"Well, I'll see about getting us some food and maybe a bed, depending on how long we have to stay here. You see about getting us some transportation to the capital. A trader, a guardsman. Anything that will get us from here to Roake, and the sooner the better. If they ask," she glanced around, then lowered her voice and whispered, "tell them money is no problem, but only if you trust them to be good for it." She straightened up and talked normally again. "I'll meet you here in in about fifteen minutes, ok?"

"No problem!" replied Shrike as he ran off into the crowd. However, he came to a screeching halt a few yards away and ran back to the princess. He took the sleepy dragon off his head and placed it on her shoulder. "Guard duty, Ruby." he instructed before running off again. It would take him another two hours, well into the afternoon, before he would find a suitable ride.

Judy took Ruby and headed off to find rooms for two. Then she went out and grabbed some food. She waited for about fifteen minutes longer then planned, decided he was having a hard time, and headed to the Inn she had gotten. She left a message with the guard posted nearby where she was staying should Shrike ask the guard if he'd seen her.

She then went to the inn and waited, eating some bread and waiting for Shrike.

[I wanted to post something before Thanksgiving but I didn't know I didn't have enough time. Apologies if you've seen me flashing on and offline, I was being bothered by my bros and sis. Thought I'd had time to post then, but no. :)]

Shrike weaved through the people walking through the streets. He had never seen this many elves in one place before. There were elvish merchants who came to Talendar's markets but they weren't as condensed as the crowd in Ketron. The boy made sure to take note of the buildings he passed and any significant landmarks since he wasn't familiar with this town. The architecture of Souel was definitely different from the architecture in Talendar. He was looking for the marketplace, an important area for any town where one could find a variety of people passing through. But as he walked through the streets, Shrike began to worry that he may not find it any time soon. After thirty minutes of searching, Shrike decided to listen in on people's conversations instead.

He found a building that looked like a crystal figurine shop. It had rows of clear, miniature creatures lined behind the front window. Parked in front of it was a carriage that seemed to be picking up a delivery. He approached the glass window, pretending to look at the figurines while listening to the conversation the driver was having with three other people. At first he thought he would be able to ask the woman for a ride. But as the conversation went on, he found out that the carriage was not heading for Roake.

So he moved on to the next location, a small eatery with many customers lined up in front of it. This seemed like a good place to find someone who might be able to take them to the capital since travelers would need to eat. He stood nearby the line as he looked towards the entrance of the eatery.

"So where are you going next?" he heard a man say.
"North" replied the man behind him, "I need to pick up my sister from the city. We'll be visiting our parents for their wedding anniversary. It's going to be a surprise."
"Ah, so you're sister works at Roake then?" asked the first man.
"No, she's at Ellefrost." said the other man.

With that, Shrike walked off. The boy wandered around for another thirty minutes, eavesdropping on various conversations from the tailor's shop to the blacksmith's before finally giving up. He sat on the edge of a small fountain in a less populated area of the town to catch his breath.

"Help! Somebody! Thief! Thief!" cried an old man as he was pushed down to the ground. He would have most certainly broken a bone if the owner of the house beside him did not break his fall. A boy with a gray scarf came running past the other side of the fountain as Shrike looked around to see where the cry for help was coming from. The blue haired boy seemed to be clutching something close to his body.
"Stop that boy!" yelled the man who had helped the aged victim.

Without waiting another second, Shrike ran after the boy who was heading towards a more populated street. Shrike made sure to keep himself at a certain distance so as not to alert the boy to someone following him. At first it seemed his prey was oblivious to being shadowed since he started slowing down as they approached the other side of the street. But as soon as a few people walked between him and the Talendaran, the blue haired boy made a run for it.
Shrike was startled after losing sight of the boy. He quickly glanced around, hoping to see signs of him through the forest of elves. The boy was about to give up hope when he caught sight of the end of a gray scarf turning a corner into an alleyway a few buildings to his left. Shrike ran to where he saw the scarf turn and was just in time to see the boy turn another corner at the end of the long, narrow alleyway. He ran after the thief, turning the corner he saw the boy jumping up what seemed like giant mushrooms sticking out of the back of the house at the end.

