Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~

"I think I am find. Although a new sheathe for my great weapon would be a nice buy!" As Klaren enters the shop the man makes a loud 'hmmm' sound, as he looks at Klaren quizzically turning his head. "Why hello there you cutie. We are dancing to the song of life, to the song of love and happiness! Today is a very special day, how can I help you on this wonderful wonderful day?" He does a twirl on one leg, holding the other one up high. His legs are thin like a ballerina's and he is as flexible as any dancer. He put a finger under his chin as he looks at Klaren awaiting a response. --- Hoshiko and Luka walked Northwards, getting ever closer to the humongous tower. But as they went further north the crowd seemed to thicken. Soon, they were struggling to stay together as people huddled up in conversation or walking in groups. They were all funneling to a large building that was now in sight as they cleared a few buildings. This large building was built circularly, like an arena. It went up three stories, but from the middle of the arena a glass structure stretched up six stories high. It made a chimney to the sky from which smoke was leaving to join the clouds. As people entered, soldiers with fancy and glinting armor oversaw the whole process. Clearly soldiers from the capital, their weapons were finely crafted and looked deadly. But more deadly than any other weapons were the sword and the gaze of the sickly looking man. He stood up high on a platform gazing at each person individually. The sword in his hand looked sharp enough to slice through rock yet it didn't lose any of it's simple beauty. No fancy guard, or gold or gems, but it glinted beautifully. The man's gaze turned on Hoshiko and Luka; piercing them as if analyzing and reading their minds. He pointed his sword in their direction and shouted. "Drop your weapons, no weapons allowed near the King's presence!" A moment later, a man behind Hoshiko and Luka shrieked, dropping a sword and running away. The sickly looking man pointed at it and one of the soldiers went to retrieve the weapon and ignoring the fleeing man. Duties resumed in moments, as more and more people entered the Glass Dome to find a seat.

"Thank you Luka." Saffron smiled a little as she held his hands let go. "Why do I feel like I'm being scolded by all of the maids in the castle at once..." Keagan muttered, and was about to start his response. "I will fight and protect Saffron for as lon-" His speech cut off mid way with an oomph, as Hoshiko and Luka crashed into him. Without proper posture on the ground or his armor he was unable to stand upright and fell over along with them. Keagan's face was the ultimate pinnacle of disgruntlement but he didn't say anything, he simply waited for the other soldiers toget off him. But Saffron found it hilarious, and broke out into a laughing fit over the whole scene. She wiped tears from her eyes as she regained her composure. "Thank you, all of you. All of you always know how to make everything easier. I believe in both Luka and Hoshiko for this mission, and I trust Terrin and Meredith to keep me safe. And of course you as well Keagan. You've kept my alive up until now, we will continue protecting each other until this is over." --- Rosalyva and Klaren made it through the market fast but not without complains. People shouted back at them, complaining of the dangers of running through the crowd and damages to merchandise they were carrying. Luckily, they stopped near the clothing section! It was smaller than the weapon's district of the city; in comparison there were only a tailors in the whole city in comparison to the hundreds of smiths, blacksmiths, staff smiths and other types of smiths. One particular store had it's door wide open with an extravagant looking man inside, dancing as he organized his store. "W-wait up!" Radburn called out from afar. He caught up to them, and crouched down hands on his knees, head down panting hard. "The great.." pant "...Radburn..." pant "... Has a lot..." pant pant "...Of great features but..." pant "... Long distance running is NOT one of them."

Emilee acted quickly, determined more than ever. "We are going to protect this house, and protect everyone inside it. In the name of the Goddess, in the name of justice and more than anything in the name of young lovers everywhere! Are you with me Rayne?" Emilee shouts this, balling her hands into fists around her staff as she raises it and let's the spell cast around the pegasus rider. Soon a barrier formed, orange and bright. "Go! Let's fight in the name of love!" Move to M12 and Barrier Rayne.

