Poor District

Finn Lachdanan wrote:"I don't want to get into it..." Finn frowned. "That would be rather uncomfortable. Look, the way I sees it, you're going to get a new sword. I don't know you, but me conscious would be heavy knowing you're searching those dreaded woods aimlessly. You shouldn't waste yer life on looking for fairy tales." he advised. If in theory they did leave, and ended up searching those woodlands for weeks without progress, taking possession of her blade would be the motivation for her to give up her fruitless search, or so he believed. "That is my offer, unless you have something better."

Saeko closed her eyes. "That blade's worth is more than material. It is both a weapon and a holy tool. Its worth is priceless, in the literal sense." she explained, before her eyes fluttered open, glaring at him. "I am going to Amaine. I duly note your concern, but like you said you do not know me." she finished, bowing her head and clapped her hands in silence before she began to dig in to the meal which was getting cold. She swallowed some of the grilled fish she was now chewing, before adding: "That sword, is like your amulet. How would you feel to have it stripped from you if our roles were reversed?" she asked.

Finn sighed, realizing there was little sense in arguing it. He struggled with the chopsticks, seeing no conceivable way one could gather the rice or tear the flesh off the fish with just a pair of slender wooden rods. "Well, me intention is to give that amulet away some day. Its an engagement gift." he explained. "My pa gave me mum that pendant when they were love struck teenagers. Call me old fashioned, but I'll do the same one day. Aside from that, its all I have left to remind me of me family... I see your point."

Saeko glanced up at his pitiful attempt to eat with chopsticks, and reached over and aided him. "Use these fingers, and gather the rice, then grasp it lightly. For fish, just peel the flesh, and for the soup just drink it." She explained, guiding his hand to let him get a feel for it. She then resumed her own meal.

She never thought the amulet was an engagement gift, though she did think it was a bit too feminine in appearance to be a man's jewelry accessory. "Ah. I guess we're married till we leave the restaurant. You were a terrible husband, you refused to go on a grand adventure with me, demand my father's sword, and all the while I paid for our meal. Rude." She teased, with a fake pout that turned into a slightly lighthearted smirk.

Finn felt a little flustered in having to be shown how to eat appropriately, but was also thankful. "...Thanks." he grunts, with the knowledge and feel for the sticks. He chuckled at her response to the amulet. "Alas, such is the case with marriages such as these. At least there's plenty of room for make up sex." he replied back with a similar joking tone. Still though, the thought of her going off on her own didn't really sit well with him...

Finn Lachdanan wrote:Finn felt a little flustered in having to be shown how to eat appropriately, but was also thankful. "...Thanks." he grunts, with the knowledge and feel for the sticks. He chuckled at her response to the amulet. "Alas, such is the case with marriages such as these. At least there's plenty of room for make up sex." he replied back with a similar joking tone. Still though, the thought of her going off on her own didn't really sit well with him...

She glanced over at him for a moment, before closing her eyes with a low giggle:



Her lidded eyes reopened, her smile persisting. "Yeah, I suppose. Though, I think you'll be getting the couch tonight." she replies, continuing to dig at her food.

Once the pair loosened up, a pair of waiters appeared before them.



One bearing a tray with an unusual item upon it.

"Excuse me sir, ma'am, but we have been asked to deliver this... rather unusual item to you."



Once the aged sealed scroll was deposited on the table between the two patrons, the waiters bowed and left. Their near vacant gaze said everything, they had no idea what was going on...

Finn chuckled. "Well doin' it on the couch ain't so bad." he mused, before the odd pair of waiters dressed far too nice for this place arrived before their table. He looked up into their eyes and their dull expressionless gaze was... familiar. "Ah.... thanks?" He replied, questioning it more than being grateful. He turned to Saeko, then the wrapped scroll. An odd seal was impressed into the red wax:

Saeko raised her brows. "It would be a bit cramped," she countered before the odd pair of waiters arrived and dropped the scroll off to them. When they left, Saeko turned to Finn with a raised brow. "They must be lost. Given the fact they have uniforms I'm sure they don't even work here..." she commented, turning to the scroll now and its seal. It didn't look very familiar to her, but Finn's face seemed to recognize its shape. After a few moments of him silently staring at it, and her impatience Saeko sighed. "Well if you're not going to open it..." she began, peeling away the seal.

He sat there, thinking the symbol over in his mind, and in combination with the vacant eyes, he had it figured out! "Wait," his hands reaching out laying them upon hers. "That boyo from yesterday, the golden one who said he was an angel of sorts. This has his handiwork all over it, the same symbol was on his chest plate and the sword he was showing off to me." he warned. "...Tread carefully when opening it, we don't know what sort of shenanigans may occur..." He says, clutching her hand lightly as the scroll began to unfurl.

