Dark Seed

From the shadowy alley, the figure Jian had been eying trudged towards him, hand on his weapon. 'It seems I'm not the only well-armed one here.' he thought to himself as he took mental note of the unusual amount of weapons this person had on himself. Well, Jian thought it was a 'he'...the cloak was kind of obscuring but the way the person walked seemed masculine.

Jian kept his sword held up in a defensive position as the figure approached him, demanding to know if they took those peoples' seeds. "How dare you..." was all Jian could get out before the eagle returned and laid out the situation for the hooded man. He let the more charismatic of the group speak as he lowered his weapon. Now that he had backup, Jian felt he could relax, if only a little bit.

From a short distance away, Jian's ears picked up the memorable clip-clopping of the pale woman. He silently thanked Nimbus for bringing her down in one piece. Not taking his eyes off the unknown being in front of them, he gestured to Margot, beckoning her over. Maybe she could shed some light on the situation. She seemed to know everything...well, to Jian at least.

"How dare you..." The horned man had begun, and Tristan’s hand automatically gripped the hilt of his sword a bit more firmly as he tensed, but then the bird intercepted the situation.

“Do you think we three have that kind of power?” the bird asked “It was the Dark Seed, young-one.”

Tristan’s blue eyes shifted onto the bird, studying her for a moment. “Just so, but isn't it possible that someone causes the Dark Seed to begin with?” He asked. He watched the three for a moment. ’No…These three probably couldn’t have done this…’ he realized. He shook his head. “Apologies…But...What are you doing here, then?” He asked. “You at least don’t look like a civilian.” He said as he nodded towards the horned man. “How did the three of you survive the encounter with the Dark Seed?” He asked.

Margot squeezed her eyes shut as they slowly glided down. The feeling of weightlessness was new- as was the notion that the ground was a perplexing deal away from her feet. No matter the fact that both her and Nimbus were from the same City- they were far from the same ilk of people. Margot’s kind took usually took to small towns away from the main City of Copper. They weren’t highly common due to some nasty business in the past where there enchanting looks had landed them being shipped off throughout the land to become pets for others. Margot knew- most legitimately- that Nimbus’s culture was far from that.

About that time her hooves hit solid ground and she slowly peeled her eyes open to take in that they were back on solid ground once again. She offered the sweet avian creature a slight kiss on the side of her sleek and feathered face before attempting to wrestle the odd belt contraption off of her.
As she managed to finally unhook it and return it back to its usual state- she approached Jian to hand it back. “Maybe some other time I’ll be handing this back to you for a different reason.” She jested sweetly before turning back to their uninvited guest. It wasn’t as if she feared him- but more so- it seemed that he was as lost as they were. It was quite apparent in his demeanor and questions. So Margot had attempted to clear the air with a bit of sweet jesting.

“Misene saved us,” she offered an explanation. It was then she hesitated in telling some rogue they just met their mission. That thought made her put her hand on the satchel at her waist, and she felt an odd sort of pulsating coming from its’ depths. Slowly her digits dipped into it and she procured one of the seeds that was hot to the touch. The name emblazoned upon the shard was ‘Tristan’ and it seemed to get only brighter as she took a step towards the wanderer. “Is your name Tristan?” Margot asked sweetly. “Because I think this may belong to you. It is one of Misene’s seeds- and she gave them to each of those that will complete her mission.” Those blue eyes flexed against Jian and then to Nimbus in curiosity. Should they go on with the explanation?

The Golden Eagles ears perked up at the mention of one of the names on the seeds being readable to Margot. The pale lady looked for support in her intention to tell this boy about the full gravity of their quest handed to them by Misene. Well, if he was to be one of them, according to the seed, then so be it. Nimbus shrugged in agreement of telling 'Tristan' their whole tale.

"Might as well." She said to Margot. "Jian?"

Nimbus wondered how he felt about it. Just how he felt. Not that she wouldn't tell Tristan if Jian didn't want to. It's clear the boy was destined to help them. Inwardly she hoped Jian would be less trusting to Tristan. Normally the Copper Child with the scar in her heart would have been in her crouch with a threatening display of wings, but this seed from Misene melted a layer of ice from it, and so did her two knew friends. Nimbus wasn't as skeptical of Tristan as she thought she would be. So someone had to be.

Tristan eyed the trio warily, but listened carefully to what they had to say.

