ChaRP! Rescuing the Child Empress - January Thursday the 14th @ 2pm to 5pm Central

[Diana]

RESCUING THE CHILD EMPRESS
THURSDAY JANUARY 14TH @ 2PM - 5PM CENTRAL TIME​

In the beautiful country of Vundergren they host a parade once a year to celebrate the many years of peace between the participating countries of the United Peace Treaty! However, this year's masquerade turned into a bloodbath as a band of raiders disguised as Jesters tried to assassinate Child Empress Cherivundaluna Unalin Amalthea, the third of her name, Lady of the Wintergreen Forest, Scourge of the Mountain Goblins... Well, her title is a long mouthful, but she is the only living heir to quite a valuable kingdom.

A small band of heroes managed to escape the city with the Empress safe in hand and have been spending the past few days in a neighboring village hiding out trying to decide what to do next. But the strange death cult that is hunting the Empress managed to catch up with them and captured the little girl.

Those that feel a responsibility to her have formed a small group to come to her rescue. Will they managed to get her back before the worst can happen? What IS the cult up to?

EVENT INFO

WHO: Everyone is invited! Character Bios/Pics are not required, but totally encouraged! Post 'em if you got 'em.

WHAT: This is a SEQUEL! You do NOT need to be someone from the past charps to join! Returning characters are enlisting help to hunt down the child and rescue her. You character will be a part of this search party, whether you are a rando that just wants to help, or someone from the Empress' kingdom.

WHEN: THURSDAY JANUARY 14TH @ 2PM TO 5PM CENTRAL TIME

WHERE: Join us in the THE CHILD EMPRESS chat room. You'll find the link to our chats in the CHAT tab when it's time to play.

HOW: This is a ACTION SETTING WITH IMPROVISATIONAL GAME MASTERING. That means the object of this roleplay is to interact with other characters, and from those interactions I will create a plot and story around you. There will be action moments, where strange events will happen and your characters will have to work together to resolve it. With this ChaRP "lol random" behaviors are discouraged -- what your character says and does will have in game consequences, so choose wisely!

My roleplays are always NEWBIE FRIENDLY so even if you are terrible at roleplay or have never participated in a ChaRP before, this will be easy for you to get involved in. :D Ask questions, let me know when you need help. I often give tips and direction out of character in the main chat room when people need a little direction.

EASY CHARP TIPS!

Try to show up a good 10 to 15 minutes before the ChaRP is to begin. That way you can read up on any important info, and it makes it easier for your GM to know how to start off the ChaRP when there's a head count.

Don't worry if another player is doing something similar to your idea. DO IT ANYWAY! Similarities and things in common happen in real life too. Everyone also plays differently, so two characters who are both "sweet and shy" will still end up being totally unique people. Two assassins could create a fun and interesting conflict!

Talking to other players about their character before the roleplay is a GREAT way to create connections and background for your own!

Post SHORT AND FAST. Charps are very quick pace and contain a LOT of players. Players can't wait 20 minutes for you to write a wall of text, and if there's too much text they won't be able to read it fast enough and will MISS details. If it takes you longer than two minutes to type your post, you are taking too long and might get lost in the action. This is an exercise in quick and concise writing!

Make sure your character name is mentioned in every post, close to the start of it if possible. This is especially helpful when there's many players, so we know who is playing what character.

Like in Real Life, a character may not be able to acknowledge or notice your character immediately because they are engaged in doing something else. (For example a new character walking in to the room, but the other characters arguing about muffins and do not see them.) Don't get discouraged if you go can't get someone to interact with you right away. Just keep posting and doing actions with your character, or even approach others who also seem to be idle and it WILL happen.

Do not take events in the roleplay personally or assume that bad reactions are because they think you/your character sucks. Everyone is playing a character and reacting to things as their character would!

 

[Zarko Straadi]

Name: Mei-ling Yin

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Appearance:

Mei-ling is lovely and delicate. Her beauty is unusual and exotic in Vundergren. She has long black hair, dark brown eyes, and a porcelain complexion. She wears her hair in elaborate styles, and wears shimmering embroidered silk gowns. When acting in her official capacity, she wears a jade pendant intricately carved to bear the Airship-and-Sun of the Jade Temple, a temple arcology to the south of Vundergren.

