A City Betwixt

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Domino watched as his compatriots went through the Gate one by one. As Sam walked through, the Gate began to hum and spark unevenly. The previously smooth wall of light became distorted, crackling and flickering. Alana rushed through the portal. For a moment, he could've sworn her heard the Captain mutter something about this having never happened before. He turned towards the armored woman and shrugged, before dashing through the portal himself.


The assassin came rushing through the Gate just as it gave one last brilliant flash. The light faded, leaving only an archway behind them. He looked around at the other members of the group. It seemed they had come through into some sort of clearing. The lush green of a forest surrounded them, but something seemed off. An unearthly silence held a grip on the area. Domino heard Sam say something about his ability being what had caused the Gate to malfunction so violently. ~An antimagic field... guess the old man really does have some tricks up his sleeve.~ Sam was right, though, they had been essentially trapped in this place. He adjusted his hat, his eyes scanning the edge of the forest for anything suspicious. "Do we even know if we can walk back?" He scratched his chin. "I'm not even sure we're anywhere near Lambrecht." He kicked the ground at his feet. "The grass isn't quite... grey enough." He chuckled to himself. "In the meantime, I suppose we should try and find this Mavo fellow." The young man's eyes glanced into the darkness of the forest. The trees seemed to stretch onward for miles. Maybe finding a demon would be harder than he thought.



Annabel looked back towards the group, noticing Elias' departure. It seemed Rhys, too, had the intention of leaving. She had no desire to be alone in this place, if she could help it. "Yes, Carl, good luck, maybe I'll see you again later." The young woman bent down, picking her sword up from the floor and swinging it over her shoulder. She followed Rhys down the length of the wall towards the stairs. As the pair of them descended from the rampart, she spoke up. "Did you see which way Elias went?" She walked along side Rhys, looking about in the large crowd that surrounded them. Finding one person amongst this multitude would be difficult, but at the very least Elias' clothing seemed to set him apart from the majority of them. "I think we should find him and head towards the Monolith. Surely the bells will be ringing soon."
 
Even knowing that the gate lead to a forest, it was still a surprise to see one only a stride away. Vivian nearly toppled over with her first step out of the gate, finding her footing only after finding the difference between the polished stone floors of Lambrecht's palace and the vine-streaked floor of the forest. Terror set in quickly as she contemplated the fact that she was alone with a demon in a forest. The gate was a seemingly permanent fixture behind her, was it waiting for them? No time was given to take the matter further, because Sam followed immediately after her. Back in the group, she resumed holding up her brave face and turned around to face Ebayan and other others coming through. Only, it was just him, and the gate was now protesting loud enough to demolish the eerie silence of the forest. "Oh my," she blurted, staring at the malfunctioning gate. With so little knowledge of its mechanics, she wasn't sure whether or not to be worried for the poor thing.

Alana was the next through, and Vivian was relieved to see her safe and sound. That left only Domino, who came spilling through at the last moment. Vivian took a reflexive step back as the gate flared up and died. She remained there, watching the group and bouncing her eyes from speaker to speaker as explanations were given. It had been Sam who compromised the gate, but frankly Vivian was more grateful than anything for his ability. From the sound of it, he made things normal around him. She was far enough out of comfort, having a friend whose defining characteristic was making their adventure a little more mundane was a blessing. She knew her perception would have been different if his ability had hurt their other two friends in this world, but didn't dwell on it. If rotten luck had brought their gate down, it was very fortunate that it had failed safely. It was true what they said, if the gate wasn't fixed they would be walking, but at least they would not go hungry. More immediate in her mind was an issue she was perfectly willing to share aloud. "Perhaps we should move from here. The gate, while it died, was quite loud," she said, not wanting to interrupt talk of their future return with talk of their present obligation, but doing so anyway. It had been a minute or less and she already felt as though she were being watched.
 
"Vivian has the right idea," Ebayan agreed, a little surprised that the young woman had the perceptiveness to notice this, especially given how underconfident she had been. The old man gestured to some trees nearby. "Look there. The bark's been scraped off in some places. Unless I miss my guess, our demon headed that way."

He began to pointing to each of his companions, gently, but firmly, announcing orders. "Stross, take point. Alana, stay with Vivian. Vivian, observe, learn. You seem to have good instincts. Captialize on them."