“Misene saved us,” the figure that he’d seen on the balcony spoke up. He studied her for a moment, but she did not appear to mean him any harm. He might have released the grip on the hilt of his sword if the horned man was not bearing naked steel. ’Misene?’ It took him a moment to place the name. “The goddess…?” He asked finally, sounding uncertain. He watched as the woman reached into her satchel she kept and produced a small shard. Recognition briefly crossed his features before he hid the expression.

“Is your name Tristan?” She asked him then, which startled him a little. “Because I think this may belong to you. It is one of Misene’s seeds- and she gave them to each of those that will complete her mission.” She continued.

He shifted uneasily, briefly glancing back at the horned man’s unsheathed sword. “I…I am Tristan, but I don’t know anything about any seeds...I didn’t come here for any of this, I…” He hesitated, remembering the voice he’d heard again.

“Wait…Do you…Know a man named Jasper Greywood?” He asked suddenly and for a moment he felt a slight sense of hope.

While still facing the potential attacker in front of him, Jian's eye shifted into his peripheral vision and spotted the eagle. In a semi-annoyed voice he asked, "You didn't destroy my belt, did you? I need that you know.". But before the bird could answer, Margot slipped the leather object into his unoccupied hand with a quirky comment. What exactly did she mean by that? 'This is not the time nor place' he thought as he rotated his eye to glare at the strange man as Margot went on about the seed she held in her hand.

The fact that the mystery man's name was etched on one of the seeds Margot was carrying eased Jian a bit. The more he thought about it, he more he realized that this guy didn't seem evil. Not like that...thing...that devoured everyone else's seeds. A satisfied huff exited the man's throat and he re-sheathed his blade in a quick blur of steel. Jian hoped the other male wasn't stupid enough to take the opportunity to attack him now.

The citizen of the Ebony city could feel the questioning eyes of the eagle and the pale lady behind him, silently asking him if they should go on with their story. Slowly twisting his neck, the man looked over his shoulder and replied, "Tell him the story. It's not like we can leave him out of the loop now that we know he's one of us.". He nodded his head at Margot's hand that contained the other man's seed from the goddess.

Crossing his arms across his broad chest, Jian questioned the young man in front of him, "Jasper Greywood?". He shook his head and continued, "I can't say I've ever heard of anyone that goes by that name. Sorry kid."

Tristan watched as the horned man finally sheathed his sword. When he did Tristan relaxed a little, and he took his own hand off the hilt of his sword.

"Jasper Greywood? I can't say I've ever heard of anyone that goes by that name. Sorry kid."

Disappointment fluttered briefly across his features, but it wasn't much more than he had expected.

"I'm not a kid." He said, when he heard Jian calling him that. "I'm Twenty and three - an adult by any standard." He said, sounding a little annoyed. Tristan was a short man with a few boyish or pretty features, so he looked younger than he was. He'd been called a child by mistake before, and probably would again in the future, but that didn't mean it didn't bother him.

“Oh so I am the storyteller now?” Margot stated as everyone seemed to glance at her to fulfill this gap that existed in their palaver. Tristan, or so she assumed since he didn’t rebuke it, was curious about a name that didn’t at all seem familiar to her. The woman plucked the other seed from her bag only to note that it lacked any indication whatsoever of whom it belonged too. She sighed. When did it happen that this Child of Copper became the guardian of so many gods and goddess’s desires.
It was then she had an idea- but she held it until after she finished her story.

“Misene saved us from the Dark Seed,” Margot stated calmly. “Transported us to her shrine- and to be honest I don’t know where that was because it definitely wasn’t that building.” Her hand waved behind her- to the balcony that they had just traversed. “She explained to us that if we don’t stop all of this that this carnage will hit every city, every settlement, and devour the entire world.” Maybe Margot added a bit to much of a flourish there, but it seemed to get the job done. “Of course we are unsure how to stop this really, but she indicated quite heavily that our first task is finding Janus the Liarsmith as it was his job to keep the Dark Seed secure and not let it be born onto this world.”
It was then she sighed.
“Then she died, and broken into five pieces.” With that she clopped towards Tristan, “and our names were embedded on these shards. This is Misene’s seed, or at least pieces of it. Part of her power seems to want to go to you Tristan. Will you help us? Maybe it’ll also help you find this Jasper person.”

