Changing Hand

[York]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The Journey to Merricrest (Pt5) - Parting ways[/BCOLOR]
​

[BCOLOR=transparent]After a while of enjoying the embrace Ansley realized they'd probably need to get moving soon, carefully parting from Akane she spoke. "W-We n-need to get moving… I-If Oelia's ok…" She said looking guiltily over at the relative area Oelia should be laying in right now.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane, not able to hear Ansley, assumes she is talking about moving somewhere, but doesn't actually know where Ansley wanted to take her. Everything honestly just sounds like an intensely low whisper. Akane figures that since they've been gone so long, it would probably be best to check on Oelia. "Akane wants to see Oelia. Akane doesn't know if she is ok." Akane starts walking in that direction, waiting for Ansley to follow suit, unless there was something she didn't hear.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia eventually hears the sounds of whatever was rampaging die down, and she puts her bow down. With an incredible amount of pain, she starts to stand up, closing her eyes and doing her best to ignore the feelings in her wings. Once she's finally on her feet, she takes a moment to steady herself, doing her best to not pass out again with the pain. She picks up her bow and starts stumbling in the general direction of the sound, if it's Akane and Ansley, she has to help out, they'd do the same for her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley nods, Akane's ears were injured so she couldn't hear her, but at least they had the same intentions. She follows behind Akane quietly hoping to herself that Oelia was alright after all of this, she didn't check on her thoroughly before they left...[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Eventually, Akane and Ansley make it back to the crash site. Akane is happy to see Oelia, relatively uninjured from the bear. Akane sits down on the ground next to Oelia, dutifully waiting, while also examining her relative condition.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia looks at the two as they come back, wavering a bit on her feet as she talks. "What happened to you two? Did it have something to do with that animal?" She notices Akane doesn't respond to the sound of her voice, and she looks over at Ansley. "I've been thinking. It's much too dangerous for me to keep going to the town. If I'm like this, I'm too exposed. I think it's best that we part here, once I'm healed up, I need to get back home after I perform my mission, it's too dangerous for me to stay."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley thought for a moment about the whole thing, and shook her head "I-I'm staying… A-Akane can't hear right now either… I-It's too dangerous." she said in a quiet voice. They may have to wait a little and let themselves recover before they try anything else, though she could make things go faster. Taking out her harp again, she closed her eyes, played another soothing melody, this one lasted longer and seemed to have a stronger effect.. It was a little longer before the song ended, but Ansley hoped it had done some good at least.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane watches the exchange curiously, trying to deduce what they were talking about. After trying this for a short amount of time, she gives up until Ansley pulls out her harp. When it occurs to her that likely means Oelia is in pain, Akane looks up with worry. "Akane doesn't know how, but can Akane help?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia shakes her head at Akane, waiting till Ansley is done playing. "Thank you, but I do feel it's the best if we split up now. I do not know why you both are traveling, but I know what I need to do, and I can do it much faster on my own. I should not be relying on others, I was warned that that would only lead to trouble, and it has. If anything, without me here, you should be safer from the bandits that we already encountered, as they'll most likely remember me as the one who killed most of them." She folds her wings on herself, it hurts, but the song helped the pain go down by a lot. "Besides, I can't be safe anywhere exposed like this, you two have already seen too much. For that reason, at sundown, I will be gone." Having stated that, Oelia goes and sits down at the other end of the clearing, by herself, examining her bow and her pack.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley just nodded, unsure of what to say… The least she could do was support her now, she had been the one who got them into this mess, all because of that stupid mistake. Perhaps she hadn't completely shaken off that part of her after all.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane doesn't understand much of what was said, but at the very least understands that Ansley doesn't seem to be happy with what was said. Also, Oelia begins looking more and more distant. Akane's ears fall, "Akane doesn't know what is wrong. Akane doesn't know about medicine, but Akane thinks she can help somehow." Akane doesn't realize that Oelia has declined more than just her help.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia rested her head against a tree, she looked at the other two. It was still only the middle of the day, the sun was shining bright. "If you two want to get going to that town, I suggest starting soon. You'll want to get some distance before it gets dark."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]A sad look crossed Ansleys face, but she stayed silent for the time being, trying to think of what to say. "I.. O-Only if Akane th-thinks so too…" She said practically whispering her words now, a mixed feeling of guilt and nervousness was present within her. Perhaps things might not have gotten to this point if she hadn't played her harp during a vital moment…[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia shakes her head. "Just head out. If those bandits are on the way, it's not safe here. The faster you go, the faster you can get to safety. I'll be fine myself, my race heals fast. By tonight I should be okay to walk, and can probably start flying in a few days." She looks over at Akane. "We never did have any particular reason to be traveling together, and if bad stuff is going to keep happening around me, then it's much safer to let me be on my own."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks confused, "Akane can't hear you. Akane doesn't know what is happening, but Akane wants Ansley and Oelia to be happy, so… Akane wants everyone to make it safe to Merricrest."[/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley sighs realizing her harp didn't repair Akane's eardrums as she had hoped, but perhaps there was another way to tell her… Taking a relatively pointy stick from the ground nearby, she began writing in big letters on the dirt in front of them. Once she was finished, she pointed to the words which read; "Oelia wants to part ways with us." hoping Akane would be able to read them.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane watches Ansley draw in the dirt, curious as to what she is trying to communicate. When she finally understands what has been said, she frowns. It wasn't the same as when she was simply concerned for Oelia. Now Akane's expression was almost that of depression. "Did Akane scare Oelia away?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia simply shakes her head no at Akane, but doesn't say anymore, knowing Akane can't hear anything. She let her head sink and thought back to the kindly old priest at her old temple. 'Elebus was right. I shouldn't be trusting the people I meet on this continent. All it'll do is end badly for me.' Indeed, all it had done so far was slow her down and injure her, and even if these two were nice people, and good friends, Oelia knew her mission was more important than anything, and shouldn't be slowing it down like this.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks sadly, clasping onto Oelia's hand. "But you think Akane is a burden, right?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia doesn't do anything, looking away from Akane. It's heartbreaking to see her this way, but it's better to just split now. After all, she only had known the two for a few days, better to go before she got too invested. When she went back home, she wouldn't be seeing these two again. She just wanted to get back to her quiet life working at the temple.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley looked up at Oelia knowing there was little she could do to change her mind… However she also didn't want Oelia to leave, she and Akane were the only companions she'd managed to find, other than her sister of course.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane doesn't let go of Oelia's hand, refusing to budge an inch. Even though Akane just met Oelia, they had already fought together, saved each other's life, and she accepted Akane even knowing she was a killer. Although friends come and go, watching them leave is always hard, regardless the reason. But this time was especially hard, since Oelia actually knew something about Akane. This possessed Akane to not let go.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia shook her head at Akane. 'I wonder if she knows I can just fly away? Even if she wants to stay with me, she can't.' Oelia turns to Ansley. "You two will be fine alone. I see Akane has her knife back, she'll be able to protect you both. You won't need my help anymore."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley just gave a slow, hesitant nod… She could only hope she would see Oelia again, it almost felt like parting ways with her sister all over again. After a brief moment of consideration, she turned around and started on her way towards the relative direction Merricrest should be in. The way she walked though could be described as robotic, a manner she often walked in when she wasn't as enthusiastic about doing something.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks a bit paniced as Ansley starts walking away. Ansley could never travel by herself. She can't fight, cook, or even gather things by herself. While leaving Oelia would be equally unpleasant, leaving Ansley would just fill Akane with worry. Even as Ansley remains in her field of vision, she is getting further and further out. Akane realizes that this likely means that she has to decide if she is going to stay to try to convince Oelia to stay with her, or to make the trip to Merricrest with Ansley. Feeling desperate, "Akane doesn't want Oelia to forget her. Akane wants to be friends with Oelia."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia smiles at Akane, and grips her hand tight. Even though she knows Akane can't hear, she talks anyway. "Don't worry Akane, I'll still consider you my friend." She pats Akane on the head, and points to Ansley walking away. As she does, a wave of dizziness hits her, and Oelia falls back, her vision getting fuzzy and everything spinning. She puts a hand to her head, and tries to avoid passing out, her head still falling back to the tree.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane seems to understand what Oelia is saying, even if she can't actually hear it. Feeling the moment overwhelm her, Akane thought, I don't want Oelia to forget about me. With the small time that has passed, it would be pretty easy to forget. So, thats why Akane decides to give Oelia a quick kiss. She is immediately embarrassed, and realizes that she just let herself do something without thinking, and immediately retreats towards Ansley at a running pace. Also, although she wasn't asked, she discards Oelia's coat that she had borrowed on top of her, unwilling to take her only protection against the cold. Running off past Ansley, Akane say, "Akane will wait for you up ahead."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley stopped as she was walking; she didn't make it very far from the group in the first place… She turned around to see if Akane was following, but as she did so, she caught sight of Oelia seeming to sway on her feet, her head hitting a tree behind her. Walking towards her with a confused look on her face, she wasn't able to figure out what just happened, but she had to figure out a way to help… Somehow.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Oelia doesn't respond to the kiss, she notices it happening, but the fatigue and dizziness are overwhelming enough. Still, she does notice Ansley run back over, and responds in a weary voice. "Don't… worry about me. Just the… pain and tiredness getting to me. Please go on ahead, I think I just… need a nap." She finally does pass out, the coat on top of her, the feel of Akane's lips still lingering for one extra second.[/BCOLOR]

Ansley just nods, holding onto her harp for a little bit, then she began to play it again. The melody had a calming feeling to it, almost like the one she had played for that strange girl which had turned into that creature… It's tune brought a sort of aura of rejuvenation along with it as it progressed, eventually coming to a slow end. Then, she waved a quiet goodbye and started to walk away, the song was her parting gift, if Oelia still intended to part ways. As she turned her attention towards Akane who was standing a little ways off from her, she noticed she had removed the coat Oelia had given her exposing her undergarments. Looking upwards attempting not to think too much about it, she started to blush a little as she approached her again rather awkwardly.

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks towards Ansley with a rather bittersweet expression on her face. Shyly, "Akane is going to miss Oelia…"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley nods again blinking a few times, but despite that a couple of tears managed to slide past her eyelids flowing down her cheeks before she quickly wiped them off. Despite only knowing Oelia for a few days, it was still sad to see a good friend go… She'd learned so much since they had met.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks towards Ansley with a forced smile. "It is just us now then… Akane thinks we should get to Merricrest as soon as we can. Akane doesn't want to fight off wolves at night."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]With another nod Ansley indicated that she agreed with Akane, it would be nice if they could meet up with Oelia, and maybe even her sister when they arrive… Just maybe, it might happen. As they continued on their way to Merricrest as Ansley tried her best not to look downwards in Akane's direction starting to blush every time she even thought about it.[/BCOLOR]

 

[York]

Vertice group (filler) - Consequences​

Trying to march forward, Cadoc begins to feel his broken rib shift slightly inside him, he gasps in pain, falling to a knee.

Scarlett immediately looks concerned turning towards him abruptly "Shit! Are you alright?" she asked... Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to be heading out like this.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." said Cadoc, still wincing from the pain a bit, blatantly lying.

"Doesn't seem like it, we should probably head back before you drop dead or something." Scarlett replied frowning a little, she regretted even letting him walk out of his room like that, it was too soon for him to move around too much.

"I-I think your right, can you help me back into my bed."

Scarlett nodded with a sigh, she offered an arm out for him to lean on. "Try not to move those broken ribs too much anymore... I think they might be hurting you." She warned him.

"Y-yeah, though after I lie down, would you mind getting me something?"

"Hm?" Scarlett said looking at him curiously, perhaps this had something to do with what he had been planning on doing before.

"A spear, Im going to use it as a crutch."

"Take mine." Scarlett said passing him her own, she rememebered to pop out the stone in it first just so the spear wouldn't be troublesome in his posession. "Just take good care of it." She added.

"No no, youre going to be in the tournamant, and you will need it to defend yourself too."

"Just use it for now... I'll get you a proper crutch later." Scarlett urged, despite her attatchment with her spear, she could always find another one or something if she had to.

"No, people are after me Scar.. I can't let it be that obvious im injured, if I had a crutch it would be obvious that any half-wit with a knife could take me out. If I have a spear it will at least make them think that I could be dangerous" Said Cadoc, pulling out a few coins from his bag.

"Pretend to be a wizard or something then." Scarlett said teasing him a little, perhaps it wasn't the best idea but it certainly was better than having a spear which he could get injured with somehow.

"Like I could make a convincing wizard... Just do this for me, I've used spears before, I'll be fine."

"If you say so... But for now, stay inside will you? Moving around's not helping your state." Scarlett said, as they were talking they've already made it back to the hallway close to the room Cadoc had been in.

"I know, I just want to have something for when I can."

"I guess I'll go buy a spear a few days before then." Scarlett concluded opening the room door and moving rather awkwardly towards the bed with Cadoc resting on her shoulder and all.

"Thanks, take this to pay for it." Said Cadoc giving her the money to pay for it.

Scarlett tilts her head a little "I guess a little currency wouldn't hurt... It's not common, but some shop keepers still prefer it over stones." She said said taking a little of it implying he should keep the rest.

"Sorry, I would get this myself, but as you can see I'm not really in a situation were I can do that."

Scarlett just nods, helping Cadoc onto the bed before sitting down in a chair next to him, she took her spear back for the time being popping the stone back into it's blade.

"Once I've healed up, I'll throttle that wind guy." Said Cadoc, as he settled into his bed

"Hey... That's my job, he was aiming for me after all when he injured you." Scarlett said, she wanted to even the odds with that Bounty hunter too, but she knew that couldn't happen just yet.

"Yes, but he was after me."

"Hmph, doesn't mean I'll make an exception for collateral damage." Scarlett said looking a little stubborn.

Chuckling slightly Cadoc replies "Then lets get him together"

"I bet he's in that tournament... We'll do it then, presuming you're recovered by then." Scarlett said poking his arm a little playfully.

"I don't think that will be happening, im pretty banged up, if he's there then make sure to hit him twice as hard for me then""

"Deal." Scarlett said with a nod, giving him a little smile before she turned away from Cadoc for the time being figuring she'd start plotting battle strategies or something.

 

[Thundor]

Hamilton

​

The meeting had went on into the usual discussion between the three before it was decided that they would continue in a few days to a week. Hamilton returned to his office, sitting down in his chair as he thought over what was discussed for a minute. His mind then wondered to his confrontation with the Digger, and he felt anger burning up inside of him every time his mind went back to that scene. He questioned himself, he wondered what had happened, why had he been the one put in a corner, by a Digger no less! He slams his fist down on the desk, unable to get his mind away from it. How dare he, Hamilton thought to himself. I am Hamilton A. Wiltsworth! I have ascended beyond what mortal men could wish for, yet I am put down by a simple Digger! I must find a way to correct this mistake, I must take action! I must destroy all resistance, any threat to my plans!

Just as Hamilton's mind was rambling, a knock came to his door. "What is it?" He asked.

"Sir, I think you need to see this." The merchant spoke through the door. Hamilton's curiosity suddenly sparked, he had informed them that he should not be disturbed unless it was important. Rising up to his feet, he walks over to the door.

"Very well, lead the way." Hamilton spoke as he opened the door. From here, Hamilton is lead down into the lower floors of the base, where the merchant reveals something to Hamilton. Hamilton stood in awe, he couldn't picture for a more perfect design. "So it has finally arrived, huh?" Hamilton looks to the man. "Prepare for an announcement from me by tonight, when it is dark."

"Dark, sir?" The merchant asked. "Why? It would be better to do it during the day."

"Make sure fire's are appropriately lit for the occasion. Make sure everyone can see just clearly enough, but not too much."

"I -- I don't understand."

"Do not question my methods, you have your job. Get to it." With that command, the merchant gulps and nods, running off. "I'd better double-check it over, just in case." Hamilton said to himself, as he walks over to the object. "And while I'm at it, I'd better check over any equipment down here as well. Just, to be safe."​

 

[Logan2231]

Xaqur walks into small village in Centora sometime at night watching as miscellaneous people walk the streets two or three armed militia, one or two innocent people passing by. As he walks through the streets he receives several dirty looks, but pays them no heed as he has more pressing matters. Stopping near the small ill-equipped armory the militia had with a single guard standing in front of the door. <Poor fool, if someone wanted to they could walk in and take what pitiful weapons they have.> Xaqur ignites a small fire in the palm of his hand letting it grow in size till it covered the whole of his hand.

The militiaman takes notice of this and walks towards him. "Hey knock that off and put that out!" he yells motioning to two more militiamen in simple leather and chain-mail. Xaqur looks up to him and begins to chuckle bringing up his other hand letting another fireball build up but at several times the rate of the last. The man yells again sword unsheathed, and shield raised slightly, "Hey.....Don't make me hurt you." Xaqur's chuckle turns to dark laughter as he looks to the man, "No allow me." and throws a fireball at the men's feet igniting their tunics they were wearing under the leather and chain-mail. They let out screams of pain and agony. "Die quietly." Xaqur says as he releases a stream of lightening into the men for several seconds. Then halts it as they fall limp and lifeless. He then throws the fireball from his other hand at the armory setting off a small explosion sending chunks of wood and metal flying in several directions.

Several other militiamen begin to arrive to which Xaqur responds with a massive blast of wind sending them through the air. As he advances he begins to set fire to near-by buildings people sent screaming while they and their homes burned. Militiaman after militiaman fall as they attempt to attack him but they are dispatched with ease using lightening and fire to burn or electrocute the men as the come. Not an hour later Xaqur stands in the center of the now burning town holding the last surviving man by the throat while he sobbed and begged for mercy. "Ah the satisfaction of hearing a man beg for his life after everything was taken from him. Home burning, family dead, townspeople slaughtered like sheep, and friends ground into paste." the man say through the sobs "WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?" Xaqur stands there for a moment then releases him "Because I can." and sends a bolt of lightening into the mans chest.

 

[☆Luna☆]

The Journey to Merricrest (Finale): Regrets

Ansley walked with Akane in silence for a bit, unsure of what to say, plus, it seemed like it would take them forever to cover the distance between them and Merricrest. Perhaps it would be for the best if she sped them up a little, so as they walked, she played her harp again, the music carried the same upbeat, free flowing sort of tone lasting for only a few minutes before it ended. Now they were moving at a faster pace than they were before thanks to the stones effects, she hoped she hadn't exhausted it too much.

