The Tapered Rose (Closed)

Kaseki sat at the bar empty handed. It was truly a long day. Kaseki sat there with his cup of tea, something the very bartender despised in him. "Why do you come here and drink tea every goddamn time?" he would ask the mage. Kaseki would humbly reply, "Because, Kyon, You make the best tea in Fiore." Kyon, the bartender would smile and laugh. "If I end up selling tea rather than alcohol, I'm coming for you, Kaseki." "Aye Kyon, but that won't matter if you sell the tea more than the beer."

Kyon laughed as he wiped down the bar. He always seemed to enjoy the company of Kaseki, the most out of place person in Neutral Grounds. Kyon always hated the corrupt Rune Knights that would come there and drink up his supply and leave without paying, and the ones that did pay always broke something or didn't pay enough. Kaseki was his only true paying customer.

"What brings you here, on this rainy night?" Kyon asked Kaseki. Kaseki looked out the cracked window. He smiled as he looked back to the old man's face. He enjoyed the company of Kyon, one of the few people out of Dragon Fang that didn't want to kill him. "Well I newly joined a dark guild, that's a reason to be here. I also love this damn tea... and Dragon Fang brings me here..." his sentence was cut short by a large crack of lightning outside. The two looked at the sound.

When the lightning crashed, a previously unnoticed figure jumped up from his seat at a slightly crooked table in the corner. As he jumped back, the figure's hood fell back, revealing Alexei's face. He sighed. He had come to the Neutral Grounds for a change of pace, but if anything, the city was even more boring than the rest of Fiore. A lack of magic was absolutely dreadful; it sapped out all of the entertainment from the place, to put it one way.

Still, Alexei had figured that he could use this time to improve his sneaking skills. As a wizard who wanted to specialize in infiltration, stealth was crucial. But, as it turned out, he hadn't even been able to enjoy his travel snack at a bar without being noticed. That was just cruel. Taking his seat again, Alexei stood very still, hoping that the bartender or the one other customer hadn't noticed him.

Kaseki looked back at the old man, "Aye, Kyon has the shipment arrived? I need a little extra money for myself." The bartender smiled, "It's in The Room, Kaseki, you know how to get in." he laughed, "More money for Dragon Fang, I see. Ha!" Kaseki smiled as he got of the bar stool and headed towards the hallway to the left. He disappeared into the shadows. Kyon's smiled faded at he looked at the gentleman in the corner, "You've been here a mighty long time, you best be paying. I'd hate to have to get my boys to get cha'." Said Kyon as he took a rag to a cup.

Alexei watched Kaseki leave intently, staring at him even for a few seconds after he left the room. He jumped again slightly when the bartender addressed him, albeit not nearly as much as the lightning had made him. Turning to the bartender, he mentally cursed his own failing before speaking. "I haven't purchased anything," Alexei said, munching on his snack as he spoke. "What would I need to pay you for?"

The old man laughed. He lifted his arm to point directly where he sat. "It appears you have broken my furniture. Now I don't imagine that to be of much of a hurt to your wallet, mage, now would it?" The old man looked at him, "Now, what will it be?"

Alexei's eyes narrowed, suspicious. "This table was broken when I got here," he said defensively. "You can't expect to blame me for it. This whole neighborhood is run-down, besides; I wouldn't be surprised if one of the Rune Knights patrolling the area had broken it at some point. They don't seem very friendly, and they don't seem to care much about the state of this place either."

"Hmph," the old man scoffed, "As it were. However, next time you should say something before you sit at a broken table, for both the sake of me, and you." The man continued to wipe down his counter,

From what seemed like to be behind the wall there was a loud crashing followed by a scream.

"Aye, what's your name?" the bartender asked

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OOC: Sorry! I must have unfollowed the topic, weird...

"Aye, what's your name?" the bartender asked Alexei as a crash and a scream sounded from the room the other man had walked into. Alexei raised an eyebrow, pondering both events; he wasn't sure he wanted to give his real name out to a grouch like the bartender, and the sounds from the back room seemed much more interesting than whatever would happen out here. It would be better, he determined, if he played it safe for now and tried to get some info.
"My name is Saron," Alexei replied, using his mission code name rather than his real name. "What's your name? And for that matter, what's the name of the fellow who just went into the back?"

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OOC: It's all good, don't worry about it :)

The old man laughed. "My name is Kyonshi. Some refer to me as Kyonshi the Murderer." he smiled. It was as if he had a plan the entire time, as if he wanted the man to ask him questions. "The other guy? Why he's my valued customer, the most insane of all of the dark Mages, his name is Kaseki."

He placed he towel on the shelf behind him and folded his arms. "But I know that's not the answer you seek..." he said.

Kyonshi smiled, he motioned to the door in the hallway. "The door has been there, you know the hooded man is the reason you remain. Why not investigate. It's just a door, knock. Heh." He laughed. He picked up his rag again and started to wipe down the counters.