It was then she turned her head a bit to the group. “And I think our first course of action is talking to a god. I do believe that I read somewhere that they know where the others are at any given point- they just can’t leave their Cities to find them. Would have been helpful if Misene had told us that- then again if Janus would hide from anyone it would be her.”

Tristan thought all of this over carefully for a moment.

’You are too kind. It will get you into trouble someday.’ Jasper had told him, and maybe he was right, but this was no time to stray from who he was. How could Tristan walk away knowing what he knew now. ’The dark seed…’ He thought of what he had witnessed from a distance. It had all seemed like a half forgotten dream, familiar, but fragmented.

He looked back down at the shard that bore his name in the woman’s hand. “Okay. I’ll do it. I will help the three of you, if I am able to.” He finally decided. He hesitantly reached out and took the seed from her hand. Warmth radiated from his fingertips and spread all throughout his body. It left him with a funny feeling, and he stared down at his hand for a moment before he raised his eyes up to the other again, finding himself surprised by what he saw. It was like each person had tiny lights inside of them – like the small flame of a candle.

“And I think our first course of action is talking to a god. I do believe that I read somewhere that they know where the others are at any given point- they just can’t leave their Cities to find them. Would have been helpful if Misene had told us that- then again if Janus would hide from anyone it would be her.”

“So where do we go? What city do we try first?” He asked.

"Ebony." Nimbus spoke.

She glanced at her battle claws. They needed some special attention. Might as well kill two birds with one stone- NO! Wait, might as well kill two wolves with one stone! She corrected herself. Although, it's not like she hasn't killed any birds. But she was still apart of that category and would not use such a phrase again. Even in her head.

"We might as well brush up our gear, right?" She looked to her new pals for agreement. "This is a mission, yes? I don't go into battle without prepping my weaponry. At least you can understand, Jian and Tristan."

Nimbus looked over at Margot, hoping the kind lady would permit them to go to Ebony City, where a good blacksmith friend of hers could be asked to help with their gear.

An amused chuckle escaped the horned man's throat at the other male's reaction. "Don't take it personally. To a man of my age, you're still a kid, Tristan." Jian stated and gave him a small smirk.

While putting his sturdy belt back on, Jian silently listened to the rest of his party discuss what to do next. Their idea of finding a god to help them seemed logical...the gods and goddesses were in constant contact with each other and should know something that could help the four of them.

Hearing the name of his native city gave Jian quite a shock. 'Why would outsiders want to even set foot inside the Ebony city? It's not like these people would appreciate its rugged beauty. They're used to tender spring grasses and wispy trees, not dark mountains and sharp cliffs.' the older male thought to himself. But then again, he could understand Nimbus' reasoning and nodded to the eagle in agreement. Jian's hometown did have a reputation of providing the best armor, weaponry and repairs. That, and they would need to stock some supplies for the long journey to who-knows-where.

To be honest while Margot was a bit shaky on this new alliance with Tristan it seemed as if Misene trusted him as well. Sincerely she wondered if any of these other three were trustworthy, but figured that the time for guessing their allegiance was gone.

“Ebony?” She parroted. Fingers came up to her pale locks and she ran them through the few strands that had broken free of her usually tight bun. Margot had somewhat hoped they would have picked Copper as it was not only closer, but her home city state. Yet that being said Hastian was an elusive figure that would be harder to track than Magnus- and then there was the Fathom. It was rumored to hover around the shores of the Ebony City.
Maybe it would offer some sound advice.

“Very well,” she remarked. “That would be killing two- um- flies with one swipe.” Those eyes pressed against Nimbus as she nearly committed a verbal faux pas. “Fathom and Magnus- and I’m sure the latter will give us audience with Misene seeds in our chests. And Fathom- well- I’m unsure, but he is the vaporous accumulation of powerful dead. So maybe.”
It was then she glanced around the ruined City of Ivory- as cold and lifeless as a rock in a stream. “Maybe outside of Ivory there are caravans that we can take. We aren’t really the most- ah- mobile of groups.”

The low humming managed to finally breach Margot’s hearing. She jerked her head up to see pale shadows on the horizon. There was a low chug of engines that emancipated into the sky, and a plume of dank gray smoke that twirled and whistled with it. “Carnelian.” She breathed. “If we want to make haste we best get moving- or otherwise we’ll be detained by the fire eaters.”

