtesy to pm me and let me know. this is aimed to be a fairly lax rp, so you dont have to post every three days or whatnot. please be active enough for it not to die though, and try not leave people waiting on your character's responses for too long.

this is the link to the discussion thread

[Wolvine]

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➶ Fabian Sharpe, human knight-warrior

➶ Alyce Tobias Vaux, human spy-rogue
➶ Allya Ullisis, elven archer-rogue
➶ Ester D'Lancy, human assassin-rogue.

➶ Leanne Kios, human spirit healer
➶ Samahal Alerion, elven knight enchanter
➶ Ilian Derei, elven elemental mage

characters with a strike have yet to be recruited into the party ic




Humans are the most numerous race. They live the shortest time of all three known races, but have managed to colonise most of the known world. Here, they are ruled by King Alden, though he resides in the centre of the country. The land is divided into counties, ruled by viscounts and vicountesses, and dukes, earls and counts govern individual towns. Most humans are farmers, working the land near the towns. The other races enjoy mocking them for being "dog-lovers" though only nobility are allowed to own the animals.

Elves are slightly shorter than humans, with pointed ears and narrow features. There used to be a great many more of them, living in the forests and woodlands in clans, but many centuries ago humans began a crusade against the race. Almost all elves were either killed or enslaved. Many generations have passed since then. In most countries, slavery has been abolished, but elves still live as second-rate citizens, their heritage all but wiped away. While there are a few clans, made up of elves who rejected their humanlike lives and left the towns to try and regain their history, most elves are city dwellers, residing in specially built slums and working as servants. There is a lot of tension between humans and elves due to their history. Elven names are typically composed of soft syllables.

Dwarves are the least commonly seen race, and also the smallest. They are relatively few in number, and most reside underground. Like the humans, they have royalty, however unlike them, all dwarves live under the rule of a single monarch. Currently this is Queen Kivan, little of whom is known about. Surface-dwellers are in general barred from entering the underground kingdom of the dwarves, and thus little is known about it. There are surface dwelling dwarves, however they are not counted as 'true dwarves' by their underground brethren, and are seen as outcasts and betrayers by their people. Dwarves are the only race incapable of possessing magic, however they have a resistance to it and the crystals that help channel it, making them invaluable miners of the sources. The first letter of a dwarf's name is the same letter as that of their same-sex parent. They take the family name of the other.



Warriors are elite soldiers, well-versed in the art of swords and shields. They are the backbone of every adventuring group, serving as the melee powerhouse and defender, as they are capable of taking hits better than most. Specialisations may include knights, templars and beserkers.

Rogues are lightfooted, cunning and nimble. They are adept at finding the chinks in an opponent's armour, locating exactly where it would hurt the most. They are less powerful than the warriors, but far faster and more dexterous. Specialisations may include assassin, archer and spy.

Mages are feared throughout the land. They have access to magic, capable of summoning forces that can devastate a battlefield. They require mana to perform spells, unlike rogues and warriors, and can be felled easily enough by a sword should a warrior ever reach them. They control forces no mortal should, and are rumoured to be vulnerable to demon takeover. Regular people are terrified of them and the powers they possess, and so they are carefully watched and monitored by templars, who have the ability to disperse magic. Mages are taken from their families as soon as the gift becomes clear, taken to the templars' barracks to be trained and raised among fellow mages. Should a mage ever wish to leave the barracks, they are accompanied at all times by at least three templars. Those who chose to hide their abilities and remain hidden are seen as enemies of the kingdom, and are sought out by templars to be brought to justice or killed before they cause major destruction. Specialisations include shapeshifters, necromancers and elemental mages.

[Wolvine]

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Note, you are not required to read all the information below. This section serves as a glossary of sorts, for people to look up terms/people/places that appear in the RP just in case they forget, as there's going to be a fair number of NPCs and unfamiliar terms. This section will be updated as the RP progresses. PM me if you think somewhere should be added.



➶ Aelhaven: Name of both the landlocked county and the capital. The third largest of Alondra's cities, and the second wealthiest. The nobles live in the High Court, a cobbled path leading to Aelhaven's Keep, where Viscount Dain resides. The merchant district takes up most of the area, with many markets and vendors claiming to have the best produce available. Here the large local tavern, the Filthy Unicorn (supposedly named after a particularly adventurous member of the Sinridge family and their crest which features the animal) sits proudly, within which somewhat dubious ale and even more dubious work opportunities can be found. The market district slowly but surely melts into the slums, growing poorer and poorer the further one gets from the centre. The elven district is, as in most places, the absolute poorest area, serving as a buffer zone between Aelhaven and the Narivi Forest.