Magic: Life (healing and phantasm conjuration/illusion)

Personality:

Curious and adventurous, with a childlike sense of wonder. She is a bit too innocent--perhaps even naive--for the situation she has been thrust into. As a practitioner of the healing arts, Mei-ling is ethically forbidden to kill or maim. She can use her magic and martial-arts skills to stun, paralyze, knock unconscious, hypnotize, or generate convincing illusions (including the illusion of pain and injury) in self-defense. Despite her bright, upbeat attitude, she is beginning to feel hopelessly out of her depth as Vundergren's troubles worsen.

Bio:

Mei-ling is the Jade Temple's ambassador to the royal court of Vundergren. The Jade Temple has had a close, friendly relationship with Vundergren and the signatory nations of the United Peace Treaty for generations. Because of this, Vundergren became an "easy" assignment for new members of the Temple's diplomatic corps. Mei-ling was sent to Vundergren to develop experience as a diplomat and take advantage of Vundergren's great royal library. On her way to Vundergren for the great Royal Parade, her ship was delayed, and she arrived late. This would have been a terrible faux pas, save for the fact that the city was in chaos, and she found herself among a small party of heroes fighting to protect the Child Empress from assassins.

The Jade Temple:

The Jade Temple is a great temple complex located on an island in the Maethys Sea (an ocean to the south), just offshore. A monumental causeway connects the island to the mainland. Every citizen of the Temple is also a priest or priestess, trained in one of the many "Paths" available (Healer, Defender, Scholar, Wind Dancer/Pilot, Biomancer, etc.).

Little is known (to outsiders) about the spirituality of the Jade Temple. Though it does send young priests and priestesses out on "quests" to develop their magical talents and grow spiritually while helping others, establishes hospitals, orphanages, and shelters for the poor and dispossessed, the Temple does not actively try to convert others to its world-view. Instead, one must pass through a difficult period of training as an Initiate before one can become an Adept, a full member of the Temple able to participate in its governance.

 

[Loveless]

Name: Catherine (no last name. Goes by Mountbatten when one is needed)
Age: 17

Appearance:

Full Image

Race: Werecat
Hobbies: Cooking and finger painting
Likes: History, art, sports, learning, sightseeing and naps
Dislikes: Bullies, unneeded violence and nonsensical rambling

Personality: Catherine is a carefree, easily amused person. Being one to discover the Monster world only later in her life, Cath is oblivious to most rules and knowledge other supernatural creatures might have. She doesn't know most types of creatures, especially the who to trust and who to not trust and all those things. Learning about something new will make her go "Ohhh" for a long time and awaken her cat-like curiosity to know more about this new, wonderful thing she just discovered. Beware a barrage of questions.

When given a problem, she'll often take the first solution her head can think of and try it out without thinking twice, which, often ends up bad for her and any other parties involved... If someone is in danger, it doesn't take her long to make her move and go stand right in the middle, attempting to protect the weakest side.
She doesn't get bullying, Catherine just cannot see a reason why someone would choose to hurt another person, it's not like they win anything by doing this, right?

After living with humans for so long, Catherine has become quite the empathic person and simply doesn't want to see anyone sad or hurt.
Since she's a lesser werecat because she turns into a domestic cat, other werecats may ignore and deny her existence, or even lash out and bully her, but she won't mind about it at all, she's grown used to it by now.

Backstory: The werecat got separated from her original village when she was little and doesn't actually know what happened to any of them.

For some unknown reason, at the age of 3 the girl had crossed into the human world and unable to control her powers spent some years stuck as a common cat. A human family took her out of the streets, adopted her and gave her the name Catherine. They treated her like family and even got her a collar (it was a dog-collar actually).

For quite a time Catherine had really thought she was just a cat and was glad to have a family that cared about her and 3 lovely human siblings, but the other cats, however, would not interact with her normally, it was almost as if they were terrified of her. Now she knows it was because they felt she was, in fact, a supernatural creature, but at the time she had thought the other cats simply didn't like her and would often exclude her from the group.

The girl only came to know the truth when she was 10 and another magical creature crossed her path. Once in her exploring through the town, Catherine met a strange-looking man and stood there, wondering all kinds of things about that weird figure in front of her. The man, however, had telepathy and as soon as he heard his thoughts he knew it wasn't a normal cat looking at him and so he decided to test her. He lured her closer with cat snacks, always keeping it out of the kitten's reach to her frustration. 'If you had hands perhaps you could take these from me.", it's what he had said, and with those words in mind, the cat lept at him. Then she realized she did have hands.