"It's Saffron..." Saffron corrected Terrin, it was her only answer as she seemed to have given up on the whole matter. "I'm insulted that you'd think I wouldn't protect Saffron. I'm more dedicated to this anyone else, I will protect her with my life regardless of my beef with Roswell."

Keagan crossed his arms, and looked at Luka eventually exhaling. "I have personal beef with the king, which is why I would like to see him myself. But I think protecting Saffron is the priority. I will stay with her, Luka you and Terrin head there." "This is just crazy..." Saffron muttered looking at the ground. "Please be careful. The man is dangerous and very well informed." --- He took the money and weighted it lightly in his hand, and then pockets it. He let the staff slide slowly towards Mayanna. "The King's visit today isn't about the draft, he needs Hearthlight's craftsmen." The man balled his hands into a fist, clearly angered by it. "He wants us to simply craft for the army, and has no intentions on paying us back. So we are all hiding our stock; as a form of protest no one can buy anything from us. No one can see what we have while the King and the damn capital trash is about. But... I am desperate for funds. My daughter is in college, and if I can't make ends meet she won't get an honest life." He backs up from the counter ending the conversation there. "If there is anything you need make sure to tell me. I love the Fiery Goddess like a good man should and will gladly help someone from the church."

"I'm scared of who could come with Roswell. The soldiers around him are too strong for us to fight, and if anything goes wrong... I'm not sure we'd make it out alive." "There won't be another chance like this one to see what he is doing Saffron. I want to understand why he is here, what he intends to do." Keagan looked straight at Saffron and added with a sharp and dangerous edge to his voice. "You can't stay afraid of wyverns and Roswell forever Saffron. You need to grow up, and we need to face our dangers." Saffron's response was silence, as she glared back at Keagan with an angry look. Only her eyes showed this emotion though, her face seemed to be calm as it usually was.

"Hello Luka, what's the hurry?" She said confused as Luka first approached. She leaned in, and her eyes widened as she heard the news. "Roswell is here... We should leave and fast." "Where is he going?" Asked Keagan calmly, he overheard the conversation without needing to lean in. "You can't be serious about this Keagan." Saffron protested. Whatever Keagan had in mind she knew exactly what it was. "Don't you understand how dangerous it is!?" "Luka." He ignored her protests though, and continued. "Do you know where he is headed?"

"Hm." is his answer at first, as he remains quiet for a while more; 30 seconds pass and was done with the gem. He placed it on a staff and showed it to the potential customers. The gem was a bright yellow, and strange letters were written engraved on the gem. Mayanna would recognize these letters as part of holy texts, symbols that better explained the love of the Goddess than the modern language. "You will keep your mouth shut, and you will tell no one that I sold this staff to you. I will sell it for 500 Dragons, no less."

The craftsman looked up at Mayanna, his eyes met hers only for the slightest of a second before he snorted and went back to his job. His interest in a possible sale was way below his interest in his craft. "After I am done with this barrier staff, I might consider selling it. But I'm not selling it to outsiders, you are clearly not from the city." He chips a bit more before asking his next question. "Who are you? From the capital?"

"You are a Royal Guard. And since the day we met him, Cass also became one. One of us." Emilee simply looked at Belros, her face wasn't mad instead on the verge of tears. She didn't let them out, or let her voice stray either. "Your job isn't to spy on us either; so don't use that excuse. Your job is to protect your fellows in battle, and my job is to make sure we all make it out alive as well. So let's both keep doing our jobs. And I hope you do it right." She turns and storms out as fast as she can, leaving her unfinished drink behind.

Emilee sat there straight faced watching the engagement. She couldn't understand why others wouldn't trust Cass, he helped them and had all good intentions. Cass earned the respect of others but now Belros was acting like this? "Why Belros?" She vocalized her thoughts. "Why are you acting like this, it's not funny. Cass has fought besides us, he's our friend. I'm making sure he doesn't do anything wrong, but you are just acting like a jerk! No one deserves to be treated like you are treating him!"