➶ Alondra: The name of the kingdom ruled by Alden. It is one of the southernmost kingdoms, as it is flanked by the Narivi, the full length of which has never been explored. The capital, Veruin, is renown for having one of the largest markets in all the land. The kingdom is a relatively young one, having only earned its independence from its neighbouring kingdom Halorn some sixty years ago.

➶ Narivi: The large and vastly unexplored forest that borders the east of Aelhaven. Rumoured to be home to dozens of dark witches, ancient demons and cannibalistic elven tribes, few venture very deep into it at all. People say that an ancient battle in the forest caused thousands of souls to be trapped in its soil, hungry for mortals. Though many tales are surely exaggeration, there is no doubt that it is a dangerous place due to its unusually aggressive wildlife.



➶ Alden: The King. Resides in the country's capital, Veruin, which lies many weeks due south from Aelhaven. He is an amicable enough leader, but has done little to change the kingdom during his reign.

➶ Beatrix: A prominent noble of the Valdean family. Popular with all social groups due to her beauty and charisma, as well as her apparently genuine desire to help the people of Aelhaven, Beatrix has made little effort of disguising her vying for power. Rumours say she supposedly tried (and failed) to woo Dain in an attempt for a position of power, and upon rejection swore vengeance. Though she is well-liked and respected, few would defend her against claims of ruthlessness.

➶ Dain: Aelhaven's current viscount. He came to power four years ago, bringing with him reforms that have, though unpopular due to relocations and short-term profit loss, improved Aelhaven's economy and status. Many merchants support his rule, as he has brought them a higher quality of life, though nobles are far less impressed by his bringing the commoners riches. The poorer feel little towards him other than the fact that he's made pickpocketing more profitable. Supposedly has contracted the sickness.

➶ Gunivere: Head of Aelhaven's knight order, Ser Gunivere is a woman of justice and the people. She thinks little of the nobility's petty squabbles, seeing her first duty as being to the people. As someone sworn to serve the crown and its representatives, this occasionally causes her to butt heads with the higher ups. She is gruff and poor at diplomacy, but always does what she believes is right, regardless of consequences.

➶ Tristan: Head of Aelhaven's templar order, Commander Tristan is a greying man of few words and serious disposition. He sees his order as the only thing standing between the citizens and the chaos of magic. Though his intentions are good, he is occasionally too severe in his punishments, and doesn't tolerate insubordination from either his command or mages themselves.



➶ Alduin, the Chalice of: A golden chalice from myth and legend that presumably has incomparable healing powers. The relic the party is currently searching for. Location unknown.

➶ Knight: The crown's personal order. They serve as guards and protectors to their lieges, typically for the entirety of their lives. It takes many years to become a knight, and thus they are skilled and respected. Aelhaven's order is relatively small for the size of the town, with only around twenty knights.

➶ Sickness: A disease of unknown origin and with no cure. In early stages it causes lethargy, greying skin, pink eyes and faint-headedness. It slowly destroys the body from the inside out, wearing away the muscle and bone of the victim. It almost invariably causes death. It is presumably infectious, as the highest rates are in the elven district, where elves are cramped in tight conditions.

➶ Specialisation: A subset of classes, requiring a specific set of skills and abilities. For example, a warrior may also be a templar, meaning they have the ability to disperse magic and thus have a greater resistance to it. All templars are warriors, but not all warriors are templars.

➶ Templar: The order who register and monitor mages. All large towns have their own order, and smaller villagers without answer to a nearby order. Though supposedly all templars are members of one group and follow one set of guidelines, the treatments and dispositions towards mages varies greatly depending on the Commander. Three to eight are usually assigned to a single mage, to follow and police them. The importance of the Order and the treatment of mages varies greatly from kingdom to kingdom. The Order is linked pretty closely to the church.

[Wolvine]

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Ａｌｙｃｅ  Ｔｏｂｉａｓ  Ｖａｕｘ

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Ｈｕｍａｎ  Ｓｐｙ

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Ｗｉｔｈ：  Ｎｏｎｅ

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The Filthy Unicorn was fairly busy for midmorning. It was a warm day in Aelhaven, just sunny enough for dead things to begin to rot and make the alleys smell slightly worse than usual. Despite the allure of warmth and death outside, there was more than just a handful of people milling around, most of whom were staring glumly at their hands and mugs of ale, most likely thinking about the fact they had no jobs, or about a family member who was dying, or perhaps about how utterly abysmal the alcohol was. Alyce took a gulp from her own chipped mug, growing bored of watching the moping crowd. The most interesting thing in the room to watch had been the nice-looking tavern maid, but she had sadly left a few minutes ago, leaving the rogue with a room full of miserable people in the dark and a city guard, who was stubbornly refusing to either drink or pay for her to drink.

