54 Day of Rest: Amari's Perspective

Blurring from rooftop to rooftop, Amari followed Ioune out of sight. She didn't trust him, someone of a high ranking from a kingdom as large as D'vrais had to have some sort of ulterior motive. She watched as he went from stall to stall, purchasing random things, fruits, vegetables, bread, one of the vendors sold little figurines carved from wood. Amari watched as Ioune appeared to buy a couple that slightly resembled her and Ai.

'The fuck is this guy doin' buyin' shit like that? Is he some kind of closet perv?'

Amari blurred away to a nearby alleyway as she pulled the hood over her head, pulling it low enough to conceal her face, but not enough that she couldn't see. She walked out of the alleyway and tailed Ioune as he entered one of the shops. She leaned against the wall of one of the buildings, activating her [Disguise Self] skill to make her skin appear a little paler.

She waited a few minutes before she saw Ai walk out of the same shop, wearing a new outfit of white and blue with a new dark blue cloth cloak. She pulled the hood over her head and walked off to the direction of Hoat'l's smithy. Amari contemplated following her sister to see what she was up to but decided to keep an eye on Ioune instead.

A short while later, Ioune exited the shop, donning a new white cloak that was a lot less flashy than the white and gold one he had worn previously. Amari thought that this was entirely unnecessary and found it suspicious. Did he buy a cloak just to speak to Ai? Was he hitting on her? Amari clenched her teeth as she fastened her cloak a little bit tighter and followed Ioune further into town.

Following behind him, she ducked into a nearby alleyway as he turned around suddenly, her eyes turned amber as she started to follow him again once she felt him continue down the road. Eventually, she followed him to the familiar tavern, The Sunken Oak, and watched as he went inside.

'The hell could he be doin' here? Ain't those men of the cloth supposed to avoid alcohol? Not to mention Sherry runs a brothel underground, so he IS a perv! Watch out sis, this guy might try somethin', I'll be watching you, perv!'

Blurring up to the 'roof', Amari startled a few of the patrons sitting up on the deck as she ran up to the staircase, kneeling down by the railing, she honed her senses to listen in on Ioune as he started talking to Sherry.

"Miss Sherry, long time no see, how are the birds doing?" Ioune asked as he removed his hood.

'I knew it! He is here for the girls!'

"Ah? High Priest? It's been forever, sugar. My birds are fine, no short supply of work 'round these parts these days, in both ways, if you know what I mean."

Ioune chuckled and sat down at the bar. "Glad to hear it, I was wondering if you heard any news about the Empress. Our diviners warned us of her plans but weren't able to track her location or capabilities."

Sherry chuckled and leaned in. "You know the crows are lingering, right?"

Ioune smiled and nodded. "She is a friend, she just doesn't trust me yet, understandably so. Don't worry, she is a member of the party we established to take on the Empress."

'Ah shit, he knows.'

"Ah." Sherry nodded and started pouring a glass of ale. "In that case, come down and join us, Amari, poured you a glass of your favorite!"

"Tch." Amari clicked her tongue and blurred down, falling onto one of the stools.

"For the record, I still think you're a pervert." Amari scoffed as she grabbed the glass of ale and chugged it down in one gulp.

"P-pervert? What could possibly give you that idea?" Ioune blushed and lowered his head.

"You went and bought those little figurines of me and sis, what other reason could you have besides being a pervert, eh?" She said as she glared at Ioune.

"Aha, well, I bought them as gifts for the two of you. You both hold each other in high regard, so when I saw the carvings, I thought you both might want one of each other." He said as he pulled a little wooden figurine out of his robes that vaguely resembled Ai, offering it to Amari.

Amari blushed, the effect being slightly enhanced as her skin was still pale from being disguised. "O-oh, well, thanks, I guess." She took the figurine and looked at it, the dress had been painted blue and the hair black with small lines of white, the rest of the figurine that would represent skin was left unpainted.

Ioune smiled as he pulled out the one that represented Amari, it looked a little bit messier as it was harder to carve out the details of her small leather chest and waist pieces, they were simple, colored brown, the hair was black with larger patches of white. "If you'd like, you could give it to her." Ioune offered as he held out the figurine.

"Nah, I think it'd be weird if I did it, it's your gift anyway. Just don't think about hitting on her or I'll beat your ass."

Ioune coughed and scratched his cheek as Sherry laughed at their shenanigans.

Sherry cleared her throat and took a more serious expression. "Well, miss Amari, like I was gonna tell the High Priest here, my birds found out that the Empress has indeed left her island, she is sailing on a ship bound for Caladan Proper, so she is going straight for the kill. I've already warned the King, so he should be evacuating elsewhere while the champions head to the capital to defend against her."

"That sounds about right, we expected her to go straight to the capital. Our group will be heading there tomorrow, thankfully we have the Azulian Flame with us, so we can get there instantly."

"You mean the Azulian Terror? Ain't she wanted around the holy kingdom? How'd you get to teamin' up with a gal like her?" Sherry looked shocked as she scratched her head.

"Desperate times and all that, Lord D'vorik was aware that she was here and decided to offer a pardon if she should help us. She isn't aware of the pardon yet so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell her should she ask." Amari spotted a raven that flew in from the ceiling, gliding down to the lower section of the tavern.

Sherry nodded and looked to Amari. "Say, sugar, have you ever heard of the mythical weapon known as Gungnir? My birds told me about a giant spear located in a dungeon near the capital. Rumor has it only the strongest can carry the thing. Might be something to look for before the bitch strikes, yeah?"

"THE Gungnir? Spear of the gods? Hell yeah! Legends of the spear were passed down by Stoneheart warriors ages ago. What's the name of the dungeon?" Amari asked, unable to hold any excitement.

"It's in a place called Hafnir's Rest. They say the portal opened up some time ago, and explorers reported some level 20 Frost Giants led by a mean-lookin' Level 22 that was carrying a spear matching the description of Gungnir from ancient texts." Sherry explained as a scantily-clad woman with dark hair that waved out to look like feathers climbed up from a ladder hatch behind the bar and whispered into Sherry's ear.

"Ah, thanks sugar, well friends, news from the front. The Empress is bringing a single ship filled to the brim with mana stones, so that confirms her strategy. She plans to summon her massive army of shadow spirits. This'll make things easier since all we need to do is set up an anti-magic barrier around the capital, still can't underestimate her though since her level is bat-shit insane."

Ioune furrowed his brows as he scratched his chin. "This will indeed still be tough, I doubt an anti-magic barrier will work on her, although it will weaken her minions and her spells, we should still try to take every advantage we can find. Sherry, can your birds keep an ear out for any more artifacts?"

"Sure thing, sugar. Y'all be careful."

"We will, stay safe Sherry." Ioune said as he stood up and turned to walk to the door.

Amari reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Wait, sorry for assuming you were up to no good, thanks to you, we might stand a chance against this bitch."

Ioune simply smiled and nodded as the two of them headed out of the tavern.