Marianna Laranis, the Dancing Horseman
As Illaya and her friends left the inn, Erenzo had been left unanswered, and Joyse left the counter to give chase to Illaya bringing the mug. The bueinessman smiled and went back to his table.

"We can find more suitable services elsewhere, Grayore-sai," Lady Ritsuko said, taking another sip of the bland tea. "It does not require that we have hers."

Erenzo contemplated then shook his head. "I agree that there are others however there is a reason why I chose her, Ritsuko. If the Pale and the Pallor are to go down, we will require hers. Let us be off then."

Lady Ritsuko didn't hesitate as she stood up and walked to the man's side. As Erenzo moved to the door, he looked over his shoulder. "Sit tight for a day and if the lady from before wishes to see me, just tell her to ask the legionnaires," he said. As Mari's two unlikely associates left through the door. The drunken man at the corner, served bread earlier by Esther, had been watching. Mari could feel it.

The drunkard slowly made his way towards her, sensing it was finally okay to approach. The legionnaires in the inn glared at the drunkard which was met with nothing more than a grin. "Ayo, there missy," he said, returning his attention back to Mari. Nearly tipping over backwards, only to actually tip over forwards, then he laughed. Mari would have paid him no heed until she saw the man's face.

Hunter.

The drunkard grinned as his face was on the floor. And then winked at her.

Lavernius Mylarc, Faye Petralis & Thalia Valgeiros, Plaza of the Monollith
The first thing Faye noticed as she got out was that Atlas had been decorated with beautiful flowers¹ around the head and shoulders. A flower was also stuck on the golem's fingers as if he was holding it. The three breathed the sea air that came with the breeze. The festivities hadn't died down even a bit, and it could be argued that it actually grew livelier.

The performance at the center of the plaza had an audience that spilled out from the flowered borders the Izukani had provided. Lavernius could tell that the actors on stage were performing the Battle with the Queen of Ruin, a historical tale for all ages about the original authority that ruled over what is now the Crownlands and laid waste to all the realms, until every realm banded together.

The Market of Six could not be seen amidst the ocean of people, poking out from it were statues of different sizes and material. It was a wonderful event.

I wish I could see it in person, Thalia, a voice said in the assassin's head. It felt distant. Like a person whispering far away. At the edges of Thalia's vision, she could make out a faint image of a person she once knew but when she tried to view it directly, it vanished. Never actually there.


FOOTNOTES
¹Lavernius recognizes the flower arrangement (white poppies) as a symbolism of peace.

As Joyse retrieved the mug, Lavernius placed some coins into her hand. "This should cover for breakfast." He smiled and left with the others. Lavernius looked at the flower-adorned golem and chuckled. "white poppies, how calming." He began plucking flowers off, apologizing to Atlas, "Sorry bout this. But I'll leave some for you." The artist muttered, leaving the golem's crown untouched. He began weaving the flowers between his fingers. Lavernius turned around and looked at the girls, closing one eye as he tried to measure dimensions on the fly. The flowers' stalks were thin and reedy, easy to bend and wrap them around each other. The flowers were full, round, and white, layering over each other like the feathers, the petals rippling slightly in the wind and the sunlight made them look like they were made of snow. "Here, these flowers symbolize peace." He handed the bracelet to Faye and the crown to Illaya. "The bracelet goes well with your clothing and the crown will stand out nicely in your hair. Now let us be off, we have a lot to see, and I have a lot to show you." And he offered both of them his hands.

Thalia frowned when Joyce came to retrieve the mug, and began chugging as much as she could before the woman practically pried it from her hands. "I was gonna bring it back, y'know." She shrugged. It was just a damn mug. Lavernius was busy messing with the flowers that he grabbed off of Atlas and Thalia just followed him sheepishly. Memories and voices and visions of a dream of what life could have been flashed through her mind at the sights, but they vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. Dreams were for little girls, ignorant and innocent to the harsh realities of life. Even still, Thalia had her days where she wished she could just stay underneath her blankets, hiding from the world, dreaming of a life stolen from her. Lavernius broke her trail of thought when he presented a crown of flowers to her. She bowed slightly for him to place the crown upon her head before chuckling at the thought. These flowers symbolize peace. Why was it that everything that represented peace and longevity could easily be destroyed? "You're too kind, Mr. Mylarc. I'm surprised you don't have all of the ladies fawning over you." She managed a slight smile and a wink, but there was still an emptiness in her eyes. An emptiness that had been there for nearly two decades. An emptiness where a girl once lived, a girl not by the name of Illaya, or Thalia. An innocent child.

You'll never replace us. You can only add more to our ranks.