She turned to look at the man, who was still scowling at her, eyes apparently never left her face just in case she disappeared into thin air or something. She offered him a winning grin, which only made his already impressive scowl deepen. Well. That was disappointing.
"You're the best drinking parter I've ever had," she told him solemnly, taking another swig of her drink. The guard managed to raise an eyebrow without a single other muscle in his face even twitching. "Really. You don't try and stop me from having too much. And if I tried to get in a fight with someone three times my size you'd probably arrest me. Again. And don't even get me started on the wonderful conversation."

"You are a criminal. I don't talk to criminals." he answered, voice as tense as his posture. It was the first thing he'd said directly to her. Alyce was less than impressed.

"Look see that's your problem. You're trying to do that thing that people in power do. Disassociate themselves with their victims. You don't want to think of me as a person because chances are I'll die. You don't talk to the people you arrest because of the very real chance that they will executed, and its easier for you to think about them as objects than people so you don't feel guilty." The guard squinted a little bit, but it was not quite clear if he was annoyed or upset. Maybe both.

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Maybe if you buy me another drink I'd be more inclined to be quiet."

"You're here to recruit people, not drink yourself to death. And I'm here to make sure you don't run away, not pay for your vices." Alyce shrugged, purposefully exaggerating the motion, and opened her mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted, "but if it keeps you quiet, I guess its worth the coppers." She watched, triumphant, as the tired man rose and walked over to the bartender, waggling her fingers at him when he turned to check she hadn't moved. For a free drink, she'd risk a hell of a lot more than her freedom.

This, she decided, was the worst. She'd almost rather have been hanged. Instead, she was here, trying to get people to join her on a suicide mission, drinking watered down ale, her only company a crusty guard. Well, at least it wasn't the cartel. Nobody was trying to skewer her. Yet.

[Keriae]

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❛''''ＡＮＤ Ｉ＇Ｍ ＮＯＴ ＢＡＣＫＩＮＧ ＤＯＷＮ
I WILL STAND MY GROUND! I WILL STAND MY GROUND!
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ａ ｃｈａｍｐｉｏｎ ｉｓ
WHAT THEY CALL ME NOW!

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xxxxxxxage: twenty seven
xxxxxxxclass: warrior-knight
xxxxxxxtagged: alyce

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Fabian wasn't exactly fond of his colleagues.

What? It couldn't be denied. They were all so patriotic and loyal and selfless. They were hardly spoken to by Dain; in fact, he hardly even looked at them, never mind offering even a syllable of speech in their direction. And yet every single one of them would give their life a hundred times over for his. It was utterly stupid. Survival was about yourself, not those around you, because they would just stop you from achieving your full potential and hold you back with worry. He'd learnt that on the streets when he was a child, an urchin who scraped scraps from the sewers and nicked even an elf's coin purse just to get a room for the night. Sometimes that coin purse had not been worth the effort, with only a couple of tiny coppers within it, not even enough for rent the most threadbare, moth-eaten blanket in Aelhaven. But other times, the purse would have left you feeling like a king. Well, as close to feeling like a king as a scrawny child could.

Fabian had really started feeling like a king when he'd gotten deeper into the black, when he'd started to execute more crimes, the dangerous ones, the ones where you could die instead of spending a couple of nights in a jail cell. There was no need to go into what they were, everyone already knew. Why Fabian had chosen to turn his back on his old life, however, and become what he was now was unknown to most. It was a simple matter: more money, better food. Oh, he wasn't opposed to getting more money on top of his now weekly wage, but now he covered his tracks, while before he had been very proud of his accomplishments. He was still proud, of course, but it felt better to spurn Dain behind his back. It was living life on the edge in a different way, it sent adrenaline rushing through his veins every day.

Except that now it was getting boring.

It was the same thing, day after day. Wake up, give yourself a quick wash and shave, present yourself for duty in the courtyard. Be assigned to something so boring you could pass the time with anything, no matter what it was, even if it was guessing words while sweltering under layers of leather in the midday sun in the height of summer. Spar if you had time, which he often didn't. Go to the taverns at night until you couldn't walk. Repeat as desired.

