Could be a number of things to make that happen...
>Second one; >Fur (Possible Beastkin.)
>If that was true, then it was probably a good idea to use this one to find her real target. >Snapping her notebook shut, the General is satisfied with information she had. It really wasn't much to go on, hearsay and vague descriptions, but she'll have to work with it, each passing day her sister was at risk.
I thank that's all we'll be able to do here. I'll get to work finding your son immediately your Highness.
>Now there is only one matter left to discuss.
Should I find your son but he is unwilling to have me escort him to you...
>"Can I beat him into submission?" Was more or less what she was getting to. She had a reputation for not being 'gentle' with people that didn't surrender quietly, and while she did indeed need to being this boy back alive and in one piece... she needed to know how far 'acceptable use of force' goes.
>>41296085 Why, General Neige, that's exactly the reason I called upon you, specifically! Should you happen to be able to confirm his identity, truly, and it is my Raziel, then...
>Turning away from her guest, she began to pace back up the stairwell, raising a single hand and creating a small orb of purple energy within it. The glow spread through the darkened interior, painting the light of the candles dark and generally making the appearance of the area almost gothically inspired.
... return him to me, alive, by any means necessary.
>Snapping her hand shut, the orb faded into nothing and the light of the room returned to normal, putting a rather large amount of emphasis on how far she was willing to allow Victoria to go in order to retrieve someone she had long-since mourned for.
>>41296137 >The magic the princess used gave the large room an ominous atmosphere adding to the weight of her words and the hidden lengths she'd go to get her son back. >"By any means necessary." >She felt a bit of kinship with the princess in that moment. Here before her was someone else who would do whatever it would take to return a member of their family safely to them.
Very well, you're Highness. I'll have your son returned to you as quickly as possible.
>That was good enough for her. If he knew what was good for him he'll surrender on the spot, if not... Broken limbs or encased in ice, he'll come with her regardless. >With that thought in mind, the Snow Beast was on hunt once more, and she turns back to the door and makes her way out into the world once more.
>>41296611 >It had been hours since they picked up those sandwiches. Two more bottles of Rift later and Logan was already starting to feel thirsty again, curse those carbonated drinks and their addictiveness! At least conversation hadn't been too bad, having narrowly dodged several ones he didn't want to get into and enjoying what he could get to pass the time. The weird part was that not a single group of miners had arrived yet, which either meant they were unlucky today or there was something about this situation that was keeping them from leaving, too.
Uugh... at this rate we might as well just try tomorrow or something.
>Logan wasn't impatient, but he was easily bored. Not even a sense of responsibility to keep the nature of impulse away for long, and at this point he just wanted a hot meal and something fruity but alcoholic, the little bit of extra sweetness ought to help balance out the bitter feelings he had for the city and a certain number among its residents.
>Standing up, he began to strap the harness back on, the orange glow of the evening sun catching the crystal blade quite nicely whilst also indicating that it'd get dark soon. Whilst it wasn't necessarily as bad as Kingsmeet, Logan didn't want to be out by the Empyrean docks at night-time.
Maybe people who work at the mines just don't live here anymore. For all I know they've got a fancy new complex down that way or something.
They don't. It's all just hammocks and caves.
Right, right, that's what it always used to b-WHUH!?
>Sat down at the table with them was a young kid in a small jacket and shorts, seemingly having just appeared out of no-where, though a careful recollection would tell anyone who thought about it that he'd simply walked over and took a seat on a nearby chair. There was even a cup of milky coffee resting on the table, half-empty and still gently steaming.
Heard you were looking for someone from the mines, I think.
>Adjusting the goggles on his head slightly, the boy reached over and took a sip of his drink, looking at each of the other members of the table in turn without even seeming nervous about approaching random, weird-looking strangers and talking to them. The boy's gaze rested on Elias in particular afterwards, before asking the obvious when it came to the half-elf.
>At least two other sandwiches and a cup of coffee later, Elias was feeling considerably less stressed than when he'd started the day. He also felt very full, which probably was contributing to his good mood.
>Either way, he had waited this long, so waiting a little longer wouldn't kill him. Of course, as he moves to get up, suddenly a presence makes itself known...And that presence was a kid with a pair of goggles on.
>Aforementioned kid didn't seem to have any sense of shame either, as he promptly jabbed at the big purple anomaly. Elias sits back down again and shrugs his shoulder.
