Not Again [Open]

[Manis]

Manis sat at the table, a mug of the inn's best sitting in front of him. I can't believe I did it again, he thought, staring into his drink. He had just finished a job and was mulling it over in the local inn. I should start taking easier jobs, like rescuing kittens. He thought about it for a moment. It certainly wouldn't be exciting, but it would be better than the alternative.

Perhaps I should go home for a while, Manis thought. Some one started playing a flute from one of the center tables. It's not too far from here. The notes wove themselves through the air, a nice melody to those who might actually be listening. "Manis." The word was distant, sluggishly cutting through his thoughts. I suppose I haven't visited mother in a while.

"Manis!" Daren's voice cut through Manis' thoughts. "Manis, you need to eat. You've been sitting there like a ghoul for days. You smell like a ghoul." The older man wrinkled his nose as if to prove his point. "I know you just love to mope but you've moped long enough. Besides, your scaring the customers away."

"What customers?" Manis jested half heartedly, turning to look at the man. He was plain as most men went, wearing a shirt and breeches with his white apron thrown on top to mark him for what he was. His short beard showed a little grey, but that was the only thing to betray his age. Daren was the only one in town who dared bother him when he was like this. "Anyone who comes is a local."

"Exactly why it's a problem!" Daren spoke in his booming voice, though not loud enough for it to disturb others. Daren looked at the boy- no man sitting at the table. He had know Manis for years, ever since he and his friends had set up their guild in town. It was tragic what had happened, and he knew every man worked things out on his own time. He just thought Manis took a little too much time with things. "Now eat!" He threw a giant plate of pork and beans in front of Manis. He produced some bread from his other hand. "That better be gone when I get back."

[Manis]

Manis wolfed down the pork and beans. He hadn't realized he was this hungry, but then again he never did after coming home from a job. He dipped some bread into it before looking around. There was a fairly big crowd in the inn. Most were farmers but there seemed to be a few travelers. Good, then no one will ask me to do anything. He finished off the slice of bread he was eating.

"Good, you better be eating," Daren said as he came back. He was wiping something on his apron. "You've got some things to do. Barnabus has been looking for you, says your rent is due. I haven't told him you're back yet, but now that you're out and about I'm sure he'll come running." He seemed hesitant to say the next thing. Manis finished off the pork and beans while he waited. "There's strange talk of some sort of demented creature outside of town. You know I wou-"

"I'll take care of it in the morning," Manis said sliding his chair back. He hoped it'd be a few days before someone needed his help, but sometimes his timing was off. As long as it wasn't another lost goat he'd be fine. He picked up his sword from where it was leaning on the table and hoisted his bag to his shoulder. "You now where to find me." He glided to the door and left into the night, headed for the empty place he called home.

[Vendil]

Vendil poked at the campfire with a stick. A stick! He couldn't believe it when he found one lying on the ground. And then he found more, so he just had to see if fire was real. And it was! What a glorious day it had been. He even decided to call it a campfire. He was sure this was a camp, though there was nothing special about it. Or was there?

"Next thing you know people and fores-," Vendil stopped in mid sentence, his mouth still moving. "F-forest! It's real, by the beard look at it!"  He scampered from where he was sitting to eye the four foot structure. A tree! He looked at it's slender, dry branches and dead leaves. "Why it's in perfect condition mother earth! Just like me in the old dra-" He was suddenly sitting in front of the fire again. Poke.

"I can't believe fires and camps and forests are real," Vendil said aloud. "Next thing you know people will be real, like those two I met that one time." He was sure it had happened even though most of him thought it hadn't. Or had it? He wasn't even aware there was a town nearby, several miles down the road. Poke. He smiled as the fire danced in his eyes.

[Cecil]

As the man in the longcoat stepped through the door and out into the open air, Cecil's music dropped in pitch, and faded altogether. No point in wasting energy if the only one here to hear it was the barkeep. People had come and gone for the better half of the day, and all he had to show for it was a few coins profit. Not bad for a backwater town, though. It was closing in on sunset-maybe about six pm-but happy hour wasn't due for some time yet. What really intrigued him was the "infestation" Daren spoke of. Depends on how much coin he would get out of it; he wouldn't risk his head for a piddling pouch of gold. He put his flute into his pack and slid over to one of the barrels that passed for stools at the bar counter. "Got a problem, eh? I'm your man if you'll make it worth my while." He rubbed two fingers together to get the point across. "I can even go take care of it now if you sweeten the deal."

