Journey of the Elementals RP (Pm if Interested, Started)

[UnusualStranger]

Alice gave a small laugh as she had turned in time to see Drew getting one of the other mages to turn about and apparently see one of the others. Giving a nod of approval she tried to be somewhat coy about congratulating Drew on the move.

"Well done, Lord Drew. I imagine neither of them has taken....well, it really shouldn't be my business!" Alice stopped herself, taking a bite of a bit of a meal as there always seemed to be new foods coming out. As something akin to a full course meal was laid out in front of Drew and Alice, she began to grab a few bits while listening, and gave a small laugh as Drew began to express concern over the battle that was going to happen.

"Lord Drew, you need not concern yourself. I've been in many battles at this point, and...didn't exactly get to walk out of all of them after they were done. Besides, I get the feeling that Lord Kane would be quite...offended if you were to simply join in the battle so soon. Especially since I get the feeling you would bring quite the unfair advantage!" Alice continued to chat as she enjoyed a few more bits as some glass shattered from Horatio's shots blasting some mugs to bits with a few cheers going off in response to the shots.

"Oh my, your friends seem to be participating! Might be an even bigger draw than the main event before the battle!" Alice said, obviously getting more excited with the entire show going on, seeming to almost not realize Drew's concerns.

"And like I said, you'll likely just be watching with Lord Edgar up above in the castle, and get to see both what the castle does when you did what you did, as well as get to see how everyone here fares! I imagine it won't be quite as impressive of what your group does, but it will be something for you to see all the same!"

Though, one thing she did pick up on was his unease when he began talking about the battle and using his abilities, and she put a comforting arm around him.

"Not to worry, Lord Drew. The battle won't be reaching you, and I am sure that when it comes to it you'll do great in battle! Just comes down to doing what needs to be done. If you want to interfere, you can ask Lord Edgar and Lord Kane, but....It would be up to them."

[hr]

"Well, that is good....just forgot that you might not realize it, but most in this world do not much...care for fire, to put it extremely nicely. Just don't go doing any of that, and remaining in good graces won't be a problem." Edgar advised, giving a small shrug as the lights vanished. "But storms of...mystical nature are quite a bit less common. Wonder if there is any more info on those?" Edgar almost seemed to pose the question to himself before Kane decided he had enough waiting.

"Damned bookworm. Alexander, if you want answers you'll have to find them somewhere else. He may have a lot of books, but you'll be dead before ya find the damned answers you are looking for. But...you said something interesting. Reaver? As in, THE REAVER? That is...well, not surprising, actually." Kane said, leaning back for a moment.

"Well, I do not know much of battling all the elements, but I do know of the Reavers. Stranger folks, who do not want to be disturbed. Though, now that you mention it, you are right....they have been less than active and out and about as of late. Course, then again the others of the realm have been a lot more active too, so I guess it is even across the board." Kane continued, drawing a laugh from Edgar.

"Ah, the Reavers. Heroes, villains, and...whatever else you could find all in one group. I almost hope they didn't go off and die, because they did help keep things interesting. I imagine they might have some idea what the portals do too, but good luck getting a hold of one of the useless bastards..." Edgar muttered, obviously not the most pleased with that kind of outcome, but gave a shrug to it all the same.

"So, Lord Alexander, it seems that you will be travelling a bit outward from my lands. Likely through some of the good Lord Kane's area, and likely along the Iron Mistress' areas as well. Course, if you want to leave now you are more than capable..."

When Alexander said his little whisper back to Jade, she grinned and replied back "Those were just my womanly charms, my Lord. I think your inexperience is showing a tiny bit." She giggled at that, but had decidedly set a small amount of distance between them, as she now felt that it was getting to that 'lordly business' that she couldn't really do much for.

"So, Alexander, you are going to be travelling likely through my lands now, or after the battle has happened? Or have you not gotten rest here yet? The journey is a long one, and I'd hate to hear about a group of adventurers getting stuck in my lands cause they lacked the strength from Lord Edgar's castle." Kane asked with a laugh.

[hr]

"HAH! I think I like you, creature! Not half bad with a bow you just grabbed, though I guess I shouldn't be so surprised in such an odd place." The centaur said with a laugh and a slap on Horatio's back. "But drunk is part of the fun, and rusty is no excuse! Come now, you surely have room for some more! Just one won't be enough to make this a contest!"

"Toss another one, lets see your skills put to work!" Rosa shouted from her seat, obviously interested in encouraging the action that was going on, in which the maid which had now gone far from her duties was collecting glasses not to be taken back to the kitchen, but to be placed around and tossed to be shot at with an arrow.

With the next throw, the centaur fired a pair of arrows, neatly striking two of the thrown glasses. Cheers broke out, but the centaur was obviously not pleased about something. With a shrug, he offered the bow once again back to Horatio, obviously planning on the game to keep going.

"Here, try your luck once again! You just need to get the hang of this, and we'll be having some real bets in no time!"

[hr]

"Perfect! Then lets go ahead and get started!" The rockman said, and then began to take an almost leisurely stroll towards the cat, who at first seemed much more interested in strolling towards Fei in order to see if she could get what she wanted from her. In which case the stone figure paused, and knelt down to see that the cat had wandered over to Fei for the time being.

"Greetings, young one. Would it be possible for you to let me have that cat for a moment? It is to make things a little more interesting for the party!" The stone man mumbled, obviously seeing the opportunity of the cat interested in the hiding Fei.