I'm half elf. But what's more important is the someone from the mines. And that's you, I suppose?
>He seemed very young. Should he really be working? Or at least if he was, he shouldn't be working in somewhere as dangerous as a mine.
Leopon-dji 22 Mar 2016 3:16:01 PM No.41297712>>41297949>>41297976>>41298004
>>41297557 >It had been a while since she just... talked, like that. It was difficult at first go keep up with the conversation, but soon enough, she was chatting comfortably with the two while they waited. There wasn't much else to do, after all, so why spend the time in total silence when it could be spent in good-natured discussion?
>She wasn't as eager to leave as Logan, especially given the sneaky arrival of a dirty little boy. The way he seemed to just appear mid-conversation reminded her of her family. It was comforting.
>>41297561 >She raised her fourth bottle of Rift (she paid for the last few) to her lips and raised an eyebrow. He must've been listening for a while to glean that bit of info. The blunt questioning directed at Elias made her snort in amusement.
>>41297689 >She nodded to the halfie, and leaned forward a little.
Have you heard of anyone that goes by the names of Newt, Febiven, or Jeanette?
>Something sparkled in her emerald eyes. She looked hopeful.
>>41297561 >Well this kid was either sneaky or he was so used to not being noticed that it become some kind of weird natural ability. Or maybe they just hadn't been paying any attention at all, the kid looked a little dirty but it wasn't as if he expected someone like this to be a mine worker.
>>41297689 >>41297712 >The other two quickly got into the meat of the issue, but whether he knew anything or not was still debatable - mines were big places, and it wasn't as if everyone got to know everyone else there, especially prisoners.
>Slowly sitting back down, Logan managed to shake off the shock of having someone appear next to him little by little.
On top of all that, do you know why they're keeping people out of the mine? We've been hanging around for weeks but they still haven't let up.
>>41297689 Huh. That's actually pretty cool. I thought you might have some kinda disease or something but apparently being half elf gives you crazy eyes. So you've seen elves then? I hear they're really rare. Oh, but yeah, that'd be me... the lady at the counter told me when I picked up my drink.
>He certainly looked the part, his clothes were dirtied up and he carried what seemed to be a teeny tiny drill with him, but that could hardly be an actual mining implement.
>>41297712 >And then the one that was wrapped up in a bunch of cloth threw some names at him. As weird as that was, none of the names really stuck out to him, which probably meant he was wrong for the job.
No... I don't think there's anyone in shaft C by that name, and I've never heard anything at lunch. Are they famous?
>>41297949 >Jeez, these people had so many questions! He was already starting to regret coming over out of curiosity, were they even from around here? Slumping into his chair, the boy had a little bit more of his coffee before continuing.
That's apparently a secret or something. Word's going around the mine that they found something big in shaft F and Prince Kingsguard shut down the entire shaft. Everyone else is still working but they won't let people go anywhere near it.
>He had half a mind to bring up that his dad had crazy eyes too, but he wasn't in the mood to speak about him. Fortunately, he had another part of the conversation to latch onto.
No, I've never actually seen an elf, aside from the one I'm related to. My...family from that side don't keep in contact. Elves who leave the Wilds are exiles, or people that willingly left. Either way, not exactly close.
>They also had their answer as to why the mine was shut. And the same name that the shop owner'd used with Logan. Maybe his dad owned the mines. Anyway, they had a mission, so they should do it. He would ask if there was any other way to get in, but that'd raise warning bells almost immediately. And if this kid was the loyal sort, that could get them arrested...Better to play it safe through another line of questions.
Any way for you to find them? I mean, those people that she mentioned?
Leopon-dji 22 Mar 2016 8:29:25 PM No.41298032>>41298055
>>41297949 >>41297976 Ah. >Leo slumped back into her chair. Of course, the mines had to be bigger than she thought, so this kid couldn't tell her where her family was. She looked away from the table, out towards the dying sun so he couldn't see the worry in her gaze.
>>41298004 >Of course there was a way for him to find them. He could ask around and become the first person the guards talk to after rescuing her family, putting an innocent kid in harm's way. Her brow twitched at the thought. Either way, the kid was involved with them now.
Are the prisoners kept separately from the general miners?
>>41298004 That's a shame... about the elves, anyway. I hear they're nice people when they want to be.
>Anyone was a nice person when they wanted to be, technically speaking, so that didn't make them any different from anyone else.
