The Beginning of Light and Darkness [PG-13]

[Kyng's Old Account]

"And I suggest you learn to trust people, the pair of you." a simple sound from the door, echoing as the plaided ponytail flickered inside the room, Jed smugly returning to the bar as he let out a yawn, leaning upon the edge of the bar as he placed down a recently 'purchased' flask for the barmaid to fill; eyes back onto Sophia, he shrugged before saying "If you can trust those who've got your back, you could very well end up becoming your own enemy...you know, paranoia, lack of sleep, etcetera, etcetebra..." the last word a corruption of the former as he spotted the barmaid's buxom as she returned with his drink, chuckling with shoving it into his pocket. Following this, he glanced around the bar and yawned again as he went to say "Speaking of sleep, I slept like a baby; it was the comfiest I've been without a lass in your arms." with his typical happy-go-lucky chuckle, and with that he decided to finally stand up, with of course handing the barmaid her relevant pay.

A quick glance around, he decided to walk over to the two, and gazing up and down their figures, he chuckled before saying "Now, as much as tall women are supposed to be sexier, I'm still giving the medal to Sophia..." before glancing right into the delicious show of cleavage her 'holy guard' breastplate offered on display, quick taken how a member of the King's highest order of knights would be allowed such raunchy wear; well, everyone to their own, he assumed. "...but, your blue hair always...worried...me..." he went on to say, before shrugging and smiling. "Then again, I'm not at all perfect myself; takes one with flaws to know one with flaws; regardless..." he went on to say in Noah's direction. "...you definitely win in the ass department, sugar." with a wink, Jed swiftly took a seat before saying "Now, when that gorgeous little squire, and her pest of a knight show up, as well as...whatever else we're bringing along, although I do prefer the squire for the record; when they show up, we're good to go, right?"

[Grunt Issun]

Titus silently stepped into the group, from a nearby dim corner, where he had been for the past two hours. "Yes, I would have to agree with our mutual friend, here. On the trust part, of course" Titus told the group. "If nobody trusts anyone, then we may be far too busy watching others, studying them, waiting for them to screw up, that we never get even a single step closer to our goal" he pointed out. He swept a hand through his hair dramatically, "Why, even our Holy Guard member here, and this man who she does so clearly not get along with, will work faithfully together, for this, such an important mission" he proclaimed, "Am I wrong in saying that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Sophia

[i]'In truth, though...' [/i]He thought silently, [i]'There does seem to be a great deal of tension between the members of our group... This might be troublesome'[/i] he continued. Suddenly he glanced up at Jed, [i]'I can not blame them, though. When our group is made up of flamboyant, vulgar, criminals, necromancers with trust issues, a knight who doesn't know how to cover herself up, an annoying little girl who can't keep her trap shut, mixed ever so gracefully with a few... normal people. By comparison, of course'[/i]

[Elƒie]

[color=#800080][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]"You've a big mistake letting a lot of these people in on this whole Votum journey; as far as I can tell, they may plan to [i]use[/i] [/background][/size][/font][/color][color=#800080][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]you to get this thing."[/background][/size][/font][/color][color=#008080][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)] [/background][/size][/font]"I understand.. But, there is strength in numbers and I'm sure they won't cause an issue until we find the Votum.. If we even find it, that is,"[/color] Sophia put her map away, looking at the necromancer straight in the eyes, [color=#008080]"As for the axing.. It's talk like that, that won't earn [i]you [/i]trust, Noah. I have [i]some [/i]trust in these people.. I have trust in their abilities and confidence and that they'll be loyal until the end of the search, either fruitful or not.."[/color]

At that point, Jed joined up with the females, adding in his two cents about the trust matter and a few other things, [color=#008080]"Hmph! You say you've changed.. But for a supposedly married man, you still act as you did back then, maybe even worse."[/color] Then came in another one of the volunteers with his own comment on trust, [color=#008080]"Time changes everything, Titus. This group may not have much trust, but life's always been like that. I'm sure Jed didn't trust those who first joined his bandit group, not right away, anyways. I'm sure they had to prove themselves before he trusted them more and more. And I'm sure you didn't come to trust people who are you friends right away. They had to prove they could be trusted, correct? This group is no different, trust has to be forged with time and action between us all. All nine of us, if I counted correctly."[/color]

[Enrise]

A quiet sleep came from within Lex's room. Contrary to what it seems, it wasn't much of a sleep. He couldn't get used to the bed within the time he had been there. All he could do was recline and close his eyes, he couldn't sleep. His mind throbbed with such ideas about the Asedriron's Votum, which gradually changed his thoughts to Sophia, then the King, to the Holy Guard on over to the Divine Dragons, and eventually, to Asedriron himself. Lex shifted his attention over to his cloak-covered armor. "I should at least try to sleep. A long journey awaits..."

