Mr. Solomius' Tasks

Malik

The excitement at the possibility of returning to his gypsy lifestyle far outweighed any fear in Malik's mind. It was a fearful thing, though. The land of the giants, far to the north of Pottindale, had been the demise of his old tribe. It was unfamiliar territory for his people, and many perished in the brief time they camped there, either eaten or trampled by the giants. Those that remained split angrily, most leaving for the city. Soon the rest would follow, as there were too few of them left to carry on their regular practices.

Any traces of doubt Malik had left in him were gone when Mr. Solomius spoke up again. His voice was that of Yaya Helviga, the wise elder of his old tribe. She had long since died, but the sound of her voice, even if it was a magical trick, filled Malik with eagerness.

"How do we begin these quests?" he asked readily. He took a few steps forward and sat down at the table. "I am Malik," he introduced himself to his new companions. "I am more than willing to help any of you with your quests in order to get Solomius to fulfill my request."

Rathal and Mr. Solomius

"My name is Rathal." Rathal introduced himself to those he hadn't spoken to yet. "I, too, will willingly aid everyone here on their quests."

He sat down next to Malik.

"But I must repeat Malik's question - how are we to begin?" Rathal wondered aloud. "Most of us have never met before today, and our tasks are so different and each one so challenging that it will be difficult to plan our adventure. Mr. Solomius, how far would you be willing to guide us?"

"I thought you might say that." Mr. Solomius smirked, his voice back to normal. "I'm afraid I am a very busy man, so you will not be able to rely on me to aid you at any time. However, I will do whatever I can to help you when I can."

Mr. Solomius' head swivelled around, surveying everyone's expressions.

"I will not lead you, so I suggest you all come to a decision yourselves. Those who wish to aid each other might wish to decide things democratically - that is, you each have one vote, and the course of action that receives the most votes is the course of action which you all take. Of course, some of you may - nay, will - have to split off from your companions."

He turned to Melissa.

"Due to the nature of your task, this is particularly true for you. However, I am certain that you will cross paths with the others frequently, and you will probably find yourself aiding them, whether you want to or not."

Melissa did not look happy, but Mr. Solomius didn't care. He knew that things would go according to plan. For now, at least.

Melissa

"Forget it," I said. "You know that I work alone. I don't aid anyone and I don't ask for it in return, got it."

Solomius smiled. "Melissa, must you always be so rude. Listen, you want to find your brother don't you. Before he dies?"

The color drained from my face. "Asshole," I whispered.

"There we are. Now let's be a good girl and help the other troopers in their quest," he smiled.

I grit my teeth. "We'll see," I retorted, or more like hissed.

"Remember, not everyone is your friend. Some may lie to get to their goal as soon as possible," Solomius said, gravely.

I noticed that many people glanced at my quickly. I almost smiled. I was a spy. Solomius' spy. It would be hard to trust me. Good.

Selnia smiled slightly. The best way to avoid trouble like that was to always have a safeguard. If any one of them tried to double-cross her, they might not be in a fit state to go on quests of any sort for some time. That means you, Melissa, she thought to herself. It would only be a last resort, though. The girl's brother's life hung in the balance from what Solomius had said. She frowned slightly, trying to think of what sort of peril the boy might be in.

Nabin snorted when Solomius mentioned people lying to get to their goals. Nothing to fear from him, that was for sure. All they had to do was ask him.

"Personally, I'd like it if I could get rid of my curse before anything else, but I have the feeling that it's not going to happen." He stopped himself before he started going on about how easy it would be to weasel out of helping anyone once he was able to lie again, and that he was still unsure of whether or not he had the morals to keep himself from doing so.

Melissa

"So what? Do we just stand around waiting for your orders, because frankly I'm ready to get this over with," I said, one hand on my hip.

"Not good enough company for you Melissa?" He asked, grinning.

"That's one way of putting it," I replied.

"Melissa does have a point, though," Solomius sighed. "We really shouldn't waste any more time. You all have your tasks, do you not?"

I cocked an eyebrow. As far as I knew I had only been briefed on what I was suppposed to do. What did he expect? To scout around and spy on some random person. Solomius was really starting to get crazy.

"Aren't you going to at least elaborate more on our tasks?" Someone asked.

I looked up expectantly. They had a point.

**Sorry, a but confused. Just tring to get this moving along. ^^

Solomius smiled cheerfully. "But there really isn't anything TO elaborate on. That's all, friends, now perhaps you should set to work planning amongst yourselves." He gave them all an elaborate bow before disappearing through a doorway.

