Relaxing Walk(Solomon and Cedric, others are welcome to join too.)

Cedric needed to get away from it all, all the hustle and the noise of the city. He had walked for hours before realizing he was in the middle of... a shrine? He glanced around himself, taking note of his surroundings. Everything was calm, just what he needed.

"Hopefully there's some entertainment, though..." Cedric thought to himself. If not, he could always humor himself with his own thoughts. He closed his eyes slightly, and leaned back on a tree. Maybe he'd meet someone up here? It seemed odd someone would come here, but Cedric did have plenty odd things happen to him.

In continuing his search for the leaders of the world, all of which A.B. had head were in the East, A.B. made his way into the mountains at the suggestion of a local merchant, who had said that he had seen the king of the North, the name of which was Cedric, head that way. A.B. followed a path up one of the many mountains until he found himself at a shrine, a nice change from the city. It was quiet, much like his homeland, a quality he appreciated. 

     Stepping into the shrine, he spied a man in black leaning against a tree. He hoped this one didn't have a mask. Walking over to the man, A.B. hailed him.  "Ho! I search for King Cedric of the North. Has he come through here?"

Cedric opened his eyes as he heard rustling, and saw a large man come through to the clearing. Cedric watched as the Muscle with a Beard seemed to notice him.

 "Ho! I search for King Cedric of the North. Has he come through here?" The man asked, causing Cedric to smile broadly.

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place to find him," Cedric mused, casually lifting himself up-right from the tree he was leaning on and walking closer to the man. Cedric was always a suspicious man, and the fact this man had somehow found him was interesting. 

He didn't pose a threat, however. Cedric noted his calm and kind demeanor, knowing he wouldn't harm unless threatened. This man was no threat, at least not at the moment. 

Cedric's ears picked up on a slight rustling from somewhere in the clearing, but dismissed it in favor of focusing on the person in front of him.

"I am Cedric, King of the North. I have indeed come through here," Cedric bowed slightly to them man and reached out his hand for a hand shake. "May I ask who you are, and why you've come to seek me? I'd assume it was for a date, but a stunning man like you MUST be taken by now, and you didn't even know what to look for in searching for me," Cedric winked. "I can only guess it's for something else." He took his hand back, and smirked waiting for the man's response.

Solomon was deathly still. He had indeed made a grave miscalculation. The two strangers before him were not simple vagrants, but two of the most powerful men in all of the world. He agonized over what to do next. His instinct to hide had placed him in a rather uncomfortable predicament. If he tried to leave, the men would surely see him, and know he had been ease dropping. The very last thing he wanted to do was appear rude, or to upset any one. No, he certainly didn’t want that.

Solomon had always heard of kings, but had never actually seen one. He assumed they were for the most part fat, balding old men whose wits had left them long ago, along with any sense of reality they may have once had in there youth. These men had somewhat subverted those expectations, as both men were not pudgy old patriarchs, but rather two horribly intimidating behemoths. The larger of the two, A.D. Or something like that, was built like a castle. The man must have been seven foot tall at least, and bulky enough to break bone as easily as a grass blade. He did not seem dull either, which was unnerving for someone in Solomons current position. Despite his demeanor, the odds are he was a man who knew when he was being lied to. The other man would still tower over Solomon(why is it that everyone around here is so tall?), but was nowhere near as physically impressive. However, there was something about his demeanor that aroused an unsettling suspicion. Between that somewhat snarky tone, those intelligent eyes, and that big welcoming grin, Solomon couldn’t help but feel that this Cedric of the north had more in his thoughts than he was letting show. Either way, with the two of them going on as they were, speaking of foreign policies and obviously private matters, Solomon knew that secret listeners would get worse than a warning if discovered. He could either risk discovery, but avoid the unpleasantries of revealing himself, or he could stand up now and walk into the shrine as if he had nothing to hide.

 His body begged him to stay, or take off running, but in the end, he stood. He knew it would be against the morals he held himself to to invade the privacy of others, or to act like a common thief and scamper away like a rat. If these two were honorable men, they would forgive him for his poor decisions. It was with a shaky sigh, and a dusting of his robes that he arose, and entered. Perhaps they won’t notice me, and will just go about their buisness, He mused, as he felt the sunlight be finally relived from his shoulders. I just pray this wont be another mistake.