He couldn't live up to those words it seems...

------

The Morning Sun came and shone through the window of Lex's room, opening his eyes to the sun in his pseudo-sleep state. He gave a loud sigh, and sat up in the bed. "[i]So much for that.[/i]" he referred to his words hours before.

With some fatigue, he slide out of bed, and walked over to the window, wearing only a pair of pants, and opened the window, allowing fresh air to pour into the room graciously. The morning breezes always did feel nice, especially with the sea in the distance, it only makes it all the more beautiful. However, that feeling was somewhat interrupted when he noticed the rest of the volunteers and the woman herself began preparing for the journey. He left the window, opened, and began to ready himself.

------

Walking down the stairs of the tavern, in the same attire as always: battle armor shrouded by the cloak of his that draped to the floor with the hood covering himself, Lex slowly retrieved his weapons from the weapon's deposit, and made his way to the exit, resting the staff at his back and the sword at his side. When exiting the door, he stepped aside when he saw a cat, meowing for attention. The cat seemed well groomed, so it clearly couldn't be a street cat, but perhaps a local resident to the tavern? A pet to the dragon? Who knows. The little feline seemed to have taking a quick liking to Lex, and continued to show affection. Looking at the small group of four, Lex decided he'll wait for the others, sitting next to the door, and resting the cat on his lap, petting it in such affection. The cat seemed to have calmed him excessively; his cares seemed to have diminished, and the morning air seemed to wake him even more.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#800080]"You see, that's the [i]problem[/i],"[/color][color=#000000] Noah lectured on, [/color][color=#800080]"Even just by saying [i]that[/i], you're implying an end to this whole circle of trust; and correctly so, I might add. Having trust is one thing, but being capable of dealing with betrayal is another. That I've yet to see from you, as your ability to fight in general. Which reminds me of a little something; I'd expect a knight to be fully [i]clad[/i] in armour, and [i]certainly[/i] not allow the exposure of key weak spots... more specifically right here..."[/color]

[color=#000000]Noah poked her wand straight at Sophia's heart, angled similar to the angle a dagger would be thrusted at. She held it there with a single finger for a few seconds, before it started to slip. She quickly grabbed it before it could get away from her though, but she didn't say anything further to Sophia. Instead, Noah turned her attention to Jed, as she approached him.[/color]

[color=#800080]"I'll start placing my trust when the time is right,"[/color][color=#000000] she told him, [/color][color=#800080]"But I will [i]never[/i] let my guard down; not even for a second,"[/color]

[Hotaru987]

"But why do you have to go?" The small young, blue haird boy complained as he and Helena walked together. "Because, I think it'll be good for us. Don't worry Caiden, I'll make sure to write to you whenever I can." She smiled lovingly at the boy, who in turn smiled happily back, "You promise mama!?" Helena laughed, "Of course I do. Now you have to promise me something." A look of cute confusion fitted on his face, "You have to be a good boy for Aunt Tylena. Don't cause her too much trouble alright."

"Ok, mama. I'll be good." Suddenly Helena scooped up her soon, placing him on her back and took off full speed, arms out on either side of her as if she was an airplain, even makign engine noises. Caiden squealed in laughter as he held on tightly to Helena's neck. She laughed a long with them as they soon came up on a small, modest house. There was a woman outside tending to the few flower beds around the house. "Auntie Tylena!" Caiden greeted waiving his arms widely.

Tylena smiled warmly, her eyes gentle and beautiful. "Guess you're leaving today." Helena nodded, putting Caiden down. "Yeah, thanks again for watchign him for me. If you need any extra money while I'm gone I put your name down as someone allowed to take out from my account."

"You worry too much Helena. We'll be fine, and in no time we'll forget all about you with all the fun we are going to have, right Caiden." Going along with it Caiden agreed, "Yep! And then mama will be sorry she left!" Said person chuckled ruffeling her son's hair, 'Believe me, I'm already missing you, but I should get going now. They are all probably there already." She squated down to Caiden's level squeezing him in a hug, "I'll write as soon as I can." Smiling when he pecked her cheek saying, "For good luck."