Akane looks towards Ansley, concerned that she has been pushing herself hard lately. Although she hasn't been doing a lot of fighting, she has been supporting us this whole time with her gem power. I haven't needed to use mine in a while, so I've been doing well. It wouldn't do to have her gem seize up when she needed it. Even still, I don't say anything, since I could still protect her in a pinch, and with this we could reach the safety of town sooner. It only takes about an hour and a half to reach the gates of Merricrest. It had been quite a journey to get here. I let out a sigh of relief as we reach the checkpoint. While we are here, I need to get a job so I can afford some new clothes. It was getting kinda chilly running around without any pants, and as nice as it was to have Oelia's shirt, it wasn't as childish as I would like.

As the two pass through the gates, a black robed figure watches them from the shadows, unseen, before walking slowly back into town.

Finally, Ansley saw the gates of Merricrest in front of them, she let out a quiet sigh in relief, glad to finally have arrived. WIth any luck, her sister would be here, turning towards Akane, she remembered not to look down as Akane still didn't have much to cover her… Lower half. That should be taken care of quickly though; she had a small bag of stones with her, hopefully enough to afford her something decent to cover her for now. Ansley started to look around, trying her best to see if she could spot a place that sold clothes, though as she did so, she had a strange feeling they were both being watched…

Even though the city was safer than the forest, it wasn't like I could completely drop my guard. The good news about cities is that they don't have any monsters, the bad news is that people can be the real monsters. I could count several eyes looking straight at my underwear. Not that I could blame them, since this is technically my fault, but honestly I don't really care terribly. I'm just a cute little neko girl that doesn't know better right now. Though the hunter might have to make an appearance if anyone gets grabby. "Ansley, why is everyone looking at me all weird?"

Ansley flushed a little red when Akane asked her this, she wasn't entirely how how to go about explaining it. "I… I guess th-they're not… Used to s-seeing someone with th-their underwear exposed…" She said after a while, her eyes darting around a little faster until she finally spotted a stall with some decent looking clothes not too far from them. Though one minor problem was that they'd have to get through the large amount of people traversing the roads with them.

More concerned with what Ansley was saying than what she was trying to do, "Why? Akane doesn't understand. Are Akane's panties not pleasant to look at? Do they make people upset?"
Ansley shook her head a little "I-I'll explain later…" she said, her voice growing a little quiet. She started to walk towards the stall she had spotted before making sure Akane was following behind her. All they needed to do was get through the thick of this crowd on the road and there shouldn't be anything else preventing them from buying something for Akane to wear.

Akane pouts when Ansley forgos explaining exactly what the issue with roaming around with exposed panties is, but still dutifully follows Ansley, curious as to what Ansley had planned. Internally however, Akane was quite hypervigilant. She hates walking through crowds, especially when she is exposed like this.

Despite being nervous herself Ansley manages to lead Akane through the less crowded areas of the road. She's done this multiple times, but being so close to so many people always made her this way, however glancing at Akane, she realized she wasn't the only one feeling this way. Ansley started to move around a little keeping Akane in the more spacey gaps in the crowds as she herself started to push through more jammed spots. Eventually, they were at the stall Ansley had been heading for, and she let out a long sigh. Now, things should be easier to take care of, if the clothes here weren't too expensive that is…

As the two approached the clothes vendor, the woman at the stall looked down at a piece of paper, before calling the two over. "You're the bard and neko right? A gentleman was here earlier, he gave me a large sum of stones, he wanted to purchase an outfit or two for each of you, or something along those lines."

Ansley looked a little confused, she was sure no-one else here knew them that well, and it couldn't possibly be Oelia… The woman had specifically stated he was a male, so, was this act of generosity just that? She wasn't too sure about it, but she just nodded a little looking at the items on sale. All they really needed was a dress or something for Akane, that way they won't be getting as much unwanted attention as they are now.

Akane immediately starts on a shopping spree throughout the store as soon as the word "free" was uttered. Although extremely suspicious, Akane didn't seem that way at all, and honestly she enjoyed taking advantage of a fool's kindness anyway. Looking towards the kids selection, Akane begins looking around for something to wear. It needs to be something unrestrictive and childish and it need a place where I could sew in a hidden pouch for my dagger. Though, it isn't like there is even much to choose from. Picking out what is clearly a stripper's garb, I look over it curiously. "Ansley, what kinds of clothes are these? They look all weird."

Ansley looked a little panicked upon seeing what Akane picked up "Th-they… Th-they're… F-for c-certain p-places.." she managed to say, stuttering a little. It was clear that she was a little thrown off by this. Looking around the stall a little nervously herself, she was rather indecisive on what she should get… This kept her mind off of what had just happened though thankfully.

Akane once again pouts, "Ansley is always being vague and not telling Akane everything." Looking back into the clothing, I pull out a dress much like my old one. It just barely fits, but Akane holds it with a kind of childish pride. "Ansley, Ansley, what about this one!"

Ansley smiles a little and nods "I-it looks alot like your old one." she commented, rather glad she had found something like that. Though she did realize that she'd have to explain to Akane about all the things she'd skimped out on sooner or later. Perhaps she could try and explain a little better after they've found a less crowded place at the very least. Speaking of which, they probably needed to find a place to stay the night. Turning towards the woman at the stall, she decided to ask for directions "D-do you know where an I-inn is?" she asked feeling just a little nervous from meeting a new person, even though she was starting to get used to talking to others.

The woman points in a direction, way in the distance is a building with a wooden sign out front. "That's the inn, I think that mystery person was there as well. Just keep heading down a ways, ya can't miss it"

Ansley nods looking around and assessing where the least people were before heading off towards the Inn. However she made sure Akane was still following behind her as she started weaving through the slowly thinning crowds.

Akane was not following Ansley, and instead stayed near the clothing stall. She looks rather unhappy.

Stopping walking, Ansley turned around looking a little confused realizing Akane wasn't following her. Walking back towards her, she looked rather worried for Akane "W-what's wrong?" she asked nervously.

"Akane doesn't want to see the man who bought us our clothes." These kinds of favors tend to come with something else attached. While it might just be pity, I'd rather not chance staying in contact with someone so suspicious.

Ansley looked a little confused, but just nodded; though she couldn't help but feel it may be wise to at least investigate why the man did what he did… Plus, if anything, they could always check around and stay someplace else. "I-I'm going… And... " Ansley thought for a moment, she knew it might not be a good idea to get separated from Akane, even though she didn't want to come with her. "A-and… I can't l-leave you behind…" Ansley said taking Akane by the hand, starting to drag her lightly, but firmly through the streets taking care to avoid the clumps of people still around. All they really needed to do was check around in that Inn for a bit at least after all.

Akane stamps her feet in childish defiance, pulling back with token resistance. "Akane said she doesn't want to go. Akane doesn't want to meet strange people."

Ansley shook her head a little "Too late." she said quietly continuing on the way to the Inn… Realizing how mean that probably sounded, she turned back "Th-The meeting strange people thing I mean... " she added, the Inn was practically right in front of them by now.

Switching gears, Akane hides behind Ansley, acting the part of a bashful child who doesn't want to show her face. "Meany…"

Letting out another small sigh, she felt a little guilty for doing this but at the same time she'd probably feel even worse about leaving Akane behind without another word… Pulling her along a little ways until she was near the Inns entrance, she stopped and looked at Akane again "Y-you can stay here… I-If you want to that is…" she said figuring at least here, she won't be too far away incase something happens while she was off searching the Inn or something.

"Akane doesn't want to leave Ansley alone with the stranger, Akane is coming too."

Ansley nodded again with another smile, letting go of Akane's hand incase she happened to change her mind, she started to head inside. Occasionally, she checked behind her to see if Akane was following, there wasn't as many people in here as there was on the streets thankfully, but there was still enough to make things a little uncomfortable.

Akane follows closely behind Ansley. She seems calm, but she still has a sense of childish fear about her, staying very close to Ansley, to the point that anyone with a reasonable personal bubble would feel invaded.

Other than a few people milling around, there weren't many people currently in the inn, and nobody suspicious looking. The innkeeper was behind a counter, talking with a couple who gave the innkeeper a few stones then disappeared into another room.

Ansley sighed a little and headed to the counter, she figured if anything, they could ask the innkeeper. Approaching the counter, she stood there and waited for the innkeeper to come back standing a good distance away from the couple that had previously talked to him.

The innkeeper comes back and looks at Ansley. In a gruff voice he asks "So, what can I do for you little missy? And yer little friend there too?"

"H-how much is a room?" Ansley asked attempting to sound calm despite the fact that she was far from it… She didn't want to come off too fragile.

"Wait a minute…" The innkeeper looks at both of them, trying to think of something mentally (he appears to be having a tough time of it). After a bit his eyes light up in rememberance. "Oh yeah, that's right, yer that bard and neko peoples, aren't you? Some creepy old guy already paid for yer rooms, at least I think he was an old guy, you never know with people in this town…" He started talking about the various people he's met in the town, but he doesn't seem to be directing it at Ansley, rather it seems he's just sort of ranting to himself. He does bring down a large key, hands it to Ansley, and points in the general direction of the rooms, the key has the room number on it already.

Looking the key over, Ansley just nods starting to head over to the rooms… Again, she made sure Akane was following her, just incase she got side tracked at some point.

Before Ansley could head to the rooms, she heard a voice. "Excuse me, might I have a word with you two?" From behind them was a tall figure, in a completely black cloak, covering his entire body. The robe covered everything, including his face, and was holding a cane in his gloved hands. "Please, before you head out for the day, I'd like to have a conversation." His voice was gentle and aged, and there was no malice or anything of the sort in it.

Akane suddenly comes out from behind Ansley. "Ansley said I should get dressed first. She said it is bad for me to show my panties."

Ansley flushed red again, a little unsure of what to say to that, but she just nodded to the Old mans words and stood there rather awkwardly… Perhaps she should have explained to her about this thing earlier.

The man stood there, leaning on his cane, nodding. His voice sounded as if he was smiling when he talked. "Of course, of course, how rude of me. If your friend would like to go change, please go right ahead. I would appreciate if you could make time to speak with me though, it's very important, and there will of course be a reward." He nodded at Akane, signaling it was okay to go.

"Akane doesn't want to be alone…"

"I-It'll only be a moment… W-we'll be right b-back." Ansley said, she figured it would probably be for the best if they stuck together for the time being. After they were done, she could always head back to the Old Man, he didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry yet.

Akane clings to Ansley's arm, "Akane would rather stay here."

Ansley nodded again, if that was what Akane wanted, it didn't bother her too much… They'd have to speak with that old man sooner or later anyways. "I-I guess we're ready to talk now." She said a little nervously.

The man beckons to a table surrounded by a couple of chairs in the front of the inn. He sits down first, motioning for the two to take a seat at the other chairs. "I'll try to be quick, I'm sure you're both very busy people, and I would hate to impose longer than I need to." He pulls out a very large sack, placing it on the table. Inside are a very large quantity of stones, large ones too, more than most people would make in a year of working. "I need to find someone very important. A young girl with a large bow. I heard that she was traveling in the company of a bard and a neko fitting your descriptions, am I wrong?"

"Akane might remember something like that, but Akane knows a few people like that. Akane just remembers that most people like that are her friend, so Akane wants to know why you are looking for her."

Ansley frowned, then shrugged, she stayed oddly quiet this time… She was unsure of why he was looking for Oelia, at least knowing the reason like Akane wanted would probably be the best. Instead of talking, she decided to stay silent for now.

The old man takes Akane's response as an affirmation, and continues. "Since you two do know her, I was wondering if you could do me the pleasure of letting me know where she is. You see, I am, for lack of a better term, the guardian of the poor girl. I have a terrible disease, which causes my skin to shrivel and rot exposed to the air, so for both the protection of myself and for others who look at me, I wear this robe. And with this condition, it is so hard to take care of myself. That girl, Oelia, is someone I need to find, and be reunited with."

Akane suddenly looks like a lightbulb went off, as she claps her hands together. "Oh! You were looking for Oelia. She is a good friend of Akane's. When Akane lost her dress, Oelia let her borrow her cloak. It was quite thick, much like yours."

Ansley was still thinking intently on the situation, despite the Old man having explained alot… There was still one question nagging at the back of her mind; Why? If his condition debilitated him so, what is his reason to have to be re-united with Oelia for…

The old man paused, then nodded at Akane. "Then you would know what she has, and I can tell you the real reason. I'm sure you both saw, Oelia is not a normal girl. She was born with that… appearance, and has suffered for it greatly day in and day out. Against my better wishes, she left her home, and I wish to bring her back, before those who would use her… features against her find out about them." He let out a small chuckle. "If you're insinuating I am like her, we are not related, and my previous statement is correct, I do suffer from a terrible disease. Here…" He held out his gloved hand, and pulled down a portion of it, the skin showing was bright red, and scaly in appearance. "It gets like that after a while, and it is quite painful".

Akane nods, "Well, Akane doesn't understand a lot, but Akane remembers Oelia said that you didn't want her to make friends. That made Akane sad because Oelia is Akane's friend. Akane wants to know why you said that."

Ansley got a sad look when that was mentioned, that guilty feeling returned again but she still didn't say anything. She simply nodded, understanding what he meant for the most part, however even if she did want to help; even she had no clue where Oelia might be, she's either still in that forest or right here in Merricrest… Somewhere.

The man peers at Akane. "Well, as I said, there are those that would seek to use her, and I simply warned her about those potential people. Still though, if you are her friend, and you were traveling together, then why isn't she with you now?"

Akane frowns, "That is just the thing. She insisted we separate after she got injured. Akane remembers that crash landing, because it hurt Oelia, and was a traumatic experience for Akane. Even though Akane wanted to stay with her the entire time, she insisted that she wanted to continue alone. Akane hopes that Oelia is able to defend herself even without Ansley."

Ansley was quiet but she nodded once more, agreeing with Akane there… Those bandits had caused them quite alot of trouble, that and the stupid mistake she had made. In either case she really hoped Oelia was alright and was or had already made her way to Merricrest. If only she could be sure whether or not they should trust this old man, currency wasn't bad sure, but what price would they truly be paying for it?

The old man looks at Akane. "A crash landing? An injury? Hmm…" He appears to be lost in thought, before continuing. "Are you sure that your friendship is all that? If she told you to go without her but she was as injured as you say, would you not stay behind to help her? If you simply let me know where to find her, I can certainly take care of her injuries, I know quite a lot about medicine. I simply wish to help the poor girl out, you understand. It's my duty to take care of her."

"Akane would love to show you the way personally."

The old man smiles. "Well, I don't think that will be necessary. Hearing about your little crash was all I needed, I know exactly where to look now." He stands up, using his cane, and points to the bag of stones. "For your assistance, those are all yours. Don't worry about me, I've hired some fine gentleman to help me travel, they'll be able to get me to her very quickly, and I'll be sure to give her the medical care she needs. I would hate for anything to happen to her, she's very, very important to me".

Akane shakes her head. "Akane isn't going to need those stones. They are heavy, and will make it hard to quickly return to Oelia's side. You might know where she is, but Akane is worried she won't get to see Oelia for a very long time if she doesn't see her right now. Akane will meet you where Oelia is."

The old man looks at Akane and shakes his head. "I would rather you not. Someone who is willing to abandon her like that, I would rather they stay away. Though if you are her friend, I promise you will see her again, and it will not be a long wait. You can trust me." He leaves the inn after that, shutting the door gently behind him.

Akane doesn't speak another word to this stranger. It is official, she doesn't trust him at all.

Ansley is a little uncertain about picking up the stones herself, but at the same time the Old man was quite readily willing to part with them. After a few moments of mental debate, she toog the bag of stones for the time being "Th-thank y-" she managed to say, but the old man was already gone before she had time to even finish her sentence.

As Ansley is thanking the man, I'm already dashing for the door. My intent is clear, I'm going to outrace the stranger in the race to Oelia.

"W-wait!" Ansley called after Akane, usually she would have let her go, but right now… She was getting a bad feeling about this particular decision "I-I don't feel s-safe staying here…" she admitted. Looking at the bag of stones she was holding, she realized just how big of a target she might be to nasty individuals, especially if those bandits they had encountered managed to show up again.

Akane turns around, visibly upset, "Ansley, that strange man is going to hurt Oelia… He wanted to make sure we had nothing to do with her. He doesn't plan to let us see her again at all. Akane doesn't want to, Akane doesn't want something to happen to Oelia. Akane would never forgive herself, if she never saw Oelia again."

Ansley sighed, as much as she wanted to help Oelia too, she knew splitting up was the worst thing to do… Perhaps they could find a different way to go after that old man, that's of course if those bandits don't find them first. "I-If we split up… It's not going to help Oelia much, is it?" Ansley said after a moment "We'd both be vulnerable… A-and besides, who knows what sort of "protection" that old man ordered… E-even if he was intending to hurt Oelia." she continued "W-we can't help her on our own." she said at last, hoping this would convince Akane to stick together with her. Perhaps then, they still have a chance to do something about all of this.

Akane falls to the ground, crying loudly, and making a big scene. "Akane just wants her friends to be safe. Akane doesn't like being powerless. I'm useless…"

Ansley just stood there for a brief moment, then, without a word, she hugged Akane, attempting to comfort her the best that she could. Even if she was a little awkward about it "I don't think you are…" she whispered quietly. Truth to be told, Akane seemed quite the opposite to her in Ansleys own eyes.

Akane presses up tightly against Ansley, resting her head against Ansley's neck. "Someone as scared as me, couldn't possibly be powerful enough to protect her friends."

"E-Even if that's the case… Y-you did." Ansley said encouragingly… She remembered that strange beast, and of course the bear. Akane managed to protect them in both of those situations, even if she didn't know it.

"Akane was just being selfish. Akane is the reason why everyone was in danger. Akane is the reason the bear attacked. Akane was the reason the bandits attacked. Without Akane, you'd be just fine." Akane seems to look like she wants to go after Oelia again, even if it is clearly impossible at this point.

