The World of Canis Majoris

Efrier squinted suspiciously at the letter in her hands. It had just been there, beside her, when she'd woken up from a brief doze behind a rubbish dump. In it were details from the King of all people, requesting, no, demanding her and six others (who's names she'd already forgotten) to fight the Dark Sorcerer. And for quite the pay too. It was simply too good to be true.

She swung her head round, peering down the alleyway, and then towards the fish stalls. Who had even delivered the letter? How the hell did they know who she was? Why would they want her, an elf who so far had only seen the inside of someone else's mansion, to fight against such an ancient and powerful being? She could only imagine it was a trick from her former captors to lure her back. Although, there was no reason to expend that much effort on someone they considered so lowly, surely? Leaning back against the wall, she sighed and rubbed her face. This needed to be thought through.

Around half an hour later, Efrier had made up her mind. The pay was amazing, especially for someone who barely had any clothes. Her captors were in the same town as she was now, Chiford. They definitely wouldn't bother sending her far away just to catch her again. Plus it would only benefit her to leave this place, just to put as much distance between them as possible. She stood up, nodding to herself as if to affirm her decision, and stepped out of the stinking alley for the first time since she'd escaped.

The sun was dazzlingly bright at first. She blinked a couple of times to adjust, and as soon as she could see properly, somebody passed by in front of her. Somebody with a letter sticking out of his belt, embossed with a design eerily similar to hers. Efrier stared as he carried on his way, oblivious to her presence. Maybe he was one of her teammates on this quest, if it was even a real quest. Maybe he would have some answers, at least? Before she could stop herself, she'd jogged up to about a metre behind him. She'd humour this spontaneous thought, for now, and trail him.

((Hope it was alright to assume the letter was still on Roy's person, and visible?))

An angry scream and high pitched laughter rang through the air as Eden's younger brother chased her through the city of Chiford. They were visiting the city with their parents as a bit of a vacation. Eden's brother had made the mistake of telling someone that she was the younger sibling as a joke. Despite the young fairy being eighteen, she looked about twelve. As she ran from her brother, she yelled "That's what ya get for saying I'm the younger sibling, bro!" She had decided to get back at her brother for the joke by causing him to get soaked with water, which highly annoyed her brother, much to Edens amusement. Her parents let out tired sighs as they yelled at the two to settle down. It was obvious things like this happened fairly often between the two.

Phoenix stood up as he read the letter. He was residing in an inn room in the city of Camor. He was there doing the usual mercenary work, but never in his wildest dreams did he expect to be hired by the king of all people! Nor did he expect a contract with such a pay. This job was exactly what the young Phoenix Smith wanted when he set out from his hometown of Pawai. If he were to take up this job and actually come though, him and the other mercenaries being hired- or so he assumed they were all mercenaries- they would no doubt globally idolized for their role in stopping this err... cloud thing, it didn't matter to him, he was without a doubt taking the job.

The light-skinned man stood up, tossing the letter aside, it was time to get dressed for the occasion. He put on his leather armor, starting with the pants, the top, which had the sleeve's cut short, and a belt. That was just the first layer. Phoenix strapped on the iron knee guards and he was done! He didn't have impressive equipment for sure, but he had enough to get the job done.

He walked up to the mirror and made his hair nice and spiky for this occasion, though once he actually started doing mercenary work the spikes would seemingly disappear, he didn't have any sort of gel to keep it up.

Phoenix slipped on his leather gloves, tucked the letter between his hip and belt, grabbed his shield and sword, and rolled his shoulders. He took a couple of practice swings infront of the mirror at the inn to make sure his form and stance wasn't sluggish. With all that done and over with, he left the inn room, being sure to pay for his few nights there at the front.

Humming a quiet tune, Frederica made her way towards the city of Chiford. The scent of sea water drifted on the wind, signaling that one was near the coast, if they didn't already notice the sparkling blue waters to their west. As the young girl stepped into the city, a courier ran towards her, dropping a slip of paper into her hands. Pulling the hood of her cloak off, Frederica walked down the cobbled stones and read the letter thoroughly. After finishing her examination of the letter, she pocketed it, it seemed she was going to Camor.

