Ah, Yomeniampa, the home of the Elves. It was also the single hardest name to pronounce in the entire world. Half of the people who lived there couldn't pronounce it, and almost none who didn't live there could. Most Elves didn't have to actually say the name to get the point across that they were talking about it, which was a good thing. Imagine having to pronounce a five syllable word every time you wanted to tell somebody where you lived, only to have them say "What?" or "Huuh?" And then repeating the name of the city, only to confuse them more than they originally were.

In any case, Thal had just been given a mission from the Elder Elf of Yomeniampa. His cousin Terlene had embarked on a mission with a small band of Elven warriors. That was four months ago, and the mission was only into the forest about three miles to the east. So the Elder decided to send Thal into the forest to try and find his cousin and the small Elven task force. Unfortunately, the mission was to erradicate a lycan camp, so Thal's quest would not be one without bloodshed. Which meant that he would need a small task force of his own. It was a shame that none of the Elven warriors would agree to help him undertake his task. They were all to afraid to go where the great Terlene had fallen. Pansies.

So Thal went around the city square posting hand-written posters advertising his quest before retreating into the inn listed on the flyer under "where to meet the sad bastard who's about to undertake this near-suicide mission." Of course, it didn't literally say that, it actually just said "If interested meet here," but Thal felt like writing the first bit since it was completely true.

Instead of being all pessimistic on the flyers and driving away any help, though, Thal just put up the posters and went into the inn and ordered himself a drink.

Barras was more than just a wizard - he was a linguist. Such was often the ways of wizards, as they had to memorize difficult incantations and know the complex histories of spells in order to properly master them. Thus, dwarvish and elvish were like second languages to the young Apprentice. He also knew the languages of orcs and goblins, and of giants, but that was besides the point. The point was that he had no trouble at all pronouncing the name of the elven city of Yomeniampa. He also had no trouble getting into a small argument with an elf just a short distance from where the soon-to-be werewolf hunter sat. Only an elf could have realized what he was saying, for he was speaking to the elf in elvish, but the conversation was obviously about to get heated.

"Wizards and sorcerers have slain countless foes armed with the mightiest weapons imaginable. Such fighters never stood a chance. Why would drow be any different? You speak as if it's something fascinating to kill a drow, yet you wield a bow and quiver and a couple of swords. You know nothing of the dangerous and compelling principles of the arcane arts."

"Perhaps not, human, but magic can fail."

"And weapons can be destroyed. Metal weapons can rust and fall apart, bowstrings can snap, and wood can rot or break. Do you really believe that a thousand elven warriors could ever stand a chance against an Archmage wielding the power of the sun? Imagine - a single spell could wipe most, if not all, of them out with little effort expended in the process. Yet you think you, alone, could best an army of wizards?"

"I have done it! Twice!"

"And I say you have not! It is impossible! Even an Archmage would be hard-pressed to accomplish such a feat!"

It might have been prudent at that point for someone to step in, for it was clear even to those within the tavern who knew not the intricacies of the elvish language that a fight was soon to ensue...

It was strange for Stella to find herself here, in this place again. Touching the rough surface of the bark on the tree, Stella sighed, content. It smelled the same too - a mix of pine and a sweet flowery smell. Breathing in the familiar scent, Stella walked on, awe spread on her features, even though she had been here many times before. Ahead to small orbs of light fluttered around the tree's, and Stella found herself stopping to watch them, a slight grin on her face. Fairy's. They seemed to care - free, just like the elves. Thumbling inside her cloak, Stella pulled out the beautiful Fairy Necklace, running her hand over its beauty. With a long, hard look, Stella finley put the necklace away, and placed it back into her Cloak pocket.

Passing the Fairy's, Stella kept her gaze ahead, avoiding looking at the Fairy's again, afraid that she may break and attempt to put the necklace on again. In front was a tavern, and Stella pushed the door open, feeling a sense of release as she ordered herself some water mixed with Sugar, and seated herself down at a table next to the fire. Outside it was rather cold, and Stella was thankful to the warmth of the cracking fire, the flames licking higher and higher in the fireplace. Things had been odd lately, and Stella was just thankful that here she could sit down, and do... nothing.