[hr]

"Don't worry about it. I can handle it."

Seth sat back down with a look at Raven who gave another cough. She had tossed that back a bit too quickly, and while he would have liked for her to not ruin her throat, it seems that she was determined to keep going. Which he was just going to have to accept. Though, he was pretty sure she soured a bit more as Nydia walked over, which took him a moment to realize why. Light and shadows.

"A pleasure, Nydia. Good to see that you managed to find something quite nice as well! Please, take a seat and enjoy some of the meal!" Seth said warmly, trying to be inviting as he could imagine how...uninviting the dragon woman had been a moment before. "Though, I'm not sure about wearing this, as you can see it doesn't quite suit me. But, its good to see you wearing things that go along with you so well!"

When Cale had walked over to start talking, Seth figured that he might just have a chance to let loverboy and Nydia have a good time...meaning that perhaps he could also use the excuse to escape this table and perhaps just take a bit of a look around instead.

"Er...you two can catch up on whats going on. Don't need the extra chatter, so me and Raven are going to go....dancing. Figured we might give it a shot or something." Seth said, the idea being a little faster than he figured, but it would work. Offering a hand to Raven, he gave a grin and a nod.

With any luck, they won't notice us not out there, and we'll be able to wander away from some of this and have a good time, and...well, maybe find Raven a more suitable drink. Seems this table has a preference for this...strong stuff. Must be a lordly specialty or something.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

" This party is indeed quite wondrous event, though the guests do make it much different than the type I am accustomed to."

"To be honest, I don't go to a lot of parties so this is a first for me." Cale admitted, looking to his suit and pulling at his collar which he felt was suffocating him. "All these fancy clothes... I can see why people obsess over them but I hope this won't be a regular thing." Cale looked up, hearing Seth talk to them.

"Er...you two can catch up on whats going on. Don't need the extra chatter, so me and Raven are going to go....dancing. Figured we might give it a shot or something."

"Fire, darkness, alcohol aren't the best combinations." Cale playfully warned the pyromancer. "Try to leave some of the dance floor for the rest of us." As they left, Cale took a seat near Nydia and sat himself down. He made sure not to sit down right away as he feared it would tear his suit. He looked back to Nydia, trying to focus on her rather than her beauty.

"When we came here earlier, there was no trace of such an event even being organized. It was just a grumpy old man and his cats." Cale said, pointing to Edgar. He observed the man for a few seconds, wondering exactly what his motives were but he focused back on Nydia. "What do you make of this?"

 

[blaze96]

"It would probably be best if we waited for tomorrow to finish before we leave. We still know almost nothing of this place and having an escort, even if it were just because both groups were heading the same direction, would be a good idea. I'm also guessing it is likely that those who follow the Reaver won't exactly meet us with open arms. Is there anything in particular I should know before I enter into the various lands you said we would have to pass through? Customs, warnings, personal experiences things of that nature." He asked, hoping he might be able to get an idea of what to expect on their journey.

 

[Mr. Omega]

Drew sighed and shrugged at the idea of the others participating, but wasn't that troubled. He knew most of them would be able to handle themselves, or just avoid the conflict. "I guess getting a good view wouldn't be too bad." He imagined the various winged folk of Edgar's castle going up against an army of centaurs, then remembering the other various things he'd seen since arriving in this world. "By the way... do any of the other leaders here do something like this? Are any of them this friendly with Edgar?" He was hoping to learn a little more about the politics of things.

"To put it simply, no. The other leaders do not do anything particularly interesting, or good. They actually tend to just be out for expansion, or war, or just looking to further some goal of some kind." Alice listed them off somewhat lazily. "The current one which is on everyone's tongue though is the Iron Mistress Serena. She's been stomping about, doing damage and trying to assert herself above everything. It is likely what led to these battles happening more often. Keeping yourself extremely sharp is a good way to keep people away from you. I imagine that isn't how things go where you come from, but here, a strong show of force every so often gives a good impression."

After a small moment of silence, Alice spoke again. "I get the feeling you are going to be doing something in this world that isn't going to work out well for some of those other leaders, Lord Drew. I also bet that we won't be able to be very honest because of what we both are. So..." Alice stood, offering a hand to Drew. "I would like to know about where you came from, if it wouldn't bother you. Outside in the gardens, where the world is largely what it should be. I'm hoping from that you can draw...perspective." Alice suddenly paused, realizing that perhaps she might be asking a lot. "Unless you don't want to! I mean...I just think it would be nice to hear of someplace else, and I could explain things."

He remembered he had thought of seeing this 'Serena' earlier, crossing that idea off of a metaphorical list. Suddenly Alice made a strange request. "Uh... a trip to a garden? Sure." He smiled, taking her hand. "Sure." he wasn't quite sure what to say. There were interesting things in his world, but where could he start? "Just go ahead and lead the way, Alice. I need a minute to... think of what to say." he said, his gaze drifting to the sky.

As the pair walked outside, Alice seemed to be deep in thought, and joined Drew in looking upwards for a moment and getting a spark from that. "Oh! I have read...some of Lord Edgar's books on some things. The sky here has been like this for as long as I remember. Lord Kane claims it is because long ago those who are...like you did something. Made it so that this would always be the way things are. Do you do something in your world to the sky? To make it...change?"

