A Beast Amongst the Roses

Job Details:

Within a great chasm created by the very stars themselves, a lone wanderer made a very dangerous trek. For the tall, grey haired young man, it was no more difficult than any other endeavor, in spite of his visible irritation.  He was accustomed to such perilous journeys, having traveled the lands of Fiore his whole life. His charcoal colored coat blowing in the wind, the wizard made his way down the enormous ravine, displaying the careful descent known to mountain dwelling folk. With a downward slide, the wanderer finally met the bottom, turning his blue and gold eyes to the structures in the distance.

"Did they have to make it such a pain in the ass to get to?" He muttered to himself in a low, raspy voice. "Who the hell's gonna dumb enough to attack a place full of people that can shoot fire out of their hands?" A chuckle rang out, though only the young man could hear it.

'What's the matter, boy...' The voice echoed in his mind, bringing a frown to his face. '...Was the journey simply too much for your frail bones?' With a roll of his eyes, the 'boy' continued on his journey, now approaching the super structure at the center of the chasm. 'Not now, old man,' he replied mentally. 'I'm too tired to help you pretend you're funny...'

Eventually, his somewhat weary feet took him to what he understood to be the 'Grand Hall' he was was told about, a bit amazed at the scale of it in spite of himself. "Uh...Hello?" He called out as he walked down the enormous hall, a mixture of distaste and awe painted on his features as he took in the flowers and flower-like crystals. "This is a guild, right? A wizard's guild? Or maybe the worlds most colorful mausoleum..."

---

Total Word Count: 305

Wearing her casual outfit of gray long-sleeved shirt, long white pleated skirt, and brown boots, Lucia was thinking about making a trip to Capital Crocus in order to look for a carrying case for her new Yahmuhhuh keyboard that she had gotten a few weeks ago. It was a concert-grade musical instrument that cost 100,000 Jewels and she wanted to protect that investment just in case she had to take the keyboard on the road for whatever reason. It did not come with a carrying case, so she would just have to find one of her own. She would have plenty of time to find what she was after because she was not going to take her expensive keyboard anywhere outside Luminous Rose Guild Hall unless it was necessary to do so.

With that goal in mind Lucia started to walk towards the exit to the guild hall. She was almost there when she felt a magic signature somewhere in the area. Curious as to who it belonged to, she took it upon herself to find the source. Lucia walked some more and soon found the source in the form of a tall gray-haired fellow with different colored eyes... one eye was an alluring blue and the other was a striking gold. The blonde had never seen that physical feature before and she had to do her best not to stare.

She walked up to him, stopped roughly a meter away, and spoke to him.

"Hi there. I'm Lucia Winchester." Lucia calmly introduced herself to the young man.

[Post Word Count: 258]
[Lucia's Word Count: 258]

Nita had taken to spending more time prowling the guild grounds, as she intended to get more familiar with the place, being comfortable enough to call it home. On days when there weren't missions to be had, nor wars to be fought, she was used to spending some considerable time exploring the labyrinth of caves that extended around the Stronghold of Roses, wondering what lay at the very bottom of the gigantic chasm. But today, she had decided not to venture too far, and to haunt the guild's main hall, hiding out of view atop one of the massive statues, as she read through a book and helped herself to a bowl of fruit which she had taken with her to her present hiding spot. Dressed in her usual home wear, which consisted of what would have been a cardigan except it was missing the midriff section, a pair of shorts and slippers, the blonde mage made herself comfortable, planning to spend hours in that spot, if uninterrupted.

She was not sure how long she had been there, when she was distracted from her reading by a voice calling loudly. The part about the colorful mausoleum made her unsure whether to laugh or take offense. Being the person she was, she quickly chose the former, and leaned out to see who was responsible for such a hilarious description. The fellow was rather tall (or maybe it was that she was rather short), clad in dark colors and with an expression that almost looked like wonder, mixed with what looked like the look one had after sipping vinegar. She also noted that her fellow guild mate was approaching him, greeting him warmly and politely. Nita, however, was in the mood for a more dramatic greeting.

