[Diane] Chapter 1: A New World

[Anima mea]

Diane looks at all of them, sparing a nod to the young man who is to be her squire.  She goes silent and falls back into an analytical state of mind.  Some few moments later, she smiles, almost coldly.  "I have no objections to such, in fact, ending a war is honestly, on everyone's list of things to accomplish, however, I was not a fighter in my world and as such, I do not suspect that I'll do well in such a manner." She turns around and takes in the priests and smiles wider, "Perhaps with the four of you, I can however, make the lives of your people easier, indeed the lives of your soldiers as well."  She looks around and then looking the knight dead in the eyes, "If you will bring me some water, some food, whatever you write with and on and someone who can educate me in your world's minerals, materials, elements and combat techniques I will see if I can even bring your nation to the fore in all sorts of things."&D She sighs softly,a whisper leaving her lips, "Grampy, am I doing the right thing helping these people?  Please guide me if you can."

After she does so, she walks over to the priests and smiles and offering a bow to them both, "I am a hero, but in my grandmother's culture the priest is given reverential treatment.  I do not know your culture well enough to know what that may be, but I offer you my bow at this time to show such respect, because when I start on a project, I do not always remember such.  I offer myself into all of your case, the four of you, and I hope to be able to repay it by helping your people.  Does this satisfy the requirements of your culture so that we may begin work?" 

[Anima mea]

Perception check [blockquote]Rolled 1d20 : 7, total 7[/blockquote] +3 perc skill

[Throndir]

[info]Perception: 14
Further in the distance were trees, though the village itself was situated in a wide plains and meadows. There were plenty of farmland as well.

The knights behind Kayden were armored similarly. They were all men, and had hair ranging from brown to blonde. They looked European to your eyes. Each of them were armed with a sword and a shield.[/info]

"Many heroes were born not as fighters, though, we must instill the basics at the very least. We've already lost many due to the war, and still do to this day. It is a war against demons, and if one of them ever appears, you will need to be ready." She then turned towards the two twin priests. "Priests. Proceed. Then she and I can discuss things further." The knight said sternly. "And boy, acquaint yourself with the hero." She said glancing down towards Hunt.

"Yes'm!~" With that the squire made his way towards you. "Hello hero!~ I am Hunt Holton. And... I guess I will be your squire now." The boy then took his place beside you.

Color change for Hunt for readability

"The information you request, I admit, is not on me right now. Chynance village and its people were recently brought to this world as well, so the only information they have is from their own world. We have all that information and more back in the closest Trade City. Scholars will be at your beck and call, and they can teach anything you may wish to know." The knight said. At this both priests seemed to frown, and Kenver at least seemed to shoot Kayden a glare.

"Hero Diane, I am glad you offer your aid... But this knight will not take you away." He then turned his attention to the knight. "You haven't even told her, have you?"

At the implied accusation. The knight furrowed their eyebrows and only stared at Kenver sharply.

[Anima mea]

Diane looks at the young squire and then takes his hand in a handshake, her own rough and a little greasy from spending a chunk of her life working on cars.  She smirks, "Stick with me, we'll somehow not die together."  Listening to the priest she turns to the knight, Any time you three want to explain everything in a single sitting I'll be willing, but until then, I will need something to write with and on.  Some food and drink and a place to rest.  I do feel the need to be stubborn at this point."  With those words she begin to walk away from the lot of them, her stride purposeful and the set her chin indicating the lack of sympathy for anyone at this point.

[Throndir]

When you shake his hand, your normally greasy and rough hand actually wasn't as rough as they had been. Giving them a glance, you notice that they were indeed smooth, they looked like the hands of a person who hadn't ever developed the calluses of manual labor.

The rest of the group watched as you began to leave. The squire looked questioningly at Kayden, before running off to follow you. The two priests looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. Lastly the knight and the rest of the soldiers frowned.

Assuming you are headed into the direction of the village. Note if you're looking back at them, or paying them much attention. Also state the general direction you're headed to. For now, I'll leave it open and will just be describing things as you move.

As you begin to leave, the sea of villagers parted ways. The distance to the village wasn't very far away. In fact, the summoning site was on top of a hill that overlooked the village itself. A simply path lead from it towards the village center. Judging from the distance, the walk might take another 5 minutes or so. The squire continued to keep up, and you heard his footsteps plod behind you.

[Anima mea]

Diane keeps walking, looking out over the area and then stops and looks out over an area that doesn't look out over the hill, "Young Hunt I have a question for you, away from the rest of them, how much do those priests actually control and when I appeared here I saw that I gained something called levels, mag, con, and several other things.  Plus some titles.  Do you know what that's about?  Also, do you think you could teach me how to properly deal with what I'm guessing is some religion vs military issues here?  If I am going to help you guys I need to know what I'm dealing with and how best to deal with it.  I also need to know exactly what I'm getting into, because, as it said earlier, it seems like they are hiding things from me and honestly, I despise such behavior." 

