Thalia followed Fae to the bar and sat on a stool next to the Thaa'nas. She turned back to the man and promptly patted the stool next to herself twice, inviting him to sit next to her. Her head turned back to Faye to catch the mage staring at the Crownlander man. "You're staring again, darling." With a smile, Thalia placed her hand on Faye's thigh, her bare fingers extending from her gloves grazed the woman less than sensually. An innocent grin to Faye before facing the Crownlander, "this curious silver-haired creature is Faye, and I'm Illaya. She's a Thaa'nas with a curiosity for elven magic, and I'm just some boring fisherman here for the festivities."

Breaking focus for a moment Thalia signaled to the bartender to bring her a drink.

"So what's your story, Mister Rainbow Hair?"

Laverniys was tempted to ask why a simple "fisherman" would wear something so provocative and made of leather but he bit his tongue, reasoning to himself that whatever reason for her to say what she said was her own so he didn't feel it was appropriate to pry. "A thaa'nas of... the staff if I had to guess from the cloak and a fisherman, what an odd combination you two make." He smiled as he sat down next to Illaya. "My name is Lavernius Mylarc, the pleasure is all mine. And to answer your question about who styles my hair, I do. My father taught me how to dye and did it for me once and from there I have done it myself. Took a while to get it to look as it does now, as well as a lot of effort, but I feel that the result is worth it." Lavernius chuckled as he shook his hair about to make it dway back and forth, shimmering colorfully in the light. Slowing down, he brushed his bangs out of his eyes with his pinkie, tilting his head back as to help sweep the hair aside.

He moved his pack from his side to on his lap and flipped open the latch, sifting through his belongings to pull out a collection of vials. Illaya could see his sketchbook, as well as a sewing kit, another small box, and two larger bottles tied together with string. He placed the small bottles on yhe bar counter and the girls can see that each bottle was corked and waxed to make it airtight and within them were colorful liquids. "These are dyes my father made for me. I have to redye once every month, but because I use a little of everything they last a while." He picked up a bottle and swirled it, watching the dye slosh about. Lavernius looked over at Faye. "How long does it take you to dye your hair? You must pay a lot to maintain such a sheen."

"Well yeah, but-" Faye was about to explain herself on Illaya's note, when a cold shiver went down her spine. Illaya's fingers landed right between where both her thigh-highs and- now slightly tucked up because of sitting position-coat ended. Whether that action was on purpose or not, the woman once more got her blushing. Faye looked down, then into her eyes, then quickly turned and pretended as if some small detail on the counter suddenly managed to get her interest, as she faced down scratching it with her nail.

First time she raised her head again was when the man started talking. "We literally met today...Like an hour ago." Faye gave out a smile, but it was kind of an awkward one. "Your father? Huh...Meanwhile mine just taught me how not to lose my fingers at the paper press..." Her eyes followed Lavernius' hair movement. It looked even prettier in move. When he pulled out the bottles she reached for one, leaning in front of Illaya. "You mind?" Whether this question was to the woman or man, it was hard to tell, probably both. Faye inspected the bottle from up close, and when asked about her hair she raised her head surprised. "I uh...I don't, I just wash them regularly, pretty much." Her hand grasped a strand of her hair and twirled it a little unconsciously.

Thalia leaned back when Faye reached for the vial. You Mind? A slight chuckle at a thought best unsaid. She just so happened to notice some of the things inside of Lavernius' bag that were not related to his hair. Her drink had just arrived and Thalia picked it up and said before taking a drink, "Here's to father's and teaching their daughters how to not lose fingers!" The drink was refreshing and made her face feel warm. Good. "He never liked me wearing black, but sometimes I feel like it makes me look dangerous." She had a silly smile on her face when she responded to Lavernius, "So you're a charming man with fantastic hair, who styles it himself. I don't mean to creep, but was that a sketchbook in your bag?" Thalia was a bit of an artist herself. She enjoyed putting ink on paper as much as she enjoyed seeing the way blood sprayed against floors and walls when you nicked an artery just right. She took another sip from her brew. The woman wasn't a lightweight, but this wasn't really her first drink of the day either. "If you're not shy, Mr. Mylarc, would you mind showing us some of your work?"

