Open The Fire Burns Bright in the Slag Heap Tonight

[Ita]

Summer 13, 515
23rd Bell

Ita strolled away from the city and looked towards the smoldering slag in the distance. The slag heap was certainly a sight to see that night. He took a swig of his bottle of Sunberth Shanty, freshly purchased from The Simpering Seacrow. The backpack slung over his shoulder carried another bottle that would come in handy once he had emptied the current bottle. He glanced at his receipt before shoving it back in his pocket.

Receipt :

Sunberth Shanty x2 = 4 SM

Drinking made the cool night air a little more tolerable, but not the smell that grew more overwhelming with every step. Besides the intolerable smell, it seemed to be a great place to be.

There were small parties and gangs dotting the slag heaps surround area. The energy of it all was very welcoming, except the energy of the couple he was passing uncomfortably close to at that moment. He didn't know people were allowed to do that in public. It made him a little sick. Still, he held it down and continued walking closer towards the slag heap until he was as close as his stomach and his nose felt comfortable dealing with.

He took a swig from his bottle, enjoying the Slag Heap in all it's filthy, repulsive glory.
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[Ashe]

Ashe sat on the ground with her back resting on the dusty wooden exterior of one of the many shacks Sunberth was made of and occasionally yawning with a hand covering her mouth. She was almost used to the overwhelming odor and the young woman would have ventured closer to the filthy heap of what could be assumed as waste if it weren't so repulsing. It was late in the day, by the twenty third bell, shifty people were commonly lurking in the shadows, and sometimes interesting things happened at night that normally didn't occur during the day bells. The young woman's gaze shifted from the people closest to the heap towards a slightly older man. The man looked Myrian, considerably taller than her, but the Myrian also looked thin, and more muscular than some of her siblings were. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder and what could be assumed to be a liquor bottle carrying the emblem of an unfamiliar brewery. 'Which brewery is that?' Ashe thought to herself watching the young man walk towards the pile of slag before stopping to take another swig from the liquor bottle. The young woman wanted to call out to him and try starting a conversation but a gust of night wind brushed the air above the slag heap past her nose. "Gah" Ashe gagged before pushing one of her sleeves against her nose and took a breath from the fabric that had a small scent of sweat. 'Petch...' Thought the young woman as she waited for a good moment to talk to the young man.

[Ita]

Ita turned at the sound of a a young, female groan. Quite possibly made from the wafting stench of a local breeze, maybe whoever it was saw the couple he had passed a while ago too. This woman didn't amount to much in size, she was certainly no Myrian in that aspect. But she was hardy, and looked tough, a feature that the city quite often molded into people. She was resting on shack, and the way her attitude seemed to claim the area as her own made him believe that she lived there. It was a while before Ita realized that he was staring.

He was a slightly intimidated by her, for reasons he couldn't quite identify. His need for companions in this strange, foreign city were far greater than his need to avoid its strange, foreign inhabitants. Reluctantly, he plastered a smile on his face and waved at her. He tried to cover his thick Taloban accent when he called out, "Hey there!" It was much like trying to cover a boulder by kicking some dirt on top of it, "Wonderful weather tonight, ain't it?" That sounded more local, but Ita was still cringing on the inside.

Before the girl could respond, a roar of cheers, from among the groups of people closer to the slag heap, caught Ita's attention. It looked like drunken brawlers were having their share of the night. They were certainly getting rowdy. As nice as the brawlers were to look at, he had a more pressing matter to address.

"Would you like a drink?" Ita extended the bottle to the young woman, "It smells of honey. It'll help chase that powerful smell away."
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[Ashe]

'Hey there! Wonderful weather tonight, ain't it?' The myrian said to Ashe with what seemed to be a smile, too good to be a real smile on his face, and a lame attempt to disguise a thick Taloban accent. The man also included a friendly-looking wave at her and a roar of cheers distracted the myrian when a pair of drunken brawlers started pounding on each other with nearby items. Ashe would've left the scene for the better environment of her bed in the Sunset Quarter if it weren't for the Myrian extending the hand with the liquor bottle and asked. 'Would you like a drink? It smells of honey. It'll help chase that powerful smell away' Ashe shifted her thoughts to the bottle, then back to the myrian, and then to the bottle. 'What is that drink? Would it be safe to drink it? I dunno, I saw him drink from the same bottle, and he seems to be alive so it must be safe. Well might as well ask Ashe thought to herself as she scanned the bottle and the man standing before her. "What brew is it?" Ashe asked of the man, standing up from her wooden seat, and stepped closer but just out of arm's reach. She was warned of a kind of trap where seemingly kind men drugged women by sneaking a drunk into their drinks to find themselves half a bell later in the dark alley without clothes or covered in their own blood. However on the brighter note, this would be a good opportunity to taste a drink better than what is available for a cheap price and possibly an adventure.