Selnia rose from her chair. "First things first, I suppose. Perhaps to begin we should stay as a group, then split up as it becomes more convenient."

Nabin shrugged. "I don't particularly care, as long as we can head off soon." He smiled a little at Soria. "Though it would be nice if we were in the same group."

Soria blushed.

"Any objections?" The sorceress paused, but no one spoke up. "Good. Whose task shall we set about trying to accomplish first? We can either look for Soria's father, go after the dragon, find the giant, battle the vampires, or break into the museum. Understandably each of us will be somewhat biased on which task we should tackle first, both on grounds of getting our rewards quickly and worrying that others may try to back out of helping us after our task is accomplished. That being said, we really should try to use pure reason to-"

"You never shut up, do you?" Melissa asked.

Selnia gave her a testy smile. "I suppose you have something further to add?"

"No, I just think you talk too much."

Melissa

"Well then, how about we all just sit in silence and complete our tasks like that," she suggested, sarcastically.

"Oh no, please, don't let me ruin all your fun," I said, giving a slight smile. "All I'm saying is we each know our task. Those of us wishing to get into groups should find the person or people that they wanted to work with."

"And..." Nabin asked. I rolled my eyes.

"And you go from there. I'm assuming no one wants to be in my 'group,'" I grinned. "What? No one? Pity. I know what I'm supposed to do. I'll just leave you all too it then."

"How are you think your supposed to do it then?" Selnia asked. "You will need help. Perhaps if you were a little more friendly you could do it to save your brothers life."

I spun around towards her, my cheeks red with anger. "Do not speak of my brother," I said, quiet and dangerously. "That is not of your concern and neither is my way of doing things. I work alone. I need no one and no one needs me."

"You heard Mr. Solomius. At this rate there won't be a single person on your side. You will need someone eventually," Nabin interjected.

I shook my head. "Are you crazy? Have you ever thought that maybe you are the one I'm supposed to spy on? What am I here for? To just sit around and have tea? No. It is part of my job to be tricky, sneaky and decitful. If you want to be my partner, be my guest," I said.

No one spoke up and I grinned. "Hmm, thought so." I walked away. I had to come up with a plan and fast.

*Hey guys, sorry for not posting, I've had virtually no access to the internet over the past few days. Very unlikely to happen again. Thanks for keeping this up*

Rathal

It seemed like Melissa was going to be the most troublesome person in the group. Rathal decided to leave her be, at least for now, and it appeared that everyone else had the same idea.

"So what shall we do first?" He asked, breaking the silence. "Personally, my vote is on the museum, or the vampires, as they are nearest to us. Having said that, if we are caught stealing from the museum early on we may find ourselves being pursued, but I doubt that vampires, giants and dragons will want to stray far from their lairs. As for Soria's father, it seems to me that Soria herself doesn't know much about him and I imagine it will be easier to find a Vampire Lord than a typical human."

He winced as he realised how big the assumption he had just made was. There was clearly something unique about Soria and her father, he himself just didn't know what was different about them. Mr. Solomius had strongly implied that she was of a different race - Rathal just wondered how different. Looking at her expression, he guessed that her father was not a 'typical human.'

"I'm sorry, that was silly of me." Rathal said. "Soria, given the lack of information everyone else has concerning your father, and how most people at least know of our other targets, perhaps it would be best for you to cast the first vote on our first objective?"

*Hey guys, sorry for not posting, I've had virtually no access to the internet over the past few days. Very unlikely to happen again. Thanks for keeping this up*

Rathal

It seemed like Melissa was going to be the most troublesome person in the group. Rathal decided to leave her be, at least for now, and it appeared that everyone else had the same idea.

"So what shall we do first?" He asked, breaking the silence. "Personally, my vote is on the museum, or the vampires, as they are nearest to us. Having said that, if we are caught stealing from the museum early on we may find ourselves being pursued, but I doubt that vampires, giants and dragons will want to stray far from their lairs. As for Soria's father, it seems to me that Soria herself doesn't know much about him and I imagine it will be easier to find a Vampire Lord than a typical human."

He winced as he realised how big the assumption he had just made was. There was clearly something unique about Soria and her father, he himself just didn't know what was different about them. Mr. Solomius had strongly implied that she was of a different race - Rathal just wondered how different. Looking at her expression, he guessed that her father was not a 'typical human.'

