On the Frontier (MynDonos and ShepardandtheHawke)

There are many reasons to leave a home, the many reason for the group that started it all was watching the decay of their own homeland stuck in a war with the neighboring nations. It was not going to end it seemed as all of them were just fighting to the point of ending each other. Upon this chaos a society was made to start anew away from all of this. The first thing they did was sent out search parties to find where to start anew. Sadly to took many a year before hope could truly be found. And indeed it was, on the other side of the ocean, far away from the chaos of war on a new seemingly uninhabited land, rich in space and resources. The group that returned with his knowledge was merely a token group to get back and report, the rest stayed behind to make the very first colony on this new land that they had no name for yet. But the colony was simply named. Haven. With the excited return, the society that founded this movement spread word carefully so that they could start upon this new land. They hired people with skills, and jobs that would be needed in the new land. One thing above all that they needed, was adventurers to survey this land and help them grow. This is the story of a small group of adventurers that would create the history of this new land.

Upon the landing at Haven, it could be seen this small outpost was steadily growing in the absence of the people who went to report. There was now a wall that was already being renovated to encompass the trading post that was built. Already there was an tavern and inn, a smithy, a stable, and a few farms. This was Haven, small, but growing and looking for guidance.

"Haven? What the hell kind of name is Haven?"

The speaker stood on the deck of a large ship, watching as cargo and supplies for the colony were unloaded by muscle-bound porters. Let the humans and the half-orcs do the heavy lifting, he had so much more to offer than the ability to move boxes... his wisdom and witticisms were among those talents that he considered his most capable.

Long blonde hair was pulled back behind his shoulders, tied with a simple black strip of leather to keep it out of his way, and it cascaded nearly half-way down the length of his slender form which, when coupled with the pronounced point to his ears, marked him as an elf. Other than the obvious physical cues, however, there was little to prove that he had been born among the trees of his kind; the elf named Caladrel and who called himself the Dualblade was brash and headstrong, entirely certain that he was faster and more capable than you with his swords, and entirely unafraid to draw steel to prove it. He walked with the rolling swagger that all men who had spent considerable time at sea did, as if the long captain's coat and bandana that he wore didn't give away enough of a hint that he had spent at least a portion of his life honing his skills on the high seas.

The coat was a deep black, trimmed at the hems with a bright red that matched the bandana that kept stray locks of hair out of his face, and it swirled easily around his feet as he moved, though it appeared to be weighted just enough to make it's motions deliberate and calculated, rather than unpredictable as Caladrel moved... and as it swayed and swirled, it revealed occasional glimpses of the hilts of the matching short swords belted at his waist in a broad, deceptively loose-looking belt. And it was as well taken care of as the rest of his attire, the jet black leather vest that he wore over a long-sleeved crimson red shirt, and matching, plain black trousers that were tucked into knee-high leather boots. The outfit was as flashy and showy as the elf who wore them, who normally wore a large, self-satisfied grin on his face when he knew that he was the center of attention. Now, though, as he surveyed the colony from the deck of the ship that had brought himself and his companions here, he shook his head slowly.

"This place is a dump. There can't be anyone or anything here worth being here for, can there?"

"That depends on what you consider worth being here. Alex seems to be convinced that the money and chance for adventure are worth being here for... and you know he likes showing off almost as much as you do."

The new voice belonged to a man that looked almost exactly like the one that was walking next to him, one of a pair of nearly-identical twin brothers. Both were the same height and same general build, both wore their dark brown hair cut short and clean; the only way to tell the two of them apart was to look them dead in the eye... the only biological difference between Sung and Alex Olquin was in their eyes. Sung's right eye was a brilliant crystal blue, while his left was an emerald green, and Alex's were just the opposite. Beyond that, the two were so physically alike that they could... and had, in the past... pose as one another and confuse anyone who was only passingly familiar with them.

That wasn't to say, however, that the brothers were difficult to tell apart in normal situations, however. In fact, most people had no trouble at all telling them apart when they were together and dressed as they were now... and no matter what Sung might have to say about his brother and showing off, none of the three of them were immune to or strangers to being gawked at on the streets.

"You're one to talk, your holiness..." Caladrel drew out the title as he looked back at Sung, whose gold-trimmed white robes were shockingly clean, despite the conditions on board the ship they'd been travelling on. Neither of the other two had cared to ask how he kept the robes so clean, though considering how much had been spent on them neither would have been surprised to discover that they were enchanted with a magic of some kind just to keep dirty and other sources of grime from sticking to the fabric. "You do know than when people realize that you're not actually a cleric or any official religious personage, they're going to rebel about as quickly as that last group did, don't you?"