"Then lets get going." Nimbus said, glancing at the dark smoke.

Nimbus just hopped on ahead, then, irritated at hopping, she swept up in the air. Circling around, she made a pass between the three new companions.

"Meet you at the caravans, not one to hop much." She managed to say loudly, and quickly. The Golden Eagle passed over Ivory. Looking down, she was relieved that she didn't see the girl among the dead. But, she had to frown. There on the ground was the father. His hands reaching in a motionless wave.

Probably to say good bye to his daughter...

Finally over the walls, she descended on a few abandoned caravans.

“If we want to make haste we best get moving- or otherwise we’ll be detained by the fire eaters.”

Tristan listened carefully. Why had he not heard the humming before? He shook his head, silently scolding himself.

“Let’s go, then.” He urged. He watched the woman and the horned man for a moment before he began to head back through the dead streets of Ivory, hurrying towards the caravans.

The caravans were slow tumbling away from the Ivory City. It was unknown whether or not they felt the desolation ebbing off of the empty city from their station far away- or if they simply didn’t plan to stop at the gleaming huddle of buildings in the distance.

When they arrived they found themselves immersed in the thick scent of those from all over their world. There were the somewhat plant-like Malachites, the sleek and dark Ebonites, the brooding Carnelians, the altered Steels, the feral Copperians, and even a few Ivories who glanced back towards the homestead with trepidation and curiosity.
They offered to take the group to the City of Ebony, but for a cost: tell them the tale of Ivory.

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Ebony existed to the immediate West of its’ sister city, and it was apparent as to where its’ name evolved from. The banqueted plains of fervent green and sweepings golds turned into grey-black turns of rock and stone, and the roads become narrower as the sweeping jags of earth erupted around them. The sky took on a dusky umber hue, and the stars seemed to show far more brilliantly at night. They were like small pinholes of light in a smooth expanse of darkness. Ebony wasn’t always in darkness, but there was never a full light in the land as their position on this tilting planet always seemed to glance the sun.
Yet there was beauty in this because the close they got to the Ebony City the more and more the stars shown until the small specks became rivers of light that poured into their horizon- into the Starlit Sea. Immense inky black waves crashed against the craggy peaks of gray, and only the most brave of the citizens of Ebony skimmed these waters for fallen stars- for their hearth fire in an unforgiving land.

The caravan halted at the gates of the Ebony City.
“This is odd,” one of the riders stated. “There has never been a refugee check here before.”
“Aye you would think this was the City of Steel or some such nonsense.”
“I told tha lot of yah we shoulda gone to Copper.”
Margot pulled her head out of her journal as the husky rumbling of argument made her ears flick. “What seems to be the problem?”
A caravan member whipped her head over and glanced at the Copper Child’s form before she rattled on. “They are stopping us- checking our papers. It might be a good time to part from us- you might have an easier time with just the four of yah. You might mention that you know what happened to Ivory- yeah?”

Margot found that to be sound advice and went to gather her companions. Between being messengers of Misene and Ivory- there was always Jian who was a citizen of Ebony. They were bound to get in. Well addendum- they needed to get in. Who knew how many days they had until the next Dark Seed attack?

The journey to Jian's homeland was a bit long, but he was happy to see the familiar cityscape once again. Sure, it might have seemed a bit dark and bleak to the others in his group, but to Jian, it was comforting.

The caravan eventually stopped at a checkpoint near the city's entrance. 'Huh...that's new.' he thought, 'Did something happen? Oh Misene, please tell me my girls are all right.'. A feeling of dread crept its way up the man's spine as he thought of his family. Something must've happened, why else would the city close itself off like this?

The sound of the others exiting the caravan snapped him back to reality and Jian tried to get a hold of himself. He couldn't appear weak, especially now when this rag-tag group needed him most. He'd have to be their guide to this metropolis after all. "Now where should we go first?" he quietly mumbled to himself as he secretly eyed each of the party's members.

Nimbus was perched on top of the caravan. She was having a look at Tristan. He seemed interesting to her. A young man, but an old soul kind of feeling struck her. Normally she would have taken this time to nap, but she didn't feel quite so safe right now. The Copperian didn't necessarily trust these folks. When the caravan stopped and her new comrades got off, Nimbus peeked over the edge of the top of the wagon.

