SUMMER

Angkar: Wet season. Precipitation is common during the late afternoon and evening hours. Vegetation grows significantly during the summer, but flooding is a danger due to the monsoons that ravage the country. The rainforest sees evenly distributed rainfall throughout the season.

Ashoka: Desert: Extremely hot and dry. Violent, heavy downpours following long dryspells. Jungle: Hot and humid with frequent, violent rainstorms.

Morrim: Relatively hot and dry, but with a chance of thunderstorms from time to time. The heat may cause forest fires.

Soto: Hot and humid, tree cover is dense while ground growth is restricted. Thunderstorms see the most amount of rainfall during the season, and it can be very windy. On occasion, there are flash floods that can destroy homes and farms built on flood plains.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

March 30th, 2018 As you might have noticed, Elenlond has changed hands and is now under new management! If you have any questions, please direct them to DaringRaven! As for the rest of the announcements, including a season change, you can find them over here at the following link!

January 16, 2018 As you might have noticed, Elenlond has a new skin, all thanks to Mel! Don't forget to check out the new OTMs as well!

December 2, 2017 Winter has settled on Elenlond, bringing sleep for some and new life for others.

September 26, 2017 With the belated arrival of autumn come some interesting developments: new OTMs, a Town Crier and the release of the Elly Awards winners!

July 14, 2017 After a bit of forum clean-up, Elly Awards season has arrived! Head on over to make your nominations!

May 31, 2017 Summer has arrived and so has activity check! That's not all though – we also have some new OTMs for you and some staff changes!


WHAT IS ELENLOND?

Elenlond is an original free-form medieval fantasy RPG set on the continent of Soare and the Scattered Isles, which are located to the south in the Sea of Diverging Waters. The four chief nations of the western side of the world—Ashoka in northern Soare, Soto in western Soare, Morrim in eastern Soare, and Angkar, the largest of the Scattered Isles—continue to experience growth and prosperity since the fall of the Mianorite gods, although power struggles within the countries—or outside of them—continue to ensue.


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  • CURRENT EVENTS

    Angkar: To honour the reinvigoration of the ancient city of Mondrágon, the majestic Queen Eulalia has permitted the opening of a Coliseum where people from around the world and all walks of life can test their combat skills against one another. Many have already done battle in search of honour, glory, prizes and money.

    Ashoka: In an otherwise peaceful times, Ashokans are beset with the relatively minor inconveniences of wandering undead and occasionally-aggressive giant rock worms. There has also been some controversy over the recent re-legalisation of human sacrifice.

    Morrim: Rumour has it that Emperor Leofric de Hollemark is mustering forces for a war. Though the threat from Soto’s forests has passed, the forces previously employed in watching the forest now linger at the border. Rumours also circulate of a small group that has been dispatched to make contact with the tribes of the Do’suul Mountains.

    Soto: The Sotoans have defeated the fey and liberated themselves from Méadaigh’s oppression! Preliminary efforts have been made at rebuilding the city of Madrid, which had been captured at the beginning of the war. However, the Sotoans are hindered from recovery famine. Méadaigh’s magic caused summer to persist in the Erth’netora Forest through the winter. Her power has been withdrawn and the plants die as if preparing for winter – even though it is now summer. The Sotoans must sustain off what food they can get, what creatures they can kill and what can be imported into the city from Morrim and Angkar.

    For a fuller description of our most recent events, check out our most recent edition of The Town Crier!

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    Welcome to our home, a world in which anything can happen. From sprawling deserts and vast forests to massive volcanoes and luscious hot springs, Soare and the Scattered Isles are beautiful places just waiting to be explored. For the brave and the bold or the cautious and the wary, creatures of all kinds roam the earth, looking for adventure or for a place to call their own. Species of all kinds - the well-known and the unknown - thrive here, though not always in harmony.

    Elenlond is an original medieval fantasy RPG with a world that's as broad as it is unique. Calling on characters of all kinds, the sky's the limit in a world where boundaries are blurred and the imagination runs rampant. Restrictions are limited and members are encouraged to embrace their creativity, to see where they can go and what they can do. It's no longer just text on a page - it becomes real.

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    Caesura; ~ Open ~
    Topic Started: Jan 25 2016, 10:36 AM (349 Views)
    Jhaereth
    Member Avatar
    Simply Fabulous

    Summer 9AR

    Vhaeraun's bollocks, Madrid is so...boring.

    Summer heat beat down on his shoulders, soaking through his shirt and filling him with sunlight til he felt brimming over with it. He'd spent a good chunk of the morning just basking in it, lizardlike against the side of the guild hall. Eventually it had become too much for him, and yet simultaneously too much at once. He loathed feeling like that, unable to stand frying himself much longer, simply for the need for water.

    His mouth had been like a dried sponge, worsening by the second til eventually he slid to his feet and grudgingly slunk away to wander the markets, stopping briefly at a wine-seller's stall to exchange a coin for a glass. Better that, than to duck into one of those stinking tavernas that lined every street, full of unwashed commoners and sweaty workhands. His lip curled just thinking about it, as if none of them could make the effort to use a little water on a daily basis. Better cold dirty water than days of filth, surely?

    Actually no, maybe not, he shuddered just to think about it. When all else failed he'd have just used a cantrip to fix the problem but...well, that was done with now he supposed. He'd just have to tolerate being mostly....mostly ordinary.

    Wasn't much to say, really. He was just an ordinary citizen, with an ordinary job with the Explorers. And without much to do, to be honest. He'd handed in his notebook that morning for them to review and process the information. Probably they'd just have someone copy it, then toss the scrolls in the archives, never to be seen again, buried under the dust, sandwiched between musty old tomes, their leather bound hides rotting and falling to pieces. What else was there to do now but wait? Or go haring off with another book, making arrangements to leave the city and go...somewhere.

    He figured he could allow for a little rest time, some time to choose where he next wanted to go. The jungle elves of Angkar seemed appealing, so little was known about them, or at least little was documented. But perhaps he just wanted to go there so that he could see one such particular jungle elf..for all that she was positively barbaric, Merisiel had grown on him. Like a bad rash, maybe. Or a flowering vine.

    Jhaereth sighed, spidery digits tapping the side of the bottle dangling from his hand, deliciously cool against his dark skin. He hadn't thought he'd miss her company so much, but really aide from the little fiery dumpling he saw from time to time, there wasn't really anyone he spent time with. Perhaps he was...lonely?

    Gods, that was a galling thought.

    Him, lonely. He scoffed, threw himself down beneath a fig in full fruit, and savagely worked the cork out of the bottle with his teeth, upended it and swallowed a mouthful of sweet, tart wine. It was a good enough place to watch the world go by...he'd sat there often enough with nothing but a bottle and some sweet treat, a couple of books nestled against his hip. No books today but there was plenty enough to occupy his eyes all the same. Carefully he picked up one of the fallen fruits, watching a woman haggling for a length of muslin from his peripheral, paying particular attention to the way her wrap molded to her hips and legs when she switched her weight to one foot, arms waggling in reprimand or disbelief.

    Gently he rubbed the fig against his thigh to clean most of the dirt off, running the pad of his thumb over his tongue, then rubbing at it to remove a mark. Fingers deftly twisted the stalk off, then began to peel it. Couldn't stand the texture on the outside, call him fussy, but he really didn't want to eat it.

    A frown worked his forehead as a shadow fell across him, one hand rising to flick in an effete gesture of dismissal.
    "Whatever it is, I'm not buying. Sod off."
    He pushed the fruit between his lips, snapped off a bite and raised his eyes back to their subject, chewing with some relish for the sweet stickiness. At least until his view of such a fine ass was abruptly blocked.
    "What?!" He snapped. "Can't a man have five minutes to appreciate a fine specimen without some uncultured cretin interrupting it? What do you want?"
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    Neriasis
    Member Avatar
    Ex-God of Order

    Sunlight, it was still taking some getting used to. It still hurt his eyes a little, but at least with the shadows wrapped tightly around his skin there was no risk of sun rash. Still didn’t mean he understood how people could walk around in such bright light, but the more people who stuck to awake at day, asleep at night, the less people to be around when things went bump in the night. Also less people to bump and jostle him; something that was more common during the day when he had to mask his appearance with the guise of the blonde haired angel. It was the damn wings, nothing new but these with their white coloration were a bit of an attention whore.

    With the summer heat and the general vibe of summer the guild leader had donned a more cheery array of clothing. A light ochre colored sleeveless shirt, tied at the bottom around the back, pulling the fabric tight across the hips, with decorative crisscrossing black lacing to hold the two halves together under his wings. The pants were a dark brown died linen, loose enough for comfortable movement but not so loose as to take away from such glorious man buns. The ensemble was complete with a purple sash tied around the waist, though the material appeared more suited to colder weather, there probably were few that would question it.