Catherine, no longer a kitten but a 10-year-old child, instantly panicked, and the strange man soon calmed her down and to the best of his ability, explained the situation to her. Dumb-folded, the girl wanted to let her family know of her discovery, but got told she couldn't and actually had to leave the human world, for this was not her place. Taking only the collar she had been given, the girl followed the man back to the monster world and was put into a type of orphanage/school. There, she came to learn about supernatural creatures and even meet other werebeasts like her. Now she's a sort of freelance adventurer, exploring the world and slaying evil beasts on the go.

Powers/abilities:

-> Shape-shifting (Human, cat, in-between [aka: Anthro])
-> Superhuman Strength, Speed, Durability, Dexterity, Reflexes, Senses (You know, cat)
-> Healing Factor (Can't restore missed limbs tho)
-> Claws and Fangs

Other: Before the strange man left, he gave Catherine a magic sword that talks to her via telepathy, named Avell.

Avell is like a portable teacher, he'll often teach Catherine facts about the supernatural world and helped her deal with her abilities when she barely knew what she was capable of. However, Avell is very full of himself and may come up as annoying when he starts bragging or criticising Catherine's behavior. The girl, of course, will often argue back with it. Her backpack has a built-in sheath for him. Avell can telepathically communicate with Catherine due to a contractual-bond they have (as long as she's in range). Problem is, Cath can't respond telepathically back and has to actually talk with him to reply. Due to Catherine's laughable amount of mana the spells available are all low-level, one of each element (Flames, Sprinkle, Whirlwind, Earthquake) and a sound-propulsion (Sonic-Boom) she often uses for enhanced jumps.

 

[Diana]

This is todaaaay in two hours!

 

[Zarko Straadi]

LOGS!

• 
  Diana:
  WELCOME TO THE CHILD EMPRESS CHARP!
  
  
  Today at 12:31 PM

• 
  Diana:
  This is a high fantasy setting where the characters will be working together to sneak into a creepy citadel to rescue the child empress. Will they succeed?
  
  
  Today at 12:31 PM

• 
  Diana:
  IMPORTANT! Charps are fast paced and in real time, so TYPE FAST BRIEF BRIEF. Keep posts to 10 sentences or less. Too much text and people will miss details. Take too long to post, and you miss action.
  
  
  Today at 12:33 PM

• 
  Diana:
  HOT TIP! Put your character name in the first sentence of your post. You can make use of bbcode to differentiate your posts from others!
  
  
  Today at 12:33 PM

• 
  Diana:
  Game Master posts appear in this bright bold yellow. Pay attention to those because they are helping guide the story and giving you hints on what to do next.
  
  
  Today at 12:34 PM

• 
  Diana:
  My roleplays are always NEWBIE FRIENDLY. Don't worry about typos or mistakes. If you get confused and need a little help, I am always in the main chat to answer questions!
  
  
  Today at 12:34 PM

• 
  Diana:
  (◉,◉) (◉◇◉) (⊙,◉) (⊙◇◉)
  
  
  Today at 12:35 PM

• 
  Diana:
  In the close distance a dark citadel was built into the side of a craggy mountain. Torches of deep purple flames were strategically placed around points that were surely guarded by cultists in heavy black armor. A moat of putrid green water that bubbled suspiciously surrounded the outer walls of the stone monolith. Our party of heroes are huddled under the cover of the forest, thinking of the best way to sneak inside and rescue the child empress.
  
  
  Today at 12:58 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Mei-Ling looked worriedly at the dark fortress. It looked to her untrained eyes like the sort of place that would require an entire army to besiege. And she only had a tiny party of adventurers! I'm a diplomat, not a soldier! she thought. "I...could try to cast illusions over us, to make us look like a troop of reinforcements," she said, "but I do not know what kind of magical defenses they would have, or how we would need to act in order to be convincing..."
  
  
  Today at 1:09 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  Catherine had momentarily frozen in place at the income of highly unpleasant smells to her enhanced senses, moving with the party a bit curled up on herself in clear discomfort. It was at these times that she wished Avell had anything like force fields, so she could put one around her head like a helmet or something... If it is that it worked like that. Of course, she didn't say it out loud, convinced that her partner would find a way to turn the statement on her and her lack of mana instead. He always did that. "W-well...", it was such an effort to pay attention to anything else arrrgh!, "They were using electricity last time, right? So, maaaaybe sprinkling so water on them would cause them to shock themselves instead??"
  
