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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 16, 2014 20:52:19 GMT 1
[OOC: You may only post in this thread if you're Mankoi[EDIT: Or Prof. Cinders. This thread begins at day six of Verse 2, for future continuity tracking. Mankoi, you get to start this one.]
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 16, 2014 21:01:35 GMT 1
Fintan loitered outside one of Lundrig's nicer inns with a practiced attempt at looking casual. He wasn't at all happy about having to go back to Lundrig, but that's where his search had led him once again. As long as he didn't look like a wanted man, he figured everything should be fine. No one was looking that hard for him anymore. Still he would have preferred to wait inside, and not on the open street. It was an inn frequented by the wealthy, however, usually for the function of spending a night with someone they ought not to be spending a night with, and trying to wait inside would likely draw a fair deal of attention. If anyone asked, he'd say he was engaged to one of the maids there, and was waiting for her shift to end.
In fact, it wasn't far off from the truth. Pretty soon one of them should be coming out. They saw everyone who went in and out, they knew who was with who. And, unlike some of the other staff, they weren't paid enough to be too discrete with that information, not if there was a good enough bribe.
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 16, 2014 21:09:41 GMT 1
"Excuse me." The question came from Hairah - a tired-looking soldier dressed in full uniform, albeit slightly grubby uniform. Her right sleeve was stained with blood, her own from the look of the bandage underneath the ripped sleeve. "Can I have a word with you, please?"
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 16, 2014 21:21:24 GMT 1
"Me?" Fintan said, glancing at the door. "I mean... yes of course. It's just I'm waiting for my fiancee, so, if you wouldn't mind to be quick..."
Fintan braced the back of his foot against the wall of the inn, hoping it looked nonchalant. He could push off against it for a good running start if he had to. Jam an elbow against her bandage on the way past if she got too close, maybe. It'd probably slow her down. Might get her mad though. The last thing he wanted was another Ronan.
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 16, 2014 21:30:05 GMT 1
Hairah managed a tired smile. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I'm not the Guard, and no offence but you aren't important enough for me to deal with you. Have you suddenly found your magic changing at all?"
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 16, 2014 21:37:14 GMT 1
Okay, Fintan thought, so perhaps his attempts to remain casual could use a little work. But there was a lot to be said for not being important enough for anyone to deal with.
"You could say that," Fintan said. It wasn't an easy question to answer, really. It hasn't so much changed as it had suddenly gone from not existing at all, to existing, even if in a fairly minor form. He hadn't really objected to it, as the ability to create a small sphere of darkness was handy enough, if you needed to temporarily take out an inconvenient light source.
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 16, 2014 21:42:55 GMT 1
"I met a mage here. Apprentice of Melasni, the court wizard. He said you're a Child of Power." Hairah waited for the inevitable disbelief at the idea of this lowlife being a Child of Power - she certainly was finding it very hard to believe. Surely the apprentice was just wrong?
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 16, 2014 22:25:15 GMT 1
"If that were the case, what would happen?" Fintan didn't believe it, but it sounded like a good opportunity. There might be food in it. There might even be some degree of immunity in it. Not total immunity of course, but maybe enough that the guard would have to let his past misdeeds go by. When it became apparent he wasn't what they thought he was... their mistake, not his. He'd just have to look shocked and disappointed.
On the other hand, this whole thing could be a set up.
"Also, what happened to your arm, and why did you need to find me so badly you couldn't put on something not covered in blood?"
People who were covered in blood were rarely a good sign.
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 16, 2014 23:02:23 GMT 1
"I've just come from a war zone, I met the apprentice outside the city. Apparently my commander owes his master a few favours, so... here I am." Tired as she was, Hairah managed a friendly - if strained - smile. "Why don't you tell me your Element?"
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 16, 2014 23:13:37 GMT 1
Fintan shrugged and created his small sphere of darkness. It wasn't much, but it wasn't looking like he was going to have to throw it in her face to blind her, so things were going better than he'd hoped so far. "You now know as much about it as I do."
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 9:23:57 GMT 1
Hairah blinked, impressed. "That's a big ball of black really, isn't it?" she mused aloud. "I've been told Melasni is coming back to Marstow, and he'll want to talk to you there. Want to come back with me?" She remained unaware of the warrant out for Fintan in the capital - not that she would have worried too much about petty theft in any case. As long as he did not steal from her, she was okay with a shady backstory.