Drew was back on alert once she asked, his mind going back to the trial. "Actually... yes. Long ago there was a war. A terrible war between those like me..." he hesitated, looking at his palm before speaking again, correcting himself "Those like my companions and those who were, for lack of a better term, normal. And then someone decided to try and end things. Call upon forces they shouldn't have." He shivered at the memory of the trial, but regained focus. "That's why I'm here, actually. It's why we're all here. Brought from our old lives to a strange land to venture in a strange world..." he said. He knew it was overly dramatic, but he felt it helped keep things in scale. Everything all just sounded so crazy when you sat down and just said it...

"Oh...so things did change for you too. Long before either of us got a chance to say much about it. " Alice said with a small laugh. She did however listen very closely to what the quest was going to be, and what their mission was coming to the land that she called home.

He gave her a moment, then decided to slip in a question of his own. "Speaking of... earlier... you said something about our honesty because of 'what we both are'... could you explain?"

"You....don't think it is obvious of both of us to have particular goals and things we must do? Like....you couldn't tell me everything, because you don't know us that well. And I can't tell you everything, because I don't know what you are planning. So..um, there are a lot of things going on in the background, right? That makes....sense?" Alice sounded a lot less sure of herself at this point.

Drew laughed nonchalantly. "I've told you everything we know. We barely had any idea of what would happen once we stepped in the portal. Sorry to ruin the mystery. I'm trying to learn as much as I can so that we DON'T end up ruining this world. That's the goal: fix our problems and not make a new one. Gotta fix the mistakes of a bunch of idiots..." he grumbled at the end, but tried to lighten the mood "Still, is there anything else you want to know?"

"Oh....I thought there was a lot more to it, I guess. Like some kind of...difference in everything." Alice said thoughtfully, only to seem to hesitate now at wanting to know more. "But in that case I don't think its all that fair! So....I think I wanna show you something, but...its in my room. And I don't think you would want to go there, but I don't want to mess up YOUR room either. So...uhm...Would you want to go there? If not, I understand! I mean, you have no reason to trust me or anything."

Now his curiosity was further piqued. "Look, I trust you. How about we just go to your room so you can go get it? I don't mind." he gave another gesture for her to lead the way. "After you."

 

[Lambi]

Once they were out of the room where they'd washed themselves and changed clothes, everyone seemed to scatter off into different directions. Silvana wasn't used to this kind of thing, so she wasn't sure of what to do with herself. She would have much rather wanted to stay with her shadow and the other shadows that had been talking to hers, but if she wasn't to look crazy, she guessed it would be better to try and mingle.

Not that the thought of that excited her. The place was lively, that's for certain. But she didn't feel any particular interest in talking to any of the strangers there. She didn't include the group she'd entered with into this world despite them being almost complete strangers to her. But at least she recognized most of them.

As she wandered there, she saw Seth and Raven sit at a table and talking to some people before Seth got up, seeming to try and get Raven to stand up too. She didn't want to bother them if they were leaving the table, and she did seem to notice some of the others from the group at the same table, so at least she wouldn't have to awkwardly stand there and do nothing. Silvana approached the table and sat down at it, though still not sure what to do there. "Pretty lively here, huh?" she said to Nydia and Cale. She remembered them being two of the people with her in the trials, so they were a little more recognizable to her.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

As Nydia took a seat at the table, she was disappointed to hear that Seth and Raven were leaving so soon. It felt like it had been ages since she had last spoken to Seth and Raven was someone she'd never had a chance to talk with, though if they wanted to go dancing then she could hardly blame them for it. "Ah, I see. Well, I hope the two of you have a pleasant time then." She said, trying to hide a smirk at Cale's comment as they left.

Now it was just the two of them and though there were certainly other guests they could mingle with, Nydia wasn't quite sure she was feeling up to that particular task. Perhaps later, after she'd caught up a bit with Cale and enjoyed some more wine. "What do you make of this?" Cale asked her as he pointed to the man he had been watching. Perhaps that was the lord of this castle? Nydia took a moment to ponder it while finishing the rest of her drink. "So that must be the Lord Edgar I was told about? I suppose if we are his guests, I should introduce myself at some point..." She began as she selected another glass of wine, this one a bit lighter a shade of red than the last. "This party seems innocent enough, though a bit... unusual. It is unfair of me to judge this realm based on my own standards though. I was told this is a precursor to some sort of battle, but I was also warned that we should stay out of it so I doubt they intend to involve us in any way."

As Nydia had finished voicing her opinion, and begun sipping her second glass of wine, they were joined by Silvana whom she recalled from their trials. "Greetings, Silvana. A pleasure to see you here." She said to the Nightshade with a smile. "Yes, this party certainly is growing livelier by the moment... Not at all what I expected to find her after the welcome we received, but I would say this is a pleasant change of pace from more fighting."

 

[NeoAC]

"Er...you two can catch up on whats going on. Don't need the extra chatter, so me and Raven are going to go....dancing. Figured we might give it a shot or something."

Raven was about to roll her eyes the suggestion before realizing that Seth may have meant something other then dancing. At least from the looks of things. Maybe he wants to explore this place a bit more. Figure out what this Lord really has up his sleeve. I'd be OK with that.

She downed the rest of her glass, coughing again as she took Seth's hand and stood up. "Ye-yes," she got out. "Lead the way," she told the Pyro.

"Fire, darkness, alcohol aren't the best combinations. Try to leave some of the dance floor for the rest of us."

"I'm sure there's enough to go around," she told Cale as Seth headed away from the table, leaving the two lovebirds and the in motion Silvana at the seats.