    The market was always busy this time of day, particularly this time of year when fruit was plentiful and weather was kind. Kind if you didn’t mind the heat, a soft breeze could usually fix that, unlike the lower parts of the city where the buildings were so close together that getting a breeze was a miracle, the area around the market left plenty of room for the wind to breeze on by. With a breeze one could also get a whiff of all that was being peddled, thankfully it didn’t seem like there was any week old fish nearby. What he did get was a strong hint of spiced meats, fresh fruit, baked goods, even the perfumes and soaps of the privileged few.

    The privileged few could just sod off for all he cared. Particularly the ones that stared and whispered behind their frilly little fans about him and others. It wasn’t that he was one of the unwashed masses, quite the contrary. Simply put it was because he was a curiosity, and what tickled the rich more than a curiosity? More money maybe. For those that didn’t know he was simply a rare creature, an attractive one too if he was to give commentary on himself. However, for those that knew, it wasn’t just that he was a rare creature but one who held Argos in the palm of his hand. How did such a gentle reputation creature such as himself, with an appearance of one who surely could do no wrong, end up as leader of a guild with the worst reputation in the city. Simple really, he wasn’t what he appeared to be, but best not let them know that. While the rumors could be entertaining, after a while they became unimaginative and mundane, he was certain he’d heard almost all of the speculations by now.

    “I’m not selling anything, but mister you’re in my spot,” came a tiny voice off to the side. Curious Neriasis looked over to see a small scruffy looking child holding an equally scruffy stuffed bear looking at a clearly delicate man sitting under a fig tree. The kid looked like she was about to burst into tears, the very beginnings touching her lashes as she blinked them back and gave a small sniffle like the man had squashed her cupcake by choosing that spot to rest in. Neriasis couldn’t help it he had a soft spot for street children, of which she almost certainly was. He approached crouching down next to her, giving the man a quick friendly glance before attending to the girl.

    “I’m sure he did not mean to sweet thing, no need for tears,” he reached over to gently brush one from her cheek leaving a small trial in the dirt. “Isn’t that right?” Neriasis looked towards the man, giving him a kind smile.
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    Jhaereth
    Member Avatar
    Simply Fabulous

    The sneer curled his lip before he'd even thought to attempt a measure of control.

    "Your spot?"
    He sat up a little straighter, leaned forward and made a show of looking around the small area of greenery, just one of many in a city this size. One eyebrow rose disdainfully as he leaned back against the trunk, fig held precisely between three fingertips. How selfish, to assume that one such spot in the entire city would be reserved ultimately for their presence. And in a city that cultivated the greenery such as this...

    Carefully he drew his left knee up, rested his arm across it, wrist dangling, right leg extended still.

    Don't touch it, it might be diseased. Filthy humans.

    His eyes scanned over the midget- child? - with undisguised disgust, taking in the dirt ingrained in her skin, greasy locks and scraps of clothing stiff with grime. It looked half starved too...of course, what did he know about....children? That was never something the princes of Chaulssin dealt with, left to their concubines, and even then, the females were put to death before they had taken more than a handful of squalling breaths.

    Was he supposed to smile and excuse himself? And what was with that pest-riddled bag of fur she was clutching at?

    "I was under the impression that, being unoccupied, one may sit wherever one so desired."
    Jhaereth picked at the fruit as he picked his words, slowly, flicking the seeds away with apparent total lack of concern. Why should he relent? So that this sprout could plop down and sully the street by begging for scraps? It was the scum that floated on top of the society like that, that ended up hunted down and whipped or trampled to death in the Shambles. Why should it be any different here?

    His poisonous gaze lifted again at the approach of another, blocking far more of his view than the irritating waif had. A bitter anger welled in him, scorching his throat with unspoken vitriol. Why hadn't he just chosen to sit on the balcony of the inn he was staying at, in relative comfort, instead of forcing himself to acknowledge the lesser beings that dwelled here?

    The bitterness only increased when he took note of those feathery white appendages huddling at the man's back. It was as though the world just wanted to grab him by the hair and rub his gods-blighted nose in it.

    Yes, yes, I'll never fly again, thank you so kindly, now take your gaudy-self and bugger off!

    "I most certainly did mean to sit here. That is to say, I am quite certain it was my decision, my legs that walked here, and my backside that planted itself."
    He narrowed his eyes, lifting his free hand to brush his loose hair back from his face artfully.
    "Besides, there are hundreds of similar such places around, why this one? Why can you not find another?"
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    Neriasis
    Member Avatar
    Ex-God of Order

    The little girl appeared to try and hide behind the bear as Jared sneered at her. He did cut a rather imposing figure towards such a small girl. Not to mention the dark skin, elven features, and many other things pointed towards a race not well known for their kindness. Wide blue eyes looked from the dark man to the angel as if pleading with him to convince the mean man to leave.

    The smile on Ni’ab’s face twitched before fading all together. So this was one of those people. It did not surprise him given their location, the people around here often viewed themselves as superior to those that appeared poor and unclean. Though judging by this girl’s bear she was more likely poor than the bear simply being old and worn. It sparked a fire in him that people could be so callous to the youth. Be mean to adults if you must, but to turn up your nose and scoff at a child that had no choice at their lot in life was just infuriating.

    It took all of his calm not to rip into this fool right there for all the world to see. No somehow he managed to grit his teeth and swallow any vitriol he had wanted to spit at the other. “Perhaps,” the angel started on a sigh looking to the girl, “why this spot? You must have a reason?” He doubted she would have spoken to the man if there had been no reason for this particular resting place.

    “They won’t find me if I move,” she muttered from behind her bear giving another sniff and rubbing her face against the back of the filthy toy.

    “Who won’t find you?” asked Ni’ab patiently waiting on the child. Keeping an eye on Jared from out the corner of his eye. Eventually that man was like to lose his patience and already he had shown enough disgust with the child for Ni’ab to not care for his presence.

    “My mom,” said the girl hugging the bear tightly.

    “How long as she been gone?” Ni’ab asked dreading the answer, this would not be the first child he had seen who was waiting for a parent that would not return for one reason or another.

    “I don’t know,” she sniffled.

    “A few hours?” again it could have been an answer of a few minutes to a couple of days, one could never tell in these situations.

    The little girl hiccupped and wrung the bear in her hands. “Maybe two days,” she admitted staring at her shoes which Ni’ab noticed were not in such great shape but better than a lot of street children he’d met.

    “Where did she go?” he asked, maybe he could get a chance to take her away from this spot. Away from people who did not care whether she lived or died.

    “I think she said something like Cat tail,” the girl offered.

    Ni’ab straightened up giving it some thought. There were quite a few establishments with the name cat in the title, less so with both cat and tail in it. The name came to him on a somewhat sobering thought and he looked down at the girl. “Was it the Red Cat’s Tail?” he asked and when the girl nodded his mood turned sour, churning his stomach a little. In a way this was his fault, as Red Cat’s Tail was one of his establishments. It was known for catering to more violent clientele, the pay was great but the risk was real for the girls that worked there. It was rare but it did happen that a girl would wind up dead due to a client. He could only hope this was not the case. “Why don’t we go see if she is still there?” he offered a hand to the girl. She looked up at him giving a shy smile before taking his hand.
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    Jhaereth
    Member Avatar
    Simply Fabulous

    The way the angel crouched beside the child reminded him all too clearly, quite suddenly, of another blonde haired stranger, holding a scrap of a girl, her dress soot stained, cheeks painted with tears. And her brother, a handful of years older yet untrained with a blade, grasping the haft of a weapon blunt as a plow.

    Brutally he shoved that memory down, buried it under his scorn. The only children he'd extended a hand to help, perhaps, but there had been....he'd felt...some kind of responsibility. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was in fact, guilt. It had been his money that had attracted the attention of those who were not afraid to fight for their survival.

    He ground his teeth, the fruit quite tasteless, coarse as sawdust as he swallowed it. Why were they not dealt with? Why were the young not educated and trained, clothed and fed? Oh he knew he'd had a soft life back home, but he'd not had delusions about how poverty worked, he'd seen it enough in lesser cities, where the slaves ran rampant, and the lower caste shrank back when a noble passed by. But the children? They were useful...malleable...impressionable...

    The drow cast the half-eaten fig aside, all appetite drained away like pus from an infected wound. The thought of eating now turned his stomach, memory of so many twisted bodies mutilated carelessly and left like fallen dolls in the midst of play. It wasn't the bodies though, but the taste of anger, of savage vindication and unfamiliar heaviness in his chest, weighing him down, crushing his spirits...

    The soft melody of speech ground his teeth together til he wanted to dash their heads against one another and stride away. He'd just come here to drink, and cool off, and admire a fabulous behind, not to argue with waifs and strays and would-be good samaritans.

