Aftermath and Prelude

After being interrupted by Geise there wasn't much else to do. The various crowds went back to their mingling though most of the conversations now dealt with both the match and names they knew out of the adventurers who had made themselves known in the caravan. No one really paid any mind to the small group which had formed in the arena, even if one of them had just been involved in the match.

Though they had originally congratulated, emotions were running high and soon voices had raised." Have you lost your mind Aldrich?! " Ceres was livid, jabbing his finger into Aldrich's chest repeatedly even with Mia trying to calm him down. Herran, Raen, and the others from the village all stood to the side quietly and listened as the two carried on. Only Hala had not joined with the group, still remaining with the elite crowd and in fact disappearing with Bhromir. No one really knew what to think about that strange turn of events but more important was dealing with Aldrich.

Ceres had of course been waiting for the minotaur to try anything fishy and had started charging the arena right before Geise had stepped in. Though their wooden weapons could only do so much, he wasn't about to just stand to the side and watch Aldrich be maimed. 

Raen was exactly the same, he had been right there next to the arena and had nearly interrupted himself though a strange force had held his legs in place. After a few short words it was clear that one of the actual adventurers must have used their ability to keep him from joining in, which likely had been for the best. Aldrich was lucky enough as it was and he carried a shield, Raen would have been in a very dangerous situation facing a minotaur ready to gore him, and more so since it was likely that should he have stepped in so too would have other elites.

Aldrich knew that he had been too close to courting death but if he had to do it all over again he would in a heartbeat. Try as he might to get a word in edgewise, between Ceres and the others there was no room to speak. So he quietly listened to them rant, noticing that out of them all only Raen and Mia were not trying to bite his head off. Hopefully the rest would calm down soon enough.

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~Smack!~

Hala watched with wide eyes as Geise entered the elaborate carriage and without a word walked up and slapped Bhromir across the mouth. Though a moment ago the beastman had been ranting and raving about how he would one day pay Geise back for the humiliation, now he could only stand there dumbly and thankfully quietly or else Geise likely would have kept going. Though the exterior was that of a carriage it actually seemed more like a large room, likely an enchantment by the runes that could be seen etched into the crown molding and around the exterior of the carriage.

" Do you have any idea what would have happened if you actually killed that man? " Geise was livid, a definite change from his earlier reaction when stopping the fight. " One, not only would you have been thrown in prison for murder as clearly this was meant to be a simple match, but you would have dishonored your father as well as spat in the face of every adventurer in the caravan. How do you think it would look if we couldn't protect one of you due to some stupid little brawl by those who lack any real ability?! You would only be able to hope that prison could protect you from those who you would have disgraced. "

Hala was more confused than anything, the way events had played out made it seem that Geise could barely care about the fight save to stop it and that he didn't even consider Bhromir as more important than Aldrich yet he had gone to speak with Bhromir right after. In fact even the beastman seemed quite surprised by this fact, right now was only the second time they had been face to face. The two decided to just sit in silence and let Geise continue on.

Geise looked from Bhromir to Hala and paused for a moment, curious as to who she was. Sure she was pretty, but why was Bhromir keeping her of all people around when clearly she wasn't someone of status? A wave of his hand put a wall of wind around her that would keep her from hearing what he was about to say. " Look, your world is not the same as the one you are about to step into. Truth be told your father did ask me to watch out for you though I was hoping you would be more reasonable...feel however you need to about the horn but learn your place quickly. Your dad might not have gotten the word to you but monster populations are on the rise, nests are popping up faster than we can clear them, and the expeditions have been resulted in more dead than the past few years combined in the last three months alone. I don't care what you two do. Be rivals, be friends, hell be lovers for all I care but I need every man available as does everyone else. "

Bhromir growled at this and stepped to Geise finally, the smaller man actually smirking when he did so. With a finger jabbing into his chest the beastman started to go off, a man could only take so much after all. " You know what fine, I can admit that the world I lived in is different from the one you and my father inhabit. But don't think that means you can insult me like that, one day I will pay you back for it. "

Geise actually laughed and swatted Bhromir's hand away before waving his hand again to remove the wind wall. Turning to leave he called out for one last time before leaving the carriage. " I can only hope that you and the rest can get that strong one day. If you can ever manage that, I'll happily eat my words. Don't cause any more trouble and I'll tell our healers to fix your horn after the Awakening. "

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The hooded figure of Vyral stood at the edge of the crowd, thinking to herself about what had just happened. No one had tried to bother her thankfully or she would have snapped at them, though the fight had seemed simple enough something had been off with its conclusion. After all, it wasn't as if any of them were worth more than the possibility of potential. They had yet to even Awaken or be tested, and the tests she knew of sometimes resulted in a loss of life. It seemed that the tribe shaman was right, things were changing on Synecca.

It wasn't until the crowd around Aldrich dispersed with half going with a man she didn't know and the rest leaving with Aldrich. She noticed that Raen who had bumped into her earlier was going with the other man though he kept shooting looks back at Aldrich. ' They must have had a falling out...I wonder... ' Only Raen and her driver knew what she was. Maybe now would be a good time to find out more about him, it never hurt to have allies even if they were human.

It was easy to keep in the shadows since it was already so dark outside, her hooded outfit also helped to hide her. Where as Bhromir had stitched runes fit for combat, Vyral's had ones designed to help her do exactly what she was at that moment, stay hidden and silent as she tracked others.

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Melinda watched from a distance as Vyral stuck to the shadows and followed behind the  group with the man that had approached the middle class earlier on. That demi human was a strange one, but it wasn't really her business. What had really caught her eye was something that likely no one else had taken notice of. 

Just before Geise had stopped the match, she had seen that man shift his stance and prepare to strike. Of course if the one fighting was his friend it made perfect sense, but what had been peculiar was the small fluctuation around his weapon. It was only a wooden practice weapon so it shouldn't be heavily enchanted, but that tremor was certainly magic in nature and he had followed it with his hands. One who had yet to Awaken couldn't see the energy of magic, only physical manifestation. For example, she had seen the blades of wind Geise sent out where as the crowds of soon to be adventurers were shocked when Bhromir's horn was sliced into pieces. 

She wouldn't stop Vyral from being nosy because it might work out in her favor. If the man was as magically inclined as she hoped he was, she might just be able to steal him over to her district before anyone else noticed his potential value. Of all races humans were the least likely to have such a talent, even behind the beastmen that did not make for good magic users. Hopefully he would pick at least one magic when he Awakened or else who knew how much of a waste it could be?