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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 25, 2016 20:42:49 GMT
Elbion, a free city in the East of Ardell, was a city state dedicated to trade. This fact alone was tempting enough for Mystmarch to have a diplomat sent to see about a possible trade deal, but it also had a notable college located there as well. So with the Council of Lords and the Runic Circle both urging the High King to get someone there immediately, Kaelen was pretty much pushed onto the first ship heading that way. Why he was the first person that always came to the council's mind when a diplomat was needed was beyond him. He would have thought a soldier of the vanguard would be more needed on the front lines as Mystmarch was yet again looking to advance her borders, but it wasn't the case. Being the educated third son of a noble family was probably the most likely reason for all of this.
It had taken Kaelen longer than expected to reach Elbion, but he had finally arrived. The Mystmarch flag soared high over head as he exited the guild ship that was doubling as an official dignitary vessel. He walked down the plank with a robed man carrying a stave and a member of the wolf folk carrying a short spear and a buckler in leather armor followed behind. Windpaw was one of the skirmishers under Kaelen's command and who he had chosen to accompany him. He was calmer than the others and knew how to keep to himself while sticking close by. He needed that in an unfamiliar place that he had yet to get a feel for. The robed man was one of the Runic Circle mages and here on connected, yet separate, mission to visit the college. The Order had taken an interest in seeing what could be learned from those on the other end of the continent from them. The trio walked down the street a short ways before stopping to wait for a representative from Elbion to come get them.
Kaelen had waited for nearly three hours with no one showing up. They had sent word of their arrival to the ruling body of the city as soon as they arrived, and yet no one had shown up. He frowned as he looked around at the crowd. Most of them were human with a few non humans mixed in. Was Windpaw being there a reason for this rudeness? Unlikely, but it wasn't a good sign either way. He was tired of waiting however and ready to do something more than watch a scene he could see back at Marston as easily as he could here.
"Windpaw, go get a feel for the city. Report back to me in the morning. You should be able to find me even though we don't know where we are staying yet." Kaelen said to the wolfkin as rolled his shoulders. The wolf pressed a fist over his heart then wandered off into the crowd. Kaelen turned his attention to the robed man and added, "Lets go find this college so you can at least get your task started."
The pair began to head into the city and were sure to ask everyone they could if they knew how to get to the college.
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Post by Pern on Dec 25, 2016 21:06:24 GMT
"The college? Oh it's quite a walk from here, why don't you stop by the Gilded Feather up in the Merchant district, just that way," a woman selling bread from a vendor stall pointed up the main walkway. Kaelen and his men were down at West Port which was, like the woman said, quite a walk away from where he needed to be.
"Just up this road, in the main Merchant Square to your right. Look for the gold gryphon emblem, ask for Osric. Here, have a roll, sweetheart, you look peckish." And a wink for good measure, apparently.
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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 25, 2016 21:18:11 GMT
The woman selling bread from a stall was very helpful for the pair. Kaelen gave the woman a grin as he softly took her chin in his hand. He said to her as he looked into her eyes, "Thank you lass. I will savor every bite." He then gave her a wink before he let his fingers slide off of her skin. He began to walk with the mage in the direction they had been told to go as he took a bite from the roll. He half wished he wasn't with this robed cockblocker right now or he might have taken the time to see if he could get the woman to close the stall down early for the day. But such was life when you had to escort one of the Runic mages through an unfamiliar city.
The two arrived at the shop sooner than expected. The golden gryphon emblem was there as they had been told. Kaelen didn't know why, but he always liked gryphons. They were more interesting and majestic to him than the tales of dragons had been. Why anyone would like a fire-breathing lizard with wings was insane. No, the majestic mixture of a lion and a hawk was much more interesting. Perhaps one day he would get the chance to meet one for himself.
Kalen walked into the shop and looked around. Book, lots of books. He did enjoy reading, but not as much as the fanatic behind him it seemed. The mage disappeared into the shelves as Kaelen just shook his head. He was baby sitting a child right now. He called out as he slowly looked around, "Anyone around?"