"Hey stop, both of you!" Emilee yelled grabbing Cass and trying to pull him away. "Cass don't hurt Belros, Belros don't bully Cass! Both of you need to be nice to each other."

Mayanna, Ecquis and Dash move further and further into the market streets. The streets were littered on both sides with stalls; they saw the typical things you'd find in a market bread, fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs but more numerous than food stalls were the weapon stalls. For every food stall there were two craftsmen. Stalls focused on spears, on swords, on tomes, and even specialized blacksmiths such as craftsmen who only worked on hilts of weapons. Or maybe just sharpened swords. The choices seemed varied and the street seemed to stretch infinitely. There was a common trend though; craftsmen seemed hard at work but stalls seemed empty of stock. Maybe one or two weapons on display but every weapon seemed to have vanished. At last they come past the first staff stall where a man seems to be concentrated over a gemstone, engraving something on it with a hammer and a chisel. --- "These cloaks are for students of the College, we don't have them for sale I'm afraid." Yasmin smiles and points northward. "If you take the right street you will go to the main road and then just follow it to the College. Before the College is the Glass Dome, there should be quite the crowd gathered there. It's a shame the tour was cut short, but I hope your friend enjoys the King's visit! I'm sure the meeting will be to her pleasure if she enjoys politics."

"Don't be silly!" Emilee giggled realizing Belros' joke. "He's just joking. I don't know anything about Belros' past but I'm starting to think it doesn't matter. He wasn't a serial killer for sure. He's a nice guy and he won't hurt you Cass. You won't, right Bel?"

Emilee smiles, and takes a bow along with Cass. She blushed nervously, as fun as singing was she wasn't used to doing it in public. At least no in ceremonies or in the friendly environment of her old tavern. She's caught by surprise by Cass' sudden outburst. "Cass don't just throw things at people that could hurt someone!" But then she notices the neon blue as well and waves. "Oh Belros! Yeah come join us! It's like everyone is sneaking in here."

Yasmin looks awkwardly at Klaren, unsure on exactly how to reply. She scratches the back of her head and turns to Rosalyva instead. "Today there is a meeting between King Roswell and the head of our city Harmon Flamewaker. I understand that the meeting is about Hearthlight's support of the war efforts." Yasmin explains. "The meeting is public, and is going to be held in the Glass Dome near the College. Everyone is welcome to watch but I imagine the seats are going to be pretty full, the meeting will be historic. And as per tradition, any citizen that is present will get a vote in the outcome of the discussion." Radburn crossed his arms and frowned. "We should be worried. If it came down to a fight, I don't think any of us could take on the Royal Guard. Not even the great Radburn." Radburn told the others, making sure to hush his voice so the tour guide wouldn't hear. "And if the King is here there is a chance that General Garbhan is here... I've heard that General Garbhan shields the King himself in dangerous voyages. Man I'd love to see him in person..." --- Dash is bewitched by the sights, looking around and paying attention to everything. He doesn't even seem to be bothered by the smoke, coughing occasionally but still with an overwhelming look of joy. When Mayanna asks him a question, he responds immediately. "I want to see the market place! Or I'd like to go there first, and then see the rest of city! Everything is so big compared to Laguna. And expensive looking."

"Priests and priestesses are just as human as everyone else. It saddens me that one would fall like that." Emilee says with a tone of sadness. She takes a sip, and turns to Cass with a smile. "I'd love to sing! No better place than a tavern than to sing about getting drunk. Not to mention that alcohol warms up your vocal chords. If anyone knows the song, please feel free to sing along!" She downed her drink, and nodded at Cass to begin playing; and she started to sing. "Drunk and merry we are friend, When the casks run without end, Drinking singing all night long, The Drunk and Merry Bunch Sailors and ruffians, scum alike! All of them happy after a pint There is no sleeping until dawn, For The Drunk and Merry Bunch So if you come in to our bar, Come and sit and sing along, A little drinking will do no wrong! For The Drunk and Merry Bunch!"