She repositioned herself so that she was now perched atop the head of the statue she had been hiding on, and lobbed an apple at the tall newcomer. It was thrown with enough precision to hit him on the head, but not so quickly that he wouldn't be able to dodge it if he noticed it, and not strong enough to cause him harm of any kind. That is, unless he was allergic to apples. In which case, the problem was his, not hers, apologies to all apple allergic individuals. Noting his eye color, Nita couldn't help but feel a bit of solidarity with the newcomer.

"Oooh, a fellow creature smitten by the dazzling phenomenon of heterochromia," she intoned from her high perch on the statue. "Welcome. What brings you to the World's Most Colorful Mausoleum? If you want a burial plot, our prices are fair, but you must know, taller members of society are charged more for the extra inches. Sorry, it's the policy. And howdy, Lucia. How are you doing today? Want an apple?" The Pergrandian grinned and waited for their replies.


WC: 478

Finally, after wandering a bit, he heard the approach of another human, dispelling the theory that this place may have been abandoned. She...wasn't what he expected, seemingly far too normal for the occupation, as he knew of it. Still, perhaps she could at least point him in the right direction.

"Uh, hi...You know where I can find...you know, wherever it is I'm supposed to go to-ACK!" The young wizard was cut off as an apple collided with his head, before bouncing off and smashing against the ground. After a few clumsy back steps, he managed to regain his balance and avoid falling onto his back.

'Careful, boy,' he heard the voice in his head from earlier say as he shook his head, looking around for the source of the projectile. 'Seems they've managed to conjure your greatest nemesis: fruit.'

Upon hearing the words of the culprit, the apple victim's eyes narrowed to a glare in her direction. "Hey, what the hell's your deal, lady?!" He shouted, not bothering to snap at the telepathic jabs of his mentor. "And have you been sitting up there this whole time? I've been wandering around this place for...well...a really long time, damnit!" He then turned his newly found glare at Lucia, forgetting her earlier politeness. "Look, is this a magic guild or not?"

---

Post Word Count: 220 words

Total Thread Word Count: 1260 words

Lucia listened to the gray-haired fellow talk to her... until an apple hit him in the head and cut off the conversation. Lucia recoiled as he staggered back from the impact of the unexpected projectile. Who had lobbed the fruit at him and why had they lobbed it at him?

Lucia did not have to do an intensive search to find the fruit-throwing assailant because the assailant soon revealed themselves in the person of Nita Fortune, AKA Ms. Fortune. The other blonde greeted the newcomer with some mildly amusing dialogue regarding the guild hall before greeting Lucia with the offer of an apple. Lucia was not sure whether to take Nita up on that offer because there was no guarantee that the apple would be delivered in a way she would like.

For example, Nita could just hurl it at her face like she had hurled the apple at the new guy's head and it would technically count as Nita giving her an apple.

Wanting to avoid a fruit to the face, Lucia looked up at Nita and gave the latter her answer.

" I'm all right, Nita. I think I'll pass on the apple this time. Thanks for the offer, though." Lucia answered politely. She then turned her attention to the gray-haired fellow, who was clearly not in a good mood after what had just happened to him. He had asked her a question in a blunt fashion, but she did not hold it against him. She probably would not be so chipper if someone had just hit her in the head with a fruit.

"This is a magic guild. This is the guild hall of Luminous Rose." Lucia calmly replied to his question.

"If you're looking to join or find out more about the guild, you'll want to talk to a Guild Ace. I'm just an ordinary member." Lucia quickly added to her previous statement so that he would direct those questions at a Guild Ace. Maybe one would put in an appearance soon.

[Post Word Count: 336]
[Lucia's Word Count: 594]

Unlike the rather tall fellow whom Nita had assaulted with an apple, Lucia would have been treated much more gently if she had accepted the offer of a fruit; Nita tended to be more infuriating to those who seemed gruff or appeared to lack a sense of humor. The Pergrandian realized to a mixture of amusement and consternation, that Lucia had probably rejected her offer out of fear of being pelted with flying apples. Ah well, the fruits wouldn't go to waste.

