Cascadia was definatly a beautiful place. To sethran dracogan, it even rivaled some of the cities back home. So far, thsi had been the most beautiful place he had seen in Imythess.

Of course, he wasn't here sightseeing. He had come to this city, in search of answers to some of the questions burning in his mind.
"What are the Avenites after? Who is Lavern? Why do they need me?"
These were the most prominent questions on Sethran's mind. Really, you couldn't blame him for having these questions...seeing as he had been captured for reasons unknown to him. He had managed to escape, but not without meeting one of the avenite Leaders, Lavern. For some reason, that man needed him for something. naturally, he wouldn't specify what.

"God dammit!" he muttered, kicking a nearby stone. He soon regretted his outburst of anger as pain engulfed his toe.

At the current moment, the warrior was in the marketplace. In his experience, most gossip and chat was centered in marketplaces. If this proved true in Cascadia, then perhaps Sethran could find some information about the Avenites through the grapevine.

The marketplace was busy...just as it always was. This was Makorin's favourite place to hang out. You could steal things with only a flick of the wrist, and hiding was a side-effect of being in the place. Perfect stetting for a wanted theif, no?

Of course, despite being in his favourite place, Makorin's thoughts wern't relaxed. Since last night, he had been trying to plan something that would truely ruin the goals of the Avenites, an organization with high aspirations... At the moment, the thief was recounting what he heard last night in the bar......
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"So..." said a voice, "Why do we need this kid?"
"Well..." said another, more cooler voice, "If you had taken the time to study up on Dravinox a little, then you wouldn't be aksing me that. Sethran Dracogan is the son of Argon Dracogan. Argon was the last known wielder of the Evalion. If history were to repeat itself, as it usually does, then the next wielder shall be sethran."
"And you figure that he'll just let us use the blade to unseal Arvion?!" said the first voice, "You are a fool if you do, Lavern."
"I never said he'll give it to us," the second voice responded, "We'll just limit his options to the point where he'll unknowingly help us..That's all."
"And what do you want me to do?" th efirst voice asked.
"Something that even an old man liek you can pull off." Lavern said, "Just lead Sethran to one of our ships in Taras Port. He'll be whisked off to his home, and I'll take care fo the rest..."
"Alright then..." the first voice replied.
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"I've got to find this Sethran kid.." Makorin thought, "If I can steer him in the right direction, then maybe the Avenites' plan will fail!"

Looking for information was just so much easier when you knew where to look for the answers to your questions. Rith knew just that and had enough resources to do so easily. Rith had anticipated the few places the Avenites might hold another meeting. Wether by great luck, intuition, or skill, Rith had found out that the Avenite leaders were having another meeting in one of Cascadia's bars. Rith did not watch in person, and thus did not know that he was not the only one spying on the Avenites. He had guessed that the Avenites had at least been smart enough to protect themself from mundane forms of snooping. He liked the Avenite's plan. Sethran would need a ship to retreive the blade anyways. And as far as Rith could see there was no real plan to limit Sethran's options, though Lavern did say he had that covered. Even if Lavern had something sly up his sleeves, with watching Sethran carefully, Lavern didn't quite have a chance. He still could use Lavern's informationg to find where Arvion was sealed and absorb the creature by his own means, trouncing the Avenite plans and giving Rith new materials for his nightmarish creations.

The small form of Peral Forbus pushed through the crowd, sporting his exspensive looking black clothing and top hat. Torment followed closely behind. Rith was farly certain Sethran was in the marketplace. And closeby if Rith had interperted his scrying correctly. Rith hoped that Sethran was in the Marketplace to buy things, as this would not normaly be a good place to look for any sensitive information, which is what they really needed right now.

"How have you found the city so far?" Rith asked as he approached the warrior, making sure that he could be heard over the bother chatter of the Marketplace.

Sethran heard the gnome walking up behind him.
"I have to admit..." he said, "This is a beautiful place...even compared to home..."
He then realized that the gnome had come earlier than they'd planned. That could only mean he had information.
"So..." he continued, "I guess you've come across some info about Dravinox?"
To think...Just over a week ago, Sethranhad given up hope of returning to his homeland...Yet now, here he was, pursuing information that would lead him back there.