[Manis]

Manis walked sullenly down the street, still thinking of what had happened on his last job. He wasn't very aware of his surroundings but knew the town well enough not to run into things. His pack was slung over his shoulder, swinging with his lose gait. He was home and he could relax. No running from towns people or chasing after bandits. He came to a stop in front of the two story building.

The wooden siding was well kept for a place that rarely had anything living in it. Daren had made sure it got taken care of when Manis went out of town. the roof was average, slanting on each side to protect the building from rain. The door was made of a dark wood and had a square outlined on the top half and an inch from the frame. In the center a shield was carved with a sword running down its middle. Manis didn't bother looking at the covered sign sitting above the door as he fiddled with his keys. The sunset hung above the building as if in silent protest, wishing for what had been.

The door glided open smoothly as Manis came in and shut with a silent click. He barely gazed at what had once been a common room with a blazing fire and table filled with delicious food. He just moved silently to the other side of the room and began climbing the stairs, scabbard scraping against the railing. At the top he found nothing had changed, another decent sized room but with empty book shelves lining the wall. He had had to sell most of their things to keep their dream. Here and there closed doors could be seen between the book shelves. He made his way to one of these and closed the door behind him.

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Daren chuckled when the nights entertainment asked about the problem outside of town. "Manis has already said he'd take the job," he began, trying to stifle a grin, " And what with all the stuff I do for him he knows I won't be paying. So I'd take it up with him unless your just looking for some adventure.  He might be willing to pay some one so he doesn't have to go out looking for something that might not be there." He picked up the mug and plate from the table Manis had been sitting in.

"There's been many 'sightings', but it's usually just someone's lost goat or a bush in the wrong place on a dark night. Waste of time if you ask me but gotta keep people thinking there safe." This time Daren did grin. "He'll be haunting the old guild hall in town while he's around. Bloody spent everything to keep it after what happened." He shook his head before turning to head to the kitchens. "Anyways he's your best bet if you want some quick money. He'd probably even pay you to bring the fire wood in." He laughed real big this time and headed into the kitchens.

[Brutus]

"Oh man, I don't even want gold. I just wanna do it! Sounds like fun!" An excited voice spoke out from somewhere in the bar. Or was it a restaurant? Eh, wasn't clear. Oh that's right, it was an Inn. He was a bit confused how he could have gotten into a bar in the first place for a moment there, and the service here was terrible for a restaurant, no waiters or anything seriously one star. "Old guild hall, right? Good, cool, beat you there." He turned and bolted out of the inn on a tear, not exactly sure why he was in the inn in the first place. That's right, he entered the town almost half a day ago, and he's just been kind of going from place to place looking for something interesting to do. Luckily for him, he happened to be in the inn in exactly the nick of time. This seemed like something interesting, a strange creature outside the town? Sounds like an adventure, and goats were adorable.

He looked so pleased with himself, pleased as punching a guy in the face as the saying probably goes. A nice wide grin on his face as looked around the town, before stopping for a moment and looking confused. He twisted his head around at each of the buildings, a worried look building on his face when he realized the truth; he had no idea what any of these buildings were. What was this guild hall?

He walked back in the inn sheepishly, after making such a big show leaving earlier. "Er, which of the buildings is the guild hall?"

[Cecil]

Cecil laughed as the boy ran out the inn, before either he or Daren could get in a syllable as he poked his out from the kitchen to listen. The bard had a feeling the two had met before, though...he was either getting old prematurely or been bonked too many times on the head to remember straight. You'd think you would know a kid like that at first glance, especially with that nasty little scar on his cheek. He glanced back at Daren, gesturing for him to point the way. The cook pointed a crooked finger to the left. "Two places that way on this side," and without another sound disappeared back into the kitchen. Cecil got up from the barstool, leaving his pack on the floor. He knew its contents biblically, and there would be hell to pay if even one piccolo was out of place. Well, there would if anything was stolen and wasn't given back. No sense in beating someone for no reason. Before the kid could go rushing out and potentially do something rash, Cecil grabbed him by the back of his collar as he turned. "Let's go together then, kid. Safety in numbers, never know when a goat might reach out and snap yer neck!" he cracked. Hey, goats are dangerous when they aren't adorable. Have you ever tried to ride a goat? Don't try it.

He started walking towards the building, kid's scruff still in hand. Maybe he wouldn't get any money, but he could use a bit of a stretch.

