"Secrets of the Mighty Mytian Mage"

Cast: Sally (Nerf) & Mars (Midas)

TLDR: They get drinks after Saarva's speech to learn more about each other, but Sally runs Mars off with a too personal question. Sally is determined to uncover the truth.

Support Points Earned: 1

[7:37 PM] Nerf: ==START RP== As soon as the meeting ended, Sally crossed the street in front of the meetinghouse, headed towards a rather fancy looking building. Now that she had been officially accepted into the team (or, ‘The Pack’ as Saarva had decided to name it) she had no time to waste. With only four days left before starting the expedition, it was of utmost importance to finish any preparations as soon of possible. Normally, her first step would be to check on all the other member's backgrounds to make sure they could be trusted, but that didn't seem like a possibility a the moment. It would be one thing to do so in Naxxos where she had informants working for her, but now that she was by herself, a task like that was simply too large to be finished in such a short timeframe. In a moment, she had even considered requesting Saarva to allow her to see the applications of anyone that had been accepted to make the job a little easier, but she quickly gave up on the idea: a request like that could easily be seen as a signal of distrust on her teammates, and she was sure some of them would be offended if they found what she was doing, even if it was a perfectly rational thing to do... Maybe I should ask for them anyways. If they didn't put any issues with having me on board, then who knows what other kinds of shady people they might have hired. ...in any case, such concerns would have to wait. For now, her objective was a far simpler one: rent a room somewhere in Pachima, so she could have a place to stay in until the mission started. And what better place to start looking for that than the inn that was right across the street?

[9:56 PM] != Midas: Mars was eager to at least try and make friends, he'd need the social skills if he was going to be Emperor after all, to publicly speak, to attend gatherings of the higher-ups, to negotiate trade deals with other countries, etc.. Thusly he decided to follow whomever caught his eye, this just so happened to be Sally. In an odd way, just based on first impressions, Mars admired Sally, she was clearly an ally worth having based on the fact that she was accepted, based on her build she didn't seem strong, and without physical strength to rely on, she would need to be smart to survive, considering the dangers that were likely facing The Pack. Because of this flawless logic, Mars, halfway through the meeting, Mars decided to talk with her afterwards. After the initial crowd of people cleared, Mars realised that Sally had already started to leave, and started following her in a way that most people wouldn't question, after all, Mars had rented a room at the inn, who's to say that he wasn't just walking back to rest?(edited)

[10:07 PM] Nerf: Seemingly unaware of the fact that she was being followed, Sally continued her way across the street, quickly arriving to the front door of the large building. After inspecting it from outside for a good ten seconds, as if trying to decide if it was a place that she would want to stay in, she pushed the large double doors in front of her (not without certain effort) and walked in, momentaneously dissapearing from Mars's vision.(edited)

September 22, 2017

[4:23 PM] != Midas: Mars followed up until he reached the door, pausing for a moment to laugh at his own situation. It's funny, the best case scenario for my long term survival is that the girl detected me, didn't let on that fact, and is now trying to lure me into a trap. Well, I suppose it's time to test just how good of an ally she will make. Mars proceeded to push the door open and scan the room.(edited)

[5:37 PM] Nerf: "You know, if the first thing you do when entering a room is stand at the door and look around, even the most oblivious woman will start to think she's being followed. It's a shame, really, you were doing such a good job at being discreet up until this point. So, am I right to assume you were looking for me?" Leaning against a small wall to the side of the room, Sally looked at Mars with an amused expression on her face. The spot she had chosen to stand in wasn't a casual thing: it was the last place someone who was entering the room would look at, allowing her to spot Mars well before being spotted herself. In any case, she didn't seem to be particularly bothered by the fact she had been followed.(edited)

[10:13 PM] != Midas: Well at least I don't have a dagger in my throat. Mars thought before continuing his scan of the room, seemingly ignoring Sally.

[10:23 PM] Nerf: "Hey, I'm talking to you" She let out a chuckle. "Playing it cool won't help you now. You were back there at the meeting, weren't you? You could at least properly introduce yourself, it would be better than continuing to dig the hole you have put yourself into."

[10:42 PM] != Midas: "You must be quite confident in this location to talk this freely." Mars said, still scanning the room for... something... After seemingly failing to find whatever it was Mars was looking for, he turned his head towards Sally and smiled "Yes I do suppose that introductions are in order, aren't they? I am Marcellus Sullyvan." Mars said whilst walking over towards Sally "A pleasure to meet you." he said, now about an armslength away from the girl before extending his hand from under his white cloak.

[10:59 PM] Nerf: In response, Sally opened her mouth as if to protest about Mars's blatant attempt to dodge the accusation, only to stop herself before emiting a sound, deciding it was not something worth discussing any further. "Sigh...fine, I'll let you off the hook just this once. But next time you want something from me just say so. There's no point in lying about something so trivial." After taking a deep breath, she separated herself from the wall and returned the handshake, along with a polite smile. "Sarah Blackburn, but you can just call me Sally. The pleasure is mine."

