Age of Ashes

"I'll admiit they are fascinating...but more like a giant spider making a web is fascinating. You want to watch but at the end of the day you're going to squish it. Watching just affords you better odds of doing so," Helga shrugs, takes a swig of coffee and exhales. "Also they're good fighters and I can respect that"

"In truth, my interest in the academics mainly was to afford me a bit more leniency to ask questions and poke around where I shouldn't be, though the general knowledge was useful! ...Would, have been useful if I didn't struggle to wrap my head around some of the finer points without butting heads with some professors. I know the clothing marks me as a bit of a snob but, trust me when I say that I do not like stuffy, self-important folk who believe 'knowledge is all blah-blah-blah and you shouldn't go around unraveling secrets and, hey, were you just looking through my desk drawers to help your fellow students cheat on their tests,' so on and so forth. What use is any knowledge if you don't use it to ask questions and help people, right?" Realizing a bit too late that she was rambling, she sits back a bit with another sheepish grin and clears her throat. "Ahem, s-sorry about that little tirade." She notices something amiss when she takes another scan of the room, mainly that, to her trained eye, her own shadow seems to have up and left. She squints a bit harder and makes another scan around the bar, before noticing its' presence behind the smaller pair of adventurers, between their own shadows, a bit deeper in color than theirs. She rolls her eyes and speaks in a more flowy tongue than before, practically chiming and singsong, and it rejoins her, though not without firing back in a similar flowing manner. A few floating lights manifest around the fetchling's head and the bar and she groans, while the other voice seems to giggle, much to her chagrin.

The kobold's bright blue eyes try to follow the odd shadow anomaly as best she can, opening her notebook to scribble down a few things before clapping softly at the floating lights. Vale produces a small metal ball from a pouch at her side and taps it with a claw to make it glow with soft light before rolling it towards the shadowy new friends.

Conferva, in a small deft motion, rolls the ball into her palm, illuminating her inky black skin. Practically almost formed of shadow, she rolls it around, performing some small parlor tricks with it before, with a smile, she rolls it back. A small snap, though not from her, and the floating lights wink out. " I see nothing escapes your eyes, small one. I apologize for her interruption, she can be... difficult." To which, her shadow hops onto the bar, and waves a hand, practically a twin to the fetchling woman, but more... rough and tumble, in nature. Otherwise, she bears the same features.

"Well, can't say I've seen that one before," Gin says, taking another pull on her drink as she examines the fetchling's surprise twin. "Didn't see her come in with ya... she wasn't in that box was she?"

"It seems she... animated her shadow," says Adelle. She points out the shadows cast by herself and the others, then gestures to Conferva's current lack of a shadow. "That is ... interesting."

Conferva's shadow offers naught but a quiet giggle, raising a finger to her lips in a hushing gesture. A markedly more scratchy feminine voice than the young woman's own whispers out of the shadow, "Right, but also wrong. I am her shadow, you see, and we're thick as thieves, ever since we were little," she manages to get out, though the last part comes out in a tongue spoken only by devils, which likely doesn't earn her any favor with the rest of the bar on presentation alone. Conferva throws up her hands with an exasperated sigh, followed by a, "Jill, you're gonna scare these nice people! Would it kill you to cut a nicer impression for once?" To which, "Jill" lets out a hearty chuckle and sits down proper in one of the stools. Conferva rolls her eyes and produces the white box, which features a miniature crank. "And to answer an earlier question, no. The box is... a personal effect. It just plays music, I'm just a bit worried about always keeping it functioning." Jill moves to open her mouth, but instead chooses to stay quiet, a minor flash of emotion jumping across her face as she slumps a little bit. Conferva barely notices.

Not too long later, a bell chimes to mark the coming midday hour, and the tavern's other patrons hurry to finish their drinks and meals - it's almost time for the Call to formally begin, and the crowds have congregated in Monument Circle, an aptly named plaza which holds six wells from which the townfolk can draw water, situated around a tall statue of Lamont Breechton, the town's founder.

Around 40 villagers have gathered by the time the five aspiring adventurers arrive, chatting amongst themselves while they wait, though many cast interested glances at the new arrivals, and it's clear they're half the talk, especially among curious and awestruck children.

A finely dressed goblin paces just in front of the main doors, arms clasped behind her back; the nervous air about her cleanly marking her apart from the rest of the crowd.

As the bell rings, Adelle says "It's been nice meeting you all, but I'd better go get ready now. See you at the Call."

When the others arrive in the plaza, Adelle is already there, now wearing armor. She's carrying a polearm, and she also has a shield and a morningstar.

Vale yawns and stretches a bit, dressed in her proper gear with a crossbow nearly as big as herself strapped across her back. Despite her earlier eagerness, there is a small air of nervousness as she either plays with a few sling bullets in her palm or runs a claw along her impressive horns. Her bright eyes follow the goblin as she adjusts the strap on her crossbow.

