Warm Regards

[-Salamel Umeadrion]

The air, it smelled liked ozone when a thunder clap rattled the manor fence and a single bolt of lightning on a clear blue ocean day struck a burn into the street. The wizard landed some twenty paces from the main gate of the Crowley home, dusting his robes of trace arcana left over from the magical journey, just completed. So much spellcraft to waste; so few ways to clean up the debris. The grey wizard thrust the butt of his polearm out in front of him for balance and took his first steps towards the gate. There, men awaited him. They watched him, and waited patiently for the moment to arise when they would be encouraged by their training to strike him to the ground and splay his body out for all to see. No trespassers would venture into the house of the Pirate King.

The old man's steps were deliberate, and nothing resembling whimsical. Where one to assume this visit a gesture of good faith and comradery, that person would be mistaken in the highest. By the way he carried himself, his straight face and swift pace, not even the blind could mistake his deft and serious intent. He brought a breeze with him, harmless in itself, but warning of things to come on the far horizon. Like the first signs of a tempest squall, Salamel carried an air that spelled the doom for the pirates and all free enterprise on the open sea. Thousands of lives would be lost in the first day. There would be no survivors by the end. He had come for a reason far from friendly warning or deathly threat. Salamel, the old wizard under the Lord God Aesir, came seeking understanding before such things were lost to the dark depths below the Nazcan docks forever. Why had Leopold surrendered the city?

Salamel said nothing to them as the evil men continued their death stare, trying so very hard to stab him a thousand times using only their eyes as weapons. He said nothing until he felt the arbitrary crunch of a pebble beneath the soles of his slippers, which he took as a sign from the world that it was time to speak.

"I seek Richard Urd Thor," he said. "...Known to frequent the Crowley residence."

[-Faerie' Vindahla]

Foul. Double Dribble. Faerie' shoved the big kid, bigger than him. That was fair. He'd been roughhousing with the Fire Bringer all day, like he was used to being the big dog, and really wanted to prove something to prove something to the little kids by facing up to this spiky-haired adult. It just so happened that Faerie' had a few thousand years of practice on his feet, with his hands, and generally at being a kid more than these little nose pickers, so when he shuffled under the closeline arm of a tall studly sixteen year old, leaped over the head of a short little sprout of a ten year old, and dunked the ball into the woven wool basket to score a point, it wasn't no big thang.

"Touchdown!" He landed with a clank, with his metal-soled shoes bustin' up the gravel in the play yard, then threw his hands in the air and cheered.

"Hey, that's football!"

"Nuh uh! Touchdowns are in basketball too," he said, and stuck out his tongue.

"No. That's dumb."

"No."

"Yeah!"

"No way! Old school street rules. Learn em!" Then Faerie' highfived each of the kids on his team. "'Sides, we won by twenty. The sun's past the tree already. Game's over."

The big kid stood alongside the tall kid, and smudged a spot of mud across his face. They weren't too sore about it, but they didn't look like they were going to be good sports and shake his hand.

"Yeah, whatever. Grownups cheat. Never saw anyone shoot fire outa their feet. Cheats for real."

"Yo, y'all are just jealous. But hell, if ya want to stop crying about it, maybe I'll teach ya." Faerie' snapped his fingers and caught a spark, forcing it up into a flame and letting it die down in a second, giving them just a little taste of magic.

"Someone on his team, toddler tyke orphanage sort, snatched up the ball from where it had rolled off into the bushes. He never got to hold it much or play with it, so it was kinda a special thing. He held it to his chest and hugged it, eyes tossing back and forth to make sure no one was looking to take it from him right away.

"You're gonna show us how to do that," one asked.

"Ya, sure. No bigs. Been a long time now, but I used to live on the streets too, ya know. S'my job to show you some tricks."

And everyone cheered.

[-Salamel Umeadrion]

He couldn't be bothered to wait outside the gates for more than the half hour he had already wasted there. The quintessential problem with Richard was that he was attached to the small toe to his cohort Leopold, and Leopold was never not in the right place to be convenient for the old man, Salamel. A nod to the sky and a clap of thunder saw him blazing across the city. In an instant he dropped down next to Faerie'. His arrival blew over two of the children that had huddled around the Fire Bringer, and deafened every one of them.

"We shouldn't call warning to a city without ears. None can be met. They serve their own fate at this point, and I can't spare another minute of patience for this place."