    He lifted the bottle to his lips, took a long pull without really tasting it. It could have been vinegar for all he cared, choking on the sour bite of the liquid as the name filtered through.
    "You can't be serious! She's a child!"
    He flapped his hand in annoyance, jerking his chin in her direction with incredulity. There were any number of establishments that catered to men just seeking a good time but even those not moving in the circles looking for a den or a pleasure house knew of that one. And none of it was good. Not that he'd grown a conscience, exactly...and why would one so...pristine want to favor such a place as that anyway?
    "You can't expose her to that kind of- of- slovenly, wretched indecency!"

    Jhaereth spluttered, hurriedly rising to his feet. As he was coming to anticipate, the stranger was much taller than he, but then most people were apparently. He might have been relatively tall for one of his kind, but here? It was laughable. He'd not realized that humans were so hulking, or tall, not unlike bugbears and the other myriad slave races.
    "You ought to have better sense than to drag her into a midden-heap as that. It is no place for a child!" He raised his chin imperiously, regretting his words even as he said them, more than aware of the improper implications, but then, the truth was oft uncaring for niceties.
    "What she needs is a hot meal and a good scrubbing, not some sultry wench gyrating her hips in her face while the rest of the clientele size her up like a piece of fresh meat. Wait, where are you going?! Come back at once!"
    Edited by Jhaereth, Jan 25 2016, 02:12 PM.
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    Neriasis
    Member Avatar
    Ex-God of Order

    Ni’ab lifted a brow at the stranger’s sudden outburst. Was about to respond when the flapping hand distracted him enough to cut him off. Best to let him get it all out before interjecting. Admitedly the man had a point, though he hadn’t had any plans of actually taking the girl inside with him, though as he thought about it leaving her out on the street while he went in could be just as bad. It was one thing to control what went on inside the specialized brothel, but quite another to control what went on outside of it. Though truth be told the majority of patrons were more curious about the sort of things that went on behind closed doors in there than they were actually violent people. That did not cover all of them though, if Ni’ab had to garner a guess he’d say a good five percent were actually that depraved in their day to day lives.

    It was actually more common to find men seeking young girls, not quite as young as this one, usually. So it really wasn’t a surprise that the man found the angel’s willingness to take the girl to one such establishment alarming. Before he had acquired so many brothels, and even established more, he’d known plenty of the strange erotic desires of men, women too though they hardly sought out his establishments. He wondered if they bothered with such establishments at all, he had tried to cater to the fairer sex, but without them telling him what they were looking for it was proving quite difficult and not at all profitable. Perhaps they were just more worried about their reputations than those of the men who had no issue visiting a brothel. It made sense when the majority of patrons were more on the rough side, though he had one or two establishments that catered to the higher class. The Red Cat’s Tail was not one of them; it was situated more in the middle. Of course even then it was tucked away from the world and a good bit of coin was exchanged into the hands of guards to keep them from snooping about.

    “If you are so worried you are welcome to make sure I don’t throw her to a den of wolves,” commented Ni’ab with a little shake of his head. As if he would ever throw a poor innocent child into the maws of such salivating degenerates. The girl tightened her grip on the angel’s hand looking up at him worried and he had to give her a reassuring smile.

    Making his way through the streets he did not care whether or not the man followed him. The establishment was no secret as they made their way into a broken down part of the city. The people here had little in the way of money and many buildings had boards nailed across windows. A shadow of a person could be seen flitting from behind such coverings, out of sight out of mind. The Red Cat’s Tail was the only building that seemed in somewhat good condition, with its brightly painted sign, but even it had a few boards over the windows. There were many locations like this throughout the city, it was just too much work and money to try and upkeep it all. But at least here the roofs all looked intact, giving the people who squatted here decent shelter. It was no surprise then to find the white spider of Argos painted to one side of the door to the Red Cat’s Tail.

    Ni’ab did not head for the door; instead he slipped around to the alleyway next to the establishment. It was surprisingly empty and clean, aside from a small trickle of brown water. There was a door set into the side of the building, another spider painted across its face. “There will be no gyrating of hips or the prying eyes of clientele here,” he said if the man had decided to follow. Brushing a hand over the spider the click of a lock could be heard before the door opened inward with a small creak. “Ladies first,” he said to the girl before looking up at Jared with the implication of calling him a dainty lady, despite the fact Ni’ab was certain it was a male to whom he had made acquaintance.

    They entered into a room, surprisingly quiet save when the door to the main area opened and the sounds of the brothel could be heard. There were three doors in this room, one to the outside, one up a small set of stairs which led into the brothel proper, and another that opened towards the back of the brothel, where it led currently unknown. The room was furnished with three tables, each with four chairs; it had the feeling of a social gathering place for meals. Currently only one table was occupied by three ladies, dressed delicately but fully covered. Their features were quite similar, high cheekbones, small noses, and pouty lips. Two of the girls had blue eyes while the third had green, but all had auburn hair done up in differing styles. All three of them had looked up when they had entered. “Good afternoon Ni’ab,” they said in near perfect unison.

    “You have brought visitors?” questioned the one with blue eyes. She got up out of her seat. “One of which is quite handsome,” she purred giving the angel a sly wink. They knew his preference of pretty men over the women-folk. “But who is this young lady?” she asked crouching down to the girl’s level, who was still clutching fiercely to Ni’ab’s hand.

    “Audrey,” the young girl offered, a bit more comfortable around the blue eyed woman than she had been around Jared.

    “We’re looking for her mother. If one of your sisters would be so kind as to take Audrey to the kitchen and get her a snack so I might talk more freely with you Isabelle?” asked Ni’ab as the woman straightened back up.

    “Of course. Clara why don’t you take Audrey to the kitchen? Perhaps we can wash off some of this dirt as well?” the second question was directed towards Audrey who merely nodded in compliance as Clara came over to take her hand and they disappeared into the side door.
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    Jhaereth
    Member Avatar
    Simply Fabulous

    "Someone ought to." He muttered, the warmth and light of the day quite forgotten as a black mood settled over him. Looks could be deceiving, and not that he was about to openly point a finger, because that would be uncouth and simply wasn't the done thing, but the angel before him was a prime example if ever he did. Not that he gave a flying fig about humans, much less their filthy degenerate spawn, or little girls being plucked off the street and forced into a life of debasement.

    No, he was simply following to keep an eye on this individual, and assess him.

    He dithered a moment, twisting the bottle in his hands with indecision, then sourly started after them, lengthening his stride to catch up. Of all the places a friendly golden-hearted stranger might offer to take someone, a brothel was...well it wasn't the last place he'd have thought of but it definitely wouldn't have been near the top of the list. It smacked of suspicious behavior.

    Jhaereth slunk along at the girl's elbow wary as a feral cat, leaving her between them, as if she had the most peculiar honor guard. His eyes were everywhere, critically assessing the boarded windows, the peeling paint and faded store facades, meeting each suspicious glare with one of his own til the eyes were forced to avert. He could feel them drilling into his shoulder blades as soon as they passed again though.

    His fingers itched to hold the hilt of his stiletto, even for that small comfort. A smile began twitching at the corners of his thin lips, and he hooked his thumbs through his belt, affecting a rakish swagger of indifference. It was not so unlike home...don't let them see that you care, or are bothered, but stay alert all the same...so while he sneered at the drooping posters, a shutter hanging drunkenly from a broken hinge, shooed a stray dog away from their path with his foot, he looked, and assessed, and was ready for the slightest touch of danger.

    It was not the surroundings that really got his back up, however. There were plenty enough places to hide, more than he'd be able to handle alone in his current state. It was the little white spiders he saw crudely scribbled in chalk on the doorframes, on the wooden slats of a shutter, on the rough timbers of another alehouse. He swallowed a mouthful of sour spit, kept his face smooth, icy calm. The same symbol might have had him as guarded before, knowing he was walking right into a nest of poison...he couldn't say how this was much different. The fact that Argos had chosen a spider made him uneasy...it hinted at them taking a new direction, rather than the unwanted mercenary.

    He should have felt safe enough, he was wearing the pin of the explorer's on his collar. They had little history together, so why should it matter?

    Except that the Explorer's were a cover for his affiliation with an altogether different sort of guild, and one that had had more than a little contact with Argos in the past.

    Jhaereth gave the angel a slow measured look, flat and unconvinced, as if to say 'It's a brothel. The hips never stop gyrating.'
    He tossed his head exasperatedly at the insult, one hand settling on his hip as he rolled his eyes. "Really."
    Still, he slipped past the overbearing Ni'ab to stand beside the door, all tension and wariness as he peered at the trio of girls. Dangerous for them, with their reddish hair, he supposed, what with the apparent serial killings. He'd seen few enough red-haired females of late, and those bearing escorts now. Perhaps the brothel was safer for them after all.