"Now I'll definately come back. Thanks to your kiss I'll be alright." Hearing that Caiden smiled, a cute blush rising on his face. Helena rose to her feet thanking Tylena once again before leaving, waving to them as she walked away. When she made it to the meeting place Sophia, Jed and two other people were there - one female and the other male. She didn't remember hearing their names but didn't bother asking as she noticed one person not there. "Where is that Seth? I'm surprised he's not here chewing me out for being late." She smirked, "Hehe, don't tell me mister high and mighty actually over slept. Oh, i'm so holding this over his head!"

[Justice Master]

Although Adrius should have been the first to show up as he easily was the first there. What kept him was his lack of social skills and a bit of snooping around. He made sure to check all of the files available on everyone who was volunteered at The Crystal Mistress the day before. What he found was a group of people mostly stricken by tragedy except for the few exceptions. However, the files easily let him to begin to theorize who would be of most danger. Jed was at the top of that list, not because of any tragedy, but because the bastard was just evil. Everyone seemed capable to a hidden motive, though so it was neccesary to keep an eye on all of them. He approached the odd group and found six people there. The majority were those he was quite suspicious of, which wasn't saying many good things for the team. Nevertheless, he was there and was having to get used to the company of these people he thought little of. As much as he didn't like other people, he cared far more about having the kingdom which he had grown to love not fall into darkness. That's what it meant to him, but to everyone there, it was just him taking a few steps foward and joining the group.

[Elƒie]

Sophia simply raised an eyebrow at Noah's opinions about her armor and her little demonstration. [color=#008080]"Everyone has their reasons for choosing what armor, if any, to wear. I've tried the stereotypical full armor scenario, it just wasn't for me. It was too bulky, heavy and slowed my movements. I tried light armor, too, like hide but even with it studded, it still didn't offer enough protection. So I designed my own armor and so far.."[/color] Sophia stretched out her arms and hands, showing hardly any scars, [color=#008080]"I haven't had much of a problem yet. At least I- Huh?"[/color] Sophia looked over to her left as Helena, Seth's 'apprentice,' joined the group, making a comment about the said Paladin.

[color=#008080]"Helena, correct? Seth's at the docks right now. Last night, I asked him if he could meet up with everyone out here and guide them to the docks as I secured us a boat for the trip to the Vita Temple in the morning, but he offered to do it instead and took off to do it before I could accept or decline."[/color] Sophia shrugged before she looked around, doing a head count, [color=#008080]"Alright.. With Seth at the docks, I do believe we're missing just one more,"[/color] [color=#008080][i]'The blind one with the polar bear cub, if I remember correctly,'[/i][/color] [color=#008080]"We'll wait a few more minutes before we head out. In the meanwhile, we should all introduce ourselves. I'm Sophia, no surname, I fight with a sword and shield, have some wind manipulation,"[/color] she tapped the gem on her sword, [color=#008080]"and I'm able to excel the healing process for myself or others."[/color]

[Grunt Issun]

"Both of your points are fair enough" Titus admitted, "But we still must not be hostile towards one another" he added, as the last he would say on the subject.

When Sophia suggested that the group introduce themselves, Titus walked forward, "Well then. My name is Titus, and I prefer not to be identified by any family ties after... an incident. I've no form of magic, and my weapons are average, but my fighting skill is not. I do not deal with close up combat, and prefer to take my enemies down from the darkness, and if you ever need an object obtained, you can count on me to retrieve it" Titus explained, "I know many people, and am a master of certain... alchemical mixtures, though I don't generally make them myself. Any questions?"

[Kyng's Old Account]

Now, who else would have honestly asked Titus any questions besides this absolute a******? Chuckling, he raised his hand, a natural feat which would draw in some eyes, as his voice sounded, albeit confident in his every word and very sensually spoke, the words of an angel no softer to one's ear by the manner of this one's tongue, words that were idle and contrite. "Apart from Titus being a pretty swag name..." Jed spoke, nudging the man with his elbow with a charismatic chuckle "...this person, right here, Mr Procurer of Items we Desire, may just very well be a nice little topping to our little ensemble of personalities: he's mysterious, and quite frankly I think his voice sounds very individual." Turning to Titus with a smirk he said "And who don't love individualism, eh?" before turning back to the others, and planting his buttocks on a table, he simply decided to follow up with his introduction.

"Unlike Titus over here, I've no problem sharing my truants, accolades, etc. because, as you've all probably seen and heard by now, I love the sound of my own voice too much." Jed started off before a smile of humility, or knowing Jed he probably found his own remark humorous and had to react to it. Everyone to their own. "Jedediah Rutherford, and yes, that's Ustrina's Rutherfords. If the name doesn't ring a bell, the Crimson Bandits' name should: most notorious little band of bandits on the land whom conquered each and every last of Ustrina's big bandit groups; and, future father of course." Chuckling, Jed kicked his feet up onto a seat and rested them there as he continued to say "As for my combat, I'm sure Sophia would agree that I abide to no norms of battle..." before chuckling sinisterly, taking out a simple pouch of sand, and tossing it up he finished by saying "Which, in essence, makes me irreplaceable."