Saeko blinked rapidly, unsure what had just happened, looking from the scroll, then to Finn. "What's going on?!" She screamed, before they appeared in an odd realm. They were seemingly above a field of clouds, a bridge leading to a small cottage which both humans were quickly approaching! She gripped Finn's hand tightly, her large eyes looming downward before they had landed upon the small porch. She tapped her high heeled boot against the surface of the porch, and sure enough it was tangible and real. "What... was that?" She asked Finn.

Finn cringed. "I tried to warn you!" He screamed back, before they were floating in the air! He could not only see, but feel Busujima had a dislike of heights as she squeezed his hand tightly! He said nothing about it, before they landed on the odd cottage's porch. "It's that stranger from yesterday... a summons I would wager." he explained, looking upon the surface of the door, feeling Saeko's hand grip tighter around his. He chuckled. "Any tighter, you'll end up breaking me good hand's fingers milady." He says, looking at her face with sly grin. "Not a fan of heights I take it?"

Finn Lachdanan wrote:Finn cringed. "I tried to warn you!" He screamed back, before they were floating in the air! He could not only see, but feel Busujima had a dislike of heights as she squeezed his hand tightly! He said nothing about it, before they landed on the odd cottage's porch. "It's that stranger from yesterday... a summons I would wager." he explained, looking upon the surface of the door, feeling Saeko's hand grip tighter around his. He chuckled. "Any tighter, you'll end up breaking me good hand's fingers milady." He says, looking at her face with sly grin. "Not a fan of heights I take it?"

"Huh..?" She blinked, looking down at their linked hands before quickly pulling it away from his. She shook with a mix of embarrassment and anger as he brought up the fear of heights. "N-no, I'm perfectly fine around heights! Its more the fact we are on the porch of a floating house with no real explanation as to how we got here!" she stammered, her flustered expression turning quickly to the door now. "That Stranger who helped slay the dragon that ate me? Why would he summon us?" she asked, changing the subject.

The Mysterious Stranger wrote:Once the pair's conversation died off again, they would hear a rhythmic thudding sound coming from the side of the house. it was a peculiar sound, of a sharp "crack" followed by a split second of something tearing, followed by a pair of hollow clanking thuds. a few seconds pass, then repeat. Crack, tear, thudthud..... Crack, tear, thudthud.... and so on.

However, to investigate the peculiar sound, the pair would have to set foot within the misty cloudy fog...

Finn smirked coyly at Saeko's reaction, before the chatter was cut by the peculiar rhythmic 'thudding'. It sounded mechanical to Finn's ears, almost like the Dragonwind Refinery in Mythgarde. He returned his attention to Saeko briefly, his smirk remaining as he went on to say: "Well, if that be the case milady, then you will have no trouble investigatin' that sound without me assistance?" he says, backing off the porch, towards the clouds. Though he was gambling on the Archangel's mercy, he figured they wouldn't fall should they venture out to the clouds, where the said noise was emanating from. He stepped out into the mist like clouds, half turning to Saeko with a hand out in case he was calling her bluff.

Finn Lachdanan wrote:

The Mysterious Stranger wrote:Once the pair's conversation died off again, they would hear a rhythmic thudding sound coming from the side of the house. it was a peculiar sound, of a sharp "crack" followed by a split second of something tearing, followed by a pair of hollow clanking thuds. a few seconds pass, then repeat. Crack, tear, thudthud..... Crack, tear, thudthud.... and so on.

However, to investigate the peculiar sound, the pair would have to set foot within the misty cloudy fog...

Finn smirked coyly at Saeko's reaction, before the chatter was cut by the peculiar rhythmic 'thudding'. It sounded mechanical to Finn's ears, almost like the Dragonwind Refinery in Mythgarde. He returned his attention to Saeko briefly, his smirk remaining as he went on to say: "Well, if that be the case milady, then you will have no trouble investigatin' that sound without me assistance?" he says, backing off the porch, towards the clouds. Though he was gambling on the Archangel's mercy, he figured they wouldn't fall should they venture out to the clouds, where the said noise was emanating from. He stepped out into the mist like clouds, half turning to Saeko with a hand out in case he was calling her bluff.

Saeko wears a displeased look towards Finn, who begins to wander off in the direction of the sound. "It shouldn't be a problem, as I said I do not fear heights; the only thing that truly scared me died five years ago..." she says the last bit under her breath, looking down at the journal. She then glanced back up, and stepped out to meet with Finn. Due to the thick, obscuring fog however, she grabbed Finn's outstretched wrist. "We should remain close though, we don't want to get separated in this fog." She explains, pulling him along as she took the lead.

"Lets just hope what greets us is friendly." she added.

When the pair stepped into the misty foggy covered ground, it was good to know it was form grassy ground. And not infact a cloud they would have dropped through like a pair of rocks.

