On the Prowl [Nessa]

William would look over as he walked down the path he had found himself on. The white dressed woman, Nessa, would be nearby, but other than her it seemed they would be alone. With a slight sigh, loud enough to get the other persons attention he would speak up.

“Well, this is supposed to be the place. I do not usually hunt near Engloria, but it seemed like the fastest way to get provisions.” We would say, a small smirk on his face. He had been traveling with Nessa for a small while now, having left Newdale pretty shortly after their first meeting they had arrived in Engloria only the night before, and wasted no time in finding a job which would pay for the rest of their trip.

William had promised to take Nessa to Sinhaven, a promise he was starting to worry about. He did not know what he was thinking, suggesting to take her there, after all there was probably nowhere more dangerous for her than the Eldritch City, but it was the only place he knew which might have what she needed. At least, it was the only place he knew people he could ask. He was sure another viable option would be Rivengate, but he had never been there.

“So, anything in particular you want to hunt? We can look for an assortment of things, or try and gather base materials…” William would say to her, half talking to himself. This was usually how his hunts went, he would go to a place, and see what happened… but, he wanted to give his companion the choice as well. After all, it didn’t really matter to him, one way or another this day would end, and the next would begin, and eventually they would be on their way to the city of Sin. "Slimes are always an okay option, they can be useful. But, if we are feeling adventurous we can find something more... challenging?"

William would make sure his hood was pulled over his head, and adjust his cloak to be certain it covered his wings. So long as he did not draw too much attention, most people would assume he was just another human. It helped that he was traveling with someone else, it made less people question him. The Eldritch-Hybrid had never had such an easy time in the  common lands, which is nice. Usually he would be questioned a lot more, especially once people started seeing his more demonic characteristics.

He would turn to his side as Nessa spoke, conceding to what she had said. “True, I doubt there are any here now that I think about it… no one would let the pests thrive.” He would say half to himself. “Dionalor Plains certainly has them, though I usually stick to Hoptus, for obvious reasons I do not go to Gaiyan lands too often.” He would say as they walked. “I do not usually come to Engloria either, too many humans, I try to stick to the smaller towns.” He would say with a smile, more than once even the smaller towns had proven to be a bad choice, truth is he didn’t stay anywhere long. Tis was the life of a rogue he guessed, even a well-meaning rogue.

When Nessa suggested that they went to the armories he would nod, “That is a good idea, we should get more prepared, I will not lie to you, Sinhaven is probably the most dangerous place, as far as inhabitants, that someone like you could go.” William would say being honest. “Honestly, I am not sure if it would be better for you to to act human or Elven…” he would add.

“Yeah, lets look for some armor, maybe a weapon or two. Hell, a few potions might not be bad if we can get ahold of them.” William would say with a laugh, “We are in no rush to get to Sinhaven though, so we should take our time to prepare, I am guessing you already exhausted your options in Engloria as far as Otherworlders went?” William would ask, wondering if there was any hope they could discover more. Though, he seriously doubted they would learn much in any of the main lands of Mirinah. They would have to go somewhere with Otherworld Technology.

As they walked William would keep his eyes out for shops, any that would look useful, though he was pretty sure his experience in the city would be about as useful as Nessa’s own.

While they walked William would keep an unsure eye on the other people, though he liked humans and actually quite enjoyed many of their cities, he had had unfortunate runnings that had made him hesitant to full trust that one wouldn't try to kill him for what he was. Though, upon thinking about it he had very little doubt many humans had the same opinion, he still saw Nessa and the way she had been attacked by the vampire.

When she spoke the eldritch would look at her again inquisitively, listening to her request, giving a half smile when she had almost called him the wrong name. Had it been anyone else, he would have been annoyed but any other person who knew his other name would be his parents, or an associate of theirs, which could only mean bad things. He wondered if Nessa would ever get over the likeness to William and her Markus. He doubted it.

William would not answer her at first, thinking it over in his head. Honestly he had no doubt that it would be a worthwhile idea, it would give him a good idea of what her strength actually was, and had a chance to help her. He was worried of course that he might hurt her, but them again doubted she was as weak as she seemed against the vampire, If anything he suspected she had just been scared but remembering the star-like magic that she had produced in his room gave him at least a bit of understanding.

“Okay, let's do it. But…” William would agree to the woman's suggestion, though he felt there should be an important condition. If she really wanted to do this, he thought it would be important. “We can not hold back at all. If you want this to be any kind of training, and you want us to get a proper measure of one another's strength, we must go all out. Not...“ William paused to add. “Not that we should kill one another, or try for anything like that, but we should definitely be certain to take it seriously.” William finished.

After William answered her question about sinhaven he would be rewarded with a bit more insight into her world. “Yeah… Gaiyans are terrified and hate anything that might mess up what they consider to be the natural order, and Eldritch are not much different except most of them consider themselves to be the ‘natural way of things’, so some use otherworld tech if it gets them on top. Anthros… Well I don't really know much about them, only met a few, in a lot of ways they are like Gaiyans. As for Humans.” He would pause thinking. “Honestly, Humans are probably the most unknown factor. Their views can vary dramatically…” William would add, thinking to what she said.