She turns away from the boy, having dropped quite a bit on him and looks out over the area, leaving her face open to interpretation.  She looks at the villagers and smiles, a look that could be considered hopeful to some, although some might consider it dubious at best.  She reaches into her pocket and raises an eyebrow, "Should have known dying would take my last two starbursts.  She shrugs and looks out over the land, kneeling down, she takes up a stick and begins to draw in the dirt something from her world, something she very much wished she had at hand because at least the world might make a bit more sense if she had one.  Once she completed the double ended wrench, she sits down on the ground and looks out over the scenery.  Her hand resting on the drawing where it would naturally rest on an actual wrench,"I really wish I could just rework this dirt into a wrench and some other tools, I want something to work on."She looks at the squire, "Can you do me a favor and see if the villagers have a waterwheel or grindwheel that needs to be fixed?  It might help clear my head. I definitely just need to reshape my view on this world and probably on how I handled those three back there."

[Throndir]

As the two of you walked, Hunt answered the questions to the best of his ability. "The priests... Well, I don't really know all the details you see?~ But if you mean how much they control, it would just be this village! Chy... nance, I think this village is called. It's not bad, but I like the villages of the more established Felencorp nations more. Merchants everywhere... And if you are nice, and tell them you're part of the Holton family, they give you candies too! How it should be... Anyways, the priests only lead this village, they're the bosses I think? Them and their summoning circle are the only thing that came here in the Shifting.

Yep! Everyone has levels! It's something innate to everyone, at least that's what I was taught. Most people don't bother getting their levels checked, but the Guilds we have in each city can do it! Adventurers check often, because it usually tells them what they can handle, and if they should try out umm... those... places... that have monsters in them? Umm... Oh, dungeons! But any of the specifics about you being a hero I'm not really sure... That kind of knowledge is really only known and passed down by the priests, but maybe Kay-Kay knows!

If you have it, you can roll Knowledge (popular culture).

"And Kay-Kay fighting with the priests, I'm not entirely sure... but I think... because maybe the twins are protective of you? All their fighting had been around that..." He glanced back towards the people on the hill. "Yeah they're still fighting up there." Hunt said sadly. "They've been fighting all day you see? They kept fighting up to when the priests finally decided to start that summoning thing they did and you appeared a few hours later."

The moment you thought about reshaping the dirt. A notification appeared in the same translucent green window.

[okay]Silent invocation not yet unlocked.[/okay]However when you said 'reshape', a new notification appeared.

[okay]Requires a valid target.[/okay]"A broken wheel... Okay! Anyways...! Anyways! When I get back, do you have any cake? Kay-Kay makes me some sometimes... and they're the best!" The boy flashed a smile at you, but he obediently proceeded to look around, trying to find the closest villager. There were a couple of villagers who had followed you down the hill, but they kept a respectful distance. It was to this group that Hunt went towards.

[Anima mea]

Listening silently to the young squire as he speaks, Diane takes it all I silently.  When he mentions the cakes, she can be visibly smiling.  Making a mental note to find him some candy or a cake later.  When he goes to find out if anyone has anything broken she tries to puzzle out the silent invocation message.   

Shrugging add she lets it go,  she stands up and mutters something and walks over to the young man, smiling at the villagers, "Do you have any work I can do to help you out?  A wagon, grindstone, waterwheel?" She looks at them pleasingly, "My mind just needs something for my body to do so that I can settle into things here.  Please?  I beg of you to find me something to repair."

[Throndir]

The villages you spoke to all had hair ranging from grey to white. They weren't necessarily old as well, though the one who responded to you first was an old lady. She wore simple clothing, that looked more for everyday use than anything ceremonial or presentable, at least compared to what the two priests wore.

"Oh hero, you don't need to take care of such small things... You are the hero after all, and we can handle all these other smaller tasks ourselves." She said. "But your offer is very much appreciated... It's so much more welcome than when the Alliance first came to us... Demanding reparations from our small village. It wasn't until Kayden was assigned to this village that things started to become a bit more peaceful. We even managed to get some supplies from the rest of the country. Our mayors, the Angwin twins... Oh they were in such an uproar when we first came here. And even if things have started to smooth out a bit between us and the alliance due to Kayden's efforts, our two priests butt heads with the knight all the time... If there's anything to repair, it would be that. Most of their conflicts were around many things, but most recently, about you."