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While the gnome and human had their discussion, a young woman was strolling through the marketplace. She was doing some shopping at the time, and was enjoying herself. She wore a navy blue dress made of silk, and her golden hair was poker straight. Her eyes were earthy green, and her skin was fair. She then noticed the gnome and man talking. Bits of their conversation reahced her ear and she became curious.

Makorin had searched the Marketplace for at least 20 minutes. Unfortunatly, he had no idea who this Sethran kid was, and finding him was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Nobody else seemed to know him either, so asking proved useless as well. The theif coudln't give up, though. This was a golden opportunity to bring the Avenites down. If he were to pass it up, Makorin wouldn't be able to live with himself.

He decided to take an arial view, and began to scale the wall of a building. After arriving up top, he looked down at the swarm of people that flooded this place. He was hoping to see some sort of irregularity...Anything that was out of place.

Rith did not mind Sethran mentioning the name of his home country. News that Sethran sought a way back home would probably please the Avenites. News that their plans were going to be foiled was news that Rith doubted they would take quite so well. He dind't need Lavern moving to counter Rith's counter. Here was not the place, the market had too many ears all of which could not be properly monitored and any of which could be in the service of the Avenites.

"Good. There are few cities that do well to rival. And yes I did learn a thing or two of Dravinox and your adversaries, but here is not a good place. I can barely hear myself amongst all of this babble and chatter," Rith replied. It didn't matter where. Just so long as it wasn't as poor a place to exchange senisitve information as the marketplace.

(bleh, a bit short)

Sethran slapped his forehead after Peral answered. While the marketplace was good for getting information..keeping it was hell. He should've remembered that.

"Of course..." he said, making sure only the gnome could hear him, "Follow me."
He then turned around, and rushed his way through the crowd, making it out of the marketplace in five minutes. As far as anyone else would know, Sethran could've just been in a rush to get to a certain merchant, or something of the sort. After being freed from the crowd of people, Sethran darted his way to the inn he booked not too long ago. Before entering, he looked behind him and saw a little ball of fur waiting there.
"It's still alive?!" he thought. This little ball of fur had been following him since he found it amongst some equipment in Istan. Sethran had been hoping that it would eventually lose interest in him, or it would get killed somehow.
"Good luck gettign back here." he said to the furball, raising his leg, and giving it a nice punt back into the marketplace crowd. Hoepfully, it would stay there.

Sethran entered the inn, and went upstairs to his room. Assuming the gnome wasn't too far off, he whispered, "So...what have you found?"
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Meanwhile the young woman had followed Sethran. Somethign seemed shady about him and the gnome, and it really picked at her curiousity. She realized that the inn that the man entered was one of the inns that her father owned. She would be far less suspicious here.
Upon entering, the lady at the counter took notice, and gave a welcoming nod, "Good day Miss Angelon"
"Same to you." the woman replied. She then went upstairs and entered the room next to the mystery man's. There, she pressed her ear up against the wall, hoping to catch word of the conversation on the other side.

From above, Makorin's eyes searched the marketplace. He then noticed a man rushing out of the marketplace. Normally, this wouldn't be out of the ordinary, but considering that the man wasn't heading anywhere specific, it caught the theif's eye.
"Gotcha!" he said, beginning to follow the man from the rooftops. The man finally stopped in front of the Crystaline Inn. There, he punted some furball into the marketplace, and entered. Makorin then jumped onto the next roof over, and began looking through the windows of the inn, looking for that brown-haired man. He found him soon enough, and then climbed down the wall until he was under the window, but on the opposite building. Next, he jumped and held onto the window ledge. It was time to make sure this was Sethran. A littel eavesdropping would do the trick.

(Not heading anywhere specifiy? I do beleive Seth was specifically heading towards the inn where he booked a round >.<. Recognizing the large black dog that Lavern might have mentioned might be along with Sethran would be a better reason to follow.)

Sethran at least had a fair idea of where to go it seemed. The inn was a decent enough place to not attract undue attention, but it still probably wasn't best to tell the warrior all of his and the avenites plans. Rith followed Sethran through the crowd not noticing the either of the two people following them. Rith was curious of the warrior's need for haste, but did comment. It wasn't anything too out of the ordinary to be in a hurry at the market.