With that, he strode toward the woods, his gait an easy stride. This was his element, adventure and the hunt. He found himself smiling despite the unusual circumstances. If he seemed confident, it was born from long experience doing this same thing over the course of decades. Even taking command of a small strike force felt all too familiar, comforting to him in its familiarity. This was where he belonged, leading the fight against the forces of darkness.

If others wanted redemption through the hunt, all he wanted was to continue hunting.
 
Alana stared at Sam while he explained the apparent cause of the Gate's malfunction. Is that why she got such an uneasy feeling from him before? She subconsciously took a step back, holding her arms close to her as though a single accidental touch would mean certain doom. "You'd better not turn that power of yours on me," she snapped. Her magic was such a natural part of her that the thought of someone taking it away in an instant was almost more unnerving than her recent death.

As soon as the fourth member of their party entered the demon's forest, the Gate shut down entirely, leaving them potentially stranded. "If the Captain can't get us back," Alana grumbled at Sam, "there'll be hell to pay." Before she could say any more, Vivian mentioned that they should get a move on before anything jumped out at them, attracted by the noise of the fizzling Gate. Sam started dishing out orders like it was nothing, much to Alana's chagrin.

"What about you?" she grumbled. "You seemed pretty keen on protecting Vivian before."
 
"The funny thing about a hunt," Ebayan said evenly, "is that someone has to protect all of us." He nodded to Vivian, but addressed Alana again, "Stay close to the little one. I'm counting on you, Alana. Stross! Take the point."

As the team marched into the wood, he said to the muscular woman, "You're a little more cross with me than earlier. I assume its because of my power?" The question was rhetorical; her body language was the only answer he required. "You needn't worry. I was married twice, both to women with powers. My touch neutralizes their abilities temporarily - it always returns in a few seconds. Either Armis will repair the Gate or it will restart on its own. As for you, just don't brush against me by accident if we're in a fight - a few seconds may not seem like a long time, but you and I both know its an eternity in battle."

He drifted off, thinking about his own words. They came instinctively, but he knew them to be true. Only two women he had ever loved and both had borne him children, who grew up to live as adventurously as their parents. He remembered happy times, warm beds, warmer kisses and hotter touches. He recalled the awe of holding his firstborn, the frustration and overprotectiveness as his daughters began dating, the quiet pride he had as their own careers took flight. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember their faces.

For the first time since coming to the Grey Plains, he felt the same desperation that seemed to clutch ever soul that entered Lambrecht. He sorely wished he could remember what his family looked like.

He shook his head suddenly. Focus, old man, he berated himself. You are no amateur. Dwell on it later, after the job's done.[ Lead and protect. Then you can perseverate all you want.
 
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Domino looked back towards Sam, who had seemingly taken the leadership role in their excursion. The young assassin wasn't particularly opposed to the development. He had more experience working on his own than leading others, and if Sam wanted to play captain he wasn't going to stop him. He smirked when Ebayan ordered him to the front of the group. "No worries, old man. I'm always on point." He chuckled and stepped to the front of the group as they navigated their way through the forest. Alana seemed to be wary of Sam's power, perhaps rightfully so. Domino was interested in the ability, but not overly worried about it's implication in combat. He had never had any supernatural ability before his death, so fighting without his powers shouldn't pose a problem, if by chance some accident were to happen. The two elder members of the group seemed to be passing Vivian's custody back and forth. He chuckled to himself. "You two sound like squabbling parents." He threw a glance towards Vivian. "She's not a child." As Domino spoke, a distant sound in the otherwise silent forest caught his attention. He could hear what sounded like groaning. "There we go." He turned on a heel, dashing through the bushes towards the noise.
 
