Sweet Sacrifice (Torin)

[Aurelio]

19th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S
Company: Torin and Bar Patrons | Theme: Investigation | Thoughts: Ahh, a blacksmith | Mood: Intrigued

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۞ Aurelio smiled for a moment, although he stared at the female; noticing the way he was looking at him. He felt awkward for a moment as he side-eyed Torin, watching him blush faintly. It was as if he felt the same connection of lust upon him; a hint of embarrassment as the bar patrons would say. However, Aurelio was extremely hungry. He needed his food; his sustenance to keep going as he looked into the other man's eyes before taking a bite hungrily "I don't mind sharing the platter like this, I mean after all. You've been extremely kind and forthcoming." He said with a smile as he talked yet again with his mouthful. He couldn't help but the urge of gluttony settled in. He was already eating the platter like a voracious beast.

He looked embarrassed for a moment as there was already a crumb on Aurelio's cheek. He usually had better dinner manners than this but he was hungry. What would you expect from a young Avialae such as himself to do. He had a large appetite after all, due to his big size. If so, Torin appeared to be a better example in table manners. However, one thing he did have. Courtesy. Aurelio still left a lot of food for the other man to eat as he was not greedy. He stopped for a moment.

Eventually, his mind relayed in deep thought as he took a look at the corner for a moment. As usual, he thought he saw the figure of a hooded man there, but he was hallucinating. Perhaps it was fear that blinded him as he didn't know if death could tap him on the shoulder. He smiled at Torin as he redirected the conversation "Oh nothing, nevermind... I just zoned out that's all, you seemed pretty enamored with that woman back there" He smirked, teasing the blonde.۞

[Torin Kilvin]

The way Aurelio ate reminded Torin of the apprentices he'd known since coming to the city. It wasn't a bad reflection, exactly, there was no sin in hunger, after all. Torin supposed it was his own fault if he'd assumed all Avialea were nobility with refined manners. The relaxed nature of the meal made him less worried that he would make a comment or other accidental action that would offend the other man, at least.

The reply to his question, which he had assumed would return them to shop talk instead took a decidedly unexpected turn. He frowned in consternation,

"The server? No. I've no interest. If you have, I won't, that is... Ehm, I'm not interested, no." The cheese platter arrived shortly after the main course, a bit backwards, but no harm done. Taking the knife that had come with the tray he began slicing the wedges of several local cheeses until the whole thing was portioned into pieces small enough to pop into your mouth.

He did just that, tasting each, now that the sharp edge of his own hunger had been dulled some he was better able to savor what was available. Not sure how to get back to talking about what Aurelio might need crafted, not entirely sure the man was serious about wanting to make a purchase and not wanting to push, he said instead,

"Do you live in the city?" Some mercenaries had chapter houses inside the walls, others lived outside. The other man kept glancing over his shoulder into the corner of the room which was, as far as Torin could see, empty. Maybe Aurelio was waiting for someone, a friend or acquaintance who often showed up at the tavern. It seemed unlikely he would have agreed to have supper with Torin if he was meeting someone, but he could be just hoping to meet with someone.

[Aurelio]

19th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S
Company: Torin | Theme: Investigation | Thoughts: Well, closing time... | Mood: Cautious

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۞ Aurelio smiled for a moment as shook his head, continuing to eat "Oh no, I have no interest in her either..." He said as he looked down at the local cheeses before taking another bite. He left most of it for Torin as anxiety started to pump up again, wondering if they would come for him. The current situation. It had been plaguing his mind ever since; the murder in Kalzasi city. It was time to get back to the original subject, Torin's services "Sorry, I just remembered what we're talking about, so your a runesmith. High quality service I'm assuming, judging by the muscle on your arms." An inflection of flirtation, that should ensure that the man would talk to him once more.

He raised an eyebrow for a moment, before beginning to sip his drink "I'm thinking some adequate armor, perhaps and maybe a glaive. I like weapons that are light but flexible; polearms appear to carry such things. I'm just worried that my polearm would break in battle... It's... Getting rusty... Used it to kill a creature of folk legend back in the day. I was only 18 and still had a knack for it..." He chuckled as he remembered Turkor, the Orkhan Animagi who had fallen into hubris. He was lucky to make it out of that alive as far as he could remember. He had the scar to prove it, A lightning gash amongst his right bicep.