"Hey!" Shrike called after the boy, hoping to catch his attention or cause him to lose balance. But the nimble thief continued on up to the roof. "Ah! Hey wait!"
Shrike jumped up after him only to find the roof empty. "Aww man!" he said to himself as he slowly walked closer to the center. He looked around and over the edge, hoping to see the boy somewhere. Nothing. He sighed as he turned towards the fungal side of the building. Then his ears perked up as he heard the barely audible squeaking sound of an old window. It was coming from one of the ground windows of the building to the left of the one he was on. He slid down from the roof on a rather curved drainage pipe, no doubt the same one used by the boy who he was following, and quietly climbed in through the swinging window.

"So you got it?" asked an older voice as Shrike slipped into a large underground room lit by slow moving glow grubs that were crawling on the walls and ceilings.
"Yeah, I got it." replied a younger voice, most likely the blue haired thief.
Shrike stealthily moved behind some crates that were piled up at the back of the room. He peered over the boxes and saw that the thief, who looked around his age, had just handed a wooden box to an older teen, the leader of the group of thieves in the room.
"Perfect. Our Nezeruan contact will pay us a hefty sum for this." the leader said as he took out what looked like a black crystal orb from the box. 'We'll be living the good life in no time." he said with a grin as he marveled at its pitch black beauty.
"So what is it?" asked a man who was taking a bite out of a roasted jeji fowl.
"Hell if I know." replied the younger leader as he placed the orb back in its wooden container.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Shrike jumped at the sound of a soft voice beside him. To his horror, a girl was sitting on a crate beside him, grinning at the fact the intruder hadn't noticed her sneak up to him. "Hey Zaj! We got a rat!"
The Talendaran soon found himself tossed on the ground in front of the leader of the group.
"You let someone follow you?!" Zaj growled at the blue haired boy.
"No I- I didn't! I-" before the boy could finish the older teen turned to Shrike.
"Are you a spy?! Did the mayor send you to keep an eye on us?! You're here to stop us from delivering this to Nezerus aren't you?!" he snarled. It seemed the leader was losing his cool. He was obviously worried about the Souel authorities finding out about his illegal dealings with Nezerus.
"No, I'm not! I'm just a cobbler's assistant. I was traveling through Ketron with my master. He gave me free time to look around while he visited his friend. I didn't know what this place was, I was just curious, I swear!" Shrike replied.
"Hmph." Zaj glanced at the girl who had caught Shrike. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. He looked back down at the intruder, closely examining his clothes. They didn't seem to be from Souel but he couldn't take chances. "Whatever," he continued, "Take care of him."
Most of the criminals started closing in on Shrike, preparing their fists for a thorough beating they were going to give the 'spy'.
"No wait! Please!" Shrike quickly lunged at the older teen, grabbing his clothes frantically. "I'm not a spy! Honest! I don't know anything!" he pleaded.
The leader punched Shrike square in the face, sending the boy back down to the ground. The other people then grabbed him by the collar as the leader walked towards a staircase at the front left corner of the room. Shrike took two punches from the group that surrounded him, reeling backwards towards the people behind him. As the man behind him was about to hit his back with a kick, Shrike ducked down and rolled backwards until he was out of the circle of attackers. Pulling out his dagger he grabbed the girl who had caught him and held the blade to her throat.
"Don't move or else she gets it!" he threatened.
"You're a fool." the girl laughed as she twisted the arm that held the dagger and flipped him forward. He barely managed to roll out of the way as she drop kicked the ground where he fell upon not a second earlier. He got up and tried slashing at her but she managed to land a punch to his face. He staggered backwards and sidestepped as a few of the other men tried to grab him.
"Ugh!Dammit!" He exclaimed as he covered his hurting nose. The girl may be younger than him but she was stronger than she looked.
"Ruby bite he- oh that's right." he said as he dodged a high kick she threw at him. He had forgotten his constant companion was currently guarding the princess. He rolled out of the way as a chair followed by a table was thrown at him by his other opponents. He grabbed a mug of beer and tossed it at the girl's face temporary blinding her while he made his way towards the window.
"Stop him!" cried Zaj as he threw a few daggers at Shrike. The agile boy managed to dodge all of them, soon making his way out the small escape route. He didn't stop to check if they were following him, he could already hear them grunting as most of them tried to squeeze out of the window at once. He hurried on out towards the street, hoping to lose them in the crowds. To his dismay, the street he was on now was not one of the more populated ones, only one or two people were walking by the houses. He continued to run, a knife grazed his arm as he turned a corner.

