A man dressed in a simple brown cloak rides into town on a squat, long-haired pony so old and haggard that it more closely resembles a bear than a beast of burden. The man pickets his ancient mount outside of The Shady Corner and licks his lips as he enters the tavern, eager for a hot meal after several hard days of travel. After ordering food and drink, the stranger begins asking around for information on the town's more noted members.
"I've gotta' note 'ere fer some bloke named Thalanir, or somethin' like that, and the rest 'a 'tha greatest fighters in Jastrey!' What-a-load-a troll piss! This dump doesn' look like it houses anythin' more than a few old drunks and a handful of rats in tha walls...," the man rambles on, clearly drunk from his lonely days on the road with only the comfort of a tired pony and a now nearly empty whine skin. "Does anybody know wher' I can find such 'mighty' warriors?"
Recovering from her nightly work on the wall, Ripper glances up from her corner of the tavern and the depths of her teacup. Pale eyes flash against the light briefly before settling onto the stranger and her head turns slightly so that her better ear is angled toward him. This effort also fetches her a twitching flinch when Stiers answers in his zealous way. Reaching to rub at her ear with the back of one hand she lifts her teacup and takes a deep draught from the over-sugared contents, listening close but not pushing help on the stranger just yet. Behind her, tattered wings shift position with a sound like dry leaves.
Several minutes after the traveler arrives, Thalenir walks in the front door of the tavern clutching his cloak tightly around himself. He sneezes loudly and, without looking up, calls for chicken soup and hot tea in a stuffy voice before sitting at the same table as Thorne. "Bloody flu. The only thing worse than being sick is that teleporting makes me nauseous. I'd forgotten how tedious it was to walk to the tavern."
He sneezes again and shivers visibly, then looks up at Thorne. "I don't suppose you can get sick any more, can you?" he asks, a glimmer of his innate curiosity shining through his otherwise bleary expression.
The vampire continues to watch quietly, though a half-smirk creeps across her features as Thalenir enters. As he sits she slides a cup and the pot of warm tea on the table closer toward him with a quiet tone.
"Wild strawberry and black tea, I promise."
She frowns only slightly at the memory of her so near-to-now youth and its disregard for the sensibilities of others...the fact that it facilitated reassurance before they ought to accept food or drink from her. Her frown again quirks into a small upward flick of the lips as she fetches a small handkerchief and offers it toward him.
"You know...I'm not entirely sure. It would be a logical assumption to guess that illness would bypass me considering my lack of metabolism. But as to yet I haven't tested the theory. Be sure and return that handkerchief if you don't mind. I'd like to."
Leaning slightly to one side, but without lifting her hand from the table she gestures toward the old man across the room with one black talon of a nail and lowers her voice.
"That gentleman was asking after you. He seems a bit intoxicated but harmless enough."
Rasiri walks across the open, dusty ground in front of the tavern, walking with a slight limp and several bruises from the direction of the Healer's Den. He moves into the tavern and looks at the group assembled and takes a seat to order an ale, wincing as he sits. "You might vant to cheeck the Healer's Den Thalenir... They can do somee amazing theengs." He then looks down into his ale and gets very quiet.
The traveler looks Stiers up and down as the barmaid brings him his meal. After thanking her for his food, the man turns back to Stiers and smiles dumbly. "Ah, p'rhaps I was wrong about this town not havin' any citizens worth their weight! Oy, you say you know this Thalanir fella'? Be a good chap and point me to his wher'bouts. I've got an important letter fer him from, and I do quote this my good man, 'an old friend.' Not precisely sure what it says, on account of it's been sealed with magic." The herald holds up his hands and wiggles his fingers menacingly at Stiers when he pronounces the word "magic" in order to emphasize the word.
"Supposed to contain vital inf'rmation about some invasion of some sorts, but seein' as I can't read anyway, I wouldn'ta peeped. So where is this migh'y wizard Thalanir? He is a wizard, ain't he? Otherwise, I doubt he'll be able to open this acursed thing," the man finishes, holding up a scroll bound with a thin halo of light blue energy. The magic glowed slightly, illuminating the traveler's hand.
Thalenir accepts the tea and the handkerchief graciously. "Thank you kindly, Thorne, although there's no need to clarify. I trust you, and even if it were blood, I've ingested stranger things in the past. In fact, I once ate candied fairy brains at a lich's dinner table. Dreadful stuff. I couldn't stop vomiting." His pallor deepens at the memory, then he smirks. "I suppose you could argue that we're not so dissimilar after all, eh?"
Thalenir blows his nose loudly on the handkerchief, then his expression sours. "Honestly, I wouldn't wish this on anyone, experiment or otherwise." He folds the handkerchief and sets it on the table. "You can have it back if you insist. It's yours after all. Just don't get too carried away. At the end of the day, I doubt being alive is much more pleasant than being undead, and I'd hate for you to suffer the maladies of both."
Thalenir greets Rasiri dully as he walks in. "You look dreadful, my friend. What happened? I hope you didn't have another ill-advised threat backfire on you." He chuckles at the jest, but his laughter quickly gives way to a fit of coughing. Once the fit has passed, he speaks again. "Yes, Haven has been tending to me. Unfortunately, her healing powers only mend injury. For illness, she tells me the only cure is rest and time. A bloody nuisance, that, being that there's so much work to do."