[-LaoTzu]

Lao, the half elf, had been in town a few hours. He was still wearing his armor. And had heard of the Crowly Manor even before he left Tristan. And now that he was on horse back as he he slowly rode up to the manor he felt as though he had at least twenty eyes on him. Not including the two men that he rode up upon that were standing in front of the manor. His scales told him that there was some magic in the air. Lao wondered more about the two gentlemen at the manor though.

As the half dragon rode up, he made his actions distinct as to draw attention but not the wrong kind. So he moved slow, and diliberately as he got down from his horse and started to walk her. Lao looked at the manor for a good moment but then as he got closer to the two gentlemen he looked at them. And from his guess they were mages. Lao hated mages. All of them. As he walked up to them with his horse he spoke aloud saying...

"How you folks doing this evening?"

[-Faerie' Vindahla]

He felt the tingle of electricity that signaled Salamel's arrival. A thousand years feeling that twinge in the air taught him to blink his eyes closed and put pressure on his inner ear to dull the boom to come. When the thunder struck, Faerie' held on to the smaller of the kids, and braced himself up against the big and tall one. Two other rolled on by. They fell in the dirt, but they were dirty already. They weren't hurt.

"Nice, man. That's... Just cool." He scoffed, and just generally tried to ignore the old man. 'Case there wasn't any reason to pick on the tykes. It's not like Sal couldn't plan his landing a little better. Sal had never been one to put stock in anything, though. No one was deserving and no one ever earned his respect except the Boss.

"Could'a just left without me, ya know."

The kids got up and starred at the wizard, angry but afraid to really say anything. Faerie' gave them a look and shook his head. They backed down and shrunk their shoulders. One picked up the ball and the others followed. They began to leave.

"Pff. So what now," he asked.

[-Salamel Umeadrion]

He didn't bother to roll his eyes. He did his best to ignore the Fire Bringer, too. He wouldn't bother with the citizens, and he wouldn't bother with a bleeding heart like this. Salamel often wondered if the benefit of Faerie' and his power was truly worthwhile to place faith in. Faerie' had destructive potential, but by comparison The Governor was nearing godhood. The only purpose he could find in keeping the buffoon around with all of his mistrusts and uncooperative moments was because he was willing to do the demeaning things that Salamel himself would not. He, like Asylum before him, was a thug. He had power, he had absolute faith in their God, and he had a lack of mannerisms that made him a good brick to throw around. Stupid people were a necessary and evil foundation of any organization.

A man approached them accompanied by his horse. He greeted them, and Salamel closed his eyes and pinked the space between his eyebrows. Verily, they were incurring on him a migraine of threatening intensity.

"I'll be going," said the old grey wizard. He looked to the sky, and the first specs of rain began to fall like mist over the cool ocean city. No rolling thunder to be found, but a single clap exploded in the clouds, and when it cleared the man was gone.

[-Faerie' Vindahla]

So now he leaves? Kay. "Bitch."

Faerie's little friends were gone, but now he had a new compatriot. And a pony? It was starting to rain. The sun was going down. Well, at least it had gotten dark out with the clouds and shit.

"Hey," he said to the dark elf. Funny. Been a long time since he saw one of those. Maybe dark elves were everywhere except Ascantha, and he just didn't get out enough.

"What's up, bro?"

[-LaoTzu]

"I'm just taking in the sights because I'm new in town. How about you?"

Lao said as he walked up to the gentlemen. Lao looked at the young man, and what he was wearing. The mark of the enemy, Aesir. Lao thought to himself, as he proceeded to smile. Finally something one on one. This could be fun, or at least entertaining on some basic level.

Lao and his horse walked up to the obvious magic user, in Lao's opinion, and stopped a few paces away and asked a question with a smirk,

"So may I asked you a question? Are you from Aesir? Because I have a question about them and maybe you can deliver a message."

[-Faerie' Vindahla]

"Eh. Scoping out a job." Faerie' sat down on the dirt patch that the kids called a playground and ran a hand through his hair front to back. Ocean wind, salt, and water... Bleck.

"Nazca's a big place. Gotta do my homework, ya know."

Guy mentioned the Aesir, and Faerie' acted like he wasn't surprised. Wasn't like he advertised it, or anything, but word probably got around about the Fire Bringer. He hadn't been active at all for year, basically. The little spat with the Empire was localized - close to home. It didn't really affect the rest of the world, or anything. Anyone remembering him now shouldn't be so outwardly okay with him just sitting around hanging with little kids, though.