Once they reached the inn, Sethran had another encounter with the strange furry creature that had accompanied them from the avenites headquarters. Rith was unsure of how the knight had come to dislike the creature in the span of time Rith had not seen him, but the details weren't readily important. The creature seemed to not to be a threat or spy. It's mind seemed simple enough, but Rith didn't bother probing it.

When the finally entered the room Rith caught sight of a figure on the roof of the nearby building. The male seemed to be looking their way, and then began to climb down. Rith puprosely didn't stare, making sure not to attract Sethran's attention too soon. He did however position himself so he could watch even more funny business that might come from the window.

"I have found that our best bet in hiring a ship to get us there will be in Taras. The Avenites do appear to be up to something in that area though, so we'll have to take," Rith said as he pondered what should be done about the fellow outside. If the fellow was trying to do some snooping he would would be near the window and easily dealt with should Rith decide to try and do so. First he needed to find out if the fellow was indeed snooping and what his intentions were. Both would be found out easily if the invisible psychic tendrils reached out with weaved their way into the snooper's mind.

(Sorr for taking forever and a day. Finals have been a bummer)

The information Peral told Sethran was good. Taras would be easy to get to. Sneakign onto the ship would probably be easy too...The only risk would be in whatever the Aventies had going on there. Hopefully, it wouldn't be something too bad......
"Seems easy enough..." he said, "Even if they have soemthing up their sleeves....We oughta be able to get past it, right?"
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Miss Angelon was surprised at what she heard. She was expecting to hear about some sort of crime, or anythign related towards it..But it just seemed that these men wanted to get onboard a ship... But then there was the mention of the Avenites. The young woman knew the Avenites were a powerful group of some sort, spread out through Imythess. They also had some dealings going on with her father recently. Miss Angelon began to wonder about these men's motives again. Unfortunatly, she got lost in her thoughts to the point where she forgot that she was leaning against the wall, and she fell down, hitting her head on the headboard of the bed.
"OW!" she cried.

These men were smart.... They avoided using names, which only made things a but harder for Makorin, who continued to listen intently from his rather uncomfortable position.

It seemed that the men were talking about boarding some boat..and then a small mention about the Avenites. Were these the men?
"They better be..." he thought, "Or else I've just wasted valuable time!"
He was in the process of getting himself into the room, when he heard a sudden "OW!" from the next room. It caught Makorin off guard, and he slipped from the ledge, and fell to the cobblestone ground below.
"OOF!" he muttered after landing on his front, creating a thud sound.

There was indeed someone spying on them. His intentions didn't appear to be ill and he knew well of the avenites. It seemed to be either a defected Avenite or some knowledgable vigilante. Both could prove useful. Rith was about to subtley tell Sethran to surprise their guest at the window when noises form the next room held him momentarily mute. He didn't however take long to spring back into action. "Hurry up and look out the window," Rith said after sensing the theif's fall. Wasting no time, Rith also extended psychic tendrils to the person in the other room. If this was a spy it was certainly an amateur. Hopefully it was just some ditzy woman playing around though the sounds were not akin to anything Rith could imagine normally happening.

Rith was annoyed to find that he had not one person spying on them, but two. So long as Sethran could catch the attention of the window-clinging spy who called himself Makorin, Rith would be able to find the motives of both and from there they could choose what to do about each of them.

It seemed that Rith was about to answer Sethran, when noises could be heard from the next room. Soon after, a thud was heard outside.

"Hurry up and look out the window," Rith said. Sethran rushed to the window and looked down. Sprawled out, face-first on the ground was a man. He wore black clothing, and had red hair.
"Who are you?" Sethran called down to him, "And what do you want?"
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In the next room over, Miss Angelon silently cursed herself. She had surely given herself away with her carelessness. She could only hope that the two men wouldn't get violent.