"It's not my fault those people were worshipping me. I didn't even know it was happening at the time..."

"And you didn't do much to stop it when you did figure it out. We tried to tell you, by the way. That's the only place we've been that the people paid more attention to you than they did Caladrel and I. That ought to have told you something right there."

Alex's voice was light and teasing, his eyes flashing with amusement as an easy grin split his face, and it didn't take much to figure out what it was that drew people's attention to him as he leaned against the railing of the ship as it bobbed at the docks. Where Caladrel was flashy and impressive, and Sung looked every bit the part of a high priest, Alex's simple long-sleeved shirt and cotton trousers were downright utilitarian, his boots hard-soled and worn, with a vest that had pockets on nearly every reachable surface. In shades of ivory and brown, there was doubt that none of it was particularly note-worthy.

But where his outfit looked like it was compensating for the wealth of attention that the other two members of the small group would attract, Alex knew full well that no small number of the people that were standing at the docks, just out of the way of the workers unloading the ship to gawk at the new batch of adventurers, were trying to figure out just what it was that was slung across his back, or what he had sitting in the odd-looking sheath at his right hip. There were only a very few people in the world that were as on the cutting edge of weapons' technology as Alex was... and as pointed as that terminology might seem, the lightweight pistol and longer rifle that he carried had nothing whatsoever in common with anything that had come before them. Even the mighty crossbows and war bows paled in comparison to the sheer destructive force that he carried so almost-negligently at his side.

"Well if they hadn't been so used to tithing half their income to their clergy, I might have been more inclined to tell them what was really going on. And I didn't hear either of the two of you saying anything to them about the situation. You were just as perfectly happy to take their money while we were exploring those ruins as I was."

"We weren't the ones impersonating a cleric of Iomedae." Caladrel shrugged lightly, his attention following the last of the dock workers as they finished with their work, and then he nodded towards the gangplank as it emptied. "Looks like they're done. Come on, let's go see what riches and wealth Haven holds for us..."

Together they walked down the gangplank to the docks, with the elf in the lead and the gunslinger bringing up the rear. It was a brave new world, and there was no telling what they would experience or encounter here, though first up on their plans was the nearest inn with available roms that wasn't too far from a tavern...

The would be pleased to knwo that the local tavern was also the inn as well for those who wanted a stiff drink and a soft bed after. It was partially bustling today with a lot of the farmers coming in. Into the outpost to get supplies, request shipments, and post any issues that was coming up that adventurers could deal with for coin. Those were set up on a large board by the door so it was easy to get to. The owner monitored it to make sure no ridiculous requests were added, she couldn't deal with that annoyance. The tavern was simply known as the Ample Nymph, owned by a woman known as Einn Fulgrum. She was a young woman, still in her early twenties, with ownership of this fine establishment. Einn was a woman with long blonde locks that went past her waist, brillant light blue eyes like the sky on a clear day and healthy glow with her pale skin. Her figure is what mostly got the attention of all those who saw her. Long supple legs, wide hips, a large round ass, and a huge bust was seemed impossibly perky. Einn was no fool and used it to her advantage, dressed in a very sluttly off the shoulder barmaid outfit that showed so much of her cleavage that the very tops of the areola could be made out, the waist cinched with a leather corset, and the skirt very short, but a slit was still.on the right side that showed even more of her leg and made it easier for her to move around, a black tiny undergarment could be seen from time to time when she walked, like a small triangle that covered her sex, but her her round cheeks were easily shown. Einn owned and ran this place by herself it seemed as people came.up to get their own drinks before sitting down. Einn looked to the new travelers and smiled, her smile was bright and warm, "Welcome to the Ample Nymph travelers, what can I get for you today? We actually do have a fine collection here of meads, ales, and liquors."

It hadn't been difficult at all to get directions to the Ample Nymph, and as soon as they had set foot inside the building they were glad that they had. The place looked busy, filled to the brim with the sort of folks who looked like they needed someone else to solve their problems for them, and a quick glance around gave all three of them at least two potential marks. They were easy to spot here, where there were no other adventurers yet to spread through the tables like wolves amongst the helpless sheep. The board near the door with requests tacked to it would make things even more easy than any of them wanted to deal with normally... but here, on this new continent, they would have to establish names for themselves. They were the unknowns here, and that meant that they might have to resort to simply taking what jobs they could get easily.