"Check points?" She muttered to herself. Then grumbled that she didn't even have to go on land for any stinking check points. Flying was so much faster and efficient. If only everyone could do it. Seeing as they can't, Nimbus irritatingly hop-fluttered to the ground and when Jian asked which way they should go first, Nimbus thought it might be the best time to ask Jian a question, as well as give him her opinion.

"I think I'd like to visit a Blacksmith friend of mine. Short man, big beard. Has a limp in the left leg. I call him Chub. Because he's chubby." Nimbus spoke, and then turned her gaze up at Jian. "Would you be a pal and let me perch on your shoulder? It's dreadful down here."

"Please" She added quickly, remembering her manners.

The mention of the word 'blacksmith' caught Jian's attention immediately. As the eagle described the man she was talking about, a somewhat familiar image formed in his head. " I think I have seen who you're talking about, Nimbus." he mentioned, "I don't know him that well, but we've briefly met a couple of times. I don't recall his name though. We see one another in the marketplace once in a blue moon.".

Jian closed his eye and raddled his brain for that man's name. 'I know his name, I know I do. Ugh, why can't I think of it?!' he yelled at himself in his mind. It was then that the eagle made an odd request. Slowly opening his eyelid, Jian gazed at Nimbus as he thought for a moment. "Eh, why not. Come on up here." Jian patted his shoulder, inviting the bird to perch herself there. The spaulders on his shoulders protected his skin from Nimbus' sharp claws and provided a nice foundation for her to grip on to.

"Oh, goody!" Nimbus swept up happily to his left shoulder, so she didn't block the vision of his right eye. Her claws held strong, but she knew his shoulder would be fine. After all, she wasn't actually holding skin.

"By the way, I think Chub's real name is..." Nimbus huffed in thought. What was his real name? Bob? Cob? It had something to do with 'ob'. "Oh, wait, yeah. He's Rob. Yeah, that's it. Robert Bartholomew Wick."

"But he looks like 'Chub' to me so..." Nimbus trailed off, shrugging. Then she sighed in contentment. The Golden Eagle could see very well from that height. It wasn't anything like flying, but she was glad to be off the ground at the least. The Copperian wouldn't be trouble at all to carry either. She was sure Jian was strong enough to handle the weight. Besides that she kept clean and she would say she smelled like gardenia flowers, if you asked her.

"Are we all going to the Smithy? Or what? Do we split up and meet somewhere later? I do really have to get my gear prepped." Nimbus asked the others.

Tristan spent much of his time on the caravan in a deep and quiet thought. Sometimes he wrote in the journals he kept, other times he just sat in silence or stared out at the scenery. He spoke sometimes, but little. He learned the names of his new companions, which was a start at least. Better than thinking of them all as ‘Woman’, ‘Horned-man’, and ‘Bird’. When the caravan came to a stop he listened to everyone talking about the checkpoint. What if we are not able to get into the city? the thought crossed his mind.

He hopped down off of the caravan with the rest of them. He listened as Nimbus and Jian discussed the blacksmith’s name, and he couldn’t help but chuckle when Nimbus continued to refer to the man as Chub even after recalling his real name. While they continued to discuss where to go next he took his crimson blindfolded out of one of his pockets. Tristan lowered his hood so that he could fasten it on before he brought the hood back up. The dark was something he’d grown accustomed to, but it didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

Margot scuttled behind Nimbus and Jian as they discussed the name of a potential fellow that they were going to visit. His name was apparently forgettable, but his appearance inspired the revelation of ‘Chub’. She let loose a loud pout as she felt that the conversation was blathering into the inane. About that time Tristan joined them with a blazing crimson scarf covering his eyes. Margot wanted to ask about it immediately, but realized that it was probably not the time or place. Her influence over the boyish faced male was probably not to the point that she could will such information from his lips.

‘Dearest Hastian- this seems less like a proper recording of the world around my journeys and more like my vexations of my travel partners. We seem to be discussing the proper name of a weapon smith named ‘Chub’. Chub bring to mind someone with a festive amount of fat covering their body and a lack of worry about its’ existence. I find that intriguing, but not the point that I want to follow these two to find out. We need to find Magnus. Apparently I’m the only one crunched for time here. Isn’t that somewhat hypocritical?’