[11:31 PM] != Midas: Mars broke their handshake and put his hand back underneath his cloak "You know, I suppose I should tell you why I followed you. You see, in an odd way, I admire you, you clearly lack the physical strength to jump into the fray and assist us in that way, so you must have other skills, and in order to have said other skills, you would have to be smart" Mars paused to choose his next words at little bit more carefully than normally "and I admire those who are smart."

[11:50 PM] Nerf: Uh? From denial to flattery? That is one sudden shift "I appreciate the compliment, but aren't you jumping to conclusions here? There are plenty of reasons I could have been hired. What makes you so sure it was for my intelligence?" Shifting her weight from one feet to another, she absent-mindedly starts circling around Mars "Now, I'm not saying your assesment is wrong, but I can't help but feel it's undeserved. Once I prove what I'm capable of I will be more than willing to accept your praise, but for the moment I'll have to decline the compliment. It just doesn't feel right to be complimented when I have not done anything yet."

September 23, 2017

[12:20 AM] != Midas: "Well, all the reasons that any given person would be hired for this job are essentially for 1 of 2 things, to investigate, or to act as muscle should we find something to fight, without the muscle to fight you would need to either assist us on the battlefield using magic, which you don't appear to be skilled in as I don't see any tomes around here" Mars said, moving his head from side to side to look for a tome before continuing "so that leaves either helping us on the battlefield using some tactics that require at least some level of intelligence or helping us investigate hands on, again, requiring intelligence." Mars laughed a little upon hearing Sally say that she wanted to prove herself before she was worthy to accept his compliment, it reminded him of when he'd denied Saarva's candy, saying that he didn't like "participation awards" and he would come back and take one, but only if he got the job, and now here he was. "You know Sally" Mars began "you and I seem to have at least a few things in common, and because of that, I think we'll get along just fine." Mars grew more comfortable, his smile changed from one that almost seemed faked now that he was 'really smiling', and he sat down on the floor to allow Sally to look down on him. "Well, I suppose I do I have more question, what would you like to know about me?"

[12:51 AM] Nerf: "So, in a few words, you are saying I look like so much of a pushover that my skills have to be in somewhere else than fighting? Talk about a backhanded compliment." She followed with a quick laugh, making it evident that her comment was mostly a lighthearted jab and not the reaction of someone that felt actually offended about his words. "Still, I can't say you are wrong about that..." "...what'd I like to know? Hmm, I'm certainly curious about a couple things, but if we are going to do this kind of talk, shouldn't we get a table first at least? I don't think the floor of an inn is the most appropiate place for this kind of conversation, especially with people coming in and out all the time. I'll pay for the drinks, as long as you keep your consumption reasonable."

[9:33 AM] != Midas: "Oh please don't offer me drinks for free if you want me to wake up on time tomorrow, I'm not a drunkard I swear,I just can't hold my liquor." Mars said quite sheepishly "But uh, yes, I do suppose we should find ourselves a table." Mars said, now regaining his composure.(edited)

[11:56 AM] Nerf: "Very well. If you say so, I won't insist. Now, lets look for that table." A couple minutes later, after Sally haggled with the innkeeper for a large suite in the second floor of the inn, the two of them were sitting on a small table, not very far from the place they had originally been holding their conversation. Given Mars's reluctancy to drink, Sally had decided not order any alcohol for herself, instead asking for some barley tea. After taking a long sip from her cup, she resumed the interrupted conversation: "Alright, lets start with something simple. Why don't you tell me where are you from and what led you to join this expedition?"

[12:37 PM] != Midas: Whilst Sally was talking with the innkeeper, Mars began idly humming to himself, continuing to think up random lyrics to a tune he'd recently heard on the streets Three lullabies in the ancient tongue, for the Court of the Crimson Queen Mars smiled to himself and pulled a pen and small notepad from under his cloak, he then flipped past some of his other ideas, eventually finding space on a page halfway down and wrote down the idea I'm really glad I bought this thing, worth every bit of haggling. He then looked up to see Sally waiting on him to finish writting down his idea. "Uh, sorry..." Mars said, avoiding eye contact. Now that they were situated and Sally had asked a question, Mars gathered a breath and raised his finger to begin the hand motions which normally accompany his dialogue before pausing for a moment "Er, Mytia, I come from a small village near the southern edge of Mytia by the name of Furian." Mars began, taking another breath "And I joined this expedition in order to destroy whatever evil would attack the Arbor." These were both half true, Mars was born in Furian to his mother, but at the young age of 7 he was sent to the capital of Mytia, Femina, and whilst he did have some level of moral obligation to defend the tree, he really just wanted to become a better mage such that one day he could conquer Mytia and create his paradice, whilst creating allies that would one day fight alongside him. He was especially disgusted with his lies when he said that whatever force was attacking the Arbor was evil, he hated that word, evil, it was a word that he knew meant nothing other than that whomever is using it disagrees with the good that the other person or force is fighting for, even trying to pass on whatever he'd said as true it was quite clear to Sally that he was at least partially lying about something.