Following this, Jed suddenly bursted into laughter as he responded to Noah specifically saying "Holy sh*t, I gave you no reason to trust me, did I?" as he doubled over in laughter.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#000000]Having enough of Jedediah's laughing, Noah slammed the back of her hand against his cheek. She didn't like the idea of being laughed at, especially not when the person in question was laughing like a hyena. In hind sight though, that probably wouldn't have been the best idea, but she didn't care. All she cared about was whether or not Jed had her attention.[/color]

[color=#800080]"Mock me... and I'll [i]destroy[/i] you,"[/color][color=#000000] after saying this to Jed, Noah turned to introduce herself to the group, [/color][color=#800080]"Noah Lyman; tutored by the most [/color][color=#800080][i]powerful[/i]​[/color][color=#800080] necromancy practitioner in the world... [i]perhaps[/i] at your services. If you don't know what I as a necromancer can do, then you officially fail at life. Though, I can at least trust that you all have the [i]brain[/i] [/color][color=#800080]cells to figure that out, can I not?"[/color]

[color=#000000]With that Noah walked back over to where Sophia was again.[/color]

[color=#800080]"Now, at least you... what, exactly?"[/color][color=#000000] Noah asked mockingly.[/color]

[Enrise]

Still sitting at the curb by the tavern which they all had previously met, to a degree, Lex continued to pet the cat while overseeing the conversations of the members that have arrived thus far, and made mental thoughts about two in specific.

From the hood of his cloak, his attention was focused on the Necromancer girl, and thought about her reliability for the group.

[i]"That Noah girl, she's probably the one that will no doubt be useless to the team in a tactical sense. She limits her trusts to no one it seems, hindering any future team cooperation. She might be able to handle herself in battle, considering that her newly mentioned area of expertise of Necromancy, but if it were a battle where teamwork is nonetheless required, she'd be better off dead. I'd rather trust the bandit Jedediah with my life, despite having no real knowledge of him, than to expect cooperation from her."[/i]

Looking over to Jedediah, the apparent clown and life of the group it seems, would appear more of an asset.

"[i]The bandit does seem more applicable for being an asset for the group, unlike the girl. Sure, you can hardly trust bandits, thieves, etc., but so far, he's more trustworthy in appearances and has a more accepting attitude towards others, despite the comedic tendencies. As for how he fares in battle, well, that has yet to be seen, but it may seem more practical than an only-self-trusting Necromancer. Which brings me to question; if she doesn't trust anyone, why does she bother to travel with a group? The odds of finding the artifact doesn't change, she could just as easily go off and find the artifact herself if she doesn't seem to trust others."[/i]

His thoughts so far were reflections on the two eye-popping characters, a comedian of a bandit and a untrustworthy Necromancer. The entertaining thoughts of how the group would interact with one another would be quite unnerving for Lex.

The moment he stopped thinking about the two, the cat gave a soft meow, and jumped off Lex's lap, running off, and jumped through an open window in the tavern. "[i]Hm. Looks like he was living in the tavern all along. Go figure.[/i]"

[Hotaru987]

Hearing that Seth actually wasn't late and was just at the docks securing their boat made Helena pout, "Damn it, and I thought I would finally have something to hold over him." She was quickly over it as she observed every one present. Jed was entertaining to watch, as he always seemed to be. Helena thought he was funny, though the necromancer chick was a bit rude, ok not a bit but completely rude. Noah, she said her name was, and there were some obvious trust and teamwork issues going on with her. Even so she wasn't her main concern, and as long as Noah didn't try anything Helena was fine. That went for most of the people present. There was another named Titus, and he seemed reliable enough, which is funny considering he's a thief but of course Helena didn't know that. She wasn't always the best judge of character.

There was one other who took to petting a cat, which eventually moved hopping back though the cabin window. His name she didn't catch, but seeing as everyone else was introduced she figured she should give a proper introduction. "Well, I am Helena De Caux currently a, Page working with the royal knights." Given her attire one would not expect her to be with the royal knights, however on her shoulder was the birthmark that proved it.