She sighed in relief again. It seemed like she was constantly getting scared in this new job, her life time wouldn't last much longer if she kept losing so many years of her life with each scare. She calmed down and took a seat. "If it was true love it would have happened." Was Emilee's opinion on the story. "Is she in love with someone? I bet she's in love with the heir of a rivaling family and she can never be with him. But she will fight for her love. Is that it? Tell the story!"

"Feri sent a chore for us." Saffron elaborated. As they went further and further through the North tower, more people in robes similar to the earlier tour guide started forming the crowds that were around the stores and restaurants. The tower only got larger in the horizon, and the streets got busier and busier. "He asked us to research about the magical artifacts we saw. You remember the walking corpses in the village church? Feri says that if there is a place where will find information on it it will be here." --- "Y-yes you are correct." The woman conceded. "But Erik Pyre was a bastard after all, and he wouldn't be able to inherit the family lands. Also he moved to Caelum and during the civil wars he made no move to come and aid his father." As she said this a carriage passed by at high speeds, throwing a dust cloud over them making Yasmin cough. "I'm sorry about that, people shouldn't drive so recklessly." She coughs more as the air begins to clear. "You picked a bad time to visit the city. Everyone is crazy because of the king's visit."

"Oh good, I was afraid he could get mixed in to the wrong crowd." Emilee took a breath of fresh air, easing up. "Special? He's a friend and everyone has a tendency to judge him so I'm looking after him." She explained, but soon after she shot straight up as her name was called. "Oh no he saw me..." She grabbed her drink and walked closer to Cass. "Cass!? What a coincidence to see you here! I uh... I came here to grab a drink! You know, to drink a little and have some fun before we have to set off again."

"Thank you so much!" Emilee takes a large portion of it in one go and smiles as she is done. "Are those good people over there? I'm friends with the redhaired musician and I'm trying to make sure he doesn't fall in with a bad crowd." She says pointing at Cass and the group.

"It's not stalking, I'm keeping an eye on him." Emilee reassures herself, keeping a distance away from Cass but still shadowing him. She stayed outside the general shop, and entered the tavern after him. She immediately loves it, the smell of alcohol, the patrons, the loud atmosphere. Still intent on keeping her distance though, she stays near the bar. "Could I have a large cold beer please. Not too much foam either." With her back turned to Cass she looks over her shoulder every once in a while to check on him.

"Alright, let's go then Terrin." Saffron motioned to get going, and start walking Northwards with Keagan. They walked at a slow step towards the huge tower that was the college. After a few moments Saffon turned to Terrin. "So have you been to the college before? It's my first time in this city, everything is so different from the capital." --- "Understood, then please this way." Yasmin lead them along the north street, but soon enough took a turn westwards and into an older part of the city. It looked much less organized and the stones looked worn and old. "This is known as Old City, the reconstructed buildings and the still standing houses of the old city all remain here. Before Sergius the Flamewaker defended the city, it was actually named Forja, and was ruled by the house Ironhand. House Ironhand was wiped out in an ancient civil war. We now call this period as the Nohr Uprising, it took place shortly after the kingdom of Caelum was founded and as the country recovered house Nohr attempted to take the crown for themselves. They challenged the Ironhands to war and all of the heirs were killed in battle, while the head of the family died of old age. As such when Sergius the Flamewaker defended Forja, he earned the city as a reward in the war efforts and started the house Flamewaker. However we can still see remnants of Ironhand architecture, we believe this was their house symbol." She ended her speech right as they arrived at a statue of a fist. It was built from iron, the fingers closed in a fist pointing at the sky. "We also have reasons to believe that it doubled as a forge as we found ashes and remnants of minerals. What we know for sure is that House Ironhand were excellent craftsmen and their work spirit was inherited by today's craftsmen."