[1:07 PM] Nerf: Upon hearing Mars's answer, Sally leans forward in her chair, crossing her fingers over the table and resting her head on it as she points her gaze straight at the mage, as if trying to decipher whatever secrets he might be trying to hide. "So, you consider yourself some sort of champion of justice? Because I have a hard time buying that. I do not doubt your intentions are good, but there must be something else motivating you to go this far. No one abandons his home and joins and foreign expedition just out goodness of their heart after all. So, what is it that you seek to obtain? Money? Fame? Recognition? There's nothing to be ashamed about having some ambition, so out with it already. A man that claims to have no selfish desires is not a man I can trust, I'm afraid." As she says all of this, she doesn't blink or takes her eyes out of Mars for even a second, carefully observing his reaction to her words. He might be trying to hide something, but he seems to get nervous easily. Lets see how he handles some pressure

[2:03 PM] != Midas: Mars clearly looked uncomfortable Dammit, I've killed people as a job for the last 3 years of my life seemingly without blinking and it's going to be this little girl's stare that brings me down? I've been through worse, I need to remember that, stay calm, stay calm. Mars didn't look calm, he HAD killed people for the last 3 years, but this was different, he could take battlefield pressure easily enough but with this kind of fight it wasn't his wits acting through his body, it was his wits acting through his words, and he wasn't great with words in the first place. After a few achingly long moments, Mars spoke "N-No, y-you misunderstand, I didn't pack up from Mytia just to work here, I've travelled Alaros for the last 3 years of my life, I left my home because my family died, and whilst there may be some righteousness in this act I'm only doing it because of the possible corruption behind whomever is behind all this, I swear!" Mars blurted out the words quite quickly after getting over his initial stammer, he looked to be panicking, and quite shockingly, because of this panic, it would be quite difficult to tell if Mars was lying.(edited)

[3:32 PM] Nerf: Uh? Now this an interesting reaction...did I ask him about a touchy subject? Or is he simply nervous around women? Maybe it's a bit of both. Regardless, I think it's better not to pressure him any further "Alright, alright, I'll take your word for it." Much to Mars's relief, she broke the eye contact and returned to her previous position. "Still, I'm sorry to hear about your family, it must have been rough on you. Would it be insensible of me to ask what happened to them?" Deciding any further inquiry about the subject would be better saved for another moment, she quickly changed the topic, both to give Mars some breathing room and because she was genuinely curious about wheter the part about his family being dead was true or not.

[4:59 PM] != Midas: Mars, seeing that Sally broke eye contact immediately put his head in his hands Oh gods Mars began thinking thank whatever gods exist or don't that the girl let her otherworldly stare up. How, how is it that a simple look has brought me so far down? I am supposed to make an emperor of myself, how can I let a girl like this break my demeanor so quickly? I'm so glad that I managed to hold on to my past, I can't let anyone know why I'm fighting here, I could fail, if I fail, countless generations will be prisoners in a dystopia, I, Must, Not, Fail. Mars wasn't listening to whatever Sally was saying, he wanted out of the inn, if she gave him another look like that he might just tell her everything. "Oh my, I just remembered, we are supposed to meet back up with Saarva around now, aren't we? I suppose I should get myself ready for that. Goodbye!" Mars quickly said before hopping up from his chair to run out, he was fast, but Sally could pursue him should she choose.

[5:16 PM] Nerf: At the sight of this sudden outburst, Sally remained impassible, without a hint of suprise showing in her face. As Mars made his way out of the inn, she calmly finished her tea, giving him plenty of time to get away. Then, she stood up from her chair and walked outside. Only then did she take a look to see if Mars was still around, albeit she didn't hold much hope that would be the case.

[5:27 PM] != Midas: Mars was running, he didn't have his things on him, those were in the inn, so he just wanted to get to the meetinghouse before everyone else, use some water magic to wash his face free of sweat, and wait there for everyone else to get back.(edited)

[5:34 PM] Nerf: Seeing as the mage was long gone, Sally simply started walking down the street, deciding this would be a good time to visit the apothecary and refill her stash of poisons. After all, the interrogation could wait for another moment. For now, she had other important matters to take care of. Seems like you got away this time, Marcellus Sullyvan. But worry not, I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to find what is this secret you are so eager to hide... ...because, unfortunately for you, I can't stand not knowing things.

[5:35 PM] Nerf: ==END RP==(edited)