[Justice Master]

Having been the only one to not give a proper introduction, Adrius felt it upon himself to give some kind of an introduction. He began to take deep breaths before finally geting his lips ready for words. A voice spoke out, not a very deep voice, but far from femine. "[color=#008000]I am Adrius Oskera[/color]," he said, slightly raising his right hand to indicate where this foriegn voice had come from. He hoped that no one recognized this name, but even if they were to realize who was here, it was going to go far better than the idiocies of a man who likes to hear himself talk. He was slightly suprised that the woman who wore barely a little more than Sophia was even working with the royal knights, but it all checked out.

Though, it was neccasary to examine everything that everyone said here, all of the actions, every little detail, Adrius found it fine to clear his mind for once and just wait for the orders. Through he tried to clear his head, he thought of a book he once read, out of the hundreds in his library, about a groop of bandits that went off looking for riches and fame. The writer obviously had a good way with knowing how people seem to work, but those before Adrius today seemed far different. Some less greedy and some even more so. He couldn't quite remember the ending, but he knew it didn't end well. Thankfully, this work of fiction had no information that he would need, as he saw bits of these people's lives today. And no matter how bad the end of the book, the possibility for the end of this quest was far, far worse.

[Elƒie]

Sophia couldn't help but let out a small sigh at Noah's and Jed's interaction,[i][color=#008080] 'It's probably for the best that we keep those two separate until Noah can learn to trust..'[/color][/i] [color=#800080][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]"Now, at least you... what, exactly?" [/background][/size][/font][/color]Sophia just raised an eyebrow at Noah and her incomprehensible question. [color=#008080]"Listen Noah.. Despite you being able to talk with the dead and learn of the future from them or use them to fight, that skill will be of no help with this group if you're so uncooperative that we have no choice but to let you go.. Now then.. We should head off for the harbor; we've wasted too much time waiting for anyone else to pop out from the tavern and I'm sure Seth and pacing back and forth, wondering where we are and I'm sure the Captian's getting impatient with us."[/color] Waving towards Lex, the man sitting near the tavern and away from the group, she signaled that they were moving and started walking northward.

About an hour later and little-to-no incidents on their travels, the group had reached a small port town name Hareen that had a few docks, a few stalls, an inn, a boat repair place and a few houses. Stopping in front of the inn, Sophia took in a deep breath of the fresh sea air, [color=#008080]"Ah~ Gotta love that sea air."[/color] Stretching her arms, Sophia relaxed, always feeling at home at the seas and the oceans of the world. Walking towards the docks, there were a few boats, many of them large ships baring supplies and travelers while a few smaller fishing boats were coming back in with the fresh catch of the day, [color=#008080]"I wonder where Seth is.. Probably on one of the ships, ranting [i]with[/i] the Captain about how we took our time getting here..."[/color] Sophia grimaced a little at the thought of a displeased Seth before continuing on to one of the docks, seeing if she could spot Seth.

[Kyng's Old Account]

Jed wouldn't stick around with the crew, why should he? When they reached the town of Hareen, he had immediately went to the stalls and began to charm his way around a few bakers, either irritating them to the point of getting an ancient baguette to swat him with, or to the opposite extreme swooning upon his every words, it lead to his mouth being rather crumby, and two pockets with a few rolls inside them; he chuckled to himself as he leaned over to Helena, absolutely adoring the energy he got from her, as he whispered "Hey there, managed to slip out and get some bread rolls..." He'd end up walking backwards if he were following her, but one way or another Jed was her as he winked and took out a roll. "Up to you, I figure that this ride'll be both dull, mind-numbing, and dry if not for my wonderful theatrics..." Eventually he snatched it back and swiveled around her as he quickly added "I'll be back with some wine, I ain't sticking myself in a boat with Sophia and Seth, my favourite buzzkills of the week!" before chuckling as he darted back into the town.

A few minutes later he'd return with a bandage around his hand as he shrugged, the other indeed with a bottle of wine as he decided to stroll up to Titus, to break a little conversation with the theif, of course he knew him as nothing more than a procurer of items. Chuckling he bounced into his view with a wave as he said "I should've asked you to get this for me, would've saved a little bit of bleeding; wine 'n' bread, my good man?" Jed'd take a seat wherever possible nearby Titus as he took a roll, and gave it a good gnash, of course not before having extended one to Titus. "You know, I don't know why..." Jed began to say, before turning to him with a more sincere smile, one more from his heart rather than his ego. "...but you give me a more...familiar vibe...it may just be me, or your incredibly awesome name, but I do hope you can count on m-"

Jed's little speech was halted as he took out another roll and, kicking himself onto his feet, winked and nodded to Titus. "I've got me a promise to keep." The reason for this was simply because Helena had caught his eye again. Darting over her he took out a roll and offered it to her, bottle of wine in the other hand. "This ought to make this trip a whole lot more fun; so, let's mingle, shall we?"