Vivian, in her usual fashion, fell in at the back of the group. Literal rear guard duty was beyond her previous label of rear guard worker, but it was safer than standing at the front in both cases. Apparently not safe enough for her group, as Sam's ordering was quick to cause a stir. She wasn't keen on being relegated to standing and watching herself, but she saw enough wisdom in the command to keep quiet and obey. She wanted to help badly, but her greatest strength was a capacity to wait and learn. Apparently something that Ebayan had seen in only a short while. Alana, the one most stirred, was shockingly fiery. Her attitude awoke tiny glimpses of her memory, and intuitively Vivian figured that she must have once known someone like her. She did not mind the other woman's discontentment at being consigned to escort duty. Even if she could not help, she absolutely would not tolerate becoming a burden. Before she found the words to speak up for herself, Domino had done so. His words were more brash than what she would have suggested, although she very much was not a child. "You need not protect me," she said in addition. "I can, um, hold my own." That phrase felt dishonest and unwieldy even as she said it, but she wanted it to be true. In a day, and a life, full of interruptions, another one cut into her chance to go on. Domino had rushed off into the brush. Her blue eyes widened at the prospect of what exactly he was chasing into the dark, she'd missed the sound that alerted him entirely. She'd wanted maybe a few more minutes to prepare mentally for confronting a demon. Her excited gaze danced between the two remaining members of the group, searching for some sort of cue. Was that what someone 'on point' did, or were they supposed to follow?
 
Sam's explanation wasn't much consolation. Maybe it was the stress of the whole situation finally getting to her, but Alana just couldn't let the issue go. A few seconds was a few too many. Domino's attitude wasn't helping. Alana was about to pat Vivian on the back for her self-reassurance when Domino took off. Had he seen the demon? Either way, he wasn't going to get away with showing her up. Neither was Sam, but she could worry about him later. "Oh no you don't!" Alana snapped, perhaps a bit louder than she should have; she took off running in the same direction as Domino, her bare heels digging deep into the soft forest soil. She had no idea what had gotten Domino running. The only thing on her mind was beating him to it.
 
Ebayan cursed under his breath as Alana darted ahead. "Damn fool, hotheaded woman!"

Domino Stross was well ahead of them and out of easy visual range with the dense foliage. The assassin had accepted his command readily enough, though Alana had a few grumbles and obviously held her own counsel. Ebayan let it slide without comment. In his experience commanding forces both large and small, he had learned a very simple truth: If everyone was happy with a given commander, he wasn't doing his job right. However, he felt responsible for the three younger souls. Alana's temperament may get her others hurt.

"Vivian, let's go!" he said.

As the group pressed on into the wood, the forest began to darken into shadow as the canopies thickened and blotted out the sunlight. Without its warmth, the forest had cooled to a chill and a syrupy, foggy mist lay across the grass, thick enough to obscure their feet.

Ebayan made sure to stay near Vivian, though he kept Alana within visual range. Despite his pace and thick build, his footfalls were ghostly silent. Old age had done nothing to dampen decades of skill and practice. He did not call out to Alana, lest his voice alert any nearby enemies. He could only hope that when the time came, he could rear her and Stross in so they all fought together instead of separately.

"Move with your toe down first," Ebayan instructed Vivian softly. "This will soften your footsteps even while running. Think soft steps. And always look around you, even upwards. Sometimes, danger comes from above."

It was hasty advice, but sound. If the girl were willing, he could train her, but for now, pointers would have to do.
 
Stross continued running forward, gliding gracefully through the trees while simultaneously avoiding the vines and roots that attempted obstruct his footsteps. He looked back as Alana called out, grinning smugly at the woman. "You better keep up, wouldn't want it all to be over before you get there!" Sam and Vivian seemed to be trailing behind, but he had no doubt they'd stay on the trail. Even if they didn't, a duel with such a creature was fine. He liked a challenge. He continued following the groans deeper and deeper into the forest. They grew progressively louder until he finally came to a stop next to a great oak tree. The forest was nearly pitch black, but light poured down in a single ray from a break in the canopy. The assassin froze for a moment at what he saw. Even the experience from his gruesome line of work hadn't prepared him for what he saw. A man, appearing to be in his mid-thirties, was pinned against the great tree. Iron stakes had pierced his forearms and shins, holding him in place. The man's attire was ripped and covered in a mixture of blood and dirt. As Domino arrived, the man lifted his head. His dark brown hair hung in his eyes, soaked with sweat. As the assassin stared, the man spoke in a strained voice. "Who... who are you?" He gasped for air before forcing out a single word. "Lambrecht?" Domino turned towards his companions as they arrived. "You... you might want to see this."
 