When they rounded the corner of the house to the side gardens and yard, they would see a strange man in while clothing chopping wood as he hummed a simple tune to himself. Wielding an old woodcutter's axe, the sound from earlier was clear. He was chopping wood.



He stopped for a moment to take a sip of water from a nearby waterskin. And his face turned to look at his guests. "Ah, Good morning there!" he greeted with some cheer.

"We all have our personal fears, its nothing to feel ashamed of. Its how much we let our fear drive us which could be an issue." He explained, when she took her time. Saeko was now leading him into the fog, towards the sound of the clatter. "You have a good point there." he added, to Saeko's pessimism.

When the fog faded, Finn blinked, unsure how he could mistake the sound of chopping wood to machinery and mechanical clatter. He took a moment to take in the landscape, the Stranger, then to Saeko and then back to the Stranger again. "Huh... I'm fairly certain I didn't drink this morn'..." he says out loud, before clearing his throat. "Either case, we're here I guess..."

Finn Lachdanan wrote:"We all have our personal fears, its nothing to feel ashamed of. Its how much we let our fear drive us which could be an issue." He explained, when she took her time. Saeko was now leading him into the fog, towards the sound of the clatter. "You have a good point there." he added, to Saeko's pessimism.

When the fog faded, Finn blinked, unsure how he could mistake the sound of chopping wood to machinery and mechanical clatter. He took a moment to take in the landscape, the Stranger, then to Saeko and then back to the Stranger again. "Huh... I'm fairly certain I didn't drink this morn'..." he says out loud, before clearing his throat. "Either case, we're here I guess..."

Saeko ignored his comment of fear, progressing silently till they met with the cause of the disturbance, the wood chopping Stranger from the day before. "A better point is why we are here..." she chimed in, removing her hand from Finn's wrist, approaching the Stranger. "So if you can excuse my forwardness, may I ask why we have been summoned?" She asked, crossing her arms.

The stranger hefted his axe and placed it on the stump, wiped the 'sweat' from his brow as he chucked at Seko's directness. "Relax, lady Busujima. You are not in trouble, though there is a reason I called you two here. This may take a while, so would you like to have a seat? Maybe something to drink or eat?" said the archangel, who with a slight waive of his hand cleared the fog from the grounds, revealing that they were in fact standing on a well kept grass ground... While the clouds roiled slowly around the rustic abode... They were on what looked like a floating island... or the top of a mountain they could not see...

"Please, make yourselves comfortable. I promise I don't bite. My sister might, but she's away on business at the moment." offered the Archangel.

"Eh.." Finn chuckled at the Stranger's comment about his sister. "What is going to take a while?" He asked, somewhat amused considering the elaborate manner they had been transported to this... place. He walked over to the building and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his attention upon the Archangel.

Saeko shook her head. "No thank you. The offer is nice, but we were already eating when we... arrived here." she explained, hand on her hip and turned her torso left and right for any signs of a seat, her breasts jiggled slightly and swayed with her left and right motions. "A seat? I'm not sure. Is it going to take long? Whatever reason you have brought us may be?" she asked, raising a brow. "Not that our time spent may inconvenience either of us, the invitation itself seems both well prepared, yet at the same time hasty." she commented, feeling an odd sensation within her connecting the dots between the delivery of the scroll, the ones who delivered it, and their 'host' chopping wood nonchalantly. It was hard to see it all as an act, yet didn't think she was too off by that assumption.

"The time you spend here will not pass in the mortal realms, I promise you that." he said as he conjured up a garden furniture set from the either.

"Forgive my lack of savoir fair, as you may imagine, we do not get to entertain many living mortal guests up here." said the seraphim with a slight chuckle.

"But yes, to the reason I called you both here. You see, you are at a crossroad of fate right now. There is a reason I asked you," he said, indicating Finn with his eyes, "to return the sword to Saeko. Saeko, you are about to make a trip that will alter everything you have ever known about yourself and your family. You will learn many truths, you will find the weapon you seek, but you will also find something far more profound... I cannot yet tell you what your future may hold, save this. Your story will be a part of something much larger than your blade very soon. Amaine Forest, the the ruins of Asrond within it's eaves... will soon become a battlefield unlike any you have ever seen... And the fate of more than any one country will live or die by who finds victory in that battle. Finn, you will also find something more valuable than money or prestige in that dark place. You may yet find that which you have sought since childhood. You may find a purpose, and a place to finally belong on Galiavan."

The Mysterious Stranger wrote:"The time you spend here will not pass in the mortal realms, I promise you that." he said as he conjured up a garden furniture set from the either.

"Forgive my lack of savoir fair, as you may imagine, we do not get to entertain many living mortal guests up here." said the seraphim with a slight chuckle.