“Interesting, here magic is useful, but by no means a requirement for power. Hell, there is a city where some say magic has died out entirely. Not that I believe that particular rumor. Race is certainly the big issue in these lands, race and nobility though that varies based on culture I guess. At least, in this region. I would not know about the rest of the world.” When she spoke of the war William would listen interested, war was a big deal for their world, hell they had a massive one that at least for now had ended all wars… at least that's what people like to say, though he knew there was still conflict, it was just not out in the open. He was about to ask more about the war, perhaps to jog her memory when she suddenly changed the subject.

Looking over he saw that it was indeed an armory of some sorts, he could see a sign ‘Armstrong's Strong Arms’, and thought he could even hear the ringing of steel coming from the back. “Looks like it…” William would lead them to the abode, then hold the door open for his companion. From his position he could see a few rows of various types of armament, as well as shields, and even some armor sets in the back “After you.” He would say with a warm smile.

William would nod as she confirmed, and agreed with his request, and stated that she understood. He was glad she was as willing to take things as serious as he was, after all it would be dangerous. Besides, William was a stickler for proper training, and practice, it did not matter who it was, or why, if he was going to train, or fight, he was going to go all out.

“Yeah, at least that is one thing which is universal eh, judgement?” William would say with another half smile, though he was only partially joking having felt full well some of the harshest judgement that this would give. He knew, as much as it would suck, she too would come to see that Vyldimire was not all sunshine.

William was interested to hear that her world had a place which nullified magic, in fact the very concept of nullifying magic confused the Eldritch. “Nullifying as in, removed?... what about people born with magic, or like… elementals or spirits whom need it to survive?” William would ask curiously… Though, he could certainly see the appeal to such a power, what about his wings… or his own abilities. It was kind of a scary thought, he knew some humans were born without a drop of magic, but still… it was concerning to think about. He knew some people like to say magic had died out in Rivengate, but William had never believed it assuming the rumours were exaggerated, magic was so universal after all.

As they entered the establishment William would follow Nessa to look around, though he had some money he did not think he would be purchasing anything today, though it was always nice to browse. When Nessa asked him about the materials he used, his eyebrow would raise.

“You know, I never thought about what other differences there might be between our worlds… Luckily, that is not one of them. Most common arms and armor would be created from Iron or Steel I guess. I am sure some of the races have special materials, but to be honest I wouldn’t know for certain. And, of course there are monsters. I know many people like to make equipment from them.” William would say while holding an interesting looking blade. It would start smaller hear the handle, then curve forwards and get larger at the end. Before he said anything else, he would hear a voice behind them.

“Arms and Armor you say! Well you have come to the right place!” The voice who spoke was certainly a man, and unpon inspection he seemed to be a well built man with a pretty heavy beard, and a bright face. He spoke pretty happily, though William could see he had a weapon at his side as well as a belt which held various tools. “Welcome to Armstrongs Strong Arms! I am Arnald Armstrong, and we have a fabulous selection of Armor and Armaments for any occasion.” As he spoke, William could tell that the words were well practiced. “Is there anything in particular you were looking for?”

William would listen to the white-haired woman with vested interest. Just… Canceled it? The idea of magic just ending was strange to William, but it was certainly not the strangest thing he had ran into, honestly the woman herself probably took that title, but he was certainly not going to say that. With a smile he would nod “I see, it is interesting. I don’t know if there is anything like that here, but it would be good to know.”

As they explored the shot, William saw nothing that really drew his interest. He was never really one to look at arms or armor, but it was interesting to see the differences within the shop. He never really spent much time in the humans’ lands, at least not in any of the major cities, and certainly not long enough to shop. So, it was interesting to be looking around. As the man came towards them and introduced himself and the shop, William would raise his eyebrow, but say nothing. Letting Nessa do the talking.

As she spoke about what she needed, William would look around, he knew elven material was supposed to be good, but had no idea if the shop would carry any of it. “So, I guess it would be poor taste to say you need some elven arms and armor?” William would ask with a smile, hoping she would not be too annoyed.

William would laugh as she responded. “Don’t worry, they are cute here too, just giving you a hard time. In these lands, they will be an asset to you.” He would say with a laugh, not adding that in Sinhaven the opposite will be the case. “Honestly… I don’t know. I do not have much interaction with the Gaiyans. Most of them would think of my… existence… as an affront to nature. I have met few elves they prefer to keep to themselves, and are pretty cold to both humans and Eldritch alike.” William would say, as they browsed answering her questions.

William would eye the dagger she found interested. It was a beautiful blade, as they went to practice with the blade, he would watch her throw it with deadly accuracy, hitting the target with a thump, he would see it vibrate slightly with the force, then watch eyes wide as it sailed back through the air, strait into the woman's hand. “Damn. That is a pretty useful knife…” He would say with a laugh. As they started to leave, he would laugh once more as she specified whatever she got, to make sure it was not elven. “Probably a good idea, elven armor while light would draw a lot of attention where we are going.” William would add.

As they left the shop, William would look around, and speak up. “We should grab some supplies, it will be a long journey, and of course we will want to get some heavy travel cloaks, just in case.” He would say, taking them to various places to stock up on food, and water, and supplies for the trip. Mostly he would grab quick things like jerky, and spices. “We can hunt for fresh meals, so don’t worry about that.” He would say, he knew quite a few monster hideouts between here and Sinhaven, so he was not too worried.

When they were ready, he would look towards Nessa and smile. “Anything else you wish to do before we take off? I suggest we get a bit from the city before we spare, I don’t want anyone to think I am some crazed Demon attacking an El…Human after all.” He would say, quickly fixing what he was about to say.