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For in-universe game play. Journey through both familiar and foreign settings, explore lost ruins and forgotten cities, and try to bring light to the darkness of the world... or, you know, blow stuff up. Either way.
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Drannin
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Re: Background noise

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Kurou chuckled. "I'm more of a renter than an owner," he replied. "But, yes, I consider this castle to be my home away from home... though I sometimes visit Gervasiel for the essentials of life. And, yes, it's just me." Given that he was able to summon servitors in an instant, this was basically true.

They came upon the quarters Kurou was using. It was sparse, but tidy, With a small tent where he placed a cot for sleeping, a few bookshelves, and some papers in cipher which held little information of import. Everything truly important was in his head.

"These are no rooms for a noblewoman, but please, make yourself at home," he gestured magnanimously at the room.
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Drusia
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Re: Background noise

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Kurou chuckled. "I'm more of a renter than an owner," he replied. "But, yes, I consider this castle to be my home away from home... though I sometimes visit Gervasiel for the essentials of life. And, yes, it's just me."

"These are no rooms for a noblewoman, but please, make yourself at home," he gestured at the room.


A tent. Really? Not quite the romantic, four poster bed I was imagining. Not that I haven't had wonderful nights of passion on a blanket under the stars, but I was sort of hoping to do better this time. Ah well.

"Thank you," I reply softly, letting fear color my voice again. "I don't require anything more."

I look around, sigh, and let a peaceful sort of resignation settle over me.

"I think I should tell you... I haven't been entirely honest with you," I tell him. He gives me an intrigued smile, so I continue. "I... I think that someone is trying to kill me. Actually, I'm certain." I close my eyes and take a breath.

"So," I say, opening my eyes again as I turn to him. "If you're actually an assassin waiting to kill me, I wish you'd just get it over with. I've had a very long day and I'm too tired to keep this up." I keep my gaze firmly on him, letting only the slightest tremor color my voice. I also turn one foot, bracing in case I need to run for my life.

Of course, since I know he's not an assassin sent to kill me, this is all so much melodrama. However, those details are the difference between a convincing performance and a flawed one. And I hated flawed performances.

-- Drusia
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Drannin
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Re: Background noise

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Arsoro Kurou actually burst into laughter. "Oh, come now? Trying to kill you? Me?" Or anyone for that matter? I've heard this story before, but never expected to live it... "Madam, if I were an assassin, I would hardly be engaging you in conversation." He gazed at her thoughtfully, taking in her healthy body (not an unpleasant exercise) as well as her general comfort with her own body.

"Actually, my lady... how do I know that you are not an assassin sent to kill me?"
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Drusia
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Re: Background noise

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Arsoro Kurou actually burst into laughter. "Oh, come now? Trying to kill you? Me? Madam, if I were an assassin, I would hardly be engaging you in conversation." He gazed at her thoughtfully.

"Actually, my lady... how do I know that
you are not an assassin sent to kill me?"

I let myself blush, slightly, at his hot gaze. Well, that's going well. I turn a bit to the side and clear my throat.

"I suppose it's true that, if you wanted me dead, you've had the opportunity," I agree. "But someone interfered with my gate travel. I was supposed to arrive in Saus, but instead, I almost ended up smeared across the landscape. I thought, if whoever was trying to kill me sent me here, maybe there was a reason. Unless I wasn't supposed to survive the gate accident. I almost didn't. If I hadn't worked on the gate maintenance team last year...."

I blush again, looking down. "I'm sorry, but I lied earlier. I'm not Veracian, and my name isn't Phoebe Delleni. It's Aiko Sonada. I thought, if you were trying to kill me, then I shouldn't give you my name, but that seems rather silly now." My accent and name are both Tsuirakian; everything I seeded previously has set this up. Every bad lie I've delivered makes this one more convincing; my accent has been Tsuirakian all along, so the reveal makes sense.

I look up at Kusou, meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry, thank you for being kind to me. I haven't been very kind to you. This has all been so terrifying, it's hard to know who to trust." I smile, but hold myself reserved. He hasn't done anything to truly earn my trust yet, aside from not being an assassin. As far as young Lady Aiko knows, this guy could be some sort of pervert.

-- Drusia
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Drannin
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Re: Background noise

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Kurou's eyebrows raised. Tsuirakuan? Suddenly, things slicked into place. Her accent. Her loose story. Her composure and intelligence. Even her concealed accent. Hell, hers was a body type that was not necessarily uncommon in Tsuiraku (well, maybe...). Suddenly, things became a lot more clear.

And yet, there was something that still bothered him, at the very edge of his mind. Something he couldn't quite put a finger on...

Oh, let the Weave unbind it. It had been too long since he'd had some intelligent conversation. Perhaps a fellow countrywoman could oblige him before she went on her way.

Kurou put on his most charming smile. "Dear Lady Sonada. Your caution is both commendable and understandable. As a Fellow Tsuirakuan in this benighted cultural wasteland, I assure you that you have nothing to fear here. Please, allow me to render assistance to you."

...Was he still missing something here?
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Re: Background noise

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Kurou put on his most charming smile. "Dear Lady Sonada. Your caution is both commendable and understandable. As a Fellow Tsuirakuan in this benighted cultural wasteland, I assure you that you have nothing to fear here. Please, allow me to render assistance to you."

I look a bit relieved and smile at him. "Thank you." I glance around at the very humble surroundings and ask "Is there anywhere I might be able to freshen up? A mend spell will have my clothing in order, but I'd prefer to be clean again, if at all possible. Hygiene spells only go so far, after all." My smile turns slightly embarrassed.