Certainly not one of Makorin's better moments. Here was the man known for never being caught, despite the odds, now face down on a street, being questioned by a man he had been spying on.....
"Ugh..." he muttered, rolling over, and putting himself back on hsi own to feet.
He began to brush himself off as he said to the man, "My name is of no importance...I'm just seeking out a man named Sethran Dracogan. I have some information that would prove helpful to him...Do you happen to know him?"
This was posibly giving too much info, but at this point, Makorin was desperate to find this Sethran kid, and get on with things.

Just a nosey inn keeper's daughter. She wasn't an immediate threat and trying to confront her now would only make them look suspiscous. She wouldn't likely need to be dealt with unless she caught wind of what Makorin was trying to tell Sethran. Hopefully the rogue would try to be more discreet about the information than shouting up to the window, but if the young woman learned anything she really shouldn't, purging her mind of the incident would be simple and would hold till it was to late for the Avenites to feign doing anything. For now Makorin demanded more attention. Rith pressed his own ear to the wall as if to discern what was going on on the other side. He didn't need to join Sethran at the window as he could hear well enough now without being seen and that was without reading Makorin's mind.

Sethran's eyebrows raised at the mention of his name...Again, there was somebody he never met before in hsi life that knew of him, and needed him.
"How the hell?" he thought. He then snapped back into reality, and looked the rogue in teh eye...or at least, the best he could from the distance between them.
"I do happen to know him..." Sethran replied, "For I am him....Care to come up and tell me?"
Sure...he said these words casually, but meanwhile, he armed himself with his longsword without letting the rogue noticed. If Sethran had learned anything in Imythess it was that you could never fully trust someone for their words.
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It appeared that the men in the other room had decided not to deal with her..or perhaps they were deaf. Either way, this suited Miss Angelon just fine as she pressed her ear up to the wall keen on listening again. Call her nosey, but she had heard too much for her to ignore it now.

Makorin breathed a sigh of relief...At last, things were getting better. He had finally found this Sethran kid...Now the ball could start rolling...The Avenites would soon become a thing of the past. The theif couldn't help but grin.
"Sure thign." he responded to Sethran. He then walked back into the alley, and vaulted the walls until he was at the level of Sethran's window.he then jumped onto the ledge, and let himslef in. He then took note of two things:
1) The second voice during the conversation he had heard belonged to a gnome dressed in black.
2) Sethran was wielding a weapon.
Makorin chuckled upon noticing the weapon and said, "While I don't blame you for suspecting me, I assure you that I come with good intentions."
Without waiting for a reply, the theif sat himself down upon the bed.
"Hmm...Can always trust the Angelons' Inns to be the most comfortable in Imythess..." he said, "Ah..But I'm rambling..Anyways, I had overheard a conversation between some of the Avenite leaders..Including that recent addition...Lavern, or something. Apparently, you are the key to retrieving the Evalion...Whatever the hell that is. That, along with three other artifacts will bring back Arvion...and if I remember correctly...Arvion equals bad news for all the world..not just Imythess."
Makorin paused for a moment to let this sink into Sethran's mind before continuing.
"Now, while you could just refuse to let the Evalion wind up in your hands, the Avenites aren't going to let that happen. They're going to push you closer and closer to gettin it until you do. So...That's sorta out of the question... You could also choose to help the bastards, but not only do I disapprove of it, but I'd kill you before you do. So, there leaves one, hidden option, not visisble at first. You can by all menas, retreve the Evalion..You could even let Arvion come back....But, if you manage to alter something in the plan, then you could have it backfire upon those Avenites...Hell, you might even eliminate them."

Rith studied the theif closely both inside and out. Makorin held no tack at all and if he was indeed trying to gain Sethran's trust and aid he was not doing a good job at it. The rogue held no respect in either his actions or his words. Rith could at least tell that the rogue before them held no love for the Avenites, though his use was still questionable. Hopefully he had more useful information on the way. "You do well to tell us what we already know, Makorin. I don't know if that was that was all you came to say, but if you try to weave in more threats, those weaving words might be your last," Rith's cold voice stated firmly. Rith could have said much more, but he dediced to leave the talking to the man of intrest, Sethran. He was after all the star of this show, Rith was just helping direct the performance.

