Scouting the Holy Empire

Near the entrance to the coliseums Shaskur casually leans against the stone structure, a large poster to the Grand Balancing of the Scales advertising the upcoming tournament just to her side. Breg Epona was bustling with activity. The Calamity drew adventurers from all over and then shortly after a large tournament had been organized. There were also some rumours collected through the NWA that there had been troop movement in the area prior to even the calamity showing. Things were happening and Shaskur thought what better place to practice some skill then here!

It was time for a break though, a bit of a rest, and this high traffic area had a lot of passive information gather potential. Staff of the tournament streamed in and out of the coliseums in preparation for the event and many adventurers were hanging close to the area to either attend or watch the event.

"Get it, Rama!" A voice carries amongst the crowd. A small toy which seems to have been crafted out of scraps of cloth, sewn to look like a mouse and filled with dry beans, is tossed past Shaskur in the crowd. A moment later, a white from comes weaving through between people's legs, bounding for his prey. His paws catch the toy, then bat it up into the air, catching it in his mouth so that the tail dangles down.

Mikage follows through the crowd, excusing herself as she tries to keep her hood up, chuckling in good humor as she calls out, "Good boy! Bring it." So, her companion comes bounding up, holding the toy in his mouth. Miki crouches, taking the toy and giving him a ruffle of his fur before digging out a bit of jerky as a treat. "What should we work on next, buddy?" She asks.

Just at that point, though, his nose twitches, and he starts looking around, obviously having caught a familiar scent. "Who's there?" She asks him, before the lynx starts to wander, looking for the source of that scent.

As Shaskur rests she catches a familiar voice carry over the crowd and then a fleeting glimpse of white streak by not that far away. Eyebrows raising perceptibly she stands straight, no longer leaning on the wall, and then narrows her eyes in concentration. Crouching down she peers around, looking through legs until she catches another glimpse of white and she lets out a delighted laugh.

Lowering her facemask to expose her face and then lowering her hood she stands up and moves into the crowd in the direction of the white lynx. She calls out "Sir Rama! Mikage! Is that you!" As she makes it through the last of the crowd she is able to confirm the familiar were fang and her noble companion.

"It is you!" she says grinning happily, her impish fangs showing clearly. "Are you here to see the tournament too, Mikage?" and then she couches down again with her hand outstretched to the lynx, "Rama, it's been too long!"

At the same moment that Rama begins tracking Shaskur's scent, out she walks from the crowd, causing his ears to perk up. The next moment, the white lynx starts to circle around the Imp's legs, obviously excited. "Rama is getting better at picking out scents he knows in a crowd." Mikage answers, offering a smile and an incline of her head to Shaskur. "Didn't expect to see you here. Thought you might still be doing that research back in Ninetails Dominion."

At the question, Mikage shakes her head, "Fighting in the tournament, actually. It's an opportunity to try something new." She explains, "Cyrus is competing, too. Came down for the Calamity, stayed for the tournament." Lightly tossing the mouse toy in her hand, she catches it with the other. "Normally I hate the crowds, but Rama needs some training while there is lots of distractions so..." She hangs the toy by the tail. "We've been practicing."

Shaskur scratches the lynx behind the ear as she looks up and responds to Mikage, "Yeah, I'm going to be heading right back to Dun Loireag after the tournament. I just had to check it out though. Back in the day I would have been signed up right along with you, but now.. I'm trying hard to keep a lower profile." She shrugs, "It's a work in progress.. Still if you are in the tournament, I will be cheering for you! You and Cyrus both!"

After listening to the explanation Shaskur looks down at the lynx, "Well, Sir, it sounds like you've been hard a work!" Then with a quick glance to Mikage, "Could I give him a treat, or would that conflict with the training going on?" Then as an afterthought, "I heard a bit of a rumour about the calamity, someone with both Lander and Adventurer icons. What was that like?"

Rama begins to purr at the attention, setting himself near Shaskur. Though he may belong to Mikage, there were a few people which he seemed to have some measure of loyalty to besides her and Shaskur is among them. "Well, it's a good enough place to blend in. There's enough people here that no one will notice your face in the crowd." Speaking of the crowd, Mikage lightly motions away from the heart of it, closer to the outer wall of the Arena. That way they aren't blocking too many people as they move through.

"I appreciate it." Miki rubs at the back of her neck, sheepishly, "I don't expect to do very well, but I want to experience everything this world has to offer, so I might as well give it a shot. Worst case scenario, I get my ass kicked in the first round and spend the rest cheering on friends."

Mikage offers out the toy to Shaskur, "Give this a toss into the crowd. If he brings it back to you, then you can give him a treat." She suggests, as a means of making sure the lynx continues his training. Rama's eyes are locked on the toy.

"I didn't actually see her at the Calamity, but from what everyone is saying, it's the same woman I saw last time. The dark-haired woman in the kimono dress. She seems to be linked to the Calamities." Mikage explains, "From what I've been told, she was somehow able to teleport similar to how the old Chaos gates worked, but she was able to do it while being attacked."

Shaskur gives a shrug, "I feel a have a lot more to learn about blending into a crowd then I do blending into the night." And she gives a wry grin, "We are stuck here and I want to make sure I can fit into it all, it's like I'm finally learning what my class is really about." And then her grin fades slightly and turns to a sad smile, "In some ways I finally feel truly free." And then her grin is back. "Its all part of the learning curve. The tournament too. Just give it your best, you'll learn from the experience regardless of outcome!"