[Brutus]

"Hey hey hey, watch the cape man." He flailed under the massive meaty hand that kept him from achieving forward motion. He thought he could outdo it at first, pushing forward anyways with nothing but the sheer strength of his glutes. It was a sort of ill conceived plan, and went nowhere faster then he was. Then the man began to walk away, still holding him by the back of his clothes and literally dragging him away. He pulled at the coat as it quickly seized his neck. "Ack, ah! You're choking me" He clawed at the coat and chain before giving up. "Ah, whatever." He decided he was content to let the man drag him the rest of the way there. No point in fighting it.

"Goats would never snap my neck. I'm too fast and agile. Like a wyvern, or a boar." He sounded slightly grumpy, as he was dragged along the path. He didn't mind working together, and he'd probably accept the offer he just wasn't happy with the whole grabbing thing. He had half a mind to jump on the man's back and ride him like a wyvern, but as strong at this dude obviously was, he doubted that he could support a full grown man in armor on top of him. That's right, he was a MAN. Not a kid, as this guy was all arrogantly saying and such.

He didn't really have a good view of where they were going, but he was sure the guy knew where it was. Otherwise what was the point? That would be just silly. "We almost there?"

[Cecil]

The bard heaved the pouting armored man to his feet, which was significantly harder than if he let him walk anyway. Nothin' like a good stretch though. Dusting off the back of the man, he responded in kind to the protests of the man on their 'journey' together. "I'll lighten my grip next time," he grinned. "We're here though, yeah. Quite the beauty they got here really." It wasn't in that bad of a shape, but you could already tell from the front it was in disuse. Warped wood, cobwebs, and a straight line of many pairs of footsteps in the dust; it looked like a stampede of one man had ran through it. But it felt a bit homely, like your grandfather's old shack that he never bothered to take care of. The door was the cleanest thing out front, polished knob and everything. He raised a fist to knock on it, and with the first tap it swung inwards. "Guess intruders aren't a big deal to him." Cecil remarked as he stepped aside. "By all means, go ahead my friend."

[Brutus]

"Alright." He agreed to these terms with no reservations, he wanted to be the first one there anyways. Little did the man know, he just forwent the chance to be victorious. Jokes on him, aha. Brute brushed his self off a little bit first, his butt was particularly dusty, and strolled into the empty room with little to no fanfare. This place was empty, and sad looking. The worst part was that it looked like people used to be here, but they weren't anymore. He's seen abandoned homes before, though usually they were iced over remains of the frozen night. This place was making him feel kind of bad, like they were intruding. Not on any person or anything, since it was clear no one lived here, but on memories. It was well taken care of, in that way that suggested it was all one person's doing and not because it was still in use. There was an empty fireplace with dust and soot, but it looked cold, it had been a long time since a fire laid in this hearth.

"Spooky." Was what he said as he ventured in a little deeper, beckoning the other guy to come and follow him. "C'mon." He may be trespassing on memories, but it was this dude's fault for living in memory house. He found his way to a railing and stairs, the dusty footprints were leading up there so that's where this guy must be. Brute followed the steps up, each floorboard creaking with every step in a real 'err' 'err' kind of sound. It was really loud, but that was simply because there wasn't any sound to counteract it. So it filled the air and the guild hall with it's sorrowful creaking.

"Hey!" Brute called as he reached the top of the steps, in another skeletal room filled with empty bookshelves and other sad things. Aw man, empty bookshelves were the worst, they looked so lonely. He walked over to one, and put a gold piece on the wooden shelving, a bummed look on his face. "If only I had some books..." He grumbled. Though him having books wouldn't make any sense, considering he never read them, but that was hardly the point. He looked up at the ceiling before calling again, slightly louder. "You here guy!?" He didn't know the guy's name, he was sure the inn person said it but he wasn't really paying attention at the time.

[Manis]

Manis was getting dressed when the silence was broken. He sighed as he tied the red sash across his waist. He had only had enough time to wipe himself down before some one came running. Who is it now? he thought. He was wearing his other set of clothes, which looked exactly the same. The others were laying by the bucket he had used to wash in. Guess I'll take care of those latter. He swung his jacket on and grabbed his sword from the end of the bed.

"You here guy!?" Manis was blasted by the voice as he came out of the room. He silently shut the door before turning to see who it was. He had hoped it was one of the towns people, though no one ever came in here these days. One could always hope.

"What do you want?" Manis asked. He was home now so he didn't care if he came off harsh or annoyed. The people here already knew him so he didn't have to pretend as much. Especially when people trespassed. The sword was still sheathed in his hand, he had forgotten to throw the strap over his shoulder. This better not be a job...