As soon as she noticed her construct decorated with flowers, Faye burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"Hahaha, ooooh... I love it!" She calmed down for a second just to say that, before she began to chuckle again, skipping over to Atlas to get a better look. "And the prize for the most adorable golem around goes to Atlas! Only participant, but a victor nonetheless!" The girl announced cheerily with a tone of voice resembling a competition host, and a wide smile on her face. Needles to say the whole situation must've amused her greatly.

The girl had nothing against Lavernius plucking at the arrangement, as she herself got busy with placing automaton's eyes back in their place. As she climbed up its arm and extended her palm on which the gems rested, they snapped to their places one after another as if pulled by a powerful magnet. The golem however still remained inactive. Once that was done, Faye looked down and noticed what Lavernius was actually doing with the flowers. She curiously watched the smooth movement of his fingers as he dealt with delicate material. It was something else seeing someone do it, and then Izukani do it. It was their craft after all and it was almost hypnotizing. Him turning around to get Illaya's 'measurement's' was what pulled her out of the trance and once he turned back, the girl was back on the ground...metaphorically and literally.

"How pretty." Faye accepted the bracelet with a smile and put it on her right wrist right away. She then shook her hand a little for the bracelet to take more natural placement before finally putting her arm down. "Thank you!...Now, I'd be willing to argue that he doesn't..." The girl slightly leaned to the side to look past the man at Illaya that just spoke, and her smile became a grin of sorts. "...We just haven't seen it yet." Faye added before with one smooth pirouette, she took the poppy out of Atlas' hand behind her and once she faced Lavernius again she carefully but swiftly put it in his breast pocket. "Most I could do would be to tie a knot on the stalk and probably break it...But that works, right?" Yet another rich smile was given to the man, and then Faye's gaze moved to Illaya to gift her with one as well. Seeing woman's face made the small Thaa'nas frown however, as if she suddenly realized something. She hasn't quite locked eyes with the woman, rather looking thoughtfully few inches above.

"Here comes a new challenger!" Faye suddenly announced, brightening back up again. "Who wears it better?" The girl extended her open palm to point at Atlas' crown, then she turned back to point at Illaya. "...Im just kidding...We all know who'd win..." Faye dropped her arms after a moment and winked, before chuckling and adding; "...Who'd win again, that is... So anyway, where to?" She'd grab onto Lavernius' hand once they settled for a direction.

When Mari noticed the presence of Hunter, she somehow felt relieved. Before she even deemed the man of a proper look-at, she glanced over her shoulder to the legionnaires: the four of them were split across the inn, having two of them hovering around the stairs and the other two sitting at the counter. Luckily for her, they were too far away from her and Hunter. Mari lowered her sight back to her plate and resumed eating.

"Report." she said quietly inbetween bites.

Marianna Laranis, the Dancing Horseman
Hunter kept his body on the floor and made sure he fell on a blind spot where the four legionnaires could not properly see him. Right now, his only worry was if the innkeeper would send a server maid to fetch him and kick him out. He nodded when Mari had given the command and began to speak.

"The Twin Fangs are scattered. I met Takeo and the other lieutenant, they said they're going to warn the rest of the group back in Lorcas, maybe at least give them time to prepare. We're being picked off one by one by some other gang here, turncoats even. I can't even believe some of them were traitors," Hunter said. "Kili and Rili have been in hiding or dead. I haven't seen them since yesterday."

One of the legionnaires by the stairs decided to move towards the table. Hunter noticed the sound of metal bootfalls and quickly spout nonsensical sentences. The legionnaire shook his head and looked to the counter.

"Miss, one of your patrons has passed out and sleep talking," the legionnaire mentioned. "Best get him to his room."

Joyse tried to look over the table but couldn't see Hunter. "Esther, Milanee, check the man. He did have bread, yes?"

Esther nodded as Milanee went ahead. The legionnaire then proceeded to move back to his post and Hunter found the small window to speak again before the servers arrived.

"In the weeks before you came to Salvation Point, it's all been simple theft and competition in the streets until they targetted larger, more profitable items. Only now has it escalated into a straight out war," he said. "I could feel eyes watching but never acting. It's as if they knew who we were and when to strike the hardest. We're at a disadvantage, Mari. We don't even know the enemy and they seem to know us well."

Mari observed with the corner of her eye the situation unfolding around her. Luckily both herself and Hunter had mastered the craft of exchanging information in short and complicated windows of time. As the legionnaire turned around to return to his post, the woman picked up her tankard of ale and began drinking, sneaking in words in between each sip.

"Takeo. Reysa. Roland1."

Mari then stopped drinking, but still keeping the tankard around her mouth.

"Gather them and go to Marcus. He'll know what to do. Find out about Kili and Rili. Tomorrow night go to the Grayore Trading warehouse in the Market. I'll meet you there."


1 Roland is the main brute of the Fangs. He's a tall and big Lorcasian. Bald, Hazel eyes and incredibly clever. He rarely wears a shirt.