    His eyes slid to the speaker, giving no more than a slight shifting of weight from one foot to the other as he resisted the urge to preen himself. What exactly had she meant by that last part? Alarm skittered through his bearing, then amusement. Were they thinking of inducting him into the brothel too? They'd need to do a damn sight more to the front of it to attract clientele worthy of his attentions for a start. Besides, he'd never make a good concubine, he was far too demanding, not complacent or good at taking demands at all.

    As the girl was led from the room by the hand, he folded his arms and leaned back casually against the wall, the picture of indifference. Ni'ab. Leader of Argos, savior of urchins, proprietor of brothels. Delightful....as if he was about to believe for one instant this man had clean palms in his sudden and strange rise to power...
    His eyes strayed, following the as of yet unnamed courtesan, one eyebrow rising answer to her own measuring look, and elicited a coy smile from her, before his attention drifted back to Ni'ab. Perhaps he ought to have gone after the child anyway...
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    Jared’s manner was reasonable enough. Ni’ab had met many who held an indifferent air about them, some that were in fact indifferent to all the goings on about them. It was however more common for such attitude to be a falsehood for one reason or another. For now the angel would place it as concern for the child, though he was not going to make any bets on that being the real reason the other had decided to tag along.

    With Audrey whisked away to the kitchen it left two open chairs once Isabelle returned to her seat. Ni’ab took one of the remaining seats the back of it just low enough that he could lean against the backrest without crushing his wings. Such troublesome appendages, but he could not drop his illusions here. Not with a stranger about, but also even the majority of his own people did not know that he was actually Neriasis.

    “You may sit if you like,” said Isabelle addressing Jhaerth, she did not take him as any sort of body guard. Thus she saw no reason why he could not take a seat. It was not like Ni’ab to have others accompany him on matters such as these either, and she was quite curious of this dark skinned fellow.

    “Has there been trouble in the past few days?” asked Ni’ab cracking open the line of questions that might lead him to Audrey’s mother.

    Isabelle shook her head slightly. “Nothing out of the usual,” she started. Looking towards the kitchen door before back at Ni’ab. “You don’t think the poor child’s mother is dead do you? It’s been at least a month since the last incident.” She cautioned a glance at Jhaereth as if unsure she should be saying such things in front of him, but since Ni’ab had not stopped her and had even brought the man in here, she did not feel the need to be withholding of her information.

    “It is possible. The girl said he mother was coming here and had been gone for two days. As far as she can tell,” Ni’ab gave a small shrug of his shoulders. It was hard to really know how much stock to take in the words of a child. Maybe she had been wrong about the location, or perhaps the time frame was much longer than two days. Although judging by the girl’s appearance, not including dirt for children could be quite messy, she’d seem quite healthy, didn’t seem to be all that hungry. Though Audrey could have just been very good at begging for meals from strangers, it was all very hard to say.

    “I’m not sure who’s child she might be,” Isabelle said biting at her nails as if that might help her recall anything unusual. “I’ve never seen her before and no one has ever mentioned and Audrey before.”

    “Maybe a new girl?” offered the third sister who had remained quiet up till this point. Her green eyes having been intent on taking in their new guest. Her attention still seemed to be mostly focused upon Jhaereth.

    “We do have two new girls, and they have both been good about being here on time,” agreed Isabelle nodding a little, “One of them is currently over at the Lucky Lizard, the other…” Isabelle paused biting her lower lip slightly, her mind working over the details slowly, “She didn’t come back last night, we thought maybe she had simply decided to stop coming, she was always talking about finding something better. I believe her name was Chel, a waif of a woman, pretty sure a light breeze could knock her off her feet.”

    “Where might she have gone?” asked Ni’ab leaning in a little. It would do no good if they ran aground here. There would just be too much city to search for one child’s lost mother if they had no leads.

    “I can’t be sure. She never said what kind of work she was looking at,” Isabelle shrugged.

    “I’d check some of the drug dens,” offered the other girl her eyes locking on Ni’ab finally breaking loose from staring at Jhaereth, “She had that look about her. And I am almost certain I seen one of those overly fancy leaf wraps in her bag. Think you find the place up on Drendel Way.”
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    Jhaereth
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    "Thank you, I prefer to stand."
    He eyed the chair with no small amount of suspicion, then back at Ni'ab. Funny how neither of them had introduced themselves, yet he was still the nameless one, and therefore was now being incredibly rude in not doing so. Yet there didn't exactly seem a good point. Did people normally just turn up to a brothel together, both of them strangers, and things just...progressed, from there?
    Besides, it wouldn't look good in front of his lackeys if they just introduced themselves here and now.

    He remained quiet as they spoke, studying them each intently and noting their characteristics, filing them away for later.

    Frowning, he rolled his head onto his shoulder and rubbed his cheek there to get at an itch, thoughts churning. He could just walk away, leave this to the angelic one and go back to the fig tree. He could, but he knew he wouldn't. What was the point? He'd only regret not staying and doing something, and it was a damned sight better than just being idle. He needed something to occupy his time, to keep him busy and not stagnating. One small adventure with the guildmaster of Argos seemed as good as another. Even if it only amounted to sitting and getting drunk with his hookers.

    How droll.

    "Before we go running off on a wild duck chase, perhaps it might be prudent to simply ask the child the name of her mother?"
    He pushed away from the wall, already feeling the futility of the task eating at him. How many brothels and smoke holes were they going to have to check, chasing useless leads and dead ends? Didn't the man have a network of informants at least? What was the world coming to? Everyone had their own private webs strung out, invisible across the land, or so he'd thought, but so many of them were so....trusting. It was unnerving, to tell the truth.
    "And some specifics about her wouldn't hurt either. Hard to find one needle in a barnyard if you don't know the first thing about it."

    Except branding her with the word whore, which was altogether too vague.
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    “You’d be surprised at the number of children who don’t know their parent’s name,” said Ni’ab turning a touch so he could look at Jhaereth, “Doesn’t hurt to ask though. We’ll see if the girl can tell us anything about her mother’s looks as well. Better than nothing.” Ni’ab did not put much faith in descriptions that came from children, not in this kind of situation anyway. Audrey was not like the ones who secreted information away like squirrels with nuts.

    The street urchins that took up points to Ni’ab’s web of information were in it for the money and food it could get them. They were crafty and sneaky, but they were also liars and thieves. It took some time to pick out the lies to get to the truth, and also one had to be aware that they might not be the only one getting information from such sources. Thus dealing with them could be a delicate matter, keeping one’s own secrets from their ever ravenous maws. But Ni’ab had good relations with the street rabble of Madrid; they also knew the price of crossing Argos’s seemingly good hearted leader. It was surprising how much they valued their continued existence regardless of how poor their situation of living was.

    The girl without a name, so far, pushed back from the table. “I’ll go see if Audrey is ready to come back out and talk with you,” she said as she stood. Giving Jhaereth a smile and playful wink before sauntering off to the kitchen. Isabelle noticed her sister’s behavior and rolled her eyes a little. The girl was a flirt that was for sure, and while it was not a bad thing for this kind of business it would have been nice if she turned it off from time to time.

    A couple minutes passed before she returned with both Audrey and Clara. Audrey looked a little cleaner now, though her cloths were still a mess. There just was no helping that in a place like this; they didn’t have anything laying around that would suit a child of Audrey’s size and apparent age. In one hand Audrey still held her bear, while the other was occupied with a few sticks of bright orange carrots that Ni’ab assumed Clara had been kind enough to cut up for her. Clara picked Audrey up so she could sit in one of the chairs at the table. “There you go sweetie,” she said before taking the last free chair leaving the other girl to find somewhere else to sit or stand. Her choice was to stand, and she gravitated slowly towards where Jhaereth was leaning up against the wall.

    “Ni’ab just wants to ask you a few questions so he can go find your mom,” explained Clara. Audrey nodded a little and looked at Ni’ab crunching on one of the carrots as she did so.

    “Can you tell me your mother’s name?” he asked starting with the question he dreaded did not have an answer. It really wasn’t that uncommon for parents to have their children only call them mom and dad and even to call each other mom and dad in front of the child, thus they never learned their parent’s name until much later in life. Though maybe Audrey got out enough with her mother to be in the presence of people that would call her mother by name and then have learned her name through that. But it was possible Audrey was not that clever of a child, having a parent often removed the need to be as crafty as the children that lived on the streets alone.

    “Everyone always calls mommy Chel,” said Audrey.

    Isabelle looked across the table at Ni’ab with a look of relief on her face, it meant they knew something and perhaps had a direction to point the angel in. Isabelle’s green eyes looked past Ni’ab to see her sister about to touch Jhaereth’s arm and start in with a quiet comment of how exotic he looked. “Leave him alone, Danielle,” she warned. Danielle scoffed at her sister and brought her hands back to herself as if to say ‘I wasn’t doing anything.’

    “What does your mommy look like?” asked Ni’ab letting the sisters handle themselves.