As her and Seth were moving towards the floor, she whispered into his ear, "OK, I know you're only slightly more the dancing type then I am. So what is your plan? Or are you REALLY that interested in trying to force me to move in time?"

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Not half bad with a bow you just grabbed..." Joey regarded that particular fragment in the centaur's talk. "Well, I mean, you use one bow you've used them all-" The thought was cut off by a hearty slap slamming into his back. "Come now, you surely have room for some more!" "Kind of, but I think I wanted to-"

"Toss another one, lets see your skills put to work!" Joey could hear Rosa egging the centaur on from behind him. As he shot an annoyed look in her direction, the centaur took aim and flawlessly passed two simultaneous arrows through two simultaneously tossed mugs. The feat made Joey raise an eyebrow. "Huh." Then the bow was pushed back onto his person. "Here, try your luck once again!" The centaur offered. Joey had to think about what he would pull off next. "You can only shoot but so many things in so many ways before it gets boring..." But eventually he came up with something. By request, the waitress overseeing the contest tossed him one of the empty mugs.

"Think i'm gonna end this on a high note." He claimed before launching the mug skyward. He drew back on the bow's string and aimed up, a steady eye affixed on the twirling, flipping, descending target. With a heavy exhale, he waited for the right moment before releasing. The arrow sped up to its target. And in what seemed like an eternity, Joey watched as the arrow passed through the cup, a surprisingly well timed shot that embedded the arrow through the bottom of the mug. Still intact, the mug fell into Joey's free hand. He was pretty shocked that he even managed to hit it. "See, I figured it would be harder to try and not shatter the glass." He said, trying to play off the look of surprise he had come to wear.

"But, that should be all for me." He handed the centaur the bow. "You win, I forfeit. That was fun, but I must take my leave. I think the dance floor just opened up. So, my good half-man, if you'll excuse me..." He gave a little bow before returning back to his table, making sure to keep his bare feet away from any shards of broken glass. When he got there, he brought Rosa to her feet. "Good news, I am at that perfect level of intoxication where I can dance without looking like an ass." He spun her further into his arms. "Come now, the dance floor awaits." And with that, they were off.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

"I was told this is a precursor to some sort of battle, but I was also warned that we should stay out of it so I doubt they intend to involve us in any way."

"Is that so?" Cale asked before tasting some of the wine being given out, only to recoil from its dry taste. "Ugh... sorry. I guess I'm not a fan of wine." Cale awkwardly laughed before staying on topic. "They have been very secretive, the moment I got here-"

"Pretty lively here, huh?"

Cale looked to see Silvana who looked all dressed up as they all were. He remembered her from the trials although that was such a far cry from what they were experiencing now. All of that seemed like ages ago.

"Very." Cale agreed with a nod. "Never in my life did I think I was going to a party with centaurs, demons and all of that ilk. I guess never say never." Cale said.

 

[Lambi]

"Yeah, wouldn't have thought this would happen either. Like you said, considering what we encountered when we first arrived here." Silvana said to Nydia before she grabbed a glass and poured some wine in it, then had a sip. Didn't taste too bad, though she probably wasn't going to have too much of it.

"Indeed. This place is strange, but interesting." she said to Cale and had another sip of her wine. "Wonder what else we can expect to see before this is over."

She had a bit of a look around the place, scanning it with her crimson eyes. A lot of people sitting at their tables, eating and talking together, or otherwise standing and talking or dancing together. It didn't seem much different from a party from their own world, but then Silvana wasn't used to attending parties. Learning to better control her shadow magic and gaining more had always been much more interesting to her.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Seth gave a small laugh at Cale as he seemed to think that he was out for trouble, which was actually too close to the truth. But, it seemed that the others bought it, so away he and Raven went, though once they had gotten a small way away it seemed that Raven knew him well enough to say something about it.

"OK, I know you're only slightly more the dancing type then I am. So what is your plan? Or are you REALLY that interested in trying to force me to move in time?"

"Heh, well at least you didn't buy that." Seth said with a chuckle as he made his way out to what he assumed to be some sort of...garden area? Whatever it was, it was a bit farther away from the party, which meant easier to get around without being bothered as much.

"I want to know what is going on with this castle. Place is big, and seems to have a lot more to it than just...a party place. I thought rather than sitting in there and taking a few more....uh...strong drinks, it might be a bit better to go around and just see where we are going to be staying." Seth explained as they began to walk a bit further out away from all the noise of the party, where a few centaurs and maids were still about offering drinks, which Seth did grab just in case.

"Besides, I imagine that once we get away from the crowds we can be a little bit more...open about things. Unless you do wanna see if both of us can show each other how to move in time?" Seth continued a little more awkwardly. He still wasn't sure what he should and should not say to the nightshade, but damned if he wasn't trying.

"And...I want to know where everyone else's shadows had wandered off to. I mean, the damned things used to ghost us, and here we are and they are nowhere to be found. I wanna know if they found something too." Seth hoped the change in subject wasn't quite as obvious as he felt it was.

[hr]

"Well, Lord Alexander, there is actually very little that can be told about the lands within immediate reach. As you can imagine, most other groups are not very welcoming....other than our friendly Lord Kane's forces here. Overall, there are very few things that you need to keep in mind." Edgar said, holding up a hand to bring more attention to the point.