"Alex, go check out the board and find us a couple of jobs. And don't be afraid to pull something that looks like fun... it shouldn't take more than a couple of good paydays before we make a reputation for ourselves here." Caladrel didn't bother to look back at the gunslinger as he spoke, his attention drawn to the woman, the only apparent employee here at the inn, a faint grin on his face.

"You do it! I was about to..." The twin stammered as he responded, his own attention on the beautifully busty and scantily dressed woman making her way around the bar room, but he didn't get a chance to finish his protest before being cut off.

"About to find us some of that adventure and money that you were so convinced would be here. That's where it'll be waiting for you, go find it." There was a scowl from Alex, but his brother just grinned and grabbed him by the shoulders, turning and leading him back towards the board, walking along with him. "Don't compete with him, Alex. He's cocky and arrogant... if she goes for him, I guarantee you'll get a shot at some point. If she doesn't, then you don't want to come off the same way..." That seemed to calm the gunslinger a little, and there was no more argument as the two stepped back to check out the job board.

And while they were doing that, Caladrel sidled up to the bar counter to tip his head to the woman even as she welcomed him, a smile on his face as he considered her question.

"Dwarven whiskey, a dark ale, and a mead, if you will. And for me, at least, I think the real question is, 'Can we do anything for you?' My companions and I almost literally just got off the ship, and I was wondering if there was anything at all we could do around here for someone like you..." His eyes wandered as he asked it, flicking down over the nearly obscene amount of cleavage that she was showing, before lifting back up to meet her gaze.

"Perhaps, perhaps not" Einn spoke as she poured the requested drinks, "Before I go trusting you with my troubles, you.should take care of those who need it a bit more, like real mean. Prove you are more than money grubbing adventures, and I may think about it. You are... rather fitting, for the jobs I have in mind. The three of you are. But I don't give jobs out freely. So prove you are an asset to this town, and not only will my doors open to you, but so will the others around town. Especially for a group of men such as yourselves." She winked to him with a smile, leaning close and showing much of her cleavage, the downward angle allowed him a peak at her perky pink nipples. "Can you do that?"

The job board had a few jobs for them, one was for dealing with goblin incursions on the farms. It wasn't too big, but they stole a lot of food and no one but a pig was stolen. Another asked about looking into the strange noises in the forest that was close by. And finally, there was a request of findimg another ore vein for their smithing needs, the smithy had a project they wanted to work on, and would need the special metal that was only found here.

It had been a while since Caladrel had been anywhere that people didn't know him by name... or at least by his dress... but he didn't let that response effect the smile on his face; if anything, the way the woman leaned forward and showed off even more of that impressive cleavage, even to the point that he caught a glimpse of nipples that he could just imagine sucking on, was worthy of the grin he still had. Coupled with the fact that this was the sort of challenge that the cocky swashbuckler had never, not once in his life, backed down from... well, he was starting to reconsider his initial opinion of this new place.

"We were going to do that anyway. I'm Caladrel... my companions are Alex and Sung. Give us a week and at least my name will be echoing off your walls here." He winked at her as he fished some coins out of one of the inner pockets of his jacket to drop down on the bar, enough to pay for three drinks and leave a generous tip for her. "We're also going to need rooms; do you have three open?"

"You know Caladrel is going to want to go chasing goblins, right?" Sung shook his head as he perused the board and the couple of requests that were posted there.

"So let him. Not a one of these looks like it's going to take more than one of us to handle... let him chase down the goblins, I'll go make sure there's nothing more dangerous in the forest than myself and some bullet-ridden corpses, and you can wiggle your fingers and summon up a spirit to find some ore. Hell, you should be able to do that quickly enough to go forest-delving with me. We should be able to have all of this done inside of a couple of days..." Alex reached out to grab the postings off the board, pulling them free for the information on them. Taking the one for the ore, he pressed it into Sung's chest with a grin; the oracle took the piece of paper and looked down at it, shaking his head slowly.

"Despite your shocking lack of knowledge about how my magic works, you may be right this time. If there's a vein within a reasonable distance of the town, I ought to be able to locate it by tonight. Let's talk to Caladrel before we start splitting up to go after real threats, though... go talk to him and make sure she didn't hurt his feelings already. I'm going to go see what I can do about this... somewhere where I'm not going to scare a lot of townsfolk while doing it. I can't imagine I'll be gone longer than you two'll be drinking tonight..." He folded the notice and tucked it into a pouch in his robes before glancing back at Caladrel at the bar before turning to leave the tavern.

