The dice look like constellations to her eyes when its faces change.

"Thieve?" Juniper's gaze moves over from the dice to Hadrian with eyebrows arched, "As much as I would want a free pass, I don't know. Like Ten said, do we must steal? What if we got the money on our own? Emma did say her brother was still out there." She looks towards the city.

A light breeze ruffles through.

"Should we even trust that scoundrel's word? I've heard of honor, not honesty, among thieves. If we'd do so-" she looks over to the dilapidated Dabbert, "I'm beginning to be afraid that this city can corrupt us with more than just with contamination."

Heiboros scoffs at the mention of the queen's men, "You think they would keep us safe from the lanterns? They're thieves, not mercenaries. They hide from the lanterns, not fight them. We already have the blessing of the aca- I mean, we already have magic! We don't need them! There is a saying in the academy about them. 'Thieves love gold, but they love their lives more. Mages love their lives, but they love knowledge more.*' We'd do better to get the favor of the academy, they'd back us up. The queen's men would take the money and run."

*This isn't a real saying, he made it up.

"I get where you're coming from," Hadrian starts, his fingers absentmindedly playing with the charlatan's dice. "A life of crime? Not exactly what anyone dreams of. But in Drakkenheim… it's not so clear-cut, is it?" 

"Mel didn’t give specifics on the party, just the offer. 100 gold, from someone else. And sure, it sounds shady as hell, but that doesn’t mean we’ve got to go picking pockets or robbing anyone in their sleep. Think about it—there are people out there who’ve already been plundering this place, same as us. Parties that wouldn’t bat an eye if the tables were turned on them."

Hadrian shrugs. "Doesn't mean we have to be thieves either. Could just be opportunists. Drakkenheim’s already a free-for-all. The way I see it, if there’s a fight coming—and there always is—we just make sure we’re on the winning side. If someone falls, well… we take the spoils."

"And the academy, huh?" He raises a skeptical eyebrow, "Look, I know magic is a powerful resource. Hell, we’ve all seen what it can do. But trust the academy? I wouldn't go that far. You said it yourself, Heiboros—'Mages love their lives, but they love knowledge more.' That’s the problem. They’ll throw us to the wolves if it means getting their hands on some new piece of magic or unlocking a secret." 

"The Queen’s Men? Sure, they’re thieves. They don’t pretend to be anything else. But thieves… thieves stick together. They know there’s honor among them, a kind of understanding. If we give them what they ask for, they’ll keep their word. Maybe they don’t go head-to-head with the Lanterns, but they’ll make sure we’re not their target."

"The academy, though? They’d sell us out in a heartbeat if it suited them. Knowledge and power are what they care about, and the rest of us? We’re just pieces on a board. At least with the thieves, you know where you stand. They’ll take their cut and keep you alive long enough to make another score. And if we’re going to make it in this city with our skins intact, I’d rather be dealing with people who value survival over some abstract pursuit of power."

"I know nothing of human things like thievery & the Arcane."

Says Ka-Cha. 

"I will simply remain vigilant."

"Thieves take the money and run. With the queen's men, we're scapegoats. With the academy, we're... sacrificial lambs. If you know what I mean."

Juniper watches Hadrian then sighs.  She looks over to Dabbert who had wandered off back into the inn without a word some time before. "Opportunists," she mumbles. She raises her eyebrows at Ka-Cha's assertion that there are no things like robbery in his land. It brings hope to her for a little bit. Then with Heiboros's bluntness, she agrees. "We are between rocks and a hard place. We shouldn't put our morals behind us in this place. We can not end up like those bandits we stopped on the side of the road." She stops in her tracks while you all had been walking. "We can clean up, but we do no harm."

Once she says this something else catches her eye. As you all headed to Hendrix farms you all see a familiar Crowe perched up on a dead tree off to the side of the village. The freckle-faced girl looks a little bit worse for the wear but is overall in good shape. Emma yelps and covers her face but then soon enough waves over to you. She turns around to head down the tree, but stops and coughs, before fully coming down. "Hey you guys!" she shouts over to you, "You won't believe what I just saw?!"

((uhhh with Juniper I'm going to make her do her own thing soon but just trying to work this into the story))

Tendilius keeps thinking about the debate about the Academy or Queen's men when Emma comes. He files away that discussion for later as he replies to her, "Good to see you looking lively, kiddo. What'd you see?"