Taking a large drought of the water, she sighed, relaxing further into the comfort of the tavern. Admiring the way the wood was patterned with natural designs, she traced the cracks carefully, her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated. Such a task only lasted about 5 minutes, and soon Stella found herself looking up, taking in the faces of the people in the tavern. There was many elves - that could have been predicted, but there was also some others. One elf in particular that cough her eyes was one with Dark Brown hair. His form and appearance was one of an elf, but somthing about him seemed to catch her eye.

Taking her eyes off him, she admired the other one, a human who's red hair shone brightly in the dim light of the tavern, green eyes seemed a little too knowing. It was obvious from looking at him that he was perhaps some body from importance. Shaking her head slightly, Stella looked back down at her glass, frosty from the cool water, cloudy from the sugar. Lifting it too her lips once more, Stella took yet another deep drink. It had been a long day, and she wanted nothing more then to just sit back, relax, and perhaps make some new elven friends.

Time often came when even the most cold hearted of characters needed to take a break, especially what with a large number of things on said persons mind. The cold hearted person in question, being the arctic angel Winter had far too much on her mind right now, for one she had the pressure of B.A.D.I and having to not only train the agents in combat but also take part in the missions she'd rather not be a part of, also there was the murder case a couple of months ago that she'd been framed for, the Lomedor guard was no longer chasing her but the culprit still hadn't been found and Winter could only search for him to truly clear her name.

All in all she wasn't having a good time lately, not that she would be able to enjoy it if it were any different but she did appreciate a bit of peace now and again, so having a careful think she decided the city of the elves was possibly the best choice: Elves were mainly peaceful and caring people, and often understood the pains of another ones life, however they were still fine soldiers when it came to battle. Winter had many elf-like qualities about her, however to many she still appeared as a half angel however there was still something else behind that cold glare of hers that suggested otherwise.

Staring up at the trees around her, Winter began to wonder what the world would be like if it was covered with forests such as this, certainly if there was nobody to start a war there wouldn't be peace, but then there'd be nobody to enjoy the peace either. But no matter how much she thought about it, there was no question of killing everyone on arda simply to put an end to chaos, she was not a murderer.

Ahead of her she noticed a small tavern that appeared fairly busy, but not busy enough to deter her from entering. As she approached she noticed the poster stuck to another wall nearby. Closer inspection revealed it to be a recruitment poster for some sort of mission, ironically in the same inn Winter had been about to enter. She sighed, showing no interest in the event and proceeded to enter the establishment.

It was as busy as she'd expected, complete with two men arguing nearby, however she managed to find a seat by herself and sit down on it, waiting for the hours to roll on by.

Thal looked up as a man began to argue with one of the Elves present in the inn. It just so happened that Thal knew the Elf.

"Oron, you aren't fooling anybody," Thal said, throwing a piece of bread at him. "You couldn't beat me in a duel, let alone an entire army of magicians. Now get out of here and leave that human alone before I throw you through another window. I don't want to have to replace the poor inkeeper's window twice in two months."

Thal then addressed the mage. "Sorry about him. He's a moron. Come on over here, I have a proposal for you."

He then caught a girl's eye. Something about this girl did not seem right. Something told Thal that she was not a human or an elf, or any other mortal being. He let that thought pass out of his mind for the moment, though. Instead, he waited for the mage to come join him at the table. In the meantime he ordered two ales and leaned back in his chair, tilting it back on two legs, with his own two legs on the table.

Thal hoped he could convince this mage to help him in his quest. A magic user would be very helpful, indeed. Taking out an entire camp of lycans would certainly not be an easy task. By himself, the only chance he had was to attack during the day, and somehow go unnoticed while he assassinated every one of them. The chances of that plan working were... well absolutely none. It had no chance. At least with a partner he would live more than thirty seconds before being torn to pieces.