Alana growled, her fists tightening and dark energy starting to swirl around her knuckles in the heat of the moment. Thick vines and huge mushrooms whizzed past her unnoticed. Pompous ass! She'd show him what for, just as soon as she caught up, but the best she could do was keep pace. Just because he was still young, that didn't give him the right to treat her like that, oh she'd show him, she'd throw him to the damn demon--

A raised vine, obscured by the mist crawling along the ground, caught Alana's toes. She staggered and hopped on one foot for three more awkward steps, her arms flailing and a surprised "gwah!" jumping out of her mouth. Finally her other leg found purchase, sinking into the moss that covered the darker areas of the forest floor. Sweet lord above, she must've looked like such an idiot.

"What's that...?" Alana said to Domino, who had stopped for some reason. "What's going on?" A few steps closer -- normal pace now -- brought the man into view. Blood was caked around the wounds that the stakes had inflicted. "Who's this guy?"
 
Daine twists through the crowd of people trying to smooth a rampant curl that had sprung free from her tie. She pauses jaw agape when her eyes catch sight of the looming tower glittering in the sunlight. With a firm destination in mind she winds her way in its general direction not able to stop the corner of her lips from quirking upward in a small smile. Honestly, even the gray grass beyond the city walls was fascinating to her but the golden landscape surrounding her soundly captured her full attention. Absentmindedly she checks for tails or following eyes but it seemed everyone else seemed much more worried about themselves than possibly starting anything. Well that might have to do with the circumstances of their being in this city but Daine knew better than most that there was a rotten apple in near every basket and this was no exception. Her gray-blue eyes catch sight of the nearing tower once more and she wonders if the residents ever get tired of seeing it, she doubted it. It was much too magnificent. After what seems like an eternity she reaches the base and pauses while tugging on the same loosed curl. "Now what."
 
They were off, Vivian raced off into the bush with the others. She ran as fast as her legs could take her, which wasn't much in the face of three trained fighters. Somewhat as a surprise to her, her knee length jumper hardly interfered with her movement. More annoying was the uneven ground she was legging it over. As the forest around them darkened, it became more difficult, and she found herself stumbling more and more. Ebayan's advice to her didn't go unnoticed, but even with a different running technique she was mostly clumsy. As their trek went on, and they found themselves running through a woods dark as pitch, Vivian found herself drifting in the black. The environment was cold, but she didn't have the time to shiver. It was among the few fragments of perfectly intact memory she possessed. She had run in this dark before, through her ruined town. The memory was vivid, the sight of her mind's eye matched the nothing in the darkened forest. Why? There was no reason to remember, to flash back as strongly as she was, but something continued to pull her thoughts to the night of her death. Her pitched breathing declined, and the next thing she knew she was coasting to a stop alongside two dark shapes she recognized to be Alana and Domino. She was grateful that their movement had concluded without incident, there was apparently no demon to be faced at the end. Illuminated by the tiny spear of light coming from the breach in the canopy, a broken man was lashed to a large tree. Another body, she reflected dimly, caught somewhere out of reality. Alana was already asking the prudent questions, and Vivian was set in her silence. She watched the three others and waited. They wouldn't be getting the right kind of answers from a corpse, but if it was their only option, at least the five of them all had something in common.
 
"No, I didn't" Rhys simply replied. Rhys already knew where he was header. To the Monolith. It was no doubt time that Rhys figured out important details about this whole demon hunting business, a curiosity that piqued when he had to explain circumstances to Carl about their being in Lambrecht, "He knows what to do when the bells ring. Everyone knows what to do." Rhys added, confident that they didn't need to baby sit the young man who had found his way to Lambrecht. Rhys guided himself and Annabel through the throngs of people in the streets, often shouldering people out of the way as he moved. It seemed as if Rhys moved with a new sense of purpose as he went on, as if he was newly determined to find out more about this limbo, and his quest for redemption.
 
Elias wiggled his way through the crowd, him weaving a path of anxiousness and avoidance as he went. Muttered and shy apologies stumbled from his mouth to every bumped shoulder and body that he passed, and he felt an awful tingling sensation rising up in his stomach. Before he left the group, he felt decent and leaned on a bit of sadness, but by this time Graeff found himself absolute garbage blowing through the wind and nervously hunting for something to hold onto while he headed for the Monolith. Leaving the group was a stupid idea; he had nobody to walk with him like he did when he was in school and not... dead. If he'd remembered that he hated walking through crowded places without a fried, he wouldn't have run off so hastily. Elias's mind was a slur of confusion and a lack of attention, interrupted only by a solid body he collided with and by a foot he tripped over. He hit the earth with a loud whomp, and his glasses flew and skidded on the pavement with the noise of clattering plastic.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" Elias bursted out, on his knees while he reached for his glasses, his body aching from impact. Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK.
 
