Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 21, 2015 11:23:12 GMT
Open to Emily Grace The ports were alive as workers rushed to and fro to load and unload the ships. Just trying to watch it made Lasair’s head start to go dizzy. But nonetheless, he had come to the ports on a whim, craving some time to himself to think over current events. The people he knew lived in the city. The ports were full of strangers, however. And strangers were what he craved right now. He wanted some good conversation or some peace and quiet (socially speaking; the ports were anything but quiet).
There was news that the city was going to do something soon, something involved with the war. Whatever it was, this ander needed to be ready for it. So he sat on a bench and watched the activity, red-orange hair swishing slightly in the breeze. It was a nice day at least, despite the slight chill. It was certainly nice enough to sit outside, at least until sundown, and watch the day go by.
Emily ducked a weaved through the crowds at the ports gazing around with hazel eyes in interest at everything. The world around her just as intriguing as it was when she was young, but right now she had a mission. A little birdie had told her trouble was brewing among some new traders who looked mighty suspicious. The other half of the sentence that peaked her curiosity more was that it involved a good bit of treasure hunting right here on the shores of the city. 'How delightful.' As Lionel had put it as she went bounding out the door in a bundle of herbal scents and excitement. The native girl slipped between two gentleman with a small word of pardon and waltzed right past a lad with flaming red hair. She registered his presence in the back of her mind somewhere but kept going and soon spotted the port masters office. Now she couldn't honestly say she loved thieving, because she didn't. But under the right circumstance, and with the added bonus of blatant dislike of a person, it grew rather enjoyable. And lucky for the cunning little fox the port master was out doing business. The black haired girl cast a quick glance around before testing the handle and slipping her way inside believing she hadn't been spotted by anyone important. Once inside she immediately began to open drawers and meticulously sort through them, placing everything as it had been.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 22, 2015 4:20:20 GMT
Among all the crowds, his eyes noticed a young girl danced through the crowd like it wasn’t even there. Now that was an uncommon sight. He followed her with his eyes (which wasn’t too difficult given the feathers in her hair) as she slipped into a building, making it all to obvious that she thought she had been sneaky.
Raising an eyebrow, Lasair stood up from the bench and pushed through the crowd to the door she had entered, not taking his eyes off it as he approached. Once in front of the door, he tested the handle himself. She hadn’t locked it; tsk tsk, a rookie mistake. He opened the door and walked in, making sure it was closed quickly. She was going through the drawers, caught red handed. “If you’re going to sneak in somewhere and locate something, you really should lock the door behind you.” For emphasis, he clicked the lock into place behind him and then stood with his arms crossed, waiting to see how the girl would react.
Emily nearly slammed the drawer shut in surprise. Whirling around and pressing herself against the desk behind her to stare at the door. The red haired man wasn't one of the three she was hoping would walk in that door. The sole reason it remained unlocked was because she needed specific people to walk through it, not some spare bloke off the street. She didn't relax however, or give him the satisfaction of an retort to his statement. She merely looked at him, her eyes glittering under strands of raven hair. She had nothing on her but her buck knife, another item swiped in her years of chasing down ragged men hired to do no good. He didn't seem to want to attack her...yet. She noted how he'd locked the door behind him, the click of the bolt the only sound to have dominated the silence after he spoke. This meant one of two things: preferably, he was a thief himself and meant to do nothing but lecture her and send her on her way, he was a bodyguard for the port masters lodge and wouldn't let her by without a fight.
Emily decided it might be best to wait and ride out the silence for as long as she could. She acted skittish, shuffling her feet and trying to push herself around the desk, moving only inches at a time. Despite all the extra movement her gaze stayed locked on his, judging his every move, watching for emotion to flicker on his face. Anger? Sympathy? As she edged her way along the desk she cast a glance around, a split second to get the information she needed. One door, three windows, and a hatch in the ceiling leading to freedom outside. Three of which were guarded or blocked. This guy in front of the door and two dratted boats propped up over the windows. She wouldn't be able to move them on her own. The hatch was an option... She stood in silent alert as she tried to make plans for escape.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 22, 2015 5:38:29 GMT
She was quiet, offering no information or excess of emotion. This meant she had intended to leave the door unlocked. Hmm, an odd choice. Well no matter the reasons, he was happy it was locked now. The girl played skittish and scared, but then her eyes darted around the exits. At least she wasn’t hostile, that was a plus. “I won’t hurt you,” he said simply, taking a slow sweep across the room. “I merely spotted you sneaking into this room and couldn’t help but let my curiosity lead me after. I can go, if you’d like. Or maybe I can stay and help out. Up to you really, but I won’t do anything but stand here unless you speak up. I’m sure you have a voice, or at least a way to communicate.” He smiled to her kindly, hoping it would help her believe him.
Emily stopped moving feeling a bit of the panic disappear. But just because he said he wouldn't hurt her meant nothing. People can lie. He smiled though.... and offered..to...help? That was actually a bit disconcerting and threw off her train of thought about how he would probably attempt to snap her neck. 'Way to be the morbid one Emily.' She thought tilting her head slightly.