“So is this Chub fellow far from here? Because the Temple of Ebony is only a short jaunt that way.” It was hard to miss that massive structure that nearly blotted out the sky. She would gain nothing from visiting a weapon smith. What could Margot do exactly? She was short. She was not at all muscular- if anything she probably needed to lose a few pounds. Her kind was not nimble, but neither were they stout- they were more people of the land than of the military. There was her ability to use a crossbow, but to be honest that was mostly for show than actual application.

Her eyes flicked over the walls as they were ushered through without much hassle. Apparently Jian’s appearance or maybe their miniscule group would not be ground s for much trepidation. The city sprawled out before them in glimmering flickers of dark majesty that was punctuated by glowing hearth lights.
“Hm maybe we can spare the time.” She mushed sweetly. “I am also starving.” A lazy point of her fingers to her curves and she admitted: “I didn’t get to be this curvaceous without a little help.”

The group had fortunately made its way through the gates without much impediment along the way. Jian was familiar with most of the people managing the checkpoints, as most of their armor had been forged or repaired by Jian himself. Usually only a wink and a nod were needed to pass through and soon enough, they were inside the breath-taking Ebony City.

Jian found himself taking in the familiar sights, sounds and smells of his homeland when something caught his eye. Apparently the other male had adorned himself with a bright crimson blindfold. 'Huh, this group just keeps getting weirder and weirder.' he thought as he made a mental note to keep half and eye on Tristan. It would be disastrous if the smaller man hurt himself or something with that red thing blocking his eyesight. 'It seems that both of us have vision problems. I wonder what his deal is.' Jian would have to discuss it with him later.

As for where to go first, both Nimbus and Margot had valid points. The group needed to freshen up their weaponry, gather supplies and fill their bellies. A hungry rumble from Jian's stomach sealed the deal on where they would venture to first. "It appears that both Margot and I are in need of a meal." he announced, "I'm assuming you two are as well? I know a little shop not too far from here that's cheap and tasty if we want to head that way.". He pointed in a westerly direction, towards the outskirts of the nearby marketplace.

"Yeah, sure." Nimbus shrugged, thinking the red fold on Tristan was one of the funniest things a person could do to their face, on purpose! But she kept her laughter away form escaping. Still, her mind kept going back to think. 'Why blind yourself on purpose?'. Not the best at asking those things when food has been mentioned, for if it wasn't, Nimbua would be spilling out her curiosity, she nodded to Jian.

"And yeah, Margot, Chub is in that direction. Something about, better pay er, better something." Nimbus sighed. "I don't know, I just know I saved his ass- Um sorry...I saved him once and he's the guy I go to for free service. These battle claws, he invented them."

"But I guess I can spare the time to eat, I'm quite hungry as well." Nimbus wasn't starving, she had caught food along the way to Ebony. Yet, food passes and now it was time to eat again. "Why not eat first then, Margot? I can tell you want to get this quest going, but we do need food" Nimbus smiled warmly at her friend. She thought Margot was a sweet Copperian. Tristan seemed odd with his blind fold, and Jian was a sport. He wasn't mad about the 'goat boy' thing, and let her on his shoulder.

Tristan walked through streets with the others with surprising ease. It was something he had just grown used to over time, yet now even beneath the blindfold he was pleasantly surprised that he could still see the small lights in others. It helped in the getting around whenever they would pass by other people or make their way through a crowded street. He listened to the bustling noises around him and praised himself for remembering to cover his eyes. He could hear merchants, entertainers, and laughter in the distance. The market, probably he figured. Tristan stopped when the others stopped to discuss where they should go first.

“I don’t particularly need anything from a blacksmith, but something to eat would be nice.” He said as he remembered he had not eaten for quite some time.

“It is decided then,” with that Margot pointed in the direction that Jian was heading with extreme gusto and eagerness. “Onward to sustenance!”

It had been easy enough to procure food, and Margot devoured it quite hastily as they began to make their way towards the one known as ‘Chub’ and his glorious ‘battleclaw’ invention. The woman had to admit that Nimbus’s fashioned weapons were quite aesthetically pleasing if not overly handy to have. Still Margot saw no need for such things to be designed for her own self, and teetered about with thoughts of their mission. It was sad how busy her mind was as it usually was more restful and content to wallow about in fine foods, stout wines, and good stories. Ah- and speaking wine- Margot had managed to procure some from a street vendor on their way into the marketplace. While it probably wasn’t in good taste to drink before attempting an audience with Magnus- she would eventually find time drink herself cheerfully silly, and of course encourage her compatriots to do the same.