"Stop you brat!" yelled one of the men chasing after him. 'Yeah right' thought Shrike as he dodged another knife. He smiled a little as this scene reminded him of his many escapades in Talendar. It seems running from trouble would be the same no matter where he went. He only managed to run a few blocks down before he bumped into someone in armor.
"Got you, you little thief!" the man said as he grabbed Shrike by the collar. Shrike panicked and tried kicking his captor but the armor was too sturdy and the boy ended up hurting his foot. Only when he noticed his pursuers running away did he calm down and wonder what was going on.
"There were more of them down the road, they just turned the corner. After them!" he heard the man say. A group of soldiers quickly ran after the thieves who had retreated. Shrike noticed that they were wearing the same armor as the man who helped Sir Rovano out of the cart and realized that they were probably the Ketron guards.
"You're going to be sleeping in a nice cell tonight thief." said the guard as he dragged Shrike towards a barred carriage.
"Wait, I'm not the thief!" said Shrike as he struggled against the guard's grip.
"Save it. There were multiple eyewitnesses who saw you running away from the scene of the crime." the guard snapped as he confiscated Shrike's dagger and shoved him into the prison-carriage.
"But wait! No I-!" Shrike tried to reply before the barred door slammed in his face. He was starting to panic again, not only was he going to be sent to an unfamiliar jail, his father's dagger was being taken away from him.

"Hold on there, sir guard." came an aged voice. It was the old man who Shrike had seen earlier. He walked up to the guard and continued, "This boy isn't the boy who robbed me. Please, let him go"
The guard looked at him then at Shrike. He hesitantly walked over to the carriage door. "Are you sure?" he asked the old man, wondering if maybe the old man might have forgotten how his attacker looked like.
"Of course I'm sure! I may be old but I'm not senile!" the old man scolded as the guard released Shrike.
"Sorry about that young man." the guard said as he returned the dagger to the boy.
"Don't mention it." Shrike replied as he eagerly tied his father's memento back to his belt. After the guards left to continue looking for the real thief and the thugs who were chasing Shrike, the boy turned to his savior. "Thanks gramps, I was in hot water back there."
"Bah, no problem young one. It is I who should be thanking you. You tried to help me after all, although from the looks of things, the people around us seemed to have thought you were the thief since you were running away after all. But I knew you were chasing the real culprit." The old man started walking back towards the center of the town, his orange tail slowly swinging behind him. Now that Shrike managed to get a better look at the old man, he saw that he was also a dwarf. The old man's tail was not as fluffy as Shrike's and his ears were pointier, like a fox's. Both the ears and the tail were dark-gray tipped. As they entered a busier street, the old man sighed and continued, "I think I'm going to be in more hot water than you were going to be. That box was really important. I take it you didn't catch the boy? Well no matter, you tried you're best. I just hope the guards find him soon."

"Actually..." the white-haired boy reached into his sleeve and pulled out the black orb, holding it up in front of the old man's face. He managed to snag the black sphere from the box the leader was holding when he was begging for his life.
"Oh? Oh ho ho? You got it! You got it back!" the black clad centenarian cried out with joy as he picked up the boy and twirled around. "This is great! This is wonderful! This is- ooof! My back!" he placed Shrike back on the ground and hunched over, rubbing his lower back with his hand. "Bah! Curse this aging body! Anyway thank you, thank you, thank you! If there's anything I could ever do for you please name it!"
"Well, me and my friend need a ride to Roake as soo-" Shrike began.
"Roake?! Well why didn't you say so! That's where I was heading! I'll take you and you're friend with me, free of charge!" the old dwarf interrupted with glee.
"Really? Well thanks gramps!" Shrike said with a smile. Things seemed to be looking up.
"So where's you're friend?" the old man asked looking around the busy area.
"Oh, umm.." Shrike looked around at the crowded street as well. In his exciting run from the baddies, he had forgotten most of the places he passed on his search for a ride to the Soueli capital. "Actually, I'm not sure, haha." he rubbed the back of his head and looked at the old man. "All I remember is that we're supposed to meet up somewhere in front of the gold deposit. I think there was an inn nearby."
"I know just the place you're talking about. Let's go." said the old dwarf as he started off towards the other side of town.
"Thanks again gramps." Shrike said as he followed the elder through the crowds. "Could we pass by the tailor's? I need to get my sleeve fixed." The boy looked at the sliced fabric of his left sleeve. The wound within was a minor cut and had already healed, but this was his favorite outfit, having customized it to enable him to hide many things within its folds.
"Sure, sure. I'll even pay for the repairs." the elder offered.
"It's alright, I can afford it." he said as he handed the black orb to his companion. "So what is that thing?"
"What, this? Hell if I know!" replied the man as he stuffed the sphere into his buckled jacket. "But I'm supposed to deliver it to Roake. The high scholars up there want to study it for some reason." He paused contemplatively, then turned to the boy. "Name's Skidbladnir by the way. What's yours?"
"Shrike." the boy replied.
"Shrike eh? Well that's not a very dwarfish name. Where are you from?" the elder dwarf asked.
"Talendar." Shrike replied as they approached the tailor's shop. "How about you?"
"Sarnes, but I haven't been home in a while. Got work to do after all. But
I hear the Nezeruans are still pounding at our door but they'll never get in." the old man chuckled as they entered the store, "Our defenses are the best."

