Open The Rising Dawn (CITY WIDE QUEST)

[Raylan Ramsey]

Where a crowd gathered meant money to be made, It was what made the bard take up his mandolin to try and profit off of the celebrations. Raylan was not the most religious man ever, he believed in the the aspects of powerful beings. In his mind, a child could look upon an adult who could cast fire with Reimancy as a good. Raylan could lie and say he worshiped Rhysol when in fact he just gives the god the respect he deserves in his city. -A city he happened to love staying in.- Raylan was actually sort of glad for this, as he liked people with a bit of spirit. For the moment he stood among the Temple’s courtyard, letting his fingers pluck light strings on his Mandolin. A smile resting on his face as he stopped playing when the Voice began to speak. Nodding his head in reassuring gestures showing he did care about what was being said. When the celebrations erupted the music playing as he laughed hearing a song. Since they were repeating it over and over again, the had managed to catch onto the lyrics. By the time the near people had gotten to the end of the song he joined in the singing. "~And there’s a fine ol’ city in the middle of the loch,~ ♫~watched and ruled by the greatest of the gods! He loves us and protects us against the odds: ~It’s ol’ Rhysol’s Ravok!~ Ol’ Rhysol’s Ravok!~♫ " Walking around he started to sing randomly as his fingers tried to catch the melody of his words by plucking the right strings.

[Renalee]

Ren took her time, passing from stall to stall, browsing what the merchants had to offer. With every passing chime it felt like the crowd was getting louder, truly enjoying their celebration. The blonde went by a group of singers - or rather just a few enthusiasts whom the spirit of the day had given confidence in their ability to produce a good melody. False confidence as it might have been, but the display still brought a smile to Ren’s lips. Perhaps Ravokians weren’t too bad after all, blatant disrespect for any race beside human aside. She nodded in passing in the general direction of someone who must have been a bard, for only his voice merged with the sound of his mandolin producing a sound that wasn’t cringe-worthy. He was only one of the many entertainers spread around the courtyard, hoping to make a few easy coins. People were known to be more generous with their hard-earned money when they were celebrating. Ren paused briefly by a man who was juggling a total of five knives and never had less than four of them in the air. She watched with something akin to jealousy as the performer switched from using both of his hands to only using one without so much as a smile. The moment she could do that she knew she would be a true master of her own blade, even if throwing it in the air wasn’t the same as using it to defend herself. When she finally did find her way to a stand with a neatly arranged assortment of cheeses the Kelvic was considering sticking around for longer. The atmosphere was starting to get to her and she found herself in a much more festive mood than she had been first thing this morning. She was just selecting between two nicely sized pieces if white cheese when a scent drifted towards her - recognizable over the mixture of smells around her only because of its familiar nuances. It was the little thief. The boy Ren had met the last time she had been in Ravok. The one who had almost stolen her money and who she suspected was responsible for the trouble she had gotten in with that angry Akalak. The blonde’s head shot up immediately and she looked around, pausing to observe the faces of the people closest to her. It wasn’t that hard to find the thief this time around. Surely he had yet to notice her or he would have most likely fled... or made a scene. Humans’ actions were sometimes hard to predict. Ren took the couple of steps that were separating them (he turned out to be interested in the very same stall she was) and lifted a hand to tap him on the shoulder. “I should have known I might see you here.” She commented, not entirely sure why she had approached him at all, but curious as to what his reaction would be. “You working today, kid?”

[Giph]

Even though the day had started well, it was rapidly souring as giph tried to make his way through the thick crowd, where nobody saw him thanks to his rather short stature. After getting nearly knocked down by a careless drunkard a few times he decided that being nice wasn't going to cut it and began to make his way through the crowd with a few strategically placed stomps on somebody's toes and some covert but harsh prods with his elbows to encourage them to make some gaps in the mass of people. Using his shorter stature to slip through those gaps and to make a way for him as he was searching for a cheese stand. On his way towards his cheese stand he didn't really pay much attention to the attractions or the performers. Sure some of the people where very good at what they where doing, but giph wasn't really interested in a juggle show, though throwing knives around like that was pretty cool even though it didn't have a purpose. When he finally made his way through the thick festive crowd, leaving a few confused drunks with pained toes in his wake, and found a cheese stand he let a small smile play over his face as his gaze flickered over the available goodies, taking a deep breath of the nice smells of the cheese. When he had selected a tasty looking piece of blue viened cheese and was about to pay for it somebody tapped him on the shoulder, making him look towards whoever had something to say to him. It didn't take him very long to recognize who she was, the kelvic that had fouled his theiving attempt once. And he got back at her by sending a pissed akalak after her with a clever ruse. “You should yes.” He said in a calm but guarded tone “Considering I live here.” giph wondered what the kelvic wanted this time. When she asked if he was working today he just shook his head. Fully knowing what she meant with work. Though he found it pretty baffeling she asked about it. Didn't she know that people never said if they where stealing? “I'm not working today, nobody is working with this festival going on. What are you doing here though, haven't even heard of you since spring. Thought you left to another city.”