But, maybe. I mean, if I was gonna look for them when I'd have to know more about them and I'd only be able to do it on breaks. Hopefully not all the way in shaft G or A... why're you looking for them?
>>41298032 Wait, they're prisoners?
>That changed the whole dynamic of the conversation. What did these guys want with prisoners, of all people?
They're usually kept away from other miners, yeah. Prisoners don't get to share the same bedding and food the volunteers get, and they don't get to talk to anyone either.
Uh.. yeah, that's right. Most of them work in Shaft E but they spread them around sometimes if someone's sick or on holiday. Why would anyone be looking for prisoners, though..? Aren't they bad people?
>Well, elves weren't his focus. Thankfully, the kid seemed to know that. Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly a good reaction and was exactly the kind of thing that Elias had feared when having this discussion. He takes a deep breath and eyes his empty coffee cup with a frown. He needed another one of those.
>"Aren't they bad people."
>Elias lets loose a long sigh.
You're a very trusting kid. Life's not that simple. You never wanted to do something bad? At all? Some people want to do something bad, and they do it. Does that make them a bad person? If somebody steals from a restaurant to save their starving family, do they deserve to go to those mines for it? Good people do things that are against the rules sometimes for what they think are the right reason. And their reward is to be worked half to death in a mine for having some common decency in a bad circumstance.
>He almost wished he had a fancy hat and a cigar, sitting at a desk in pitch black while some dame tried to give him the business.
World's not as simple as black and white. There are greys all around.
>And if Janet was to be believed, blues, oranges and...Octarines? He was fairly certain she'd made that one up.
Leopon-dji 22 Mar 2016 9:20:46 PM No.41298082>>41299601>>41299608
>>41298055 >>41298066 >Leo bares her teeth at the accusation of them being bad people, but she's quick to reign in her temper. She shakes her head and looks back to the dirty boy.
Those three, soon to be four, were wrongfully imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. They are good men and women who were unable to fit in, for one reason or another, and banded together to survive.
>She pulls back her hood and tears off the headscarf to reveal the dark skin and hardened gaze of a native Astrolian, but most importantly, the whiskers, tufts of fur, and keen, spotted ears of a beastkin. Although her tone grew in conviction, her volume remained soft, and her gaze hardened.
They are the last of the group that took me in as if I were their own and grew to be my family. I will stop at nothing to rescue them and assure Jeanette her child will not be raised in such a cruel world where he or she must be a "bad person" in order to live.
>>41298066 Alright, alright, wow, I didn't know you felt so strongly about all that. It's not like there aren't murderers and stuff over that way. I mean, if the lady at the shop hadn't been okay with you guys, I'd probably figure you were dangerous too. How do I know you're not looking for killers and psychos?
*Squeak squeak!*
Shut up, Horus.
>What was with adults and their way of lording things over people? Live a few years longer and apparently everybody got arrogant. It irritated him.
Okay, I'll admit, kid's got a point. I mean, I'm scary enough to probably get a warrant for my arrest just for walking around. S'just what happens when you're this badass.
>Yep. Arrogant as all fuck.
>>41298082 ...!!!
>The young blue-haired boy seemed understandably shocked as Leo revealed her whole self. As far as he could remember he'd never seen anyone like that before, they wouldn't keep beast-people like that in the mines because of some incident that happened once a few years back, and he'd only been working there a little while.
>Logan, meanwhile, simply gave a sigh. She couldn've got that message across without trying to scare the kid, but maybe she was getting bored.
You're a cat...! D'you see that!? She's a cat!
Yeah, it gets you the first few times. Don't worry too much, if you give her a little scratch behind the ears and little chin rub she settles right down.
Wait, does that really work?
>Totally and completely off on a different tangent. Good job, Logan, Leo was trying to be serious, here. Realising that the fur-covered one among them probably wouldn't want to deal with this sort of thing, the mercenary shrugged and tried to fix his attempt at breaking the tension.
Dunno, never tried, she cut my neck open once so I've been scared to get close ever since. Anyway, she's right - the people we're talking about didn't do anything wrong, especially the unborn child.
Wait... you guys're talking about the pregnant lady then, right? The one sentenced to Shaft B with a whole batch of new prisoners? There's been all sorts of rumours going around about her.
Huh, really? Like what?
Apparently she was a noble's wife and she slept with their servant, and 'cause of that he threw her down in the mines along with the child.
Uh, well, that's... that's not actually how that story went, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that had happened before.