Ansley shook her head "E-even if you weren't here… Th-those bandits would still have attacked us. E-even if we got past them, that b-bear would have been the end of us." she said. "I-I… Can't really fight, incase that w-wasn't obvious." Ansley added with a wry smile, it was the reason her sister worried about her as much as she did… Even if she was able to take care of herself for the most part, in a full on fight, she didn't stand a chance as is. She simply hadn't had much experience not skill in that category.

Akane shakes her head, now attempting to stand up, "Oelia would have been able to handle the bandits, and my dagger is the only reason the bear attack. Akane's only chance at redemption is Oelia. Akane needs to do this…"

"In that case…" Ansley stood up, holding the bag of stones in one hand a little shakily, she offered out her other hand. "I-I'm… Coming with you." She said quietly, to be blunt; she was the one that had caused everything to awry for them… She was the reason Oelia got hurt in the first place. Perhaps if she could help somehow at the very least, it would make that mistake a little less of a burden to bear.

"But you aren't fast like Akane. If you came, you'd slow Akane down. Oelia might be lost. If you want to help, give Akane haste so Akane can beat the stranger at a footrace."

"W-with the money he's probably got… I-I don't think he's traveling on foot." Ansley thought for a moment "W-we can't save Oelia by getting to her before him… W-we don't even know if h-he's going to hurt her." she said, starting to reflect upon their rash decisions. Perhaps they could find another way to locate Oelia.

Akane lays back into Ansley's arms, feeling defeated. "Akane wants to lay down."

Ansley nodded "I-I'll get us to our room." she said, picking up Akane with both arms, leaving her harp on the ground along with the bag of stones for the time being. Walking towards their room, she opened the door rather awkwardly since both her arms were full thankful that it was unlocked. Carefully placing Akane on the bed, she then dashes out of the room again hoping that the items she left on the floor weren't gone. Rushing towards the bad and the harp, she was glad both were still there and picked them back again bringing them back into the room with her. She sat down on the other bed with a huge sigh, her arms felt rather sore from the sudden exertion it had undergone.

Akane's fatigue quickly catches up with her. Looking over to Ansley, she speaks softly. "Ansley, please don't leave me while I'm asleep."

Ansley nods "I won't." she said firmly, forcing herself not to stutter, she sat there by Akane's side picking up her harp. This time, she didn't use the stones power as she played it, after all, it was just a soft lullaby. It was the same tune her mother sang to her, ever since they both left home, her sister had been doing so whenever she was around. She was "zoned out" again as she played, in that trance-like state she had been in at first on that path.

Akane feels herself easing into sleep, and just before she turns in, she wraps an arm around Ansley's waist, now completely asleep.

Faintly feeling Akane's arm wrapping around her waist, Ansley smiled a little, the last thing she remembered doing before she was completely lost in her own little world… Before she knew it, she was starting to dream without even realizing it.

 

[Thundor]

Hamilton

​

After working for, well, Hamilton seemed to have forgotten the time, someone approaches him. "Sir." The man says to him. "It seems someone has arrived to meet with you."

"Is that right?" Hamilton comments, throwing the sheet back over his weapon. "Very well, take me to him." Hamilton moved with him up through the base, but as he did, he felt like something else was there. "Hamilton, can you hear me?" "Who's there?" He asked quietly. "No need to talk out loud, just talk to me through your mind." Hamilton thought this was weird, but he decides to try it nonetheless. "Explain yourself." "You understand me, good. I am a guide you could say, for now, you cannot see me, but in due time, you will. I am here to help you throughout the rest of your plans." "How do you know about them, exactly?" "It's easy, once you consider that you are speaking to a familiar face."

"Here he is, sir." The man said, pushing open the door for Hamilton to see the man. Before him was a bounty hunter, a huge one at that, perhaps he had some Giant blood in him? Regardless, Hamilton makes his way inside and walks over to stand beside the man as he lay on his unusually large bed.

"Are you Hamilton?" The bounty hunter asks him.

"If I am, what does it concern you?" "This man has come to you for a reason. Consider that with the highest of regards." Hamilton thought this was getting weird, he didn't like having to talk to his own mind. At least, it seemed to be that way to him.

"I -- I found the wanted man named Cadoc, sir. He is in this place, he is in Vertice. I tried to get him down with the help of another bounty hunter, a very skilled one at that. But we ended up getting slaughtered out there, and my partner ditched me and left me to pull myself out of the ditch. Please, Hamilton, help us." Hamilton had heard of the man named Cadoc and how much of a danger he seemed to pose. What was unusual to Hamilton was this other bounty hunter he heard, surely someone so skilled could of handled himself.

"They were not prepared for what they encountered. You know as well as I, that this is all just to get him a huge bonus reward from you. There are no set laws outside of each town, there is no true justice in this country. That is why you came here, that is why you joined with the merchants, that is why you have been able to climb up so far. But you know it isn't enough, you know there must be other types of stones out there that could enhance your powers further. But what if they don't, what will you do then?" Hamilton felt himself become distant as the thing spoke out to him, it felt like something was pulling itself out of him. "And what can I do about it, exactly?"

"You have to help us. If this man and his friends are allowed to join the tournament, they will end up overtaking what is rightly yours." The man wasn't very good at convincing others, Hamilton thought. "I beg of you, you are the only one I can trust to do the job done right."

"You know as well as I do that this is just a sham on his end. But the people he mentions should have something of value to find. If this man is allowed to blackmail you, you are good as gone. Someone else is using him, and don't think I am manipulating you. I already know you are thinking of what I say, like how you plan on using him to find the real culprit who knows your darker secrets. The Mistress cannot know, your superiors cannot know. You need to become more powerful, you need to rise up in the ranks. You need to become a leader more than ever now, or else what will it have all been for?" "Very well, I see there is some potential in this. But know this, if you cross with me, you will not recover from it."

"Thank you sir, thank you!" Hamilton walks out of the room before the bounty hunter could say more, cracking his knuckles.

"Who are you?" "I have no name. For now, I must depart from you, for I need time. But I promise you, if you wait for me, I will be of great help to you." "I see, you seem very much like me. You better hold your word." "Oh, and one more thing." "Yes?" "I know you are scared, but do not worry, he will join your cause soon." The words left Hamilton confused, as the feeling someone else was there felt gone. As gone as talking to yourself in your own head could get.​

 

[Thundor]

The Warning

​

​

Isaac noticed the arrival of the other two back to Cadoc's room, and it made him curious as to what they were talking about. He decided not to eavesdrop in on that, rising up to his feet as he goes to head out for a walk, when a voice calls out to him. "Isaac Gardener."

"A lot of people seem to know my name these days, or am I just over-assuming?" Isaac asked, glancing over his shoulder at the cloaked figure near them.

"Who knows. That depends on if you want to hear what I have to say."

"I haven't been very trusting of strangers lately." Isaac commented, but he decided to wait to hear the other's opinions about this figure in the room with them. Scarlett looks up noticing the sudden appearance of this strange figure in the room... There was an odd sense of familiarity about him, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was that made him seem familiar. Rican looks towards the figure, while he was re-braiding his beard.

"Any idea who that is?" asked Cadoc, looking over towards the figure.

Amaria draws her weapon. "Who are you?!" Rican's hand slides towards his axe next to him, as he finishes the final braid.

"So I guess you all don't trust in me right now. Very well..." The figure outstretches his hand, Isaac tenses up. A sudden loud burst could be heard by them all, but only Isaac was hit, apparently in the chest, which sends him flying backwards into a wall. The figure lowers his arm as Isaac glares at him.

"That's the sound that I use."

"Good, so you are keen to it. Yes, it is the same sound you use. Do you trust me yet?" The figure asks, not directing it to just one person it seemed.

Scarlett just shook her head. "Try a less.. Volatile approach next time." she commented, eyeing her spear... She was tempted to grab it right now, but she refrained from it for the time being.

Rican grips his axe standing and stepping between the figure and the rest of the group "Let's not do that again." Cadoc stayed silent, discreetly drawing his knife.

Amaria growled. "You attacked my client-" until she noticed the sound powers. "Wait...why are you here?"

The figures moves a single finger over where it's mouth would be, mainly directed at Amaria to keep quiet about something. "I am not an enemy. Your fire-friend can attest to that." Isaac looks over to Amaria for confirmation.

Rican doesn't remove his gaze from the figure. "Yes....he's trustworthy. But you shouldn't have attacked Isaac like that..." Amaria comments. Scarlett sighed, but nodded... The feeling of familiarity was gone, perhaps now that more details were out about the strange figure. However it still perplexed her how attacking Isaac would have helped convince them to trust it...

"Very well." Said Cadoc putting his knife back Rican doesn't move.

"Attacked? No, it didn't feel that way... It felt..." Isaac pushes himself off the wall. "Like a playful push. That sound felt familiar, it sounds familiar. You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

"It was the only way to let you know for now. But now that I have gotten introductions out of the way, I have come to warn you now. You all must not enter into the tournament together. Some of you must step out of it. Preferably..." He points to Isaac and Amaria. "You two." Scarlett looks confused, but doesn't speak yet. She was thinking to herself, the figure seemed trustworthy sure, but why was it specifically requesting the two possible strongest fighters there was to stay out of the tournament. She wasn't too sure what to think of it, but it did arouse just a little suspicion at least.

"But that would be putting even more risk on Rican and Scarlett, they would be safer all looking out for each other."

"Oh?" The figure turns to Cadoc. "And who's fault is it that so much pressure is put on you all? Who is the only one incapacitated for his ignorance right now?"

"I was only helping Scarlett, i would do it for any one of my companions!"

"And what help have you done that wasn't within your own ignorance? The fact you charge blindly in, punching a man in the face when you ignore threats and risks? Did it not lead to you being found by two bounty hunters together? How would you deal with an army of them? Would you 'help' your companions out again?"

"At the time we all believed them to have been murderers, though i know that i was wrong many would do the same in my place, Amaria here even destroyed one of their vehicles. Also who are you to come in here and act all high and mighty as if you have never made a mistake."

The figure suddenly strikes two fingers into one of Cadoc's shoulders, yet it felt light and harmless. Once they were pulled away, however, Cadoc feels pain burst throughout his arm as if he was on the verge of death from it. "And what right have you to question my warnings? What right have you to take initiative's, to assume things as they seem to appear to you? I am not acting high and mighty, if I were, I would of flat out told you that I was taking control of your lives from here on out. You need to stop being a fool, you need to learn how to choose your battles, you need to chosoe your words carefully!" The figure puts his two fingers together again. "Or would you like to push me about things that you do not even know of?"

Scarlett stood and, stepping between the two before the conflict escalated any further. "Just... Stop. It's not like we're doing anything by arguing like this." She said, sighing a little. "The cause for concern here is why? can you at least tell us why you don't want Isaac and Amaria to participate in this tournament?" she asked attempting to at least find this out.

"Picking on an injured man... Do you have no sense of honor!" Exclaims Cadoc as he grips his shoulder gritting his teeth.

The pain soon dies down, as the figure lowers his arm again. "In a battle, there is no such thing as honor. There is only the fight to win, or to survive. That is the truth about a fight. And you being injured does not concern me, I do not see a man crippled from a fight, I see a man crippled by himself." The man turns to face Scarlett. "If you wish to know, why don't you ask Amaria herself? She should tell you why she cannot enter the tournament."

Amaria stops herself from saying the man's name. "That's not fair...don't do that to me."

Scarlett sighed "It's not that much of a big deal... You don'y have to." she said with a shrug. Sure she was curious, but, she didn't want to risk making things worse from hearing the answer as well.

"I chose Isaac and Amaria because they both will have assassin's coming after them. The assassin's will follow them if they split off, and if possible, take care of whoever is in charge of the assassin's. I cannot say much more than that for now, but you must believe me, having them split off for now is your best chance of surviving what is about to come."

Rican remains silent. Scarlett thought about it for a moment, it seemed like a plausible plan... That's for sure, but something else was bothering her "What if the assassins aren't all we have to worry about?" she asked, thinking about the two bounty hunters they had face before. There was no telling what else could be after them, or to be specific; Cadoc.

"Is life ever just about one problem?" The man asks her.

Scarlett shook her head. "That's not what I'm saying. I feel like something worse is coming." she said, a little uncertainly. It just seemed off how that bounty hunter just up and left after the others defeat, and no other ones have come after Cadoc yet...

"There is always something worse to come. But you need to trust me for now." The man turns to Isaac and Amaria. "If you two intend on leaving, you'd be better doing it sooner than later. The longer you stay, the more the assassin's will have time to plan."

Rican looks towards them "I'll accompany you lads." Scarlett just nodded, and sat back down... She still felt uncertain how successful this plan may be, but, she had yet to come up with a better one herself.

Amaria sighs. "Very well..."

Isaac nods. "Alright. Let's move out then. Amaria, you can lead the way." Rican walks over and grabs his bag.

Scarlett frowns "So I guess you're dropping out of the tournament too?" she asked, just to confirm what Rican's departure would mean.

Rican looks towards Scarlett "Yes, I'm old and I'd like to to see the world before my time comes. Which isn't that far off for my kind."

Scarlett just nodded "Good luck... I guess I'm going solo this time." she said with a wry smile.

"Good luck on your travels my friends, stay safe out there."

Rican then says "Unless you have more use of an old Dwarf warrior than they do."

Scarlett just shook her head "The less people at risk... The better." she said simply.

"I wish i could help, though until i heal i shall be useless. perhaps you should pull out aswell, going to something like this alone is quite dangerous."

Rican places his bag on the ground, "Then that settles it this lass won't be going in alone if i join her."

Scarlett nodded slowly "I guess I'll take what I can get... Just keep your guard up. No telling who else might come after Cadoc before then." she said.

"Actually that reminds me." Says Cadoc pulling out his knife. "I'm going to have to change my look if i don't want to get noticed" He adds as he starts to cut off his beard.

Scarlett smiled and shook her head "You're gonna need more than a little trimming and a haircut to make sure of that." she said, teasing him a little.

Rican looks on with a face of sever distress, "What.....ARE you doing to your beard?"

"It's alright, I'll grow it back when people stop looking for me. Does anyone have anything I could tie my hair back with?"

Rican reaches into his bag and pulls out a small metal ring, "This is normally used for beards but yes."

"Thanks, this should make it harder for any of those bounty hunters to recognize me now." He says as he puts his hair back.

Rican folds his arms "I still disapprove of cutting the beard."

Scarlett looked Cadoc over for a moment, and frowned shaking her head "Not quite... But close enough." she said. She shook her head and smiled a little at Rican's remark about the beard.

Rican perks up and takes a scolding tone. "The beard is the most important thing to the honor of a person."

"I guess each of us have different values when it comes to that aspect." Scarlett noted, remembering just how much dwarves valued beards in their culture.

Amaria:"Honor...hehe. Strange word, but so important..."

"I've only met one clean shaven dwarf in my lifetime."

Isaac takes Amaria's hand and starts to walk away. "Come on, let's go before this gets awkward."

Scarlett just stayed quiet, glancing out the window looking at the streets below. Her thoughts were drifting back to her sister again, worrying about her. It seemed Ansley hadn't been around in this city, so where else could she be...

Rican pulls up a chair and sits in it his feet not even touching the ground, "Would you like to pass the time with stories?"

The man walks over to a chair and sits down. "You three should rest up for now, take some time before I have to tell you some things."

Scarlett turns around, snapping out of her thoughts when Rican spoke, about to say something. Then the man sits down too talking a little himself. She just nodded, both to what the man said and what Rican said.

 

[York]

Reminiscence​

Rican awkwardly scoots his chair forward "So would you like to hear about Leonard Greyfist?"

Scarlett nods again, in most cases she would have refused and done something else but... There's really not much else to do right now.

Rican clears his throat. "He was one of the many dwarven leaders, when they were united, and he lead a campaign against another dwarven faction about 150 years ago, my father was in his army..." as Rican continues his tone becomes more calm and he seems to be lost in his own past while telling the story, the pain in his eyes gone now and he seemed genuinly enjoying himself. "Leonard was born in the same village as my father, and new him for a while before he came to power and began to unite the clans. When he came to power the other clans decided to try and take his land. Well he wasn't going to let that happen. He drafted my father and about two thousand other men into the army and lead a defencive against them, but that soon turned into a offencive as they were weak, and Leo wanted revenge." if Scarlett was even listening by this point she would notice that he wasn't even talking to her at this point he was just talking and goes on about several battles and how Leonard was a great warrior that even frost giants fear the skill of.

Scarlett was half listening genuinely interested in the story, keeping her thoughts from drifting too much. It was a nice distraction from worrying about her sister at the moment even though she couldn't help but do so from time to time.

Rican continued talking going to a comical converstion between his father and Leonard "And my father said ' And my mother had a larger beard than yours.' to which Leonard says 'Well atleast my mother braids hers!!' " Rican breaks up into uncontrollable laughter the joke may be lost on most people.

Scarlett found herself laughing hysterically, not at the joke itself, but at the mental image of a female with a beard... She couldn't really help it, perhaps because she was rather stressed out at the moment.

Rican slowly calms down "Someone who actually understands the phrase."

Scarlett shrugged a little, unsure if she actually did, but at the very least she found what Rican had said rather entertaining.
"Saying 'I have a larger beard than you' means more or less 'I'm more honorable than you' but if you don't braid your beard you have less honor than someone who does." Rican explained.

Scarlett nodded understandable, now the joke made more sense, even though she found it comedic for a different reason than Rican did.

Rican takes a deep breath, "I do miss my home, and the presence of other dwarves.... I feel short out here." "The chairs are almost as tall as me."

"I'm starting to miss my home as well... Or at least my sister." Scarlett admitted, looking over at Rican and noticing that he indeed was correct... On the other hand it did seem a little funny, but she held off from laughing again.

Rican smiles and says mockingly "Don't laugh at me."
Scarlett shook her head and smiles "I'm doing no such thing." she said, trying harder not to laugh as the urge to do so started to get worse.

Rican continuing to smile "Lass you are more red than tomato."

Scarlett coughed, letting out the air she was holding in... The redness faded from her face "What? Have you tried holding in a laugh before?" she asked innocently.

Rican chuckles "Yes and with better composure." he then smiles.

Scarlett's smile started to fade as she remembered the last time she'd laughed like this. "Don't blame me... I'm out of practice." She said almost casually.

Rican picks ups his axe and begins to polish it idlely "You mentioned a sister, could you tell me about her?"