Strange ass people. Back in the day his name struck fear and all that. He was a monster. War times made him look bad. Faerie' followed orders to a 'T', but all in all he was a pretty nice guy, he thought. Drinking, gambling, singing, dancing. Shit, he WAS a party! Who hated parties? Oh... Right. The families of the people he burned down.

Pff. It all kinda came down to whatever. The Boss took him off the streets just like these ones, cleaned him up, taught him cool shit, and gave him a name. He couldn't say he wasn't thankful. The Boss was the closest thing he ever had to a dad, so he obeyed. He owed the Aesir his loyalty, now and until his big 'ol happy heart stopped beating.

But anyway...

"Yeah, I work for them. What'cha need?"

[-LaoTzu]

Lao had grown quite serious as he first stopped and let go of the horse had been walking. The horse stood there for a moment as Lao walked up to Faerie and said.

"Tell your Bell Maker General named Joesph, that Lao Tzu, the Dark Elf from Tristan is planning on facing him in the next battle. And to please come so that I could test his skill. Merely this and nothing more. As far as you are concerned. I believe it is time for you to leave."

Lao's tone was straight and serious. And he meant every word. Lao really want to just strike down the Aesirian bastard in front of him but he could hear Ivan's voice still ring in his head to his back. So Lao did that, just once to see if it would work. Lao hoped what he had learned from Ivan was worth it, or not. The horse behind Lao rustled a bit without anyone at the rains.

Lao was still clad in his arms and black robes. He didn't want to use them in front of a persons house but he would if forced.

[-Faerie' Vindahla]

"Joseph?"

Faerie' waved it off. Yeah, he knew who the elf was talking about. But damn, that was a strange request. Like, Joseph of all people?

What the fuck? Even Faerie' didn't know where this guy was most of the time. Like he just sorta showed up when the boss needed him, and went away again when he was done collecting souls. Now, Faerie' knew that Joseph was just as human as he was (or, as much as they both used to be), but he wasn't one of those big names like the members of the Five

"Old guy doesn't fight," he said, trying to shrug it off of both their minds. "S'not his thing, ya know."

Truth be told, Faerie' hadn't seen Joseph in almost a decade. Nice fella. He just didn't hang around with the usual running crew. Loyal servant of the Aesir since way before Faerie' was even born. One of Ganymede's original disciples. Ganymede was the Aesir first incarnation, predating Caspian by a thousand years!

So Joseph was old, faithful, and damn well good at keeping a secret. To hear someone ask about him, and hell, demand a confrontation with him... That was weird.

"But yeah, I'll tell him." Guy wanted to be all huffy, too. Elves. Didn't understand them. Didn't know any he liked. Figured that this was just how they acted all the time. So he shrugged again, gave his word to let Joseph know if/when he ever saw the guy, and that was that.

"No bigs, bro. Lao from Tristan." Faerie' tapped the side of his head with his finger. "Got it memorized, ya know."

[-LaoTzu]

"Thank you, and I expect you to be meeting up with the rest of the Aesirian forces soon?"

As soon as Lao said that he realized it sounded more like a statement then a question. But he really didn't care about correcting himself. What he really wanted to do was kill the man in front of him but wanted to show some restrain at least to himself. Lao looked at the Aesirian bastard in front of him. Lao continued with,

"So what's your name?"

(OOC: Sorry for the shotty post, at work.)

This post has been edited by LaoTzu on Mar 6 2012, 09:54 PM

[-Faerie' Vindahla]

"The rest of em? Nah. Kinda do my own thing unless the Boss needs me, ya know." It was getting about time to find an inn. Somewhere he could spend the night and not get eaten by bugs, seagulls, or mugged by pirates. He stood up, turned around and found a nice barrel to sit on near the side of a building, and hopped up like he was sitting on a doctor's bench.

"Oh ya, name's Faerie', by the way. Booz connoisseur and chicken shit extraordinaire! Pleased to make your acquaintance, and all that." He stuck his thumb into his chest and gave Lao a big 'ol grin. Cause Faerie' loved new friends.

[-LaoTzu]

"Nice to meet you too. And I will be seeing you around."

Lao responded, even thought that was probably the hardest thing he said all month. But it was about the hour for Lao to take leave. Perhaps he too could scout the city tomorrow to make some prep for its defenses. That would be best for all of the parties siding with Nazca in the coming battle. So Lao then turned and left the man where he was. Lao really wasn't into talking to the enemy, perhaps to death if he could but that would take to long by Lao's standards. So he left the man and hoped that he would see him in battle so that Lao would have a chance at slaying him.

OOC: Now to Tristan!!!