"HIYA!" Emma exclaims to Tendilius, nearly jumping up and down. "A- A!!!" She looks to be so giddy. She has to hold in her breath for a second before she can blurt it out. "Guess!"

"A DRAGON!!!" She goes and tells you all anyways. "I saw it! It saw it last night!!! It flew across the village. I tried to catch it!" She stops short for a second to inhale deep labored breaths. "It was so cool! You should've seen it! It got horns, the tail, and everything! I thought they were extinct!"

Heiboros's face registers shock, but then excitement. "A dragon? Really? Which way did it go? How high was it flying? How big was it?" He looks to Tendilius to make sure he's writing everything down.

"Chirk!" Ka-Cha uses his words in surprise and tilts his head to listen.

Tendilius raises an eyebrow as Emma mentions she tried to catch it.

History: 3+5 = 8
//just wondering if it's known dragons are extinct (I don't know Drakkenheim lore)

Chuckling he says, "I wouldn't try to catch one of those if I were you." He playfully makes a scary face and rawrs, "They're known to have been a tad more fearsome than that flame last night." He hasn't pulled out his book yet. Right now he's just curious to hear the tale, wondering if there might be something to it, perhaps anything was possible in Drakkenheim, or if it's the imagination of a child.

Emma gets giddy once others start to show up in attention. "YEAH! It was big! Like it was like-" She tries to gesture it with her hands a couple of times but finds it unfruitful. "I dunno. Well, maybe it was more of a baby dragon? It... wasn't too big. Like- like maybe your height! Yeah!" Emma points over to Ka-Cha Khan with zeal. She nearly would bounce out her seat if she had been sitting on one. Instead, she just coughs a bit more.

"gah. I don't know where it went. It was like over there. And then I followed it here." She waves over to the village then back towards Hendrix Farms. "Then it disappeared. I chased it all last night.." Her shoulders slouch as she gets a bit sheepish at Tendilius's comment. She then makes a chuffing noise and then mimics back another scary face at the other half-elf. "But there's nothing the Great Daring Do can't handle!" Yet then she coughs again and sort of has to squint to get her bearings together. 

"I thought they died! Crushed by the meteor! Crrree-ka!" Emma mimics a sword throw over her shoulder then stabbing into an invisible thing that she steps on the ground. "My brother told me they used to guard the square-" she sadly purses her lips then trails off. 

Ka-Cha's antennae bounce like a bow.  

"This big huh?  Rar, I'm a dragon! Rar!"

He's clearly amused.

"Yeah, it was clearly a baby dragon." Hadrian grins. Not believing Emma's story but finding it amusing nonetheless. "Too bad no one else saw it. Next time, though, I’m gonna need you to save me a front-row seat to this dragon show. I promise I won’t scare it away.” 

"By the way," He asks Emma, "You know if there's anything happening at Hedrix farm today? We're looking for something to do."

Emma's grin widens once the normally stoic thri-keen joins in on the fun. "YEAH! YEAH LIKE THAT! RAWR!!!" She mimics your antennae too with two index fingers up in her hair.

"Hmm nothing really that I know of? Why?" she asks then shrugs, "I think they all went to their 'pilgrimage' in that Crater-y thing. My brother says they do it all the time." She squints then rubs her eyes.

Juniper steps up. "Did you sleep at all today?" Emma shoulders sink as she winces. "No...?" The girl's still covered in a few burns and bruises. You're surprised her parents haven't said anything yet. Emma's eyes even seem to have lost the vibrancy it did have the day before.  "And are you sure you're feeling alright?" the druid inquires, already anticipating the answer. 

"I- um." The girl lowers her head down but doesn't shake it 'no'. 

Juniper then mutters some words, kneels, and puts her hands on the red-headed girl's shoulders. The glowing effects of an incantation spread around the Emma's body. She closes her eyes and cringes, but lets it flow. She opens them once Juniper lets go. Sure enough some of the scrapes have begun to disappear. "Come on, let's get you home."

Emma pouts but then lets her take her by the shoulder. Juniper goes to wave goodbye to all of you and takes Emma with her on her leave. Emma actually goes a few paces in front of her, already seeming to get back some of her energy. Juniper looks back to all of you.

