Slightly embarrassed at having to wake everyone up at such an hour, Victor puts on his best smile and quickly queried Kessler; if not so that the Ranger could return to his bed, then so that the Bard could get to sleep as soon as possible...

"Hey, Kessler. I'm just recruiting people for a mission tomorrow. Gonna head out to the Hospitality District to look for some Stones of Curse. Tristan told me to pick five people for the team; besides me, that is. So... you in?"

Kessler's eyes float to the top of their sockets, and he taps his head lightly as he paces around the door space, thinking about accepting the mission. Finally, he extracts a long, thin piece of parchment from his pocket. Looking it over once or twice, the ranger lifts his head and smiles at Victor.

Well, tomorrow is my "birthday," but what better way to spend a day like that than on a hunt? Come get me tomorrow, Victor... Um... Bye.

The door closes and Victor is left alone on the fifteenth floor again. At this point, he has successfully recruited Thespin and Kessler.

Victor - Vagabond/Bard
Thespin - Vagabond/Bard
Kessler - Vagabond/Ranger

OOC: Thespin is a Bard?! Oh well...

IC: Smiling and taking out his parchment once again, Victor crossed off another name. At least it was easy. No one had given him any trouble, yet...

Turning and heading back to the stairway, the Bard descended three floors, stopping on the twelfth. Finding Eyra's door, he knocked and waited. After all, Victor had always wanted to get to know a Kokiri...

OOC: With Trinia being a musical destination, wouldn't it make sense that most of its inhabitants are bards?
IC:

A disheartening silence follows Victor's knocking. When no one answers the door, it appears that Eyra is not around. A minute passes, but still no answer.

The Kokiri's voice comes from behind the bard instead. Sporting her dagger and a damp cloth for cleaning blood off of the blade, Eyra is returning from her daily business. Seeing Victor, an acquaintance that she had met with only briefly the day before, she stops and raises an eyebrow, wondering what the bard could possibly be doing this late at night. Curiosity spawning insider her, she sneaks up on him.

Victor? What are you doing up so late?

OOC: Well, yeah...

IC: At the sudden sound of the Kokiri's voice, Victor jumped. His nerves weren't exactly made of steel. Turning on his heels, he punched out of instinct. Suffice to say, it was lucky that Eyra was short. Raising an eyebrow of his own when he saw that no one was behind him, the Bard remembered who he had come to see and thought to look down. A little embarrassed at his actions, he smiled apologetically and spoke.

"Sorry 'bout that, Eyra. I'm just out recruiting people for a mission tomorrow, and I was wondering if you'd like to come along. It'll be out at the Hospitality District; we're gonna be looking for a Stone of Curse. You up to it? I've already got..."

Pulling out his list of names, Victor checked it quickly and then looked up... err, down at the Kokiri once more.

"... Thespin and Kessler, plus myself. Well...?"

Eyra rolls her eyes as Victor's swing misses completely, but she is not short enough that she does not feel the breeze of the punch brush past her hair. Almost laughing, she considers his question.

The Hospitality District? That's a disturbing place... And you say you've already enlisted Thespin and Kessler? What is this, Victor's Vagabonds? You're not just recruiting bards, rangers and thieves, are you?

Setting her interrogative manner aside, the Kokiri actually thinks about the mission. Deciding that it would be a fun and valuable experience, she agrees to tag along.

Well, if you need me, you know where I am. Is that all? Good night, Victor!

Eyra steps past the bard and unlocks her door, closing it behind her as she enters her dormitory. The faint sound of cloth rubbing on steel can be heard, followed by the sound of a weapon hitting the floor and a mattress rustling under the Kokiri's light weight.

The list still out, Victor crossed another name off and returned it to his pocket.

"Three down, two to go."

Sighing and wishing he was in bed, he walked towards the stairway and began downwards once more. Again he found himself wondering who lived in the dormitories he passed, but continued onwards until he reached the second floor. Tired and out of breath from his descension, the Bard stopped for a second and sat on the steps, resting his legs. He would need his strength for the climb back up.