[Cecil]

Cecil decided to cut to the chase, considering the blade in the other guy's hand and to keep the loudmouth's ego in check. Then again, he'd be holding a sword too if two strangers had barged into his "house" near nightfall. "I ain't gonna try to step on your toes, but you can leave that job to the boy and I if you want. Goats are his forte, and those walkers mine. Why this one time, I-- nevermind that. So, whaddya say, eh? Wanna take the day off? You look like you could use a girl or a hobby, mate. It'd do you some good." He wondered what all that armour on the other man was for. He looked a little like a social knight, but they didn't wear gear that thick. A Wyvern Rider would've been his second guess but you can't judge a book by its cover, right? Otherwise he'd be a sword-for-sale(He was on the side, but that's not the point).

[Brutus]

The door to the bedroom exploded! A man bolted out with a storm in his heart, and a blazing fire in his eyes, from outside the thunder crackled as his booming voice demanded to know why they were there. Or at least that's how it should happened, no instead he just looked kind of annoyed and smelt like a rancid sock. He had a sword in his hand, but he looked more like an old man shaking his cane then anyone about to lay the beatdown. Brutus opened his mouth to say something, but what quickly beat to the punch by the man with the eyepatch. Brute decided to roll with it. "Goats have got nothing on me." He said, chopping the air with his hands a few times. The man with the eyepatch started boast about 'walkers' or something, which was kind of eh. He got the feeling the guy didn't take Brute very seriously.

"Honestly, I'm just kind of interested in the whole thing." He added with a shrug. "I simply can't just sit still while there's a mystery to be had, and this whole thing is clearly a mystery of some sort." He shoved his thumb into his chest with a wide grin, chuckling. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Or, er, we'll take care of it." He moved the thumb and pointed it at big and eyeless over there. "So you can, um, brood or something. I don't know what you do in your free time. I would just like a little more info if you've got it, so I don't got running around without a clue on what I'm looking for."

[Manis]

Manis eyed the two and sighed.So they just wanted the job. Adventure. He had no problem with it, it was less work to do. But he didn't know the two so he wasn't going to just leave it all to them. This was his town and while he pretending he didn't care, he did. Besides, they boy reminded him of someone he once knew. He'd at least make sure they didn't get themselves killed.

"Of course," Manis said. He tried to ignore the last bit about women and hobbies. His hobby was not having one, and the only lady that followed him these days was death herself. "All I know is it's somewhere outside of town, down the road I guess." He threw his sword strap around his neck and let go, leaving it to hang at his side.

"But if you don't mind, I'll just tag along," he added before motioning for them to leave. Manis now vaguely recognized one of them to be the guy that had been playing music. He wasn't sure how well he could fight, but the boy was even less likely to have seen much. Though he did act like that too... he thought. He frowned at the thought of his fallen friend. "You never know what might happen."

[Cecil]

So the "employer" be coming along, eh? Fine by him. "Welcome aboard," he said with a smile. "I'm not nearly as arrogant as I sound, promise. If ya talk the talk, ya gotta walk the walk." Well, he had an excuse since he was significantly bardy and was therefor required to talk a big show. You'd be surprised how many people didn't realize he could pack a punch. Probably not as surprised as they were, that's for sure. The kid could make a good bard too; maybe not minstrel; his voice seemed like it was made more for yelling than it was for singing. Wasn't his name Caesar or something? "Kid" would do for now. He has also overheard Daren calling the man Manis during the two's conversation- it might've been Mantis which made no sense anyway. Manis it was.

He still couldn't tell if the sigh was of contempt or something else. It would've been worse if it came from someone who didn't look like a beggar with a sword. At the least he'd provide some direction since he wasn't sure where outside of town the problem was waiting. It certainly wasn't the way he blew in, that was for sure. "So kid." He asked as soon as the three were out the door, despite the swordsman lagging behind. "That armor all for show or what? Don't tell me you got an 'orse stuffed away in one ah those pockets ah yours." Armour was for chumps who needed defense. It was understandable when everyone and their brother had a "Slayer" weapon, though. The concept of them was always sort of confusing. Who would attack a knight with a hammer? It would be ever so slightly more effective if the metal was heated over a furnace and there wasn't a person inside. A great axe was what you needed. The reason why no one ever said anything about them was because no one ever lived to tell the tale. He didn't need one though, only his "trusty-without-the-t" old hatchet. Got to travel light with all those supplies packed.