Chapter 1: Terror at the Vigrond

[Fellow Rabbit]

Soren Melgaard

After what could have been a much longer commute, Soren's tram slowed to a halt at the Vigrond Station. Undoubtedly, it had traveled the same route many times that day, carrying along with it anyone who had concluded that it would be easier to just take public transit rather than putting extra time and effort into the impossible task of find a safe place for their dirigible or monocycle while they enjoyed the event. And it would undoubtedly go on to travel the same route many more times, picking up even more people to drop off in the already-packed building. Such was the life of any city transit vessel. Soren didn't envy their monotony.

Following many others who were also gathering in the area for the event, Soren exited the tram and made way into the station, which was packed with all the other locals and visitors alike who hoped to see the president give his speech. It was rather difficult to get around without bumping into someone else. Too many people, Soren thought. He had hoped the plaza would be a little more open and easy to get around, though at this rate it was hard to imagine it would be any less packed just outside the building.

He was right, of course. As he finally made it to the exit, he found literally thousands of people gathered in the area, Many had already settled and found their places, some with blankets to sit on while they waited and watched the day-time fireworks. Others were going around to buy food and souvenirs and other useless overpriced junk from the vendors who were taking advantage of the holiday. Soren, of course, had no intention of wasting his precious money, but he also didn't care much to sit cooped up in the middle of a crowded crowd, so he made his way to the back of the plaza, where fewer people had gathered, all the while keeping an eye out for the moment the president would begin his speech. That was why he was here, after all.

[Mysticsage]

The Black cat Cafe cart

Owen was serviing coffee at the square then. His boss had a caf? cart for just such an occasion, holidays like this their bakery and coffe shop did a lot of good work. He was busy playfully flirting with girls to make sure that they bought more drinks. That was his job to wine and dine as it were. Plus he maid a mean cup of coffee. Watching all the people pass by he could not help but sigh slightly for a second. The shop always smelled like sweets and he had plenty of time to write.

He brushed his hand through his hair. But here in the masses it was hard to make out what his customers desired as he felt their minds. He liked being able to get to know his customers and what made them interesting. Here despite the atmosphere it was just too cluttered to msany minds pushing in. It was distracting and tiring. But Olette was a slave driver so he maintained his smile and kept about wooing the customers the were forming a line for a table.

[Throndir]

Sanja Nosova

Earlier that day...

It took almost another ten minutes for the small airship to finally reach its terminal and allow passengers to pick up their belongings after landing. The baggage compartments just above everyone's heads were soon ransacked by a plethora of the passengers. By then Sanja was already tired from the long flight. The flight from her homeland to Drokane was a long and rather tiring one. True, Sanja had traveled all over the world for performances with her orchestra, yet she was never really a fan of long travels, preferring more the comforts of stabler land. At least the last flight was to their destination's city, Midgard, meaning the last leg of the journey was almost there.

Still... Sanja thought. At least we're finally here.

The meeting with the rest of her orchestra wasn't supposed to be until a week later, but she figured that it'll give her a week to sight see. Not only that, the president of Drokane was said to appear and make a speech, and though she had never really closely followed politics of other nations, it at least gave her something to do. The city of Midgard was definitely one of the places her friends had mentioned she should visit. She hadn't been there before, and though she once visited the country, she did not have the time to make a stop at Midgard previously.

Sounds of compartments clicking open as people pulled their baggage out filled the next few more minutes. Sanja was unfortunately stuck near the back of the plane, not quite at the back, but close to it. But she didn't mind. Her turn would come as it always does. Not to say that Sanja was laid-back, after all, already she was planning her day and her mind was busy with what she could do once they reached the airship terminal, but alluding to the fact that Sanja tended to stay calm and collected. The rest of the people around her didn't look to be as calm however. They looked almost as if they were rushing to get out of ship as the busy bees roughly pulled their baggage along with them. The city was certainly busy. She began to hum a tune as she waited for her turn.

http://www.youtube.com/v/aYAJopwEYv8

Finally the seats next to her had cleared up. She pulled her duffle bag close to her as she carefully pulled her violin case from the compartment above her head. With that done, she once again had to wait as the line slowly crawled forward to the exit.