"I'm sorry, that was silly of me." Rathal said. "Soria, given the lack of information everyone else has concerning your father, and how most people at least know of our other targets, perhaps it would be best for you to cast the first vote on our first objective?"

**Wow, sorry. Forgot. :S Well, here it is:

Soria

"I'm sorry, that was silly of me." Rathal said. "Soria, given the lack of information everyone else has concerning your father, and how most people at least know of our other targets, perhaps it would be best for you to cast the first vote on our first objective?"

Soria glanced up at him, startled from her thoughts. He wanted her opinion? She then blushed uncomfortably. Thank God he didn't know about her. Thank God the others didn't know - aside from Mr. Solomius, obviously. She was glad; Melissa didn't seem the type who accepted half-breeds, and would no doubt have something to say. She didn't want Nabin, who had been so nice, to think badly of her, too. But she wished that someone knew, just so she didn't have to keep it a secret.

She glanced at Mr. Solomius, who gave her a curious smile. Soria looked away. Well, someone did know. She hoped he wouldn't say anything.

She realised Rathal and the others were still waiting for her answer. "I - I should like to help Selnia with fighting Hedron, the vampire leader." She swallowed and glanced down again. "No tyrant should reign over others, and think themselves all the more better for it."

"Okay, vampires." He turned to someone else. "What about you? What's your vote?"

Nabin Boorshield

Nabin glanced at Rathal as he asked his opinion, and as always no amount of care could keep him from sounding a bit... well, blunt.

"Personally I'd rather do my task first, as I'd like to get this curse broken as soon as possibl. However if Soria is going to help defeat the vampire I'm going with her." He blinked. He'd surprised himself a little with that one.

Soria's face became tinged with color. Nabin smiled crookedly at her. "Well, it's the truth."

Selnia shrugged. "I see no problem with this arrangement. Are we still planning to split into groups or would we rather all travel in one party?"

Rathal

"Are we planning to split into groups or would we rather all travel as one party?" Selnia asked.

It was a good question - if they split into groups they could tackle two or more tasks at once. But Rathal thought it would be safer if they went as one group.

"I would suggest we travel as one." Rathal said. "There is no real need to split the group, as we do not have to complete our tasks within a certain time, but we do need to live through them. But if anyone would prefer to travel seperately from the main group, there is nothing I can do to stop them."

There was a general murmur of agreement, though not everyone seemed to agree with him.

"Right. And it seems to me that most of us want to, or are at least willing to go against Hedron first. So, how about we get moving?"

Melissa

She hadn't exactly left. Since Solomius hadn't given her a defite task she would stick to spying on these guys. It was incredibly easy. They hardly expected her, not like they would know she was there anyway. Being sneaky and quiet was part of her job.

"Right. And it seems to me that most of us want to, or are at least willing to go against Hedron first. So how about we get moving?" Someone said. She thought his name was Rathal.

There was mururs of agreement and Melissa almost laughed. How easy it was to spy on these people. They were so innocent...so much like her brother.

Melissa bit her lip. The others were moving and there was no sense in dewelling on the past. Not when she had a job to do. One the could save her brother.

**Is this a world where carriages are used as a means of transport?

Soria

She winced as the carriage bounced in a hole in the rough road once more. Every jolt and lurch seemed to rattle her bones and bruise her body. She was not enjoying this ride. The carriage found another hole in the road and rocked so hard she almost fell off her seat.

"Careful there," Nabin grinned, watching her with a cheeky sparkle in his eye.

Selnia was glaring out of the window, watching the scenery bounce past, seemingly unbothered by the rough ride.

They were on their way to their first mission. In less than two hours they would be in the town terrorised by the vampire leader. First they'd secure an inn for the night then plan.

Two hours couldn't pass fast enough.

Soria bushed a little, but playfully pulled a face at the same time, feeling a little more at ease with her companions. Nabin's grin grew. Soria looked back out the window, wondering if she'd made a fool of herself.

The carriage found another hole.

Nabin Boorshield

Nabin cocked his head as he watched Soria. "You seem really tense for some reason. Why?"

Soria's blush deepend. "Oh... I'm just not used to, well, being accepted by people."

"Why, because of your heritage?" The boy shook his head. "At least the people who dislike me have a reason," he said. Realizing how close he'd gotten to letting slip the nature of his curse, he clamped his jaws shut. Hopefully she wouldn't ask, because then of course he'd have to tell her.

Selnia gave him an odd look, then turned back to the window.