[Grunt Issun]

When the group arrived at the Harbor, it seemed that they would be waiting for Seth, the Paladin, to take note of them. Whilst they waited, Titus got the idea to inspect his allies. To see what he was dealing with. First, there was Sophia, the Knight. She seemed to be a rather morally upright person. Loyal to the kingdom, being apart of the Holy Guard and whatnot. Being a knight, she likely had great physical strength, which would prove useful in combat. Next there was the Paladin Seth. His title would indicate he possessed even greater strength than Sophia. Titus was not certain about his morals, but he was likely also loyal to the kingdom. Alongside Seth was the Page Helena. She seemed, from the start, rather inept, and inexperienced. Her attitude annoyed Titus, but he wouldn't want that getting in the way of his guise. And finally, there was Jed. From what Titus remembered, Jed was a bandit, and the leader of a Bandit gang. Unlike Helena, Jed's theatrics rather amused Titus at times, so far. Considering what he'd heard, Jed likely also possessed a great physical strength. [i]'Ah, but no one but I seems to enjoy the finer art of stealth' [/i]Titus thought, rather smugly.

Soon after, Jed appeared next to Titus, and began speaking with him. [i]'Speak of the devil, eh?' [/i]Titus thought. Titus gave a true chuckle at Jed's comment about wishing he had gotten him to get Wine for him. "Why thank you" Titus thank him, taking the offered roll of bread from Jed's hand, and promptly taking a bite out of it. When he began talking about Titus giving off a familiar vibe, he was prepared to make light of the fact that his talents could work well in the criminal life, but Jed had left before finishing his sentence. "A familiar vibe, eh?" he muttered aloud. "Now that I think about it... Jed is pretty awesome name too" he said, then chuckled.

[Hotaru987]

Helena walked behind the group arms behind her head. She felt that she should have tried to talk to someone, but they didn't seem like the most talkative bunch. Except for Jed, who seemed like to be the most fun on this entire trip. Atleast until she got to Seth, her personal stress reliever. [I]'I'm missing Caiden alread.[/I] If he was here there she wouldn't have been so board for the hour long trip to Heera. In any case, the group arrived and Helena sighed a breath of relief. She was dying of bordom. As if to answer her call Jed leaned over to her and offered a bread roll. "Wah~! When did you get that?" She was pretty hungry and having a small snack would be lovely. She noticed his pockets had more rolls and he smelled faintly like a bakery. Just as quickly as he offered he snatched it back making her pout, "Jeeeeed! Why'd you take the roll away."

Telling her that having wine would liven the party her eyes shone with excitement and mischeif, "You're speaking my language Jed. I don't exactly know about Sophia, but Seth is the biggest bizzkill ever. Man wouldn't know a good time if it bit him in the backside." He then took off too get the wine leaving Helena for a while. "Sophia looks worried. She should just chill and relax." A bit later he returned, after talking to Tidus, with wine in hand. She grinned. "You and I will get along swimmingly." As an afterthougt she nodded towards his hand, "So what happened? A little trouble with getting the wine?"

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[i][color=#800080]'The warning has been given,'[/color][/i][color=#000000] Noah thought to herself, as she walked towards the town of Hareen, [/color][color=#800080][i]'Her fate is now her own...'[/i][/color]

[color=#000000]It took ages to walk there all the way on foot, even [i]without[/i] the occasional stop, and predictably, Noah was the last to arrive. But at least she had some peace and quiet from the group, particularly from Jed. However, Asedriron's Votum was the only thing across her mind.[/color]

[color=#800080]"Alright, I came,"[/color][color=#000000] Noah stated in a cold tone, [/color][color=#800080]"Now let's just get going. The sooner we start searching for this Votum, the sooner we discover whether it [i]really[/i] [/color][color=#800080]exists..."[/color]

[color=#000000]After saying this, she immediately started to step on into the boat, without even waiting so much for permission first.[/color]

[Enrise]

Somewhat lagging behind the rest of the group, Lex enjoyed walking down the path towards the ship they were boarding. The open stall markets, seaside commotions, stench of fish, they all gave a hint of enjoyment; except for the stench of fish now that the thought had occurred correctly. And while most of the group was fooling around with bread and wine, Lex's quiet approach on the deck was hopefully unnoticed, as he took his spot away from everyone else, a perfect spot to view the scenery.