The orchestra concert was only one of the motivations for Sanja to come to Drokane, and as Sanja made her way following behind the crowd, she couldn't help but think of her other motivation as well. I only hope- She stopped herself in her thoughts and banished her line of thinking. This trip, after all, is sort of like a vacation.

As she faded away into the crowd of people, and even though her face seemed impassive, if one were to look carefully in her hazel eyes, they would see the hints of trepidation and anxiety.



Everywhere she went there was people. Crowds in trams. Crowds in shuttles. Crowds walking about in large gatherings. The further and further she went, the higher the concentration of people. It seemed that there were many who had come to the city of Midgard just to catch a glimpse of the president or hear his speech live. It was fairly easy to tell which way the event was. Sanja followed of course, and it eventually lead to the large event that was gathering at a place called 'Vigrond Station'.

There wasn't really any place to squeeze through, so the musician went ahead and stayed nearer the back of the open plaza. There were a couple of others there who had the same idea. She didn't know exactly when the event was supposed to take place, but judging from the crowd's size, it should be soon.

At the very least there would be refreshments. Sanja thought as she eyed a cart just a short distance away, displaying in bold words the name of the stand: The Black Cat Café.

[Oath]

Emilia Weingart

Emilia had been looking forward to this day since it was announced. A celebration of the nation's independence, complete with a speech by the President. She had made it a point to start traveling early in the day, hoping to beat the crowds. A well-tailored navy blue dress draped off her shoulders, and down to about her knees. She used a couple of decorated silver hair clips, embedded with small amethysts to keep her hair out of her eyes and looking proper. Earrings hung from her ears, laid with sapphires. She wore a simple pair of white shoes, suitable for traveling while still looking ladylike.

She rode the trains through-out Midgard, something that she had become accustomed to, until she reached Vigrond Station. She wandered the square, packed with people there for the same reason. To kill some time, she went around looking at the various accessory and trinket shops that had been set up to take advantage of the occasion. After filling some of her time with window shopping, Emilia searched for a meal at a fair price while hoping that the President would soon make his speech.

[Throndir]

Sanja Nosova

People had begun to gather around the refreshment stand, and before it would be too late, Sanja strode up to the front, trying to catch the attention of the vendor. There was still a couple others in front of her, and she began to methodically go through the items.

Refreshments were mainly the same throughout most of the world, but since she was visiting, she wanted to try out something different. Something unique. Finally when it was her turn, she locked eyes with the vendor.

"Something cold... Though..." She glanced at the menu. "Something unique to here if at all possible. Anything you recommend?"

[Linwelin]

Eirik Wolff

So loud... The man thought, laying in the suddenly crowded alleyway. It's never like this here. There must be an event of some sort today. Eirik closed his eyes to focus on hearing; not like they were much use to him anyways. He picked up the ambient conversation in the nearby area, looking for key words throughout the strange excitement.

"...Independence..."

"...President..."

"...Speech..."

"...coffee..."

Ah, right, today is the Independence speech. That explains the air traffic. Guess I won't be doing much in the way of flying today. I'd rather not be noticed when I do that. The man does a nearly inaudible chuckle to himself. I doubt I'll even be able to roam today. Well, maybe I can get lucky with all these folks and have a successful begging day.

The old man then began wandering through the streets and alleys, his worn clothing draped over himself; he had torn jeans, ragged sweater, an old leather overcoat. The only whole piece of clothing were his shoes, which were scuffed all over, but from the looks of it very durable. He wore finger-less, grey, wool gloves, and carried a weather-beaten old hat in which he collected change. Eirik's grey-with-hints-of-brown hair was long and matted, with a rugged, overgrown beard to match. His most notable feature, though, and one that made his wandering so odd, was that his eyes were nearly completely fogged over, leaving only a small semblance of the ice blue they once were. He was blind. A blind beggar. Doing a beggar's work.