"Why not investigate. It's just a door, knock. Heh." The bartender returned to his work, leaving Alexei smirking. This would be easier than he thought. He had indeed been intending to check out the back room, but he hadn't expected the man to simply invite him to knock. Still, it was best to not look a gift horse in the mouth. "I'll take you up on that offer," he said as he got up from his seat and walked over to the "Thanks." 
Alexei made his way to the door and knocked loudly several times. "Hello. May I enter?" He called.

The door replied with a knock. "Housekeeping? Me take your pants?" said the voice from behind the door. "No no.. You no enter. You have password? No no.. no enter..."

The voice seemed aged like an old woman.

The door seemed to wiggle and a small rectangle appeared. It slid to the side. Kaseki's eyes appeared. "Hmm... You no housekeeping? Me no open door."

The door seemed to be cold hard steel, and the opening seemed to have a screen of protection.

Then he had a change of mind, "Hm, why do you wish to see me? What do you think is behind this door?"

Alexei frowned. If this had been anywhere but the Neutral Grounds, this door would have been less than nothing before him; all he would have had to do was put his hand on the door, and his Steelshift Magic would have caused the door to shrink away and almost rot off its hinges. Here, however, was a different story; he would have to rely on his wits to get through here. Not to mention, the person behind the door was grating on his nerves with his style of speech. Sighing, he steeled himself to tell the man behind the door what he thought.
"I am here for curiosity's sake," he said quietly. "I want to know what the sounds are, why you're talking down to me like that, and why of all places, you chose to do this activity here of all places. I have more questions, but those three will do for now."

"You have peeked my curiosity. Very well, you may enter... However, it's nothing of what you thought." Said Kaseki as he opened the steel door.


Inside was a single plant inside of a large glass tube. Kaseki laughed as he looked back at it. "Amasing, isn't she?" he shut the door behind them. "This is one of the only living things made of Ironbark next to me."

"AHHHHHHHAHHAHHAHAHHHHHH!!!" the plant screamed.

"She's so young... so angry. She's under the care of Dragon Fang now." Kaseki said, "If anyone knew of the true material she was made of, why, they'd kill her for it."

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The plant screeched.

"Lily, please stop screaming. We have a guest... who hopefully won't try to kill you..." Kaseki turned to the man, "Don't you dare touch Lily. If you so much as think about it Skullface will be here in a matter of seconds." he smiled, "But what brings you to the Tapered Rose?" he asked

Alexei's eyes widened at the sight of Lily, the enormous plant not at all what he was expecting. He listened quietly as Kaseki explained exactly what was happened before beginning to speak. "I came to the Tapered Rose for entertainment," he muttered, "But it seems that I got much more than I bargained for." He turned to Kaseki. "I have two more questions now. First, what is Ironbark exactly? Secondly, who is Skullface? Not to mention that you still haven't told me why you're doing it here in particular, or why you were talking down to me."
He was looking around at the rest of the room as he spoke, taking in the sights that weren't a giant plant monster. A few smaller plants, some devices of some kind, blueprints for the plant...It seemed to Alexei as if this man was living in a giant mad science laboratory.

"The Tapered Rose belongs to Kyonshi Onihara, a man of Dragon Fang. This lab? This is the Dragon Fang Habitat, for... Lily." Kaseki walked up to the glass, putting his hand against it. The plant seemed to smile and lick the glass where Kaseki's face was. "This whol establishment, belongs to me, one of the founders of Dragon Fang." He laughed, "As for your questions, Skullface is the local crimelord. He also works with us, not necessarily for us. He makes sure no one dies in our buildings and we give him the expensive drinks we make." Kaseki turned around, he leaned his back against the glass. The plant continued to attempt to lick him. "As for the speech behind that door... well that get's rid of your Rune Knights and other thugs, you know, the trouble makers. But I can see you are not that. Are you?" Kaseki got up and grabbed a black pouch off the desk nearby. There was an interesting pattern sewn on it.

"So stranger, surely you've came back here for something more than just a little entertainment. Have you heard of Dragon Fang?"

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OOC: Dude, blue is so hard to read. lol

OOC: Sorry dude XD I'll make it a bit lighter.
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Once again, Alexei listened intently to Kaseki's speech, watching as the plant licked the glass where the man's hand was. He chuckled at Kaseki's Rune Knight comment. "A troublemaker? Maybe. Rune Knight? No way in Hell. They're far too rigid and inflexible for my tastes."
Watching as Kaseki pulled up the strangely patterned pouch, his ace turned serious as he continued. "Honestly, I've never heard of Dragon Fang, even in my travels. I will tell you that I was also here to try and practice stealth, but I honestly wasn't here for any goal past amusement and practice."