"Really?" Lavernius started and whistled. "That's amazing, I know many people who would be very jealous of you for having silver hair. It is very hard to get a silver dye right, usually it requires fading or other such methods to reach silver." He mused. He collected his vials and carefully put them back into his pack and as Illaya asked about it, he put his hand top of his sketchbook's spine and tapped it lightly with his fingers before he pulled his hand away and closed the pack. He moved the pack back to his side away from the girls. "I'm sorry but these are private, some were drawn in confidence that they'd be for my eyes alone." He smiled softly and sipped his coffee which had been refilled. he took a long slow sip and sighed contently. "So then Faye, mind if I ask how a girl went from being taught how to not get her hands caught in a paper processor to becoming a thaa'nas?"

Lavernius Mylarc, Faye Petralis & Thalia Valgeiros, the Dancing Horseman
Joyse appeared from the kitchens with some ale and Lavernius’ kettle. “Here you go,” the woman said as she brought the mugs down onto the counter and the kettle a bit more gently. “Careful, the kettle is still hot. And the rooms are upstairs, use the stairs to the right. The left leads to the restrooms.”

With that Joyse looked to Lavernius once then at the ladies before she smiled and went back to barking orders at the maids.


Marianna Laranis, Izukani Quarter
The Izukani Quarter doesn’t seem to be different at all in any way. People were busy and things went on their usual way. Moving on, Mari set off for her forward base in Salvation Point and in several minutes, she was right at its entrance.

During her passage through the quarter, she noticed the Glorious Legion escort had been moving the same direction, probably to investigate the commotion. Or what seems to be it since nothing is really happening here.

Another was that she knew she was being watched. Mari felt the stares drill into her and it didn’t really feel as if it was just one.
When she entered the base, she was greeted by her team consisting of some fifteen men and women. The base itself was nothing more than an Inn modified with to be structurally sound even against outside blasts of isfet and conventional explosives. She invested a bit in keeping it safe. Underneath the home itself was a large basement where most underground meetings happened. The top looked to be like a normal but larger Izukani inn.

“Mari,” one of the men called. “Pleased to see you here.” He was Klein Fassim, another Vadalian under her team in Salvation Point. He was tall, strongly built and broad shouldered, with a messy pile of straw colored hair was cut just above his ears.

Faye has been taking tiny sips of her drink every now and then just for taste. She really didn't plan on getting drunk at noon already, and actually wanted to eat something first. Hence when the innkeeper brought another set of mugs, she ordered a simple plate of sandwiches. Once delivered soon after, the woman began to quickly munch on them, although in a tidy manner. There were still many left by the time she seemed satisfied.

"Well its something for something now, is it not?" Faye chuckled with a sigh when Lavernius complemented her hair. You can dye it anyway, while some other things you can't change... "Oh, if you handle colors on paper at least as well as on your hair I'd love to see it." The girl quickly cheered up back again, but gave the pack a longing gaze as it was being put aside. Oh well...Taking another small sip, she responded the question with one on her own, placing still pretty much full mug down. "Have you ever heard of golems? Elven automatons? Because that's where it starts, and constantly goes through... and If not..." Faye smiled and jerked her thumb at the exit, and then leaned over to see if perhaps Atlas can be seen through one of the windows. "There's one such fellow waiting outside."

The empty mug hit the bar as soon as Joyce dropped off a fresh one. Thalia offered the woman a wink. If Joyce kept it up, Thalia would need to find a way of repaying the good service. Money was nice, but there are sweeter things. She shrugged at Lavernius' response to showing his artwork, "I'm somewhat of an artist myself, so I understand. Perhaps one day when you're famous you'll find time to remember the two lovely women from the Dancing Horseman."

Faye carried on about her automaton for a moment, obviously showing excitement for the subject. Her passion was so adorable. Thalia nonchalantly placed one of her hands on top of Faye's hand and added, "he really is pretty amazing, which is saying a lot for a Thaa'nas. But I believe this one is special." She didn't mean to stare at Faye for as long as she did, but her mind ended up wandering off for a moment before Thalia reeled it back in. Her curious fingers were also brought back to take up her tankard again.

Once the cup clanked back down on the counter, a voice cooed out, Come back to bed, Fireheart.

