Stirred, Not Shaken [EVENT]

[Rickon]

A cold morning breeze blew across the hills of Actona, the rustling of the trees and the lazy flow of the nearby river the only sounds to be heard. The sun had just begun to rise, giving the loping hills a slightly unnatural appearance. On one such hill, against the trunk of an aging oak, sat Ser Rickon the Wanderer, slowly waking from the nap he had been taking. He and the other members of the guild had been riding all night, trying to cover as much ground between the Actonian capital and its shared border with Ibium as they could in one night. The reason for their hurried pace is that they had received their first job and were eager to create a good reputation. Shortly after forming the Golden Hearts, a messenger had arrived at the guild hall, bringing news of trouble brewing to the south and an offering a chance to make some money. As it would seem, the country of Actona was in dire need of help and was willing to offer substantial reward for anyone capable of assisting. Without hesitation, Rickon had corralled his mercenaries and they had set out for Actona that same day. Upon arrival in the capital, they had been greeted rather briskly and redirected to a portly, grumpy noble who had been placed in charge of organizing the various mercenary groups flowing into the city. From there, they had been assigned a job, given specific direction to where they would need to go, and sent on their way. For the Golden Hearts, the job had been to hunt down a group of Ibium soldiers that had been spotted within Actona's borders and stop them from bringing harm to Actona. All in all, it would be a simple first job for their fledgling guild. Or, at least, that was how it seemed.

As Rickon rose from where he had been resting, he stretched out his back and felt the effects of age and extended travel on his muscles. He had not had the time to remove his armor while he rested and he was beginning to fell its weight upon his shoulders. Despite this, he shrugged of his soreness and moved to his horse, retrieving the feed bag and filling it with oats. He strapped it to the horses snout, then began his usual inspection of his weapons. The aging knight removed his lance from the leather strap that held it to the saddle and ran his hand down the shaft, checking for imperfections, before checking the spearhead. Satisfied, he returned the lance to the saddle and checked his quiver, making sure that he had sufficient amount of arrows. Seeing that he did, he turned from the horse and glanced up at the sky. He had sent Brutus ahead of the group to scout out the terrain ahead. Having a wyvern among their group had turned out to be very useful, especially for this job. With a man in the sky, finding the Ibiums would be a cakewalk. Still, the young rider had yet to return, so Rickon saw no need to rouse the rest of his mercenaries just yet. Turning back to his horse, he retrieved his rations for they day and returned to sitting against the tree.

[Ebinne]

"Is he back yet?" Ebinne asked coolly as she approached Rickon from the other side of the tree.

Once afield, she was not one for sleeping for very long. She roused several times in a night, checked her belongings and surroundings, and then returned to sleep. When dawn came, she was awake and alert and no amount of exhaustion might bring her eyes to shutter for more precious, restful moments. Not that she ever was exhausted or to such a point. Ebinne had grown up wanting for so many things, it was surprisingly easy for her to adjust to life outdoors and on the job. As much as she might appear and behave like some haughty noble, which was her very intent, she most certainly had never been one for any moment in her life. At least none that she can recall.

"Brutus, that is. The Wyvern rider." Ebinne had a half-eaten apple in one hand and a stave in the other, her gaze shifted from Rickon to the sky. There was no concern in her voice when she spoke, not even the tiniest tone of curiosity, being coldly neutral when she clarified who she had spoken of earlier. She informed him now very matter of factly, "I've already worked on increasing our defenses. Of course it only applies to magical attacks."

[Manis]

Manis gazed cooly at the sunrise as the others talked. He had been laying on the side of the hill thinking most of the night, at least the part when they hadn't been riding like demons were on their tails. He was still unsure if joining the guild had been a good idea, but for now he was stuck with them. He had given his word and he would keep it. Besides, not being in charge was a lot less bothersome than having to find himself jobs. Which brought him back to the current one: war. His first job back in a guild and he was on his way to a skirmish for some country he had no ties too.