"Oh.. Well." Scarlett looked in thought for a moment before she started to talk. "She's pretty quiet, reserved, but likes to play music, often in the public... Alot of people in various towns admire her music. She travels alot and visits many towns, but, she's not always capable of defending herself physically so... I guess I worry about her alot. Sometimes she can make some pretty silly decisions." Scarlett added, looking towards Cadoc a little bit, noticing that hed fallen asleep. "I guess I see a little of her in Cadoc." She added, shaking her head a little.

"Is that why you feel for him?" Rican asked.

Scarlett blushed "Maybe..." she said quietly... Cadoc was indeed a strong person, however he needed someone to keep him from getting himself into trouble... It frustrated her sometimes sure, but she didn't mind it too much.
Rican hops from the chair looking Scarlett eye to eye for once she would have a better view of the complex braids in his beard tentativly placing a hand onher shoulder his hand being much larger than one might assume one his size would have. "This may not mean much coming from me but I hope he returns those feelings in kind."

Scarlett just nodded, she found herself looking out the window again in thought once more... This was how she always got when she spent too much time away from her sister.​

 

[Thundor]

Volusia

​

Volusia entered into Morwynne with Oza, the water town as some referred to it as. Half of the town on line, half of it on the port nearest to it. Ships of various types and sizes could be seen docked on the port end, with multiple types of people walking aroudn them. Volusia was overcome with so much joy. Throughout her travels on Centora, she had seen only a certain type of people in one place. Here, there was so much variety, she couldn't help but giggle. "Wow, look at this place, Oza. It's so amazing what they could do here!"

Oza giggled herself. She hadnt been here in a long time. "I know, right? So many races...I wonder if there are any Harpies like me..."

Volusia raises her brows. "Harpies exist?!"

Oza laughs. "I told you I'm a harpy, you dingus."

Volusia blushes. "O-oh..." She rubs the back of her head nervously.

Oza laughs, patting her friend's back. "It's okay! I know you by now, Vo." she then says "What should we do? There's so much to exlpoooore~!"

Volusia sighs. "I dunno." She then looks off to see several ships approaching the dock. ". . .SHIPS INCOMING!!!" She rushes off towards the dock.

Oza follows behind, lightly flapping her wings to keep up with her. "Jeez, wait for me!!!"

Volusia grabs her hand and pulls her up with her. Once they reach the dock, they see the ships starting to make a formation of sorts. ". . .Uh. What are they doing?" They then notice pirate flaps start being raised. "Oh hey, cool flags! Wish I had one like those. Oza! We need a flag! A symbol to show how... How awesome we are!"

Oza gasps. "Vo...those are pirate flags! Stay down...my magic can make short work of them!"

Volusia's eyes widen as she gets behind Oza. "Alrighty... Do your thing."

Oza proudly flaps outwards. She gauged how much she would need for this...her ranges were wide, but she needed to pinpoint what scared them...She got it! She snapped her fingers and changed her appearance to that of a winged ghost. Part of the necessary illusions she needed to interact with Vo. But that thought was for another day. After all, pirates were usually a superstitious lot.

Volusia watches her change. "Wow, that might work!" She sees cannons start to slide out of them. "Uhh, might wanna hurry up and go."

Volusia held out a hand. "No..." she used a combination of spells to project her voice outwards and boomed "Who DARE stand to attack the town protected by the legendary Spirit of Morwynne?!" as she flew into the air, making a shockwave in the air. The ships suddenly stop all motion. She had gotten their attention, now she had to reel it in.

Oza listened closely. "Speak, or be OBLITERATED!!!!!" she flaps her wings, casting a gust of wind. Suddenly, the canons slide back in and the ships quickly start to pass on, with Volusia watching with great interest.

Oza slowly floats back down, returning to normal. "See? No problem! My magic has a lot of uses actually..."

"Uh, who are those people over there?" She asked, pointing to a nearby group walking onto the port. Pirates, but Oza could tell they weren't ordinary, especially their leader, who gave off an unusually ominous feel to her.

"Uh-oh...he might've read through the illusion."
​

The pirate captain in question seemed to have a bored expression on his face. He had no real facial hair to note of, so from what could be seen, he looked young, but experienced. He had multiple scars along what could be seen of his body, and he didn't even seem to notice them. A pirate runs up to his side. "Captain Buckminister 'Cross' Elton, sir! We don't see the ghost anywhere on here!"

"Ghost?" Captain Cross spoke to him without looking at his direction. "You believe in that stupid rubbish?"

"N-no sir! I -- I didn't mean --" But he is interrupted as he is shot in the face, then he is shoved on the face into the water. Cross puts his gun away as he lets out an annoyed grunt.

"No weaklings on my crew. First rule of joining it."

Oza scowls. "No good dirty scum....I'll handle this. Keep close. I dont want them grabbing you." Volusia shivers, clinging onto Oza's back. She was trying to hide herself from Cross' gaze. Oza knew inside that this meant something was very wrong about the man, something to make even Volusia afraid of him.

Oza scanned the man for any magical ability on him. She had only begun to dig into her mana. She scowled and flared her wings, walking to the man. "Who are you? And why do you push onwards?" Captain Cross didn't seem to have any noticeable magical ability on him, but he seemed to ignore her response and started walking away from them towards the town with what could be assumed was a small portion of his crew.

Oza simply uses a Gust of Wind to push him down. "Dont...walk away from me." Her eyes changed from red to a pale blue-green.

Captain Cross stops as the gust of wind hits him. His body seemed to refuse to be pushed down, and the man hunches over slightly. The others look over at her as they were almost giving her pleading looks. "D-DON'T! IF YOU MAKE HIM ANGRY, YOU WILL NOT SURVIVE!"

"Haha...nice try. No. This beautiful town shall not be raided." Captain Cross glares over his shoulder at her, then fully turns around. The pirate crew knew better and moved out of his way, as he walks over towards Oza. Every step he took seemed to shake the port slightly, and she could see his shadow being cast over them. When the man was finally in front of him, she could see he rose up to eleven feet in height, glaring down at her with eyes that looked bloodthristy. He waits for her to speak.

"Leave this port. Before I unleash my true power."

Captain Cross slams down a fist for them, rage could be seen burning in his eyes. "D-don't hurt her! Please!" Volusia shouts out, staying by her friend despite being so scared.

Oza was cornered...she had no choice. She could see this man's raw physical strength. It was time for Volusia to realize her destiny. "Volusia...remember that final secret I wanted to tell?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Stand back." Volusia frowns, but quickly does so, she didn't want to see her friend get hurt by this man.

Oza begins to remove the mortal seal upon her own body, her wings retracting into her body as a black and blue-green energy pulses outwards from her body. Her entire form is wrapped in shadows, and the aura around her begins to fill with an awe-inspiring divine radiance that somehow at the same time commands fealty and dominance. "Tell me, pirate...are your ready to meet that silly superstition you call Davy Jones?" she calls as she stomps the ground with an armored stiletto pointed boot, the shadows around her forming into a curved scythe to form a black haired, pale woman of roughly the same size as Oza...but a cold, uncaring demeanor. "Because I do not take those who wish to upset balance lightly."

True Form?

Captain Cross had stopped his attack, only to see her taunting him about things he didn't really care about. This only made him more angry, and he slams both fists for her head to crush it inbetween them. Oza doesn't. Even. Flinch. She begins casting Contagion without even moving a finger, her poor victim breaking out into a horrible sickness. "Congratulations. You have Typhoid." The crew sees Cross collapsing to a knee and immediately rush off in the small boat they arrived in. Cross struggled it seemed, until his stone starts to glow and he slowly starts to rise. Cross was pissed off beyond his limits now, and his stone helped him get back up. Now with some strength again, Cross goes to punch the person who had pushed him to this point right in the face and try to break their neck!

She raises her scythe to pull him in and off balance, before mashing a fist leagues stronger into his face and ramming his back into the scythe blade. She then raises a knee into his gut so hard, his body cleaves in half against the force of the blade. The ease and speed of which Oza does this is so frighteningly fast that it takes Volusia a few seconds to realize what had happened. "Don't test me, you insufferable worm." Volusia can only gasp at the sight of the fallen Cross, looking over to Oza. She had just struck him down, just like that, without hesitation. She gulps a little, afraid of what to say at the moment, almost as if lost for words.

Oza'Mata sighs. "I apologize for that gruesome display." She snaps her fingers, and they are outside of town. "I needed to show him what I truly was before his group ran." She looked sad. "You think I'm a monster..dont you?"

Volusia collapses to her knees. "N-no, just... I'm not used to seeing people die, that's all. I'm sorry, I just feel so weak right now. I got so afraid of him that I froze up. I thought I was going to lose you there..."

"I understand. But Volusia...are you ready to hear the secret? This form is only the first part of it."

Volusia sighs. "Yes."

"Sit down, this shall be lengthy." Volusia moves to sit down on her butt, looking at Oza.

"This lie I feel the most sorry for keeping, but it was necessary. You, Volusia, are far far more important to the world...no, this plane than you realize. You are the sole weapon to end an ageless conflict between two eldritch civilizations that have existed for untold millenia. I have watched over your growth as your friend and your guardian, making sure that nothing came to harm you. I am a Psychopomp, the messengers of of the Grim Reaper and harbingers of Balance. I have existed for untold millenia..." she blushes. She hides the secret she wanted to tell most to her for now. This was a lot to dump on the poor girl. Volusia remains silent, as if waiting for her to go on.

Volusia remains silent, as if waiting for her to go on.

"That is all I can say. You have a great magic within you, and until you realize your power it is my job to continue to protect you. And...." she stops.

"And?"

She sighs. "This last piece is...one I've been trying to figure out how to tell you. I have grown a deep affection for you as you have grown. You are...a beautiful girl, even for a semi-mortal, and I could never leave your side even if ordered to. I guard you no longer because I'm forced to, but because I want to."

". . .Then you'll answer my question."

"Yes?"

"Who's side were you sent from?"

She sighs. "The side that needed you most."

"Which was?"

"The Celestials."

"The who?" She asked with an honest curious face.

"Have you seen pictures of an angel, or a god Volusia?"

Volusia remains silent for a bit. ". . .Uuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

"They are like that. Beautiful, divine beings that made this world and all life upon it. They once protected this world, and to finally end an evil eldritch force, they need you to grow and expand your magical might to finish the job. If we can, we can live in eternal peace, free to make our own decisions...wouldn't it be beautiful? A perfect world..."

"WAIT. End it how?" Volusia suddenly gets an angry look.

"...That is up to you and you alone to decide."

Volusia stands up. "You will..." She stops herself, shaking her head. She takes one of Oza's hands into her own. "Please, take me to meet them."

"The Celestials?!"

"NO! WHAT?! I meant the evil they want me so badly to destroy!"

Oza looks flabbergasted. "You need to awaken your magic fully before we do that! They would destroy even me within seconds as of right now!"

"Oza... Please." She tightens her grip a little. "I need to meet them now or else I don't feel right about this."

"This plan has been centuries in the making. If we go now...we risk everything being lost, and the Qlippoth reawakening fully to destroy this world."

"That doesn't matter to me! If I were to assume that, then I would have to assume of you too! I don't want to assume, Oza! I don't want to be what so many other people have been for so long! Please... Do this for me. No one else."

Oza sighs. "Medullak is gonna kill me -AGAIN-...but fine."

Volusia smiles and hugs her. "Thank you for this."

"The teleportation spell is incredibly long range, and will take a long time for me to cast. We would have to wait for...a day and a half to be finished. So...rest for now. I can speak and do whatever wish as I gather power. But until its ready I cannot use any further magic." Then, she's hugged and acts like her old self again, blushing. "Ah, jeez..."

Volusia smiles and looks to the town. "Well... I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to be heroes for a while." Volusia gains a wicked smile at this.

Oza giggled, as she returned to her Harpy form. "So...do you prefer this one or my true form?"

Volusia sighs at this. "Gosh, I dunno! I've gotten so used to one, but the other is your true form..." She headlocks Oza and starts giving her a noogie. "WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?!"

Oza begins to cry "AAAAA I dont know it wasn't my choice Vo!" as she is noogied, laughing a little bit.

Volusia sighs. "We'll discuss it in town. Come on, you naughty little thing!" She drags Oza in her arms with her as she walks.

Oza giggles. She was so happy that Volusia took it all in so well, and that she seemed to be returning her love back so quickly.

 

[Logan2231]

Xaqur walks through the smoking wreck of a building stepping on charred corpses. Hearing moans from outside he exits the building, and finds a man crawling away. "Huh I missed one..." He walks up to him and rolls him over. The man coughs some blood, "What.....are you?" Xaqur chuckles and says "That isn't important right now. What's important is that you answer my questions or..." Xaqur grabs the mans throat and begins to heat his hand up "I'll heat that tiny little brain of yours till it pops." The man weakly gropes at his throat just below Xaqurs hand then Xaqur says "So have you heard about a dragonkin in the area?" the man weakly nods and Xaqur releases his grip "Right tell me where you heard of this dragonkin and I won't pop your head like a heated up stomach."

The man says "Just...north of here...." Xaqur stands "I'm feeling in a bad mood today so I'm going to leave you here. You're going to know that out of everyone in this pathetic little town of yours you are the most unfortunate to be alive. Your death will be slow and lonely I'm sure, and maybe someone will find you. If they do then you will have to recount the horrors that happened here. But atleast you'll live." he then turns away and starts to walk. The man perks up slightly realizing that he is going to live. Xaqur stops and turns "Or not." then releases a bolt of lightening into the mans head causing it to pop. "Oh I love to watch that." Xaqur says as he turns and walks north towards the other Dragonkin.

 

[Thundor]

Hamilton

​

Hamilton was happy, happy to know that the world was just revolving nicely around his finger. It felt great being where he was now, that was until the voice returned, but in a bizarre way. For some reason, Hamilton saw a shadow rise in front of him like a ghost, and he knew that the voice came from this creature. "So, what will you do now? Shouldn't you check in on everyone to see how they are doing?" "What do you mean? I have already heard from three of them, the other two are probably just preparing." "Are you so sure?" "Why do you question my word? Who are you to tell me what to do?" "I am just here to help you, nothing more." Hamilton frowned, and got up to head over to one of the private communication rooms.

Hamilton felt uncomfortable with this thing following him, but he didn't feel worried. Once arriving, he found one of the merchants there to use their stones to ready the device. "Alright, it's all set up and ready for you, sir."

"Alright, let me speak to him." Hamilton sits down in front of the device. "This is Hamilton, calling in from the Vertice Tower. Are you there?"

"Sir!" A voice called out from the other side. "I did not expect to hear from you so soon."

"Something has come up to my attention." Hamilton glanced at the shadow creature before looking back to the device. "Tell me, where is Captain Cross and Maxim?"

"Oh, um, well..." The voice seemed hesitant to answer at first. "Maxim hasn't reported in yet, but we have heard about Captain Cross. It appears someone got to him and... And..." Hamilton could guess what he meant from here.

"Someone has killed Captain Cross?" This shocked Hamilton, but he did his best not to let it show. Captain Cross was a man feared in combat, he was the perfect man to take damage and throw it back double what was thrown at him. And when he used his stone, there was no normal person who could stand up to him. "Now do you see what I mean?" He couldn't respond to the creature, that would look suspicious, he already knew from just this walk here that no one could see it but him. Was he going mad, had he finally lost his sanity of reality and just started making up things? "This is a problem. Have your other eyes gotten anything as of late from the others?"

"Vulon has arrived at Merricrest and is just waiting for your orders. I believe Scarletlock sent one of her sons to you in Vertice. Ebsor is staying within range, that only leaves Maxim." Hamilton considered all of this in, and knew that Maxim needed to be found. Maxim was by far the most dangerous and unpredictable of the merchants he had chosen for this team, he was Hamilton's secret card.

"Tell Vulon that he may begin gathering the men and preparing them. Scarletlock is doing fine so far, Ebsor as well. But you must find Maxim and tell him the secret code. You will only have three days left to do this, after that, you will have to return to me with all your other eyes."

"Three days?" The merchant asked him. "I thought the tournament was in one week."

"We're going to be bribing them into changing the time, as we usually do when people think they know the date of the tournament. If Vulon, Scarletlock or Ebsor encounter any problems, they have my permission to capture or terminate them. I would prefer them alive, but in this case, we don't have much of a choice with things so close as they are. I don't have to worry about Maxim, he knows how to get things done."

"Understood, sir." Hamilton rises as the merchant with the device returns back to his duty, as Hamilton walks alone through the base.

"I am curious, how do you know of these things quicker than most others?" "It is a gift of mine, sir. Whenever danger approaches, I must warn you of it." "That's weird, I haven't heard anything like that before." "As far as I know, it is pretty unique to me. I do not fully understand all of my abilities either, but I do know that I must help you out." "Really? I have a lot of questions to ask of you then, how about answering them back in my room?" "Certainly. It would be a pleasure." "Very well." Hamilton thought it strange, but decided to keep interest in the creature for now. After all, he could be of use to him more than he knew.​

 

[Thundor]

An Ominous Shadow

​

Rican is sitting against a wall looking as if he's sleeping. Cadoc lies down quietly in his bed, playing around with his knife, trying to keep himself occupied. Scarlett was still staring out the window, pretty much lost in her own thoughts, worrying about her sister still.

The figure walks out of a room. "So." He says, looking around at them all. "Are you ready?" Scarlett turns her attention to the figure and nods with a solemn look on her face.

"Yes." Rican says without looking up. Cadoc nods towards the figure.

The figure sits down and crosses one of his legs over the other, resting his hands together in his lap. "So, tell me then. How confident are each of you in your combat abilities?"

"I was quite the swordsman, though I doubt I would be any use as of now." Cadoc said.

Scarlett shrugged "I've done alot of hunting... I guess I can hold my own in the tournament." she said, as confidently as she could.

Rican looks up "I have 100 years of combat experience. I know what I'm capable of."

The figure raises his arms and crosses them over his chest. "Then tell me this. What do you fight for? What pulls you to fight, why are you all so interested in fighting against others when you know at any moment that it could lead to a life or death situation for you or the other person."

"I fight for glory, and any fool knows that a fight is dangerous." Cadoc responds.

"I fight for my companions... And answers, I need to know just what the hell is going on around here." Scarlett simply stated, she knew it wouldn't be easy, but there was too many things that she'd be forfeiting if she didn't go.