Ebayan joined up with the others by the staked man. Though Alana had believed him dead, there was the shuddering rattle of the chest that suggested he had survived despite his grievous injuries. Ebayan drew his sword and clove away at parts of the trunk in order to free him from his precarious position. The iron stakes had been rammed in deep and given their caliber, removing them directly from the man's limbs would have resulted in fairly impressive hemorrhage.

He lowered the man to the grass gently. "Easy, there. I need to leave the stakes in place for now. If we remove them, you may bleed to death; they're probably the only things keeping your injuries plugged." He studied the entrance wounds carefully, noting that purulence and gangrene had yet to set in - the wounds were relatively fresh. Hopefully, they could get the man to Lambrecht before they got infected.

Though if he is like us, a lost soul, then dying will just be an inconvenience rather than a sentence, Ebayan thought absently.

"Who did this to you?" he asked gently.
 
Something solid collides with Daine and she's more surprised than hurt as she lands on her rear in front of the tower. She winces a bit as the boy who ran into her blurts out a loud apology and it rings in her sensitive ears. Humans were not her favorite creatures, but at least this one had it in him to apologize for running into her instead of the oafs in her life before who tramped through crowds without pause. Daine shakes off the lingering thoughts of her past and smiles a bit as she leans forward to grab the glasses off the ground to offer them to the stranger in front of her, "I hope they're not broken." A quick glance told her the spectacles were all in one piece but she didn't take the time to examine them any closer than that before she held out her arm to return them to the boy.
 
"It was probably Mova," Alana remarked flippantly. She really couldn't care less about this guy. First Domino, then forest trying to send her flying, and now this half-dead stranger. The sooner they dispatched the demon, the sooner they could deal with the problem of the broken Gate, and the sooner they could get the hell out of here. There were more pressing matters to attend to for now, though. Alana pulled one of her gloves off of her calloused hand and smacked Domino clean across the face. "Learn your place!" she spat. Young people who thought they could walk all over her drove her crazy!
 
"Oh, my God, thank you." His overly-contrite words rushed at a more hushed volume, and with much gratefulness, Elias accepted his glasses with eager and warm hands that grazed the girl's as he took his spectacles in his own hands. "I... I am so sorry for this. It's my fault."

Her skin reminded him of the heavily creamed coffee he drank some mornings when he was alone, and her eyes hinted at the image of seawater near a beach. Her scarred arms and hands, however, belied that beauty in the girl. As his eyes focused when he returned his glasses to their rightful place on his nose, he analyzed her more carefully and found a woman not far too old but nonetheless bereaved in some way, like most of the dead around Lambrecht. This Elias could collect from those mere three seconds when he gazed at her in that short moment. In a small window of time, he found yet more complexity. Graeff righted himself on the ground into a seated position and offered his own assurance. "Are you alright?"
 
Daine has to feverishly fight back the reddening of her face, she wasn't used to being thanked by humans much less with such sincerity. She barely resists the urge to yank her hand back when he brushes her skin in retrieving his glasses, contact with two legged creatures wasn't something she was much familiar with and she preferred to keep it that way unless she knew them well. Much like the ravens she spent a winter roosting with, the silver necklace dangling on the boy catches her attention and she watches it for a moment wondering at the craftsmanship. Letting her eyes trail up from there she notes his olive skin and wonders where he hails from briefly before meeting his dark brown gaze. At his question she retreats within herself for a moment to assess if there had been any damage. Her hands were dusty and she had some gravel jammed into her palms but that was nothing some water couldn't fix and her trousers were a fair bit dusty now but that didn't bother her much as they needed washing anyways. It takes her a moment to remember she was asked a question before she nods, "I'm fine, thank you." Daine's smile reaches her eyes this time and the gray-blue tone of her irises brightens a bit as she ignores her long honed danger signals that ring whenever she is engaged by another human.
 
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