  
  Today at 1:16 PM
• 
  Diana:
  Next to the two was a very tall orc in very big, but very rusty armor. He was an adventurer by the name of Beere Bitterale that picked up a reward flyer and was definitely onboard this rescue just for the gold. "Beere will just run up and smash some skulls! Won't know what hit them!" he suggested, holding up an obscenely huge mace.
  
  
  Today at 1:18 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  "I feel like that is very easy to counter when it comes to magic...", Catherine commented more to herself than anything. In her mind, Avell agreed vehemently going on a rant and listing several spells that would make the job in a matter of seconds.
  
  
  Today at 1:22 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Mei-Ling bit her lip. Catherine's idea sounded even worse than hers (but then, what did she know?), and furthermore, she had no way to conjure water, and no intention of going near that horrid stuff in the moat, if she could avoid it. As for the big orc's "plan," that could be countered by a portcullis and some boiling oil or arrows coming down from the walls.
  
  
  Today at 1:23 PM
• 
  Diana:
  Beere looked like he had something clever to say by the arch of his eyebrow, but all that came out was a heavy snort and the muttering under his breath about magic pansies. "Beere is the biggest, so Beere leads the pack!" he stated firmly, beating his fist to his chest. "We trudge through the moat, climb up the stone, and smash in through a window, then smash skulls!"
  
  
  Today at 1:26 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "They could have an entire army in there for all we know," Mei-Ling said softly. "We will need to be able to sneak inside to rescue the Empress..."
  
  
  Today at 1:26 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "We do not know what is in that moat, or if the water is poisonous," she said to Beere, hoping to persuade him against just charging the castle. For one thing, he might be able to scale a castle wall bare-handed, but that wasn't exactly part of the training for the Jade Temple's diplomatic corps!
  
  
  Today at 1:31 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  "We're going to die...", is what both Catherine and Avell thought to themselves hearing the Orc's attitude, though Avell being a sword his was less a concern with himself and more of a concern with Cathy... And eventually finding a new contractor as well-intentioned as the werecat. Cathy watched Mei-Ling trying to convince Beere of otherwise, hoping that he listened to them as she commented, "...I think I could jump that far...", while looking at the top of the wall.
  
  
  Today at 1:33 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "I will cast illusions for us," she said. "It will be much easier if we can get them to let us in. Please act grim and serious, and do not talk," she said, then began making gestures to create illusory cultist robes for them. Thankfully she remembered the symbol on the back of the robes of the sorcerers who attacked them...but she wasn't a hundred percent sure she hadn't forgot some other detail. Had there been fringe, or piping?
  
  
  Today at 1:36 PM
• 
  Diana:
  "Your little twinkle toes take too long to think," grumbled Beere the orc. That should've been a warning sign to the others, but who was to know the hulking giant meant that as a battlecry? "YA-" he cut himself off as soon as Mei asked for quiet. Then he looked quite perplexed down at himself and the others. He still had his mace over his head and looked ready to charge, but he seemed to catch on to the woman's plan quick enough to not do anything crazy.
  
  
  Today at 1:38 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  With only a nod in response to Mei-ling, Catherine was quick to do as told and stop talking, though the same couldn't be said for her mind as a certain somebody decided to ramble plan after plan at the wrong time. Not that she could do anything about it. At least Beere also went quiet, prompting the girl to sigh relieved internally. As the party moved on, she wondered if it wouldn't have been better to take her boots off, so that there would be no footstep sounds. Oh well, too late now.
  
  
  Today at 1:42 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Mei-Ling strained to concentrate as she completed her spell. To her relief, the big orc thought better of the scream-and-charge method at the last second. "Come on," she said, trying her best to act like the leader of a cultist scouting party.
  
  
  Today at 1:52 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Reaching the road before the front gate, Mei-Ling called up to the guards above the drawbridge. "Let us in! The traitor And has went to Vundergren and gathered an army! They will be upon us any moment!" Hopefully, if the cultists were preparing for a siege, they would not be watching her little party of "scouts" too closely...
  
  
  Today at 1:59 PM
• 
  Diana:
  Beere Bitterale the Orc was doing his best to look as cultisty and non-interesting as possible. He might have even come close to pulling it off had he been wearing the black armor of the big guards, but in cult robes... he looked disgruntled and suspicious. "OYE BEERE MUST START HIS SHIFT ON THE TOWERS. OPEN UP ALREADY." He growled out, somehow covering his own ass.
  