    “She has curly brown hair like mine,” began Audrey tugging at her hair in emphases, “but she has brown eyes, not like me. And she always wears pretty dresses.” Ni’ab nodded as he listened to the girl explain what her mother looked like. It wasn’t much to go on but he wasn’t sure he would get much more out of Audrey on an explanation. It would have been so much easier to take the girl with him, but in this instance he was not about to take a small child to a drug den. Bringing her here hadn’t been a problem because he owned this place and knew the girls who worked here, and knew they would keep the girl safe from their patrons.

    “Do you mind watching Audrey while we go check out the place on Drendel way?” Ni’ab asked as he scooted the chair back and stood.

    “We don’t mind at all,” said Isabelle nodding her head a little. Clara also gave a nod of agreement. Dainelle was too distracted by trying to play with Jhaereth’s hair, probably unsuccessfully, to give her response.
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    Jhaereth
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    He frowned down at the seated angel, a half formed retort ready to scoff off his lips, before the taste of hypocrisy slapped him in the mouth. One could say they knew the names of their parents, so that they might throw it in the face of others as an insult. Only...he could not. He was not...conventional...and it stung, smarted like a slapped backside.

    His mother, just another concubine, as they all were. He'd never really seriously contemplated it before, and now that he did he found it...troubling, to say the least. The sires were important of course, and they were much as the matriarchs were in the more familiar drow society. But at least their males were often named. He couldn't say the same of the females they used...little more than breeding tools, the female offspring destroyed so that only the males rose to the top.

    He'd thought that was perfectly natural, still did, but the thought that if someone asked his mother's name, he would be unable to give it, rankled with him.

    It was most unsatisfactory.

    There was also the small part that she'd apparently been driven mad by exposure to the radiation, willfully, to see its effect on him. And...well...here he was, stripped of power, titles, and most of his wealth, and quite unable to return. A self-made exile...but it was that or death. Certainly so...he wouldn't be able to keep up the appearance long, all it would take would be one of his...family to challenge him, and he'd be as good as exposed as a failure and snuffed out anyway. No, better here, where he at least had his life, such as it was worth.

    His eyes followed the girl as she left, smirk twitching about his mouth, then slid away to shift restlessly between Ni'ab and those still seated at the table.


    Well, it was a start. At least they could see the child was in fact a healthy pink under the layer of dirt, well scrubbed and crunching on some sort of...orange....thing.
    The sudden nearness of the woman caught him off guard, like a cat with a cucumber, and he scolded himself for not paying nearly enough attention to her. He was aware of her of course, it was hard not to be with her shapely figure and finely coloured hair, and those wicked, wicked eyes...

    Jhaereth cleared his throat, quickly regaining his rakish demeanor and keeping a smooth face. Internally, he nearly screeched like a harpy as the harlot fondled his hair like she was looking to buy a wig. Maybe she was. Planning to gut him and clip all his hair off, maybe, and all with a smile. Well it wouldn't be the first time. His mouth smiled, even if his eyes didn't quite make it.
    "We'll be back soon enough...possibly when you least expect it, or my name isn't Valatar."
    He sidled, feeling half a crab, away from Danielle, sweeping her wandering hand into his and touching the back of her knuckles just barely with his lips.
    "Madame...Ladies."

    Once outside, he stretched as high as he could reach which....well it wasn't near enough to his liking but never mind, being a short arse could have its perks....he worked his shoulders til he felt them loosen with a jarring pop, then arched one brow at Ni'ab.
    "So, Guildmaster of Argos hmmm? Why would an angel adopt such an ill portent as his sign?"
    He flapped his hand limply at the spider scrawled on the door, pushing his cloak off one shoulder in the process, and started for the alley mouth. He was aware of the street, knew the way there at least. It would be a poor member of the Surveyor's who didn't, even if it was just a cover.
    "Do you believe we'll find your...lady of negotiable affections, at this place?"
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    “Why would an angel adopt a guild with such ill repute?” offered Ni’ab in response before expanding the answer, “The answer is most likely going to be disappointing. I took over Argos and all of its dealings and symbols from my predecessor.” Best to just use that word, it was hard to decide whether to call Ni’ab and Neriasis brothers or cousins based on the story built to explain Ni’ab’s presence here. “It seemed a little wrong to change the symbol; Neriasis was family after all; though it also would have taken time. These aren’t just ordinary chalk lines, well some of them are, they’re magically infused.”

    Easily Ni’ab kept up with Jhaereth letting the other lead the way towards the street they’d been directed towards. It was further towards the edges of the city, deeper into the homes and shops of the less fortunate members of Madrid’s populace. Some part of him ached every time he walked these streets, seeing the masses of people forgotten by polite society. If you weren’t begging here you were stealing, and at the bottom there were those so desperate they stole from the beggars, too blind or sick to do much about it. There were many times where Neriasis came across a person he was not sure if they were asleep or simply dead in the street, left to rot until someone had the decency to drag them off to a mass grave. Curse the nobility and the rich merchants that chose to turn a blind eye to such degradation of humanity.

    “I don’t know. Drendal way is well known as a place people go when they have given up,” said Ni’ab, wings folding in close to his body. While he might have been sympathetic it didn’t make him any less wary of pick pockets and those riddled with disease. Though he had learned long ago that diseases did not affect him the same way they did mortals. Something deadly to a human could pass through him as little more than the sniffles. That wasn’t to say he was completely immune to disease, just that it wasn’t likely to kill him.

    “Your name’s not really Valatar is it?” asked Ni’ab quite clear that he hadn’t bought the change in attitude. Feathers ruffled a little as he looked around; they had to be close to the place. Though sometimes it was hard to tell in a place like this what building might be hiding what. Even if he had his own establishments and had learned how to mask them well, when you went looking for one you didn’t know how to find it wasn’t always easy to spot it.
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    Jhaereth
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    "Not disappointing, exactly."
    His gaze shifted, frowning at the angel's face. It seemed relatively straightforward, but it was no secret that his predecessor was a drow. If they were related, it probably wasn't by blood...he had little in common with his own splendid appearance. No, in fact without the wings, he might as well have just been another commoner, albeit a damned sight cleaner.

    "As I hear it, you're doing things to change the guild's reputation around...so you have the opportunity to...how shall I put this...erase all trace of a dark past?"
    Hardly delicately done but Ni'ab hadn't struck him as a particularly delicate type, despite the manner in which he dealt with the child.

    He snorted as the taller man spoke of his family connection, shaking his head a touch.
    "Family...nothing but trouble. Only one of them has to make a mistake and the foundations start crumbling for the whole house."
    Of course...they did it different here, he was aware of that. Not necessarily the absolute ins and outs, because he didn't much care. Had never really thought about having a family, the very notion as repellent as actually traipsing through the poor quarter of the city.

    Neatly the drow sidestepped something unsavory in the street, crossing the wagon ruts in the road, though when they had had a cart come this way he couldn't begin to guess. The last one was probably robbed, and the one before that, and the one before that. Worse than ants, crawling atop one another. At least ants had some sort of order to their business.

    He stopped at the top of the street, one hand resting idly on his hip. it didn't look like much, a couple of skinny children collecting dogshit to sell for a few coppers, a beggar huddled outside what must have passed for an alehouse, muttering to himself beneath clumsily boarded windows. A drunk loitered in the mouth of an alley, sucking from a smeary glass bottle, glittering green and brown in the sunshine. A handful of people ambled along the length of the lane, looking the worse for wear, one of them clutching a struggling chicken by the feet.

    "You wound me sir, assuming I would be so false. I can see our relationship is off to a flying start."
    A thin smile, knife sharp, slashed his face for a moment. He could hardly call himself Valatar anymore, but was loathe to relinquish the name yet. He would regain himself, or die trying. What other choice was there, really? And he was as much a Valatar as anything else, if only in manner.
    "Jhaereth Valatar, of the Surveyors."

    Among other things.


    "This is the street. Which one is the smoke den?"
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    “I am attempting to. It’s no easy thing to erase a dark past,” Ni’ab spoke in a tone that suggested he was no stranger to such things, “Sometimes it takes a multitude of deaths before people forget. But I am hardly going to go around killing people. Just that some people take their grudges to the grave and I would be so fortunate if that is where such a grudge remained.” What a poor thing to say, it was too late now the words had already left his mouth. Neriasis was a tad bitter that certain things about his person had been so easily forgotten but the bad remained even in his faked death. No use trying to convince people he had once been a god, particularly since he’d been one of the usurping gods from Mianor. The thought had never bothered him; it was always about power after all, so if he could use Argos to that gain then there’d be no reason to bring up his godhood. Except in his arrogance, there was no helping that; although he could not recall the last time he had told someone he’d been a god. Perhaps it was the fact that if he did that there was the possible backlash of ‘well you’re not a god now.’

