>>6284726“I should cut you down where you stand!” Oleg says furiously. By now, the attention of the room has fallen on the three of you. “Just wait until the contest starts. You’ll be the first one I come for.”
“Why wait until then?” A woman says. You hadn’t noticed her before, but she has now suddenly appeared behind Oleg. She had a pale complexion, and despite her relative youth, she had a small battle scar running down her chin. At her side was a sword with a strange hilt, and on her chest, the number 7.
“W-what?” Oleg turns around. “Who are you?”
“Are you the type that needs to be told when to fight?” The woman asks. “How pathetic. You’d never be able to defeat this man. If you’re amongst the best warriors Fodlan has to offer, then your country is in a sorry state.”
Several other contenders find themselves provoked, this time at the insults of this strange girl. Oleg meanwhile, has turned his attention away from Uriyan onto the newcomer.
“Just who are you supposed to be?” He asks.
“Saoirse.” She says. “The First Sword of Sreng. I’d hoped to cross blades with the strongest your country has to offer. But I see there’s more fodder here than actual champions.”
“What did she say?”
“Sreng scum!”
“Is that red-haired guy friends with those foreigners?”
So this was the First Sword? She was tinier than you’d have thought. She looked as though she were younger than you. Yet to be the First Sword of her nation was no small feat. As a kid, you’d heard all about the Swordmasters of Sreng. They were a fearsome sort, said to be peerless masters of the blade. You wouldn’t underestimate this one. More importantly though, things were starting to get a little rowdy. And you were evidently being roped in with the star troublemakers.
Oleg stares down at Saoirse. His hand is still gripped on his sword hilt, knuckles tight and white. But he does not draw the blade from his sheath. You suspected that this wasn’t about waiting for the contest to start before fighting. The look in Oleg’s eyes and the way he stood on guard gave the truth of the matter away. There was something he saw in Saoirse that drove him to fear. More fear than he felt when confronting Uriyan.
“Boring. I should have known.” Saoirse sighs, stepping around Oleg. She notices you, and something in her eyes sparkles. Staring you up and down like a piece of meat, she walks up towards you and smiles. “But you…there’s something about you I just can’t place my finger on…”
>“What?”“I sense that you and I…are kindred spirits.” Saoirse grins, showing a row of sharp teeth. “But why is that? Tell me, who are you?”
There WAS something ‘familiar’ about her. But you’d never seen her in your life, of that you were sure.
>A): Give the girl your name.>B): Associating with these two might paint a target on your back. Best not to be too friendly. 