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Post by Pern on Dec 25, 2016 22:12:19 GMT
"You the ones come in West Port?" came the muffled voice from an old man towards the side of the library. He was a shrunken sort of thing, bent comfortably into an overstuffed red armchair within several layers of weathered merchant garb. A glimmer or two of gold here and there, nothing ostentatious, denoted him of the higher merchant class of Elbion. He peered at a book through half-moon spectacles, a pipe stuck out from a droll mouth hidden within the soft waves of a white beard and mustache. Were he wearing a tall, pointed hat he might've been anyone's mental image of the epitome of wizened old wizard. It wasn't far from the truth. "Mystmarch flag, wasn't it," A grey tabby cat purred on a windowsill, moony eyes following Kaelen Silverblood Silverblood's movement through the store. "what brings you to Elbion?"
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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 25, 2016 22:41:22 GMT
The sound of the old man's voice caught Kaelen's attention right away. He looked in the direction it came from to see who it came from. For a moment he thought he was looking at one of the elders from the Runic Circle, but this was not Mystmarch so he knew they were not. It seemed the man had some familiarity with the Mystmarch flag though. A good sign. He smiled as he walked over to the old man in his chair. "I am Kaelen Silverblood of Mystmarch. You are correct about that, and I am here on business. Who might I have the pleasure of meeting?" Kaelen said as he stopped within arm's length of the old man. The robed mage could be heard rummaging through the shelves as he explored what hidden knowledge could be found. The sound of a many books following onto the floor and on top of each other echoed out after a few seconds of silence. Kaelen looked in the direction it came from with a slight frown. Runic mages were always like this around libraries and ruins. He shook his head a bit before he turned his attention back to the old man. The sound of books being put back into their place began to fill the background as Kaelen waited for a reply. Pern
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Post by Pern on Dec 26, 2016 0:08:43 GMT
"Mm," said the old man noncommittally, "Osric."
"Ignashush," came another voice of plausible feminimity. A large silhouette filled the entryway of the shop, bringing with it the stinging smell of iron and soot, "shouldn' you be at the college with the Myshtmash folksh?"
The old man lofted a hairy white brow, lowering his book into his lap, "Was that today? Goodness me, ah - hmmm." Ignatius rubbed at his chin with a distant look in his watery green eyes. He turned a friendly smile up at Kaelen Silverblood with a shrug, "oh yes." Apparently the Elbion Ambassador was a bit ... senile. Could you hardly blame him? Setting his book aside, Ignatius slowly pushed himself up from his chair with a grunt and very carefully, very methodically, began shuffling his way over towards the shoppe counter, "you'll be taking them, Pernillia."
"I'll fetsh your boots and cloa- ..wot." A fluttering blink accompanied the pause as the orc-woman stopped midstride, clawed hand reaching towards a cloakrack. Golden eyes glanced at the armored man.
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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 26, 2016 1:48:54 GMT
Osric was the name given. It sounded familiar, but not to Kaelen. The mage at the now freshly restocked shelf made a subtle sound from the way his boots moved that hinted at it. Little, if any, time past before a new arrival showed up. The feminine ring to the voice caught Kaelen's attention as much as the name had caught the mage's. He turned to see who entered and smiled as he saw Pern enter through the doorway. An orcess had arrived, and a rather attractive one at that. The old man and the orcess began to speak with each other for a bit, revealing some important information. It was eventually settled that the woman would take Kaelen and the mage where they were suppose to go, but he had a better idea. "It would be my pleasure to have such a fine beauty as my guide good Osric." Kaelen said as he strode over towards the counter. He began to study the woman from the corner of his eye. He went on, "But I believe my companion should stay here with you. They are one of the Runic Circle's finest and there is sure to be a few books they would like to purchase. Open up a tab and I will be happy to pay it off after my business is concluded." Kaelen waited to hear the answer from the old man. The mage amongst the shelves still seemed as if they wanted to protest, but the allure of "free" books was too much. They kept silent as they also waited to hear what the old man would say. Kaelen hoped his little ploy would work. He wanted some alone time with that orcess...a lot of alone time.