When he raised the conversation about him living in the city, he smiled "I'm a born and bred Kalzasern, of course I live in the city" He said with a smile "Didn't know who my father was, my mother she was somewhat overprotective... She died tragically unfortunately" He frowned again as the anxiety began to get to him. At that moment, the corner of his eye he saw a blowdart come at Torin. He vigilantly stepped forward yet again and casted a shield over Torin. His eyes widened in fear as he noticed the man run off.

His wing shielded Torin as he looked back at him "You alright? Fuck, I should've known... it's not safe." He said now constantly in thought about what he was going to do with Torin "I'm not leaving you on your own, no way... Come..." He commanded "We'll check on your place, you said your apprentice is staying there? He could vulnerable, we need to get back there" He said with a gulp, knowing he had dragged another person into this mess, it appeared that Aurelio was a homing beacon for disaster.

Could it get worse from here?۞

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin was having a little difficulty following the mercurial conversation of the Avialea man, but he tried his best to fill his stomach and keep his ears open. Perhaps the man had drunk more than Torin had realized and the food would do him good. Perhaps there was more in his mind than he was admitting and Torin's conversation was only distracting him from more important things.

"I am, yes. You said you visited my shop earlier today." He spoke slowly, hoping his calm would bring the other man back into the conversation, or at least allow him to process what was being said through whatever else he was thinking of. The flirtation went right over his head, though he knew many smiths who were as large, or larger than he was who weren't very good at all. It was a common misunderstanding though so he only smiled and said,

"I hope my work would be high quality enough for you. I am in a long-term contract with House Leukos, so they will vouch for me. If you want to see examples of my work I have several, back at the shop that I can show." There weren't many yet, if Torin was being perfectly honest, only the lamps he's made to keep out illusions and the dagger he had almost finished for Timon, but there were also several pieces for the Leukos that hadn't been picked up yet.

"I recently started looking into new schema for glaives." He brightened at the idea of getting a commission to make something he'd been studying, he frowned at the admission of poor gear though.

"Rusty is no good, you should be oiling it often and cleaning it between fights. If you want to bring it by I could remove any rust and at least give it proper treatment to keep it from breaking." The idea of a weapon, or any used tool, being neglected to the point that it broke offended him in a fundamental way. It wasn't Aurelio that bothered him, but, for a smith, the concept was just wrong.

"If you want to wait while I do it I will show you how so you don't have to go to a smith or worry about it breaking. If you want something new I'm more than happy to do the work but you should know how to care for such a weapon if you're going to spend gold on it." Torin's work being used to slay dangerous monsters would be a source of pride for him, but not the sort likely to swell his head.

When the other man stood up and thrust his wing between Torin and the rest of the tavern the young smith was only confused. Aurelio started wearing and talking about things not being safe the blond gave him a confused look and then looked at the bartender, who also appeared to have missed whatever had happened.

When the tall redhead demanded Torin follow him he was about to politely refuse, then he suggested they go back to the forge. His place of business was known to the public, so it wasn't like he was taking Aurelio anywhere private, but it did feel strangely suddenly.

Standing slowly he said,

"What has my apprentice to do with anything? I have no enemies and I haven't made any by having supper here. We can go back to my shop and I'll let you look at some of my work if you want. Just give me a moment to pay the bartender."

Moving to the end of the bar he caught the eye of the man who seemed to be in charge and asked him several pointed questions about Aurelio quietly. When the answers were vague but not bad he asked for his bill. The man went to tally his total while Torin took out coins. He also reached under his shirt and activated the pendant he kept there. Using the moment he had before the man returned to accept his money he informed his mentor about the odd happenings, not using the Avialea's name since it didn't feel useful, only that the man was trying to get Torin back to his shop and that he was claiming there might be danger for Torin and Timon.

This done, and dinner paid for, he moved back over to Aurelio and said,

"All done, we can be off." Before leading the way out.

[Aurelio]

19th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S
Company: Torin and Bar Patrons | Theme: Investigation | Thoughts: Ahh, a blacksmith | Mood: Intrigued

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۞ Aurelio vigilantly watched as Torin hurried up, he grabbed him by the arm as he ran towards the door, only to be stopped by a hooded man. His eyes widen as Torin and Aurelio are surrounded at the door "Shit, oh well... You better be a good fighter" He asked as one of the men pulled his hood down, a silver skinned man with lithe features and golden eyes peered amongst him. He crossed his arms as he claps his hands sarcastically before he looked over at the man.