As the dark clad boy began to yell, Nita's grin simply widened, but she said nothing at the moment. "Oooh, this one is salty," Maria chuckled in the back of her head. Nita for her part, was quite unaware that she shared more in common with the irate young man than just differently colored eyes. As Lucia answered his questions, in her usual polite and courteous manner, Nita allowed herself to slink off the statue she had been reclining on, although this action caused her to fall headfirst towards the ground. With a simple, yet graceful flip, the young woman rectified her position and landed effortlessly on her two feet. She approached the two mages with a leisurely elegance, and stopped just out of reach of the glaring fellow, smiling up at him. "Wow, you're much taller up close. And that glare is so intense. You'll make a girl bothered if you keep staring at her like that. And yes, I've been sitting up there for a long time, thinking about how little jollity exists in this world. I'm Nita." She held out a hand. "Don't worry, I don't bite."

Her smile remained, although there was a great deal of curiosity in her gaze. "So, what brings you to Luminous Rose?"


WC: 293
PWC: 771

"Uh, yeah, I'm trying to...join." He said somewhat hesitantly, as though he were rethinking the decision. "I'm Dmitry by the way." After a pause, he pointed to the woman who threw the apple as she approached. "She's not an 'ace', right?" Dmitry asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Not getting cold feet, are we, boy?' The voice in his head taunted once more. 'I do hope the apple wasn't too frightening.'

'Just making sure I don't have to take any orders from a lunatic.' Dmitry chided back mentally. 'I've got one of those in my ear already.' He then pinched the bridge of his nose, mustering up his patience and doing his best to level his temper. "Look, the way I hear, these guilds are the best places to get better at magic. Way things stand, I've hit a rut. So if you'll have a new member, I'll talk to one of these aces."

Lucia did what she always did and let the new person talk without interruption. After awhile the gray-haired fellow eventually stated his wish to speak with a Guild Ace. Lucia could help him by telling him the names of the Guild Aces she knew and the name of the Guild Mistress.

"You'll want to talk to Lyra, any of the three Faulkner sisters, or the Guild Mistress Desiree. They're the ones who can make your joining Luminous Rose official." Lucia informed the gray-haired fellow of who he wanted to talk to if he was interested in joining Luminous Rose. Lucia took a look at the person who had lobbed the apple at the new guy and then looked back at him.

"I don't think the young woman who threw the apple is an Ace, but don't quote me on that just yet. I don't know the entire Ace roster. I only know about the people whose names I just told you." Lucia said to the gray-haired fellow about the blonde who had thrown the apple at him. The blonde was not sure if the apple-throwing newcomer was an Ace or not, so that was why her statement had been so uncertain. Therefore Lucia had opted to err on the side of caution even if doing so made her look a bit dumb.

[Post Word Count: 222]
[Lucia's Word Count: 816]

It was interesting to note that for all his gruff, the newcomer was interested in joining Luminous Rose. He was going to have to ease up a bit more, Nita thought, as she noted with mild displeasure that he did not take her proffered hand. Well, it was probably her fault anyway. Throwing apples at strangers wasn't the most exciting form of welcome. Maybe she would try throwing watermelons next time. After all, many people often said bigger was better, right? But seriously, throwing apples was legendary. Wasn't it one of those ancient stories that described how a war was caused because a naughty goddess threw an apple into a party? Whichever the case, this fellow seemed rather averse to such humor. "How will I outlive this public humiliation?" the blonde mage said, withdrawing her hand and cupping it along with her other hand, to cover her face in a dramatic show of embarrassment.

The fellow, who revealed his name to be Dmitry, asked if Nita was an ace. From the way he sounded, he seemed hopeful that she wasn't. Lucky him. Then again, here was a very opportune chance to play another prank. As matters stood, Lucia wasn't sure whether the blonde Pergrandian was an ace or not, and even though Nita wasn't, she was sure she could fight on par with an average guild ace, if not even outrank them completely. It was such serendipitous happenstance that the titles for the higher ups of guilds were taken after the name of a card. Trying to make her voice as deep as she could (which wasn't very successful), Nita gave a slow, comical rendition of an 'evil villain' laugh, as she threw back her head histrionically to add more 'depth' to the laugh.

"Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" A black card formed in her hand, which she flipped around to reveal an ace of spades on the other side. "Looking for an ace? Well, you found one. But first, before you sell your soul and get into the system of indentured servitude that is called the guild system, I have to ask, why Luminous Rose? There are quite a lot of other guilds out there, and even though we of this guild are all for being the strongest around for sure, why was it this guild, out of all the guilds in Fiore, that you would come to? Wait! Have I said, 'welcome new member'? Welcome, new member!"


WC: 405
PWC: 1176