  
  Today at 2:02 PM
• 
  Diana:
  The ones guiding the gate didn't seem too impressed with this little party, in fact they seemed to be smarter than the average gate guard. "Looking for a wee child, are you?" One woman cackled. "Thought you'd come in right through the front door with some moron orc and whatever that thing is," a hand gestured down at Catherine. "Don't worry, though. That traitor And will meet his end soon enough..."
  
  
  Today at 2:05 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Oh noooooooo, Mei-Ling thought. What could she do, but keep trying? "We've already captured the child, you fool!" she called back. "If you have not noticed, we do not have legions at our command! Orcs and werecats are good fighters, and we need all the fighters we can get! Now let us in!"
  
  
  Today at 2:10 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  Catherine remained silent to not say anything stupid and had been about to go along some of Avell's ideas when the guard seemed to see through their attempts and insult her. Then she had enough, this wasn't the first time that people spoke to her or literally any other half-beasts like that, but oh my god did it grind her gears!! "That thing has a name just like all of you bastards!", her tail, now in sight, flickered like crazy under Mei-ling's illusion, "Now get down here so I can stab your face in or I'm getting over there on a single jump!!"
  
  
  Today at 2:11 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "You can do that?" Mei-Ling asked Catherine in a whisper. "Do you think you could take the guards up there and lower the drawbridge if they don't let us in?"
  
  
  Today at 2:15 PM
• 
  Diana:
  "Oh look, the little cat thing is mad!" chortled the robed woman. He companion also broke into laughter. "The bottom ranks are so gullible." They continued to laugh so hard one of them almost started crying, until finally the woman leaned over the edge and managed to speak again without choking. "Alright then, what's the pass phrase. Fail to answer and you'll be showering in boiled blood."
  
  
  Today at 2:16 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Curses! Mei-Ling thought. Straining to hold her concentration, she surreptitiously made gestures with a hand she blocked from the guards' sight with her body. "The password is--" From somewhere in the forest, a conjured image of Paul the renegade chicken fluttered up to the crenellations, clucking and squawking, then turned her butt toward the guards, and took a massive dump on the catwalk.
  
  
  Today at 2:23 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  "I might need Avell's help, but it's definitely doable.", Catherine had nodded with confidence as she whispered back at the other, the woman's teasing making her blood boil with rage at the racist remarks, "Oh, just give me a sign, and I'll handle it." There was no better sign than the opening prompted by some kind of chicken, Cathy lowering herself to the ground as soon as the commotion was in place, unsheathing Avell from her backpack and pointing the sword's gemstone directly at the ground, prepared for the leap. "SONIC-BOOM!!" A massive shockwave erupted from the blade leaving a crater on the surface bellow and enhancing the werecat's already naturally enhanced leap into epic proportions, making a parable even higher than the drawbridge's walls. "WHIRLWIND!" Bringing her sword in a C motion while in the air, the gemstone flashed green and a furious spiralling wind now threatened to knock the guards off of their feet, hopefully down the wall, that'd be sweet Karma.
  
  
  Today at 2:32 PM
• 
  Diana:
  A huge kerfuffle broke out! First, the chicken had the cultist guards screaming and cursing (because FUCK that guy and his chicken). The surprise attack from the dumb cat had them hitting the ground down behind the wall with a sickening bone crunching THUD. Beere Bitterale the Orc took this as his sign to do what he did best, SMASH THINGS, and so with surprisingly agility he leapt across the moat (half landing in it's putrid waters) then started beating his mace against the wood of the draw bridge until a hole big enough for the three of them had emerged. ...of course, now the entire citadel was awake and active...
  
  
  Today at 2:46 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "Scream and charge it is..." Mei-Ling muttered to herself, her concentration shattered completely by Catherine's rather astounding feat. Mei-Ling ran back a few steps, then turned and ran toward the moat, pole-vaulting of the end of the jetty with her jade staff. As she flew across the moat, she twirled the staff in her hands, stuck it down into the suspicious water to support her weight as she flipped the rest of the way to the drawbridge, where she squeezed through the hole the mighty orc had made. Once they were inside, she cast an illusion of mist, and re-conjured their cultist robes. "We have to get lost in the confusion," she said. While her party members were formidable indeed (rather more so than Mei-Ling herself), who knew what kind of warriors the cultists had?
  
