A New City [Open].

[Leur]

A Nuit! Leur thought to himself. Of course, why didn't I realize it? He remembered learning about Nuits, and that they were undead created by magic. All of his questions where answered now.
"Mm, I've studied your kind some before. It is a terrible fate that you have met, and I am truly sorry." Leur said to him. He really did feel awful for the man.

They finally arrived at The Kelp Bar. As the Nuit held the door for Leur, he walked in. The bar was dark, but filled with laughter of many men. It seemed like a pleasant atmosphere. Leur sat down at a near-by table, not knowing what to do. Do they bring the drinks to us..? he wondered to himself. He could feel the eyes of the others on him now.

[Iris Dove]

Iris sat on the rooftop of some unidentifiable building, looking out at the water and the docks as several people- sailors, traders, and presumably fisherman ran back and forth carrying boxes, and tying their ships to deck, among other things. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a strange fish-like man emerge from the water. The creature, having been spotted, was being stared at by the various people in town.

Although Iris didn't find his appearance odd, considering she herself was essentially half animal, she paid him little mind. Instead, the reactions of the townspeople is what intrigued her. How their mouths hung open and they simply stared as he slunk out of the water, dripping wet on the docks before covering himself, which, she thought, did little to hide his true nature.

People have no manners, she thought to herself as another figure approached the fish-like man. From what little she could see of this figure, he seemed other-worldly in the glow of his skin, his movements, the sound of his voice, which she could pick up from her perch. It sent chills up her spine.

Picking up her bag, which sat next to her, she slung it over her shoulder and jumped off the roof, landing as soundly as she could on the ground beneath her. Crouching behind a box that was left on the dock, she listened in on what the two figures were saying. Consistently making out most of the words even though most of the time, she could not manage to internalize and interpret them.

Despite this, she was intrigued by the two figures, mainly the one that sent chills up her spine. Why the figure managed to make her feel so on-edge she was unsure, all she knew was that she wanted to find out what sort of hold he seemed to have on her.

So when the two figures started to walk away.... something about a bar, Iris followed silently behind them. Well, not entirely silently, but it seemed as though the others were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice her following behind them.

Iris watched as the two figures walked into the kelp bar, she had passed it once before within the few days she had spent wandering aimlessly around the city. Iris watched as the two men slunk inside the bar, and the door had shut behind them. Waiting another two minutes before moving, she quietly crept out of the shadows and walked up to the bar's doors. Pushing them wide open, she crept inside and took in as much as she could of the dark and dirty atmosphere.

The bar was filled with drunken-looking men, which made Iris a little uneasy, but she wasn't sure why. Quickly spotting the two men she had been following, she took a table as close to them as she could, crossing her left leg over the right, and placing her bag on her lap, she started to fish around for her comb. She didn't want to make it seem as though she were doing her best to block out all the other voices and the laughter in the bar so she could eavesdrop on two rather peculiar individuals.

After finding her comb, she pulled it out, and started to run the teeth through her long blonde hair, which surprisingly, didn't have too many knots.

[Corum]

Corum smiled as he sat. It was interesting to be in such pleasant company. Once he was settled, he slightly bowed his head so that no part of his face could be seen by the local drunkards. It was not that he feared them, but it was simply easy for him to remain anonymous “human”. The only time he ever let his hood fall was at the university.

“ this fate is not so bad. Time is no longer important, not at all. I’ve no want for food or water, and i never tire. I do not need a place to rest and therefore i can retain most of my wages. I do miss my family though... Tell me, if you would, why are you here? other then working on the docks or the study of the Arcane, there is not much here worth doing...” Still smiling under his hood, Corum would wave a hand at the bar, mimicking the drunk at a table across the room, as this action seemed to summon the serving girl. After several moments this apparently did the trick, as a young girl carrying a tray of some clay like material he couldn’t identify came over.

“ so, my friend, what would you have to drink?”