Then taking the toy Shaskur gives it a light toss into the air as she tests the weight before looking down at the lynx, "You ready, Sir Rama?" As the lynx seems to attentively watch the mousey toy Shaskur grins wide and tosses it over the crowd down the street, laughing lightly as the lynx bounds after it.

Then turning back to Mikage she nods, "Maybe that is how she vanished so completely the first time too then?" she contemplates out loud. "Still, there does seem to be a lot of new things to learn in this world. If we could create gates to travel distance at will.." and she trails off slightly in thought.

"It feels like there's a lot to learn about this world, in general." Mikage looks down at her hands, flexing her fingers and then rests back against the nearby wall, letting her fingertips feel the cooler texture of the stone. "But... I know the feeling." Her head cants up slightly, just enough for light to glint at the edge of her Were Fang tattoo, normally covered by her hood. "I feel more free here than I did back in the real world. It's like feeling everything again for the first time."

Then, she glances over, watching as Rama zooms off to chase the toy. He actually bumps a random Lander, who shouts, but doesn't seem fast enough to even notice what impacted his leg. This causes Miki to chuckle to herself. "That's the plan. Life, fight, learn. I plan on taking advantage of every minute I've got here, for however long we have it."

That said, she lowers her head again, seemingly thinking about the idea that Shaskur has raised. "Probably. I had thought she might have been connected directly to the Calamities, but if she can teleport at will, then that might not be the case." Her brows furrow in thought. "It makes me wonder where characters like her, like Tri-Edge. Where do they go? They appear, cause chaos, then seem to vanish off the grid."

At that point, Rama comes running back, mouse toy in his mouth, and drops it at Shaskur's feet.

Shaskur crouches down and pulls a piece of jerky from her inventory and holding it out to the eager lynx, "Well done, Sir Rama!" and she grins as the lynx as he consumes his reward.

Then standing back up Shaskur looks to the sky at the slowly moving clouds. "I think we have to pursue whatever our interest or passion is, otherwise.." and she just shakes she head. "People should choose for themselves their own life. Here? I think you're right. It really is like feeling things for the first time." She pauses. "Literally, my wings cramp sometimes staying under my cloak. This body has parts I'm just not sure how to deal with yet."

Then Shaskur tilts her head, "I was considering what I could do with the power to pull up portals at any time. Quick exit out of a dangerous situation? Check. Take a lunch break to Dun Loireag during a dungeon run? Check. Quick entry into a bank vault? Check? I suppose we just don't know what the limits are." Then she taps her lip thoughtfully, "I wonder if they are off grid though. Could the portals access places we can't normally travel? That might explain things a bit."

Rama gobbles down the treat, easily satisfied with the simple reward. The lynx settles down between the two of them, leaning to one side and scratching at his neck before giving himself a shake.

"Hmm." Mikage makes a soft, thoughtful sound, "I think my biggest goal right now, is to travel Yamato, see whatever there is to see. Find out what things might have changed with this new patch versus what we knew before." There had already been quite a few changes, the least of which being these new, more tactile versions of their avatars. "That's part of why I don't change into my Were Fang form very much. Extra appendages to get used to." Part of why, but not the whole reason.

"I imagine there are some kind of limits but..." Confusion shows in the set of her brows, "If the woman is both a Lander /and/ an Adventurer, then it's hard to imagine that she doesn't lie outside of some other game rules." Miki taps on the wall, "Wherever they are, it can't be in the normal zones. Otherwise, I expect we would have heard reports of them by now. Then again, Yamato is a big place..."

"That is a goal that I suspect will keep you busy for quite some time then, and I hope in the best of ways." She grins happily. "My advice about new parts is: If you have 'em then move 'em. Don't just leave them their dangling, they act like any other part of the body. Though some I sware seem to move all on their own and take more conscious effort to not." Then Shaskur pulls back her cloak with one hand to reveal her thin black tail before she moves the cloak to its original location. "Some things give away too much if left visible.." She a soft chuckle.

"I always just kind of assumed the icons meant Adventurer or Lander, but maybe there is more to them than that? Maybe they represent something that is present that can be gained. Like what does the castle icon really mean? We think it means a Lander, but what if you become part of a Kingdom's government, then maybe you get it or something? We clearly just don't know." But then she shrugs, "Maybe fun questions, but I got enough on my plate to deal with as is to really worry about them. Maybe one day when I'm actually figured out myself a bit more."

"We'll see. I'm not sure if I'll be a wanderer forever, or finally figure out someplace to settle down, but right now? I just want to see what Yamato has to offer." Mikage shrugs, a small smile on her lips. "As for the... extra features, well..." She gives a somewhat rueful expression, "Let's say the first time I transformed, people recognized me immediately. Something that wasn't too fun when you just want to play a game and not be noticed." The idea of someone being able to recognize a person based on their monster Avatar is certainly a strange concept.

"You're right, though. I have no idea what the icons really mean. We've always just guessed at them." It isn't as if Elder Tale Online had come with one of those old style guides which explained what every icon meant. "Guess it might be worth running an INSPECT on a few more people, just to see if anyone else has unusual icons." She proposes.

Shaskur nods along, "I get that. And while I used to not care who recognized me, now that this is home it has all kind of changed." She side eyes Mikage. "I don't suppose I've ever seen you transform. Or even really know what you transform into." She shrugs, "But we all have secrets. Tell me sometime if you want, but no rush." And she gives a warm smile.

Pausing after the suggestion she slowly responds, "That.. is really a great idea! I really should keep a closer eye and inspect everyone as I go about meh things. Good practice, good information." Shaskur grins, "It's always a pleasure running into you, Mikage." And then glancing down at the lynx, "And good Sir Rama, of course."