"One, the dragons are a fickle bunch. Some will strike just because, others will avoid you, and some may even seek your aid. Case by case basis there. Two, there are plenty of other smaller groups out there that will want to either take care of you, or bring you to do some of their dirty work. Again, case by case basis, especially since your objective is....a rough one. Third, the bigger players have their own ways of going about things, and when you interrupt you will be stuck with them. Fourth, the portals are extremely dangerous, and random. Do not expect something in particular from them, because remember that YOU came from them. Finally...." Edgar paused, and waved to Kane who had apparently not been paying the closest of attentions as he was enjoying a drink and the competitions...until Edgar tossed a nearby bit of food at him.

"GAH! The....oh." Kane started almost prepared to toss his mug until realizing he was supposed to be participating.

"Oh...er...AH, probably them huh? Right!" Kane nodded, looked around, and then lowered his voice. "These Reavers you are hunting for? Villains and Heroes, they say. I will tell you that they are right. These are the kinds of people who do your tricks on a much...bigger scale. Apparently real bend-your-mind stuff. I don't put much behind that, but what I do know is that these guys are goddamned strange, and experts in what they do. So if you are interested in finding those folks, thats your business. Just know that these are people you don't tamper with. At all. Otherwise...typical survival instinct should keep ya alive out there."

[hr]

As Alice was encouraged by Drew's curiosity, she led him onward back into the castle and down one of the halls past the party once again. This time though, she went over to one of the doors in particular and rotated a dial on the door.

"This is...my room. It isn't much to look at, but its my space, and where I go to relax. I hope it...its alright, Lord Drew. It might be a bit messy." Alice said as she began pushing the door open to a small room. It had a few vases filled with various flowers, and a few books strewn about. A large bed which seemed to have fine sheets and pillows, and a dresser likely filled with various outfits.

As Alice invited Drew in and closed the door, she gave a deep sigh. Almost casually she began to work on taking off her dress as she stepped over to one of the books and flipped it open. A bright flash happened as she flipped it open, but she again treated it as if it had happened a billion times, and put the book flat on the bed. After a small moment, the book expanded to show several strange shapes and designs.

"See....this book is where I've...done a bit of research of my own. Lord Edgar typically would rather us keep everything open but...I think its best to keep some things secret, right? In this book are a few things...some plans, but I think more importantly, some directions." Alice continued talking as the book seemed to flash through a few more images, and also as she also started to pull out of the dress she was in. "Mmph...so uncomfortable..."

[hr]

The centaur gave a loud laugh as the arrow pierced but did not break the glass which then came down to the wayward Horatio. Taking the bow back from Horatio, the centaur gave a small bow as the man seemed to be in a hurry to be off and about with the maid girl once again.

"Not bad, ya wily bastard! While ya did give up the prize, I think it might have been more fun if ya had stuck with it a while longer rather than go off with the girl, as I'm sure she doesn't have any place to go this evening!" The centaur laughed, even as money was handed to him, and a few centaurs were cursing as well. It seemed some had been on the wrong side of the bets.

As he made his way to Rosa and she stood to his gestures, she laughed at his statement as she was stepping towards the dance floor with the mage.

"Not look like an ass? For this I will have to be there personally." Rosa said with a smile as they got to the floor itself. "Come, my little mischief maker, lets see if you can perhaps pull something together after throwing a few stones. Show me more than a few farmer tricks, and impress me." Taking a few practiced skips, Rosa gave a small seductive spin before laughing at Horatio once more.

"Here, I'll even make it easy for you and take the first steps. If you can follow along, I might give you a few bonus points..." Rosa pulled at Horatio, almost seeming to want to pull his steps one way to follow along with her.

[hr]

"Demons? Don't be foolish, stranger! No demons here! Few spirits, the maids, us centaurs...overall a pretty normal turnout, though a lot more spirits than usual!" A centaur said overhearing the conversation that Cale, Nydia, and Silvana had been having.

"Leave em be! Damned man listening in to conversations of strangers is gonna get ya stabbed through! Ya see that arrow shooting from before? Maybe these folks have something more impressive, as they seem to be more...regarded! I think thats the word anyways." Another centaur said to his compatriot.

"Bah, I bet none of em ever even encountered a demon before! Bet most of em never dealt with demonic flames, or fought in a battle!" The other centaur said with a laugh, but ultimately went to leaving the mages alone.

"So, how long ya think? An hour or so before we head out and show these ladies a thing or two? Pretty sure thats right anyways, with all the drinks and food that have been going...and it seems the lords are a bit more anxious now, probably cause the damned guests. A shame, but that means the after party will be even better!"

 

[NeoAC]

"And...I want to know where everyone else's shadows had wandered off to. I mean, the damned things used to ghost us, and here we are and they are nowhere to be found. I wanna know if they found something too."

Raven looked around at the mention, not even noticing until now that her shadow seemed to have disappeared. "I...don't know..." She scoured the area a bit more, only seeing a couple stray guests that seemed as interested in the party as her and Seth were. "where they could have gone to..." It was a mystery.

Still, Raven took the opportunity presented with the relative privacy and moved in close to Seth, grabbing the drinks he had and setting them down on a nearby bench before grasping both his hands in her own. "I guess we can try to figure that out if you want though. I'd rather do that then try to pretend I know or care about dancing. Or be in there at all really. Just not a fan of the vibe in general in there...You don't think Edgar's got some sort of magic barrier or something that restricts whatever magic our shadows have, do you? That would be awfully convenient of him to have that available..."

