Fantasy World Creations

Ryine was determined to have a nice showing in the scavenger hunt. He looked over the list, and noticed that one thing stood out. A fine bottle of Absinthe, and he knew just where to look. He rushed over to Katrias' spot in the guild hall.

"Oh, Katrias! I'm doing something for a scavenger hunt and I think you'll be able to help!" Ryine was quite boisterous has he went barging into the guild hall. He waved the sheet of paper he was holding wildly before slamming it down on the table. "See, look. Right here!" One section of the sheet was heavily underlined, as if upon looking at it Ryine had some sort of epiphany.

"ABSINTHE"

Katrias shot Ryine a disgusted glare, as he stood there grinning ear to ear.

"Come on now! I was going to leave a note!" He seemed surprised that she was so angry, though it did fit her character. "Some things came up that I had to take care of, and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, a year had passed!" Suddenly, he figured out the right thing to say to make her more agreeable to his suggestion. "Don't worry, Katrias, I just need to find the drink, not drink it! So you'll get it back!"

After the girl closed her book and started to head towards the exit of the guild, Ryine called after her. "I didn't disappear, I just went on an extended mission! Nothing uncommon for us adventuring types, right? Also, glad to see that my gift has been enjoyed!" Ryine then hustled, following Katrias to her shop.

She didn't really know how to respond, as she angirly stomped towards her shop. Her store wasn't very far from the guild, most of her business came from them after all. So when they finally arrived at the store with the label 'Katrias' Enchantments' at the storefront, did Katrias breathe in and sigh. The breathe of fresh air outside helped calm her to say the least. She thought over the words Ryine behind her had said. It was true. Extended missions happened, and the guild of Galas'nor were full of adventurers. Since joining the guild a year ago, she too was considered part of them and was fully expected to partake into daring missions. Truth be told, in the past year, she had really only bothered with a few requests. She didn't really want to join the guild. And here was Ryine finally, the man who had started it all, returning after all that time.

It was just like that bumbling oaf to forget leaving a note to let everyone else know what happened. And though everything else made perfect logical sense to her: adventurers on extended missions, misplaced notes, Ryine's forgetfulness, she couldn't make sense of the turbulent feelings that stirred within her. She didn't understand it. And she understood almost everything.

She didn't like it at all.

"You could have said something you know?" Katrias finally ended. A moment later realizing what she had just asked, and wishing she could have kept her mouth shut.

She began searching for the green alcohol instead.

[spoiler]Searching in Katrias' shop for the absinthe. Taking 20.

Perception: 21[/spoiler]

Only a few bottles of the alcoholic drinks remained from the previous year, most of which seemed to have already been opened. Luckily, the ones that seemed like they were the more expensive selections seemed to have been untouched. In the very back, almost in the corner, sat the only bottle in Katrias' shop with a label that read the same as the one on Ryine's list.

Ryine was even more perplexed. Katrias seemed to be angrier after he provided the reasoning for his disappearance. When the two arrived at her shop, he sat in silence, thinking about what he could say. She was digging through various boxes and shelves in her shop, and Ryine had thought about helping but decided against it. He would likely just get in the way, he was never acquainted with how her shop was organized in the first place so searching would be hopeless.

Katrias broke the silence herself. "You could have said something you know?"

She wasn't wrong, he could have waited until the next day, or woke someone up to tell them what was going on.

"You're right, I could have said something. Some... bad things happened back in my hometown, and I felt obligated to go and make things right. It had been a couple days when I realized I forgot to leave my note, as I found it in my pocket. When I first left, I figured I would only be gone for a week or two. And well, things took a turn for the worst. I sort of lost sight of myself. Before I knew it weeks had turn into months. The average citizen seemed wary of me, as I traveled the land slaying various creatures of the night after what they had done to my village and my loved ones. But now those things are settled, and I'm back at the guild. I can tell you the full story another time if you'd like."

As Ryine discussed the tragic issue of his hometown, leaving the guild, and returning, somebody absentmindedly plucked up a small girl's doll from near his feet. Aion seemed very satisfied with it as he tucked the toy into his Elven Leafspun Shoulder Bag. The differences between an Elven Shoulder Bag and a woman's purse has long been debated by the Fashionmancers of Hot Tropics, and have found no factors that separate them aside from Elven crafting techniques. They later recanted this study after receiving a large donation from certain pointy-eared sources.