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Post by Pern on Dec 26, 2016 2:23:58 GMT
A moment of suffocating silence filled the shoppe following the Mystmarch's words. Pern gave the man an odd look before rounding her attention back on Ignatius.
"You know they won' permit me in the cashel," said Pern.
"Mmm," the old man nodded, thumbing his nose with a bony finger and looking over towards the shadow of the Mage picking the stacks, "I have business to do, Nilli. Take this with you," he tugged upon a chain hanging from his robes pocket, pulling at it until it tugged a round, flat amulet free. The trinket swung on the end of the chain, Pern recognized it as the Maester's seal of the Fifth Order.
"But Iggy," she shook her head quickly, "I cannat take thish."
"Well sure you can, you just put it in your hand. Here you are, off you go."
Pern looked at the amulet with a frown before tucking it away in a pocket of her blacksmith smock, "Ash you wish." She turned with a jerk towards the armored man, gave him an awkward sort of nod and ducked back out through the entrance.
"Bye now, say hello to Fritz for me," Ignatius called after them.
The Orc waited a beat for the fellow to join her before gently clearing her throat and stepped off into the merchant square, "Thish way."
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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 26, 2016 2:45:53 GMT
The gambit payed off and now Kaelen was going to be alone with the orcess. He smiled a bit to himself as he followed her out of the shop. The mage remaining behind to lose himself in the books on the shelves. The street was crowded with people as Kaelen made sure the door did not shut too hard. The order to follow was given, and this soldier of desire began to heed it immediately. The smile still on his face as he got a quick look at his guide's behind in her sooty pants. "So you are Pernillia right? I am Kaelen. I would like to thank you for the help." Kaelen said as he come into step next to the green skinned woman. "It is always a pleasure to be shown around by the most attractive woman in the city." Kaelen smirked as he glanced over at her. He wondered what kind of reaction she would give to him. She didn't seem to be the blushing type. Likely it would be a more dry or coy reaction. What little he saw did not hint at being the aggressively flirty type. He would not mind if she was. In fact, he would welcome her with open arms and scruffy kisses. But the thought of a faint ruby tint shading her cheeks was also appealing. A rosy beauty within the garb of a smith. It had a certain ring to it and sounded like something one of the Ladies back in Mystmarch might read aloud in their studies to their feminine guests. Pern
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Post by Pern on Dec 26, 2016 4:23:11 GMT
"Pern," said the orc as she paused at a crossroads, wary glance given to the man as she remembered her place, "if it pleashesh hish Lord." She continued as the crowd thinned and lead him out along a main street and took to the steps that lined the side. Having been developed along the sloping Elbion valley, the city itself was built on an angle. As they neared the inner stronghold wall that separated the Merchant quarter from the Guild sector the grade of slope became noticeably steeper.
She did not blush, which was perhaps a normal thing. Ignatius once told her that orcs never blushed, though Pern wondered whether it had more to do with their skin color than any sort of capacity to do so. Her own flesh of dark earthy tones would hardly show a pinking of cheeks, especially not beneath the smudges of soot and grime.
Instead she gave him an odd sort of look - something between uncertainty of his intentions and confusion of his tone.
"Thanksh ... I think."
Ahem.
"Why do you sheek the college? Do you mean to become a shtudent?" Seemed a logical reason to need to find the college. Logical enough for her, anyway.