To lighten it up Fabian had started dabbling in his old ways again, bargaining and bartering, stealing and thieving, maybe even killing. But that was mostly hired work, careful work from the nobles or merchants wishing to get rid of the competition, and it didn't pay well. He was ready for a change.

Which was why Fabian Sharpe found himself in The Filthy Unicorn in the middle of the day, having been given no duties for the day. Good, because the sickness was rampaging through town and apparently a certain Chalice of Alduin would cure everything. Ha! They'll all die, Chalice or no Chalice. Fabian thought, weaving his way through the crowd and tables until he spotted someone he knew. It had been a long time.

Plopping himself down in the guard's empty chair, Fabian swung his feet up onto the table and wrinkled his nose at the ale. "You actually drink this?"

[Wolvine]

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Ａｌｙｃｅ  Ｔｏｂｉａｓ  Ｖａｕｘ

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Ｈｕｍａｎ  Ｓｐｙ

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Ｗｉｔｈ：  Ｆａｂｉａｎ

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Alyce watched, apathetic, as the guard proceeded to begin to try and haggle with the bartender. Clearly the man had little experience with taverns. He would no doubt be busy for some time, during which the price would rise and rise until eventually he'd have to pay in silver rather than copper. It was an amusing spectacle for a few minutes, but knowing what the eventual outcome would be dulled it somewhat. Eventually she grew bored, and turned her attentions to inventing back stories for the desolate souls making their already watery ale even worse with their tears.

That man, she decided, had once been a highend templar, only to be betrayed by his luscious mage lover, who had eventually spurned him for his (most likely female) superior. Jealousy and anger had driven him to try and denounce the mage and new lover, but the only thing this resulted in was him losing his job. His only means of making a profit now was trying to sell used boots. His illicit secret lovechild had been taken from him, leaving this sad empty husk of a man with nothing left. It was far more interesting than the more likely 'my wife is dying and trade is very bad because nobody much is leaving the city nowadays' story at least.

Alyce gave a sigh, resting her elbow on the table and propping her chin up. If only everyone else's lives were as interesting as her own. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Her gaze swept across the room once more, looking for another victim. Her eyes rested on one particularly sorry-looking man with an excellent irritated expression and a terrible personality. It seemed that one of her favourites would be joining her today. Fabian was a delightfully terrible man who was oh so much more interesting than Ser Stoic. She leaned back and watched him approach, unable to entirely keep the grin from her face.

"As if I actually stop to taste it. Not all of us can afford your fancy wines, good Ser," she answered, tilting her head ever so slightly to smirk more effectively. "Myself, I'm on but a humble guardsman's salary. This urine is the best he can afford." She nodded at the back of the guard, who was so involved in trying to not to give away his life's savings that he'd forgotten to keep checking his charge was still there. Not that she'd be going anywhere. "How's the highlife treating you then? Is the order everything its cracked up to be?" She couldn't help but laugh a little at that. The thought of Fabian, who didn't have a patriotic bone in his body, serving the crown was still funny, even after all this time. She'd never quite known how he'd managed it, to cut himself so completely and cleanly from his past life. She'd never been able to, despite numerous messy attempts.

To say she was envious wouldn't quite be the right term; though the cartel had its bad (vile, rat-infested-bad, dagger-in-stomach-bad) points, she'd take life on the street over the pretentious knighthood, where one had to risk their lives over things that were of not of their concern, any day. "Oh, how's the Viscount? I've heard he's dead, and they've just not announced it to try and avoid chaos. Is that true? I hope its true." Maybe they'd forget about this Chalice nonsense if it was. She doubted very much that they'd let her walk free if the expedition fell through, but it would mean she wouldn't have to put up with this prolonged exposure to the boredom incarnate that was the guard.

[Keriae]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
ＦＡＢＩＡＮ ＳＨＡＲＰＥ
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
❛''''ＡＮＤ Ｉ＇Ｍ ＮＯＴ ＢＡＣＫＩＮＧ ＤＯＷＮ
I WILL STAND MY GROUND! I WILL STAND MY GROUND!
⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯ ⋯

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ＢＥＣＡＵＳＥ
ａ ｃｈａｍｐｉｏｎ ｉｓ
WHAT THEY CALL ME NOW!

