Not Again [Open]

[Brutus]

"All right, all the more the merrier in my book." He said with an ultra cheesy grin. He didn't know either of these dudes, but he was perfectly content with working with them. "I don't know what will happen, that's what makes it so exciting to me." He added with a small laugh, full of bravado. He wasn't sure what was up with either of these guys, but he did know that what they were going to have is an adventure. Hopefully a nice one too, that isn't just this goat they keep joking about, he didn't want to hurt a goat man. That was sad, he loved goats. They were so cute, and just a little bit badass. An exotic shrubbery though, he'd hack that away without care, who cares about shrubs? Still that's so boring though, maybe it was a bandit? Or oh oh a monster! He's never actually seen a monster, but they're probably super cool looking!

"I dunno man, you sound preeeetty arrogant." He said with a cocky little shrug, a wide grin on his face. "I half expect you to be able to wrestle a dragon from the sky with your bare hands with the way you speak." Actually he didn't really hear him being particularly boasty or anything outside of that one thing, but Brutus decided to tease him. Since he obviously was called arrogant a lot, or else why would he bother defending his self before anyone even said anything? Brutus was the only armored one of the three, and it felt a little strange because with every step he sort of jingled and jangled as the metal hit itself. Something that Eyepatch seemed to notice, and laugh at him for. Ha ha, make fun of the only guy able to take a stray hit and actually live. "Not a horse, no. Actually, I'm not sure if I even have pockets..." He muttered, feeling his body for a moment, neither confirming or denying the statement. "My name is Brutus, by the way." Neither of them introduced themselves, which was weird but whatever, he might as well.

[Manis]

Manis rolled his eyes as the other two started slugging it out with words. It was going to be a long night. He double checked things as he followed them out, making sure nothing was disturbed before shutting the door behind them. He slipped his keys into a pouch and then looked about. The sun was just over the horizon now, it would be dark soon.

"This way," Manis said as he strode in the opposite direction of the inn. "And I'm Manis," he called over his shoulder. He re-situated his sword strap and kept moving. I wonder what it is this time. He hoped it was a little more exciting than a stray animal, though a part of him hoped that was all it was. He didn't want to spend the night hunting monsters or chasing off bandits. And if at all possible he was going to let the other two do everything, since they offered. He sighed again. It was going to be a long night.

[Cecil]

"I'm Cecil, good to see you have a name too." He joked. "Of course I can wrestle a dragon from the sky, Brutus. Just not with my bare hands; Maybe you don't have a horse tucked away in that armour of yours, but how about a bow and arrow?" He wasn't too good with bows, he was more of a "magical boomerang axe" kind of guy. Now a Dragon Axe, that was something. He had been saving up for a better axe to tell the truth, the old hatchet was starting to fall apart at the seams. Last time he used it, he had to wrap it up in rags because the dumb old blade had gone whirling off the hilt mid-swing. That tree never even saw it coming. "I hate goats, rather fight something," he said with a crack of his knuckles. "I can't imagine you have much going on in this town of yours, Manti-- Manis. Must stay quiet with you around taking care of business. Although, I can't say I've seen you before when I've come around. Maybe you were just away while I was here?" Manis was kind of giving off that "I don't care" sort of vibe. The kind that made you really not want to be near them. Cecil was almost positive the man would defrost if they got to know each other over a drink or two.

"I know that he lives here," he motioned to the sullen swordmaster. "But what about you, Brute? What made you come to --no offense-- a gusty gulch like here? You're no pegasus knight, that's sure." He continued to half-follow, half-lead Manis into the outskirts of the town, nothing on his mind except for well, the prospect of a good fight. He could use quite a bit of work before he'd be ready to really teach anyone anything about the axe though. Perhaps some instructions on a better selection of weapon?
--

The sun had already set at the pace they had been walking at and the sky was slowing turning from the pastel colors of the sunset to blue-black. The stars wouldn't be out for another hour for so, but like every day on the plains, the view was simply breathtaking. There were surprisingly large bushes scattered around the field ahead of them, but none of them were shaking violently or at all really. If there was a goat anywhere out here, it was doing its best to make itself invisible. "Hey!!" he called out. "We know you're out there, so you can't hide from us goat!" If they knew that there were only goats out there, they could split up and make things go much faster. But who was to say that something wouldn't just pop out and eat Brutus' your face off? "Hmm...hurmm....if I were a goat, I'd hide...I wouldn't hide, I'd be sitting on a hill like the target I am. Dammit. Why not try the larger sets of bushes first, those would be easier to get the drop on us from."

[Brutus]

"You know, you're terrible at guessing. Look at me, do I look like any archer you've ever seen?" He dashed ahead of the trio and began to walk backwards at a brisk pace, gesturing at his self in a 'just look at me' fashion, a cocky grin on his face. He continued to walk in such a way, despite how dangerous it was, he managed just fine somehow. He had good spatial perception, you needed that if you flew on the back of a wyvern. So many things you can't see coming, you need sharp senses to avoid being arrowed or completely lost. His hands folded behind his head, looking at the two men who were clearly quite a deal older then he. Manis and Cecil was it huh? He'd have to remember that.

When Cecil addressed him again he stopped walking ahead of them and spun on his heel, waiting for them to pass and catching up besides them. He didn't want to ruin his show of boasting by tripping on a bug or something. "Oh you know, the usual. Looking for adventure, training my self, general exploring, hopping from town to town looking for things to do. That sort of thing." He chuckled as the gruff man spoke. "I'll have you know pegasus love me." He punctuated his speech with a shrug however, wearing a wry crooked grin. "Still, that's three for three. I'm feeling sympathetic, so I'll just go ahead and tell you what I do." He stopped speaking for a moment, before thinking it over and laughing. "Actually, I'll show you once we get out of town."