Marianna Laranis, the Dancing Horseman
Hunter, hearing the approaching footsteps of the maids, quickly reverted back to a drunken state.

Milanee and Esther arrived, the brown haired server crouched down to see the unconcious, blabbering man on the floor while the other curtsied at Mari, apologizing for the disturbance to her meal. Esther stood up and raised both hands and Joyse understood. She went out through the back door and in a couple of minutes, a large burly man arrived alongside the innkeeper. The brown haired man was nearly five and a half foot tall, wearing pants and a loose white shirt. Joyse pointed in the general direction of Mari's table and he went.

The two server maids allowed the man to grab Hunter by the waist, hoist him on his shoulder and carry him out into the world. The legionnaiers parted slightly.

"Thank you Tristan," Esther nodded, and soon echoed by Milanee. One of the server maids approached Mari.

"If you wish to go up to your room, kindly ask any of us.." Milanee said. "Or the legionnaires if you prefer."

Lavernius Mylarc, Faye Petralis & Thalia Valgeiros. Just outside the Dancing Horseman

The door behind them opened and out appeared two men, one on the others shoulders. The one carrying the other dropped the other down to the side of the inn's door. The three recognized him as the drunkard from before.

The huge man nodded to the three. "Hello," he said. "Just dropping off a well paying customer outside."

As the man reentered the inn, the three could hear some thanks from server maids then the door shut. In a moment, the drunkard stood from his position and slowly walked away from the Plaza itself and in the direction of the residential area.

Thalia shrugged as the man was pulled out of the tavern. It was too early to be getting yourself thrown out of places, but never too early to drink. She looked at Faye and said blankly, "Atlas would win, no contest. He's got much better curves than I could ever have." A smile creased her lips before she gave Lavernius a hardy pat on the back, a gesture that she would not in fact be taking his hand. It wasn't anything personal, but they definitely needed some physical space after this morning, at least Thalia beloved so. She gestured for him to carry on and lead the two women around, showing them all that he fancied, and thought that they might too.

Lavernius Mylarc, Faye Petralis & Thalia Valgeiros, Plaza of the Monolith

Lavernius led the two women through the crowd and into the Market of Six, nearly separated by a passing parade. Moving to the Izukani Quarter, the artist showcased his connections in the land of the Izukani, artists of calibers higher and lower than himself, all of which still created marvelous pieces of work worthy of note.

Faye had wondered if the Izukani, people who embraced the culture of the tribe they had conquered, had any idea of the Rellanic language as it is possible that the old tribe lived alongside the elder elven race. She could see, somewhat, that the script used by the Izukani are wonderful to look at, an artform on its own. Strokes and flourishes turned plain characters into flowing script, much like her own runes, though hers truly do awaken the object they latch on to.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ravhin, busy talking with the legionnaires and some other Thaa'nas. She could tell it was a shield based on the attire. Why wss he still here? Wasn't he supposed to be on his way to Lorcas? Before she could move towards him, they began to move and the crowd shifted too much to allow her the speed to catch up to them. She knew her voice would be drowned from the sea of laughter and music so she didn't bother for now.

Maybe she could ask at a later time.

Thalia moved through the crowd easily like a snake, thoroughly accustomed to these kinds of situations. Lavernius may be leading them but she usually found ways out of the crowd for them. The retired assassin looked around, she sensed something was off. Her hunches usually were correct, it got her safely here in Salvation Point and in other times, managed to get her off of near death situations.

Something was off today. Its the people, Thalia, they're noise. Be a tool of order again.

Another shadow seemed to zip past her but she tried to pay it no heed. Nothing more than voices that she could care less about.

It shouldn't matter for now.

Time Skip - Night

As the night drew in, the sky turned a wonderful dark blue, lit up by a starry sky and lanterns below. Lavernius was tired but he was happy, showing the girls the culture he adopted and loved over the course of his childhood and adulthood. They had watched theater, perused over some of his friend's collections and joined some contests (one of which Thalia had won. Marksmanship with daggers was her specialty of course.) Overall, Lavernius could say they were all content with the event; Faye was given a tiny wooden sculpture of Atlas made on the spot by an Izukani craftsman and Thalia wore her prize, a gold necklace, with a grin on her face.

It was indeed getting late, however, and the festival began to die down. However, as the banners of the Izukani were lowered, the heavy mugs of every inn in Salvation Point were raised. The trio walked back to the Dancing Horseman, intent on eating.

Marianna Laranis, the Dancing Horseman

After the Mari had finished her meal, she agreed to be lead to her room. Two of the legionnaires went alongside Esther and herself, making sure she behaved as was agreed on. Mari was intent on keeping her end of the bargain and did not cause any trouble. Her mind was busy piecing together the events that had been happening.