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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 26, 2016 20:39:01 GMT
Pern eh? It had a ring to it. Kaelen smiled to her as she told him her name. His smile weakened bit as she called him a 'lord', but that was not her fault. It was an oddity of Mystmarch that only to ruling noble of an area was a Lord or Lady. She didn't know that, but no one outside of Mystmarch knew that. Perhaps one day March culture would be better understood outside of their borders. "I am no Lord, but thank you Ms. Pern. My eldest brother is the Lord, I am but an unneeded son of a noble family." Kaelen said with a nearly forced smile on his face. He didn't need to be pushing his personal issues on her right now. "What about yourself? Surly such a lovely woman as yourself is a Lady. You certainly are one in my eyes."
Kaelen gave her a little wink. It wasn't time just yet to be blunt. She could have just been feigning modesty, or obliviousness, to his earlier advance after all. Some might say she was being hard to get, but Kaelen knew there was no such thing. Either a woman was interested or she wasn't. If she had no interest she would let him know and then they could move on. But this was not a show of no interest but rather a show of not knowing there was interest at all. He just needed to get her to realize he was showing interest in her and then he could find out what her level of interest in him was. They reached some steps that were becoming steeper as they went along. He decided to fall in behind Pern so that he could catch her if she slipped and so that he could give her more room to walk. There was another equally important reason why he had decided to do this. He had a perfect view of her rear as she took each and every step. May the gods bless whoever it was that invented stairs. Kaelen listened as the topic of college came up. That was certainly a reason someone might come to the city, and a good one even if not the one that he was here for. He just smiled to her as he said, "I already received an education from the College of Stormhold, so I am not. I am here to see about a trade agreement between Elbion and Mystmarch as well as escorting one of the mages from the Runic Circle. The robed man with your, grandfather? That man is here to try to create some kind of exchange between the colleges. I believe they are also looking to find some promising students to take back to Mystmarch as well." Kaelen smiled impishly as he watched her for moment. He was certainly enjoying his view right now. He added, "You seem like a very promising woman to me. Are you perhaps from the college? Such an exquisite sight such as yourself would surely not be passed up."
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Post by Pern on Dec 27, 2016 3:21:19 GMT
Not a Lord? Could have fooled her. He certainly looked the part; all armored, swarthy and well-spoken.
"Ash you shay," Pern returned in kind, "I am no lady, I am an Orc..."
As if it were not perfectly clear already, she this very fact stated as such. Lady and Orc were not one in the same, exchangable, relatable. According to all that was human and civil, they were anything but synonymous. She stepped up to a landing where the ground leveled out some into a main cross street. Just as busy and bustling as the last - still in the merchant quarter - a massive wall of stone could now be made out just over the tops of the merchant stalls and mercantile buildings.
Pern lofted a brow at the mention of another College, of Mystmarch. Both of which she was quite familiar with - had been ever since being denied enrollment to the College of Elbion. The idea of traveling, of trying for another school, for the venerable Runic Circle ... well, a pipe dream for her, just like most things it seemed.
She meant to correct him on his assumption of the old man but the point hardly seemed relevant. Besides, he'd made the mistake of taking her for a student, to which Pern gave a derisive snort.
"I am no shtudent of Elbion," the Orc cast a short glance of irritation off at some poor, unsuspecting child who quickly and frightfully dipped back into a doorway, "I am a Blackshmith. Ignashush, however, wash wonsh a Maeshter of the College. He taught there for many yearsh. He ish likely picking the brainsh of your Mage ... who ish he, by the way?"
Just passively curious, of course. There was no ulterior motive to the question. Nope.