    Ni’ab turned his attention to the other topic of conversation: family. Truth be told he hated what one might consider his family. Many of them were little more than lap dogs. It wasn’t a lie when he told people he was a black sheep. He had been the most disobedient of Kaine’s creations, forcing the wizard to create another being just to control Neriasis. A being which Neriasis had wooed to his way of thinking, among other things. “I don’t disagree, family is trouble. In the case of crumbling infrastructure, that would have been Neriasis,” he’d been close to just saying ‘me’, though he supposed it really wouldn’t have mattered; but better to err on the side of caution. “But that’s not an important story.”

    Ni’ab was a little like Jhaereth in that he didn’t get the way families were set up in this part of the world. Or maybe he did, but it didn’t mean he was in any mindset to get involved with one of his own. While he might have a soft spot for children, he was far from wanting to have any himself. There was also a small nagging at the back of his head that reminded him that he actually couldn’t stand children for long periods of time, or if they were throwing a fit. A well behaved child like Audrey was another story. Best not to think about it, as his eyes scanned the street around them, there was likely to be a child or two hidden around here as well and he didn’t need any more rescue missions to undertake.

    Ni’ab gave a small laugh catching Jhaereth’s words about their poorly started relationship, were they going to be friends at the end of this? Who knew? Certainly not the Drow disguised as an angel, who really wasn’t even a drow to begin with. “I only thought that because of the way your demeanor changed from when we met under the fig tree to the way you spoke in the brothel suddenly so chivalrous. Perhaps it was just that you don’t like little girls?” chuckled Ni’ab offering a half smile before returning his attention to picking out the drug den from the rest of the dilapidated scenery.

    Truth be told he was coming up blank trying to pick out which building it was in. Slowly the shadows started to slide between cracks in the wood and gaps in the windows and doors, searching for what Ni’ab was looking for. What came back was a whole lot of nothing until finally one eased its way into a smoke filled room. “That one,” Ni’ab said giving a nod of his head towards a building to the left and a few feet in front of them. There was nothing special about the outside of the building, no unique markings or the like; there wasn’t even any magic aura to say that it was hiding by that method. It truly one of those places where you most likely had to know someone to know that it even existed.

    Ni’ab pushed open the door, the frame giving a most gruesome creak as the wood nearly refused entry due to disrepair. The door led into a cramped hall, leading further into the building, with an even narrower stairwell off to the right. Along the hall were doors, some hung off their hinges, while others simply no longer existed. The stench of unwashed people was an affront to the senses and with each step further in the smell became intermingled with smoke. Passing rooms with no doors, one could see inside the makeshift beds of the homeless, some were occupied while others remained abandoned. Behind a few closed doors one could hear the faint or occasionally loud commotion of elicit acts; one of the doorless rooms gave the two the unfortunate sight of such an act. Ni’ab merely looked away and headed for the door at the end of the hall and on the left. Yes this expedition into such a vile den of debasement would certainly cement a friendship.

    The door at the end had a slit cut into it and what served as a piece of wood that could be slid back and forth across it. They would not be able to simply walk in on this one, at least not without a show of force, which the angel was more than ready to deliver if need be. Ni’ab knocked and the board slid away revealing a pair of brown eyes in a dirty face, the angel assumed male before even hearing the voice by the hard look to them. The eyes shifted between Ni’ab and Jhaereth. “Your kind’s not welcome here,” the deep male voice croaked at them muffled by the wood that stood between the two parties. The board was then slid back into place.

    “How unfortunate,” muttered Ni’ab his wings ruffling a little at the inconvenience. “How do you think we should proceed Jhaereth, did I get that right? Think they’d be up for a diplomatic approach or do we knock the door down?”
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    Jhaereth
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    Jhaereth tittered at the choice of words, flipping one hand dismissively.
    "Quite. You could do a lifetime of good but fling one piece of shit and they'll remember it for the rest of your days, living or dead. It would have been better to simply start a new guild. This one's been frowned on for decades as I understand it."
    He raised his eyebrows, hands lifting, palm forward in the sign of peace. Or surrender, depending which side you were standing on.
    "Your pardon...I meant no offence."

    "A shame. We always take such painstaking care to chip the faces from the busts of those who compromise the integrity of the House...where once they had such pride of place. But you can't ever really remove the stain of their presence. It is, how do you say, history?"
    Funny how everyone seemed to view the Guildmaster with such bitterness. He wondered briefly if anyone had really known him for the man he was, rather than just eh conniving, scheming louse they talked him up to be.

    Well, he had been a drow after all. They made a general show of this being the normal stereotype for their kind, why were they surprised when it turned out to be true?

    "Chivalrous? As if I would be anything but."
    He offered up another smile, this one a touch more genuine than the last and tinged with amusement.
    "You've not met many knights, hmmm? The code of chivalry states nothing about being pleasant to others. It's mostly about fighting. Big hairy sweaty men wearing a hundred pounds of plated armor, grappling with one another in the mud and debating how best to stove the other's helm in with his gauntlet. I have a special dislike for children. And humans. And commoners. All three together is deplorable."
    It wasn't so much the fact that they were children as that they were small and weak and useless, and often got in the way. They didn't understand enough about the world around them or other people, and instead of staying quiet and watching, tended to shoot a barrage of questions at anyone and everyone within range. And they were impressively bad at keeping clean, and neat. And dispatching them was frowned upon.

    They were little more than an exceptionally annoying obstacle to be avoided at the best of times. Especially so when one pitched up commanding him to do this or that. It was positively insufferable.

    The building could have been twin to any one of the others lining the street, just as shabby and nondescript. He rose one pale eyebrow as the angel picked it out, but said nothing of the choice. He knew best, after all.

    The drow wrinkled his nose as they stepped through the door, sucking air shallowly through his mouth and whipping out a lace kerchief. It didn't help much, but the faded scent of lavender was a damned sight better than the stink of smoke addled filth.

    He peered into the rooms as he passed, fleeting glances met with the slack empty faces of addicts, caught somewhere between absolute despair and vague comfort. A couple, straw-thin nestled together like spoons in a draw, skin glistening with sweat and dirt, too out of it to really notice, or care. Someone was screeching maniacally in the building, set the hairs on his neck prickling, just waiting for the attack to come. They passed another room, the faint unenthusiastic rhythm of some ha'penny whore grunting boredly behind the walls.
    "Charming place this. It must make you wonderfully popular back home."

    "What, exactly, did he mean by that?"
    He looked from the angel to himself, not seeing the connection. They didn't even look remotely similar to one another.
    However, considering that the angel had said they, it was a natural step from there to assume there was more than one occupant in the room. There would need to be else they'd not get the room open, and he didn't much feel like running shoulder-first at the door. He'd done that once and ended up sprawling embarrassingly on the floor.
    "How about both?"

    Jhaereth stepped up the door and rapped smartly on the wood, then wished he hadn't. It felt faintly greasy, smoke residue no doubt. It was starting to make him a little light headed to tell the truth.
    The hatch slid back, hard eyes pressed to the slot. He didn't bother making sense of the man's furious grunting, the air temperature around them suddenly dropping so quickly he felt his breath crackle in his lungs.
    "Open. The. Door."
    The predictable slew of insults had only just begun when the air coalesced, moisture flash freezing. The needle shot through the gap, a foot of ice that punched through the thug's eye socket and out the back of his head, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. He took pains to step neatly back from the door, anticipating it opening on the end of a crossbow at the very least.
    "How's that?"
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    ((TW rape, implied pedophilia, violence, murder))

    Ni’ab took no offense to the other’s words. He simply could not go into the real details as to why Argos. Why anything really. So he would handle the questions and insults and whatever else that might come from it. Polite, ever so polite would he remain. The best way to deter probing minds was to misdirect them with a kind face, even if that appeared suspicious it often sent people on the wrong track. The angel was certain there were those that viewed his intentions as little more than a continuation of Neriasis’s intentions, though ask them what those were and they might not even be able to answer that. Let them speculate, in the end they wouldn’t see it coming. Whatever it was.

    “Exactly, why try to hide something if it’s just going to be remembered anyway? Better to acknowledge it happened, it looks better that way. Just don’t let the people dwell on it,” responded Ni’ab with a light tilt of the head. Who was to say if it would have been better to erase all traces of his former persona? Or it should be said his former public persona. This was just a new mask for the audience to gawk at, to make their guesses and assumptions. Leaving the spiders and other small traces of Neriasis’s vision of Argos was also a way of saying that things would still be handled in the manner that the previous guild master had wanted. Which for his sake he hoped was the humanitarian side when it came to the common folk. The rest of them could rot in hell, so long as they didn’t put a damper on his plans; though that would require playing nice with the council members if no one else.

    Ni’ab made a slight thoughtful sound at the explanation of what chivalry really was. It wasn’t that he hadn’t known just that going along with the general consensus never hurt. “I’ve met plenty. Don’t much care for them,” he should have bit his tongue, but what was the harm in letting a little of Neriasis bleed through; not like his interactions with the knight-type were common knowledge. In fact this would be his first time really mentioning it to anyone outside of those who had known him on Menoko. “I guess I forget the true implications of chivalry when books and folk make it out to be about pleasant personalities.”