"Ahh, it appears I have found the right place; the golden one they were talking about down at Hahseu, its a hefty price"

"You won't be catching me anytime soon" Aurelio said with a look of rebellion, knowing that he had gotten Torin in a huge mess, it was time to get him out "We got you surrounded, bird boy, what you gonna do, shit your pants and lay golden eggs?" He laughed as Aurelio was angered by the insult; he clenched his fist as he looked for a way he could fight. He noticed that his eyes traced amongst the dagger amongst its scabbard, clipped tightly on his belt.

"That sounds like a thing a coward would do, one matter is I'm no coward!" He growled before grabbing the dagger amongst his scabbard and plunging it straight into the man's chest, before throwing it at the boss.

He missed.

Hitting a wall at he side, narrowing scrapping against his cheek.

The boss winced.

The anger on Aurelio's face was apparent, knowing that he had messed up his aim, the boss laughed "I think you need to work on your aim, bird boy... That was shit... GET 'EM BOYS, KILL ANY WITNESSES!" He shouted as he fled the bar. Aurelio looked at Torin as he raised an eyebrow "Perhaps, I should wear a sign on my head saying 'I am trouble, keep away from me" He said shaking his head as the hooded figures were closing in on them. ۞

[Torin Kilvin]

Torin did not hurry up, he was not entirely certain he should be letting this Avialea he had just met follow him back to his house, but Aurin was aware, and Torin was not entirely helpless anymore, even on his own. When he approached the other man again and his arm was grabbed his feet automatically fell into the fighting stance he had been practicing with the Leukos twins. He didn't try to pull away but he did give the taller redhead a look that was halfway between concern and warning.

He tried to dig his heels in as he was pulled along in an oddly mad dash for the exit, but the effort was unneeded as a man stood in the way. It was a relief when the Avialea stopped instead of merely continuing to barrel through the room, but Aurelio didn't seem relieved. Quite the opposite, he seemed afraid. When the one man at the door suddenly became a group of men surrounding them at the door Torin's training from Aurin also kicked in. He wasn't sure who was the wronged party and who had done the ill deeds that had led to this surprising confrontation in a tavern owned by a prince of the city, but Torin was not willing to have his face beat in over it. He hadn't been involved, would have walked away had he been given the choice. But he had not been given a choice and, for the moment, whoever was right or wrong, his only ally was Aurelio.

Stepping a bit to the side he turned so the two of them were back to back. The warm, solid weight of the taller man's wings against him was surprising, but he kept himself from glancing back to see what he was feeling.

He did not answer Aurelio, because boasting about his martial prowess would be a lie, and Torin was not good at lying. Telling the truth would not have helped either of them in the situation any more than the lie, so, instead, he squared his wide shoulders, tenses his forge-made muscles so they showed to best advantage, and made his large hands into two even larger fists.

Torin tried to keep up with the confusing conversation and not think about the oddity of meeting a man with golden skin for the first time on the same day that he met a man with silver skin for the first time. Suggesting to Aurelio that he had, in fact, been caught, also seemed like an unwise use of his mental energy, so Torin began to look for weaknesses. Was one of the men favoring his right leg? Was the one in the middle eyeing the two massive young men with a bit more hesitation than the others?

The training he had received from his mentor to find secrets suddenly found a whole new application for the blond as he steadily searched the eyes before him, the body language, trying to find the men who would break and run if they were pushed, and the ones who might conceal weapons in their sleeves. The bravado, the insults, they weren't the actions of men sure of their abilities. Men who were sure of their prize would have just taken it, the posturing spoke of fear, or, perhaps... Were they waiting for reinforcements?

If so it was a race against time; Torin had already seen the bartender send who of his potboys running for the city guard. This was the nice part of Kalzasi, there would be guard patrols close by, and this was the prince's establishment, Torin would be surprised if he didn't have his own set of guards to ensure that, in the often rowdy tavern, no one got out of hand and caused damage to the property.

When the violence came it was suddenly, Aurelio preempted the threats by pulling his belt knife and plunging it into the insulting man's chest. It must have hit his heart by the way the blood came fast and hard enough to spurt. Then the Avialea threw his only weapon. And missed. Torin winced. He knew better than to try to ape his only ally; his skills with his own belt knife would be less than those of his fists. He swung hard and high at the man to his right side who was momentarily distracted by the unexpected death of his comrade. He felt the small bones in the nose snap, though he'd used a closed fist instead of the flat of his palm that might kill. Aurelio seemed content to commit murder in front of a tavern full of witnesses but Torin just wanted to make it to the freedom of the street. The punch was hard enough to send the man over, stunned for the briefest of moments, but long enough to send him over a table.

