Bittersweet Candy Bowl

Lily presses her hands together giving Paulson an odd look. Her words blunt and to the point “Paulson you aren’t going. McCardell and Theresa are the stealth and espionage experts here. Remember?”

As Albert begins to re-dress and straighten his fur he looks down at the still asleep Delilah and kisses her on the head. He ruffles her hair a little and shows a as small grin before whispereing into her ear.
Please try to feel better tommorow.
And with that he leaves the room and closes the door with a short sigh. He then trusges towards the bar and sits down in the more shaded part of the room and pulls out a book from his pocket and starts reading
*Sigh* I hope will be much more calmer today.
We’ve only been here a day and I don’t want to see any more tears from so many people.

He excited expression dropped in an instant. Aw really? He looked sadly at his feet.

But I wanted to go on a secret adventure…

Turns her head and pouts, voicing her displeasure with a soft groan.
Great, now everyone thinks I’m in the same league as that playboy. If I ever find the sailor that gave me those pills, I’m going to slice his belly open and strangle him with his own entrails!
“You make it sound like me getting caught is a certainty. Lord Makar brought me on this little adventure for a reason.” That sly grin starts creeping up her face again. “Don’t underestimate me, OR my skills as a rogue!”

“Oh of course not… but bad luck can happen to everyone my dear. Just a precaution~” she glanced toward the window of the small room now still having a thing or two to say

“… now… a few more things… the forest is a place of strong spiritual magic…-normally- the good kind with rainbows and bunny rabbits what have you… but these things can be corrupted. The forest might be closed off for good reason…so watch out for it…and two…” she looks to them as serious as she ever been

“No Killing. Period. These are guards, not bandits. We’re here to help after all…”

“Agreed. The last thing I want is a bounty on my head in a foreign country.”

Theresa holds Paulson in a headlock and starts giving him a noogie.
“Ah, you’ll live, knucklehead.”

(Had to go quickly after posting sorry about that now i have to think of another giant comeback)

Grumpily pushes he way out of Theresa’s headlock and pouts. Yeah whatever. You still get to go on a cool adventure while I’m stuck here.

“Oh, you’re no fun! (Seriously, Commie, you’re no fun. I’m setting you up for all these hijinx, and you’re dropping the ball. >:I) Besides, don’t you have that little white mage that you’re busy trying to bag? …Actually, speaking of which…” Leans over to him. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

(Paulson is upset and in no mood for hyjinx XP)

He raised his eyebrow at her and crossed his arms before whispearing, And what favor is that?

Looks at McCardell and Lily.
“Could I tell you in private?”

Paulson nodded and stood up while grabbing Theresa’s arm and looking to Lily with an apologetic smile. I’m going to borrow her for a moment before you send her off on their adventure.

He pulled her from the room and stood in the hall with his arms crossed. Okay, what is it?

she looks at Paulson as he approaches but doesnt have a chance to speak to him as he quickly runs off;The White Mage quiety wakes up in her room the next morning

(I dont know wtf is going on so this is my post)

Looks around for any eavesdroppers. Satisfied, she leans in close.
“You hear about Hannibal and Amaja’s little drunken escapade?”

Paulson raised an eye brow and shook his head. No… what happened?

Icarus wakes up better rested than before, which is good for those who plan to interact with him. He is, of course, completely lost concerning the bar incident. Being completely ignorant to anything else, the paladin heads to find some food.

(I’m assuming food (breakfast and the like) can be found at the bar, no? If not, I’ll leave that up to Rukral to decide.)

(Oh fooie I was about to ask about that too. Assume this post comes from before Theresa yoinks Paulson away)

Lily just gave a chuckle, finally rising her little jug up again “Oh it isn’t a trouble at all my dear… all I had left to ask about was whatever little drama that sprouted up while I was away” She gave a light shrug “You can tell me about it later I suppose

“Well, they both got smashed, and…” Looks to the side, notably distressed. “You can probably guess the rest of what happened. Amaja’s really upset over it, and I’ve got no clue what Hannibal’s opinion is on all this.”

Looks to Paulson
“Could you talk to him for me? See what his deal is? I know he isn’t the type for one-night stands, but..”

She opens the door and looks bothways (Im assuming its a hallway) and steadily walks out to find some food

(bggbgh autoplay again,can be controlled by paulson,and lily;will try to protect any member of the group )

Paulson tries his best to supress a proud smile and nods. He puts on a serious face. Got it, I’ll go talk to him in a little while and find out what’s going to happen now. Good luck on your mission.

As soon as he turns away from Theresa a large smile spreads across his face.

Alright Hannibal! I’m so going to get the details on this! He continues to smile as he goes in search of the dog.