    The angel gave a soft chuckle at the list of things Jhaereth had a special dislike for. “I suppose we differ there, probably also differ in other things as well. But on the topic of children, humans, and commoners; I find them…useful to say the least,” time to watch your tongue he thought to himself even as he let slip the word useful. Neriasis was the one who used people, not Ni’ab, but it was sometimes hard to separate the two in casual conversation such as this. It wasn’t that Neriasis liked children, in fact he rather disliked them himself, it was just that they could be useful. Depending on age and living arrangements they could be somewhat reliable sources of information as many ignored them far more regularly than they would the adult version of homeless. As for humans, they were abundant and good to have on your side. Same with commoners and with the right actions it was fairly easy to sway them against the nobility in a pinch.

    The smell didn’t seem to bother the angel, but then again he was more likely to be found in such locations than his new friend. Over time one simply filtered the smell out, best not to think about it else it came back hitting one’s senses like a brick. It was still unpleasant even if he was used to it, mostly he just didn’t crinkle his nose at the smell any more. “Well unfortunately, or fortunately this is not one of Argos’s establishments. I think we do a fair bit better than this. Not to say we don’t have our ‘gems’,” commented Ni’ab giving the place another hard look. Sadly there would always be locations like this, no matter how many other buildings he gave to those less fortunate there were still those that preferred to live in such squalor, or simply had given up on caring.

    “He meant non-human, it’s not an uncommon sentiment,” Ni’ab explained rolling his eyes a little. It was interesting to still find people in a large city that held prejudices against other races. A city like Madrid was a melting pot of the bizarre. Could be why this folk were still in a place like this, didn’t want to take charity from a non-human no matter how nice.

    The feathers on his wings prickled a little with the sudden drop in temperature, it was familiar. And not just in that it was magic; it was a specific kind of magic. Frost, like his own though perhaps more like Jendrith’s, Ni’ab didn’t have time to dwell on it as the ice punched through the man’s eye. How unfortunate for him, there would be no getting up from that. “That works,” said Ni’ab who was less concerned about someone on the other side with a crossbow as the sound of disjointed confusion popped up from within. Reaching out a hand he pushed the door open or well shoved as there was a body in the way; the shadow’s having gone in to manipulate the rather hasty sliding lock that had at some point been nailed into the wall.

    There were five individuals in the room, all clearly stoned out of their minds as they looked at the body not quite comprehending what had just occurred. The guard had probably been the only sober one present and judging by his slightly better clothing than the rest in the room, Ni’ab guessed he had also been the one in charge. “They should be lucky they’re not in Ashoka, I hear the inquisition is real vicious when they raid places,” commented Neriasis not even bothering to step into the room as he scanned the people for someone who might fit the description they’d been given of Audrey’s mother.

    “You in the corner, no not you the other corner, are you Chel,” if she even remembers her name thought Ni’ab as his blue eyes fixed on a woman in the corner. The woman had the right color eyes and curly if greasy brown hair, and he supposed the blue thing she wore might have at one point been a pretty dress as Audrey had put it. The woman looked shocked as she was addressed, probably also in part by the fact that it was just sinking in what had happened to the man at the door.

    “Yes,” she managed to pull herself together and find a moment of lucidity to speak with the angel.

    “You have a small daughter named Audrey right?” he asked with a calm even voice.

    “Why? You looking to buy? Bet you are, dandy looking fuck like you, probably likes little children,” she slurred slightly, “Yeah Audrey’s mine, pretty little thing right? It’ll cost you, she’s still fresh.”

    Ni’ab tensed at the woman’s words, unsure if he was more offended by her attitude towards her daughter or the accusation of him being a pedophile. In the end it didn’t matter as his hand shifted through the air and the shadows in the corner peeled from the floor and walls. Snakelike but sharp like daggers they struck the woman and slid through her flesh like paper. One, two, three, perhaps a bit overkill but he didn’t care.

    Turning from the sight he started to head back out down the hall. “We’re done here,” was all he said. Finally one of the other occupants of the room let loose a scream of horror, but what would they do? Nothing, they would not pursue magic welding individuals and they were too low on the totem pole to go to the authorities. Such was how it worked at this level of humanity.
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    Jhaereth
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    Simply Fabulous

    Jhaereth joined in the eyerolling with such skill that it would have made the most discerning of whores applaud.
    "Where I'm from, it's the other way around. There are so many slaves and foreigners, it ceases to matter."
    Still, he was already familiar with racism in general. It would be hard not to be, when he was a giant racist himself.

    He couldn't have said how the angel had gotten the door open without even trying to jimmy the lock. He'd not sensed any telltale magical signatures either, so it left him with another small mystery to tuck into his pocket for later inspection. Small effort then, to kick the flopping corpse out of the way, wedging it tight behind the door and turning himself sideways to slide through the gap. Easier for him, he didn't have those cumbersome wings to worry about.

    "I've been there. It's all sand and biting flies, the alcohol will knock you on your arse while half a dozen men shout at you in their harsh tongue and try to pour something they call 'kaf' down your throat to revive you, the filthy shim of an innkeep will con you out of all your coin, and the women will give you looks to set your loins on fire."
    He flexed his jaw thoughtfully, running his tongue over his teeth.
    "Nice place, all in all."

    Poisonous green eyes flicked over the assemblage, drunk, stoned, mentally elsewhere, none of them in a fit state to do more than gurgle. He wrinkled his nose and delicately pushed the handkerchief back to his nose. Ni'ab seemed content to do the talking anyway. All he'd done was take out the guard dog. One sharp brow arched primly as the woman slurred her piece, not sure whether he should be disgusted or not. Female children were killed in their broods, apparently not done here, and he'd been wise enough to keep his trap shut about it for the most part.

    Having had his back to the angel, he'd not noticed the reaction til the vectors sliced through her flesh. No surprise, per say, only a cool detached curiosity as he tried to absorb as much information about the magic as possible.

    "We're done here."

    Jhaereth turned smoothly, slithered easily back through the gap between door and jamb, and trotted smartly after Ni'ab. He held his questions til they were outside in the cleaner air, relishing the beat of the sun on his dark skin, warming his blood.
    "Not to question your authority...Guildmaster, but was that not a little bit rash?"
    Daintily he tucked his handkerchief back into his pocket, and pushed his cloak back from his shoulders, the better to bask in the light.
    "I mean, now you have a homeless child. What are you going to do with her?"
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    It was nice to finally be back in the open air. The sun was another matter, while he had come not to detest it so much now that he had a guard against it, the light and warmth were still foreigners to him and often unwelcome. Darkness was a far better friend after all, it kept him from the prying eyes of the city, in particular the ones that either wanted him dead or were far too curious for their own good. The angel swore he could feel them even now, somewhere hiding under a crate or perhaps squeezed in between a crack and peering out onto the street where the two now stood. While it could have just been paranoia it wasn’t unfounded, there always seemed to be someone watching.

    “Perhaps a little,” said Ni’ab with a gentle shrug of his shoulders, out on the street he did not wish to stay in this place and as long as Jhaereth followed he would continue their conversation. “I can’t stop users for seeking their fix from a source outside of Argos; actually we aren’t very involved in that particular vice, yet. Doesn’t mean I won’t do a bit here and there to discourage others from seeking sources outside of Argos. It’s a complicated cycle I don’t think I would do a good job in trying to explain. I would love it if the flow of vices could be controlled solely by Argos, but I am not so arrogant as to think so. That being said I am a bit heavier handed when it comes to vices of the flesh. If I provide a safe haven for those wishing to sell their bodies then the competition is likely to all but disappear. And perhaps I am a bit biased when it comes to using children in the flesh trade. It’s not that I won’t do it, just that I have some standards. Audrey is too young, you start too young they won’t last; it’s not profitable. Also the kind of scum that seek out the young for their sexual pleasure just creep me out. There’s something inherently wrong with a person like that. So maybe my own personal feelings come into play when I snuff the life from one willing to use a child of that age in such a manner. Granted in this instance it has indeed left me with a child to deal with. The brothel girls might be willing to take care of her, then when she is old enough to make her own decision that’ll be on her for where to go from there. I imagine the girls could give her odd jobs to do, cleaning, cooking, running errands; usually what they do when they take in a homeless child.”
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    Jhaereth
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    Simply Fabulous

    Jhaereth couldn't see the complication in stopping someone else selling drugs to a market, if that was what he wanted to do. You found the person, put a knife in them, and made sure everyone knew who did it. That was staking your turf. Then nobody else would sell, or at least, it would take some balls to walk into the territory and do it.