Taking a few small steps forwards she recovered the ground she'd so carefully tried to give away. Approaching him as close as she dared but remaining well out of his reach. The half-blood might have circled him curiously had he not been standing with his back to the door. She stopped in front of him and straightened her spine trying to at least put her full height into play although it still left her annoyingly shorter than him. Now, what's should she say to him? He had sparked her interest just enough to warrant a hint of conversation instead of her making the break for the exits. Her hazel gaze softened a bit, feeling a bit more calm then before. "What's your name?" Emily's voice was soft, almost like she was afraid to be brash, but it had volume and would easily reach his ears. She pushed her weight to both feet to stand evenly as she awaited ger answer. A name of sorts to put to a face would be nice
Last Edit: Dec 22, 2015 19:02:44 GMT by Emily Grace
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 23, 2015 7:19:36 GMT
So the girl decided to approach him; all the better to see her soft face then. Continuing to smile, he took a short bow to her. “Lasair Landevier Lupen, at your service maiden oh-so fair. Perhaps I could gain a name to match to your beautiful face? Or I could simply call you Raven, to match that wonderful hair of yours. It is accented with feathers.” He held his eyes on her as he spoke, examining her features, trying to commit them to memory.
The feline half breed arched an eyebrow at his bow and dictation. Was....was this the thing called flattery? She actually couldn't help but smile slightly at him. He was rather amusing up close, with that incredulous grin and shockingly happy attitude. "Lasair Lupen, It's a pleasure to meet you." She nodded her head at him curtly but kindly. She still had yet to under stand curtsies and formal bows. To her a nod and a wave worked just as well. "My mother called me Raven, a pet name." She waved off that notion. "My name is Emily. Emily Grace." He had undoubtedly given her his full name, because she highly doubted anyone would go through all the trouble to pick out and pronounce a false name so seemingly well known. It fell from his tongue like he'd been saying it his entire life. And he probably had with the way he actually enjoyed saying it.
"Nice deduction however. About the feathers, I don't believe anyone else would have noticed." She put on a smirk for a split second before returning to her curious straight-faced composure. Oh sassy, sassy sue dear Emily. She really did have her moments didn't she? Anyways. He was staring at her so she would stare right back. Her gaze meeting his fairly questioning. "I have one question for you Mister Lupen. Why would a gent such as yourself offer to help a thief like me? Most would attempt to be heroes and try to stop me. What makes you so different?" She crossed her arms glancing out the door behind him. One of them at least needed to be look out. If he was as easy-going as he was letting on there was no need to accidentally get him into a dangerous situation.
Last Edit: Dec 23, 2015 17:20:59 GMT by Emily Grace
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 23, 2015 22:20:38 GMT
“Emily? That’s a charming name, but can I call you Raven anyhow? It gives you an air of mysteriousness that matches these circumstances we’ve met under.” She glanced between him and the door as he spoke, giving him the feeling that he should step aside. So he did, leaving her a free path out of this place and also a chance to leave him red handed. But given their short interactions, he had a feeling the girl wouldn’t do that. Already he was willing to trust her, but would that be a wise decision?
Then he remembered she had asked him a question. “Perhaps I’m a thief myself, did you consider that, hm? Or perhaps I’m whatever you want me to be, so long as if gains me favor with you.” Another flirty smile sent her way before he continued. “But no matter the reason, if you want my help you’d better take it soon. If we spend all day in here chatting the sun away, then the person who actually belongs in this room will eventually appear.”
Charming wasn't he? Emily, being the native girl she was from outside the walls of the city, didn't seem to let good looks and sweet words sway her. She learned the hard way that a smile could hide more sinister means. But his seemed sincere so she placed a hint of trust in him. "Call me what you will. I tend to have many names." She spoke truthfully, she had a different name to everyone. From vague descriptions to thought out nicknames. As he stepped aside she took the opportunity to brush past him and glance out the window to get a better view up and down the street. Him? A thief? "If you are a thief the only thing you're guilty of is taking cookies from the cookie jar. A true thief would never lock the door behind themselves when approaching another without knowing the full extent of their opponent's abilities." In short, didn't act like a thief. "And no self respecting thief would offer to be filed under any title by another so blatantly."
She turned her head to look at him pointedly. His flirtations would have no effect on her decisions about him. She returned the smile with a half grin of her own. "Well, if you want to help so badly Mister Lupen start digging. The object in question is a map. A very, very old one. About ready to fall apart honestly. It's extremely important that I find it before the next quarter moon." She left his side to start digging again, still facing him. She wouldn't turn her back to him just yet. While she stood her long dark braid slipped over her shoulder and she pushed it away with an impatient swat of her hand.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 24, 2015 4:32:08 GMT
Not a thief? He’d beg to differ on that, especially since he had learned how to make whole ships disappear in the night. But he didn’t need to brag to her about that. “You seem to have descried an honorable or a master thief. How do you know I’m not a casual thief, or one who is still a novice of the act?” He chuckled before he continued. “Either way, at least I’ve gotten you to view me as not so much of a threat. Which may have been my goal all along.” He purposefully ignored her comment about locking the door, that was something he had done to gain guaranteed privacy with her.