The blonde stopped in the middle of the city plaza, peering around for any others who seemed like they got the same letter. Of course the inattentive blonde overlooked Roy, and suspected Efrier, but didn't go to confirm it. Frederica shrugged and began to move northeast, towards the outskirts of the city. The heat of the day began to intensify as the girl had gotten to the edge of the city, bandits and brigands alike hung around these parts of town, looking to rob those exiting the city. As Frederica began to stow her cloak in the small pack she wore, a few of the lowlives began to eye her.

Janella hailed from Vinione, she had traveled a long way to get to the capital city. The elf had been made aware of the assignment via her 'employers,' who had known the King was seeking mercenaries. They had referred Janella, suspecting the reason behind the King's search but it hadn't been confirmed. Janella had been suspicious, assassins had a lot of enemies and she thought it was a trap. But the lure of thrills and that much money was something she could not deny. She could retire for the rest of her long life with that sum.

Even with her reservations the elf had set a grueling pace and pushed herself hard, taking a well-deserved rest in Camor. She also wanted to restock her pack with rations. She strode with confidence through the markets even if she was petite, making decisive purchases and haggling with the merchants. Janella set out on the road by herself, figuring she might encounter some trouble, but she was also sure enough of her abilities that she thought she could handle it.

Her hair was tied back in a single braid, the silver in her hair woven through it in streaks. She wore her cloak and hood to ward off the chill of the morning, pack and bow over her back. Up ahead on the road, she saw a blonde woman stuffing her pack into her backpack while some highway men eyed her. Janella quickened her pace, calling out to the woman to avert any trouble, "Are you traveling to Camor? We could walk together, for mutual protection. Some unsavory types are about," a withering scowl was cast toward the vagabonds with that last sentence, her cloak hanging open and revealing the plethora of blades along her athletic frame.

Nerys kicked back lazily on the bed in the assassin's guild sanctuary with the letter that had just been passed to him from one of the junior guild members. Opening the letter and reading by the candlelight, he let out a bark of laughter. Next to him, his friend Antoinetta stirred and pushed a lock of blonde hair out of her face. Sleepily, she sat up and leaned against his side.
"What are you laughing about?"
"It seems I've been summoned by the King to 'fight an evil that has once again risen in the land.'" He handed her the parchment.
She took a moment perusing it and whistled. "Did you see how much they're offering for this?" She huffed out an incredulous laugh. "You could retire to the ocean and live the the rest of your life attended by servants!"
"As if I'll ever retire."
She responded by elbowing him before resting her head on his chest. "When will you leave?"
"I think tomorrow morning is soon enough, don't you?" He turned to face her with raised eyebrows.
With a mischievous look, she replied, "Definitely early enough," before leaning forward to kiss him playfully on the lips.
When she pulled away, he asked, "Will you miss me this time?"
"Never."

"I had been on that target for three days waiting for the right moment, and then that stupid courier came in and ruined all that planning!" I yell out, and punch a tree next to my camp, then sit down on my bedroll with a sigh. "At least the pay for the job for the king will more than make up for it. But valid contract or not, mark my words, when this is over, that man shall meet my blade." I move my bedroll back under my tent, and lay down. "At least I'm already outside the capital. I'm not going to go to the castle yet, I'm going to wait for a while, don't want to show up early and have to wait hours upon hours for others to arrive."

Eden's younger brother continued to chase her through the streets of Chiford, though now both siblings were laughing. It seemed they had forgotten the original reason why this chase was going on. It was clear both had endless amounts of energy, despite being eighteen and seventeen years old and both were fairly childish at times. All of a sudden, Eden stops, causing her brother to ram into her and the two siblings to go tumbling into who knows what.

They hadn't gotten very far when the man stopped at a stall to eat. The scent of fresh, sizzling fish cleared her nostrils of the sewage and rot stench of her temporary 'home'. Her stomach grumbled; she hadn't eaten in days, apart from some of the not-so-stale scraps she could scavenge. She had stolen a sword from her captors, but going after their money would have been far too risky.