Torment had been lying down on the floor and hadn't stirred even with the series of loud noises that lead to Makorin being caught. The hound did however look up as the rogue entered the room. His gaze followed the rogue to the bed before his head was set back down and his intrest lost.

What Makorin had said so far wasn't the most helpful information, however Sethran didn't sense that Makorin was untrustworthy. He was willing to listen to the man for a little more time, hoping that there was some sort of good information with him.

"Rith's right.." he said to the rogue, "What you told us isn't that new...However, if you have anything else of value to us, then please, spill it. Otherwise, leave."
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In the otehr room, Miss Angelon couldn't believe what she was hearing. Arvion! Plans to rule the world! This was much bigger than she originally thought.
"Maybe I should leave this alone..." she said to herself, slowly backing away from the wall, and leaving the room.

"Alright, alright..." Makorin said, "Sheesh, no need to threaten my life..."

The theif got up, and began to pace about while talking.
"Well, like I said, the best option available for you is to make some sort of alteration to the Aventies plan so that they don't get what they want." he said, "Now, remember that the Aventies plan to use Arvion to control the world. However, even if the are the ones to bring Arvion back to this world, he won't be bound to their will."
He paused for a minute before continuing.
"So, with that in mind, you can try to turn Arvion against the Avenites... If you are successful, not only will the world be safe from domination, but you may have also gained an ally. Or perhaps not... Arvion is unpredictable. You might even have to re-seal or kill him. I'll accompany you to your homeland, if you'll accept me."

Okay, it was blunt, and to the point, but that's what tehy wanted, so that's what Makorin gave them. He coudl only hope for Sethran to accept.

Rith rolled his eyes as the rogue said there was no need to threaten his life. The rogue clearly hadn't thought this through very well. What said next was still useless and probably not true. He probably overheard the Avenites' speculation of Arvion or perhaps the twisted lie that Lavern had instilled. "That's even less useful I'm afraid," Rith said shaking his head. "Besides, you speak of legends and myths as if they were fact. In the future you should speak of what you know, as I assure you the Avenites you overheard did not. I'm not sure how great an asset you would be, but I do see that you do indeed genuinely hold no love for the avenites," Rith continued as he withdrew from Angelon's mind and focused Makorin's, ensuring that to there was nothing amiss in the rogue's mind or anything that would be a threat to Sethran should the warrior allow the boy to help them.

"Well Sethran, shall he be joining us?" Rith asked as he turned his head slightly towards Sethran. He wasn't reading the warrior's mind, but he had a feeling that Sethran would permit the young man to join, though perhaps after laying down a few terms. Either way it did matter to Rith. The rogue wasn't needed and would be a nother variable to monitor, yet he would have some use in one way or another.

"Just cause something is a myth doesn't mean there's no chance that it is real." Sethran said, "The Avenites seem to believe the Arvion guy exists, so it must at least be worth going after."

Sethran then turned to Makorin, and considered him. He was willing to help him out, despite that they had never met before. Even if it was only for the demise of the Avenites, Makorin could prove a useful ally.

"Makorin.." he said, "It would be foolish of me to deny help when it comes, so I accept your request. However, even though you want to see the Aventies be eliminated, keep in mind that you are not the only one involved in this. Stick to the plan given unless absolutely neccessary."

Sethran then proceeded to sit in a chair by the door while sheathing his sword.
"Now.." he said, looking at both Peral and Makorin, "We need a plan to all this. Peral, you said we could get a boat to take us to Dravinox, right? We'll have to use that. Once we dock, I can lead us to the royal city. If the Avenites are trying to take over Dravinox, that'd be the one place they need to secure. There, we can re-stock our supplies, and head for my father's grave. I'm pretty sure it was buried with him."
Sethran paused for a minute. This was perhaps the difficult part in the plan. The Evalion was the key to the Aventies plan. There were a handful of options that could be exectued.

"Let's leave it there for now." he decided, "Now, we need to head out to Taras Port... But, we should head seperately. Just in case."