((Paulson is a pervert lol))

As Theresa left to speak to Paulson in private he began to oversee the map Lily had procured and made mental notes of where best to begin the recon.

Noticing Paulson leaving he immediately goes to Theresa and begins to discuss her thoughts on the plan and when best to begin

Right then right then. Her little discussion with that bunch complete Lily decides her stomach is the one to be listened to now and heads down to the eating area of this little establishment. Given this was a quest given to them by the king… and a good quarter of them were of nobility, coin for food and other such things was thankfully a non-issue.

She was surprised to find a certain white knight was the only one present though, hoping to find someone more likely to be up to date on the current gossip but some company was better then none.

“Ah… Sir Knight heh… I see the rest of the grand heroes are all for sleeping in past noon. ‘The one hope this country has’ heh… I wonder if I can find somewhere I can trade them in…” She says with her usual sarcasm as she takes a seat, ordering a bit of this, and a bit of that for herself.

“So then…Icarus how have you enjoyed my country so far? I’m sure the guards glaring at you with every step has helped the mood.”

Not noticing Lily come into the room at first, the paladin is a little startled. He seemed to be absorbed in thought about something. Icarus turns to Lily and sighs.

“Well, I see nothing wrong with it, per se. Don’t take that the wrong way though!”

He gets a little nervous, worried about insulting her.

“The thing is, I get a bad vibe wherever I go. Not just about the Land and its implied troubles, but about ourselves as well. Something doesn’t seem right. I fear that something will happen to us. It’s… hard to explain.”

Icarus seems to trail off in thought.

Theresa and McCardell exit the hostel.
“So, how should we get there without being spotted?”

Noticing Lily entering the room he puts down his book and begins walking up to her and Icaras chatting. He gives Icaras a handshake and then turns to Lily.
Oh hello Miss Lil-
Or should I call you Princess now?
Showing proper respect he bows down to the hedgehog, to try and be more polite
I hope you’re enjoying your re-visit back home?
*Sighs* I wish I could.

Theresa, the problem here is the wall surrounding the town. We both have grappling hooks, but the guard towers will spot us easily. Until we reach the forest we are exposed in the daylight.

He nods his head in though

We need a distraction. And I think we both know a drunken lout who can fill that role.

“Oh I understand, trust me I’ve had the same feeling once or twice….. though right now.. if you look around it seems most of this town is feeling much the same” Lily gave a light shrug, just relaxing in her seat, eyes gazing around at the few common folk of the city that are present.

“… Nothing wrong with feeling a little anxious. Keeps you careful after all.” Icaras naturally getting a light pat on the shoulder.

As Albert arrived she looks at him out of the corner of her eye, hunching over a bit to munch away at the recently served lunch. Ah but the ‘princess’ comment only brings a mocking look to her face “Oh no. None of that Non-sense. You’ll call me Lily and nothing else” she waves one dismissive hand “Besides… the word ‘princess’ doesn’t really mean much in these lands believe it or not. Twice so when you’re the second of three daughters.”

She leans heavily back in her seat again, looking at Albert directly “Heh.. as for enjoying myself? Oh I might be… if I didn’t to play babysitter for a bunch of grown men and women ha! Now tell me:” she gave the side of her nose a light tap “What is this drama I missed before leaving? If you could let me in on that tiny bit of gossip”

“Good idea. Trouble is, where are we gonna find him?” Spots a drunkard stumbling through the area. Thinking quickly, she takes out a smoke bomb. “I think I’ve found a better candidate, though. Get ready to make a run for it.”

Theresa pulls the trigger on the smoke bomb. Throwing it towards the drunk, the device explodes into a huge cloud of smoke.

Albert stands up staright, blushing a little as Lily finds his respect more humorous than anything
Oh we- well it was a common courtesy is all.
I’ve gotten used to addressing Princesses’s with more respect since becoming a Sir but if you say so.
And about the gossip…
All I know is Hannibal and Amaja got a drunk and they get a little ‘close’ in the bathrooms.
I’m planning on talking to him about this matter as he seems to have upset Amaja and I won’t stand for that.
Seeing a puff of smoke off in the distance he turns around with a shcoked look
What on Earth was that?!

Shocked at her brashness, he quickly is thrust into action and bolts towards the wall with Theresa, hiding in the shadows as the Guards rush the scene

High above the town, the guards stand on watch. Their gaze set to all directions, when suddenly a cloud of smoke erupts from below. A shout rings out as many of the guards run towards the source of the smoke. Archers pulls their bow strings taut with arrows, aimed at both the billowing cloud of smoke and at the rope bridge leading out of the village. Their focus is split between the two locations, with few eyes anywhere else, the stealthy scouts have only a scarce few minutes to move before attention returns to the remaining town. A group stands in front of the inn, refusing to allow any to leave its confines.