"And," I add, "If I may ask, what are you doing here? Finding a fellow Tsuirakuan, as you put it, here was rather odd. Is there something special about this place?" I pause, then add, "Of course, if your research is secret, you needn't tell me. You just seem rather out of place here, and I'm curious."

-- Drusia
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Drannin
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Re: Background noise

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Kuou gestured to an alcove. "That area has been equipped with the best hygiene magic I can mange, and is quite private, I assure you. As for my reasons for being here..." he smiled enigmatically. "I'm doing some private research... and very fascinating... research."
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Re: Background noise

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Kuou gestured to an alcove. "That area has been equipped with the best hygiene magic I can mange, and is quite private, I assure you. As for my reasons for being here..." he smiled enigmatically. "I'm doing some private research... and very fascinating... research."

"Ah, yes, thank you," I say, heading towards the alcove. There's a curtain for privacy, as well as a slight shimmer in the air to disrupt scrying. Very thoughtful. I close the curtain and set my bag down on a small shelf.

"I thought it might be something like that," I tell him through the curtain as I undress. "You always hear about mages stealing one anothers' spells, or magical designs or whatnot. I suppose keeping a research facility in Veracia is a rather cunning solution to the problem." I hang my dress up; it will do it good, after so long in my pack, and I want it accessible for mending. "And ballsy," I add. "Thumbing your nose at all that Luminosa crap." A quick mending spell has the rips taken care of, as well as the stains and smell. Nodding satisfaction I step into the back of the alcove.

A rune glows and a fine mist surrounds me. "Oh!" I say, surprised. A gentle wind follows, dispelling the mist and leaving me clean, fresh smelling, and surprisingly refreshed. It doesn't hold a candle to a warm bath, but it beats bathing in a river any day.

Smiling I step back into the front of the alcove and put my dress back on. I open my bag and remove a bottle of perfume. It's a cool scent, sweet and slightly musky. I dab some on my wrist, then rub my wrists together, and finally rub my wrists on either side of my neck. At each location an artery passes close to the surface, warming the scent. If something quickens my heart, like, say, a deep kiss, the heat will increase and so will the scent.

I open the curtain and step back into the room, smiling warmly. "Thank you," I say again, "I feel much better now." I could add more, but I don't want to distract him. I let his gaze linger on me for a few seconds. I blush again, but I don't turn away.

"So," I ask, when I feel the moment has gone on long enough, "You mentioned a map. I'd like to see how far from Saus I ended up."

-- Drusia
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Drannin
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Re: Background noise

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Kurou just looked Aiko Sonada for a moment longer, impressed despite himself. Then he brought himself back to the present. Whatever facade she presented might be just that: a facade. He had to be careful... Which was hard to do with that dress.

"Ah... yes, of course..." He said finally, and gestured to a table. "I have a full and detailed map right here. Walking over to a table, it could be seen that it's surface was covered in a variety of knick-knacks, all carefully ordered, as if in a pattern their owner recognized fully (which he did). At the table's center was a small crystal ball. Kurou waved his hand over this ball, and a glowing, three-dimensional representation of Veracia hovered in the air above it.

He marked their position with a finger, a red spot appearing on the map. "Does this provide you with any clues?"

That dress really was smashing...
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Re: Background noise

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"Ah... yes, of course..." He said finally, and gestured to a table. "I have a full and detailed map right here. Walking over to a table, it could be seen that it's surface was covered in a variety of knick-knacks, all carefully ordered, as if in a pattern their owner recognized fully (which he did). At the table's center was a small crystal ball. Kurou waved his hand over this ball, and a glowing, three-dimensional representation of Veracia hovered in the air above it.

He marked their position with a finger, a red spot appearing on the map. "Does this provide you with any clues?"


I smile at his reaction to my appearance - nothing cunning, just honestly pleased. I watch as he deploys the magical map. When he highlights our location, I let my eyes widen in surprise.

"Wow," I say, "That's... really really far away from Saus. We're the entire length of Tsuiraku from Saus, and its warp gate." I rock back a little, looking thoughtful.

"I'm not sure if I should be horrified or glad," I tell Kurou. "Horrified because of how damn long I'm going to have to travel through this boring-ass country, or glad because I'm now really far away from the people trying to kill me." I glance over at him - he looks less than convinced. Time to play the trump.

"You still don't believe me about the assassination thing, do you?" I say. Without waiting for him to answer, I continue. "Believe me, I wouldn't have believed it before last week when the envoy showed up. Hell, it's still a little hard to wrap my mind around. I mean, what kind of father - " My voice catches and I turn away, taking a deep breath.

"You can't tell me you didn't notice these," I say, touching my ear. "They aren't exactly common. See, every couple of decades or so, an elven envoy visits Tsuiraku. Two visits ago, my mother had an affair with one of the diplomats. One visit ago, I was away learning to work warp gates. This time, I was home."

The story is true; my cousin leads the diplomatic envoy to Tsuiraku, and he has a penchant for human lovers, rather like I do. Unlike me, he follows the conservative approach to half-elves. I saved one of his children years ago; her descendants live in Snamish now, intermingled with mine several generations back. The story is hers, but I remember exactly how she told it to me all those years ago.

"Turns out," I continue softly, "Elves have some sort of rule about getting rid of half-breeds."

-- Drusia
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