"I want to also check out the cart-site," she whispers, "I find it a bit fishy that a dragon, even a baby one, shows up on the same night the cart was smashed, especially one with delerium so close to our inn. You all go on without me. I need to investigate something. There may be something bigger going on in this town."

You all go out to check on the farm and sure enough it is empty just like Emma had said it was. You even find the doors to the barn locked. The scattered tents flutter in the wind, beige and ashen just like the damp campfires all around them. You guess it is time to take your leave. So thus begins your journey.

With one last look at the village behind you set off for the dark city with your horses in tow. Galloping by the river's edge, the horses take to this new found freedom like a Flamesend. It is so much different than the way the bandits had treated them. Your grips on the reigns are less tighter and more freeing. They whinny with delight, though their noses bristles at the smell of the ever-coming drifting haze from the city. The afternoon sun burns brightly, creating a tropical-like humidity in the air accompanied with the choke of the increasing haze. 

Eren told you to follow the river's edge to get to the city. Travelling down the decrepit thoroughfares of Drakkenheim, you pass several buildings which have completely collapsed into rubble. Those which still stand are little more than condemned wretches teetering upon the brink of ruin. A rare few are undamaged, but still bear obvious signs of disuse and exposure: shattered windows, peeling paint, doors rotted off the hinges, and wet sagging rooftops. The cracked cobblestones are littered with abandoned refuse; broken wagons, litter, and an occasional bloodstain or scattered bones. Here and there, tiny motes of octarine glint within the light mist which hangs over the streets. For now, the streets are cold and deadly quiet. All too quiet.

Tendilius has a wide smile on his face as the party comes to Drakkenheim. After so long this was it! Drakkenheim! And those octarine glints. You just don't get those anywhere! If it weren't for the need to be on high alert he'd probably have taken out his book to write and illustrate another six pages by now. In a hushed tone he asks, "So where shall we head? Possibly an old library?"

Along the cobblestone streets, you feel the haze bristle against your skin. It is warm and humid but also cold at the same time like sweat. You go to take a look around but currently any sight of a library eludes you. You see the faint outline of the said Inscrutable Tower, but it is partly obscured by the city walls. It looks like Drakkenheim is divided into subsections or boroughs if you will.

Heiboros recognizes this place. It is next to Stick's Ferry. You followed the Drann River to a T, literally. There is a fork in the road, a continuation on the same path you were going on heading further up the river or towards another path, one that seems to be going towards what once looked to be a business district. 

There is some hoofed footsteps from inside one of the very dismantled shops. The bell above the door chimes and out steps someone you know.

"Hey Hei-o-bro!"

Cosmos. He looks giddy to see all of you.

And he is not alone. You hear some wings flapping from right behind him. Another aarokocra. 

((@PastelDetective you may introduce your character now!!! ayy))

Matte, jet black feathers fall down to the ground. The aarokocra peeks his head to take a glance at the group before covering behind Cosmos again. However after noticing Cosmos' excitement towards them, he lowers his guard.

He walks forward to stand beside Cosmos. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance" he says in a quiet manner. "I am Nyx." 

Hmm, Heiboros thinks, a crowborn. Or perhaps a ravenborn. A little smaller, but cunning enough to make up for it. Speaking aloud, he says, "Hello there, Nyx. I am Heiboros. Pleased to meet you. I have not met many of our kind here. Perhaps you know a little about the city." He then narrows his eyes and screeches, a customary greeting between Aarakocra. I wonder what he is doing here, He thinks, as sparks dance on his claws. 

*This is not a hostile action, this is simply his sorcerous magic reacting to his surprise at seeing another Aarakocra*

"What is it that you can do? I myself am a spell-slinger, my friends here each have their own talents. I am sure you have your own too." 

Having properly greeted Nyx, Heiboros turns to Cosmos. "Hello there, old friend. Have you spoken with the Arcane Ancients since we last met?" *Inside joke, while at school, Cosmos once talked about the 'Arcane Ancients' instead of the 'Arcane Energies' And Heiboros constantly makes fun of him for it.*

[[ I'm blanking. Who is Cosmos again? ]]

Tendilius, a gregarious half-elf with a wand tucked at his side, approaches the new aarakocra. "Pleasure to meet you, Nyx. I am Tendilius Mondhaven Paxaramus." He eyes Nyx's black feathers with delight, "So what brings you to Drakkenheim?"