Theresa notices McCardell’s shocked expression.
“Hey, it worked, didn’t it? Now, how about we get some use out of those grappling hooks?”

Lily just rolls her eyes at the mention of the Not-Sir “As if that man hasn’t given me enough reasons to want to kill him….” but that topic is quickly lost at the sound of explosions outside, the woman’s brow giving a quirk

Her thoughts on the matter said bluntly and simply “The lack of subtlety is what that was…. ah well… none of our business for the time being. I’d give the Siu mei dishes a try if you have the time for it”

Albert looks at Lily with shock at her statement, still also trying to listen on what some of the guards are screamin
None of our business?
With all due respect that sounds like something serious is going on so unless you know whats happeneing I suggest w-
…
*Sighs* I’m guessing you do know whats going on?
Ughh if you’ve asked someone to do a task for you I think you need to start picking people more thoughtfully Princess.

(Got to go now. Since the goodies are causing all the chaos he’ll just stay in the inn talking with Lily. Unless stuff goes down then he’ll rush off ro Delilah)

She calmly takes a seat next to Sir Albert, a small cup of of steaming tea in her hand.

I don’t believe it is Lily’s fault Albert. It would seem we have taken on new baggage since our last venture. I only hope they are more skilled in combat then they are in stealth, it’s only a matter of time now because of that stunt they have pulled I think. We just need to work with what we have.

She sips her tea.

The two’s hooks grab a far side of the wall, far from the rope bridge and they hurriedly begin their ascent

Ah she just gave a smile back. “Now now.. I didn’t say I knew a thing… and I don’t think I feel up to bull rushing my way out of the inn to find out….”

Admittedly she was wondering the wisdom in sending the two as well now as she took a mouthful from her plate. She was told Theresa was capable at this sort of thing before they were brought to these lands.. and she already knew of McCardell’s skill in stealth first hand. Here’s hoping she hadn’t been ill-advised on the former.

Though she was quick to click her chop sticks together in front of the good knights nose “What did I say about calling me princess? Heh… try not to worry about it too much my dear, it’s out of our control now as is. Nothing to do but sit back, have a nice meal, and let the guard worry about it.”

Konar on his bed,but unfortunely he can’t sleep so he decided to get up and leave his room to walk a bit in the inn

Paulson strolls down the stairs after unsucessfully locating Hannibal and joins the group. He looks to the door and sighs. I hope she is okay..

How is everyone doing today?

Icarus just sits there listening to the others, eating his meal, minding his own business. He hears all of what is said, but does not contribute. This has helped him in the past and has become habit.

And upstairs, a pen and journal lie hastily discarded on the floor, while their owner stares desperately out of the window towards the still-rising smoke. Susanna’s claws bite deep into the windowsill, and it is all she can do not to say a word.

Quickly making it over the wall and looking down, the two are met with a small chasm at around twenty feet deep, with a river at its bottom.
“Well…shit. Guess this is why the only way out of the village is a rope bridge.”

Notices a tree across the chasm that looks like it would make an excellent grappling point. “Hey, McCardell! Follow my lead!” Takes her grappling hook and latches it to the tree. Holding tight, Theresa jumps off the wall and towards the wall of the chasm, climbing up the cliff face when she reaches the other side.

Follows Theresa across the gap and deftly lands. He quickly pulls a knife and scans for any signs of hostiles before dashing forward for more suitable cover.

The smoke has cleared by now as the guards arrest the drunk found in the center of it all. The archers lower their quivers and resume normal posts. Guards outside the inn return to their patrols, keeping a watchful eye over the inn.

Jasmina walks into the eating area and joins the group there but doesnt hear paulson ask how everybody is;she takes some food and sits down

Hello everyone,i don’t think i’ve had a chance to talk to anyone but paulson yet

Lily admittedly had her mouth full during Paulsons earlier little question but a smile and a nod is enough to speak her own mood. By the time Jasmina arrives though she’s cleaning off her cheek with napkin, still seeming require relaxed while half the room is quite the opposite.

“Hmm? Well then now’s your chance. Jasmina am I right?”

Icarus barely hears Paulson’s question and is hesitant to answer.

“Well, I have a really bad feeling about our group. In general. It’s odd.”

The paladin inwardly relishes an opportunity to contribute.

Wakes up after a long sleep. Feeling a bit hungry he decides to get something to eat.

He notices a group has already gathered and decides to sit with them.

Hello there! Today is a nice day huh?

He greets everyone, oblivious to the drama that Hannibal’s actions caused. He proceeds to make his order.

(Hm seems I need to go auto for a bit. As usual Rukral, TD, or Mav are free to control here)

Paulson walks over and claps Icarus on the back.

It’s just all the clashing personalities that have you worried. I’m sure after a few days that feeling will subside.