While staring off into the horizon where the sun was about overcasting the docks, Lex pondered how the trip would go. He looked at some of the group members as a sort of statistic, and fairly negative about them. [i]You have a leader who has a body that is beyond revealing, especially with the armor, I can't take her seriously, but I try to regardless; you have a bunch of thieves, bandits, or what have you, I naturally fear that this will turn into a "game" of sorts between them. There's the Paladin with the woman, they have some relationship, probably a debt from one to another. Highly doubt they're friends. I have no words for the Necromancer. Her tone towards speakers louder than a picture that's worth thousands of words. And then, there's me. No doubt I might be an odd one, but I certainly don't make a spectacle out of myself. I wonder what the opinion of others are of me. . . .[/i]

He gave a small, quiet hum to himself, realizing that perhaps joining a group of people of different backgrounds may not have been the best idea. Joining the Holy Guard might have been more worthwhile than having to deal with such conflicts in the future. Especially when it came to searching for such a dangerous object.

[.:Blu:.]

Seth awaited by the ship he had secured for the group. Even though he is a patient man, Seth felt that, by now, they should already be traversing the water by now. Seth also knew he was partly to blame. "(I should've secured the ship earlier...)" Seth thought to himself. He kept on thinking the same thing over and over again. But Seth knew beating himself over that fact wasn't helping in calming his nerves. Finally, Seth could hear familiar voices in the distance. Seth looked to see the group had arrived. Seth was ready to go. He had all of his luggage on board already as well as his stead. Seth's stallion had been on board ships before and so it has gotten familiar with harsh sea traveling conditions. This was quite favorable for Seth who is quite masterful when it comes to riding combat. But back to the events at hand, Seth walked calmly walked over to the group. Needless to say, he wasn't exactly thrilled to see Helena, and so he directed his attention to Sophia, who despite ranking lower than Seth, is the leader on this quest.

"Sophia, the vessel you have requested has been secure. We can now proceed with the pursuit of Asedriron's Votum." Seth reported.

Seth looked to those who would be accompanying Sophia on her quest. "(They all look like capable men. Hopefully things will go over without a hitch, but...)" Seth remembered that there may be an issue with morals considering there were thieves amongst the group. However, Seth would not judge them until they've actually done something Seth wouldn't agree with. Then, they would have to deal with this paladin's fury. "Helena, I hope you haven't been causing any unwanted trouble for Lady Sophia or our new comrades in my absence, have you...?" Seth asked, a bit unsure if he wanted to even know Helena's response. There was definitely still a trust issue going on between the two of them, even though they've known each other for quite some time now.

[Justice Master]

When arriving at the simple market port town known only as Hareen, Adrius, unlike the otheers, didn't do a thing. He just stood observed the other members of the crew. Their actions here could easily be noted for future refrence. The clever bastard known as Jed seemed to have a cunning strategy by befriending two other members. This was NOT good at all as Adrius was almost certain that the bandit didn't care for anyone buft himself, and was going to see the others work as pawns in his game. Although it was possible that the ex-bandit was simply being friendly and had given up his ways, but Adrius didn't give it any mind, especially for someone as that arrogant.

The royal knights appeared to be taking the mission more seriously than the others and seemed to have good intentions. Speculation was never a defining point of innoscence to Adrius, so they were still to be considered as dangerous to the world as anyone else there. When Sethen gave the permission for boarding, the quiet, rich man found it impossible to not board at that second. Another second having to wait for the possiblity of that relic falling into the wrong hands was agrovating to him. Adrius, while making his way onto the ship, saw the necromancer, obviously have gotten up there before the order was given. As much as he hated Jed, she was going to be a problem with little respect for athority. Not to mention the power she held. She could cause this mission to fold over very easily with the wrong decision. She had to be watched more closely than all of the others, for the mission, for the king, and for the good of the world.