Something about being taken had made A.B. uncomfortable. 

Oops, dead loved one? Wife? Girlfriend? Better not mention it again.

Cedric smiled, listening to A.B. speak.

"I had hoped to discuss relations between our kingdoms with you, should you grant me the privilege." A.B. seemed to sound confident, but also a bit concerned. Cedric chuckled a bit.

"Of course, hopefully something about peace, but hey. I'm not a picky man," Cedric shrugged, and turned a bit to walk more towards the center of the circle. He lifted his hand and ran it through is white-gold hair, it was getting a bit long. Maybe he'd grow it out? He suspected he'd look more feminine with it long... He'd ask Rowena later. His daughter always knew what would work best for what situations.

Suddenly, a man stood from the foliage and came into the clearing. Cedric felt a small, bemused smile form on his lips.


Interesting, I wonder who this is?

"I'm also not a clever man," Cedric joked as he walked closer to the newcomer. "Hello, sir, my name is Cedric..." He paused, an arms length away from the man. He seemed skittish, and Cedric couldn't blame him, really. If he had overheard the conversation, whether meaning to or not, he would no doubt know they were kings. Apparently giants as well, because Cedric was clearly taller than this man. That thought made him smile a bit, hopefully conveying a friendly vibe.

This man was no threat, he was much older than Cedric himself, possibly twice his age. His skin was sun worn, showing he had traveled various lands. Cedric had to admire this, as he himself had, and would continue, the same practice. Probably for a different reason, considering Cedric's profession. The one that wasn't being a king.

Cedric bowed a bit to this man.


"Hello, I hope we aren't threatening to you," Cedric lifted back up, and winked at the older fellow. "I am Cedric, it's a pleasure to meet you. What are you up to in these parts? I never thought this shrine way out here would be so popular." Cedric laughed at his own humor, and turned his head to A.B.

"Shall we talk with our new guest as well? I'm sure this is a boring topic to listen into," Cedric shrugged. "But we can also discus ourselves, it'll be fun. A good bonding experience."

A.B. was surprised at this man, king Cedric. he rode the fine line between snarkyness and outright hostility, a dangerous line at that. Yet, A.B. couldn't help but enjoy his company. Cedric oozed charisma, a feature that had probably saved his skin many a time. A.B. was also surprised at his perceptiveness, noticing that he had picked up on his discomfort instantly. 

     As Cedric strode to the center of the shrine, fondling his hair with a ponderous look on his face, another man appeared, steeping from the foliage. Cedric immediately pounced on him, true to his nature. The newcomer looked to be a nice fellow, A.B. thought.

     Taking Cedric's invitation to continue their conversation with the newcomer, A.B. walked over to join them. "Hello, stranger. I am A.B. Hunky, king of the Northeast," A.B. said, extending his paw of a hand for the man to shake.  "Cedric, why don;t you entertain our guest with tales of your exploits. My aides could only find so much out about you, and I'm eager to know more. Shall we sit? I have some salmon to feed our tales."

The Incredible Hulk(why did that name come to mind? He wasn't even sure, but it sounded catchy) walked over to the newcomer and spoke.

"Cedric, why don't you entertain our guest with tales of your exploits. My aides could only find so much out about you, and I'm eager to know more. Shall we sit? I have some salmon to feed our tales." Cedric smiled at Muscle Mountain, of course they couldn't find out much. It was very likely Cedric's own... Collective had stopped them.

The man in front of him looked weary, but very attentive and eager to join them. He also seemed heavily relieved, which cause Cedric to suppress a chuckle. The amount of people that trust him is truly baffling as of late.

"I'll tell any story you wish, but I suppose I'll start with the basics," Cedric said, walking over to a nearby tree, sitting down, and leaning on it gently. "First off, I'm an orphan but I originated from the North. Due to some interesting circumstances I decided to take up being an assassin, which I am now one of the best. I have a daughter, and a kind of son- long story on that one- and I enjoy long walks in a moonlit forest." Cedric winked at the last part.

"Whatever stories you two wish to hear, I am willing to tell," Cedric smiled warmly at the two men with him. "Granted, I do hope I can hear stories of your exploits as well."

It was true Cedric could probably find out everything on these two men on his own, but he really did enjoy hearing things from the person themselves. Perspectives and all that, he had learned that a long time ago.