---

"Honestly Cecil, I think you're taking this 'goat' thing a little far." Brutus shrugged. "You do realize that was a joke, right?" He had a hand on his hip as he watched the man with the eyepatch make him of all people look mature. Considering he was the one screaming about adventure and running in and out of the bar not even an hour ago, it was quite the feat. He'd have to say he was almost proud if he wasn't feeling a little hurt over being usurped with such a casual elegance. The wyvern rider looked around with a slightly overexcited grin, he didn't see anything and Cecil was having similar problems. Still he went about the whole thing with gusto and energy that really wasn't warranted.

He snapped his fingers and remembered something. "That's right." He said with a laugh in his voice, his snap echoing through the woods. "Tarasque can help us, he has a great sense of smell." He added with a movement to his belt for something, looking for it. He found what he was looking for, it was a small little toy drum. No bigger then a fist, it had little tassels on either side that drooped down into little balls. At the end was a handle, of sorts, and the whole thing looked like something a baby would play with. Then try to eat.

He twisted the thing in his hand, the small tassels flaying wildly and striking the drum making a 'badumtadumbadum' sort of noise. He played it for about thirty or so seconds, and waiting. In the silence of the night, it wasn't hard to hear the heavy wingbeats of his friend as he flew accross the sky and right atop of the rider. Knocking the man off his feet as the wyvern accosted him with countless licks on the face with it's long reptilian tongue. "Ack! Ack, Tar- Tarasque. Yes, yes, I'm happy to see you too." He held his hands up in front of his face like a shield, but it did little to stop the wyvern. The sapphire blue scaled reptile eventually decided that he was satisfied, and backed up letting the man with a sticky face get back to his feet.

Brutus chuckled as he used his cape to wipe off his face. "This is Tarasque, my Wyvern and best bud. I'm a wyvern rider Cecil. You were so close with the pegasus rider remark."

[Manis]

Manis couldn't help but smile as the other two took swings and bantered back an forth. The kid reminded him of Kade, all laid back and quirky. He even had the scar. And the fighter was just like Kade's older brother Morin, acting all tough and boasting. They had always been pestering each other and trying to one up the other. The resemblance was to close not to smile, even if it was just a little. They were even in the same town, and he could remember nights like this one where they'd be out late looking for something someone had seen. In fact that night had been... his scowl returned at the thought. 

"I leave every once in a while," Manis slipped in when one of the other two had stopped talking for a moment. "I was doing some solo contracts up in the north. It's been quiet around here since the guild disbanded." Now that Cecil had mentioned it he thought he had heard some of the others mention the man one of the times he had come back from a job. And the man did have a point concerning Brutus, and the boy seemed to enjoy trying to lead them on about his 'secret'. Manis shook his head and continued forward, trying to keep the other two in front of him as they headed out of town. No matter how familiar the circumstances he wasn't planning on fighting.  
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Manis had begun to feel a little uneasy as the night went on. For some reason things kept reminding him of that night, something he often tried to forget about. It didn't help that the talismans on his scabbard kept clinking as if voice the opinion. He did his best not to think about it, trying to listen in on the other two; but after a while that got annoying too, so he just tuned them out as well, preferring to take in their surroundings. Cecil had been going on about the goat again and Brutus seemed to be complaining and talking about some friend.  He moved to loosen his sword but jumped at the sudden sound of the little toy drum.

What...? He turned to look at Brutus. Yep, it was a toy drum. He was tempted to say something about noise and possible enemies but didn't bother once he heard the wing beats. The boy had a huge grin on his face as the wyvern flew closer and then proceed to greet it's master. Manis rolled his eyes. At least things were never dull with these two. He went back to looking around, loosening his sword in it sheath; Cecil was right, if had just been a goat it would just be standing around. Something seemed off but he decided to wait and see what the other two decided to do. He was just here to make sure no one died.

[Cecil]

That toy drum was quite something. Cecil had to get one immediately, there would be no buts on this. The wyvern could wait, although it did have its own intrigue to it as well. Like a big rescue dog excited to see its master again, but a little more scaled and winged and capable of ripping a person in two. "Nice "peggy" you got there, boy." The bard's words were dripping with playful sarcasm. "It would explain how you got here so fast, anyway." There was just so much to do and see on foot, even if his corns and blisters believed otherwise. Riding a horse or even a creature of the air skipped around so much of the known world, even if it was filled with brigands(i.e. him) and monsters.

Besides the lad playing with his beast, there was a relative silence as they stared at the bushes. They might've stood there for minutes or hours even, it felt like time had come to a stand still. No one wanted to drive headlong into a monster waiting to chew their brains off, after all. "I'll chance it, I've got plenty of flesh to lose anyway!" he said as he dove into the bushes with a yell, brandishing his cleaver.

He let out an audible grunt along with a disgusting squelch sound, and popped his head out of the bushes. His face was painted with blood, and other disgusting bits and pieces of animal. "'S dead goat city in here, three of them! They've been picked clean...for the most part." The bard plucked a skull from the bushes and held it aloft for all to see. It was a ridiculous sight, a grown man covered in blood holding up a goat skull while covered in shrubbery. But status quo would always maintain that it was a bard's duty to entertain. "This town must not be very watchful of their goats. Here today, goat tomorrow, it seems. He chuckled at the thought, and climbed out of the bushes, skull in one hand and axe in the other, still covered in goat blood. Unfortunately he had not stopped to wipe it off and Tarasque noticed the scent immediately. Why the beast hadn't earlier would remain a mystery for decades to Cecil as he saw the beast look at Brutus uncomfortably and back at Cecil again.

There were wickedly deep teeth marks in the goat's skull, and while he wasn't a wolver, he could plainly see they weren't any "wolf"'s marks.