"Thank you." Makorin said after Sethran accepted his offer. The theif listened to Sethran's plan. It was pretty rough, but most things start out like that.
"Well..." he said, "That covers the basics... I guess we'll jsut detail it along the way, right?"
Makorin wasn't too worried about getting into Sethran's country. The kid likely knew his way around it, so, there was minimal chance of getting caught. Gettig to Taras Port was even easier. As for what would happen after Sethran got the Evalion, well, that'd be entirely Sethran's choice, and Makorin would have to oblige by it.
"So... any objections, gnome?" he said, looking at Peral.

(Bleh, sorry it's poor. I just figured it'd be better to just post it anyways than have you wait.)

"I never said Arvion did not exist. I assure you that Arvion exists and is sealed in one way by the blade and has formidable power. Myths and legends need substance to grow on. I also assure you that Arvion's power is not so great that the world would be endanger by his revival. That is certainly an overexaggeration brought on by ages of tale tales growing the legend into the twisted tale it is today," Rith replied to Sethran, explaining what he had meant earlier.

"I don't think spitting up helps our odds, afterall you are their objective and they care far less about me and Makorin. If we are with are together we might be able to thwart an ambush; however, I do see reason in Makorin getting there before we do. I'm sure one with his talents can find out which vessels belong to the Avenites...," Rith noted. "With out falling off some window," Rith added with a smile.

"It'd be best we comandeer one of their ships and sabotauge the rest, else the Avenites might have a chance at getting us within their grasp," Rith explained. If they could get that to work some how, then they would have managed to thwart the avenite's plans.

"Hmm... " Sethran said, "I guess you're right, Peral. Makorin, I assume you'll be fine with finding our boat?"
The warrior paced around the room, making sure there weren't any crucial parts in the plan missing. Assured that he'd made sure of everything, he turned back to the other two.
"Alright." he said, "It's settled. We'll get our supplies today before the sun sets. Makorin, you head out after that, and try to get to Taras fast. Peral and I will leave in the morning. When you can, Makorin, take Peral's advice, and check the boats. Then, sabotauge the rest while you wait. Once we get on that boat, it should be smooth sailing... Literally."

"Sounds good to me..." Makorin said, walking over to the window, "I'll get those supllies now, so I'll be back in a bit."

The thief jumped out the window, and scaled the opposite wall onto the roof. He then proceeded to the marketplace, as the sun began setting.

Well, their heads are screwed on straight.... Which is a relief. I don't think I could handle psychos, even if the Avenites would be destroyed.

The setting sun cast a golden glow over the city. It was kind of beautiful. The townspeople were now heading home, or to the bar to drink. In other words, it was a pretty average evening.

They also know tactics and such.... seeing as they gave me the sneaky work. Suits me just fine.

Makorin was now overlooking the marketplace. It was no practically abandonned, and the shopkeepers were begin to close. This was the perfect time for the thief to strike. Silently, Makorin hopped down to the ground, and snuck over by the fruit stand. He waited until the shopkeeper was looking the other way before he dashed by and stole some of the goods and hid in the shadows once more. He repeated this with the medicine stand, and the bakery.
Another thing to love about my home....It's so easy to steal from!

It seemed as though everything was laid out and with Makorin handling supplies, there was no longer a need for Rith be here, until the morning. There was of course much that Rith could do elsewhere. Most notably he could make sure the Avenites were making no changes in their plans or defenses, but he could aslo make sure anything the thief neglected would be picked up. Then there were of course his many matters that had nothing to do with the warrior before him.

"I think you shall be fine on your own until the morning. If there's nothing needing immediate disscusion then, I shall take my leave. There are still I few matters I need to tend to before we leave. Fear not, though. I shall be back before it is time to leave tommorow," Rith said as he moved to the door. He doubted Setheran had any objections, as Rith was quite sure the warrior had intended to sleep alone. Glad to have new tasks at hand Torment rose to his feet and followed Rith to the door. Should Sethran have nothing of importance, Rith would leave as he said he would and unlike Makorin, make use of the door on his way out.

Leaving Setheran alone would be perfectly safe. It was quite unlikely the Aventies could track him down so soon. Makorin had found rather uncanny luck in finding Sethran, but it was unlikely for someone else to get so lucky so soon. Even if he was captured, they needed him alive and would be sending him where they were intending on going. While this was an inconvient path, it would still be easy enough to gain control of the ship once it was at sea.