    He wasn't sure what was considered illegal as far as that went. He'd seen the narcotic addicts commonly enough, had even been approached by a couple begging on the streets. Eventually the addiction got so bad that they'd do anything for a fix. More fool them. but then again, perhaps they knew exactly what to expect of humanity and did it anyway. Once you had it in you, you stopped caring about much else past the next hit.

    The dark elf pooched air between his lips and set one hand comfortably on his hip.
    "Why don't you just cut her loose? It just sounds like another burden, taking on another mouth to feed. Or are you the sentimental type?" He sneered slightly, placing one hand theatrically on his breast and tossing his hair. "Outside, I am winter itself! But within beats a heart of warmth and tenderness! Woe is me, that none may crack my icy shell!"

    He dropped his hand limply to his side, enjoying the stiff breeze as it cut through his light linen shirt and cooled the sweat against his skin. Hopefully it would take away some of the stink of that place. An afternoon just sitting in the tub didn't sound quite so bad now they'd been in that private hell.
    "How long do you think she'd been out on the street anyway? She was obviously starving. Her mother probably didn't attend to her needs even when she was around, just to look at her. Children are like animals...you start feeding them and they start making assumptions, start following you around and hanging off your coat tails."
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    Ni’ab blinked a little at the sneering words and exaggerated explanation of what one basically called an ‘ice queen’. Was that how he was coming off? Did he really try to appear emotionless on one hand while the other gathered the less fortunate under a caring wing? It didn’t feel that way, but then again he’d been accused of it before. Maybe he had lost himself in all that had happened over the years. After all he was less prone to violent outburst, but he hadn’t thought he was trying to appear cool and insensitive in place of it.

    “Everyone is sentimental about something,” he commented with a slight snort of laughter, “Perhaps I explain this too often and openly, you’d think they’d catch on by now. But I don’t do these things for the benefit of the ones who come under my care, so to speak. Sure it does end up benefitting them, if it didn’t I wouldn’t have much of a following now would I? Children are a bit more useful than animals, feed them, shelter them, and yes they do follow you like you’ve said. But educate them; train them, loyalty blooms from such actions. What you might see as a burden I see as an investment, an opportunity. Not sure why I explain this to you or to anyone. Perhaps it is as you say. I don’t want people to think I am soft on the inside. Or I just really like to hear myself talk.”

    ”Or you’re lonely,” pitched in the voice of his ghostly companion. Always popping up when she wasn’t wanted. So far though no one else seemed to have ever noticed her. Which had Neriasis wondering if he was just imagining her; it wouldn’t be the first time his mind had cracked after all.

    But she had a point. He could surround himself with people and good deeds but if he never actually bothered to make connections with those people then he’d remain feeling…lonely. It was easy to spill all this information to a stranger, because what were the chances he’d see them again or even if the information he told would be received through a secondary source as the truth.

    “I’ve had enough of chasing ghosts for a day,” said the angel a sort of off handed comment directed towards the ghostly Artanis, “Best to go let the girl know what poor excuse of a future awaits her.” Ni’ab set his direction back towards where they had come. Perhaps afterwards he’d have some time to relax, running Argos was as frustratingly tiring as one might expect.
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    Jhaereth
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    Simply Fabulous

    The drow wrinkled his nose as the angel spoke, finding himself entertaining the thought that he might be saving the child to groom her for a life of servitude. But people didn't do that here did they? There was a lot he'd had to learn, and fast, since he'd shanked that one human in the street for impeding him. He still didn't really understand the whole 'love and tolerance' thing people were flinging about. It was just..so...alien. At least if the angel had been saving the child to groom her, he could have understood that. It was what the Masters did all the time. You couldn't keep a line going if you didn't have a suitable courtesan, though that weakened the blood.

    At least, until they started making things like him.

    No, no, not a thing. I am my own person. How dare you think like that, brain!

    "Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night, sweetie. Loyalty only goes so far."
    He frowned in consternation, unhappy with the thought that loyalty was something people valued. He'd not really stopped to think about it much, in all honesty, though he could understand why he got glares and looks of wariness and disgust. He absolutely lived up to the reputation of his kind, despite merely wearing their shape to...fit.

    Wait, did that make him a stereotype?

    What about this Ni'ab? He wasn't nearly as terrifying for an angelic creature as Jhaereth had thought. There was no white fire, no aura of divinity, no righteous attitude to- well, except for the destruction of those drug-addled louts. Perhaps it was just on a lesser scale. How long had he been living among humans? Had they dulled his edge?

    He fell into step with him as they wound their way slowly back towards the brothel of Argos, thoughts clicking away mechanically.
    "You know, you don't much resemble the figures of divinity I'd been lead to believe..." His gaze slid sideways to rest on the angel, then away again, frowning at the street as it went from mud to cobblestone again, all the little green things creeping in the cracks. A stiff breeze had sprung up since they left, sending drab looking cloud crawling across the sky towards the sun.
    "I suppose everyone has a different opinion though, and the reality never quite meets the expectation."

    Unless of course, he wasn't entirely who he said he was. Why was an angel here, and not following the direction of some deity or pantheon of order? Here in this...drab, mortal plane, with all the scum of the earth. Perhaps he wasn't entirely a full celestial? Whatever the reason, something was niggling at him, and it wasn't the annoyance that he was so goddamned tall. No, that wasn't it...but he couldn't put his finger on it. What, then?
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    Neriasis
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    Ex-God of Order

    “I could make some story up of how I’m just masking my real appearance,” laughed Ni’ab, “You know, because lesser races surely couldn’t fathom my full glory or something like that.” In a way what he said was ironic, in part because he was actually masking his appearance, though it was not some spectacular visage which would burn the eyes of mortals or explode their heads. No, he was simply hiding from the world that he was a drow, which wasn’t even the case either. That was yet another lie. To be fair the appearance he took of Ni’ab was closer to his original form than his drow skin was. His original form was more of an amalgamation of the two masks he now wore. He’d once been a pale skinned, red eyed, black winged creature of no discernible race. Even then one could argue that wasn’t his true body either, as his body had been created separate of his soul. Where his soul originated was something not even he thought about. He was just one big lie walking around, with one goal in mind; power.

    “I’ve yet to meet any truly terrifying creatures,” thought Ni’ab out loud. Or at least nothing stuck out to him as being so fantastical as to send shivers down his spine. Even beings such as Andromolous and Sophia didn’t strike him as overly terrifying though they both showed a great deal of power. Maybe that needed to be his goal in life, create a view of himself that would cause others to piss their pants in fear. Surely he could do that? There was enough raw, untapped magic running through his blood to do so. Vaguely he wondered if he would be the terrifying god creature he’d failed to accomplish while being Mianor’s god of order. He needed to tap into the god creatures of this world if there even were any left. And if there were none left, perhaps one could arise? But that was a thought process for another time. He had a guild to think about, and where he planned on pushing it. Right now he aimed to get a seat on Soto’s council, as farfetched a goal that might seem for any member of Argos.

    They were getting close to the brothel and it sadly seemed like the conversation was growing a little stale, which was unfortunate. But there was only so much Ni’ab was willing to let spill without giving away his biggest secret to a complete stranger. Though when one engaged in murder with a stranger, it cemented some sort of bond, a murder bond if you will. It was a shame his mind was so preoccupied with what to do with this newly acquired child and the question of what he might be hiding. Though the latter was more Jhaereth’s problem.
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    Jhaereth
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    Simply Fabulous

    The drow's eyes narrowed as he watched the apparent angel, catlike in their suspicion. Of course, neither of them had any reason to believe the other, but he found himself willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. For all his innocent looks, he'd proven he was just as low as the rest of them with the way he'd dealt with that drug-addled whore and her cohorts. He could have handled it a lot more stylishly, and discreetly, but he supposed that when you owned the entire brothel and probably by turn, everyone inside it, it didn't really matter if, or how you destroyed your own property.

    So he could add liar, and murderer to his list of traits for the man.

    ...Actually this was sort of fun, perhaps he ought to start selling information. It was certainly something that he could put his skills to, better than the Explorer's anyway. It was difficult to learn to survive in the wilds and explore new landmarks when you knew so little about the local flora and fauna, but that's what the old farts were for with their dusty books and dustier voices. Cities were what he was good at. And killing people, but that may as well be called a hobby or a favored pastime at this point.

    Alas, while he had proved an interesting afternoon's entertainment, he should probably move on...though the sky was beginning to look that much gloomier as the moments dragged by. Thoughts of resting under the tree while the wind turned chill were less than appealing, and the not even the sweetness of the plums could tempt him.
    "Well then..here we are..."
    His gaze roved the side of the building they'd returned to, clinical in his assessment as if burning the image of it into his brain. "You were an interesting distraction for an afternoon. Perhaps we'll encounter one another again...it's a small world, after all." He swept a grand, formal bow as they spoke their goodbyes, then turned on his heel and cut down a side street, thoughts boiling with trouble over the guildmaster and his strange mannerisms.
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