[Elƒie]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]"Sophia, the vessel you have requested has been secure. We can now proceed with the pursuit of Asedriron's Votum." [/background][/size][/font][/color]Turning around, Sophia saw Seth up on a ship called the [url="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs27/f/2008/179/6/a/6aa46a4699766ffab1ab51c8294dab81.jpg"]Mirajane[/url],[color=#008080] "Ah, Seth! Sorry about the delay, we waited a few extra minutes for any last minute arrivals."[/color] Appearing behind Seth, [url="http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/010/a/d/captain_etxarte_by_asunaxmeimu-d36vhym.png"]Captain Etxarte[/url] appeared, her arms crossed and the look of impatients on her face as her large lower look made her look like she was constantly pouting, "Aye, it took you lot long nuff to get here. Now hop on and lets get a sailing before the low tide keeps us from getting into the Vita Temple docks." Nodding, Sophia turned towards the general direction of the group and let out a loud whistle and waved for them to get on the boat as she boarded herself.[color=#008080] "I'm Sophia, pleased to you. I'm grateful for your help,"[/color] Sophia held out her hand to shake the Captain's. Taking the hand a shaking it, the Captain introduced herself, "Captain Etxarte. Over there is me First Mate, Alley." Looking back to the two from instructing the crew to get ready for sailing, [url="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/173/7/4/Elizabeth_Anwhistle_by_ckt.png"]Alley[/url] gave Sophia a quick nod before getting back to work. As the group boarded, Sophia told Seth their names, catching him up from the introductions the group had earlier. After a few more minutes, the ship and group was off at full sail towards the Vita Temple.

----Meanwhile, back at the Chrystal Mistress----

Aibetta, letting out a yawn as she placed minced up leftovers outside for the local cats to enjoy. Stretching out her body, Aibetta couldn't help but look out towards the north, a look of concern on her face, [color=#008000]"Sophia'll be fine.. They'll be fine, I'm sure of it."[/color][color=#000033] "I wouldn't be so sure of it." [/color]Turning around, Aibetta saw a tall [url="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs4/i/2005/141/a/1/Jedi_by_lukavi.jpg"]cloaked man[/url] in the distance, his face completely shrouded in pure darkness despite him facing the rising the sun. The cats, hissing upon seeing the man, quickly bolted from the scene. [color=#008000]"Who are you?"[/color] [color=#000033]"Where did they go?"[/color][color=#008000] "I said who are you.."[/color] Aibetta stood tall, looking down at the man as she glared at him.[color=#000080] "I'll ask one last time.. Where are they?" [/color]The cloaked man then pulled out a scimitar that just oozed with pure darkness. Aibetta said nothing. Instead, she moved into a fighting position and let out a mighty roar that caused the trees near by to shake and make a flock of birds fly off. [color=#000080]"So be it.."[/color] the cloaked figure simply before rushing towards Aibetta.

[Hotaru987]

Helena was getting set to have a good time, and sharing a drink with Jed was just the type of good time she was looking for. However, it was then that she spotted the king of buzz-killers talking to Sophia. It was then a sudden thought popped into her head; how would Seth act when drunk? Was he a clingy drunk? Depressed? Happy? Horny? She laughed at that last one. Seeing Seth try to get a girl would be the treat of a life time. At that moment it was settled. During the boat ride she would try to get him drunk, but she would have to be careful. He wasn't the easiest guy to get things by, but Helena was an assassin at one point and stealth missions are her thing. "We'll just call it a test of skill." When Sophia motioned for them to board the boat, Helena walked forward, "Oh, Jed we should definitely drink that soon." Winking at him she continued to the boat, where she passed Seth.

"Helena, I hope you haven't been causing any unwanted trouble for Lady Sophia or our new comrades in my absence, have you...?"

"Of course not, I've been on my best behavior. Wouldn't want you to look bad in front of the boob ch-I mean, Sophia." She answered quickly, as if she was rehearsing the answer. Helena ended with a hearty slap on his back, "Don't you worry about a thing. Let's just have some fun while we can, talk, eat, drink. You know the essentials." She said quickly hoping to slip in drinking into her plans - which she would do anyway. "Though that captain doesn't look too nice. Oh yeah, even though I don't exactly care much about this mission, I did take note of a few people you should probably watch out for. You probably already made your on evaluations, but if you'd like my opinion as well I'll be glad to give it." She then smirked, "For a small fee of course. I'm thinking wine; Chteau Margaux maybe. Or even washing my clothes for a week-" Scooting in closer she elbowed his side playfully, "I'll even let you wash the dedicates."

[.:Blu:.]

Hearing what Helena had said about Seth washing her clothes, including the private ones, as payment for her evaluations of the recruits, it was clear that Seth was not happy, [b]at all[/b]. Seth turned his head towards Helena, his face adopting a very eerie and intimidating expression that screamed "trouble". "I will, for the sake of this mission, pretend that I did not hear what you had just had the audacity to say to me. Walk away from me now or you'll be sleeping in the bottom-most part of the ship for the rest of this mission." Seth explained in a very serious and ominous manner. It was clear that Helena crossed some lines with what she had said which only managed to tick the normally composed paladin off. Seth also knew in his mind that Helena was planning something and so he decided to become rather vigilant tonight, but either way, the problem right now needed to be resolve.