 

[SkyeNeko]

"Greetings, young one. Would it be possible for you to let me have that cat for a moment? It is to make things a little more interesting for the party!"
Fei found herself staring into a polished eye the size of her face. There was of course, no doubt in her mind the thing had seen her. She had few options, deciding to take the one that first came to mind. Slowly, she inched back to the other side of the table, and stood up. Then she started taking small steps towards the crowd of people and centaurs and spirit things. Then she pretty much ran the opposite direction from the golem.

Surprisingly, or not, the cat also ran off too.

Some minutes after she had ran clear of the party and into one of the hallways, Fei noticed she had been following the four legged feline, or it might have followed her for a while, she was too busy running to watch. "Hey! Shoo! Go away!" she whispered. It was gonna be like a golem magnet. She didn't want the golem following her around.

The cat didn't seem to notice or care, walking through the passages with confidence. Fei could still hear echoes of the party: they couldn't be that far from the main room, even after all that running! The cat stopped at a door and scratched. "Eh? What's in there? Is this your room? Is it really tiny, with a tiny bed, and a tiny cabinet for your collars and things, with a small window to..." Fei walked in undeterred, only to see it was some ol' maid's room. Her brother and that maid he was with were there. The cat walked up to Alice and started purring and rubbing around her legs. "Oh, no, Tabby, you'll get fur everywhere-" The cat jumped away from Alice before she could touch it, jumping on her bed. "A golem's trying to steal your cat!" Fei waved her arms. "You don't think he's gonna eat it, do you!?"

 

[Mr. Omega]

Drew stepped into the room and looked around, chuckling to himself as he saw the mess "Reminds me of home." The flash of light didn't even make him flinch this time, taking a second to see if it would do anything else. Funny... I'm getting used to all this stuff now...

"See....this book is where I've...done a bit of research of my own. Lord Edgar typically would rather us keep everything open but...I think its best to keep some things secret, right?"
"Cheeky. I like it!" he smirked, encouraged by the promise of plans. He started trying to make sense of what was in front of him, managing to piece a few things together when he was distracted again.

"Mmph...so uncomfortable..."
Drew hadn't even noticed that Alice had started undressing until now. He looked down at the book, speaking up "Uh, perhaps you'd like some privacy." He took a quick peek up, jokingly saying "Unless of course you'd like some help slipping into something a little more comfy..."

"Hm? Privacy? But...its just us. I'm not sure what you are worried about. Its not like I'm wearing nothing here....And its just us!" Alice said, proceeding to toss the rest of the dress off as she continued to seemingly toy with the book. Drew shrugged, waiting to see what the book would reveal. "Ah, here we are. I think this might be the most helpful thing in the book. It has....I want to say plans in it. This should be able to help you in some fashion...do these symbols look familiar at all?" Alice spun the book around, showing the symbols to Drew.

The symbols in the book were in quite a few different styles. Some was a familiar style, either mentioning an elemental affinity, some of it mentioning each of the elements between a few others. "I know a few of these....but some are strange. Since you are from somewhere else...Figured you might know something I don't. If not, that's OK! No pressure, I just figured I would see if this could be good for you."

Drew nodded, looking back at the book, getting a little closer to both it and her. "I can read a few of them, but they're mostly talking about the elements and affinity. What can you gather from it? I'm sure we can work something out of it if we put our heads together. Now these refer to various elements... this one is fire, this one water and this one air and so on... but I'm not sure what these ones here are talking about. There's also some mentions about affinity, but without context, it could mean anything."

"Hmm...Now that is a little worrying! Fire? Water? Seems like there is a lot to these things. But, these particular runes refer to something about being doors, or having keys to doors, or something like that. And...hm?" There was a small scratching at the doors as Fei suddenly walked in.

"Oh, no, Tabby, you'll get fur everywhere-" Alice began, before Fei started saying that a golem was trying to steal the cat. In askance, she glanced at Drew.

"A golem's trying to steal your cat! You don't think he's gonna eat it, do you!?"

Drew smirked, trying to hold back laughter as Alice responded to Fei's... unusual idea. "Eat...my cat? I think there are a lot of things out there that they could eat instead...."

"There's all sorts of things to eat out there." Drew spoke up "And all sorts of cats to eat as well" He brushed off his outfit, straightening up. "But that begs the question... what are you doing here, sis? And what's with the cat? We're guests here at the castle..." He then spoke a little more sternly "And you know it's rude to barge into other people's rooms. So I'll ask again: what are you doing here? Did something happen?" He was more curious than he was cross. With all the strange things going on, a golem going after a cat wouldn't be too hard to believe.

He then turned to Alice "Cute cat. You give it a name?" He wasn't quite sure what to do with Fei, but he knew she wouldn't leave easily. But he also didn't want to drop what they were doing, so he moved a little closer to Alice. "So... think you can bring that book with us? Or would it be too much trouble? Could you at least finish what you were going to say?" He would wait to see what they had to say, and hoped there was enough time to get a little more planning done.

____________

Seth and Raven didn't have to look far to find Drew's shadow. He was lying down in a recliner in a study, near a fireplace. The shadow's stillness would imply that it was asleep. However, that notion was soon dispelled when a maid in a rather skimpy outfit walked by and the shadow turned his head to watch her walk by, before returning to his default position once she was out of sight.

The shape in the couch implied that he had been there for quite some time.