"Hmm, I don't see her anywhere..." Shrike said as he looked around the area.
"Are you sure this was where you would meet, boy?" asked Skidbladnir as he kept an eye out for the girl Shrike had described.
"I'm pretty sure she said here.." the boy replied, as he looked at the people passing by. "But then again, she did say to meet return here in fifteen minutes." He glanced up at the afternoon sun. "Maybe she's at the inn over there?"
The two of them walked towards the inn where a guard was standing in front of.

[BELATED HAPPY THANKSGIVING :D]

((Sorry I took so long to post, I wasn't quite sure what to do :sweat: By here we go. I wonder where everyone else went?))

A guard stood posted near the Inn. He wasn't guarding the Inn, exactly, so much as the Gold deposit across the street. As he looked around, vigilant for signs of trouble, he spotted a boy matching the discription the young woman had given him earlier. "Excuse me, are you Shrike?" The guard asked in an official tone.

[They're either busy or probably got scared off by our manic role playing :rofl: ]

"Yeah?" replied Shrike, stopping short of stepping through the inn door. He looked at the guard quizzically, wondering what he had to say. Skidbladnir stood a few steps behind the boy and stroked his long, gray mustache, waiting for the guard's reply.

"There was a lady here a while a go who left a message for you. She said she would be in room 13 of the Inn behind me. That is all." He straightened and looked back over the crowd, looking once again for trouble-makers.

[So is Judy in the room or in the lobby of the inn?]

"Thanks." said Shrike as he entered the busy inn. People were moving around, carrying luggage of various sizes. He tried looking around but couldn't really see any sign of the princess through the crowd. He decided to look over by the waiting area before asking the clerk at the counter for directions to room 13.

((Right now, she's in her room.))

He didn't find the Princess, but instead found the Drow from earlier. She was sitting on a bench, and she had removed her face covering. Her Deep Crimson Eyes were sharply highlighted by the long golden blonde hair, which was tied into a ponytail. She looked up at Shrike as he entered, but said nothing, mearly watching him to see what he did.

"Hey," Shrike said as he approached the drow who had been with them on the way to Ketron. "You're LiNeerlay right? So you and Kaland done with the bodyguard job?" he asked, hoping to see if he could say goodbye to his former mentor one last time before he returned for Talendar.

Skidbadnir watched as Shrike walked over to a woman who was sitting on one of the benches a few feet away, wondering if that was the woman he had been looking for. Although, he thought, she didn't look a thing like the person Shrike had described.

"Yes." She replied, curtly, "and Kaland has paid me his 2% to escort you to the Capital while he goes back and pays his debt off, and warn the Tora-Nowa of the impending attack. When he is done, he will be heading to the capital as well, so that he can take over for me." She stood. "LiNeerlay Nullva, at your service." She stood there, neither offering a hand nor bowing.

Shrike looked at the woman with surprise. He was glad to have another person to watch their back and that Kaland would be meeting with them at the Roake. "Good to have you along." Shrike said with a smile. "Do you by any chance know where room 13 is? That's where my friend's waiting for me, supposedly."

((I've been waiting for Fallon to post first @[email protected]))

"Sure" She told him, turning around. "This way." She lead them up the stairs, heading around a corner, and stopped at room thirteen. She stood by the door. "Here it is. You'd best go first, she'd probably not open the door for me."

Inside, Judith was poking somre bread at Ruby, seeing if he wanted any, when she heard footsteps otuside. She turned, looking towards the door as she heard voices on the other side of it.

[Sorry for not being on lately, I had a presentation due and I got a very bad stomachache :sweat: I think it was due to the month old bread I ate. I thought it looked okay....]

Shrike knocked o the door. "Hello? Pri- uh, I mean Judy? I found us a ride." He waited for a response before entering.