Why am I even surprised? Manis thought to himself as he shifted his gaze to the horse at the bottom of the hill. He had hoped it would have wandered off by now, but it seemed to like him. He hated riding, and hadn't even bothered to tie the thing up. He sighed and sat up. "I'm sure he'll be back soon. He seems like a goof, but he knows what he's doing." I hope, he added silently to himself. He scooped up his sword as he stood, the empty second scabbard making the weight a little strange, reminding him that it was empty. Perhaps he'd eventually get around to filling it.

"Beautiful sunrise," Manis said, throwing his sword strap over his head. It really was beautiful. Maybe being in a guild wouldn't be so bad.

[Delphi]

"Yeah, the sunrise's kinda like a...a jewel I guess," Delphi replied to Manis as she laid on her belly and stared off at the horizon. When the sun hit the waters back home in the evening it was even more beautiful and awe-inspiring than today's dawn. "Too bad I don't know squat about art." she remarked to none of the guild in particular. She wasn't exactly itching to get on with the mission; it didn't exactly uphold the Golden Hearts' code that Rickon blathered on about and she had listened undeterred to. But she didn't know much about these men, they could've been stone cold puppy and child killers for all she knew. She resolved to give them a sound thrashing, similar to the ones she'd given on the way to Arcadia.

All in all the guild was a nice crowd, though she would have a rather difficult time remembering everyone's names. There was Mantis, Brutis, Ebon, Serickon...no, no, that was wrong. Ughh. "I'm sure he'll get back safe. He's got his wyvern protecting him, and that fellow can talk the ear off of anyone that gets close to him, believe you me." The taguel so conveniently forgot that not everyone could be quite as amazing as she was and talk to humans and most animals at the same time. You would be surprised just how profound they could be.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel sat on a small stump by the remnants of the campfire that had kept them all warm the night prior. He had his sword in hand and was running a whetstone across its edges, sharpening the blade down to a precise razor sharp finish. When Delphi spoke he took a quick glance up to the sky, considering her comment. "It has always reminded me of the most brilliant and flawless of pearls." Gabriel felt instantly embarrassed, feeling like he'd revealed too much of his sensitive side. "Or you know, like a big ball of powerful fire, either way..." he coughed and laughed nervously, trying to draw attention away from his previous comment. He then quickly changed the subject, ferociously digging into his sword with the grinding stone, sparks flying. "I'm sure he'll be fine. These invaders were trying to slip in unnoticed, and their target was Actona so I doubt they'll be expecting, or prepared to face a wyvern knight. I just hope he doesn't spook them back into hiding, or this job will get significantly more difficult."

[Rickon]

I'm sure Brutus is fine. Even if he's spotted, he's probably flying too high for any archers to hit him. At least, I hope he thought of that. He should have if he's a wyvern rider worth his salt," Rickon replied, addressing those who had joined him. "Still, the morning is upon us and we should resume the search." He again rose slowly, the morning stiffness permeating his body. He really would have liked to stay in the area and sleep a little longer, but every minute they lingered here, the longer the Ibiums had to move deeper into Actona and spread dissent. They needed to move and they needed to cover a lot of ground. Turning to the group, he continued, Delphi, I need you to wake Kemti. The two of you need to assume your beast forms and go ahead of the rest of us. Use your enhanced senses to seek out in the area ahead. If you find the Ibiums, do not engage them. Instead, return and lead us to them. In the meantime, the rest of us shall proceed ahead and search for anything that they could be after. Everyone understand," he asked, scanning the faces of his guild members.

[Manis]

Heh, Manis thought, almost cracking a smile at Delphi's comment. Perhaps he would get along with the people here. He scanned the horizon for Brutus for their missing rider before turning back to the others. He was still unsure about most of them. Most seemed alright, he supposed, but he knew nothing of them. For all he knew none of them could fight and he'd have actually try. The thought brought a frown to his face. This mission would test them in more ways than one. And hopefully it wouldn't kill them.