[Volinir Orchid]

Passing by a minstrel singing "Ol' Rhysol's Ravok", Volinir quickly changed course back towards the stalls when he saw a very special someone near the temple. Running into Valerius would be awkward at best, fatal at worst. Passing by a few fruit vendors, a slightly overcompensating knife juggler, and a man loudly hawking meat of questionable origin, the Symenestra soon caught sight of someone else he wished he hadn't. That crossbow wielding nutter. And talking to him... Volinir froze. His eyes were playing tricks on him. They had to be. It wasn't possible. She couldn't be back. He didn't have that kind of luck. He just didn't! The sight of Renalee rooted the Symenestra to the ground, unable to move or even process what was happening around him very well. He was only jolted back to reality by a rather fat woman carrying bundles of wooden noise makers in her arm bumping into him and nearly sending him sprawling onto his hands and knees. "Oi, watch it!" she barked as she waddled away. One way or another, he had to talk to Ren. There was just the slight problem of the crossbow wielder. He couldn't just walk up to her with that bloke there... Could he? He was wearing a mask. Of course, that meant that she wouldn't be able to recognize him either. Volinir didn't know that Renalee's sense of smell carried over to her human form, and that his scent was still very much the same. Otherwise, he would have been a lot less anxious. Faced between losing her in the crowd, or getting shot by Giph, he elected to risk the crossbow bolt, and strode to the cheese stand. Once there, he feigned perusing their wares until he could piece together some semblance of a plan.

[Renalee]

For some reason, seeing a familiar face (even if it was the face of a viper like this boy) made Ren feel a little bit better about being back in Ravok. She wasn’t one to dwell over the concept of loneliness much, but still the girl found herself thinking about Sunberth sometimes and the father and cousin she had left behind. She had given up much to go on this journey, but the destination hadn’t turned out to be what she had set out towards. The thief didn’t look too happy to see her, but for now he seemed content to greet her and start up a conversation. “It’s a big city. We could have easily missed each other in the crowd. Even if you have yet to work on your stealthy disappearance...” Ren quickly swiped the piece of cheese from the boy’s hand and brought it closer to her nose. Its particular smell was strong, but she rather enjoyed it and it allowed her to focus her olfaction on a single thing. “And he’s working,” the blonde gestured towards the passing bard. “I would have thought this was just the crowd for you too.” She tossed him back his purchase with a small smile on her face. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make peace with the thief, especially if she was planning on sticking around. She didn’t particularly fancy anymore encounters of the raging Akalak kind, if the boy had indeed been responsible for that like she suspected. “What’s your name, human? I don’t think we ever...” The sudden appearance of another man at their stall forced her words to die of. The second familiar scent invaded her senses, the recognition making her feel a little dizzy. She had known she would see him again. She had come back to see him again. Still, she couldn’t have suspected he would appear here, by the cheese stand in the Temple’s courtyard, a scarf covering most of his face. “Volinir...?” The name left her lips before the Kelvic could even consider if she actually wanted to speak with him. Various emotions were battling for her attention, but out of all of them surprise seemed to be the safest one. What were the chances that in this crowd where you could easily lose those you had arrived with she ended up finding what were probably the only two people she knew in Ravok?

[Giph]

Giph clacked his tongue in irritation as the woman took his piece of cheese from his hand, she better give it back later, or else her purse would be quite a few miza's lighter as a result. “True,” giph admitted. “But I come everywhere in the city, odds are we would have ran into each other if you are here longer then a few day's anyway.” he gave a sideways glance towards the woman at her remark about his stealthy disappearance's still lacking something. “And what would you know about my stealthy disappearance's anyway. You haven't seen one in an entire season anyway.” The young boy retorted in an annoyed tone. “So you don't know what you are talking about, as usual.” he didn't even bother to look at who she was pointing to and just caught his purcase, throwing the few coppers on the stall he needed to pay for it. “Meh, someday's everybody deserves a break.” Giph was lying through his teeth when he said that. And if ren was paying any kind of attention she could have picked up on it. “Besides, its hard to enjoy the festival in honor of rhysol when you are trying to evade the guards and all.” When the woman next to him began to ask his name but suddenly faded out in the middle of his sentence the young boy raised an eyebrow. Sure non-humans acted weird and irrationall most of the time. But none of them where so ill-equipped for normal social interaction that they faded of in the middle of a sentence so something was up. The confusion didn't abate when she muttered a name. “Volinir?” Giph questioned and followed the woman's gaze to a strangely proportioned man, hiding his face behind a scarf. The image sparked something in his brain, the strange silhouette, the general shape of the creatures body. he had seen that one before. A cruel smirk swept over his face for a few moments before he forced his face back into a confused expression. “who is volinir?”he was going to act as if he didn't know the guy for now.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar was not a good dancer, but he was skilled at using his clumsy, ill-timed steps to "innocently" collide with others. He was skilled at using these collisions to "innocently" draw their senses and attention to their feet as he stepped on them. He was skilled at using these distractions to their senses to lift a wallet here, a coin purse there.