Driven partly by curiosity and partly by hunger, Efrier approached the stranger and asked, "May I join you?" in a soft voice, almost like a hiss.

Her half of the fish was gone in just a few gulps. She hadn't eaten it, she'd inhaled it.

"Thank you," she said, briefly closing her eyes as she savoured the lingering taste. "And no. Not new. I... I wanted to ask about that letter," she went straight to the point. She pushed forward her own letter, which had been neatly folded in her hand the whole time. "I think we have the same one."

Eden and her brother had happened to stop tumbling near where Roy and Efrir were. Eden happened to hear the conversation and perked up at the mention of a job. She wanted to join in on it, purely for the chance of adventure. With little hesitation, she decided to approach the two, practically dragging her brother along with her. "Hi! I'm sorry to interrupt, but I kinda overheard something about some sort of job and wanted to know if I could tag along. I'm a cleric, so maybe I could be of some use and perhaps this could help me develop my skills a bit more, not to mention the chance of adventure seems fun." Her bright green eyes practically sparkled with excitement.

Nerys woke early the next morning to gather up a few supplies for the journey to Camor. Antoinetta helped him don his leather armour, as the straps could get complicated to do on his own. Once he'd pulled on his knapsack, and strapped his ebony bow and quiver to his back, he wished some of his guild-mates in the sanctuary a good day and walked with Antoinetta to the entrance.
"You won't do anything too stupid while you're gone, will you?" She asked.
"Me? Do something stupid? I'm the soul of caution."
"I'm serious, Nerys, if you get yourself killed I'm going to kick your ass."
"Consider me warned. I'm sure we'll see one another again soon."
She nodded and embraced him and he made his way out into the sunny streets.
Not long after leaving the quiet of the sanctuary, he was nearly bowled over by a couple of young fairies laughingly chasing one another through the streets. He smiled at their exuberance and continued making his way down the street, but stopped when one of the fairies--the little girl--started a conversation with two people sitting at a street-side food stand, one a red-haired human and the other a dark-skinned, bald elf.
The redhead was saying to the fairy, "I don't have a problem with it, but there's a high risk you'll get killed along the way, I hope you're aware of what kind of power the Dark Sorcerer contains. I'd rather not drag you to your death."
The summons he had received had been about the return of the Dark Sorcerer, Bhhullitu. Strange that he should meet someone so near to him who may have gotten the same summons. Putting on his best charming smile, he approached the table.
"Greetings! I was just passing by and overheard that you may be heading to Camor?"

((This is just in case this post isn't recognized))

Frederica trotted towards Janella, at a closer look, she was less a woman and more a girl, undeveloped facial features (among other details) gave it away. It seemed she had answered her question by beginning to walk alongside the elf, thir height contrasting immensely. As they walked Frederica's voice rang out in a clarion register, "Allora, chi sei?" Of course it was futile to think that Janella might understand her. She attempted her best English with a heavy Italian lilt after a momentary pause, "Ah... who... errr, who are you?"

Instead of dragging on conversation, Frederica waved it way with a quick swipe of her hand, it probably wasn't needed anyways. Her mind wandered as they moved forward for Camor. Questions as to why Janella was travelling to the capital? Who else was selected for this mission? Why was she chosen, of all people? How did they even find her? Questions of minor similarities rolled through her head during the silent trek.

The elf glanced over at the brigands, seeing that they had decided to back off. Even though she enjoyed working alone, Janella often found that traveling alone had a number of disadvantages. One of them being that highway men found a lone traveler much more vulnerable, a much more tempting target. She looked confused at the first language that Frederica spoke, responding to the next words that she understood. "Janella, and yourself?" She wasn't interested in much more than small talk, happy enough to walk along in silence, not exactly an open book. She was surprised at how young the other female seemed to be, but shrugged it off.