"I fight because I have no other skills and it was what I was taught to do...It was a matter of survival, now it is merely a response that i have built in to my very nature." Rican stated plainly

The figure seems to laugh at their responses, rising up to his feet. "So what we have here is..." The figure gestures to Cadoc. "A man who fights for selfish desires." The figure gestures to Scarlett. "A woman who offers herself as a living weapon in order to protect those she cares for." The man gestures to Rican. "And another man who was raised to fight. How you all came together is beyond me, but I can also see why you all have had conflicts." Rican remains silent.

"What is your point?" Cadoc asks. Scarlett just shrugged, but didn't say anything more as of yet.

"My point is that you all have conflicting views, some of which may even put you in another's way. Say Cadoc wished to achieve his goal, but had to fight one of Scarlett's family members to get it. Cadoc, Scarlett, how would each of you, from your own perspectives, respond to this?"

"I'm not so zealous in my quest for glory that i would do that, i would not attack people i knew were innocent just for fame." Cadoc said.

"I would probably ask to take his place... Then drop out?" Scarlett said uncertainly, it really was a difficult conundrum to face if one like that happened... She'd probably put more thought into it than just that. Rican folds his arms offering no comment.

"You've already hit an innocent though, Cadoc. Your bounty says that much. As for you, Scarlett, trying to take the easy way out to protect everyone will not always work. Sometimes, sacrifices are required in order to achieve one's goals, making some see you as the bad person, but in reality, it is just how life works." The figure said.

"At worst i broke his nose, and at the time i believed him a killer. If i had known he was innocent i would have not harmed him." Cadoc replied.

"I'm not willing to hurt my own flesh and blood without good reason... Even if I'm a hunter, that's how my family works." Scarlett said simply.

"Cadoc You realize that there are likely to be innocence in the tournament." Rican states.

"I wasn't going to kill anyone, and if you enter a tournament then you can expect to get injured." Cadoc stated.

"And if someone was going to kill you, would you kill them first?" The figure asked.

"Not if i could incapacitate them instead, though if i needed to it to survive i would." Cadoc said.

"My point exactly. So you would not hesitate to strike down one of Scarlett's own family if it came for your own life?" The figure asked.

"Depends if you consider an attempt to subdue without killing them hesitation, also that is an unlikely situation why would one of Scarlett's family try to kill me?" Cadoc asked.

The figure grabs his cloak and throws it to the side, revealing a skinny pale man with red eyes and red hair. He smiles as he crosses his arms over his chest. "That is irrelevant. What we have here are an unlikely trio, and I am here to tell you of what is to come. How you go about it is up to you, but what is to come is severe and if it isn't taken care of in time, it will lead to some horrific things. You may call me Dionysius, the Embodiment of Sound."

Dionysius

"What is your plan on how to stop those horrific things?" Cadoc asked him. Scarlett's full attention was on the strange man by now, she was curious about what he had to say.

"You don't even know what is to come, so let us cover that first." Dionysius lowers his arms to his sides. "It's going to start with this tournament. Originally, it was set to start in one week, but it will be moved now due to someone figuring out that information. They do this every time someone figures out the date to keep it more mysterious. It could happen any day now. Anywho, your tournament is rigged, and will be the beginning of the downfall of Vertice."

Scarlett frowned "Do you know the culprit behind it? Or the motives?" she asked curiously.

"How would this lead to the downfall of vertice though?" Cadoc asked.

Rican asks the simple question "How would you know about this?"

"We do not know who is planning to do this, but we know that they have gotten hold of several allies in order to help them out. They have already started to prepare for what is to come. Though who knows, by tomorrow, something may have changed. But what will happen is Vertice will burn to the ground if they have their way. How we are going to prevent this is by trying to stop the people who have been chosen to carry out certain roles in this plan. However, we do not know who will be leading these attacks or how. That is where you three come in." Dionysius said.

"Perhaps I could get my father to spare a few men to attempt to help keep the peace, it wouldn't be much but it would be something." Cadoc stated. Scarlett had a determined look on her face, but she still didn't speak just yet.

"How strong are they?"

"They are fairly well trained, but there would be only a few of them."

"How are they against magic?"

"As good as any man I guess, it varies from warrior to warrior."

"Then you might not want to bother, for the people that are coming may well be some of the most powerful magic users we will see."

"Very well. You guys have any ideas?"

"I guess that depends on what kind of magic they're using." Scarlett said with a small shrug, she was still thinking this whole thing through, trying to figure something out.

"Actually Dionysius, you seem quite knowledgeable, do you know if there is a way were you could negate someones magical ability?"

Dionysius frowns. "That depends. Are you willing to pay a toll?"

"Depends on the toll."

"How fast do you want to recover?"

"Preferably as fast as possible, but I'd be willing to lengthen it if i needed to."

Dionysius sighs. "Do you have a stone?"

"I'm afraid not."

Dionysius walks off into a nearby room. When walking out, he throws a stone to him. "Catch."

Scarlett looked interested, thankfully Dionysius hadn't given her time to offer her own.

Cadoc catches it out of the air "What will we be doing with this?"

"That stone just bonded with you." Dionysius crosses his arms. "You have a few options. Either put it somewhere where it can become a part of your body, eat it, or just use it for external uses."

"What happens if i eat it, do i just get stronger or does something else happen."

"How about you eat it and find out. Keep in mind, if you eat someone else's stone, it will do nothing but sit in your stomach."

"Worth a try i guess." Says Cadoc before he downs the stone.

Scarlett frowned "Er... Will that stone ever get fully digested?" she asked not too fond of the idea.

Dionysius closes his eyes, as Cadoc's body started to speak for her answer. His body suddenly begins to glow as Cadoc feels incredible pain spread throughout his body, as blue crack-like marks begin to spread all over his body. His eyes glowed entirely blue, losing it's pupils as he looked like he was on the verge of death or worse. Cadoc lets out a short scream of pain.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Scarlett was starting to panic a little "What the hell is going on?!" she exclaimed starting to rush over to Cadoc. Rican looks at him merging with a stone is a painful process.

As Cadoc's body returned to normal, it appeared something had chained with his appearance. His hair had turned completely white, his pupils had changed to a light blue color, and Scarlett would almost be shocked as lightning could be seen surrounding Cadoc's body briefly before it vanishes. However, both of Cadoc's hands had changed: They were both now made out of electricity.

"Odd... I guess that's what happens when you eat a stone." Scarlett said scratching her head a bit, she would prefer not to try that herself though... Whatever just happened to Cadoc would probably come with a catch.

"I-I feel weird." Says Cadoc, clutching his head still feeling a bit sore

"You now can use magic naturally. However, you have paid a price for it. Your hands will now forever be made of electricity. You -will- shock people if you don't get something to cover over them." Dionysius opens his eyes. "This is why I don't like offering the choice of just outright eating them."

"Well it shouldn't be to much of an issue, ill just need some gloves."

Scarlett had a curious look on her face. "What would have happened if he embedded it in his body?" she asked, perhaps it was a better alternative to well... Eating it.

"It would of been less like this, but something to a similar effect. Also, you can only use lightning-based magic. And no, you need enchanted gloves, gloves that won't burn up when put over your hands." Dionysius states.

"Any idea where I could get some?" Cadoc said.

Scarlett thought for a moment. "Haven't seen any place that sells those things yet." she said.

"Well I guess I'll just have to be careful for the time being."

"You'd have to go to either a Digger or Merchant base here in Vertice. Can't really trust enchanters much right now." Dinoysius looks to Scarlett. "Now onto you." Scarlett turned her attention from Cadoc, looking towards Dinoysius curiously.

"What can you do?" He asks her.

"I can fight with my spear... Probably navigate jungle terrain, take down giant beasts... I think that covers it." Scarlett said thinking about the things she found she could do so far, she wondered if she should mention the two bounty hunters that they'd fought, did that count?

"And how do you aim to use that spear with just a stone if more powerful magical users confront you?"

"Depends what way they're using the magic." Scarlett said, perhaps she needed more than that in the long run though.

"And how are you going to improve yourself?"

Scarlett frowned "What do you mean by that?" she asked a little confused.

"If someone breaks your spear, you may die."

"In that case... I guess I'll need to improvise." Scarlett thought for a moment "Once a stone's embedded in your skin, can you still remove it?" She asked, perhaps that may be something she could use as a last resort.

"If it fuses with you, no. If you keep it external, then yes." Dionysius decided to take a gamble. "Have you been told about what Isaac is?"

Scarlett shook her head "I was just hired to protect him against those drillers... Wasn't told much about him." she said.

Dionysius pulls down his sleeve to show her the same symbol that was on Isaac's hand on his own left hand. "Did he show you something like this?" Scarlett frowned, trying to recall if she'd seen it before, then she nodded, remembering that conversation she had with him a few days earlier.

Dionysius lets his sleeve fall back down. "I see. So, do you want to have what he has?"

Scarlett thought about this for a moment "What's the catch?" she asked him, intrigued.

"You would need to go prove yourself to earn it."

Scarlett shrugged "I guess it wouldn't hurt." she concluded, gaining that determined look on her face again.

"Very well. What is your writing hand?"

"My left." Scarlett said, she didn't write too much, but she did find it more comfortable to write with her left unlike most others.

He nods and walks off into a room. "Give me a moment." Scarlett nodded, crossing her arms and relaxing into her chair a little, waiting. Rican leaned back.

Dionysius returns, holding a left-handed gauntlet similar to the one Isaac wore, but it looked more modern. He hands it to her. "Take this. And don't worry about Isaac's, that will be explained down the road." Scarlett nods, taking it in both hands, starting to put it on. Rican folds his arms watching the exchange.

"Now, this is the most basic version we hand out to people who are interested. It will allow us to see what exactly you'll be going for when participating. Try using it now." Scarlett was unsure of what to use it for, but she raised her left hand, aiming it at the wall across from them and concentrated, wondering what would happen.

Dionysius watches as chains come forth from in front of Scarlett's hand. "So you use Order Magic. Good to know."

"Hmm..." Scarlett said getting an interested look on her face... This sort of magic would definitely come in handy with a little practice. "Now the question is how to control it properly." she murmured under her breath.

Rican grabs his axe and begins to polish it.

"That is up for you to find out when we call upon you." He looks over towards Rican. "And what about you?" Scarlett nodded, inspecting her glove, and turning over her left hand a little with great curiosity.

"What about me?" Rican says with mild indifference.

"Do you have interest in the same thing Scarlett does?"

Rican glances towards Scarlett "Magic? Somewhat, yes."

"Would you like to try out for the same thing she is going into?"

"And what might that be?"

"We are a group that uses certain magics for different purposes."

"I don't see any reason not to as of yet."

"Would you like a gauntlet as well then?"

Rican begins to undo the straps on his right gauntlet, "The dominant hand, yes?" Dionysius nods before walking back into the room.

He nods before walking back into the room. Dionysius returns with the right handed gauntlet, handing it to Rican. "Here you go. Try it out once you put it on." Rican takes the gauntlet and slides it onto his wrist adjusting the straps and holds his hand palm up examining the gauntlet focusing, attempting to make something happen.

Dionysius watches as a small cone of fire appears on the back of the gauntlet. "Evocation magic. Very intriguing."​

 

[Thundor]

Volusia

​

Volusia was currently sitting in a house that overlooked the view of the ocean, with Volusia sipping a drink as she sighs out in relief. "Ahhh, so good. So, um, what am I exactly?"

Oza was still in her original form, sitting down with her scythe rested against her shoulder. "A mixture between the Qlippoth and the Celestials."

Volusia raises a brow. "What?"

Oza sighs. "Its a long story."

"I have all day Ozie."

Oza takes a deep breath. "The Celestials are the original creators of this world. Divine beings that made all life."

Volusia nods. "Got that."

"And the Qlippoth..."She grits her teeth. "Hoooo boy I hate those asses."

Volusia glares at her slightly. "Keep going Ozie."

"Creatures having lived since time immemorial. Before mortal life even. They hate the Celestials and all they stand for...they were sealed away but you still find a few every now and then..."

"No wonder they're so angry and antagonistic."

"They have an unnatural hatred for everything living. They tried to kill the Celestials and this planet for no reason!"

"Oh good, a guardian of the dead who doesn't know the exact history behind this conflict. Charming." She smirks a little as if to let Oza know she's teasing her.

Oza scowls. "I wasnt born yet. I was born a mere twenty years after the sealing."

"Oh so your admitting there's something older than these Celestial's. Oh good, just what I like to hear." She sips her drink again.

"We have existed since mortality. Therefore, the Celestials are older than us."

"Ah, so you only exist for this portion of known life. How old's your leader?"

"I...dont know actually. I know he's older than the Psychopomp. We are not Reapers, simply their servants."

"Alright, I won't press you on info you don't know." She pats Oza on the shoulder before sipping again. "So. Keep going about the Qlippoth's, or is that it?"

"No...but they are so varied in ability it is hard to say much about what they do."

"Who are their leaders?"

"Two ancient twins, the Twisted Kings..."

Volusia looked interested as she spoke of this. "Tell me more, tell me more!"

"Their names are Ahrimos and Nyarlos."

"Tell me about them, Ozie!"

"They are twins, but they look nothing alike. One has the horrid power to put fear into the mind of any mortal and bend them to their will. One has countless forms and can create new bodies for himself at will. It is a theory amongst our people that all Qlippoth are actually Nyarlos in his hundreds of shapes, barely aware of his former self."

Volusia shudders. "Scary."

"So that's why I'm telling you its not safe yet...Ahrimos would twist your mind in seconds at your current state."

"So why are we going to meet those two exactly?"

"Because you said you want to?"

"I meant someone who -isn't- locked away and probably wants to kill all of humanity right now because of it."

"You said you wanted to meet their leader. That's their leader. They're pretty unorganized otherwise..."

"Someone must of taken up the position while they've been gone."

"Nope! Its why those rumors spread about their heritage in the first place...they sort of just...know what they're supposed to do."

"And that is kill all of humanity?"

"Not just humanity. Everything the Celestials made."

Volusia sighs. "Okay, from what I know, there's always the oddball in a perfect society. Who's the oddball in the Qlippoth's?"

"I...I dont know really. Also does that mean I've been casting the teleportation spell for nothing?"

Volusia facepalms. "You must be joking. No one keeps records on this?"

"No...they're too stealthy and sporadic to find them before its too late. That's the worst part...they can take so many forms as far as their species go...every Qlippoth looks different. Sometimes some of the greatest evils on the planet are Qlippoth in a mortal guise."

"Where do they normally live?"

"All over the place. They're rather crafty...they attack from the shadows, or blend into mortal culture."

"You aren't making this easy for me to pinpoint someone for you to use that teleportation spell, you know."

"Because it isn't easy. That's -why- they're a problem, Volusia."

"Find at least -one- of them who's done some irregular activity and just teleport to him... Or her."

"I will have to reset my target for teleportation, and scry around to find an odd piece." Volusia resumes her drink, waiting for word from Oza.

Oza'Mata pinpoints a target. "There...in the forests...along the center of the continent..."

"Let's go!"

Oza:"The casting time will still take a few hours. But I'm locked on target..." Volusia facepalms against the table.

"Hey, teleportation magic isn't easy, especially along long distances."

Volusia speaks with a muffled voice. "I. Am going. To kick you. Into a wall."

Oza pouts. "It isnt my fault! Even I have my limits!"

"Excuses!"​

 

[Thundor]

[BCOLOR=#000000]Isaac[/BCOLOR]

​

Isaac and Amaria had returned to the resting spot they had been at a few days before. Not much had changed since they had last been here, and Isaac took full note of that. "Boy, it's as quiet as ever. Charming." In reality, this was more benefical for Isaac, or was it? He couldn't decide.

Amaria shrugs. "Its nice to have some quiet after recent events."

Isaac sighs. "I guess. Well, it'll be nice to see the Commander again when we get to Fairwolf."

"If Fairwolf is even there. Or maybe there will be a New Digger base. Or maybe your trip will go just as planned..." a man says casually as he walks by, blue robes draping along the ground and a hood covering the man's face. He seems to walk by, say the line and leave without so much as looking at them.

Strange Man

Amaria blinks. "...Huh?"

Isaac narrows his eyes. "Oh no, now I gotta follow this dude!" He runs off after the guy. "Hey, come back here! You have some explaining to do!!"

Amaria trails after Isaac. Her brain was filled with so much confusion she didn't even know how to respond to this.

Isaac runs up next to the guy. "Hey, hey, wait a minute. Hold on. You have some explaining to do for me. Like for starters, who are you?"

"Do not interrupt me, as this conversation will take approximately 22.347 minutes if I am interrupted and I will lose the trail if interrupted. Now please, stand aside sir. And I wouldnt recommend your magic...I'll just simply bungle the spell."

Isaac just stares at him. "I'm going to keep talking to you, whether you can predict it or not, so please. Start explaining."

The man sighs in annoyance. "Isaac Gardener and Amaria Cinderskin, I presume? How has your quest been going? Fed up with Cadoc yet?"

Isaac sweatdrops with an emotionless face. "Okay, how do you know my name, my quest has been fine, okay thanks, and you have -no- idea how fed up I am with him."

"Call me Delt. I am an acquaintance of a specific other you know...I am a Diviner, and I'm on the hunt for someone. Now, please stand aside before the strands shift again."

"Who are you on the hunt for?"

"That I cannot say. All you need to know is he is dangerous and you could not possibly know or remember him."

Isaac sighs. "Okay, now you're being annoying -and- creepy to boot. Oh good."

"It is a Diviner's job to know the past, present, and all possible futures. I am not being -creepy-, I am being thorough."

Isaac glares at him a little. "Still creepy to me."

"Your disgust is irrelevant. I want results, not opinions. And you're muddling my result. Conversation, two minutes and seventeen seconds. The strands favor me this time..." He says as he walks off.

Amaria blinks. ".....What-"

"How about letting me see the back of your hands first?" Isaac asks as he takes two steps.

He reveals his hands, and -both- of them have blue eyes tattooed on them, half closed.

Isaac smiles. Clever, he thought to himself. "So, you can predict whatever I'm going to say and do, huh? That means your pretty reflexive... But you don't seem to have much more than that."

"I can not just see...I can change. For example, even after I tell you, you will look over at your shoe in 35 minutes and then promptly trip and fall over."