"But yes, to the reason I called you both here. You see, you are at a crossroad of fate right now. There is a reason I asked you," he said, indicating Finn with his eyes, "to return the sword to Saeko. Saeko, you are about to make a trip that will alter everything you have ever known about yourself and your family. You will learn many truths, you will find the weapon you seek, but you will also find something far more profound... I cannot yet tell you what your future may hold, save this. Your story will be a part of something much larger than your blade very soon. Amaine Forest, the the ruins of Asrond within it's eaves... will soon become a battlefield unlike any you have ever seen... And the fate of more than any one country will live or die by who finds victory in that battle. Finn, you will also find something more valuable than money or prestige in that dark place. You may yet find that which you have sought since childhood. You may find a purpose, and a place to finally belong on Galiavan."

Finn raised a brow. "We dealin' with all sorts of odd magic now." he chimed, chuckling before he became gravely quiet. He listened to the blue eyed creature's explanation, reiterating something that Saeko had said to him, that she felt that he, Finn Lachdanan, was supposed to tag along with her on her journey to the treacherous Amaine, which sounds like it had been 'vamped up' by unseen forces if the Seraphim's account held any regard in the matter.

He closed his eyes, his expression sour. "I really don't like it when someone peers into me memories like its an open book..." he said with some disdain, but given the circumstances felt like he was in the right. Though stubborn, he raised his head and looked over to Saeko's jiggling assets then the Stranger proper. "However, I'm not fully gettin' at what you think you know about me. If I'm going to risk me life out in those woods, it needs to be for something real. Though, I can't say I wouldn't be worried if I simply let Miss Busujima off to venture them woods alone. I be of 'lil faith, but I still have a conscience. To die searching for some Gods damned blade is a piss poor way to appreciate one's life." he explained, closing his eyes and scratched at his neck anxiously.

Finn Lachdanan wrote:

The Mysterious Stranger wrote:"The time you spend here will not pass in the mortal realms, I promise you that." he said as he conjured up a garden furniture set from the either.

"Forgive my lack of savoir fair, as you may imagine, we do not get to entertain many living mortal guests up here." said the seraphim with a slight chuckle.

"But yes, to the reason I called you both here. You see, you are at a crossroad of fate right now. There is a reason I asked you," he said, indicating Finn with his eyes, "to return the sword to Saeko. Saeko, you are about to make a trip that will alter everything you have ever known about yourself and your family. You will learn many truths, you will find the weapon you seek, but you will also find something far more profound... I cannot yet tell you what your future may hold, save this. Your story will be a part of something much larger than your blade very soon. Amaine Forest, the the ruins of Asrond within it's eaves... will soon become a battlefield unlike any you have ever seen... And the fate of more than any one country will live or die by who finds victory in that battle. Finn, you will also find something more valuable than money or prestige in that dark place. You may yet find that which you have sought since childhood. You may find a purpose, and a place to finally belong on Galiavan."

Finn raised a brow. "We dealin' with all sorts of odd magic now." he chimed, chuckling before he became gravely quiet. He listened to the blue eyed creature's explanation, reiterating something that Saeko had said to him, that she felt that he, Finn Lachdanan, was supposed to tag along with her on her journey to the treacherous Amaine, which sounds like it had been 'vamped up' by unseen forces if the Seraphim's account held any regard in the matter.

He closed his eyes, his expression sour. "I really don't like it when someone peers into me memories like its an open book..." he said with some disdain, but given the circumstances felt like he was in the right. Though stubborn, he raised his head and looked over to Saeko's jiggling assets then the Stranger proper. "However, I'm not fully gettin' at what you think you know about me. If I'm going to risk me life out in those woods, it needs to be for something real. Though, I can't say I wouldn't be worried if I simply let Miss Busujima off to venture them woods alone. I be of 'lil faith, but I still have a conscience. To die searching for some Gods damned blade is a piss poor way to appreciate one's life." he explained, closing his eyes and scratched at his neck anxiously.  

"Understandable really." Saeko encouraged, and stood stoically all the while. She turned to Finn once the Stranger spoke to him, of returning her sword. Silently listening, then turning when the conversation was brought back to her. "Sounds like the beginning of a fable to the likes of the War Gods themselves." She interjected, hands on her hips. She turned her shining blue orbs towards Finn in a glare briefly. "Told you the sword exists." She closed her eyes, giving Finn the 'cold shoulder' with a 'Hmp' grunt. Her eyes peeled open, now on the Stranger as he continued. "I said before to Finn that his presence 'felt' necessary on this journey. Its like a missing puzzle piece connecting." she explained. "So fate hinges on Finn there tagging along with me. To find the sword my ancestor, Hiyori Busujima lost centuries ago. I was planning to restore peace to Beijio with the blade, as well as my family's legacy... if it can help change the tide of a larger conflict, I feel rather confident that I can do both~" She says with a smug expression. If I am being drafted into some larger scale conflict, and surpass it, then yeah, bringing peace to Beijio will be a cakewalk. Nothing to lose on those odds. She told herself with much confidence.