"So, who's your lady friend?" asked the old dwarf as he looked the female drow over. He didn't trust many people who weren't dwarves and trusted drow even less.

"Oh, this's LiNeerlay. She was with the people who helped get us here and now she's coming with us to Roake. She's gonna be our bodyguard." Shrike replied with a smile without looking away from the door.

"You sure we can trust her? Drows aren't exactly known for their loyalty you know? They sorta live for themselves." Skidbladnir said to the boy then threw a doubtful look at LiNeerlay.

((lol, it's ok. I hope you're feeling better.))

Judith got up and headed for the door. She opened it a little, and seeing Shrike smiled. "Hey, um, who's this?" She looked at Skidbladnir questioningly.

LiNeerlay, if she had heard them talking, said and did nothing for it. However, when the door opened, she looked up and down the hall, to make sure no one was spying on them.

[Thanks :heart: I need to get off the comp for a while, I'll be back on in a few hours or if not then tomorrow :sweat: Sorry again. I'm saving this spot ok? :) ]

"What? Oh," Shrike turned to the elder dwarf and introduced him, "This is Skidbladnir. He said he'd be able to get us to the capital." Then the boy turned to his other companion, "And you remember LiNeerlay right? Turns out Kaland hired her to accompany us. She said he'd also be meeting us there."
He walked into the room and looked around. Ruby was on the bed with its head raised to see who had just entered. It recognized its master and the drow who had been with them earlier, but cocked its head to the side after seeing the older stranger. Seeing that its other companions weren't bothered by the stranger, Ruby returned to a more relaxed position and leisurely knocked one of the pieces of bread that the princess was trying to offer the lizard onto the floor with its tail.

The Princess scowled at it, but didn't comment as she stood back to let them in. She held a hand out to Skidbladnir. "Thank you very much. We owe you for this."

She looked at LiNeerlay, who went to the corner of the room that face the door and the windows, and put one of the chairs there. She sat, arms crossed, and started keeping watch.

She looked at Shrike. "Hungry? I picked up a little food a while I was waiting for you to get back."

"Yeah!" Shrike had only now realized that he hadn't eaten anything since the day before and wondered how he managed to survive through the ordeals they had been through without any delicious food. "What did you get?" he asked, eager to fill his grouchy stomach. He noticed the small piece of bread Ruby had knocked over and looked at the dragon quizzically.

She went over to a table and set out some food. "Some meat, some bread, and some fruit. I wasn't sure what they all were, but I guess they're local." She set the food out on the table, and some plates and utensil. "Eat up, I already ate, and Ruby wouldn't touch the bread."

Not waiting a second more, Shrike lunged at the table and started cramming his mouth full of food. He was familiar with the taste of the Soueli bread, having eaten it before in Talendar. It had a lighter flavor than most breads. The meat and fruit however were new to him. He felt that they had a strange taste but he didn't complain. He was hungry and there was food, that's all there was to it. After swallowing a few mouthfuls, he paused to offer the drow and the dwarf some of what the princess had bought. "Want some?"

"No thanks. I'm fine." replied Skidbladnir as he scratched his whiskered chin.

Ruby decided to get up off the bed and fly over to Judith's shoulder. It would have gone to Shrike's but saw that he was moving too much while he ate to be a good perch.

Judy reached up and patted Ruby's head, while LiNeerlay watched in silence. The Princess looked at the older Dwarf. "When will we leave for the Capital? I hope not to long."

"I plan on leaving today actually. I have to reach Roake within this week. I can wait until tonight but if you're going to stay here until tomorrow, I won't be able to bring you." Skidbladnir looked out the widow towards the afternoon sun. He wondered if he'd need to feed Darla before they could go anywhere. If he did, they'd probably be staying in Ketron a few more hours past sunset. His orange tail swished as he returned his gaze to the girl.

She nodded. "That's fine. We'll be ready to leave when you are ready to go. Just let us know when you plan to leave, and we'll have what little we brought packed by then."

She looked over at LiNeerlay curiously, for she carried no bag. LiNeerlay shrugged, showing the timetable was no problem for her either.

"Well, if you really don't have that much to bring, I can assume you'll be ready in ten or fifteen minutes. I'll wait for you at the front of the inn." Skidbladnir then left the room without saying more.

Shrike gulped down another piece of meat and looked at his ward. "We should probably start packing all this food, huh?" Although he said this, there was barely any food left. The hungry boy had
devoured most of it and was still reaching for another piece of fruit.