Isaac laughs. "I like that. You seem to be so certain. Fine, let's play a game."

"Sure."

"The game is simple. You've probably heard of a game where only one hit is required to win. This is that game, but..." Isaac closes his eyes. "I'm going to have my eyes closed the entire time. That fine with you?"

"Very well."

Isaac grabbed a hold of the gauntlet on his right hand and adjusted it a little, with this, Isaac had now initiated his sound abilities by having it make sound. After this, Isaac first went to block out his ears of hearing with sound. Next, Isaac's mind went into a more instinctive mode, but what was the point of doing both of these things? Isaac's mind hadn't known, but now that his body was in control, it knew what to do. Isaac couldn't just hear sound, but he could hear it when focusing more on the vibrations sound makes. By blocking out his mind of thought, it was like he had entered into another plane and now could feel the vibrations every sound was making. Even things such as speaking could be detected by Isaac, yet this was not perfect. The problem with hearing sound is, if someone blocked out your method of hearing or interrupted the sound you were listening to, it disrupted the flow you had. The problem with feeling sound was more on focus, hearing sound was easier because if Isaac screwed up and didn't focus quickly enough, he would be hit and would get knocked out of this mode. Delt could see Isaac simply just standing there for now, having gone motionless as if someone had just turned off his off switch, talking to him was useless, for Isaac did not use this mode often enough to understand what certain sound vibrations went with certain words. Isaac's body was simply preparing for now, adjusting to the new changes he had done to himself.

Delt takes a bit longer than Isaac expected, as though he entered a trance himself. He saw visions of himself clapping and making many noises to distract Isaac, and delivering a solid kick to his gut. And he enacted on exactly that with as much speed as he could muster. Hopefully this changed the strands...

Isaac's hands clutched into fists gently as he was overcome with these vibrations. His body seems to move, however, as Isaac got close, Isaac's body starts to run around Delt, as if trying to surround the cause of the sound. As he moved, the sounds that he emitted allowed him to make Delt see multiple Isaac's running around Delt, making it difficult to pinpoint which one was the real him.

A change indeed. But he already saw the obvious route. He then made a wide sweeping roundhouse kick to hit all of them at once. Lets see if -this- changed anything.

Feeling the vibrations of his foot, Isaac's body moves back as he sweeps through the remaining illusions caused by the sound. It was time to go all out and risk it, as Isaac once again used the sounds to try to mess with Delt. This time, there was... Nothing? Isaac then moves in towards him to strike him in the chest with a palm strike.

"I lied. 4 minutes, 34 seconds." Isaac suddenly looks at his shoe, and immediately trips and falls, losing balance entirely and missing his attack.

Isaac appears to do this to Delt... Until he hears a loud ringing in his ears, as this ring happens, he feels like his head is vibrating and his senses seem to go slightly out of whack, but the most one affected was his vision. Where Isaac had been, he was now gone. "Up here!" Isaac calls out from the sky, falling down towards him with an arm pulled back ready to strike at him. Delt could immediately realize the ploy Isaac had pulled on him. Using the sound from before, Isaac had sent it directly to go and mess with Delt's senses. However, as this needed time, he made sure to affect the sight first, so as to make Delt see an illusion of what he thought was real to give Isaac enough time to jump. Once the illusion was over, the sound picked up and had a stronger affect on Delt. He felt that, even if he did have another vision, he would not be able to focus on it enough to make out what it meant temporarily. However, Isaac also had to exit out of his mindless state, now back to using sound with noise instead of vibrations, and he now was thinking again. It was truly an all or nothing shot, with Isaac being the more vulnerable for attacks, while Delt temporarily cut off from his predictions.

Delt played the nastiest trick of all on him. He had casted a true striking spell on himself, a spell that would guarantee his attack landed. And Delt had the speed advantage. Simply raising a hand in a fist formation, Isaac realizes he is a slight bit off on his blow, and the fist catches him square in the jaw. "A calculated risk...well played, Isaac Gardener. But the stars deigned I win this fight."

Isaac hits the ground after the hit. However, Amaria would notice that Isaac was laughing, rising up to his feet. "You won the fight, but I got what I wanted. You probably know what that already is though. Now I am confident enough to show you it, which is the reason why I asked this before..." Isaac lifts the gauntlet off of his right hand, to reveal the arrowhead symbol on the back of his hand. "I am Isaac Gardener, yes. But I have lost my memories and do not recall anything outside of when Commander Daquan of the Digger's found me. He's been like a father figure to me."

Delt grins. "Yes...I saw this encounter for weeks, Isaac Gardener. But I had to play the part fate set for me. Excuse me for misleading you."

"What is even -happening- anymore..." Amaria says.

Isaac looks over to Amaria with a huge grin. "It's alright, just had some fun is all." Isaac puts the gauntlet back on his hand. "So, you look pretty happy now. Something you want to tell us?"

Delt then notes "Isaac Gardener, I am to follow you and teach you the way of the Markers."

"The who now?"

"The men and women who bear the marks on their hand."

"Oh. Now it all makes sense. Wait, so that guy was a Marker too, the one who could also use sound!"

He grins. "Indeed."

"So uh, what about Amaria?"

"She must leave your side, and take her own course until your training is complete." Delt's expression shows he is completely serious.

"What if she wanted to become a Marker though?"

"She does not possess the intellect nor the talent." Amaria scowls. "Hey!"

He sighs. "Give me a moment." He walks over to Amaria.

Delt waits for Isaac to do what he knows he shall do.

"Amaria. I'm going to have to ask you to break your oath, just this once."

"But-"

"Amaria. I know you have somewhere you need to go to. I'll only slow you down. Besides... There's something I need you to do for me."

Amaria raises a brow. "Hm?"

"Out to the northwest from Fairwolf, there's rumors of something unusual there. A sighitng, they say. I need you to go there and confirm for me what is there. From what I have heard, it's ancient, just like the gauntlet I use now. They may be linked, if it's something ancient and from the past... We may finally discover just how a desert this unusually large and not proportional to the mountains at all formed like this."

Amaria sighed. "Promise me you wont forget about me after your training."

"How could I? You've left a big impact on me."

Amaria gives a warm smile(no pun intended). She then nods. "Alright...I should get going then. I know what I have to do."

Isaac nods to her and smiles. "Good luck." He then walks over to Delt. "So. What's your full name?"

"I am Deltorve Sturmhelm."​

 

[Thundor]

Hamilton

​

Hamilton was not the sort to be associated with the worrying type. Hamilton had already proved to the others in the organization that he was an expert in what he did. Plotting, using others as pawns, executing back-up plans into his current ones when it seemed something would go wrong. Why, they even had rumors as to why Hamilton had chosen each of the people for his team, and only he knew why. First, there had been Ebsor. Hamilton picked him because he was a giant known for his destructive behavior, Hamilton could use it well to his advantage should he need a moving mountain. Vulon, to get the elves to rally on their side. Scarletlock, for her assassins. Captain Cross to be a living human shield. Maxim, to play as his ace.

Yet somehow, looking over it again with the shadow creature, Hamilton saw that some things were now coming to light. "Captain Cross was killed." The shadow creature spoke to Hamilton. "We do not know who did it, nor if we can track down the culprit. My advice would be to look over how to find a way to move the plan without him, which is difficult. Captain Cross had been born out on the sea, he had wished to die out on the sea like his fellow pirates before him had. During his travels, he had stumbled upon an unknown virus that seemed to grant him more strength as he grow angry." "I doubt if it was a virus though, but as we have not seen anyone else with this, we can only go off of what the reports gave us."

Hamilton now had an empty spot in not only his team, but his plans altogether. He couldn't assume it was intentional either, Captain Cross had been a risky card to play from the start, getting into fights was his specialty. Just then, Tullus enters into his office and slams the door shut. "Hamilton!" He cried out to him. "What is the meaning of this? I just got word of what you told the others, after all you have made me do, this is how you treat me?!"

"You stopped doing what I asked of you. It is your own fault, Mr. Tullus, for not playing the role you were given."

"Why, you little brat!" Tullus reaches into his coat to pull out something, when he suddenly gasps as he grabs hold of his wrist, holding it close to his chest. As Hamilton rose, Tullus looked down to see smoke rising from where his hand once had been connected to his arm. "W-what the...?"

"There is no use in fighting me, Tullus. I have exceeded past humanity and have ascended into a new form of life." Hamilton stops in front of Tullus as he smirks wickedly. "But, you have one last role to play for me tomorrow." As Hamilton said this, Tullus starts shaking wildly and making strange sounds, until he went completely limb. Then, after what felt like a few minutes, his head rose up to look at Hamilton. "How do you feel in that body?"

"I've had worse, sir." Tullus spoke to him, rising back up as his hand seemed to be reforming before Hamilton's eyes. "That was a joke, if you couldn't tell."

"I could tell." To Hamilton, Tullus had already fulfilled his role to him since he had done the first task, and Hamilton had already grown tired of him. Tullus had been nothing but a coward, putting his own life before others, and thanks to Tullus, Hamilton's rise to power was assured. However, it was time to put the final nail in and end a potential nuisance. "Go now, you already know what you are meant to do." Hamilton smirks wickedly. "For soon the flames shall consume all in sight."​

 

[York]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The city of Merricrest Pt. 1 - An Insidious presense[/BCOLOR]​

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley was still fast asleep having fallen over backwards at some point when the smell of food started to waft from the door… After a few moments, her eyes opened and she yawned a little, hearing her stomach growl, she realized they had missed lunch. Looking around, her eyes fell on Akane; she was still sound asleep.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Even as Akane slept, she never let go of Ansley's waist. Akane is starting to stir slightly with the movement from Ansley's awakening, but Ansley's song was still faintly ringing in Akane's ears, giving her that rare break from general hypervigilance. Akane sleeps very peacefully, not moving much at all less her slow breathing. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Feeling Akane stir, Ansley starts to realize that Akane still had her hands wrapped around her waist. She blushes a little, but doesn't do anything for a few moments before she put down her harp, awkwardly reaching over to shake Akane awake lightly.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]As Ansley wakes Akane, in the moment when Akane wasn't yet aware of what was going on, a wave of fear struck. Literally jumping from the bed, Akane draws her dagger in defense, but as she becomes more aware of the situation, she calms down and quickly re-sheaths it. Then, looking on at a likely startled Ansley, she looks apologetically in her direction. Bashfully, "Sorry, Akane was a little scared."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley jumped a little herself as Akane shot up, drawing her dagger. She held up her hands a little confused as to what is going on until Akane seems to be more aware of what was going on and quickly resheathed her dagger. After Akane apologized Ansley just looked a little embarrassed "I-It's ok… I probably should have let you sleep some more…" she said sheepishly.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane shakes her head, "Akane just has bad experiences with bad people waking her up, so Akane was scared, but you didn't know that so it isn't your fault." Akane moves slowly back to the bed, letting a little bit of the song lingering in her ears to let her become a little sleepy again. It looks like Akane actually enjoys being half awake in her deliberate attempt to feel tired again. She doesn't seem quick to go back under the covers though, instead simply sitting up while holding her knees together.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Slowly approaching, Akane, Ansley was a little worried about her again. She stood still standing practically right in front of her for a moment, unsure what else to do. Then, she remembered something her sister did that always seemed to work on her when she felt sad. Reaching out a shaky hand, she puts it on top of Akane's head slowly, patting it a few times.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks concerned at first with Ansley suddenly acting so strange, but with patience, she lets Ansley pat the top of her head. Akane seems to enjoy the feeling. Through the combination of the display of affection, sleepiness, and the relaxing effects of the song; Akane drops her guard momentarily for Ansley. Akane presses her body up against Ansley, rubbing her cheek across Ansley's. "Akane feels really good."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley was blushing, but she didn't say anything or make any attempt to move just yet. She stayed there, strangely enough enjoying this, and without thinking about it too much, she put an arm around Ansley. It was usually something she only did around her sister, but it just seemed to feel right in this situation. Akane's words confused her a little, but she didn't think about them too much for now; Ansley was pretty much lost in the moment.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane yet to find herself completely lost in the moment, but she was at the very least extremely distracted. She had traveled around with a lot of people, but usually they kept her isolated for the most part. This was the closest she had ever been to another person, and certainly the most vulnerable. Akane was beginning to come to her senses as she became increasingly less sleepy and the song running through her ears began to dissipate completely. Blushing, "Akane, feels really exposed, somehow." Akane's face seemed to burn with embarrassment, the first time she ever seemed to show shame about something. It was a new feeling for her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley frowned slightly, a little worried, even in her still half asleep state when she heard what Akane said next. Looking at her face, she appears to be blushing, and then looking below, she remembered that Akane wasn't near fully clothed. Blushing profusely now, she quickly looked away and attempted to speak "O-oh! I-I-... S-sorry… I-I f-forgot t-to r-remind y-you to g-get d-dressed…" she said stuttering quite alot now, fully flustered realizing the big mistake she'd made.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Looking up towards Ansley, "Akane feels really strange now. Did you do something to Akane?" Akane sits back on her heels, "Akane never let anyone touch her like that before. Akane got a hug today…" Akane seems a bit bashful, especially since Ansley hadn't realized she was still holding onto Akane.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley was rather confused at what Akane said, but at the same time, she did feel something she'd never felt before. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but perhaps it was something close friends felt? It was almost like the feeling she got when she was around her sister, safe, warm, and a little tingly, even happiness inside. Then, when she moved her free arm a little, she realized she was still holding onto Akane, petting her lightly without really noticing it. Doing the seemingly impossible, she blushed even more, but wasn't quite ready to stop just yet.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane found herself in an awkward situation. Although she had meant to escape the situation by retreating back to her heels, Ansley seemed infatuated with the moment. Akane couldn't blame her either, these feelings were all new and good, but simultaneously terrifying. To have someone bend her so easily, and develop a more physical relationship seemed to trigger a flight response, but Akane had no idea how to leave. Remembering feeling much like this in the forest, Akane thinks out loud, "Ansley is my weapon." Upon saying this, Akane's body resists less, letting her finally relax a bit. Even still, when Akane realizes she said this out loud, she has a moment of realization that Ansley could hear her, and looks to her to detect the reaction.[/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=transparent]Hearing what Akane just said, Ansley recalled what had happened in that forest, she remembered the sense of guilt mixed with responsibility that resulted in her saying something like that. She smiled a little, thinking about that before snapping back to reality "I-I'll always try to be…" she said, the words coming to her on her own. Then, she remembered she was still hugging Ansley, and petting her with her free hand. Slowly, she stopped doing so starting to register how awkward this must be… Then she spoke again, putting her hands in her lap for the time being "W-we should g-get some f-food." she said, her stomach making a growling noise; it wasn't very content with missing a meal.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane nods her head in agreement. Crawling over to the foot of the bed, she picks up the dress that they bought from the store. Then, Akane takes her dagger's hilt, and tucks it into her pocket. It isn't anything like the secret pocket that she used to have, but it was an improvement from her past solution. She makes a mental note to stitch one in the skirt later as she waits by the door for Ansley.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley gets up from the bed, still looking a little awkward as she approaches Akane who was already waiting for her by the door. The look disappeared soon enough though as the smell of food was noticed by her again. It wasn't too uncommon that she missed a meal, however that sort of thing never seemed to sit very well with her stomach. Perhaps she just has high metabolism like her mother said… Whatever that meant.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]As they walked out, closingthe door behind them, they could see two strange fellows talking silently, but luckily for these two ladies, they could hear what the conversation was about. "Hey, so, you've been hearing about it lately, right?"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"About what? A lot of strange things happen in this part of Centora." The second man replied to the first. The first man seemed to tense up, looking around cautiously before continuing.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Old fangs has been meeting up with someone all shady-like, someone whose identity he doesn't want to be known. The strange part is, after each meeting, I hear old fangs sends some elf guards off duty for an unknown period of time, then sends in their replacements. Personally, I don't like any of this shady stuff. Especially since most of those elves have clipped ear tips, meaning they were involved in --" The first man suddenly stops himself, lowering himself as if a dark shadow had just cast over him. ". . .How about I continue later?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley took note of the conversation they seemed to have overheard but didn't say anything despite a rather ominous feeling she got… Right now she had a feeling things wouldn't go well for them if she made their presence known. She continued walking by, but now her footsteps were lighter than they were before.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane didn't seem to have even noticed the conversation, though even with her hearing damaged, she must have heard a little bit of the conversation, as the men weren't nearly cautious enough with having that type of conversation. Instead, Akane simply goes up to the counter to order some food, then sits down at a booth.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley approaches the counter quietly waiting until Akane was done ordering her food before she spoke. Her voice was quiet, but thankfully just loud enough for the receptionist to hear what food she was ordering. Then, after she was done, she sat down across from Akane at the same booth she did, waiting for her food in silence, not sure if she should mention what she had just heard.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I'm beginning to question if you are alright." The second man asked his friend with honest concern. "I mean, where did you go last night even? You didn't come back until sunrise."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"I was doing important things, don't question how I do them." After the first man finished, the door opened and he seemed to panic. "Oh no." Quickly, he takes out a piece of paper and crumbles it up, throwing it away from the table as it lands right under a table. The man that entered approached the two men.[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Sir, my name is Vulon." Vulon told him, from what could be made of his seen features, he looked to be elven. "It seems someone is accusing you of some trouble last night. I am sorry, but you'll have to come with me."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Fine, fine." The first man rose up to his feet as Vulon gently takes him by the arm. "Don't think I am going to give up my rights so easily though."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"You are in no harm, I assure you." Vulon turns to look at the second man. "You need not worry, he should be fine in the end." Vulon then escorts the man out, with the second man sighing a little and wiping his forehead with the back of his arm.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks very interested in the events transpiring. She looks towards Ansley with eager eyes. "Ansley, can I go for a walk?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley nodded "I'm coming w-with you… I-is that ok?" she asked quietly, glancing at the odd exchange of words the men from before were having… A small thudding noise alerted her that something had been thrown, and from what she could hear, it went in the direction of one of those tables. "I-I need a moment though." Ansley said quickly, getting out of the chair and walking around a little as fast as she could, glancing under the tables trying to find exactly where that ball of paper landed… Eventually, she saw it and picked it up quickly, stuffing it in one of her dress pockets.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane nods, allowing Ansley to grab the paper, then grabbing Ansley's hand and tugging her outside. Although the pace is quite rapid, it doesn't arouse much suspicion because Akane just looks like an impatient child in the way that she does so.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]As Ansley was being tugged along by Akane, she put one hand in her skirt pocket, keeping it there so that crumpled piece of paper in there wouldn't drop out at some point… She's had a bad history of losing things like that.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The two seemed to quickly get surrounded by elves, probably some of Vulon's buddies making sure no one jumped them, they didn't seem to be worried about looking around though. The ladies could see Vulon taking the man outside the closest gate they could find. Not much seemed to be said from either of them, though Vulon looked like he had something on his mind, the guy looked like he was accepting something.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane goes right up to the elves, "Ummm, excuse me. That man over there dropped something at the table. I thought he might want it back…" [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley looked around, rather confused as a bunch of elves started to surround the two men they were practically tailing… When Akane spoke though, she looked a little nervous, before the other elves turned in her direction, she looked around quickly, finding a tree to hide behind for the time being and dashing through it, making her way through the daily crowd as she did so. Then, pulling out the piece of paper she had earlier, attempting to quickly read it briefly… She wasn't so sure it would be a wise idea to hand the thing over just yet. [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]As Ansley attempts to hide, Akane gives a brief smile, as if she knew that Ansley would do such a thing without mentioning it. Ansley hid in such a suspicious way that any guard would think to go after her, but Akane used her shadow aura to hide Ansley in the shadow of the tree. Now ready to approach, Akane moves forward toward Vulon, through the guards should they fail to stop her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent] Two of the five guards stop and look back when Akane mentions she has something. Motioning for the others to move on, the two move to stand in front of Akane, and when she goes to move, they block her way. "Where is it?" One of them asked, though it sounded more like a demand. Meanwhile, Ansley looked upon what seemed to be a piece of a -- But suddenly, darkness![/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks at the guards with a look of confusion, "Akane doesn't understand why you are being so rude to Akane. Akane just wanted to give the man the gems that he left at the table." Akane gets a look of childish excitement, "Akane can't wait for the man to praise her for returning his gems instead of taking them for herself." Darting past the two guards easily, Akane is now directly in front of Vulon in moments.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley stepped out of the darkness slowly with any luck in the opposite direction of the guards until she was out of the general radius of the dark 'aura' thing for now. Looking at the piece of paper again, she tried to make out what was on it before any of the guards noticed her once they got to the right angle.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The guards groan as they give chase after Akane, with Ansley being left alone to open the piece of map she had. While she couldn't make all the details out, she could see that someone had drawn directions on it. Meanwhile, Vulon sees Akane stand in his way, the man gasping a little as Vulon narrows his eyes suspiciously at her. "And what do you want?" He asks, as the two guards join up with the other three.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks up to Vulon with a bright smile, "You two left in such a hurry, that man left some gems behind." Akane pulls out just two of the gems that they had received as a reward from the mysterious man and presents it to Vulon. "Akane was a good girl and brought them back to him. But then the guards tried to stop her for some reason. Akane didn't understand, so Akane just ignored them."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley frowned, what kind of directions are these? She could hardly make out what they were supposed mean, but she'd figure this out with Akane later. Putting the piece of paper back in her dress pocket, folding it up as neatly as she could, and putting her hand in there again, she stepped back into the dark aura again. She just barely peeked out from it, looking towards what was going on with the guards and Akane, she wasn't sure if she should get involved just yet.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Vulon kept his eyes narrowed, motioning towards her as one of the guards takes the gems. "Look them over. Over there." He gestures, as the guard walks some distance away, then goes to check them out. Vulon turns his attention back to Akane with a frown. "Is that all, or do you have more things that I don't remember dropping?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks at him with childish anger. "You didn't drop it dummy. He did." Akane points to the guard that he pulled from the table earlier. "Those don't belong to the guards, so they should make sure to give them back to their proper owner."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Vulon keeps his frown, making sure his eyes were focused on her. "Alright, so you gave them back. Now can you please move so I can take this man to where he needs to go?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks curiously again. "Akane doesn't understand why everyone is being so rude when Akane when out of her way to be nice. Akane won't keep doing nice things if people keep being mean to her. Plus, Akane doesn't know why people keep telling her what to do when Akane doesn't even know them."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Vulon lets out an irritated sigh and looks to the guards, motioning a signal towards them. "Right, well. We need to get going, so it was fun and all, but now it's not. Ta-ta." Once the guards regroup around them, Vulon goes to walk past Akane with the man and the guards.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The moment that Vulon crosses Akane's side, Akane activates her Shadow Strike ability to avoid detection as she places a single stone in Vulon's wallet. She would be able to use that to track him wherever he went, and without anyone being the wiser. Akane then returns to Ansley, knowing that step one of her plan is complete.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley sighs in relief when Akane returned; the dark aura had dissipated around her by then. "There's a m-map on that piece of paper… I-I don't know what i-it's of though." she said, pulling out the now folded piece of paper, unfolding it and showing it to her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane places Ansley's hand back at her pocket, trying to quietly tell her she shouldn't have that out. "Akane wants to go back to the room."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley nodded, realizing this wasn't exactly the safest place to be doing this. Looking around just a little to see if anyone had noticed that piece of paper in her hand, she started walking back to the Inn, suddenly remembering they had ordered food there.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks upset that the food they had ordered is now cold. While they technically could order again for free, it would be fairly rude to leave what they ordered uneaten. Akane balks at the idea however.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley sighed a little realizing that they would have to eat cold food, however she was hungry, and any food would be better than none. So she sat down quietly and started eating, she was rather quick with it too; it seemed she had quite the appetite.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane normally has no qualms with eating whatever, but the presence of good warm food right next to her had made her find the cold, left-out food unappealing even despite her hunger. Whining, "Ansley, do I have to eat this?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I-If you're hungry." Ansley said quietly after finishing her food her food. She looked around, wondering if there was anything to heat up the food with.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane frowns, "Akane is glad that she was able to go for a walk, but now that Akane's food is cold, Akane is upset."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley nodded, she wasn't too happy with this either, but it's not like she had powers to heat up their food or something… Perhaps someone else around here would though, she looked around at the counter where food was being prepared. She wondered if anyone over there had such powers, or at least had something to heat up cold food. [/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley looking around, led her eyes to find a humanoid-like creature nearby with scales all over it's body. The creature seemed to be napping at it's table, apparently having ate so much, that it got tired and took a nap right on the spot. If what Ansley knew was true, this creature probably was associated with mythical reptiles in some form or another. Better to have warm food than to double-check on those thoughts, right? [/BCOLOR]She frowned a little, rethinking this for a moment, perhaps she should get her harp first. "W-wait here… I-I forgot something in our room." Ansley said quietly heading off to their room. It seemed that she had forgotten to lock the door thankfully so she didn't have too much trouble getting in. Looking around she found her harp and the key to the door, thankfully the bag of stones were still in there. Picking up the key and her harp, she went back out the door, locking the door behind her this time and putting the key in her pocket with the piece of paper. Walking back towards where Akane was, she looked at that reptile like creature again, perhaps it had some potential of warming up food? After considering this a moment, she slowly approaches the creature, holding onto her harp awkwardly… She wasn't sure what to do here just yet.

