Bariton ran throughout the streets of Forsivo. It was a nice day like always; even as the hunger ate at his stomach. He finally got a classification at the adventurers guild, and at Level 14, he was a good ‘ol FF rank.
That meant he could make semi-decent money while risking his life. But he didn’t want that life. He wanted the life of an entertainer. Not even a famous one, just one that was barely scooting by, and had a home.
He had to shower and bathe in inns, and he went hungry most days. But he pretended to be fine. The bard had to pretend to be fine, because nobody pays any attention to the unwell. Nobody except those at the sanctuary, but even they had judging looks in their eyes.
The time kept ticking on, and day after day passed on as Bariton barely lived. He was alive, sure; but he certainly wasn’t living. And the Bard knew that as he encountered the Saintess. The saintess always tried to show empathy, but the Bard had shut that down himself.
Moreso when it was directed to himself. The pain panged through his stomach once again as he walked through conversation after conversation like a practiced art form, for that’s what he was. An artist.
63 - Hope
Bariton ran from the encounter, and joined Pallad outside the church. Clara and Judine were shuffling along, and Bariton played a song for them as they walked their way to the capital. The forest painted alongside the path and practically glowed under the beautiful lights above.
Bariton kept playing for the party as they finally approached the walled city of Lanostiv, a place of many sufferings of Bariton, but he also owed his life to it. So he walked up the guards with a nice inflection on his step. He was worried for Shammus, but he’d never show it.
Pallad tried to speak before the face of the party, and Bariton would never allow that. “Hello there you two!” These certainly weren’t the regular North gate guards, but he also never tried to enter during night. Obviously they had shifts.
“Hello, names and reason for visit?” They followed their scripts better too, with the one on the left doing the speaking as the spears clashed together to block entry into the grandest city in Forsivo.
“Why, I’m Bariton the Bard, and I’m here with Judine the Grandjudge and Clara the Saintess.” Bariton gestured over to his right towards the two aforementioned people. “And to my left is Pallad, one of the great paladins. We are just trying to return home from a long quest!” Bariton shot his shot with a grin.
The guard looked at him with a look of… apprehension. “Alright, have a good stay.” The spears slid off against one another as the two slammed the butts of the polearms into the dirt, making a sort of announcement to the immediate region of their approval.
An ingenious security measure the bard had seen many times before. The capital was the same as always; with the brilliance of the massive city so clearly visible. The Sanctuary looming over one corner, the fortress of the King’s home looming over the other, and better yet the campus grounds of that academy taking over the rest.
It was a peaceful night, the lake the city was built over making many rivers and allowing the water to cool the people of the city off as they walked along. The smell of the fresh water was also nice.
But they were there for a purpose. Bariton walked straight to a nearby inn and knocked on the door, only to be met with an old woman. She was wearing a frilly apron and looked surprised when there was actually someone young there.
The rest of Bariton’s team spread out to continue on with their tasks of course. “Oh, hello dearie…” The old woman’s voice was soft; but it was grating with her aged vocal cords. “What can I do you for?”
“Ah, I know it’s late ma’am.” Bariton took his own hat off as a sign of respect to the aged woman. She was old enough to be his grandma. “But may I ask if you have a spare room in this inn that I may spend the night in?”
He placed his hat against his chest. He had a plan, and to do it he’ll get an alibi for this night. And the old lady played right into Bariton’s hands. The Inn was nice and homely; with a fire in the fireplace allowing for his stay to be nice and comfortable. Few patrons were still in the tavern-esque area and the old woman led Bariton to the receptionist desk.
“Alright dearie,” the old woman’s voice was slow; like she was slowly thinking through every word trying to avoid being lost. “The room’ll cost 2 gold a night… How long are you planning on staying?”
“Ah, just this night ma’am.” Bariton says, ignoring the System’s quest pushing. He’s pretty sure this old lady was actually an unawakened, but the time was bearing down much faster than he’d thought it would.
“Alright, your room is 32… It’ll be on the first floor and the fifth door on the right from the far hallway.” Her voice was nice, but it carried the tone of something she’d said almost every day of her life.
“Thank you.” Bariton nodded and held out his hand for the key. When the cold metal was placed in his palm, he walked up to the room; passing by an empty hallway with a few rooms filled with candlelight seeping from under the doors to them.
The doors were clearly labeled with metal sheets nailed into the doors, which Bariton wondered if it lowered the strength of the door. He found out quickly as he tried to gently slide the key into the door. The key snapped when he tried to twist it at a slow speed.
Once again, the bard was reminded that at such a high level, one can’t just ‘control’ your strength without actively thinking about it. The fate of this town was at stake, since it was just another floor of this system-foresaken tower.
The power the tower held over everyone was also slightly terrifying. They didn’t recognize him, which meant that the tower expedition hadn’t even been made in this version of his hometown. And now, it was time to slip out the window.
He focused on stealth, but when his movement allowed his mind to slow down the world such that an ‘instant’ spells firing would be visible play by play; rune by rune, he didn’t need to focus too hard, more focused on just avoiding collateral damage.
He slipped out of the city absurdly quickly, and the two guards he’d talked to earlier were blown a raspberry as he dashed onwards, feeling the wind brush his skin. He held onto his hat as his laughter filled the air.
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He reached the citadel quickly, and found Shammus asleep in the hall. The lack of murals perplexed Bariton though. There certainly was a wide painting alongside the ceiling last he’d checked, but t’was more important measures right now.
Bariton poked at Shammus; and he’d not gotten any closer to waking up as far as Bariton could tell. But he was asleep, or at least breathing. Bariton wouldn’t know what to do if Shammus wasn’t breathing.