[Leur]

Leur was surprised to hear that he didn't need to eat or sleep. He had never really thought about it before, even though he knew Nuit's didn't have to do such thing in the back of his mind.
"Mm, I'm glad you make it alright," said Leur. "I'm here for study, actually. I wish to expand my Spiritism skills. I'm also here looking for a friend. We lost contact, but I've been looking for her ever since."
Thoughts of Laoi flashed through his mind. He missed her, and he wanted to find her. He just hoped that the Konti was here, like the rumors said, and he hoped he would find her.

"Err, water is fine," he stuttered as he was asked what he wanted to drink. "A lot, please," he added quickly as she was walking away. Leur noticed an interesting looking girl sitting close to them, just a few tables away. She was combing her hair, but she often glanced over at them.

[Iris Dove]

Iris listened as the two men spoke, the one that unnerved her spoke of how he never grew hungry or needed to eat or drink. How odd, she thought to herself as she absent-mindedly combed her hair and asked for a glass of water the next time the serving girl came by. I couldn't imagine living like that, I just adore fruit! She thought as the serving girl placed a glass of water in front of her.

Iris put her comb back in her bag and looked at the glass of water that sat in front of her. The glass seemed grimy, or maybe it was just the lighting, unable to tell for sure, Iris brought the glass to her lips and pretended to drink as the fish-like man said "I'm here for study, actually. I wish to expand my Spiritism skills. I'm also here looking for a friend. We lost contact, but I've been looking for her ever since."

Iris searched in the inner reaches of her brain, but couldn't for the life of her determine what on earth spiritism must be. Frustrated, with her lack of knowledge, she stole a glance at their table as the man who actually required sustenance ordered "lots of water." Well, that's not surprising she thought to herself, as she clutched onto her bag, looking around the pub to see if anyone was watching before placing her unfinished glass of water in front of a drunken-looking old man at the table next to her. She didn't want to seem like an ungrateful guest.

Now what to do? Iris thought as she stole another glance at the fish man and his companion. Should I simply leave and find a place to sleep for the night, or continue listening in? Is it even worth it? And what if they figure it out? Deciding after a few moments that it may be best to simply leave, she slung her bag over her shoulder and got up to leave when a drunken man stumbled into her. Catching him and doing her best to put him down gingerly in the seat she had just gotten out of, and doing her best to ignore the smell of his breath, and the moisture that dripped off the side of his mouth and onto the sleeves of her dress, she walked directly into a waitress who had been carrying two full pints of kelp beer.

The beer splashed out of the mugs and all over the waitress's shoes and the already dirty floor. "I'm so sorry," Iris said, tears nearly welling in her eyes as she did her best to help the waitress steady herself. "I was just helping this gentleman and I didn't see you..." the waitress glared at her as Iris simply sighed, trying not to have a total and complete meltdown.

Iris breathing was becoming more and more uneven as she started to get upset, oh please don't let her yell at me, she thought to herself as the waitress gritted her teeth, muttering something under her breath before storming off to get refills and explain whatever happened to anyone who might ask.

[Laoi]

The calls of seabirds and gurgle of old seadogs tending to broken nets and idly chattering before their next venture were the first to greet Laoi as she trekked over the noticeably sandier turf of Zeltiva. As she crept closer, she could make out individual voices. Apparently, a fish came out of the water earlier today.

They must have seen a Charoda, Laoi thought. She had met a few during her travels. Though the Charoda could breathe air, they could not survive very long away from the sea. What would bring a merman out of his home?

She pushed the question out of her mind for now and reminded herself why she was here. As a major port town, Zeltiva offered some wares that were otherwise unobtainable without several months travel all over Mizahar. She had been in the area seeking out smaller towns without a healer and decided to take a break for a while and see what the venders were pushing.

As Laoi shouldered her way through the city, she was surprised how few people noticed her. Usually, a Konti woman would be immediately stopped by a wide-eyed child or a nervous mother. The merman had diverted much of the casual interest of the town it seemed. She heard a middle-aged man with graying locks tell a younger man in faded loose-fitted clothing that the fishman had followed a cloaked man to the local bar. Out of mild curiosity, Laoi tiptoed to the meeting place for many of the men in the town. She peered inside and the Charoda’s pale, scaly skin stood out immediately. The cloaked man sat at the same table, across from him. The table held the attention of the other patrons.