[Ita]

"This?" He gave the fluid in the bottle a little swirl, "It's Sunberth Shanty, from The Simpering Seacrow, a cafe over in the Riverside District. It's really good and their house special!" He took another chug before holding it out to her again. "It's a mix of honey and, I think, bourbon and scotch, and I'm pretty sure a pinch of lime."

Though the brawlers did not seem to catch Ita's attention this time, they once again roared into the night. It appeared as though they were beginning to roam and look for energy and excitement amongst the other inhabitants enjoying the fire tonight.

It became apparent that the alcohol was starting to relax Ita, as his speech seemed to slur, yet it made him sound more natural when speaking Common, and it definitely made him more sociable than his upbringing as a member of the Cutthroat Shadow taught him to be. "What brings you out here tonight?" He seemed invested in the conversation, "Just trying to socialize and mingle, like me?"
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[Ashe]

Ashe watched intently as the man swirled the Sunberth Shanty in it's bottle and take another chug before offering some to her again. "It's Sunberth Shanty, from The Simpering Seacrow, a cafe over in the Riverside District, It's really good and their house special. It's a mix of honey and, I think bourbon and scotch, and I'm pretty sure a pinch of lime" said the man. "Hmm sounds like a fun drink" Ashe answered as she picked out the bottle from the man and cupped her cleaner hands around the lip of the bottle then took a swig of the mix. She could taste the bourbon mixed with scotch and honey. However the sour taste of lime was missing, So the young woman took another swig of it, and still nothing. Ashe found the missing flavor perplexing and she tilted her head from side to side, trying to find it. Eventually the young woman gave up barely even noticing the brawlers starting to fight once again and Ashe said to the man "Um...I don't taste the lime in there. At least not yet." Ashe could smell the burn of the Sunberth Shanty coming off of the man's breath and thought 'This probably wasn't the first or even the second drink this guy had. Perhaps I should be going home soon and bring this poor sod with me. Maybe make him rest at the table, yeah.' and she was going to ask him if he had a place to stay but the man asked. 'What brings you out here tonight? Just trying to socialize and mingle?' "I came to see the fire on the way home from a healer's office nearby" Ashe answered

[Ita]

"Ah, a healer, eh?" He said, "That's interesting." He continued downing the beverage. "You're lucky you can't taste the lime. Not fond to it, myself. I feel like it takes away a certain... character." He was about to drone on and on, about Gods know what, but he was interrupted by a burly man giving him a hefty tap on the shoulder. It hurt him a bit, and he was about to say something, but upon turning to address the man, he had discovered that a small crowd had gathered.

The brawlers.

"Excuse me," The man's voice bellowed in a civil manner, much like nobility at a ball, "That bottle you've got there, Sunberth Shanty, ain't it?" The large man pointed his dirty, sausage-like finger at the bottle in Ita's hand.

"Yes, it is." Ita responded uncomfortably. Even buzzed and too relaxed, he could see where this was going.

"Well, as you probably noticed, mate, me and my pals were out here having a good fighting match. Now we're awful tired, and it would be absolutely wonderful if you could hand your drink over." He said, putting his palm open in front of the Myrian. "In fact, it would be splendid if you could hand over the drink in your bag as well."

This is why Ita couldn't have nice things. He certainly knew his odds too. Ita had idiotically left his weapon locked in his apartment. A mob against a Myrian. He had even completely forgotten about the young woman behind him. Still, pride or stubbornness gripped Ita's decision. "I think not, sir." He stepped back, bottle in the hand furthest from the crowd.

The arguement continued on for several moments. Neither party seemed to getting anywhere.

"Tell you what. Since you seem so bent on getting your arse kicked, I'll take care of you myself. What say you, girl? You get to decide whether it's us two men, or the mob against you two."

Ita looked back. He had completely forgotten about her. He glanced back at the rowdy bunch. Being a Cutthroat Shadow would be difficult with the Slag Heap illuminating the night, but Myri would be ashamed if he were to surrender what was his to human savages and criminal brutes. He looked back at the woman. He didn't even know her name. But he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her behind the shack she had been leaning against chimes ago.