One of the men behind the old lady raised his hand though. "W-well... I have a wagon that could use repair..." The other villagers shot him a glance and he visibly sank. "Well, the hero offered!"

[Anima mea]

Diane's face falls at the first few sentences from the woman.  As she continues speaking her face grows stormy, exceptionally stormy.  She is about to turn and have a word with the group on the hill when the man speaks up.  She turns and allows a smile to curve her lips, "Bring me to your wagon and any tools and materials you have.  If I can fix it I will.  I am your hero and even the smallest acts can be heroic."  She turns to someone who looks like a Baker, "it may be much to ask, but is there any work I can do for you to earn enough whatever you use for currency for a cake for my squire?  He's only recently my squire, but it is something I can do for him as I fear my being here will not be easy on him otherwise."

She smiles and turns back to the man with the wagon, I am ready to go, let's see what I can do with your wagon shall we?"[/b] She looks at another villager, "Will you please ask the priests and the knight and only the those three to join me?  I want to talk to them while I work, tell them I think I can make things work smoothly for all of us.  And ask them if they can bring me the information I asked about earlier or as much as they can. And thank you. " She leans over and kisses the man on the cheek, a grateful look on her face.

[Throndir]

"Ma'am, if it's for ya, the cake will be free." The baker responded. "Now it's just my personal preference, but very much I'd prefer if my bakery can be of use to ya. Having our village's hero try out my baking is 'nuff for me." At your mention of it, Hunt's eyes lit up excitedly.



The man you had kissed went completely red. "Y-yes of course hero! I'll make sure to tell them!" The man saluted, though he was absolutely stiff and embarrassed as he did so. "We'll be at my place!" The man with the broken wagon said to the other. Once the man left, the person with the broken wagon nodded then motioned you to follow.

"I've actually been meaning to get the wagon repaired soon... You see, one of my cousins was a trader, who went between each town. After we found ourselves here in the new world... well, I figured I could help the town out by becoming a trader too. This country is heavy on the merchants, so I might be able to become a good one too!" The man happily explained as he continued to lead the way. "To think I'm getting the hero out of anyone to help fix the wagon... I couldn't be any luckier."

[Anima mea]

Turning to the Baker she Grace's him with a smile that can only be called gratitude.  She nods, "I will agree to such if you promise to let me know if there is something if can fix or do for you if the need arsies."  She turns and heads off with the older gentleman with the wagon I need of repair and looks around the village, "This reminds me a bit of a drawn picture passed down through my father's family.  I always thought it peaceful looking.  When I finish whatever it is I am here to do in this world could I come back and ask your opinion in where in the area to set up a home and workshop?"

[Throndir]

Location: New World - Heading Toward Mr. Broken Wagon's Home
Date: Day 1 - 5 PM

"The mayors already prepared a place for you actually. It's part of their tenants to maintain that home for the future hero. They family have been doing so for generations now. I remember that was one of the reasons the Angwin brothers used to delay your summoning when the alliance demanded it of us. The supplies of the home wasn't ready, and it needed more furnishings, and what-not... It only delayed things about 3 weeks though." The man shrugged.


Location: New World - Mr. Broken Wagon's Home
Date: Day 1 - 5 PM

Soon enough, the three of you made it to his home.

"My name is Gerens Growden by the way. Soon to be a skilled merchant! Well, once I get everything taken care of, of course. Then... I can help out my village here." His home had a stable attached to it, and it looked very much like the rest of the homes in the village. The wagon was indeed there, it looked like it was pretty worn and used, and as he mentioned, the wheel of it was broken. But upon closer examination, it looked like the entire axel was broken, the wagon's bed too seemed to have been snapped. The damage looked like something heavy slammed near the back of the wagon, destroying both the floorboards, and snapping the axle in half.

Feel free to drop any conversation thread, or simply reply to whichever one you want, just use the [hr] break tag to  separate it.

[Anima mea]

"It is nice to meet you Mr. Growden, at least formally.  Now let's see what I can do for your wagon shall we?" She smiles and begins to examine it with concentration.  Nodding  a time or two she speaks up, "Does your village have a blacksmith and a wood cutter?  If so I will need to request some materials from them.  And once I get those I will be able to rebuild your bed and a new axle. Maybe even a better one."

[Throndir]

Location: New World - Gerens Growden's Home
Date: Day 1 - 5 PM

"Yes... Tristan Hammett is our blacksmith. The only one in town, though, he does have two apprentices. As for woodcutters, a good number of the village are woodcutters, due to the fact we have the forests nearby."

Notes tab updated with Connections

"I can go get them! I think I can go ask around to figure out where they live... I won't get lost, promise." Hunt offered.