Janella started to think about her mission, wondering how her talents would fit in with others that had been selected, also trying to calculate the odds that any of them were going to survive this mission. If they did survive, how was she going to spend her money? Whenever she arrived at Camor and moved beyond the outskirts of the city, the smell of the various meats and vegetables wafting throughout the streets reminded her of her hunger. Loving heavily seasoned foods, she purchased some lunch, sitting down for a rest as she ate before moving on to the castle.

"Frederica Vincenzo," The girl said, silence ensuing the rest of the trip. As they arrived in Camor, she was tempted to seperate and disband the pair but decided to stick with Janella for a little while, interested in her reason for coming to the capital. Frederica sat down with the female and took a sip from her waterskin, flexing her knees, releasing tension built up from their travels.

It was now late in the day, their arrival seemingly the cue for sunset. The all-seeing orb on the horizon left an orange blush, pressing against the curves of the sky. The girl stared in wonder at the sunset, it reminded of her abandoned home in Beygate. The sunsets there were so beautiful... A wave of sadness fell onto Frederica, an asphyxiating blanket of the stuff in fact. Yet she attempted to dispel it with conversation, though melancholy lingered in her gaze towards her elven parttner, "Janella was it?" Frederica struggled to get the sentence out of her mouth, a sheepish grin appearing on her face.

"Yes, I-" she was cut short as several people descended upon them, one after the other. She huffed in annoyance. People cutting her off was all too familiar an experience, and she hated it. She sat back as the redheaded stranger replied to one of the three newcomers, before pointedly saying, "Sorry doesn't uninterrupt a conversation."

Efrier had never been great with kids. Nobody would if their only exposure had been to snotty troublemakers who treated you like dirt. Overly energetic people were annoying to her too, because come on, what did anyone have to be thrilled about all the time? The two others she could probably bear, but the thought of this tiny, too-happy fairy joining them was... not great.

((I know Eden's not a kid, Effy here just assumed she was haha))

Janella nodded after she swallowed the bit of meat she had been munching on, "Yes, Janella Silentread. I am on my way to the castle. May I ask your reasons for coming to the capital, if you don't mind?" the elf inquired, her tone courteous, one of her hands reaching out to push the platter of food forward. Her eyes had been bigger than her stomach and she doubted she could eat it all, her stomach having grown used to subsisting on small amounts of ration during her travel up north.

The elf was drinking her customary rum to wash down her meal, though she was drinking for the pleasure of drinking, not so much to get drunk. Janella also had some water on hand to keep herself from drying out afterward, though.

Frederica noded as Janella gave her destinantion, and towards her question she fished out a piece of paper from her belt, unfolded it and handed to Janella. Once again, the girl spoke slowly, "So, why are you travelling to Camor?" She examined the elf, "You don't seem the type to come to the capital,"

The blonde turned her head towards some of the spires towering into the sky, following their ascent upwards to a point. She took a deep breath, the sounds, sights and smells of this new area were overwhelming and intriguing, however taking them in a different task. One that Frederica couldn't be bothered with due to the Axilas in her pocket and the time on her hands.

Janella looked over the piece of paper that Frederica had received, it was very similar to her own summons. Reaching into a case that was in her cloak, she opened it and produced her own letter, handing it over to Frederica. "I am not the type who would normally travel to Camor, but I received a letter very similar to your own. Looks like we'll be working together." She finished off her food and drink, washing it all down with some water.

"I'm ready to go to the castle whenever you are, to see just what's in store for us." She stretched, her armor creaking as she did so.

Phoenix was at a cafe sipping from a cup of green tea while reading over the letter over and over. He was looking for any inconsistancies with the facts he knew. He wasn't about to fall for a trap, and now that he has a trusty cup of tea by his side, he wasn't going to have his path to greatness cut short because he failed to realize an obvious trap... Then again if all this letter said were true, it sounded like he'd be dead either way.

The warrior downed the rest of his tea and set it down on the table whilst he stood up, tucking the letter away yet again. It was time to make his way to the castle, what if he was late? That would make him look quite foolish indeed.

With that thought in his mind, he began to walk to the castle in the middle of the street, how egotistical! This made him stand out a bit in the crowd, he was the only idiot walking straight towards the castle in the center