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xxxxxxxage: twenty seven
xxxxxxxclass: warrior-knight
xxxxxxxtagged: alyce

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The man cringed at the title he was given. Ser. Every time someone addressed him like that, it was all Fabian could do not to either tear of the insignia of rank on his shoulder or run the person in front of his through with his sword. Neither of them would be good ideas in any situation, because either way he'd likely loose his job and now some people didn't trust him. Who was his kidding, hardly anyone trusted him! But it was the people that mattered, the people in the social circles he'd once moved through that mattered. If they didn't trust him, it would be hard to earn back that reputation he'd once had. Oh, Fabian would undertake that task for sure, just to see the look on all their faces, but right now he was well off, very well off for someone of his background and he didn't see the point in risking too much. Risk was always good, but never in excess. Unless it was well and truly worth it. The title 'Ser' reminded him of what he'd become, and he hated it. At least he still saw some action, though.

"The highlife is revolting," Fabian told his companion, pushing the tankard of ale away from him. He was tempted to kick it onto the floor and start a brawl, just for the sake of it. "I keep myself busy with other matters." Alyce was smart, and they used to move in the same places, the same part of society. She would know exactly what he meant, just as long as she didn't think he was just a hired hand. He told his customers how much he wanted paying, he was the best of the best, there was no one else out there who would do as good a job as him. Maybe that was arrogant. He didn't care. The truth was the truth and it was the reason he could have prices so high, and varying for the service required. He still had contacts, he could get anything he needed, be it the old way or new ways. Being a knight had it's ups, after all.

Turning his head to look at the poor guard at the bar, Fabian shook his head. "If this is the best he can afford he can't be doing his job correctly. Either that or he can't taste anything." Even the wine here was bad, sour and left too long in mouldy barrels. But he hadn't come for a drink. He'd come for other reasons, and likely the same reasons why Alice was seated in front of him with her untouched ale and looking bored out of her mind. Fabian listened to her questions - she could never stop asking the 'important' ones - and shook his head. "Unfortunately the Viscount is alive and kicking. If he died this place might liven up a little." He might even have to liven things up himself. There were many people who wanted the Viscount dead, things could easily be arranged, and no one would ever know. It would feel good too.

"Now, I believe that your forming a quest? Since when did you want to do such a thing, Alyce? It's hardly your style." Helping the people? Definitely not something Alyce would be doing willingly. It was almost laughable.

[DancingWithDragons]

Gᴇɴᴅᴇʀ: Mᴀʟᴇ
Cʟᴀss: Wᴀʀʀɪᴏʀ
Sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟɪsᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Kɴɪɢʜᴛ
Tᴀɢs: Aʟʏᴄᴇ, Fᴀʙɪᴀɴ

Estel breathed in deeply as he stood in front of the Filthy Unicorn, exhaling loudly as he prepared to go in the door. He knew he was going to sign up to go on this quest, he had already made the decision, but right now his nerves were about as bad as they'd ever been. He couldn't really identify why, to be honest. Maybe it was because it was probably a suicide mission. Maybe it was because the Chalice might not even exist, and they'd return empty-handed to find that the sickness could not be stopped. But what he thought was the reason, now that he stopped to consider it, was that he was afraid of failure. He had already lost his wife to the sickness and feared losing his son as well. He was risking everything to go on this quest, and if it failed, he could very well return to a place that had lost everything - and in the realization that he had failed, he would lose the ones he still had left.

That was a terrifying thought, and so Estel tried to put it in the back of his mind as he pushed open the door to the tavern. He took another deep breath as he looked around at the customers in the not-so-clean building, evaluating all of them. He wasn't here to get in a fight, but if provoked, it'd be good to be sure he knew who and what exactly was around him. He noticed a man, probably a man who worked for the city by the look of his uniform, talking to the bartender. Strange, you didn't often see guards around here...then he noticed the girl sitting at a table. He recognized her face - had she been in trouble with the royalty or the city at some point? - and made his way over to the table, where another man, about Estel's age, was sitting, talking to her.

"Hello," he said, attempting to draw their attention. "Do either of you know what we're supposed to do if we are here for the quest? I heard that there was some sort of recruitment going on here." It couldn't hurt to ask, right? As he waited for an answer, he observed the two. The boy - or man - was wearing a knight's uniform, which meant he worked for the king, but Estel couldn't remember his name. They'd probably never met - they might even be in two entirely different groups of men, doing two entirely different sorts of things. Clearly he was off-duty, though - no knight would go to a bar on duty, no matter how reckless they might be.