"Oh hey, sorry for reaching around you, but it is a hunt." Aion smiled and looked Ryine in the eyes. "Oh! Are you new too? I haven't seen you around. Its kinda fun to somebody's senior for once."

The young prodigy listened intently and impassively as she continued to rummage around her store. It took her awhile to finally find the alcohol, but she finally found it at the back of the store hidden away from view. Sitting in a crate along with other seemingly random vials, potions, and alcohol, was a green bottled labeled 'absinthe'. Katrias picked it up immediately as she stared at it for a moment.


Something about what she felt made her feel uncomfortable. It felt as if she wanted to say something in response, but for once was at a lost for words. Soon enough the opportunity was taken away from her as one of the newer guild members entered the store, speaking to Ryine. Katrias immediately perked up.

"Store is closed for the festival." Katrias said dryly to Aion. "We were just here to pick up an item for that bumbling oaf." She began to hand the bottle to Ryine as her eyes inevitably met the warrior's own.

Ryine noticed someone reaching around his feet, and turned around. The guy seemed to be friendly enough, but also seemed to be misunderstanding something. "Well, you're a new face." Ryine looked down at the curious man.  "But I am not quite new around here; I've been with the guild for quite a while. A few years in fact. I just had some business to take care of, that required me to be away a lot longer than I expected. Though, you could be my senior in age!" Ryine laughed as he talked to the stranger.

Before he could say much more, He heard Katrias, and she sounded back to her normal annoyed self, instead of angry. And held out the bottle of absinthe for Ryine to take. He grabbed it, and smiled. "Thanks, Katrias, I owe you one!" Despite her tone, and attitude, Ryine did appreciate the help.

"Bring that back to me after you're done. You know just how much I can make use of alcohol." Katrias responded back without missing a beat. Her usual flat tone of voice had appeared once again as she began opening the front door of her store.

"Now hurry on out. Catch up on war stories or something, I have a store to clean up. Thanks to a certain someone." Her voice dripped in sarcasm, as she tried shooing the two men away.

Aion seemed fine with taking his time, however. Even with Katrias trying to shoo him away he was interested in talking with Ryine. He extended a friendly hand to both of them at the same time, right to Ryine and left to Katrias. "Oh, well good to have you back. My name is Aion. Anna invited me over a few days ago. Who are you two?"

His face crinkled a bit when he smelled the Alcohol. It was clear he didn't like it that much, but wasn't about to bring it up. Aion casually scanned the area for any other obvious items on the list, but he had already found a few of the big things, so he wasn't too concerned. 

"Annia? She seems to be inviting the entire world. I swear that lady invites one new member each month." Katrias didn't sound so amused from her comment, but she continued with introducing herself.

"If you're new to the city as well, then I run this shop, Katrias' Enchantments. So if you ever need to make your oh-so-wonderful equipment even more oh-so-wonderful, you know where to find me." She gestured back out. "But like I said, doors are closed tonight."

"The name's Ryine. A warrior that has been with the guild for a few years." Ryine noticed that Katrias seemed to be getting a bit more annoyed than her usual disposition. So he motioned Aion towards the door. "You don't want to bother Katrias too much, she can have quite the temper." He waved to Katrias as he stepped out of the shop "Don't worry, I'll be bringing it back. Maybe I'll bring some extra too depending on how the results! And thanks again!"

Ryine stepped out into the street, many people of the city were hustling and bustling around due to the festivities. He beckoned to Aion. "Alright Aion, let's give her some peace."

Finally they were gone! If anything that confirmed what Katrias had known all along, men were complete idiots. Especially men from the guild. She shut the door quickly when they left and leaned against it for a few more moments taking deep breaths. She felt uncomfortable around Ryine, but she didn't quite know how to place it. She had an idea in her mind, but the very thought disturbed her enough that she chose not to think about it any further.

She spat out a few curses then as she stomped back to the inner rooms of her store.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot!"