OOC: Yes I sort of just glossed over getting food as I didn’t think it was important to the plot. But rumxcoke feel free to bring in Chub now. I’m excited to see this NPC. c:

Nimbus tried to keep crumbs off of Jian. Her raspberry pasty, although moist and filled with berry goodness, was still sticky at the least. She managed well enough, hiding a smudge of jam from Jian, which wasn't too hard because she was sitting on his blind side. The Golden Eagle had a sweet tooth and a liking for wine as well. Before she could ask Margot to open the bottle now, for her manners were not as refined as the pale lady, she looked up and called out to stop walking.

“Hey, guys, here we are.” Nimbus spoke. “See? Not very far from where we need to go. Chub! Hey CHUB!” The large birds voice raised above the hussel and bussel. Beside them was a rather peculiar house for Ebony to have. It reminded one of a badgers hovel. Connected to it was a fine looking Smithy. The embers of the fire with in gave the place a warmth. Currently the man was not seen, but then he came shuffling out to greet them.

“Nimbus? Is that you?” The man spoke in a different language, but Nimbus understood him. It was the circumstance of Chub's rescue that forever prevented him from using the common tongue, but the one used by crows. A bird language was no challenge for Nimbus. Chub still had his business, because he could write in the common tongue, as well as still understand it.

Chub came around the bend of his home, a greasy rag in his hands. A few scars here and there gave him character. Chub was more muscular than what Nimbus had described, although he did seem to fit the name Nimbus used for him. He had a boulder like appearance, three fuzzy tails and five twisted horns that pointed back away from his bearded face. His colors were dusty grays and red. Chub was short. Shorter than Margot. But as tubby and small as he was, his hands were that of a Blacksmiths, and no doubt about it!

“Nimbus! You old bird you! It's good to see you again!” He just about hugged her, but stopped. Chub was covered in grime. “And who are your friends?”

“Oh, that's right.” Nimbus pointed to each person. “This is Jian, of course, he's from here. The Copperian is Margot, and this one with the red blindfold is Tristan of Silver- Yes, the one that's been consumed by the Dark Seed.” Nimbus nodded to her friends curious expression.

“Oh, well, that's a tragedy that happened to your City lad.” Chub spoke sympathetically. Nimbus relayed to her comrades whatever Chub had to say, so they were in the know.

"Alright Nimbus, you come here for a visit or two, but I'm guessing you need some repairs?" He asked, a serious professionalism came over the man. A bit of pride in him too, because he had seen Jian before, and knew that the man was also a Blacksmith...but Nimbus was at Chub's station, not Jians. So he took this opportunity to show off a little.

"I can do whatever you need, Nim." He said, and told the others he was glad to help them as well.

Tristan had finished his own meal quickly enough. Like Margot, Tristan was eager to continue on. He was both curious and wary about the audience with Magnus that lie ahead of them, and if it would give them any of the answers they sought. Would he be able or willing to reveal the location of Janus? And there was another goal Tristan had in mind; a silent hope known only to him.

“Follow the path that they have set out before them, and you will find what has happened to the one person you loved the most in this world.”

These words still whispered to his mind in times of silence. Dare he hope for such a thing?

It won’t really change the outcome, though… Tristan mused as he followed the others through the city as they made their way to where the blacksmith “Chub” had his shop. I can’t change the past… He held a doubt in his heart for a moment before he finally shook it away. He was committed now. He had agreed to help in this journey and so he would. Besides, even if he could not change the past, knowing was still better than wondering.

When they did reach the blacksmith, they soon learned that, for whatever reason, Chub did not speak the common tongue. Nimbus provided the group with translations. Tristan stood attentively, though he shifted a little uneasily when Silver was mentioned.

“That's a tragedy that happened to your City” Nimbus translated for him.
“It was.” He said. He wondered if he should say more, but what more was there? The city was gone. Its people had been left in much the same state that had been seen in Ivory.
Silver had once been such a beautiful place… he thought to himself.

Tristan didn’t personally need anything worked on from the blacksmith. He was already well armed, and Tristan always did his best to keep his blades in good condition.