When she entered her room and the door closed behind her, she could hear the two legionnaires' feet stamping the floor as if to cement themselves into position. Looking at the room, it was at least better than the cell. A good wood bed, a chair with a desk, a cabinet for some clothes and a drawer just beside the bed. A window was placd just above the bedside drawer, overlooking the Plaza and the people in it. It was a lively place, music and laughter filled the air. She knew better though. If you look deep enough - hard enough, you'd see the gunk beneath the shining upper layer.

She was part of both, a life she used to have and a life she now lives. Mari could make a break for it through this window, she really could but decided against it. For all she knew, there could have been a barrier placed already or an undercover Thaa'nas somewhere in the crowd just waiting to send her to Vysterious for breaking the agreement.

She agreed to the accord. She would abide by it. Mari went to the bed and laid herself down, waiting for time to pass by. Perhaps Hunter would return and report tonight as well.

Time Skip - Night

Mari had dozed off only to wake up to the boisterous sound of music and lively dancing below. She was sure the legionnaires were still stationed wherever they were before. She looked out the window to see the moon and the stars, and agree to herself it was a bit late. Perhaps she could go down and ask for some dinner.

Lavernius sighed as he watched the sun set and the moon and stars seem to materialize out of the black sky. He didn't know where the time went but didn't really care either. He had fun and if they had fun as well, that's all that mattered as it was then time well spent. It was nostalgic to say the least, listening to the music and singing. Dancing along on the odd occasion and being surrounded by the beautiful work made him feel like he was back in Izukani, it was a nice feeling, a warm one. He had a lot to write about today, but that was for later as he walked into the Dancing Horseman. He waved at Milanee to get her attention, requesting a table for three as well as drinks for the table, wine for him and ale for the other two.

Overall it had been a pretty good day, but Thalia could tell that Lavernius was enjoying himself the most. Once they got back to the Dancing Horseman, Thalia excused herself for a few moments to her room while Lavernius got the group a table. She wasted no time getting out of her dress and letting her hair down before she took her makeup off. Her dagger remained strapped to her leg, as well as three other smaller blades as she put on a loose fitting gown that hung from her shoulders and covered the scars and burns on her back. The gown was a darker blue with golden embroidery on the shoulders and back that formed a collage of flowers. Complimented with tulle around the neck and blending into the edges at the bottom, her silky legs were veiled and hiding the blades that she concealed underneath. The gown went well with her necklace that she had won and still wore around her neck. After freshening up a bit, Thalia made her way over to one of her many drawers before retrieving something she had hidden earlier this morning. Without a second thought, she swallowed two tablets and made her way back downstairs. They would do well to silence the thoughts in her mind of turning the Dancing Horseman into a slaughterhouse, but she would have to exercise willpower to remove herself from her company before she made another poor mistake.

Back downstairs, Thalia joined her two companions at a table, for once not paying too much attention to her surroundings. Her body began to feel a tad lighter as she sipped from her mug, rather than chugging it like she so often did. A lazy smile was plastered on her face as she looked Faye over, her smile growing a bit. "Gods, Faye, you're adorable."

Once they arrived at the inn, Faye 'parked' Atlas in the same spot as before; under the balcony. She lingered behind for a moment as the other two went inside, and deactivated the automaton before once more removing its eyes. Once the gems were secured in her breast pocket, the girl ran inside and took her place at the table where Lavernius sat.

Slightly rocking on her chair's back legs, Faye kept looking around the inn, sipping on her drink with one hand and playing with Atlas' figurine placed on the table with the other. She was just lazily tipping it to the sides and twirling around with her pointing finger pressed against the top. It was really well done for something made so quickly. When Illaya appeared back in the frame, the girl escorted her with her eyes and a smile all the way over back to their table.

"Oh?" She pretended to be surprised by the compliment and suddenly looked away to the window, lowering her head as if she tried to spot something high above outside. "...Does it really takes a whole day, and a mug of ale for one to notice?" The girl straightened back up and chuckled, bringing the mug up to her mouth again. "...Im just kidding...Well, I hope I do at least..." She smiled with her eyes closed while tipping the cup to take a swig. "But thank you." Faye put her drink down on the table, and tugged a loose streak of hair behind her ear before she continued. "I like your dress, and you know what? As much as you seem to hate Thaa'nas I feel like the blue would fit you." She slightly tilted her head, and put a finger on her cheek as if she was getting a better look. "Aaahh, well. Nevermind...I guess there aren't many things that wouldn't actually when I think about it." Faye laughed before looking away, taking another small sip. As much movement as the mug received not so much of it contents were missing.

Thalia sat her mug down and shrugged at Faye, "I was pretty sure a Thaa'nas had to have magical capabilities. I seem to be lacking in that regard." She turned to look at Lavernius, but found herself staring too long before speaking, "what about you, Mr. Mylarc? What sort of things are you capable of doing, if any at all?" She took another sip from her mug before pushing Lavernius' glass of wine closer to him, encouraging him to start drinking.