[BCOLOR=transparent]The reptilian creature growls silently as it seems to roll around a little, however, unable to do much on the spot, it just sorta moved around before deciding against that and just going back to resting. It had no idea that a young lady was approaching it at all.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley cleared her throat a little before speaking "U-um… S-sir?" she asked, wondering if that creature would hear her. It admittedly made her a little nervous seeing a creature like that up close, this was after all her first encounter with one.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The reptilian creature opens one of it's eyes slowly, looking at her with a deadly look in them for a brief moment. It did not speak, merely watched her for her next move.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"C-can y-you w-warm u-up f-food?" Ansley asked, a little uncertainly… She wished there was an easy way to do this, but it seems they didn't have any sort of machine or something to warm up food for them… This was the best alternative she could think of for the moment. The way the creature looked at her sent a shiver down her spine, but she didn't want to turn around and run away or something yet.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]The creature stands up to it's feet as it towers over her, it's shadow being cast over her as it glares down at her. "You ask me, to heat up your food, like I'm sort of animal? You know how hard that would be to do, huh?!" The creature shouts out, before looking over at the person sitting across from the creature, who Ansley had forgot to take note of because of the creature. "Oi, heat up their food for me."[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Why should I?" The person asks the creature. "I told you to choose a better disguise before leaving the island!"[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL?! I TOLD YOU, THIS DISGUISE IS BRILLIANT!"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Fine, I'll do it." The person gets up, looking slightly annoyed. "Where is it?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley pointed towards where Akane was "O-over there." she said quietly, wondering if she should start walking back now… She was a little confused by the creature's reaction, if it was really a creature at all due to that little discussion between the two about a disguise. Though she realized she might have offended it a little, turning towards the creature she practically whispered her words "S-sorry." she said before directing her attention back to the person who had just gotten up.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Don't mind tubbers over there, he just can't pick good disguises anymore like he used to."[/BCOLOR][BCOLOR=transparent][/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Oh like you're one to talk!" The creature shouts, with the person smirking before walking over to where Akane's table was. "Don't touch the table while I do this." He told Akane mainly, before reaching up under the table and pressing his palm on it. Closing his eyes, the table seems to get a red aura around it, as the food looked to be heating up. When the man thought it was enough, he pulls his arm away and opens his eyes. "There, all done." Then he casually walks back over to where the creature was.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Th-Thank you.." Ansley said giving him a nervous smile before turning back to Akane. "S-sorry I t-took so long." she said quietly. She looked over at the now warm food on the table, rather impressed by it though.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane smiles brightly and chimes, "Thank you Mr. Lizard." Akane quickly takes to her food, and doesn't even bother to look up. Though these two seemed interesting, they also seemed mostly harmless.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley smiled a little as Akane started to eat, looking back at the strange duo she had seen before, a little curious what was going on with them.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"Stop making fun of my disguises! I was taking a lovely little nap, and then pop comes you." The creature says to his friend.[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Why the fuss?" The guy asks the creature. "You can change into anything you've seen, so why didn't you change into something that would be the perfect disguise?"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"Because it would be too obvious!"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]"To who? The bald guy over there, or how about the dogs over there. Oh, maybe the owls outside know! Should I ask them for you?"[/BCOLOR]
[BCOLOR=transparent]The creature slams it's hard into the table at this. "I hate you sometimes."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley couldn't help but giggle to herself a little watching the strange but somehow funny scene before her before turning back to Akane, she should be just about finished eating by now… They needed to figure out exactly what that map that she had picked up was about.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane, having finished her dinner, takes Ansley's hand again and leads her back to the room. She didn't seem to react much to the pair, despite their dynamic nature. Though maybe Akane might have simply wanted to stay away from them, since they clearly had a power and purpose she didn't understand.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Once they were in their room and Ansley had locked the door again, she pulled out the piece of paper that was in her pocket once more. "D-Do you know wh-what kind of map it is?" She asked quietly, she wasn't too sure of it herself.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane shakes her head, "Remember when Akane went up to that suspicious man and talked to him, but left without doing anything? Akane was able to slip a stone that she linked with into his wallet, so now Akane can track him. Akane thinks we should be able to ask him."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley frowned, but realized there was really no other way of finding out, she just nodded. However, she was unsure of how Akane was planning to ask that man, even though she wasn't 100% sure that this was the best idea yet…[/BCOLOR]


[BCOLOR=transparent]"Akane thinks that something big is happening in Merricrest. Akane thinks that there are too many elfs in the guard. In normal guards, the races are fairly consistent with the town's. Akane is no expert on Merricrest, but Akane thinks that she hasn't seen many elves. Combine that with the rumor about guards being dismissed, and you have an internal control takeover of Merricrest. Akane wants to know why this is happening."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley nodded, this was indeed a strange thing to happen around here now that Akane mentioned it before… Since Ansley herself had visited this place every now and then to play her harp, she couldn't help but notice the elf population around here suddenly rise. She too wanted to figure out exactly what was going on around here.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane breathes deeply, pressing her hand against her dagger, and whispers softly to herself, "I am the hunter." Akane's expression suddenly changes to a dark, calculated glare. "So, in order to get this information, we are going to mount an infiltration. It is imperative that we gather information, and find out when this man is alone. He won't willingly give out this kind of information, so we are going to have to threaten him. In order to do so, we need to work together to ensure he doesn't alert anyone. But, first and foremost, we need to gather information. For this, I prefer to work alone. Are there any questions up to this point?"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley thought for a moment before she spoke "H-how can I help?" she said quietly, shaking a little again. Akane seems to have taken on a different state, it scared her a little, but she wasn't about to turn back from something like this… [/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"For the first part, I could use your powers. My ears still aren't at 100%, and I need to be at my best. If I'm caught, he will recognize my face, and he will likely search his belongings in realizing that I made contact with him. In other words, we lose our chance at getting any information. I'm entrusting you with taking care of me and our belongings before and after I depart, until I make it back. We might need to leave at a moment's notice, so make sure you are ready."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley nodded again "T-Tell me when y-you want me to play." she said holding up her harp a little to show that she was ready. She looked towards their room wondering if it was worth it to carry those stones with her.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane nods with authority, "I'm going to want the cover of night for this operation, so I'll not head out until 9. Until then, we can spend the time as we like, though I recommend resting if you feel you'll lose vigilance in the night. This is the best opportunity to heal my ears however, so lets include that in the agenda."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley agreed, she figured she would play her harp sooner rather than later. "I-I guess we'll t-take care of your e-ears first." She said quietly, starting to approach her. [/BCOLOR]As she approaches Akane, Ansley feels an unexplainable sense of fear as she draws nearer, so much that it might prevent her from thinking clearly. However, the strange feeling of fear didn't stop her from walking forwards a little more, however she seemed a little nervous about something… On the inside she was trying to keep a clear mind, the feeling was a rather alien one to her. Trying to concentrate despite this though, she started playing her harp, the melody she played was peaceful and soothing, but quieter and a little more "jumpy" than it normally was.

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane, noticing the effect her aura was having on Ansley, switches back to her more playful personality. Akane chimes, "Don't worry Ansley, Akane doesn't have to do anything dangerous till later, so Akane will get to play until then." Ansley no longer feels the fear she did beforehand.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley sighed a little a nodded as if to say thanks as she continued playing her song… It was finished before long and she put down her harp, laying back in the bed a little. "S-Sorry, I was a l-little nervous at first." Ansley said quietly, unsure if that was what it really was.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane looks at Ansley with a bit of worry, "Well, The Hunter has an aura of intimidation that she got from killing so many people. Akane never killed anyone, so she doesn't have it."[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]"I-I guess that e-explains alot." Ansley said, looking a little embarrassed… She was a little glad though that it wasn't just her being nervous, because that certainly wouldn't have meant well for her job that she still had, after all she played harp for a living too.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane curls up on the bed comfortably, "Akane wants to hear Ansley's music again. Akane used to have a lot of trouble sleeping, but Ansley's music always puts her mind at ease. Plus, Ansley's music can make Akane's ears all better!"[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Ansley smiled, there was something she loved about playing her harp… She was always glad to do so whenever someone asked. So she started playing again, a different but somewhat familiar song this time letting her eyes close as she did so. It sounded soothing, calm, and rejuvenating but at the same time, it had a lullaby theme to it.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]Akane listens to the song, letting it fill her. She can already feel a wave of sleepiness come over her, releasing her from worry. Though also a second thought came up uncontrollably within Akane. She could help but say, "Oelia, I'm worried about you. I miss you. I wish I never left… I should have stayed." After saying this, Akane's mind was finally at peace, and she fell asleep with a wonderful expression, very relieved to have that thought come out.[/BCOLOR]

[BCOLOR=transparent]As Ansley continued playing, she heard what Akane said… She still felt rather guilty for it, and as a result, a few tears managed to make their way past her closed eyelids. Before long however, she too was starting to doze off, she was a little tired herself.[/BCOLOR]

 

[Thundor]

Hamilton

​

The night had made it's way over the town of Vertice, and Hamilton had been hard at work. It had taken sometime, but thanks to the shadow creature, he now had made contact with two very important Merchant's. Hamilton knew the Merchant ranks by heart now, the highest being what the Merchants called 'The Royal Family.' It has only ever really consisted of three people, with only The Mistress, as the Head Merchant, and her father being left in it. They ruled the organization without question, they were the only ones born for it really. Or so they say. Below them were The Elite Guard, the toughest in the entire organization and for good reason, their only job was to protect The Royal Family at any cost.

Below them was The Overseer and his or her division, the most unknown character in the entire organization, even to Hamilton. The Overseer was a behind-the-scenes job mainly, but not much else was known other than that. Elite Merchant's were next, these individuals were in charge of a town and it's merchants, this was Hamilton's ultimate goal to get to in the organization. Then the former pig's job, Supervisor Merchant, the job Hamilton currently held. Directing Merchant's were under that, being in charge of sending which team to what job. Hamilton's former job was under that, Leading Merchant, the Merchant in charge of a team. Then you had your basic Merchant's, and under that were the Rookie's.

The two he had gotten into contact with were said to be of Supervisor Merchant's from Aldness, meaning they had survival skills that he required. Just as he was about to head off to bed, a merchant came in with a Linker. "Sir, it seems Vulon would like to speak with you about something important."

"Very well, leave until I call you back." The Merchant nods in response to Hamilton, handing him the Linker before closing the door on his way out. Hamilton sat back down in his seat, setting the Linker on his desk before him. "Vulon, are you still there?"

"Yes sir, I am here." Vulon's voice spoke to him from the Linker.

"What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"Sir, we are close to achieving the maximum count for your plan to begin execution. I know it will be a few days walk for them, but I assume you already knew that coming into this. I can get any remaining elves we need by tonight and prepare them over the next few days." The shadow creature hovered close behind Hamilton, making him wonder about something.

"Why the sudden rush? You should take your time, you do have a few days left."

"I know sir, but, the people here are getting suspicious of our activity, and I have already had to execute more than a few of the more meddlesome brats as per your instructions. I'm afraid that I must vanish from Merricrest for now, and take whoever I can left before Merricrest starts to go for our throats." Hamilton's eyes narrowed, he knew what Vulon meant.