 

[CounterAttack]

The stone man approached his goal... who had taken an interest in Fei. It wasn't long before both fled the room, pursued by Gabriel's opponent. Gabriel, on the other hand, raised his eyebrows at the proceedings. "So... what happens now?" he mused, having no idea of how to proceed.

"Now you follow the runaway cat, and try to catch it before your opponent does. Just because the competition's moved outside the hall doesn't mean it's over," Isa answered, pulling Gabriel back to his feet. "Come on. There's a good amount of coin to be made if you win." She led the way: having been standing while Gabriel sat on the floor, she knew where the stone man had headed. Gabriel paused, however, to collect his glass of water and pour the plate's contents back into it. Just in case.

Gabriel followed Isa, who appeared to be heading down another corridor of doors... was this another bedroom wing, or the same one that they had passed through earlier to visit the room assigned to him? Either way, he saw his stone-faced opponent - har har, Gabriel, very funny - standing outside the door of an open room, and heard a few indistinct voices inside. He hurried to the door, picking up the pace to take the lead.

The stone man was hovering on the threshold of the doorway: was he waiting for something? Gabriel, however, held no such interest in waiting around for the cat to emerge. So he ducked under the man's elbow and slipped straight past into the room. Inside was the cat he had attempted to lure... along with Fei, Drew and the latter's companion. Alice, he remembered her name. The last time Gabriel had caught a glimpse of her, she had been wearing quite a fair bit more. Gabriel tried to avert his gaze, but... well, the room was made smaller by the amount of people inside. It was difficult to not look at someone.

"Um... sorry for interrupting. It's just, umm..." Gabriel stammered, doing his best not to focus on the scantily clad Alice. "There was a contest... the cat..." He felt himself blushing, stuttering his words.

Having followed him in the room, Isa said nothing, instead noting his reaction to Alice's choice of clothing. That would be useful for another experiment later.

[hr]

Gabriel's shadow was pacing back and forth, unsure of what to do now that everyone had gone their own ways. Gabriel himself, and the girl, had been dragged off by the blonde stranger with the black wings. He wasn't sure if he trusted the woman. The shadow now took the same path Gabriel, Fei and Isa had taken a while ago, soon finding himself in the main hall where the party was taking place.

The shadow began to wander, picking his way past tables and dodging serving girls, until he found a space with a clear view of the dance floor. There he simply sat down and watched the proceedings. It wasn't much to do, but it was something to pass the time until he found the others again. Because why bother searching the castle when the others were bound to come back here eventually?

 

[SkyeNeko]

"I thought it was the cat's room! If I had a cat, I'd get it a room at home, and give it a scratchy thing, and a kitty bed, oh, and maybe a water fountain, and like, infinite foods, cookies, cakes..." she listed off different food that the cat didn't seem to interested in. "And if you didn't want me barging in, maybe lock the door!" she scolded Drew. "I was talking to this other maid girl with wings where the food was, but I was already talking to Evie (that's my shadow's new name, so that you can tell when I'm talking about her, or just talking about myself in third person, it's cute isn't it?? Make sure you tell shadow Drew too if you see him), and she thought I was talking to a demon, but I didn't see any demons, and Fe- Evie (sorry, we just decided on her name, so I'm not used to calling her Evie yet) said that the reason the maid thought I was talking to demons was because she couldn't see Evie, but I didn't know if there were ACTUAL demons here, cause I don't know what demons look like here... and so I hid under the table and then the cat came up, and then the golem said he wanted the cat, and so I ran away cause I didn't know what to do" Fei walked around her brother as she talked, touching the various things in the room.

Then, the golem got in! "AH THERE HE IS!!" The cat seemed to have the same idea, bursting out of between the golems legs and into the hall again. Fei meanwhile took much closer hiding place of behind Drew.

 

[blaze96]

"Are there any people, cities, groups, or anything else I should know? Or what about particular things to avoid saying or doing? I figure magic is best left off the table when possible, doesn't seem like the most common thing here." Alexander asked trying to get more information out of the people around him while he could.

 

[CounterAttack]

"There it goes!" Glad to take any excuse to flee the awkward scene, Gabriel ducked under the stone-man's arm a second time and hurried back out into the hall. Already the cat was dashing into another room further down the hall, on the left... it was fast. But Gabriel's opponent had proven, or so the Hydromancer thought, that just walking up to it and trying to pick it up wasn't going to work. With that in mind, he took a slower approach, instead walking casually - or, as casually as he could, under the circumstances - down the hall to the room into which the cat had vanished.

Gabriel poked his head around the door... it was nowhere to be seen. That suited him fine. He glanced back down the hall: the stone man was stumping along, possibly annoyed by the proceedings. An idea came to Gabriel. There was another open door on the right. He quickly crossed the hall to look inside, even though he knew the cat had hidden itself in the room on the left. Maybe I can trick Rocky into thinking it's in the wrong room... where's my shadow when I need him.

As the rock-man got closer, Isa at his heels, Gabriel got down on one knee and pretended to look under the bed in the wrong room, careful not to spill the water he'd brought. Such a place seemed the best choice for a small feline to hide, and he hazarded a guess that his somewhat bulkier opponent couldn't mimic the action. "I'm fairly sure he's in here... but he's not where I thought he'd be. Maybe he's in the bathroom in the back? Might not be too friendly, though."

 

[UnusualStranger]

As Raven had wandered to take a look around, Seth took a small glance around of his own. While he didn't think they would be that fortunate, it was worth giving it a small look all the same. Though, it was when Raven returned and took the drinks from him that he realized that in privacy Raven was much....closer than he anticipated. He truly did like it, it just seemed to be...strange.