As for the map, he began copying her in the search. Since she had the desk, he turned to the shelves, looking through various boxes and scraps of paper shoved between books. When he found a paper that looked somewhat old, he showed it to her. Although it didn’t really resemble a map to him.
"Only cookies from the jar." She teased shifting through some more drawers. Where was the dratted thing? "You're just full of 'may have been-s' aren't you?" She pulled out some old parchment that looked promising. But it was nothing more then an old shipping log. She put it back with an irritated huff. Lasair had approached her, which snapped her from her intense search, to show her something.
She examined it in his hands and shook her head. Yes, this was a map, but not the one they wanted. It had no landscape drawn upon it but instead had a bunch of scribbled mess with small hand drawn doodles in between. The doodles in the sea of words were in fact landmarks. And there were tingly blots of red dotting across the page. "You're on the right track though." She pointed to the top corner that had some words scrawled across it. "This is a map but it's a poorly copied one and not the one we need. See this?" She motioned to the corner, "Riddles often come with maps to elude others into thinking the words are important. But all you really need to do is follow the animal tracks in the sea of nonsense here." She ran a finger down the small line of blotted prints. "The small drawings are landmarks on the island this originated from." Emily here had already swiped that treasure. Amusement and a large smile crossed her face as she looked over the familiar map once more before shaking her head again. "You're doing a fine job, but lets keep looking."
Emily crouched behind the desk to go through the hundreds of files in the bottom drawer. She'd nearly torn this desk apart looking. Shutting the drawer she leaned around the desk to look at Lasair, curiously watching for a moment before something caught her eye. A piece of the wooden floor lay with the corner curled up. A tripping hazard if she ever saw one. It was sticking out from in between the boats beside the windows. "Who would have thought?" She muttered before standing up and stretching. "Mister Lupen, may I redirect your attention over there." She waved at the floor before striding over and point the toe of her shoe against the curled wood. She grinned excitedly at the discovery.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 25, 2015 3:16:41 GMT
A map but not a good map. Shrugging, he returned the scrap back to where he had found it and returned to looking through the room. He could kind of see what she meant, with the landmarks and different writings, but it was still mostly nonsense to him. He smiled at her compliment all the same, however. “See, I’m not totally useless,” he teased as she bent down to check a bottom drawer.
He raised an eyebrow when she called his attention to a board in the floor. “It appears that a pretty lady isn’t the only thing in this room that isn’t what it seems,” he replied, squatting down to pull at the board. It didn’t budge at first, but when he twisted it just right, it came out smoothly. “Ladies first,” he said smoothly and gestured at the new hole with the board. Hopefully this was the ancient map she was looking desperately for.
Lasair's comment actually elicited a laugh from the young woman. She dropped to her knees beside him and reached a hand down into the new hole feeling around a bit. She felt dirt at first so she moved her hand along the length of it. Dirt....dirt....dirt....wait that didn't feel like dirt! She carefully extracted a rolled up piece of ancient looking paper. It was tied off with a strip of leather that looked rather new. "Now, what do we have here?" She gently untied it and spread it out on the floor beside her. Pushing the parchment flat with her hands and holding it back so it couldn't roll back up. On it's face was etched the most elusive and detailed map Emily had ever seen. It was oh so neatly written she might have wept at its beauty if she wasn't so overly delighted. "Oh yes. Oh yes!" She exclaimed rolling it back up and tying it again. "This is the map. This is the key to Old Jesters' treasure." She picked it up and carefully pushed in under her belt. "Let's pack up and hightail it before the port guard returns." She muttered with slight urgency. "Maybe we can get a drink to celebrate on the way home." She laughed.
Her glee would last much longer because as they spoke the three men she had meant to walk in that door it she couldn't find the map by herself were walking down to the cabin as they spoke. They were discussing the key points they believed were on the map and none of them were quite friendly as they pushed ruthlessly through the crowd.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Dec 25, 2015 9:22:19 GMT
When she unrolled the map, he looked at it with wide eyes, trying to memorize all the details on its face. Only she rolled it back up before he could commit more of it to memory. Perhaps he could study it more another time. Once she had the parchment secured, he put the floor board back in the, well, floor and then stood up and dusted himself off. “If we do stop for a drink, it’s on me,” he said cheerfully.
But before they left, Lasair couldn’t help but walk past the bookshelf again, a certain book catching his eye anew. “Mind if I swipe a book from this guy? Or is that against the rules?” Raising a hand, he ran his fingers along the length of the spine. It was an old book and old books were his favorite. Not to mention that the title fascinated him. “Legends of The Deep.” Maybe it could provide some clues on Shadow beasts, and it also raised the question of the possibility of an aquatic strain of them. Either way, he did want to read this book.
"All you need is love." -John Lennon
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