Thalia waved to the nearest barmaid for another drink as she tipped her tankard one more time. "This is some good shit!" She giggled gleefully at herself.

"Oh dear," Lavernius muttered when Illaya slammed down another tankard of ale. "Don't you think you're drinking a bit too quickly?" He placed his hand on her shoulder concerned. "You best slow your pace or you might get sick." He looked up, "Joyce can we have some bread and cheese perhaps? Something to help soak up what she's drinking?" As he mothered over Illaya he forgot about pursuing Faye's topic of golems and automatons, he was just focused on not having Illaya throwing up.

"Of course he's special!" Faye frowned as if she was offended, misunderstanding what Illaya said. "You're saying that as if you see them wander around everyday already...hmm?" Her expression softened the longer Illaya has been staring at her...for a change. "You're staring again, darling." She quoted the woman with a grin, glad she actually managed to keep the eye contact herself.

When Lavernius became concerned and ordered some bread, the girl pushed the plate with sandwiches in front of the two. "Im not gonna eat all that by myself anyway...But he's kind of right, you should slow down a little...We've barely hit noon after all, leave some of the party for the evening at least."

Once Mari entered the Inn of the Stanky Leg her mere presence called for respect, as most of the people around the entrance stopped and saluted her. Mari did not pay heed to them, as she went further into the building, until a man crossed her path.

"Summon an emergency meeting, Klein. I want everybody in Salvation Point in that basement within the hour." she stated authoritatively. Klein stood straight and composed in front of her, simply nodding to her order before taking off. Most of the people in the immediate surroundings of the discussion did the same, stopping whatever they were doing and moving either towards the exit or the basement stairs.

"Where's Hunter?" she loudly asked, again demanding the attention of everybody in the room. A moment later, a man stepped in front of her: he was a lorcasian, short dark blonde hair, hazelnut eyes, clothes made of rags. But one detail that stood out in his appearance was the yellow cloth wrapped around his arm. He presented himself in front of the woman, simply standing in front of Mari.

"Yes, Mari?"

"I want you to recon the area. I have the feeling I was followed here, and I doubt their intentions are anyway honorable. Give word to Kili and Rili to ready the weapons." she said undervoice, trying to make so that only Hunter could hear what she was saying. It was better to not cause panic among the troops. The lorcasian man nodded and began heading for the door, exiting the inn moments after.

Ignoring the concern for a moment, she leaned in close to Faye and purred, "Not him, doll. You. You're special." Thalia's smile turned to a wicked grin when the mage called her out for staring, using her own words against her. The assassin leaned in closer and closer and closer, until the two shared breath. Unusually black eyes stared deeply into Faye's big blue eyes as the woman sensually whispered, "Aye, but I always take what I want." She booped Faye's nose with her own before laughing and spinning around in her seat to face Lavernius. Normally she wouldn't act so libidinous, but poor Faye was practically asking to be teased.

Joyce had seen Thalia out drink the heartiest of men the night before, some perhaps were among the crowd. Thalia would be just fine. Even still, it was Joyce's job to bring food and booze, so the woman would obviously oblige.

They're right, you should slow down.

She shrugged and nodded at Lavernius, "You're right, best to not get too carried away, I suppose." Thalia sheepishly grabbed one of Faye's sandwiches and began nibbling on it like a child, still looking at Lavernius. His hair was wild, just like her. Staring at Lavernius, she slowly took a bite out of her sandwich and stopped. Not breaking eye contact she started to chew slowly, pausing again before swallowing. A childish smile plastered on her face. "You guys are great." She rotated her body back to face the place where she sat at the bar and leaned over the counter a bit, as to not spill food or drink anywhere. "So what's your next project, Faye? Certainly there's more to Elven magic than just golem, not that he isn't fantastic." Gods she hoped someone would sing a song.

Lavernius Mylarc, Faye Petralis & Thalia Valgeiros, the Dancing Horseman
Joyce poked her head out of the kitchens and nodded. Within moments, a server direct from the kitchens appeared and handed them a plate of bread and cheese. She also refilled some of the mugs before taking her leave and rushing back into the kitchens.

A new song had begun as the singer breathed in and chugged down her own mug of ale. This time it was called Under and Over the Bridge.