It was not a particularly profitable enterprise, but it did serve to finance his entertainment during the celebration. In addition to sampling a vast variety of cuisines, he enjoyed several drinks, an uncommon indulgence for him, and spent many a chime relaxing to the swells of fairly exotic music, much of it accompanied by even more exotic dancers.

This piqued yet another appetite, one which was readily available to be indulged in tents not so noticeable from the streets, and often guarded by competent looking ruffians.

'Perhaps I had too many drinks,' he thought later, as he found himself waking up a few blocks away. The celebration was still going on, but when he went to return to the decadence, he found himself strangely short of funds. He laughed at the combination of justice and irony. 'Easy come, easy go.'

[Cassidy Finch]

After spending nearly an hour searching for her master, Velvet finally gave up her search. There were just too many people here! Though the great crowd made her nervous, there was nothing at all she could do about it. It seemed as though the whole city of Ravok had turned out for this festival, and she did not want to miss an opportunity to actually take a day off and enjoy herself. Unlike workmen, slaves were not used to being able to enjoy a whole day to themselves, and she wasn't about to waste it. All around her, people danced and pushed and shoved; the feeling of claustrophobia was growing stronger, but the crowd went on for a long way in all directions she was sure. There would be no escape. The slave knew she would have no chance to get a moment to herself, so she decided to just embrace it. Maybe if she found something to occupy herself it would not be so bad. For a few moments the young woman contemplated the various things she had seen people doing. Most of them had one thing in common; Mizas. She could see no activities that were being offered for free, and most of them would have probably turned her away for being a slave, anyway. The drinks cost money, the wines and cheeses, everything cost a Miza or two, and she had far too little to spend it on revelry and foolishness. While she was considering all of this, a very drunken man approached her and tried to initiate a dance with her. The slave immediately retreated further into the crowd to escape, and found herself surrounded by a thick mass of people. She stifled her worry and, suddenly realizing that this was the only free activity available to her, she began to dance. At first, she was clumsy and out of step with the crowd around her; she had only been taught a few steps and those simply did not work in a crowd full of people. She tread on toes and fell against people for several minutes before finally getting the hang of it. Under normal circumstances Velvet would have simply given up by this time, but she found that trying to dance kept her mind off of all the people around her. The slave eventually found that she was really enjoying herself; it was nice not to have to worry about offending someone or being found not to be working as she should. Most of the crowd was too occupied with their own affairs that they would surely not notice the small brand on her hand. Velvet whirled from place to place, dancing with one person and then another with no regard for who they were. One minute she would be dancing with a well-dressed gentleman and the the next with a sailor who looked more like a bear than a man. Then in a whirl of her dress, she would be off by herself again. The more she danced, the less bothered she was with the crowds. She barely noticed them as she flitted here and there with a rare sense of precious freedom.

[Verilian]