A barmaid brings Thalenir his soup, and he begins to sip it gingerly, wincing ever so slightly from the pain in his throat. He glances over his shoulder at the stranger. "Is he now?" Without rising, he calls over to the man hoarsely. "You, there. I am Thalenir Lestral. Do you have some business with me?"
A small chuckle creeps from the fae at the sight of a second ailed but unbowed ally. Much as they both seemed displeased, there was a faint glimmer of admiration or perhaps even jealousy behind her blood-freezing eyes. Leaving Thalenir's business to his own unless it seemed interference was warranted she levels her focus onto Rasiri while simultaneously taking care not to directly meet his eyes, knowing his tendency toward being unnerved.
"I don't suppose you ran across a group of bandits? I'd thought I'd quite clearly convinced them that this town wasn't the place to ply their trade. Perhaps I should show more bite and less bark next time."
She ends there, taking another sip of her tea, and then after a thoughtful arching of one brow concludes with one more clarification.
"Figuratively speaking, of course."
Thorne starts to broaden her smile at his blushing...but a moment later the sting in her throat reminds her of the process that caused the reaction under his skin. Clearing her throat she returns to her tea and resituates her folded wings.
"No matter. You tried to do the right thing, that's a rare sort of strength in and of itself. "
Erdan enters the tavern using his foot to swing the door open mainly to amuse himself. Even after many days of work, Erdan's stature has remained the same, but upon further observance, his sword looks stronger.
He starts, "Here be my fellow...HICCUP...soldiers of good!...HICCCUP!"
He makes his way toward the others, waving to the barmaid saying, "Blast these hiccups...HICCUP!...I need a drink or perhaps a good...HICCUP!...scare."
He notices the traveler and says, "I have not seen you around here, dear sir, or even that horse outside...HICCUP!...But I must say, if it belongs to you, I must commend you on your...HICCUP...taste in a stead. Bravo!"
The stranger grins and Erdan's compliment. "Ah, thank ye kindly, my good man. Ol' Daffodil has been my beast of burden for many years now. Aside from occasionally straying from the path for a nice place to rest, as she's a seasoned veteran you understand, she's not once led me in the wrong direction," he boasts.
Making his way over to the table of Thalenir, Thorn, and Rasiri, the traveler bows to Thalenir and presents himself. "Greetings, your magicalness! I bear great tidings from Master Nail Stormbringer. I've traveled a great distance to bring you a message of utmost importance." The traveler hands the sealed scroll to Thalenir, and as soon as the rolled parchment touches the Wizard's skin, the blue glow surrounding it dissapates like smoke in a summer breeze. The scroll reads thusly:
Dear Citizens of Jastrey,
Hopefully this message reaches you and is not lost in one of it's carrier's drunken stupors. I apologize for not being there myself, but I am in the final stages of my training; within a few days, I will officially become a capable sorcerer.
My master has trained me long and hard, and as a result I have learned the ways of arcane magic. I only hope it will be enough come Spring to stop that much-despised army of Ressik. I have asked my master if he would accompany me and help us with the upcoming battle. Unfortunately, while his knowlege and wisdom are great, his powers have weakened over the years. While at one time he would have been a dangerous enemy and a powerful ally, he is ancient and weak.
Also, he has sworn me to secrecy so that I may not reveal his identity or the nature of my training. I'm sorry that I cannot reveal more about him, but I would hope that you all would understand. However, have hope and be light of heart, for I will soon begin my journey to my home Shard where I will enlist the help of my lover, Lexi. Glimmer will be happy to learn that she is a fairy as well, and I'm sure there will be a glorious meeting of extended family. She is by no means a warrior, but she is an adept healer and someone we can trust, which is important in these dark times. Once I have obtained Lexi's help, we will travel with haste to Jastrey. With luck, we should arrive shortly before Ressik's army has promised to attack.
So have hope, and may your blades be as sharp as your wits and your shields stay as strong as your hearts. Until we meet again...
Your Faithful Lightning Mage,
Nail Stormbringer
P.S. Make sure Rasiri has not "salvaged" any of my possessions that were left behind. I might trust that dark-skinned Ourdeq with my life, but my coin purse might be safer tucked away in my cloak.
Thalenir takes the note and reads with interest, sniffling a time or two and blinking away the haze in his eyes. "It seems master Stormbringer will be returning to us as a sorcerer come spring, and bringing along a fairy healer named Lexi to join the fight with us."
He folds the note and slides it over to Rasiri. "Oh, and there's a message in there for you as well, Rasiri." He chuckles briefly before sneezing into the sleeve of his robe.
"Oh i vouldn't steal from Nail... Or Stieersss... I only steal FOR town not from it," Rasiri says with a wink in the direction of Master Thalenir. Then he pulls his mask up and leans back into his chair and winces at the pain wearing off in his limbs. Then he looks up, "Though i will be happy to see Nail come back... i haven't seen him in far too long..."
Stiers aproches the traven afher a few days of work he see's the rider hitch his horse to the traven and enters Stiers follows in and orders a drink and some food.Stiers over hears the rider ask for the Heros and aproches ,,,,Hail friend i know Thalanir !!!! What can i do for you???