The crowd of people inside and out of the inn sang along, raising their mugs in the air and simultaneously drinking if they found it possible, usually ending in them smothering themselves in ale.



Marianna Laranis, Izukani Quarter – The Stanky Leg Inn
The Stanky Leg Inn began to undergo a state of emergency. Its members on the inside hustled for the worst as runners rushed out to call for Mari’s lieutenants and members. Hunter ran out alongside the runners, searching for the Kili and Rili.

As Mari watched her group unfold into battle stations, the feeling of unease grew inside of her. She stared at the door for a moment before finally moving down to the basement.

Two existing lieutenants had already been there in the war room, awaiting Mari’s instructions.One of them was an izukani, Takeo Hidashi, a young and spry man with his brown hair tied in a bun and the other a vadalian female, Reysa Reed whose long black hair touched her back.

“Orders?” They asked simultaneously.

From below, Mari could hear some of the voices.

”Filian, welcome!” Mari could make out the voice of Klein but what she heard next surprised her. The sound of a body falling.

”Treefucker! What are you doing Filian?!” Another of her men yelled and the sound of a fight echoed from the top floor. Until Filian’s voice mustered an order.

”Find Mari!”

The sound of more footfalls entered the inn.

"Well, what do you want then...?" Faye whispered back, but completely ruined the effect by not being able to keep a straight face while at it, bursting with laughter along Illaya. Letting go of a memory of what occurred back at the plaza, Faye seemed to have relaxed more in the company of the woman. It was hard to blame the alcohol though, as her mug was still at least half full...well, opposite to someone else's, so maybe there was a little bit of guilt hidden in that.

"You guys are great."

Yup, she was drunk, alright. Faye chuckled at the thought, at least it was still within reason. When the cheese and bread arrived, the girl picked up a knife and as she was about to cut a slice off, Illaya asked her another question. "Well, persuading others that they can be useful is one thing, and the other...well...Here I'll show you guys something." The girl smiled and withdrew the knife placing it in front of herself and reached inside her pocket pulling out a thin coal stick apparently broken in a half. The mage began to scribble tiny symbols on the handle, overlapping the lines few times, as coal wasn't the best drawing material in that case and she didn't want to use chisels on not her property.

"This...is how Atlas works, kind of...There's a core inside, and..." She spoke as she kept imprinting. "...Runes, elven language, magic within symbols that weave hareas by themselves. You put the right words in right order, like instructions. Make rules and exceptions, give it cause and show way to do it... Bestow life upon inanimate objects." Faye raised her head from over the knife, glanced over it few times as to make sure she hasn't made any mistakes and smiled again. There was visible excitement on her face and her eyes glittered with passion.

She snapped her fingers for more of an effect. The knife shuddered and was suddenly thrown into the air, hanging above the cube of cheese that innkeeper brought in. In steady pace, the blade began to move up and down, cutting the cheese into even, almost perfect slices as Faye held the cube from the other side, careful as not to loose her fingers in the process. "Im barely channeling any hareas right now, just enough to kickstart the runes, there's no pollution...Im not using Kaze either." The Mage explained, and when the knife got too close to her fingers for her comfort, she withdrew her hand and the blade itself dropped on the counter, lifeless again. The girl rolled one of the slices and bit on it. "Neat, huh? I mean, this here is just some cheese, but outside there's a giant moving sculpture and who knows what else can be made with these little scribbles."

Mari's attention got drawn to the commotion upstairs, but she was unfazed by it. She glanced around her, getting a feel of the situation: in the War Room there was only herself along Takeo and Reysa. The woman took a step forward, sliding between the two.

"Takeo, take your dagger and stand by the door. Slice their throats as they walk in." she quietly said. The Izukani followed her order in an instant, extracting his weapon and dashing to the wall, in the vicinity of the room's doorway.

Mari stepped to the table, raising her right hand and holding her chin with it, pensively. Her left arm crossed over her torso, palming one of the throwing knives on her belt. Whilst doing so, Reysa was visibly confused.

"Mari what are you doing?"
"Step next to me and keep your weapon ready. Pretend you're listening to what I'm saying." the leader calmly stated before beginning to ramble about what Marcus told her.

"So we have 4 possible places where our saboteurs could be hiding..."