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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 27, 2016 6:46:25 GMT
The wall that marked the edge of the merchant district rose over head like an ever watching sentinel to remind everyone just what their position in this "free" city truly was. Kaelen was sad at the lose of getting to watch Pern go up the steps, but he had to admit that the city was beautiful. It was a pleasant place, even though his earlier suspicions were beginning to seem more and more true. The number of humans to other races was skewed and from the way the lovely orcess had been reacted to him calling her a Lady, it was clear there was some deep seated racism. Mystmarch had classes, but it was hardly based on race....not completely based on it. The Lords and Ladies always were from mostly human lines, with the mixture of some elf or shapeshifter popping up every so often. There was even rumors of beast folk blood in a few, but they were little more than rumors. Outside of the nobility, all of the common folk were equal no matter what their race was. The orcess began to inquire about the College of Stormhold and about the mage that had come with Kaelen. He caught her irritation at mentioning not being a student as well as the inquiring into the institute of higher learning. He smiled a bit as his curiosity was peaked. Could there be an interesting story here? Perhaps one that could give Kaelen a chance to get this curvy orcess into a more private place than these streets. "I imagine my companion would enjoy having his brain picked. It is what they do. He is here to look for potential students for the College of Stormhold and possible applicants to the Runic Circle." Kaelen replied to her inquiry. He looked at her and smiled impishly as he took her chin in one of his hands. He leaned in close so that the only thing they could see was each other. He said in a suggestive tone, "Perhaps I could suggest you for his list? And perhaps I could be sponsor your education?"
Kaelen just held her chin and his gaze into her eyes after he finished speaking. He was enjoying the little bit of fun right now. Even if he didn't get anything out of the end of this trip from her, it was still entertaining to be seeing what it took to get it across to her that he was interested in her. He added after a bit in a softer tone of voice filled with sincerity, "You have the loveliest eyes and lashes."
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Post by Pern on Dec 28, 2016 1:17:19 GMT
...here to look for potential students for the College of Stormhold... ...and possible applicants to the Runic Circle. There was a brief pause in Pern's stride at hearing this, brief enough to allow the man the moment he needed to waylay her with his charm. Brows lifting, Pern blinked wide-eyed at him as he closed in, and was suddenly very aware of her chin in his hand. The compliments only drew further confusion from the Orc who gave the man a look as though he'd just asked her why she liked the color orange. Another few blinks as the Orc attempted to understand just what was going on. Perhaps it was a Mystmarch custom? She supposed she could attempt to make the connection. Pern reached up with a sooty, clawed hand and promptly took hold of Kaelen Silverblood 's chin, perhaps a bit more strongly than she meant to, and gave it a jerk down in order to better assess his own eyes, "your eyesh are moisht and your lashes are thin." Overall, a healthy set of eyes. She nodded in satisfaction, released his chin, and turned out of the man's grasp on her own, "You Myshtmarsh folk have shtrange cushtomsh..." "Come, not mush farther to go now." The wall was ever growing as they neared.
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Post by Kaelen Silverblood on Dec 28, 2016 17:53:01 GMT
Did she just grab his chin and tell him what his eyes looked like? She did and it wasn't in the flirty way that he had done to her. It was more like she was just doing what he did because she was confused or didn't know what was going on. And then she said his people's customs were strange. It was, it was just too much for Kaelen. As soon as she finished speaking he burst out into laughter. Deep laughter that came from his core. He had never gotten this kind of reaction before from a woman as he was attempting to woo her. Blushing, insults, and even a few slaps to the face he had, but never utter obliviousness. This moment was just too great. Kaelen walked up to Pern and placed a hand on her firm shoulder. He said with a genuine smile on his face, "You misunderstand Ms. Pern. That is not some Mystmarch custom. I was trying to make physical contact with you and telling you how attractive you are to me. All in an attempt to convey my interest in you to you." Kaelen had to pause as he chuckled once more. This orcess was exactly what he needed right now. The game of flirtation and lustful misadventure got boring when you always seemed to get the same reactions, but it was far more interesting with this woman than it had been for him in some time. He was just going to have to approach her in complete honesty and clarity, a true first for any man seeking to get a woman into a private place. Elbion was not a disappointment for him so far, and he had yet to make it to the meeting. "Ms. Pern how about we go get a drink together? I am very interested in getting to know you right now." Kaelen managed to say with tears in his eyes after laughing so much. "The trade agreements can wait. You are the most important person in Elbion to me right now."
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