The invading group awed and booed at the Myrians actions, and the man shouted out, "Aw, come one, mate! It won't be that bad. It'll only hurt a tiny bit." They approached his hiding place.
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[Ashe]

"Ah, a healer, eh? That's interesting" The man answered downing the drink in the bottle and Ashe smiled at him. The drink wasn't half bad as the Myrian added "You're lucky you can't taste the lime, Not fond to it, myself, I feel like it takes away a certain...character." The young woman was about to offer a walk home with the Myrian if it weren't for him turning around and Ashe finding a small group behind the myrian, with the leader being one of the brawlers. "Excuse me, That bottle you've got there, Sunberth Shanty, ain't it?" The brawler's bellowing voice was clear enough for even her to hear the conversation and Ashe folded her arms across her chest. She listened to the Myrian answer in a wavering tone "Yes, it is" and Ashe knew that the group was interested in the drink. Now if they were willing to pay for the drink like a civilized man it was yet to be seen nowadays and she paused to think of that. 'Maybe we should try doing that first before resulting to fire, Yeah' Ashe thought to herself as she watched the two argue back and forth until the brawler turned to look at her. "Tell you what, Since you seem so bent on getting your arse kicked, I'll take care of you myself, What say you, girl? You get to decide whether it's us two men, or the mob against you two" Said the man. Before Ashe could say anything she felt a tug on her arm which led her running behind the same shack she was leaning to chimes ago. The young woman looked around to find the silhouette of the shack she worked in all day and she could barely see the iron staff leaning against the building in the silhouette. She always carried a weapon to work but kept it hidden while working and this time it was just outside the building. The young reimancer wanted to keep her magic a secret but at the cost of her life and after being discovered, subsequently hung at the gallows, before or after being raped by the brutes who would capture her. "Mate, Distract them for me please" Ashe muttered to the Myrian and quietly pointed to the shack a little further down the road.

[Ita]

The Myrian looked at her strangely. She seemed to have her eye on something off not so far in the distance and she wanted him to buy time. She either found a hiding place, or she had a plan to fight. The fire from the Slag Heap illuminated the walls on the shacks surrounding them, and from the looks of it, they were coming around both sides to prevent the two from running off. However, the girl was looked one direction, so he decided to distract that side to give her an opening.

He darted past the path a small group of either four or five of the mob were walking down leaving the cover of one shack to another. Of course, they caught site of the boy as he was illuminated by the fire. They sounded like a group of wild scavenger animals, yelping and howling into the night air. It didn't help that all his clothes, except his pants were white. The girl took off too, the group reacted similarly, except Ita couldn't see where she went. Creeping around the building towards the back of the group he realized how noticed how much attention his clothes would bring so he took off everything but his pants. Seeing as how he took everything else off, and how restricting pants were, he took off his pants too. He bundled everything, except the drinks in his bag, into his cloak and tried to push is underneath the shack as much as he could. So now he had to draw the people from the girl and his clothes

The boy darted again, picked up a rock, threw it at one of the pursuers head and hid once again behind the shack he began at. Yes, loosing the clothes was a very good idea, he felt free from any resistance on his body, and the dark was a safer place to hide now. He was covered in the light of the fire and it wasn't a safe place to be. The mob was now preventing him from using paths and alleys to get back into the shadows of the buildings.

"Hey, he went back!" He heard shouts that couldn't be more than fifteen feet away.

There was no darting into the shadows this time. They were all blocked off by the enemy. So he looked around, he could continue the run along the edge of the shacks. He looked up and saw his cover. He was going to scale the roof.

He leaped as high as he could and hooked his arms onto the roof. It took a long struggle for his arms to pull his body up completely for his legs to get a hold. He stood up, carefully, slowly creeping towards the shadows. The roof of this building creaked loudly with every step and it became apparent that could barely keep itself together with a person walking on it.

"Do you hear that?" The large, bellowing man could be heard on the ground below, "The sod is on the roof."
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[Ashe]

Ashe raced down the road, pushing herself to move as fast her legs were able to carry her, and briefly stopping behind the shack she worked in from time to time. The young woman scanned the back of the building to find a set of five barrels resting on a wooden pallet, all but one covered, and the one not covered was filled to the brim with water collected from the rainy spring season. "Okay time to remember..." Ashe muttered to herself as she began tapping each of covered barrels with her foot and listened to the different tones each one made as shouts were heard in the distance. 'Dunk, Dunk, Dunk, Clink' "There it is" Ashe muttered to herself as she opened the furthest one to find her metallic staff shine to the fire in the distance and plugging the bottom of an empty barrel. Once she pulled it out she heard creaking sounds on a nearby roof that could be easily heard from across the street and the young woman ducked to the side of the healer's office as the mob drew closer. She heard the man bellow towards the roof and listened to the words. "Do you hear that?" "The sod is on the roof" They knew where the myrian was standing and she peered out from the edge of the office to find them all looking at the roof. 'Go, Go, Go, But quietly' Ashe thought to herself as she quietly ran around the other side of the building and darted to the opposite side of the street close to the tent city as the mob was focusing on the fragile structure. She soon looked at the roof to find a Myrian with no pants and instinctively covered her eyes for a brief moment. The smell of the burning heap was starting to get to Ashe again and she waved at the Myrian then pointed down the street before watching the man for any movements.