Thal next noticed a seated Half-Angel. He recognized her from B.A.D.I. She was some sort of agent trainer, a high ranking member if his memory served him correctly. He would deal with her later as well.

The elf left abruptly when someone else insulted him, obviously angry at the both of them. Barras said nothing as he glared after the elf. The elf left quite swiftly. Then he went over to the table and sat down, accepting the ale without a word.

"Yes, he is," he said in response to the man's comment about the elf being a moron, "but so are most of the elves I've met. They're pompous, arrogant, and not worth half my time or effort," he said dryly before taking a drink. "The only thing they're good for is target practice or gold for quests. Every once in a while they have something of more value, but not very often. Why did you want to speak with me?"

He had never thought much of the elves, for all their boasting and their supposedly fabulous tree cities. He did have to admit that they had some intelligence, for how else could they have built them so artistically? But for the most part, anyone could have built a simple tree house - or tree city, in their case.

Some sort of meeting seemed to be taking place, and Stella watched out of the corner of her eye in mild interest. It was true, she never really had paid much attention to what people did in Arda for a living, but then... there really was no point to it, was there? A girl entered the tavern next, her light blue hair contrasting against the wooden walls, her wings brilliant in their own glory. An angel? Stella wasn't too sure. This Angel seated herself alone, and Stella nodded once. It seemed that Stella wasn't the only one who had come here alone.

Finding her glass empty, Stella motioned for the bartender to come over. As he approached, she pointed to her glass with a smile. Nodding once, he took the glass and began his way back to the table. Stella looked around again, and she once again found herself watching the two men. It seemed they where meeting over somthing important, and Stella found herself eager to find out more. Soon enough, the bartender came with her drink, and she drank it, completely lost in her own thoughts.

It had been a while since Stella had done somthing fun? It had been a while... and she was tired of sitting around and doing nothing. Should these men be... planning anything, Stella would be more then happy to tag along. She had no where of any importance to go. But more then likly, these men where probably close friends, and wouldn't require any help - if they where even doing anything like that. For all she knew they could be just traveling some where. Stella really needed to stop letting her imagination run away with her.

OOC: Sorry for length... not much to say really =/

The argument between the man and the elf was still going on, however Winter was paying no attention. She hadn't come here to try and interfere with a petty squabble like that, she'd learned long ago that humans hardly ever listened to reason and were interesting in only proving themselves, in short a bunch of greedy half-wits, elves were no better: A proud and ancient race, the sort of people who couldn't hear a word against them. Vanity and pride, that was the sin the elves lived in. Winter sighed as she was forced to endure the disruption until its untimely end by way of a chunk of bread and a loud yell.

All this time Winter kept her back turned to this event and her arms crossed in front of her. She had come here primarily to gather her thoughts in peace and quiet, that and after walking all the way here from Lomedor was tiring and she needed a sit down. The bartender wandered over to her after a few minutes, a curious expression on his face at the sight of Winter's bright hair color.
"Can I get you anything?" He asked politely.
"No thankyou," Winter replied without looking up.
The elf coughed and straightened up, trying to act casual: "Have a nice day then," he said and walked off.

Winter turned her head to watch him go and caught sight of the man that had been arguing speaking with another elf, at least they weren't arguing this time. The slits of Winter's pupils grew thinner suddenly as she stared at the elf, she couldn't hear their conversation but from what she could make out he was planning something with the human, or requesting it by the way she studied his body language. Perhaps he was the one that had set up those recruiting posters around the elven city, signaling for anyone interested to meet in this tavern, with all the evidence pointing in that direction the elf's intention's suddenly became clear to the arctic angel, thanks to her emotionless personality and her calm mind Winter could think more logically in any given situation, thus she was very rarely mistaken when it came to making a conclusion.

The half angel had no intentions of the elf coming over and requesting her services as well, she may be a fighter and a B.A.D.I agent but she was not a hireable mercenary for some petty quest an elf was brewing up, she only followed the orders of one person and even then she would often refuse. She stood up, her chair scraping along the ground as she did so and turned towards the door, there was alot more to this place than an inn so she may as well make the most of it.