"What was that?" Manis said, realizing Gabriel had said something. He looked in the mercenary's direction but the man seemed intent on his blade. Perhaps a bit too intent, but Manis didn't see the point in telling his new comrade how to treat his stuff. He shook his head and allowed the others to keep talk while he stretched. There wouldn't be any trying if he couldn't move. Which reminded him of the horse, and he nearly groaned out loud as Rickon began address them.

"Understood," Manis said, giving a nod of his head before moving toward the horse. He really didn't want to ride the thing again, but the thought of running astride everyone made him want to just up and quit. Besides, with their two taguel friends running ahead he wouldn't have to ride for long. Right? The sudden thought of Kemti scouting made him want to cry. He really hoped everyone would prove him wrong.

[Kemti]

Kemti rolled in her sleep. The last few days had been crazy. First she had met her best-est friend, then joinned a guild and then ran all night long after getting their first job. She was a little sad that they wouldn't be fighting any bael's, but she knew they would eventually. She thought she heard her name but just rolled over again. She was really glad she had joined a guild, it was  going to be-

"Right here boss!" Kemti practically shouted, saluting Rickon. Luckily she was relatively nearby and looking in his general direction. It had finally dawned on her what had been said. She definitely wouldn't be late for her first mission. She quickly hop-skipped over to Delphi. "Let's go Delphi, search and deploy!"  She was pretty sure the last part was right, she remembered hearing it a while back while nearby some mercenaries. "Right!" She said, pointing where she thought they were going, bracelet beginning to glow.

[Delphi]

Wasn't it strange how taguel loved jewelry? Some would say their love for shinies was even more than the dragons'. A bold claim, that, but Delphi would believe it. If she could she would deck herself out in shiny stuff as long as it didn't make any noise. What really concerned her was Kemti's dangly bits and bobs jingling, since she could only half-transform. No matter what she couldn't convince the girl to take them off. But she was certain that everything would go off without a hitch, since she was there. She wouldn't say it out loud but her level of competency far passed Kemti's, even though she thought it at every opportunity. It wasn't in a mean way, but in a sporting way after all. Yeah, that was it. She was competitive, not cocky. She 'ripped' the pendant from her being and made a crushing motion with it in her calloused palms. Muscles extending and joints cracking and popping with a magical tinge, along with that giddyness of an adrenaline rush, she had successfully transformed into her beastly self. Her vocal chords weren't that great as a feline unfortunately, so a command of "Follow me!" mutated into something garbled that sounded more like a growl than anything.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel put his whetstone in his pack and leapt to his feet and said, "Understood sir!" And with that the group followed behind the sprinting taguel heading off into the wooded hills. Gabriel trained his eyes on the horizon, scanning for Ibians or something that they could be after. They walked for hours before they came across a dirt path that cut through the forest and the hills. Along the path rode a mule and a few merchants tending a cart of goods for sale being pulled by the mule. He tensed and grabbed the hilt of his sword prepared to pounce, but when he saw the Actonan banner on the cart he allowed himself to relax a bit. "Hello there friends," he called out to them in a welcoming tone, "What brings you all the way out here on such a lovely morning?"

[Manis]

What now? Manis thought as they came to a stop. They had seen little more than a animal or two as they had traveled through the hills and he had personally about given up. So of course, that's when they came across a small merchant caravan. He caught sight of the flag but frowned as Gabriel adressed them. After seeing nothing, they just happened upon friends. While merchants were known to do crazy things, none would wander around a warring country without guards. And that was if they bothered stopping by at all. 

"Where are the guards," Manis mumbled as he looked around. He didn't see anything but there were plenty of places to hide extra men. He stifled a yawn and stretched, loosening his sword in the process. It didn't hurt to be ready, even though he really hoped he was wrong. He wasn't in the mood for a fight, and especially after riding all afternoon. He stifled another yawn. He really hoped he was proven wrong.