He hoped they would ask something interesting, after all, Cedric loved storytelling.

A.B. was pleased that Cedric was willing to share some stories with them, but something about his acceptance of the task seemed...off. He appeared too cocky, too sure of himself for a man just told that espionage had been carried out on him. Perhaps it was just his normal attitude, but A.B. was still not entirely at ease. He decided to put it aside for now, an issue for later times, especially now that it was story-time. A.B. loved tales, and hoped Cedric had some good ones. He seemed like he would. 

     A.B. followed Cedric as he walked over to a tree, leaning against it after sitting. A.B. followed suit, spying a large, rather flat nearby and tossing it over next to Cedric. Seating himself, A.B. reached into his ruck and offered some smoked salmon to Cedric and the nervous man. Indulging himself in a large mouthful of the stuff, he was caught off guard when Cedric finished speaking and looked at him expectantly. Struggling to choke down the salmon in his mouth so as to avoid spitting bits of meat over his companions when talking, A.B. stuffed what was left of the salmon that was not already in his mouth or the hands of the others.

      "Wellmf...mm... that was a bit...urf...leff tham efpected,"  A.B. said as he tried to choke down the salmon.  "But I would most definetly love to hear a tale on how you became suck a high-caliber assassin,"  A.B. said, smiling at Cedric.  "For now, let me lead the pack with a tale of my own."

    "I have a bit of a short tale for you, from my younger days. I was hired muscle on a shit in the Northeast, in the most literal sense. I moved large things, and smaller men when we were attacked. One time, we were chartered by some scholar, which was out of the ordinary. We mostly transported cargo or men, and keep in mind, this was a large ship, so one man renting out the whole ship was quite strange. Now, this man didn't look the Northeastern type, clearly foreign. Very scrawny, probably an archival worker in the West or someplace. Didn't talk to none of the crew, even when they were nice to him, which is rare for sailors. Didn't tell nobody but the captain where we was headed, and he was tight-lipped about our vector, which was unlike the captain. He was usually the loudest and most bawdy of us all."  While talking, A.B.'s voice took on the drawl of a sailor, a habit from a time long ago.

    "We sailed for days and never hit land, strange seeing as how it usually only took us a few days to get to the mainland from the Northeast, seeing as how we had one of the best crews there was. Then, one day, we hit a mysterious fog, one that lasted for days. We couldn't see where we was going at all. Hells, you could barely see the water. This made the man more uncomfortable. he was always jumpin' at the smallest sound and lookin' over his shoulder. Didn't help that the crew avoided him like the plague. They believed it was him causin' all this fog. 

      "Well, they was right. One day all of a sudden my mate Chauncy climbed up to the crows nest and there he was, his guts everywhere but his belly, and he was missin' his heart. Don't ask me how I know that bit about his heart. Anyways, few days later we made it to post, but nobody would dock us. We sent a few men dockside to,ah, convince them, myself included for obvious reasons, and they nearly ran the whole town out. Folks wouldn't come within 20 feet of us. We asked what was the problem, they pointed at our ship. Old gal was gashed to hell, long, ragged cuts all over her hull. It was a miracle we made it to port, and that wasn't all. All sorts of blood an' gore was 'plattered all over her. To this day I dont know how we didn't notice. 

      "Soon as I saw what had become of the old girl i threw down my rope and walked away. Its bad fer yer health to serve on a cursed ship."  A.B. smiled, finished with his tale. "And that's my story,"  he said, looking at Cedric. Looking over at the nervous man, he spoke again; "Now son, why don't you tell us some yearn from yer world. Speaking of which, what's your name? 

After a long while of telling stories, A.B. felt that it was time for him to depart. He felt that he had learned much about Cedric and the other man as well, whose name he never learned. The other two had fallen into a deep and restful slumber, but A.B. had no such liberty. He had been away from his kingdom for too long, and he needed to return posthaste. Packing his things as quietly as a man of his stature can, A.B. stole away from the shrine, leaving some salmon behind for his two friends. Striding swiftly into the darkening night, A.B. knew with certainty that he would see Cedric again, hopefully on friendly terms.

[Exiting, since this topic has been dead for an entire month. Requesting 31 attribute points from 1559 words, to be applied at a later date. Don't worry, I'll keep track of them. Also putting tose 1559 words towards leaning the Dualist class, 441 remaining.]

Approved.