Having caught his breath, Victor walked up to Jett's door and knocked...

Just as Victor's fist makes contact with the door, a cloud of dust is sent flying into his face. For some reason, it has not been open for some time. There a heavy, tightened chain and padlock set keeping the door sealed. But why would Jett be subject to conditions such as these? A somewhat familiar voice speaks to the bard from one of the other rooms.

What are you doing by that door, Victor? The man's been formally ejected into the dungeon, so stay away from his room.

Derix appears by Victor's side, and points to the silver nameplate above the door. In clear, plain common lettering, it spells "Orias Terrian."

The cloud of dust sent Victor into a coughing fit temporarily, and a few minutes pass before he can reply.

"I... I thought it was Jett's room."

The Bard took a hateful look at the dorm that once belonged to Orias, and then turned back to Derix.

"Just so you know, Orias is dead..."

The expression of scorn passing, Victor's smile returned and he pulled out his list once more, his quill readied to cross off Derix's name.

"But you're just the man I wanted to see! I'm recruiting for a mission tomorrow to the Hospitality District. We'll be looking for the Stones of Curse. I've already got Thespin, Eyra, and Kessler to join. How 'bout you?"

Derix begins to laugh, for several reasons. Coughing the last of his laughs out, the young Rosylian leans against the wall of Orias's dormitory, shaking his head and stifling back another fit.

You really think Orias is dead? No, no, no, Victor, far from it. They're keeping him alive, purposely. They think he's in line with the Intelligent Ones, and they want him to talk. Don't worry about him bothering you, though. They're keeping him in one of the barrier cells now.

Anyways, about your assignment: I'll come along with you, but only because you'll need a grunt like me if you're fighting Cursed Ones. Can't let you vagabonds have all the fun, right?

The initial frown at the news about Orias was replaced with Victor's usual smile as Derix agreed to join the group. Crossing his name off of the list, he pointed to one of the other doors on the floor and spoke.

"Now the only one left is Jett, and the team will be complete..."

Looking for the dorm with Jett's nameplate on the door, but not finding it, the Bard turned to Derix with a confused look on his face.

"Say, just where does Jett live?"

The Rosylian appears to be amused by Victor's ignorance on the subject of finding specific members, but rather than toy with the bard, he tells him right away. He is very tired, and doubts that Victor is satisfied with his own status at this point.

Thirteenth floor. Now get out o' here. There're pillows to be resting on, and such.

Turning back to his dormitory, the nomad disappears into the darkness surrounding the second floor. Victor is unable to hear any further movements from this far away, except for an odd curse as Derix obviously trips over something.

Nodding and moving towards the stairs again, Victor scratched his head in confusion as he becan to ascend to the thirteenth floor. He could've sworn that Jett's dormitory had been on the second floor... No matter. All that matter was that he was heading in the right direction this time, and would soon be in his bed.

Reaching the floor that he had chosen not to visit before because of superstition, the Bard hesitated a bit before going up to one of the doors and knocking...

Victor has surprising luck considering the floor he is on. Jett hobbles into the corridor and stretches, shakes his head and looks at the bard at his door. A look of surprise hangs on his face.

Well, I hope you've got a good reason.

The young scholar crosses his arms and waits for Victor to explain his presence. His hair is messy and his normal clothing is far from tidy as it clings to his body. His eyes are red from lack of sleep and he has trouble keeping them open long enough for Victor to ask him about the assignment.

Seeing Jett's condition, Victor begins to worry that he may not be up to the mission. Then again, the Bard hasn't exactly gotten much sleep either, so he decides to give it a try.

"Hi, Jett. I'm just making my rounds, recruiting some people for a mission tomorrow to the hospitality district. Gonna be searching for the Stones of Curse. I've already got..."

Victor checked his list again, then faced it towards Jett so he could see the names himself.

"Thespin, Kessler, Eyra, and Derix. So.. are you up to it?"