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 17, 2014 16:18:34 GMT 1
"All right," Fintan said after a little consideration. He wasn't entirely happy with the idea. His investigation hadn't lead him back to Marstow for a while. He didn't have any leads there that hadn't gone completely cold. But it was hard to say when or where something would crop up. Besides that, some of the people he'd worked with back in Marstow had said Ronan had left town for some reason or another. That meant he'd be able to get around relatively unharassed.
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 17:21:07 GMT 1
Hairah smiled. "That's great. Meet me at the barracks outside town tomorrow morning? I need to change into something less..." She trailed off, and gestured at the sorry state of her uniform. "Less like this, I think."
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 17, 2014 18:08:21 GMT 1
Fintan nodded. "Tomorrow morning."
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 18:21:58 GMT 1
[OOC: Skipping to tomorrow morning here. This plot is now in Day 7.)
By tomorrow morning, shortly after dawn, the army barracks were in a state of what could best be described as organised chaos - understandable enough considering the war that had not yet spread further than the border. Soldiers ran to raise defences, check suspect merchant caravans, send messages, and all other manner of terribly important jobs that had them running chaotically everywhere. Alone in the mess, Hairah leaned casually against the outside wall of the barracks, enjoying the early morning sunshine and waiting for the thief to join her.
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 17, 2014 18:42:20 GMT 1
Fintan could tell as soon as he approached the barracks that everyone else was entirely too busy to care about him in the slightest. Another time, he might have tried to take advantage of the chaos to try and steal some information, try to find out what his parents had sold, and who they'd sold it to. But it wasn't like he hadn't tried that before, and it'd never worked out in his favor. He still couldn't help but wonder if that little act of treason had anything to do with the lead up to this war or not.
"I don't think I ever got your name," he said, catching sight of Hairah. "I assume you know mine though."
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 18:45:43 GMT 1
She nodded. "I checked out the arrest warrant before you got here, Fintan. I'm Hairah." She was back to her usual cheerful self, without the strained tiredness of the previous day, and greeted him with a friendly smile. "One thing, though. Can you ride a horse?"
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 17, 2014 18:59:15 GMT 1
"Probably not," Fintan said. "I suppose you never know until you try." One of the few things Fintan could say in his credit was that he was not a horse thief. Though only because a horse would do him absolutely no good whatsoever, and less because it was a depth he wouldn't sink to. "You should probably know, I also have a warrant in Marstow. It looks pretty much the same as all the others."
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 19:05:00 GMT 1
Hairah nodded. "That's all right, I've got you a letter from Ekkhoen saying nobody's to arrest you on the old charges on your warrant as long as you don't do it again." Privately, she doubted how long that letter would remain valid - after all, if he had been breaking and entering already, she somewhat suspected he would again. Nonetheless, she held out a letter.
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 17, 2014 19:22:04 GMT 1
Fintan the letter, knowing full well this was a temporary thing. "I guess this children of power thing must be really important."
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 20:12:12 GMT 1
She blinked in disbelief. "Important? Have you been paying attention these last eight months...?"
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 17, 2014 20:30:19 GMT 1
Finton shrugged. "You hear rumors, wild tales... people mention cultists and children of power now. I didn't pay much attention. Someone's always talking about something crazy."
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 20:33:51 GMT 1
"Start." Her voice was light and friendly, but clearly very serious. "Do you have anything you want to bring?" Privately, she worried about the future given this was apparently the Child of Darkness - he seemed a little too uncaring to be a hero.
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Post by Mankoi on Oct 17, 2014 21:19:44 GMT 1
Finton nodded. "Right. Sure. Look, I don't want the world to blow up or anything. It's kind of the thing I live on, you know? I prefer it when towns don't burn down. It's not that I don't care. It's just if the world keeps spinning or not hasn't ever had anything to do with me before. Whatever happens, it happens if I'm paying attention to it or not. So I focus on my own things."
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Post by Maiyrhia on Oct 17, 2014 21:41:25 GMT 1
Hairah nodded, realising for the first time that, perhaps, Fintan was deserving of more respect than she gave him credit for (namely none at all). "When you're ready to go, we'll start the journey to Marstow." She indicated a pair of horses tied to a post not far off, already saddled and ready to go.
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