OoC: Okay, I'm late. Lab write-ups. -_-

BiC: First the note with it's puzzle, then the arrival of an elf, and now this - Brann was not having a good evening. Not that such a thing was ever particularly likely for him when travelling through mortal lands with their grandly-named hovels and ignorant "scholars", but this night was turning out to be even worse than he'd had any right to expect. The elf was an irritant he could handle; the two magically-attuned human males were only a minor threat; and the foppish joker with a speech impediment was, to put it mildly, laughable - but all of them together? Coupled with a blind woman, some kind of assassin, and a pale-skinned bloodsucker?

Even worse, every last one of them seemed to have identical notes - exactly the same as the one that sat on the table in front Brann. It made the puzzle all the more intriguing, but it was a distraction he could ill-afford.

Brann frowned as something in the room shifted slightly. His dark eyes wandered through the shadows for a moment before coming to rest on a figure at the top of the stairs leading to the bedrooms. It was dressed in white, and held a dark staff.

The fire-mage hissed. The woman was a demon summoner, of all things - and with the way the night was progressing, no doubt she'd get in his way as well.

Still, there was no point in getting himself worked up over this situation, so Brann forced his body to relax a fraction and breath deeper. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't dealt with things like this before, even with important projects that he had to keep an eye on.

Then the elf swept her gaze around the room and met his eyes. He could almost hear someone telling her that wasn't what he seemed, apparently ending with some endearment that emphasised the elf's relative youth and -

Brann blinked. He could hear someone saying that.

I’m sorry. I am not familiar with them, the voice continued. But then again, someone else could have renamed them. Humans tend to do that to ancient artifacts and places.

Brann focussed on the sound of the voice and sought out it's source. His eyes came to rest on the broadsword that the elf carried - at least she had a proper weapon of adequate craftsmanship, rather than one of the flimsy toothpicks many elves seemed to favour. Something shimmered beneath the surface of the blade. There was a soul encased in the weapon...the soul of a dragon.

And not just one dragon, either - Brann counted seven shining auras, and an eighth that seemed to drink up the light in a manner that was normally associated with demons. That one would be the most dangerous, then, but Brann knew how to handle such a being.

This was it, then - a puzzle he could not avoid, a band of mortals that caged him, and eight dragons who had either been imprisoned or submitted themselves to a mortal. An elf, no less.

Brann's search would have to wait for now. He only hoped that Allana and the one he sought could forgive him for the delay.

The elf got up and led the group around her towards the door, evidently seeking to discuss things away from prying eyes and the increasingly irritable barkeep. Brann was in the process of finishing his water when two other women - one of whom had likely been drinking too much, while the other definitely had - crashed into his table.

Brann sighed and stood. Turning for the door, he flicked the barkeep a coin that shone gold in the tavern's dim light - after all, what use was the metal except as decoration? he could afford to waste it - and followed the elf-led mortals.

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Chetarren Caesar||Ilyena||Laurana||Brann
"I can't be bothered to procrastinate. Maybe I'll do it later." - Pandaemonium
"Ugh! Rew again?? He's not even in this damned clan!" - Din