Gᴇɴᴅᴇʀ: Fᴇᴍᴀʟᴇ
Cʟᴀss: Rᴏɢᴜᴇ
Sᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟɪsᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Aʀᴄʜᴇʀ
Tᴀɢs: Nᴏɴᴇ

Tauriel looked around nervously at the people walking along the streets. Her friends had taken her here, to a tavern called the Filthy Unicorn, saying this was where she'd go to sign up for the quest. Reassuring her that Kirin would be well taken care of and that she'd definitely feel better once she was doing something adventurous, they left her at the door, panicked and yet uncaring about the people around her.

After her love's death, Tauriel had slipped into a serious depression and a sort of funk. She barely ate, she cried herself to sleep when she slept at all, and about five months after his death had given birth to his son, who she named Kirin. She was a little better off after she began to take care of him, but she and her friends all knew that her son was the only thing keeping her from taking her own life. The possibility of being with him again in death was one that Tauriel clung to, hoping desperately that she would one day see him again. She could not bear the thought that they would be apart forever.

At any rate, her friends had somehow convinced her that this was something she should do. She knew that they were trying to take care of her, but really, she didn't have the will to keep living, much less go on a quest. And she had a son to take care of! He was only 6 months old, just barely old enough to stop breast-feeding, much less lose his mother while she disappeared on an adventure. But one of her friends had promised her that he'd take care of the child while she was gone, and she grudgingly agreed. How they had convinced her to go, she still wasn't sure, but here she was, standing at the door. She walked in cautiously, observing her surroundings and making sure she had an escape route should something go wrong - that mindset hadn't left her even after she renounced her rank as a warrior of her Elvish people, deciding to live alone and fight no more.

She looked around curiously, noting that there were a few small groups talking. Hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with any of them - then she remembered. Obviously she'd have to talk to someone, she knew, so she could sign up for the quest. She just didn't know who. Tauriel decided she'd wait for someone to mention it, her keen hearing would pick up on that and that could start a conversation. She ran through the plan in her head a couple of times, trying to give it some meaning, but couldn't. Instead, the elf sat down at a table with her head in her hands, waiting for an opportunity to know what to do.

[gallifrey falls.]

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Ｋａｌｌｉ Ｚｕｌｄａｇｄｕｎ
ｔｈｅ ｄｗａｒｖｅｎ ｗａｒｒｉｏｒ
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known as: kalli
race: dwarf
class: warrior-knight

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mood: curious
location: the filthy unicorn
tagged: tauriel, everyone
ooc: hope this looks good.

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The heat was sweltering, and the sun bright, as accustomed as Kalli was to the cool and dark underground tunnels. Her eyes were as sharp as an owl's in the dark, which was why she did most of her travelling in the nighttime rather than at the height of noon. Other travelers had told her that the place to meet the other questers was a pub called The Filthy Unicorn, around this time. She could shrug off the heat for a chance such as this. In truth, Kalli was not going on this quest for the moral valor of it - dwarves were more or less immune to the disease - but for the simple pleasure of it. That may sound insensitive, but she liked to think the humans were getting what they deserved, after treating the elves so poorly all these years. Unfortunately for the elves, they were also affected by the sickness, cramped as they were in the slums and poor living conditions. To think such a proud race could be walked over by a race such as the humans.

But now was not the time to rant about the human's shortcomings; she had a tavern to find.

A rancid stench came to her attention, and Kalli turned, forcing herself not to gag. It came from an open door, Rashida knew what lay inside. To her relief, just next door to it sat The Filthy Unicorn; the wooden sign advertising so hung just above the door. Moving onward, Kalli pushed open the door and stepped into the dim interior. A look around told her it was not a place fit for a king, and hardly fit for a rat. Perhaps she was being too judgmental, but a glance in the tankards of those sitting told her she would not be ordering any sort of drink from this place. A city guard was bargaining with the bartender over the price of the ale, and off to his right sat a group of three, two of whom seemed to already know each other. Something about them told Kalli they were a part of the quest, though looked about as thrilled to be going on it as a peasant was to pay his yearly tax. Shaking her head, she switched her attention to a woman who sat alone, head in her hands. The hood of her garment was pulled back just enough to expose one of her pointed ears. It appeared the humans were desperate enough to save their race that they were even allowing elves to go on the quest! Approaching the table at which she sat, Kalli sat down at one of the chairs surrounding it. "Pardon me, but you wouldn't happen to be going on the quest for the Chalice of Alduin, would you?"