"Be safe..." Alex knew that he didn't need to remind his brother of that, but he uttered the words anyways as he headed to join the elf at the bar just in time to reach out and grab the tankard of ale and join that conversation.

Sung, in the meantime, was headed towards the outskirts of town, looking for a somewhat secluded, rocky area to cast his magic. Once he found a suitable location, he fished the focus that he needed out of another pouch hidden away within his robes and calmed himself to start casting the spell to summon an earth elemental.

Einn looked to the gunslinger and smiled, "I'm going to guess you are Alex, and the other is your brother Sung, welcome to Haven." The barmaid giggled to them, it was nice to meet new people here, people who would help this place grow into something amazing she hoped. "Do you have any questions about Haven, it is small, but I know every one of importance here." winked to them, she hoped to get much help from these guys, the fact they were attractive did not hurt in the slightest.

With Sung, the earth was readily answering his call, the magics here were plentiful and reacting well. The process to call an elemental cut shorter than normal. Rock came together, packing and melding into a figure. Within seconds it smoothed out to that of a woman, a very curvy ample woman. Though she was made of stone, towering over eight feet, her skin looked soft to the touch. Stone hair framing her face beautifully. The elemental of earth looked like a living statue made in homage of a goddess. She kneeled before Sung, awaiting her instructions with obediance. Sung could feel magic rolling through him so much smoother as well. This land was full of possibilities, even to a caster of the divine.

"You would be correct. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Alex smiled across the bar before taking a long swallow of his drink, and Caladrel just turned and gave him a look, then glanced back in time to see Sung headed out the door.

"Where is he headed, and why is it more important than keeping an eye on you...?"

"He's going to see if he can find some ore for the smiths. He thinks he can do it and be back here before we're finished drinking... I'm betting he summons something to do the work for him." Alex shrugged, then glared at Caladrel for a moment. "And I can keep an eye on myself well enough, thank you very much. Besides, there's two more jobs for us to do, and I think we ought to see if we can find some more information about them. Is there anything you can tell us about these, or who might have posted the jobs?" Setting the two remaining postings on the bar, he slid them across to the bartender, turning his attention back to the woman again, as Caladrel glanced down at the two postings to see what they were.

Sung felt a rush of energy as he cast the summoning spell, and when the elemental appeared before him his eyes flew open with a gasp at the waves of magical power washed over and through him. "That... holy shit. This place is amazing..." After a moment he shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he looked to the elemental that he'd summoned... one that looked absolutely nothing like any that he'd seen before. One of his eyebrows cocked as he considered this stone goddess in front of him. "It seems there's some kind of strange, unique ore found in this area. I need you to locate some areas where it could be mined in decent amounts for me. Can you do that?"

"I'm Einn Fulgrum, the owner of the Ample Nymph. I run both the tavern and the inn of Haven, its a please to meet you both. I would like to say hello to Sung when he returns." She smiled an gave a coy eye batting to the both of them, she seemed to be flirting with them both. But she still kept things a somewhat of a distance, they had to prove themselves first. "Ah, he is off trying to take care of Alya's ore needs, that woman had the hardest time trying to find help getting some of it. The lass would do it on her own if she wasn't so busy taking care of all of the needs for horseshoes, tools, and basic weapons and armor. She is an inventor that one, but she needs a lot of help. I recommend helping her as much as you can, she rewards people well for their services." She moved to the posters, "The goblin one was posted by Lydia Valkyr, she runs the largest farm here and is actually the furthest out from the needs to grow things for us and the other colonies we trade with. She also runs the farmer's union, making sure they all get what they need and work together. She is a no bullshit type of woman. You be straight up with her, she will do the same for you. The issue I'm told is that there have been a few goblin raids on her farm, no big damage, but they are annoying her to no end, plus they stole her pig. The forest post is by Lydia's sister Cassie, she is a trapper for the colony, bringing furs, skins, and meats for us. She is much more laid back than her sister, so you might get along with her easier. I wish there was more I could say with this one, but that forest has been something I have never interacted. I'm sorry, you are on your own with that." She nodded to them.

