What The Hell?

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It was your average day in the Thusends. Which was to say, there was an awful lot of boring work. Today, this involved a thirty mile march down the only decent road in the entirety of the Silver Isle, to be followed with an hour or two of cutting down trees, digging a ditch and finally pitching a tent. Ah, the glorious life of a soldier.

Her fiftig marched five abreast on the left hand verge of the road, eyes occasionally wandering to the forest on either side, but they weren't paying any particular attention to their surroundings. This was a peaceful area and, in any case, there were scouts and half the army in front of them. If any trouble hit, it would be at the front or rear of the army, not at it's center.

"Who do you think is hotter, sir?"

That was Ulfric, a new recruit from the north of the mainland. As a boy - a nickname for soldiers who hadn't seem much combat yet - her had to call all of the old men - those soldiers who had a lot of combat - "sir", or risk beatings, humiliations and much unpleasant work. He'd been having an argument with Gong, one of Séanait's tienealdor's, over whether the redhead from the last town or the blond from the town before had been better looking. She didn't know how the argument had started, it had probably just arisen out of boredom, but she knew how to end it. She gave Ulfric a smirk and winked at Gong.

"The blond was the better kisser, but the redhead was better in bed."

Surprise washed over Ulfric's face and his stride faltered as he tried to take in what Séanait had said. Someone, probably the Black Man, gave Ulfric a shove and told him to keep up, while everyone who'd heard the discussion smirked or laughed at Ulfric, who even now seemed to be struggling with the concept.

Séanait turned to say something to Breasal, although afterwards she was never quite sure what she had been going to say, and suddenly found herself in a giant white room with a fountain in the center. Her feet faltered and stopped as she spent about a half a second looking like a fish out of water before her instincts and training took over. She spun around, looking for danger, while she brought her spear off her shoulder and let go of the forked stick on which her supplies hung. It skittered across the floor, coming to rest at the base of a statue.

"Taispeáin duit féin! Aghaidh a thabhairt dom!" She yelled, looking around for any sign of danger.

[Mysteria]

”Greetings my child, you need not fear” A calming female voice floated from the corner of the room; she was stunningly beautiful but odd at the same time. Mysteria was smiling politely at the young woman that stood near the fountain. Her long lavender hair fell down to the bottom of a richly embroidered gown. Her skin was pale like a dolls and wrapped up in black and purple silk. Only her shoulders and head were bare. She took a few steps forward her eyes twinkling in the dim light, a perfect melting pot of blue’s and purples.

" Fate has chosen a higher purpose for you... That is why you were brought here. I know you most likely are shocked and confused... However I will explain to you as much as I can. What you do from here on out though, is up to you... First of all, how rude of me of not introducing myself."

Mysteria curtsied and smiled. " Welcome to the World of Teair. And the capital neutral kingdom, which you are in, is called Nova. You may call me Mysteria, Advisor to the King of Nova, Noku Noru. You have been brought here to Nova by the will of the god of Destiny, Fate. Which classifies you here in this world as 'Fated'.... Just an FYI. I'm sure you'll hear civilians call you such a thing. " Mysteria gestured, popping her head to one side in almost a curious fashion as if waiting to hear some sort of response. She hoped that the transportation from where ever this poor girl had came from hadn't traumatized her for life and cause a mental break down of some sort. So she waited patiently with her hands clasped in front her.

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To say that Séanait was startled by the appearance of the strange woman would be an understatement. People did not have scales, or purple hair or even ears that pointed! They just simply did not. What creature was this, she wondered? One of the Seemly People? Or perhaps some creature form the mainland? She did not know and so did not make any aggressive moves towards it. But neither did she lower her spear.

The purple haired being spoke about fate having a higher purpose for Séanait and then introduced herself. So, this woman, this Mysteria, was the adviser of the king of this new land? Then it was well she had not attacked at the first sight of the woman. Nonetheless, the named "Fated" and the mention of some strange god having brought her here against her will did nothing to make Séanait back down. She was not at all happy about the current turn of events, and she wanted real information before she decided if she should attack or not.

"Why have I been brought here? How do I get back?"

[Mysteria]

" Fate has brought you here for some reason or another. For him to bring you to our world must mean he has a higher purpose for you. Be it to help rebuild our world from the inevitable chaos or be it's cause. I do not know, only Fate does." She spoke softly, while approaching the 'Fated' girl. Her steps so light that they barely made a sound on the marble floors. " I do not know how to send you back child, however, you are not the only one seeking that answer. There are other 'Fated' people in this world just like you." Mysteria listed her hand and pointed at a near by window. Her eyes locked onto the girl as she spoke once more.

" If you go to the second district there is a tavern there that offers 'Fated' a place to rest. Jobs and quests are posted through out the city to earn gold if you wish. Maybe out there you will find your answers." Mysteria turns her head, lowering her hand down back to the front of her dress.