Nonchalantly, the young Konti woman walked in and took a small table on the other side of the room with a good view of the odd couple and toyed with the splintering edge of the wooden table.

[Corum]

Corum raised his head, so that most of his face could be seen from under his hood. It was not really his face, but the one he had for now. It was rather new, only a month in his possession. The eyes where a bright, almost glowing green and the skin was deathly pale. A small scar was under one eye, where the person who it had first belonged to had some sort of damage done. The embalming work Corum had done kept the smell of death from him, and the skin was otherwise without blemish. The nose was slightly bent from an old break, and as Corum smiled his teeth shone a perfect white, almost the same hue as his skin. As he manipulated the body’s slightly deep voice, it was very apparent that the body was not his. Corum’s soft manner of speaking was the contrast that proved that. As he opened his mouth to speak, his counterpart across the table could see the tongue within it was black, much like the area directly under his eyes.

“ Well, it seems you’ll be seeing much more of me then. Most of my time is spent at the university. It is, as i see it, one of the most extensive of the accessible libraries and schools for magic in the land. not only that, but-” His attentions where gathered behind him, to where a girl had stumbled into the serving girl. She seemed to be a bit stressed. Rising from his seat, Corum lowered his head as to hide his face, his hood falling low once more.

Another girl he had not seen before moved into the bar... It seemed there were more and more people entering the city today. Corum raised a hand to his friend he’d left sitting at the table as he moved closer to the door. “ Are you all right, dear? You seem a bit startled... Don’t worry about the drink. I will pay for it. Why don’t you sit down a bit, hmm?” Corum would reach into his robes for his coin purse, his other hand motioning to a seat next to his aquatic friend.

[Iris Dove]

Embarrassed, Iris' cheeks grew hot and red. She thought they must be as the fall leaves she saw in the wildlands before arriving here, wherever here was, she didn't exactly know the name of the town she was in, just what part of it looked like. Wasn't she a smart one? she thought to herself as the door to the tavern opened and another blonde woman walked inside and took a seat a few tables away from where she was standing. Other than a few waitresses, she and this mysterious new blonde woman were the only ones around in a pub filled with drunken men, a strange fish man and his even more unnerving companion.

Just as the thought had crossed her mind, the words “Are you all right, dear? You seem a bit startled... Don’t worry about the drink. I will pay for it. Why don’t you sit down a bit, hmm," hit Iris' ears, startled, she jumped up a little and clutched at her heart, breathing heavily. "You... you scared me," Iris said as she looked back at the man who had spoken. It took her a moment to realize that the man was one of the two that she had been following, and that he was offering her a seat next to the fish man.

Nervous, and not wanting to seem impolite, she nodded her head, and took a seat next to the fish man. Iris pulled her bag off her shoulder and sat it down in her lap. She stared down at the floor and bit her bottom lip, this is really really awkward, she thought to herself.

[Corum]

Corum returned to his seat, his own back pack still strapped to him from behind, his dagger lying under it directly along his spine. As he settled himself the serving maid brought a gallon of water in a clay pitcher. As she set it down he spoke very softly, telling her to count the two mugs of ail to his tab. Turning back to his table, he looked to the girl, careful not to show his face from under the hood.

“ Calm yourself, all is well. So... how was your walk from the docks?” Corum dropped the small hint that he’d known of her following them, and her listening in. One such as himself, who also often listened in and of a race most people of the lands hated, he’d learned to be observant. His hood did not hide much that wasn’t directly in front of him from his sight.

[Iris Dove]

Once she had sat down, a waitress came by the table, and the strange man told her to put the things she had spilt on his tab, when that was done, he turned back to her and said, “Calm yourself, all is well. So... how was your walk from the docks?”

Iris' eyes immediately became little black slits, obviously, she hadn't been careful enough about her following them. She eyed him angrily, although, she wasn't too angry, just embarrassed and frustrated for the most part.

"The walk was lovely," Iris said, "I quite enjoy walking along the docks." Iris turned quickly after speaking and eyed the other woman who was sitting alone, sheesh Iris, what'd you get yourself into? she thought to herself, before turning back towards the man and saying, "what are you?"