"Very well. Proceed as you wish from here, do whatever you can to get them moving soon."

"Yes sir." Vulon then hung up on his end, with Hamilton returning the Linker to the merchant before returning to his room and closing the door. His gaze turned to the shadow creature, who remained on the other side of the room.

"You seem to like hinting at someone's intentions towards me." Hamilton said to the creature.

"Yes well, I had a feeling that he didn't just call you up on a whim. You know he was already risking it by contacting you like this under the circumstances. I figured the less he said about it, the more happier you'd be."

"You assumed correctly. You are beginning to remind me of... Well, me." Hamilton eyed the creature curiously, what he said had been true, even if the creature might see it as a joke. Hamilton had noticed the creature's behavior, tone and mindset were very close to his, almost on par even. The only difference Hamilton could think of was, the creature was willing to obey him at any cost. But was that so bad, did that make a difference in the theory that seemed to grow more obvious before his eyes? Before he could contemplate further on his thoughts, two knocks came on his door. "Come in."

"Javon Verne, leader of Vertice, sent us personally to you." A voice said with glee, before the two opened to reveal two figures, their features hidden mainly by wrappings. "Hello sir, we do appreciate you waiting for us for these few hours, but now that we are here, let us introduce ourselves, since we already know who you are." The one on the left bows from the waist first. "I am Valence." Then the one on the right bows from the waist.

"And I am Paradox." Then both rise up, Hamilton's assumptions about these two were correct after all. "So, what can we do for you today?"

"I have an important assignment for you both." Hamilton walked over to his desk, pulling open a drawer as he pulls out two pictures. One of them of Captain Cross, the other of Vulon. Originally, he was going to give a picture of Maxim in Vulon's place, but after the conversation he just had with the elf, he knew this was the more clever way to play things out. He hands Captain Cross' picture to Valence, while Vulon's to Paradox. "I know you two have incredible powers, very inhumane ones at that. By tomorrow, I want Valence to have mastered Cross' form. As for you, Paradox, I want you to take an extra day to master Vulon's."

"Very peculiar why you chose these two, especially since Captain Cross is dead." Paradox spoke first, both of them looking the pictures over.

"Very well, Hamilton." Valence speaks next. "My twin brother and I shall do as you request. We will be in contact, I assure you." Valence and Paradox both bow from the waist before closing the door on their way out. Hamilton looks over to the shadow creature once they were gone.

"What do you think of those two?" He asked.

"They are very reliable to whoever catches their interest. You have caught their interest. I will leave the rest to you." With that, the shadow creature phases through a wall, and Hamilton was alone, feeling very satisfied.​

 

[Thundor]

Suspense

​

Scarlett looked at Rican rather interested when Dionysus stated the power he had taken on too... She wondered what else they could do. Rican begins to attempt move the flame slowly trying to teach himself to use it. Cadoc stayed in his bed, looking at his hand playing around a little with his new abilities. Scarlett frowned, wondering what else she could do other than shoot out chains, she'd prefer not to knock over something when she was practicing.

Dionysus moved toward the door. "I'll be back. Cadoc, be careful with your hands." He warned him, before opening the door and heading out of it, closing it behind him.

"Sure, I'll make sure i don't hurt anyone." Cadoc replied.

Scarlett inspected Cadoc's hands curiously "Well... I was thinking of something more... Shocking." she said attempting to lighten the mood a little.

Cadoc chuckled "Your sense of humor is electrifying." Rican audibly holds back a laugh.

Scarlett cleared her throat a little realizing how chaotic these things might get... She looked towards the chains she had practically materialized not too long ago picking them up. "Well... Until Dionysus gets back... We have some time to kill." She said, almost casually.

"Yeah, any ideas on what to do?" Cadoc asked.

Scarlett frowned a little, thinking for a bit before she spoke "Not sure... Any ideas Rican?" she asked turning towards him.

"I would suggest getting acquainted with these new skills we have acquired." Rican states plainly

"I feel like i should be in a more open area before i try out my powers, i wouldn't want to burn down the hospital."

Rican looks to Cadoc "Are you the one actually playing with fire?"

"Well... I would but... I don't know much about my powers... Except that I can make chains." Scarlett said.

"Not exactly, but lightning has been known to cause fire."

"Can you stand?" Rican asks.

"Lemme try." Says Cadoc as he wobbles up from his bed. "I feel great!"

"I guess you're officially in on the tournament then." Scarlett said, a little relieved by this.

"I guess so."

Rican grabs a small rag that seems to have somthing wraped inside of it and puts it in a pocket then grabbing his axe placing it in two loops on his back. "Ready?"

"I am." Says Cadoc, slinging his sword up on his shoulder. Scarlett nodded as if to silently say she was ready. Rican reaches upwards slightly grabbing the handle opens the door walking through it.

Scarlett frowns. "Wait... What about Dionysus?" she asked, wondering if he'd know where to find them.

Cadoc follows along. "Any ideas on were to test out these powers? Oh yeah good point, we should at least leave a note or something."

Rican looks back "Look in my bag there may be something in there."

Scarlett sighed digging through Rican's bag, eventually finding a quil and some paper. "Alright... Give me a moment." Scarlett said, placing the paper on the wall and writing a brief note. It read: "We've gone off to practice... It shouldn't be long before we get back.". Then, she placed it on the table next to Cadoc's bed.

"Alright. Anything else we should do before we head out?"

"Replace my thing inside my bag please." Rican says in a polite tone. Scarlett put the quill back inside Ricans bag before she too started heading out. Rican waits for everyone.

Cadoc walks up next to Rican "Where are we gonna go practice?"

Scarlett joins the rest, lagging behind just a bit "Not sure... Let's not go too far away though." Scarlett said, she figured they'd still need to keep track of that hospital.

Rican says "I'll follow you lads."

"i don't know this town, or if there are any good areas were we would not be in danger of harming someone to practice at."

Scarlett shrugged "Don't ask me... I'm not familiar with this place either." she thought for a moment "We need a map... Either that or we should head back and see if Dionysus is back." she added.

"When -who- will be back now?" Dionysius spoke from above them, standing on the top of a building.

Scarlett looked up, seeing Dionysius "Well... What can I say... My writing needs some work." Scarlett stopped a moment curious about something "So... Should we head back to that hospital?" she added. Cadoc shrugs.

"No, this is fine." Dionysius jumps and, before landing, seems to hover for a second before landing down on his feet. "You said you all wanted to test your powers anyway. Why don't we make this interesting?" Scarlett looked interested "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

Rican scratches his beard "Interesting?"

"What do you mean?" Cadoc asked.

"You all have a three-way match." Dionysius said.

"I guess we could try but... I'm not too sure what else I can do other than throw chains out of thin air." Scarlett said with a slight frown.

Rican tilts his head to the side "And the risk of injury?"

"Are you sure that's wise, non of use know full well how to control our powers?"

"Fight however you wish. But when someone surrenders or is knocked out, they lose." Dionysius crosses his arms. "I will watch."

"Alright. Ill try not to hurt either of you guys." Says Cadoc putting his sword down

"Okay... But, I guess we should find a safer place to do this." Scarlett said gesturing around at the people around them.

"Oh... i honestly did not think of that" Says Cadoc picking his sword back up "id rather not leave my sword here were someone could just take it"

Dionysius spreads out his arms, and suddenly, the people seemed to ignore them. "There. Now you are invisible to them. Unless they touch you. And even if they do, they'll hear an irritable noise that'll repel them." Dionysius stands back. "Begin at anytime."

Scarlett sighed shaking her head a little. "I guess I better not use my spear then." she said, raising her left hand, ready do fight.

Cadoc puts his sword back on the ground. "Yeah no weapons." Says Cadoc as he gets into a boxers stance. "Ready whenever you guys are." Rican removes his axe and puts it on the ground. Scarlett drives her spear into the ground, her other hand was now free to safely block physical attacks.

Cadoc cracks his knuckles "Who wants to go first?"

Rican tilts his neck making a loud pop is heard. "Alright young man." Scarlett stood back, interested to see how this would play out. Cadoc runs towards Rican, jumping out in an attempt to tackle him. Rican uses his low center of mass to duck and slam his shoulder into Cadocs abdomen throw cadoc over himself. Cadoc rolls after hitting the ground, he then turns towards rican and shoots a small bolt of electricity towards Rican. Rican rolls to the side "Come on son that the best you have?"

Cadoc gets up and jabs at Rican. "i'm only getting started." Rican grabs his wrist attempting to send his own electricity back into Cadocs body. Rican grabs his wrist attempting to send his own electricity back into Cadocs body. Cadoc takes the shock and grabs rican with his free hand.

Scarlett stepped forward quietly "Watch your back." she stated raising her left hand and willing another chain to appear, aiming it at Cadoc. Rican backs up after seeing the chains and his own power. Scarlett waits, wondering what Rican's next move is, Cadoc appears to be down for the count. Dionysius crosses his arms, watching silently and with curiosity.​

 

[Thundor]

Meet the Desiring Ambition

​

Oza'Mata was idly reading a book as the spell was focusing on their target. "It's almost done, Volusia...think of what you want to say. And be ready for conflict."

Volusia looks to Oza and nods silently. "Is there just one of them? Kinda don't wanna land in a horde of them."

"From what I see, there is only one."

Volusia nods. "I'm ready then." Volusia would feel suddenly sick, as Oza disappeared and her vision failed her for a moment. Teleporting for the first time is never fun. Volusia moves a hand to her mouth, feeling dizzy, light-headed and nauseous. Volusia would then feel the pleasing sensation of having her body ripped from space and slapped into another location. Oza stood there as though it were no issue to her. Volusia collapses down onto her front, nearly having thrown up when she arrived.

Oza waits for her to finish. "Please do not waste too much time wrenching, or I will have to lock on target again."

From a distance it felt something emerge, actually, it was two things that had appeared. Not just any things in particular either, two unusual beings whose presence the Qlippoth had not felt before. It needed more information about these two before it could decide on one of many possible actions. So, it moved silently through the darkness of his surroundings, he had traveled out far in this wild continent, and for now to find two people to appear. His keen eyes locking onto them, one looked foreign to him, but the other wore Centorian clothes. Instinctively, he readies his hand blades, waiting to see if they'd attack.

Oza frowns. "Something is watching us. Come out, infiltrator! If you do not attack, neither shall we."

Volusia raises a brow as she looks around with her eyes, trying not to move her body. "How odd for you to say." A voice unlike any Volusia had heard before spoke out to them. "You came all the way out here for trouble, well you found it. You are a bit far from home, Centorian. Yes, I know where you are from, I have seen many of your people come... And go."

"Enough intimidation. It will not work against me, beast. And the Centoran is protected by me. So I suggest you do not try anything funny."

That's when Volusia heard something move, and something seemed to lunge out, it's insect wings fluttering as it sped through the air until it hit the ground near them. It remained still, but as it moved, Volusia was able to see the details more clearly. As it's wings moved down back onto it's body, it did not have hands, but blades in their place. One blade hit the ground as it rose up, the tip stabbing in before rising out just as quickly with no problem. It's structure was hard to make out, but appeared mainly insect in design, she wondered if it had an exoskeleton, or if it had more than one pair of bone layer. It's eyes looked upon them with interest, a sinister smirk was on the creature's face. "Oh, but your threats are meaningless against me." The creature spoke out, walking forward slowly, each step it took revealing more of it's form to them in the light. "For you see, I know much, and I have fought many creatures in my lifetime. And I know for a fact, that neither of you could kill me." The creature seems to chuckle in it's own amusement, Volusia swallowing nervously.

Oza simply released her power limiters. "Try hurting her and youre a splatter under my boot, insect. Now, we came to speak peacefully. And you're going to listen."

The creature merely laughs at what she said, Volusia trying her best not to show fear. "Power does not matter to the Qlippoth. For you see, no matter how strong you are, deep down you know that I have the advantage. Go ahead and tire yourself out, I'll just get up and kill you." Suddenly, one of it's blades strikes out, Volusia's gaze sharpening as it seemed to come for her, and al oud scream erupted as the blade penetrated into the skin. Volusia, however, had not been hit, as she saw the blade just inches from her face. She glanced over her shoulder to find some sort of animal, having moved in to attack, now growing limp. The animal is pulled away from Volusia and the creature slams the dying animal into the ground, moving it's other blade to quickly end the animal's suffering. It removes it's blades, beginning to wipe off the stains from them, as it looks over at them with it's smirk now gone. "But this is a first. No one ever comes before me just to talk of peace. But how do I know this isn't a trap, since you seem to like the sound of your own voice."

"If this were a trap I would've already struck."

"You would of executed a poor trap for one who holds such power. Tell me, did your predecesor's body end up popping like hot air from holding too much power?" Volusia knew Oza better than anyone, and put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Volusia didn't know the Qlippoth that well, but she could see this one well enough already from it's personality.​

"Okay, look. We're sorry for invading your territory like this on such short notice, but I feel that if this is to get anywhere, I need to introduce myself. I am Volusia, and I speak for the ones called the Celestial's." Volusia locked eye contact with the creature. Her next words, however, seemed to just come out without her even thinking of what she was saying. "Let her talk to you, and I promise, no harm will come to you or your people." The creature suddenly walked intimidately towards Volusia, Volusia could see it was a few feet taller than herself. It lowers it's head to her level, as the two seemed to stare down like this for a while with intensity before the creature suddenly backs up a bit and sits down.

"I have seen that gaze only once in my lifetime, and I have never forgotten it. I fought against a human once, who wanted to protect his village. He said that Kinjun's people would not fall so easily, to which I laughed and asked him why was he so determined to fight? He responded that he did not care for fighting, only to protect his loved ones, and that if I threatened them again, I would be his first prey. The human was a child, and I had heard of this multiple times, but his eyes burned into my own. I spared him and his people, so I may see if he stays true to that ambition he held in the future." Volusia sighed and went to sit down, hoping Oza would do the same.

Oza stands, folding her arms. She didn't like being near such a disgustingly vile creature, so she hoped Volusia was going to make it quick.

Volusia lets out a sigh, grabbing hold of Oza's hand to try to get her to sit next to her. "Come on Oza."

She leers at the Qlippoth, and slowly sits down, watching it for movement. She very clearly didn't trust it.

Volusia lets go of Oza's hand and puts a hand around her shoulders, holding her close so that she didn't end up attacking the thing. "Um, so, what do you go by?"

"I was named Augnagar, like the rest of the Augnagar's. But honestly, I'm a bit tired of it, so you may call me by the title I am known by more: The Desiring Ambition." Volusia looked to Oza for a minute, thinking that this Qlippoth didn't really match the mentality of what she had heard about them.

"I see. Well, um, how to put this..." Volusia was hoping Oza would take charge of the conversation for her, Volusia tended to get shy easily.

She stared at Volusia. "Volusia...you were the one who wanted to talk and learn more. You must speak."

Volusia collapses onto her back. She rises up with a nervous look on her face and sighs. "I... I want to end the hatred you guys have for all living things on this world." She quickly said. She waited to get laughed at.

"Your friend has high goals. Why the sudden interest?"

Oza shrugs. "I do not know. The only reason I tolerate your presence is because of her, Qlippoth."

"Because I'm not an idiot. I know of what goes on behind the scenes, and I know the Qlippoth aren't the criminals here. The Celestials and Qlippoth have both made some mistakes, but there's no reason to hate them anymore. Almost everyone has forgotten entirely about you guys!" Before she could go on, she is interrupted by Augnagar's laughter.

"Boy, you are a fool, aren't you? The Qlippoth won't listen to reason, they follow blindly to their masters like puppets, even if they don't know of it." Augnagar smirks. "It's only a matter of time before the Qlippoth attack. And you picked the worst possible candidate to try to stop them." Volusia realized at once what he meant.

"Alright... What do you want out of this?" Augnagar's smirk fades, and he suddenly gets a serious expression.

"To take over the Qlippoth, of course."

Oza's eyes widen."...you must be joking."

"Did I stutter, woman?" Augnagar said, with absolute determination.

She sits there in disbelief. "And what do you plan to do about it? You cant possibly take the role of both of the Twin Kings."

"You're right, I can. Which is why I found another, like me, who pretends to be obeying his masters. In reality, he is like me, he has individuality~"

Oza raises a brow. "Oh really?"

"You seem to have powers beyond this world. Shall I give you his name?"

"The more appropriate question is why you trust us with this information. Are you implying an alliance?"

"Of course I am. Because I can tell that girl is not what she seems." Augnagar smirks.

Oza glares. "Very well...but it is up to Volusia."

Volusia sighs and looks up at them. "Fine. I'll agree to this. Only -if- you promise to end this hatred."

Augnagar chuckles. "Then we have a deal."

 

[York]

Blair Alverez (Merchant mercenary) - An odd job​

In the crowded streets of Morwynne, at one of it's local ports, Blair Alverez was wandering around unsure of what to do, he was looking for something to do or more accurately, something to get him payed so he could at least get enough money to keep himself well fed for another month or so. Of course the smell of fish here which wasn't that bad once you get used to it honestly wasn't very pleasant and shouldn't be making him think of any food, he had learned to ignore it and was focusing more on his main priorities. Just then, a strange individual approached him seemingly out of nowhere, and when Blair took notice of him, he realized he was heading right towards him... A merchant no doubt, probably looking to give him a "job" in other words make him do something for them in return for some stones, the task was probably not optional either. As the individual drew closer, he spoke briefly but thoroughly "New task for you... Here's the details." he said handing him a slip of paper before walking off just like that. Blair looked down at the piece of paper and began reading:
"Blair,
Your reputation for getting the job done has been rather splendid to say the least... Our task for you today is a simple one, but things may get messy if you blow it. Diggers have set up another base near Belbridge, a fresh deposit of stones is practically ripe for the picking; we request that you seize that deposit, use as much force as neccesary, Diggers are... Expendable. You know the consequences if you fail, so don't you dare disappoint us."
The piece of paper had no signature, probably to conceal the indentity of the writer... Anyways the message was clear enough; he had some work to do whether he liked it or not, unless of course he fancied being "disposed of" by an higher ranking Merchant, he was technically a member of their organization now, even if he despites this conflict between the Diggers and the Merchants, all he wished for was peace between the two factions, though ironically enough, he's stuck with working against his core beliefs... But soon, he will make that change.

appearance of individual