Das Totenlied: Kagami no Tsukimono [It Begins]

[Kinokokao]

"Quite so!" Loren chimed in, overtaking Yuki's hesitant steps and leading his newfound compatriots out from the Hall.

Outside he drew to an abrupt halt to keep from plowing straight into the trio of ladies sitting on the steps. One he immediately recognized as the bold young woman he had first broached conversation -- and been smacked down with unwarranted insults. His shoulders stiffened, but otherwise he maintained a wry grin. One did not thrive in the ruthless Minskyavan court unless their skin became immune to such petty rudeness, especially someone with his black sheep background.

[Riseatrance]

Ceres could hear the steps of someone grinding to a halt in front of Mina, Lix and her, and she stood up and noticed it was the princely figure from earlier, who had presented himself in a manner that was less than satisfactory to her. She noticed that he had quite a bit of a following, too, he had managed to befriend several of the other adventurers. Ceres sighed wistfully, she admitted she was a bit mistaken and a bit hasty towards judging the prince, and figured she'd be polite to someone as regal as he. She curtseyed towards the young man, and looked back.

"I apologize for my behavior back there, I was hasty and quick to judge your character," she said. "I'm just generally quick to assume that so many people like you are arrogant and reckless in my past adventures, but you are different. Let's put that behind us and see if we can start anew, no?" Ceres asked, trying her best to see if she could make amends. Now that she could get a closer look at the prince, she noted that he wore some armor beneath his royal threads. Interesting. she thought, and further saw that he kept on him a weapon, it was definite that perhaps he was not all talk. Even came with a weapon too, this royal twat is more than he looks... I was wrong, for once!

"Anyway, I'm sure it'd be in our best interests for all of us to get along, right?" she said softly and warmly, scratching her head in embarrassment for her rash display earlier.

[Illuminage]

(I figured he’ll appear later, but yeah, had to post…)

His eyes closed, his mind in deep thought, the aloof character could tell by the sudden silence coming forth that everyone had left. Alone again, huh… His arms uncrossed, his head elevated a bit, and his eyes gradually opened, regaining his vision. It was indistinct at first, but his sight finally became clear and focused after a few blinks and moments. He couldn’t help but feel even more desolate than usual; a deep, melancholic smile transpired upon his insipid visage.

Etienne positioned his discolored cap back on top of his head, adjusting it lower as accustomed. His cold hand was positioned close to his hip, over the right side of his belt, or to be exact, it was precisely on a lackluster, charcoal tinted handgun. “If I were to go to the Tower, I might run into them.” He spoke delicately to himself, formulating on what to do this instance. He was also creating his odds of survival against the monsters lurking around the point of destination. He wasn’t dumb, he knew that the base of the tower was huge, and therefore, he would spend a lot of time running away in order to stay alive.

“Might as well try to meet up with them. It sure beats lingering here, having nothing to do.” The young man gave a mental nod to himself before speeding off toward the direction of where the Tower looms. This was his final decisions, and to be honest, he was glad he made it. His uncanny simper materialized, his heart beating more, he wasn’t turning back.

[zamisk]

(Is this god modding at all? Drathi did say he was walking towards the tower after all...)

It wasn't long before the two reached the tower's entrance. For a while now he had noticed the air getting seemingly heavier. Is this such a good idea? he thought to himself. I mean, I can take care of myself fine, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still blind... He pondered what to do for a minute, finally deciding to wait and see what his accomplice would do. He rested his hand against the tower wall and waited.

[FomeRubr555]

(No, I wouldn't call that godmodding, especially since you didn't even say that the other person arrived at the tower. If he feels like changing his mind and not going to the tower, he can still change his mind and say his character stopped following and did something else. You know, things to that effect. So don't worry about it.)

Seeing as the group's prince stopped to chat with the few on the steps, Yukiko stopped too. Hmmm...is she a healer? She gives off that...feeling... She waited near the bottom of the steps for the groups to be done conversing and leave together. Or else to be addressed and spoken to, since she was obviously too timid to start a conversation herself.

[Kinokokao]

[Sampson]

[Riseatrance]

I guess that's just the way he must be, Ceres thought to herself. He said he was the prince of... Minskyava? Isn't that place matriarchal? Well, that explains why he must be here. Looking for a place to forge a name for himself, because he wasn't accepted in a place where females rule... How sad. I was too quick to judge, indeed... I'll have to get used to his personality! Ceres leaned on her staff a lot more casually, now, and looked at Loren and the other adventurerers he befriended, but sort of wondered how to react when he used the term "acquired," but thought nothing of it anymore. But the fellow who called himself a biologist, Elleman Bentriall, interested Ceres far more. Someone who was also here in the name of scholarly pursuit! Yes, they could get along pretty well.

"Ah, pleasure to meet you all," Ceres mentioned. "As our dear Loren has said, I'm Ceres Volzunga, a travelling healer in search of a legendary grimoire." She then eyed the violin Elleman carried, and wondered if how well he could play it. It'd definitely make the dredge in the tower less of a dredge whenever there weren't monsters trying to screw them over at any opportunity. Ceres then looked towards Elleman. "That violin of yours looks rather well-taken care of, I'd love to hear you play sometime, if we even have the time to." she said, bowing her head politely.

[Sampson]

Elleman smiles slightly, partly because of his secret, and partly due to the nervousness any musician feels when performing.

"Yes...I'm sure you will...you most definitely will...I'm sure there will be time. Who knows? Maybe it'll help everyone sleep at night..." If by "help" he meant "force," that is.

[FomeRubr555]

'Acquired'...interesting way to put it. It almost seemed like the prince was considering them his servants. At least, that was the impression Yukiko got, even if it wasn't his intention. Not that she was complaining. A soldier trusts their life, their everything, to their leadership... Using this logic, she could rationalize being considered his property to some degree. So long as his intentions remained pure and his words inspiring.

Either way she thought it best to introduce herself since she was presented in some form. "Iaiwara no Yukiko...y-you can call me Yukiko." She bowed. "A healer w-will be of vital importance to our journey, s-so it is a relief, an honor, and a pleasure t-to meet you..."

[Drathi]

[NessySchu]

Jetta frowned a bit when Loren referred to them as his teammates, but she shrugged it off, not wanting to make a bad first impression on these people by causing a scene. "I'm Jetta Brock," she introduced herself, "And this is Finnick."

[Kinokokao]

[Aeiren]

"Um... It's alright..." Lix replied and tried to hide an obvious troubled look on her face with a bow towards her young companion. Lix was prepared for a reply, but she clearly did not think on how to respond back.

I hope she doesn't think I'm scary....

Ceres suddenly stood up and greeted a noble looking young lad, who had approached them. Following him were several others whom were at the Hall earlier. Introductions followed suit, leaving only Mina and Lix still mum among the friendly atmosphere.

"Lix. Lix Neriea..." Lix uttered, as she bowed towards her new companions.

All of them seemed capable looking... I guess there shouldn't be any travelling problems.

[Riseatrance]

Grey's small entourage decided to enter the tower first.

THE DEAD TOWER
1st Floor - The mirror watches over us

You find yourselves in a large, non-descript room, it seems that there aren't many monsters running about, and those that were running about seemed to be small fry you could easily take down. However, the more interesting sight was you could now see the mirror right there, at the very end of the room, and some stairs could be seen to the right. A strange shining light emanated from the mirror, and you wonder what could be that light from the mirror. Moving forward quickly would result in less unnecessary fights, but you may miss some interesting nooks and crannies containing shinies.