Two bells before the festival... "I still think this is wrong. We can't go through with this." Siriana stood in front of the door to a small abandoned building somewhere in the docks district, blocking the way of her two closest advisors. They had been arguing for several bells, and Siriana was on the losing end of the fight. She looked to the Akalak in the room, her eyes pleading. "Harrol, you can't seriously think this is alright?" The akalak started to answer, but instead closed his mouth and averted his gaze. He couldn't answer her. Siriana wiped tears from her eyes before turning back to the other man in the room, the elderly wizard, Ervis Revine. Before she could say anything, the wizard spoke up. "Siriana, everything is already in place. We've been over this, it has to happen. The Voice is there, we cannot miss this opportunity." "But so many innocent-" "Innocent," the wizard interjected. "Innocent!? They are worshippers of the Defiler. They would kill us in a heartbeat if they knew who we were. They are not innocent! Now please, Siriana, step aside." The Temple of the Black Sun The courtyard and temple were filled with happy Ravokians singing, dancing, or enjoying all the delicious food being sold from the vendors all around. It was quite the celebration, and more than one citizen named it a day that would be remembered for years to come. Little did they know that they were right. While everyone celebrated the observant ones, or maybe just the paranoid ones, would begin to notice a shift in the mood of some of the crowd. People who should have been dancing or laughing wore serious expressions on their faces and were moving about in suspicious manners. To these observers, there was an unseen tension in the air. They could swear people were whispering and signaling to each other, though it was impossible to be sure. Was that the glint of a dagger? A sword? Did that man just load his crossbow? Impossible to know, there were just too many people moving about to get a good look at anyone. Those inside the temple would not notice anything, and the celebration went on as normal. Many people were fighting over the chance to get a glimpse of the Voice up close in hopes of maybe even getting to speak with her. The inside of the temple was already fairly chaotic, so much so that not very many people noticed the first of the rumblings. Those that did paused only a moment before returning to their celebrating. It wasn't until the fire began that anybody really took notice, and when it did, they couldn't help but see it. All around the inside of the temple glyphs, scribed in invisible ink, flared to life and released the flames stored within them. The walls went up in flames, though most were made of stone and this didn't really harm them. But anything made of wood or cloth was soon burning. People were screaming everywhere, some trying to make it to the doors of the temple, others just running about in panic. Those with a bit of sense dropped to the floor and crawled, as smoke filled the air. When the second rumble occurred they all felt it, but few paused long enough to consider what it meant. The entire floor jerked beneath their feet, but with the fire was the more pressing concern at that moment. Outside the temple people were beginning to hear the screams, and soon enough everyone spotted the smoke pouring out the doors and windows of the temple. People came rushing out, many of them covered in burns and some even on fire. The crowd went mad, and when that happened, things got worse. Those same suspicious people a careful observer might have noticed before suddenly threw off their cloaks and raised their weapons, all of them bearing the crest of the Rising Dawn, a white sun on top of a black. "Down with Rhysol! Down with the Voice! We shall purify Ravok! A new dawn has risen!" The shout came out of all their lips, almost in unison, and then they began to target the guards, the Ebonstryfe, and anyone who was obviously a member of one of the religious orders. Fighting broke out in the courtyard, blood spewed on both sides, and a massacre began. OOCFeel free to run, fight, hide, ect. If you are inside the temple, I recommend getting out. You have free reign to kill/harm members of the Rising Dawn, or Ebonstryfe if you'd prefer. Just make sure to play within your skill level. On my next post, things will become more focused.

[Cassidy Finch]

Velvet was truly enjoying herself for the first time in a very, very long while. She had finally managed to relax and just get lost in the happy atmosphere, forgetting if only for a short time that she was only a slave, something to be owned. The young woman was dancing with another slave who was in attire much finer than her own. She had been speaking with him as they danced and it turned out that he was a manservant for one of the wealthier merchants in town. They got along fantastically, and Velvet was about to ask his name when the screams came. They were surprising at first, and Velvet looked around to see where they were coming from. It didn't take long for her to realize that they were coming from the temple that loomed over the courtyard she was sitting in. She could see the first few traces of smoke drifting out of the windows, reaching their grimy tendrils to the sky, and when she turned back to her newfound friend she saw empty space where he had been moments before. He probably ran off to find his master or something, she thought with a grimace. Her thoughts were cut short as the screams were carried out into the crowd by men and women escaping the temple in a frenzy. The young woman jumped to her feet and looked around wildly for something, anything that she thought would protect her from whatever was happening. Suddenly, several members of the crowd let their cloaks drop to the ground to reveal a symbol foreign to Velvet. It looked like the Ravokian Black Sun, but with another white sun superimposed over it. "Down with Rhysol! Down with the Voice! We shall purify Ravok! A new dawn has risen!" The men and women cried nearly in unison as they brandished all manner of weaponry, each one easily concealed under their cloaks. A particularly large woman in front of Velvet nearly took a swipe at her with the nasty-looking dagger in her hands, but fortunately noticed that the young woman was nothing more than a slave in time to prevent Velvet's untimely demise. The slave couldn't help the scream of terror that issued from her throat as she scrambled through the crowd. She haphazardly made her way through the masses of running, screaming, and fighting people, narrowly escaping death a few times in the process. Velvet looked around wildly for anywhere she could hide. She saw a few weapons on the ground that belonged to fallen members of one side or the other, and hastily snatched up a bloodied dagger and retreated to a small recess between two of the now abandoned food stalls that had been set up. Velvet knew that she would lose in a fight, but she hoped that the dagger would deter some of the crueler people from deciding she was worth the effort of killing.