It was still too early to sleep, but Katrias proceeded straight to her own bed. Books covered it, but she quickly moved them out of the way. The various bookshelves filled with all sorts of tomes and stories were always comforting to her, but she couldn't shake off the strange feelings that continued to dwell. She felt her own heart continue to thump and a strange queasiness that assaulted her.

"Idiot!" Katrias said out-loud. But a moment later softened slightly. If she had to decide, she was slightly glad that Ryine was back. Slightly.

The very thought infuriated her. But at the same time, she couldn't deny the elation she felt.

Ryine was back.

The warrior of time just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah she seemed pretty mad at me since I first showed up. Can't win them all... or most... or any sometime." He said with a friendly chuckle and  distant gaze as he looked around. He scratched his head, walking along with Ryine. "Well, nice to meet you. What sort of swordsmanship do you practice? I tried my best but I just can't get down the Paladin style, but the Elves did teach me how to use my agility more then my strength." He said, throwing a few quick punches at the air, demonstrating.

"That's just how she is. She's a nice girl, but she seems to go through some serious mood swings.. daily." Ryine stowed the bottle of absinthe safely in his pack before drawing his blade. "Nice to meet you as well, Aion. I guess you could say that this is the brand of swordsmanship that I practice. I don't know what other people would call it, but I say it is surviving."

The greatsword was far too large for an average man, yet Ryine seemed to be able to hold it with ease. He twirled it around a bit through the air, making sure he was clear of passerby before placing it back into the sheath on his back. "So, how are the festivities treating you? It's probably a pretty big change compared to where you're from."

"Yeah... nice. I'll have to catch her on a better day then." He replied with a shrug as he looked around for items to collect in his pur- Elven Leafspun Shoulder Bag.  However, he couldn't help but stop and stare when Ryine took out his weapon and swung it around so easily. It wasn't longer, but at least twice the mass of his own Curve Blade, yet this man could swing his sword around so easily. Aion thought about reaching for his blade to display it a bit, but he had lost a bit of wind from his sails. "Wow. If you can swing like that, why didn't you become a Paladin or something?"

He took a deep breath but kept marching on with his new friend. "Well, different from where I spent my teens. But I spent my younger years at an Inn not far from here, so we had quite a few festivities as well, though I was normally just cooking for them."

Ryine chuckled at the thought of a good day for Katrias, every day seemed to be more of the same for her. "Good luck, though maybe you should seek a better hour." He seemed to be perplexed by the mention of paladins. "A paladin, huh? Never really been the kind of guy to follow such a strict path. More into doing what feels right. Normally that still involves helping people at least." As a child he did admire what those warriors of justice did, but as he grew older, Ryine realized that was not the path for him to walk, and he would have to do something that suited him better.

"I see! Now you get the chance to take it all in as a participant instead of a worker. When I first came here, I was pretty surprised at everyone always celebrating, it was a lot different from home."

Aion looked a bit shocked and shuffled awkwardly, moving a bit slower. "But I mean... if you could have been a Paladin, why not? Who cares if its strict, you'd be a hero." He couldn't really seem to comprehend Ryine's apathy towards paladins. The warrior eventually walked along, catching up with his new friend, but he'd lost a little pep in his step again. Seemed like the longer they stayed on the topic the more it upset Aion, even if he wasn't saying that.

"Where is your home anyway? I heard you mentioned it to Katrias too. You seem pretty fond of it."

"Someone important to me once said that you have to find what suits you, rather than change yourself to fit into another role, so I've tried living by those words." Ryine looked a bit downtrodden when his hometown was brought up again. "I wouldn't say that I am particularly fond of it, but its where I grew up, and where I recently had to take care of some personal matters, which led to my disappearance."

Aion, quickly realizing that they were just making each other depressed, drew his sword, holding it up. Aion had an odd smile on his face and seemed quite sure of himself. "We may not really know each-other, but there doesn't seem to be many other people here I can relate to... just yet, at least." Then he tapped his sword against Ryine's, making a satisfying ting, elven metal clapping against the best human craftsmanship. "So lets try to go on a mission together sometime soon, okay?