The earth elemental nodded and placed a hand to the ground. She held it there for the longest time before standing and walking toward a side of a small cliff, then she began to claw it, digging in to it with ease, the earth simple moving and molding a path for her into the side of the cliff. A few minutes later, she walked out of her hole and kneeled before him, looking behind her, he could see veins of bright ore, he found quite the amount already, there was no telling how much was in there! The elemental looked to him for orders.

"The pleasure is ours, Einn. And we'll make sure to send him your way when he gets back. I'm sure he'll want to meet you, as well..."

Caladrel gave her a wink before lifting his drink and down a swallow of it, savoring the sweet burn in the pit of his stomach as she turned her attention to the postings and gave them the information that she had about them; both of the men were raptly paying attention to what she had to say... or at least were paying nominally more attention to what she had to say than her obscenely lush body... as they enjoyed their drinks. When she finished, the elf nodded slowly as he reached out to pull the first posting back to him, the one that the twins had expected he would be interested in.

"I'll handle the goblins. There can't be many of them if they're not doing damage and have only taken the one pig so far. I'll get this nipped in the bud before they get brave and start getting more dangerous..."

"We figured you'd want that one. I can handle strange sounds in the forest." Alex just grinned at his companion, then looked back at Einn to ask, "Any chance we might be lucky enough to catch either of the sisters in town tonight, or will we have to travel tomorrow to find them?"

Sung sat on a nearby rock as he watched the elemental once she confirmed that she would be able to find the ore that the outpost was looking for. He'd expected that she would be able to locate it, but what he could see from the hole that she'd left for him... for the city... in the mountain was entirely unexpected. When she re-emerged he stood and took a couple of steps into the newly formed cavern, nearly gaping at all the ore that was there just on the surface to be gathered. Turning, he looked back at the elemental, "And this cavern is stable?"

He had no doubts about the answer to that question as he headed back towards her, admiring her form for a moment. Her appearance here, what he'd felt when he'd summoned her, it was... intriguing. He looked over the oh-so-perfectly formed elemental as she knelt there so submissively, but he banished the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm his thinking. He needed to experiment and see if he could learn more about these changes before he... experimented. The corner of his mouth ticked up into a faint smile at the thought. "I thank you, for your help. And... for the help that I'm going to ask for. I'm going to release you back to where you were summoned from, but I'll be summoning you again later. I need to figure out what makes this place special..."

"As far as I know, Lydia is still at the farm, still has to run it even with goblin's being annoying little buggers. So with her, yes you will have to travel. As for Cassie, I am not sure where she is at the moment, she heads off to many places to find good game. Lydia might know where to find her sister, I wish I could tell you more, but Cassie is a bit of a free-spirited person who will travel for an unpredictable amount of time before suddenly appearing again. I can only assume with the forest issue, that she will stay close till it gets solved" Einn frowned and shrugged, her breasts jiggling pleasantly from the motion.

The Earth elemental bowed to him, before sinking into the ground and disappearing. Released from his call. The magic here was intense for sure, it felt like it could do much, but the voice in the back of Sung's head that new how magic worked warned him to be careful and not overdo it so soon. Still, what other amazing things could happen here on this new land?

"I'll take off first thing in the morning, then, to see Lydia. If the farmers here are like farmers everywhere else in the world, she'll be up at first light. I'll leave it to you and Sung to decide whether you want to go with me or not then. If you don't happen to run into Cassie tonight here in town, I would recommend that one of you go with me and one of you stay here... it'll increase our chances of finding out where she is or just running into her." Alex nodded as Caladrel spoke, taking a long, slow swallow of his beer.

"Makes sense. We'll see what he has to say when he gets back. In the mean time, I'm going to go take a walk around town and see if I can find either Sung or something about Cassie." He tipped an imaginary hat to the lovely, busty bar maid, then set his empty tankard down before slapping Caladrel on the back and heading for the door. The elf nodded, then looked back to Einn again with a faint smile. "Looks like they're going to leave me here to handle our business, then. Is it you that I need to talk to about arranging for some rooms for... at least the night?"

Alex would take off from the tavern, looking for anyone on the street that looked helpful and informative... or, really, for anyone who looked like they were paying a decent amount of attention to him as he walked through the village hunting for information.

Sung, meanwhile, was looking more for a specific person, and once the elemental had disappeared back into the earth he'd only had to ask for directions to the smithy to be pointed in the right direction. He was there now, looking into the forge for the woman whose name he had been told was Alya before knocking on the door of the large building where the smithy was.