Torin did not watch him fall, turning instead to the two other men on his side of the little circle. They were warier now, eyeing his arms and fists as if wondering when he might pull something deadly. It felt strangely good, behind the fear and adrenaline, being an object of fear himself.

The call to 'kill all the witnesses' did not seem to sit well with a tavern filled with men there to watch fights or get into them, and the sound of chairs scraping back as some patrons rose to make a quick exit, and others rose to give a physical opinion on the idea that they were sheep to be slaughtered.

The brawl was over in less than a minute as the fighting men of the High Hopes fell upon the hooded assailants like wolves. Torin got several more hits in, trying to aim for places that would cause significant pain but not enough damage to end any lives, but his participation after the first round of active defense and attacks was perfunctory. The hooded men were outnumbered at least five to one and even the bartender pulled an iron bounded cudgel from beneath the counter as he hopped over it to join the fray.

The city guard arrived in the next few minutes, tying the assailants securely and questioning whoever was willing to speak. Torin gave his story but there wasn't much to it, he didn't honestly know much. The tavern keeper offered a free round to anyone who had helped, but Torin didn't take him up on the offer. Aurin would be at the shop soon and if Torin did not arrive the redhead would worry. He didn't even feel as though he should wait for the healers who had also been called since the only hit he'd taken had been a hard punch to his side. Not hard enough to bruise any bones he'd barely felt it in the moment.

Nodding to Aurelio he said, having to raise his voice to be heard over all the hubbub around them,

"I'm going to go, you can still come with me if you want but I understand if you don't now that you're not in danger." He gave what he hoped was a friendly smile and headed for the door.

[Aurelio]

19th Ash, Year 121, A.O.S
Company: Torin | Theme: Investigation | Thoughts: Well, closing time... | Mood: Cautious

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۞ Aurelio stood up as he dodged and evaded an attack, before he punched a cultist straight in the face and into the solar plexus once again; eventually he was subdued by another attacker from behind who knocked him down. He fell backwards due to his clumsy height and stature, falling right on top of the table. He cries as he looks over at the other man for a moment as he gasps as he fell backwards, before rolling out of the way of one of the cultists, who charged at him with such murderous rage; his dagger swung with such flurry and violence that Aurelio dodged and side step as much as he could until he was slashed across his chest.

He winced and gasped in pain as he kicked the man away from him and clutched his wound "God damnit..." He was suddenly jumped on by a goblin as Aurelio tried his best to unhook him from his wings. He growled and smashed the goblin against the wall, squeezing him as he fell off "Why don't you go pick on someone your own size, you're well out of your league." He boasted. The bar was in complete chaos, although he was more concerned about Torin. Had he scared him off? He looked around the crowd of fighting patrons who helped with the onset of the sudden attack "Ahh fuck..."

He ran off immediately, hiding his wound underneath his belt. He knew it was a flesh wound, a slight scrap from the blade that almost narrowly went into him. However, he wasn't one for causing alarm; especially when it came to living up to his Synnekar nature, he was completely stubborn about living up to it, even if it meant taking a risk or two, or throwing his stubborn weight about.

The fight had lasted a short while as the Sky Guard were brought in. Aurelio had told them before about the wing smugglers in Hahseu. Could these be the ones behind it? Who knows. He sighed to Torin as he patted him on the shoulder "There could be more, I'll escort you home..." He said, with a slight darkness to his voice. Whatever happened, Aurelio needed to bring the boy home and fast as it was late. He was questionable about leaving him on his own for the night aswell.

What other fiascos could happen? ۞

[Rune]

R E V I E W

Lore:

Torin:
Unarmed Combat:
Back to Back With an Ally
Using Furniture to Your Advantage
Being Surrounded
Facing Armed Opponents
Using Greater Reach
Building a Reputation
Fighting When Wounded

Endurance:
Taking a Knife Wound

Aurelio:
TDA

Points:
10 Each, not for magic

Injuries/Ailments:
Torin receives a poisoned knife wound, Aurelio various bruises

Loot:
None

Notes: Making new friends was never so dangerous.