(( ooc: Sorry for the short post, been sick for the past couple of days. x-x ))

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Mysteria advanced towards Séanait, speaking softly. Séanait still unsure about the purple haired woman, began to circle away from her, head constantly checking her surroundings for other people and dead ends. She felt the need to attack, to force this woman to send her back to her own world - if, indeed, she was even out of her own world - but something warned her that it wouldn't be a good idea. The heroes in all the Cycles of the Silver Isle and the sagas of the coast always met with misfortune if they attacked in this sort of situation. And if it was indeed the fault of Fate...

Séanait realised that she needed to clear her head and think logically. What would Breasal do in this situation? She paused and thought about it. He'd accept that things were the way they were and instead focus on surviving. If this "Fate" had some plans for her, then someone would want to undo those plans. The easiest way to do so would be to kill her. So, then, was the best option to band together with the other "Fated" individuals and seek safety in numbers, or to distance herself so as to not present a threat? Probably the latter but, as pragmatic as Séanait could be, she also had a sense of honour. She wasn't going to run from a fight before she knew if she could win it.

Now that she had decided to stay, Séanait needed to focus on other things, like the fact that Mysteria had said "earn gold" instead of "earn silver". Was gold so cheap in this place that it was the main form of currency? If so, then was silver rarer and thus worth more, or was it worth even less? With only three gold pound coins, Séanait needed to know the answer to this question rather desperately.

"You use gold as money, then? What will an ounce of gold buy me, and what is a mercenary paid in these parts?"

[Mysteria]

Mysteria watched as the girl avoided her; so Mysteria stopped her gaze however was never taken off of the girl. She was quiet as the girl seemed to be at odds with herself. But at last she responded, Mysteria was quiet for a few moments before responding in the same soft calming voice. ” Gold coins are relatively common, but silver and copper are used most frequently by 'ordinary people'. A platinum piece is extremely rare; lucky families might have one or two and store it extremely carefully. Coinage can be swapped between at the Vaults in each main city.” Mysteria paused letting the information sink in.

“I suppose however that is not quiet what you meant, to explain it easier in terms of values one would be able to buy a home in the third, poorer, district for around five hundred gold coins. Room and board at the local tavern would likely cost you around fifteen gold pieces a day.” Perhaps that would be easier to understand.

“Mercenaries by their nature are usually a job to job bases, the pay would depend on the job. It varies depending who you are willing to work for.” Mysteria fell silent, her hands still resting softly in front of her.

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Séanait goggled in disbelief. How much for a night in a tavern? She lowered her spear as she struggled briefly to process the information, and then she threw it down in disgust.

"Mororigan's bloody hands, this is a fucking nightmare. "

She faced Mysteria, face hard and angry.

"What's the name of this bloody tavern you were talking about? If I'm stuck is this overpriced piss-shit of a hole, I might as well meet some others who are in the same damn boat."

[Mysteria]

" It's only a nightmare if you make it that way..."

Mysteria warned, her eyes flashing a brilliant luminescent violet hue. It only lasted for a second. She looked down at Seanait's feet and gave a soft gentle smile. " The Bloody Mary is the name of the Tavern. The second district's finest and best kept inn. The owner is Fated just like yourself, so she offers those who are brought here a place to stay for free for just one night. However, if you wish to tip the hostess.... Then she might do a little more for you." Mysteria sighed, waving her hand. A small hint of black shinny manna dust floating around her finger tips.

At Seanait's feet a brown bag would appear. Inside a small partial of coins - a 100 in counting- a black wool blanket and a small vial of strange blue liquid -lunar drops-. " Our paths will cross again, Seanait." Mysteria nodded while getting up to walk gracefully across the room and to the door. " I hope you find your way back home." She spoke softly, opening the door of the room and walking out, the door automatically closing behind her as she disappeared out into the hall.

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Séanait kept her composure as best she could when Mysteria's eyes glowed, but her hand nonetheless went to the hilt of her langseax and she mentally cursed herself for having thrown her spear away. It wasn't just the brief clash of violet that made her wary, it was the fact that Mysteria had looked down at Séanait's feet before putting one that soft, gentle smile. Obviously Séanait had pushed too hard and the mysterious women was having issues with her temper. Perhaps it was time to be more...

"Fuck!"

Séanait dived out of the way, rolling towards her spear and coming up with it as Mysteria raised her hand and some sort of black magic worked between her fingertips. Séanait rolled smoothly to her feet, spear held before her as...nothing happened. Séanait was confused and said and did nothing as Mysteria left. It wasn't until afterwards that she moved and accidentally kicked the small bag at her feet. She backed away instantly.

Slowly, carefully, Séanait slit the bag open with the tip of her spear and she scattered the contents. There was a small vial of some kind of liquid, a blanket and a small package that sounded an awful lot like coinage. She finally approached the scattered objects and inspected them close up. The vial she would take, but not use until it's contents could be verified by more than one apocathery, along with the blanket, which was of fine weave. The money, of course, was taken, but Séanait stared at it for a long, long time. Back home, this much good would let her buy enough land, equipment, slaves and animals to buy enough land that she could enter the ranks of the nobility. Here, in this world, it wasn't even enough to buy a small house in poorest district.

For a long moment, Séanait crouched, stroking the package of coin. Then, finally reaching a decision, she scooped everything up and found room for it her pack. Then, shouldering everything, she marched out of the temple and into the new world.