Eventually, the group made its way towards the little restaurant and ate to their hearts' content. As for Jian, he enjoyed a noodle bowl of some kind as the bird on his shoulder munched on a pastry. 'An eagle eating baked goods. Who would've thought?' he mused to himself as they meandered over to Nimbus' friend's shop.

Soon enough, the companion on Jian's shoulder was calling out to the man known as Chub. As it turned out, he was quite short, especially standing next to Jian but he had respect for the blacksmith. They hadn't spoken in a while, but they had mutual respect for each other. What was surprising was that Chub spoke in a harsh, almost bird-like way with words the horned man couldn't decipher. 'The language of the birds? What in the world?' Jian wondered in his mind.

"Hey, Nimbus?" Jian questioned the eagle in a hushed tone, "What's with the bird-speak? Can't he just speak to us in our common tongue? I know he knows it...we've spoken together before.". Jian eyed the boulder-like man suspiciously for a minute before gazing around the shop to look for anything they would need.

Something about this blacksmith guy was different. Not necessarily good or bad mind you, but different nonetheless. And to Jian, something changing usually wasn't a good thing. Anyway, he decided that Margot needed to carry a weapon. The others were well-armed, but she was utterly defenseless as of this moment. 'Now what kind of a weapon could she handle?' The taller man took note of the rapiers, light crossbows and daggers lining the shop wall. 'Those shouldn't be too heavy for her delicate frame.'.

"Hey, Nimbus?" Jian questioned the eagle in a hushed tone, "What's with the bird-speak? Can't he just speak to us in our common tongue? I know he knows it...we've spoken together before.". Jian eyed the boulder-like man suspiciously for a minute before gazing around the shop to look for anything they would need.'

"Oh, well, it's kind of like this..." Nimbus began. "Chub knows many languages, it's true, but at the time he was injured he had hit his head pretty hard right after speaking to some crows. It was the last language he spoke before he lost consciousness. When I found him, he was just waking up when a few bandits pulled a knife on him. I dived down and defended him, this was before..."

Nimbus stopped suddenly. She was not certain if she should say the reason why she would not have helped Chub, if she had seen him just a short month later.

"...Anyway, something just went wrong with his head, and now he can't speak anything but Crow speech." The Golden Eagle really didn't really want to talk about what had almost happened to her.

"Chub said I was welcome to his Smithy and free service, and that's what happened. Not much else to tell about that..."

It was too much to speak of how she would have just ignored Chub if she had found him later. How she would have had a cold heart and not cared to help him for free. And from what Nimbus felt when she got Misene's seed, she didn't want to lose the healing that was happening in her heart by bringing up a near death experience.

Nimbus had many near deaths, but none so personal as what happened to her not so long ago. A few months ago in fact.

"So, Chub, I need my battle-claws cleaned and sharpened. The re-tractability is getting a bit hard to do now. I think there is too much blood stuck in the talon joints." The Copperian flew over to his work bench, unlatching the weapons from her feet. She also slipped off her helmet. "This needs a shine."

Chub was well- not what Margot expected. Maybe she was visualizing someone far more rotund. Mind you he did have a bit of adipose that settled on his form but he was far from someone whose body type was ‘chubby’. As they were introduced- she performed a short little curtsey and feigned a motion of sweeping a dress to the side. “Pleasure,” she stated sweetly before her eyes crept over to Tristan’s form. She found herself perplexed once again over the blindfold but said nothing of it, and instead offered a polite frown when the City of Silver was mentioned once again.

It was swift enough that the conversation swept back to Jian and Nimbus reacquainting themselves with Mister Not-Chub, and Margot found herself glaring at all the weapons loitering about. Mind you she had a crossbow and that while it was no threatening sword or intimidating axe- it got the job done when need be. More importantly she stayed far from dirty when fights did erupt. Margot was no soldier and didn’t at all pretend to be one- but sometimes she found herself at the sour end of a squabble.
She glanced back over to Nimbus and offered a bemused smile as the warrior eagle brandished her weapons to the man. The only part of Margot that might be viewed as dangerous was her horn, and that was only if someone wasn’t paying much attention and lost an eye to it.

Margot took that time to saddle up to Jian and look over what he was looking over. “Never been one for weapons- I’ve always found my words and wit to be sharper and stronger than any sword. That and I’m short- as are most bushes.”