"Well, I guess we know partly what we are going to be doing. Hope you don't mind probably getting into a small bit of trouble." Seth said with a smile as the now forgotten drinks were replaced with Raven's hands. "I would find it extremely 'convenient' of Edgar to have something in that regard upon us first getting here. I don't think he notices them like everyone else, but...this world isn't normal, so I don't like betting on it."

Seth hesitated a moment before pulling Raven closer. Looking at her in the fine dress and him being in a suit was strange, but she still looked very nice, and he figured he played his part pretty well. With a grin knowing his behavior was probably foolish, he gave her a quick kiss and quickly began to try and lead her forward through the castle.

"Well, we didn't have to...look far for him." Seth said, giving a small wave at the somewhat...immobile Drew that had been sitting at the couch. He was going to say something about it not surprising him, but it was strange to see that it was Drew's shadow just...sitting there. Would figure all the odd gadgets would interest the thing.

[hr]

Alice grinned at the cat is it weaved its way about the room, obviously trying to make sure that everything was still in its proper spot. However, when the golem had arrived, it became apparent that there was some kind of contest going on that included a few different people.

"Oh...uhm, they're called Tabby. Not the most creative, but Lord Edgar considered me worthy of having her tag along with me. So....Uh.." Alice noted that one of the new guests that had arrived, one of which was looking a bit particularly at her. She glanced downward, obviously looking to see if there was something on her that needed to be brushed away.

"Uhm....did you see something? Lord Drew, is there something....out of place?"

However, as the cat darted away through the slightly slower moving golem, he wove his arms but to no avail, and went to chase the cat hoping to do so before the mage could come after it. Though, the mage initially sprinted past with the golem slowly moving along. As the mage darted from room to room, the golem decided to start looking through the room on the left first.

"Good luck, creature. It will be luck now that determines who catches it in the room first..." The golem rumbled, moving about.

[hr]

"Heh, more, Lord Alexander? There is much more, but all of it is up to the creatures you run into! You act as if you have never interacted with another creature before!" Kane said with a loud laugh, obviously intending every insult and sarcasm behind it.

"Easy, Kane. I think its time you and I had a few bouts of our own, don't you think?" Edgar said, giving a small shove to the centaur who now grinned. "If you will excuse us, Lord Alexander, we have a crowd to entertain..." Kane and Edgar now stepped away from the table, with a sudden hush seeming to settle over much of the room as they began to walk to an area where the tables were already being shoved aside by some golems, spirits, and maids in tandem intending to make a large area.

"Your ass is mine this time, my silly horse man. I think you'll find this is just a coming prediction of the battle." Edgar taunted as a maid brought over what could be described as a huge long handled axe, which the man hefted with one hand then gave a small spin before confronting Kane.

"Hmph! I think you are far too confident in the girls and rocks at your side, old fool. Perhaps time is finally catching up to you and you've lost whats left of that mind of yours!" Kane replied as a large broadsword was brought to him by another maid, which he gripped with both hands and took a few swings.

"BEGIN!" The two shouted, and lunged at each other with clear intent to harm. As the blades slammed in to each other, sparks flew from the amount of force that was being applied behind them, with the clashes bringing cheers and shouts from all the onlookers as they watched the battle unfold before them, the duel being an obvious sport of true skill as the pair would still leap away from one another, then charge forward once again. Edgar was first to land a blow, neatly slicing at the back of Kane in a quick jump, where Kane then took to swinging the large blade like a bat, knocking Edgar a small distance away into a table before readjusting themselves.

"Ah...So it has begun! Lord Alexander, I know it must seem rude but...what was actually happening was Lord Edgar making sure that you were not brought into a fight like....this. Fights are how the pair settle things...and they fight until the other will not rise, and then the rest shall fight until the other is done....of course, that will be much bigger later." Jade informed, once again creeping close to Alexander.

"So, my Lord...it seems the others have joined in contests and things alike. What do you think of our world so far? Or the customs which our small part of the world follows? I know you have that silly quest, but I think you are a bit too...serious once again. Relax, it is a celebration!"

 

[Mr. Omega]

Drew instinctively jumped in front of his sister, but before he could call upon his magic, Tabby ran out of the room, and the stone creature left with it. He relaxed, turning back to Alice.

"Uhm....did you see something? Lord Drew, is there something....out of place?"

"Oh, it's not you. It's him. Haven't seen much of him, but it seems Gabriel has... issues when it comes to women." he said, not wanting to say his assumptions, instead keeping things vague. "I guess you can take it as a compliment. At least he has good taste in women..." he said, muttering the last part.

He then turned back to his sister. "There aren't any demons here. And if there are, you know that I'll take care of them." he smirked, trying to reassure her. "But it's still strange out here, so perhaps you should go back to... Evie." I remember calling my own shadow Dark Drew once. Not the most original name. He probably didn't like it. Maybe I should give him a name. If he's interested, anyway...

"As for me... well, me and Alice were in the middle of a private conversation. Talking about some stuff for the journey ahead." he said casually. He wasn't being vague with her to try and hide things from her... he just wasn't sure what exactly they were talking about either. He made a quick gesture to the door "And maybe you should go help Gabriel with Tabby. The poor dolt seems to be having a bit of trouble. Bet you could show him a thing or two..." he said, nudging her.