((I know my title doesn't say that I'm in B.A.D.I., but I am. I left just before the updated member list came out, so I'm not on there right now. But I will be next time the roster is updated.))

Thal looked the man up and down quickly. He looked young and somewhat inexperienced, but it made no difference. Any help was accepted. He took a breath before addressing the man.

"I'm Thal," he began. "I have recently been given a quest by the Elder Council of this city. My cousin was sent to raid a band of lycans whom the Council had apparently decided was a threat. Personally, I would say to just leave them alone, but I suppose that's why I'm not on the Council. Anyway, I was hoping you would be able to help me. You see, there is no way that I would be able to take on an entire band of lycans by myself. Your assistance would be appreciated greatly. More greatly than you know, I assure you. If you want, I can compensate you after the mission. I don't have much, but I can certainly treat you to a hardy meal."

Thal stopped as he noticed the Angel getting up to leave. He watched her for a few seconds, contemplating what to do. After a split second of thought, he decided on a course of action.

"Leaving so soon, Winter?" Thal called across the inn. He had had one previous encounter with the Angelic being, albeit it was quite short. They were also both members of B.A.D.I. Thal had been one of the ones who put forth gold to have the headquarters built. He hoped she would agree to help him. He would need more than an inexperienced mage to help kill an entire camp of lycans. He knew Winter's reputation, and he knew that she would be a valuable ally in a fight. The only trick would be actually getting her to agree to join him.

"Would you excuse me for one moment?" he said to the man. "I'll be right back."

Thal stood up and crossed the inn, moving towards Winter. He hoped to catch her before she left, and he hoped that the man would not leave. He tried to be polite about getting up so abruptly, but he wasn't about to let Winter leave without first at least trying to get her to join him.

He listened intently to the man. Indeed, he would have said the same thing. Lycans were not something that should be dealt with lightly, especially if they're not incringing on one's own territory. Lycans, like werewolves, had far greater physical and sensory capabilities than any human and most elves; the difference was that lycans could control their transformations - albeit only at night - whereas werewolves had no choice in the matter: they had to change when the full moon rose. They were extremely dangerous opponents and few mere mortals could win against them in direct combat.

Nonetheless, the price wasn't that high. A good meal? That wasn't much of a prize for killing lycans. The lycans themselves would have had to have a great horde of treasure, though. Lycans often became thieves, bandits, and highwaymen due to people's fear and hatred toward them. As a result, they were often relatively wealthy despite living simple lives, such as those of farmers, ranchers, or wine or liquor connoisseurs. The hints were usually subtle, too, caught only by those that knew what to look for: a painting or two hung on the wall, perhaps a sculpture in the corner, a few more barrels of food or wine than one might have thought they would had - fifty in the cellar instead of twenty, for example - things like that. Perhaps they had a large herd, but no so large as to actually appear wealth. And because the magic twisted their bodies in such a way as to slow their aging, they could live as long as a drow sometimes. When they were truly ancient, only their wolven forms retained the full power of their state.

So werewolves were dangerous enough, but lycans even more so. He'd have to ponder this and decide if it was really worth the trouble. As Thal, the man that had just made the proposition, got up to speak with someone named Winter that was apparently an acquaintance of his, Barras drank deeply. The ale was good and he had always been able to hold his liquor very well indeed despite being so skinny and under-endowed in terms of physique. In the end, he decided it was. He said nothing of his suspicions to his new 'employer', however, as that might dissuade him from hiring outside help. He would be fed, at least, and that was good - gold for his pockets and a meal in his belly were definitely reasons to join him in his little quest - especially the former reason. He would have to send a message using one of the birds here. Crows, ravens, doves, and the like were all kept at this tavern for sending distant messages. They were very reliable, one of the only things that made them worth anything. Once he had contacted his Master, he would prepare for the quest. He'd stay in the city for a few more days or until he was called for, though. Then he'd take his share of the treasure - and maybe kill the others if he decided their share was too large for his tastes...