Before leaving the bar, Conferva takes a deep breath and dons a witch doctor's mask, concealing her face from prying eyes as she stands up from the bar. She habitually pats the white box, and her "twin" melts into the floor, rejoining her proper as her shadow. She goes over her gear bit by bit before following her fellows out at a safe enough distance, with a bit more confidence in her stride. Behind the mask, she scans the crowd for the others, before turning her attention to the goblin up front.

Gin, the exact same as she had been in the tavern, approaches the pacing goblin. "You seem nervous," She says, taking up a position leaning against the wall just beyond her pacing route.

As Gin approaches, she can overhear the wroman worrying about "her people" potentially trapped in the citadel on the hill, though when spoken to, she starts, then draws herself into a more dignified pose before she responds, "Oh, I'm sorry. I am, if I'm to be honest, but how may I help you?"

"Well, I can't claim to know how this whole thing works, it's my first time here after all, but," Gin starts, casting a glance over the gathered crowd. "Everyone else here seems pretty excited. Crowd like this, one person looking especially nervous, one stationed right at the door at that, well, let's just say I'm feeling curious."

Adelle approaches Gin and begins to say "Maybe you should—" but she stops when the goblin mentions Hellknight Hill. "Really?... My uncle was once posted there. If you need us to go there, my knowledge of the place might be useful..."

Warbal brightens somewhat at the offer, but replies, "Indeed, it would! But this is precisely why Breachill holds the Call! Please, wait to hear my petition in full, and then offer your service to the council when it is accepted!"

Gin nods. "Well, that makes sense. But hey," She says, giving the goblin a grin. "If something goes horribly wrong and they for whatever reason deny your request, now you've got two interested adventurers anyways. And we can probably rope in some others, I know for a fact there's another member of this crowd who's interested in your hill there." As she speaks, she looks over at Helga. "So maybe that'll help some of the nervousness."

Helga decides to hang out amongst the villagers, she's used to seeing goblins, even nervous ones, so hanging around taller races is cool

Conferva taps a rhythm with her foot, humming a tune to herself as she keeps her eyes about the scene. She watches the exchange between the goblin, Gin, and Adelle, before tearing her eyes away and casting her gaze about for someone to suit her questions, a local with access to some history. Perchance a local scholar or librarian, or bard, even, if she could pick such an individual out in a crowd. She reflexively palms the box at her side and takes a deep breath to assuage her nerves, knowing just how easily she's picked out of a crowd herself and dreading that knowledge.

Warbal nods, retaining much of the composed air she had put on for the sake of the conversation, though some of the visible worry creeps back in as well, as she glances over the crowd and awaits the start of the Call

=====================

Despite the presence of Breachill's Archives mere yards from the town hall itself, no such individual would catch Conferva's eye, though she and her mask do attract the attention of the villagers - those who's attention Helga had not already claimed, at least - and both find themselves beset by curious children, and more respectfully greeted by other villagers, pelting the pair with questions such as, "Where did you come from? What's that mask for? Oh, are you a wizard, can you show us a spell? Yeah, show us something cool!" and "Can I play with your axe? How did you get so strong! did you hafta beat up a lot of bad guys? Can you teach us how?"

With two centers of attention already popping up, Vale's lucky enough to escape notice for now

Helga smiles and ruffles the ragamuffins' hair one at at time. "I got so strong by practicing, and yes, beating up bad guys" She wavers at the axe and teaching questions, "No, this is a special axe, and I'll train you when your older, how about that?"

Conferva crouches down next to the children and nods her head twice for affirmation to the last question, but pantomimes a shush in front of the mask's beak. She snaps a finger and does a little pirouette, and Jill forms out of the ground next to her, both of them striking a pose. Conferva under the mask beams from ear to ear, contrary to Jill's slight frown. For their next trick, each casts their own spell; Jill manifests four lights around the children, guiding the lights in odd patterns before letting them come to rest over their heads like little halos. Conferva on the other hand, goes to each child and inscribes words on some of their arms. Some read "Hope," others "Care," and they all glow with a little light to them. Finally, she inscribes "Love" on the ground, and with a snap of her own fingers the messages fade, but with another they come right back. The both of them bow wordlessly in sync, and Jill fades back into the ground, whispering in Infernal that Conferva "owes her for this one!" And with that, Conferva taps the beak of the mask again with a chuckle.

"Aww, but we wanna be heroes now!" the kids surrounding Helga whine, though their parents insistence quickly gets them to quiet down.

Those around Conferva watch with wonder sparkling in their eyes as the show begins, paying rapt attention to every graceful movement and the motions of the lights, then begin cheering as the pair take a bow; "Wow, that was so cool! Thank you! I'm gonna tell all my friends about this!"

Soon after, the clock chimes noon proper, and the assembled crowd filters into the town hall, where guards direct them to the council chamber, and everyone takes their seats. The guards then return to their positions outside the chamber. The chamber itself is set up as an auditorium of sorts, many rows of seats in the middle of the room split by a carpet running the center of the room, leading to a raised dais at the back where the council members themselves are seated at a single large desk, separated into sections for each. Bronze plaques on their sections of the desk name each council member.

One of the first in, being very close to the door as they start admitting people, Gin takes a seat near the back anyways, the better to watch everything.