Kaseki laughed, "Dragon Fang, hm... where do I begin?" Kaseki always loved talking about things that he fought for... and all he did was fight for Dragon Fang. "We are an organization of heroes and nonheroes. We fight for one thing, to unite Fiore under one banner. Now I know that it's impossible to get everyone to see the world the same. So we'll take in who we can, and those that try to face us, we'll take them down." he smiled, "We aren'r a guild. We aren't dark mages, we aren't legal mages. We're simply just... Dragon Fang."

Kaseki loved his family. The family was Dragon Fang. It was a collection of mages and non mages that simply just... worked together, not against each other. Everyone did their job and was happy.

Everyday they grew... everyday they gained power. They we're as strong as some of the guilds, but they already had more member than most guilds in Fiore.

Once more, Alexei listened as Kaseki explained Dragon Fang; unlike the other times, however, his face this time was determined and stony. When Kaseki finished, he was silent for a moment; after a few seconds, however, he scowled deeply. "Unite Fiore under one banner?" he muttered as his face darkened. "That's a foolish sentiment. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, you can't force anything onto people. There will be people who deny entrance into Dragon Fang, for certain; if they don't join, what will you do? Force them to join? Exclude them? That's one of the worst offenses you can commit. People deserve to be able to follow their own codes, regardless of their validity."

"Ah, but that is not the case. We've accepted everyone that has come to us, and those that see our cause as great, give us support. It's an odd ideal, I know. But when you have members from all guilds, uniting in one place, trying to find a world where they don't need to kill anymore... there's just something about it that wants me to keep going." He turned back to the flower, "I do not require you to join, nor do I consider you not to. There is no black and white. If you don't wish to work along side other mages for commonwealth, then that is your choice. This world is what we make of it. It's weather or not you choose now." Kaseki half looked back at the man, "What if I told you that it was a matter of time before Dragon Fang ruled over Fiore? Heh." He laughed. It was something short of a joke... but only Kaski knew the truth in it. "If you wish to leave, so be it. I am glad I got the time to talk to you. If you wish to stay, then let us work together to see what my team has to offer you."

Alexei kept his scowl through the entirety of Kaseki's speech. "Your speech belies your ignorance," he growled. "This 'Dragon Fang' is no different than any other guild: Stifling, forcing one to put others in front of themselves and remove their sense of self-preservation. There's nothing entertaining or fun about working with people who have gone so long without being alone that they forget how to protect themselves. This world is every man for themselves; like you said, there is no black and white. 'Join Dragon Fang and work for a world where you don't have to kill'? What if I want to kill something? You claim to be working towards a world of 'peace', but even I know that such a thing is impossible. You can no more erase violence than erase the negative feelings from people. You know why the Dark Guilds are Dark Guilds, right? Because they decide to ignore the rules of society and forge their own path. Half, if not more, of their guilds kill for things other than necessity: Pleasure, strengthening oneself, and other reasons. If Dragon Fang will rule Fiore soon, I'll deal with that when it comes to it." 
Alexei made his way to the door before looking back at Kaseki. "For the record," he muttered, "You still never explained to me what Ironbark is."

"Then it seems you do not understand what Dragon Fang is." Kaseki began, "Somethings must be torn down in order to truly progress. I do no expect all of Dragon Fang to do the exact same thing, our end goal is the same. We want to end meaningless fighting, if it means war, then we go to war. You see, the differences of my people is what makes use strong. I tell them not what to do, they do as they wish. The ones that wish to kill, kill. The ones that wish to heal, heal. Dragon Fang forces no actions, we only ask that we unite for the greater cause. Surely we do not all agree, but we can learn to understand."

Kaseki turned to look at his blueprint... or rather the anatomy of his plant, Lily. "Ironbark is a sacred material. And from the looks of it, you want to know. However, that is something I shall not share... it is a secret only Dragon Fang will ever come to know."

He began to laugh. His facial expression revealed anger, as if it were a tortured soul... and it was. "To work for someone forces you to do what they, your employer, wants. To work with forces you to complete an action with the other's idea... However, that is not this group... We all work for what we desire individually. We get our help if we need it. The killers kill, the healers heal, the builders build... it's our life. It's what we do... Heh..."

Kodai began to laugh, "It's always those on the outside that never agree. You must be a guildless, wandering town to town searching for a scrap of a job. You make me sick. You could be obtaining things through a mutual gain, but you reside in yourself. Pity." Kodai scoffed, "People like you lead our world into corruption. It's the few that can change the world. And when those few rise to power... you may look back on this day and regret it. Sure this idea isn't perfect, but nor are you. No one is perfect, however blindlessly striving for such a thing, well that makes you more imperfect.

You are nothing more than a parasite to my plans. People like you should be eradicated, simply removed. People like you cause wars beyond reason. People like you destroy the places we call home." Kodai was growing irritated with the man, he hated Kaseki, but Kodai hated this man even more.

For how can you criticize something you do not know?