He checked for a pulse as well, placing his fingers against Shammus’s skin on the neck. He looked awfully beautiful even without the red eyes looking onwards. The way his face was framed was fantastic, and the warmth that emanated into Bariton’s fingers against the unconscious man’s neck was nice.
It wasn’t the warmth of a fire, but rather the warmth of the sun on one’s skin that slowly seeped to warm the core. And the small beat that he felt of the blood rushing under reminded him what he was doing.
He picked Shammus up with no effort at all, but he still let out a theatric grunt. Insanity was nowhere to be spotted, but the way Shammus’s breath was stable and rhythmic with his steps. He walked through the hallways nice and slowly; enough to match pace with an average person, but without a reference he was probably shockingly off.
Probably off the same way it’d feel to play a piece in 6/8 in 3/4. That’d be his guess, but it was the best he could do to keep his ally in comfort. He walked to the door of their room, the god of the sun’s blessing filling his body adding just more warmth to his core as he approached.
Or maybe he was stealing Shammus’s warmth, both were plausible. He opens the door and plants Shammus nicely into the bed. He even pulled the blankets back and tucked his teammate in.
As Bariton left, it was time to enact his personal plan. It was to force an evacuation by faking a murder. Of course, to do this properly, he’d need something to fight. Or; he could just train himself.
He rushes over to the cafeteria, focusing on avoiding Insanity; wherever the divinity of Heavenly Dealer of None was hiding. The bard slipped between halls, and seemed to meld into shadows as he wound up in the cafeteria. He knew that one wall led to the outside when he was setting up the barrier.
He wound up his kick, and let all the force he was holding back out in a single moment- Wait, no, that’s a shitty idea. The bard thought for a moment more, then lightly tapped the wall. Just enough to blast it off, and the dust kicked up as the wall collapsed downwards as a few bricks flew a few hundred meters out applied a veil to his actions.
Now, his plan was fully in motion, as was he as he kicked in pillars and destroyed tables. He flung himself through one pillar to ensure that it acted as a fight. He coughed slightly as he flew through the pillar, and the cafeteria was full of dust.
He flew out into the hallway, and kicked a hole in the ceiling, then he reached the door. He kicked it in; and threw a few spare weapons he still had around down the stairwell and also tossed a spare molotov cocktail he had laying around. The screeches from the room flew up and out of the room, and he heard footsteps quick approaching.
Quicker than he, but he had a quick out in the hole he made in the ceiling. He dove up and against the starstruck sky, he ran across the roof. The steps were tougher to make, but he was nice and fast enough to evade.
The stars striking against the sky like a wound kept his way lit as he crossed the entire church and kicked in the grand stained glass portrait that showed nobody in particular. The way the glass fell alongside him must’ve been a sight to behold, but thankfully he was out of there as soon as possible as Insanity angrily stepped around to follow the bard’s destruction.
Bariton began to play as he moved, allowing his music to flow through his veins as he continued wrecking the church. He was making it practically unlivable; and this all being done in one night was perfect for him. He could then just sneak back.
“What do you do with a drunken sailor?” He began to sing as he tore through the church some more; avoiding things that’ll make it collapse nigh instantly. Insanity’s footsteps grew faster.
“What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
Early in the morning”
Bariton continued singing as he tore through the church, pillars collapsing into mere pebbles, shrouding Bariton in mystery as he sung. He heard many people wake up as he sang as loudly as he did; but somehow Shammus stayed asleep.
“Way hay, up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning”
Bariton’s song continued throughout the entire building. A few recognized the song, and a few cursed at him as he sang while he destroyed. He broke another way outside, and some panicked people ran out through it. Bariton cleaned it up with his aeromancy and tossed the random book
“Put him in the longboat 'til he's sober,
Put him in the longboat 'til he's sober,
Put him in the longboat 'til he's sober,
Early in the morning”
The song continued to garner attention, but Bariton kept moving through the halls, opening more areas. The sun was still nowhere near rising, but he kicked one wall in such that the debris led all the way to the capital.
“Way hay, up she rises…
Keep him there and make him bail'er,
Keep him there and make him bail'er,
Keep him there and make him bail'er,
Early in the morning”
A few of the drunkards joined in on the song, which helped Bariton conceal his movements a bit better. Insanity seemed to get increasingly more frustrated, but Bariton finally showed himself.
“Way hay, up she rises…
“Give him a dose of the salty water,
Give him a dose of the salty water,
Give him a dose of the salty water,
Early in the morning”
He didn’t quit singing, and when everyone else joined in, he felt more empowered than ever. His veins were filled with the music itself, and he felt like he had a little bit of control over the many people singing with him.
“What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
What do you do with a drunken sailor?
Early in the morning”
Insanity lurched out to attack Bariton, who narrowly avoided it. More people left the church, and he tried to bend the wills to get more people to leave with them. It worked a little bit, and it would probably work more if he sang more.
“Way hay, up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning”
And so the Bard had. The music was flowing through the church, and many more left. The music left along with them. And so did the bard. The bard ran as Insanity chased in the wrong direction to the capital. The people were running away to the capital and he couldn’t afford to risk them being caught by Insanity running.
“Put him in the hold with the captain's daughter,
Put him in the hold with the captain's daughter,
Put him in the hold with the captain's daughter,
Early in the morning”
As Bariton finished singing, he lost Insanity. And then, he turned and flew through the air, leaping across the trees. The night sky was painted with stars; and he could read it like sheet music as he hummed his merry way back to his inn.