  
  Today at 2:54 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  Landing on top of the wall at the end of her trajectory, Catherine had changed forms, now an anthropomorphic brown cat hybrid about half a feet taller than the weirdly tall teen from before, because freaky genetics. She felt absolutely no mercy for the cultists that had apparently cracked their heads on their ground, there was no mercy for bad people that kidnapped kids and were openly racist. If anything she felt extremely vindicated at the result. Ears rotated back in a clear display of aggression, the werecat held Avell in front of her ready to receive an incoming attack, her tail swishing furiously behind her and gaze locked on the door. Any time now... someone had to come and see what was up with the drawbridge guards.
  
  
  Today at 2:55 PM
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Mei-Ling might have tried to cast an illusion of black armor for Beere, but she hadn't gotten a very good look at the guards' armor, and furthermore, she was not an expert on armor; there were all manner of plates and straps and buckles, not to mention the sounds armor made in movement; the robes were hard enough to pull off.
  
  
  Today at 2:56 PM
• 
  Diana:
  Catherine was not wrong, for quite a few armed cultists had ran out from their positions inside the citadel to the main courtyard in order to confront the party - but thanks to Mei-ling's illusions, the mist had created a white wall of confusion. Torches and magic spells were swung through the mist, but the cultists could not seem to tell each other apart from the disguised party. There was a chance to get inside!
  
  
  Today at 2:58 PM
• 
  Loveless:
  Catherine did consider just mowing through the confused cultists in the mist, jumping here and that way to avoid wildly thrown magic but, Avell had a better idea. Waiting for an opening on the shooting of spells, Cathy lowered herself again, and with her tail extended behind her for balance took an impressive leap over the cloud of mist and all of the lost cultists before they started throwing more magic around. At this point they might be just hurting themselves in there. With the door now right by her, the werecat exited the walkway into the actual building with silent steps hoping to reunite with the rest of the party eventually.
  
  
  Today at 3:03 PM
• 
  Diana:
  Meanwhile Beere the Orc was having a grand old time swinging his mighty big mace and smashing in the skulls of everything it came in contact with. He clearly did not have a plan (and seemed to forget this was a rescue mission with a reward) and was perfectly find with remaining the distraction as the others snuck inside.
  
  
  57 minutes ago
• 
  trijan:
  suddenly Cathine falls over; the body of a well armoured knight? guard? slaming intoher. she would look up to see a drunk demon girl
  
  
  56 minutes ago
• 
  The Mood is Write:
  "I hope I'm not too late," And muttered quietly from within the citadel. He'd gone home to his farm for some 'help', and the long journey was shortened by an undead horse who didn't go back to rest, by her own choice after. Something about Shadowmere? He didn't quite catch it, but for now, he assumed she had something to do. He held And tight against his side to keep her quiet as he crept through in silence, his disguise being among his belongings from home. These cultists who could disrupt his necromancy were in for a nasty surprise. He just needed to meet up with the rest as planned and find that poor child.
  
  
  56 minutes ago
• 
  trijan:
  the slightly disoriented demon would rise to help Cathrine up-'oh, im sorry, and you are?
  
  
  53 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  The problem with creating a fog of war was that it affected one's own side as much as the enemy. It didn't stop Beere from being a one-orc wrecking crew though, but Catherine vanished into the mist. Mei-Ling slipped through the melee, shouting "The gate is breached! Hold the line!" at the occasional cultist who ran into her. Finally, she made it through, and found Catherine with a rather imposing demon-knight. Whose side were they on?
  
  
  50 minutes ago
• 
  Loveless:
  Knocked out of her hind legs suddenly, Catherine falls over on her tail trying not to howl out in pain but very clearly hurting and internally crying for it by the shakiness on her voice. Avell clangs on the ground and makes a mental complaint about it. "C-Catheri...ne...", the tone was something very short of a whimper as she pulled her poor tail carefully from under her and only then taking the other person's hand, having to take support with her free one lest she ended up pulling the other down with her instead. "Where did you even come from...?"
  
  
  49 minutes ago
• 
  trijan:
  m-me? i used to be a local up until recently
  
  
  47 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  The inside of the citadel was strangely quiet compared to the chaos outside. But footsteps could be heard pounding down the stone hallway near Catherine, Mei-ling and the new, strange drunk demon girl.
  
  
  45 minutes ago
• 
  Loveless:
  Catherine tilted her head in confusion, her cat ears dropping and raising together with the movement. She had no idea of what that meant. The moment had to be interrupted however as she picked up the sound of footsteps probably a bit earlier than most, one ear twitching at the income of the new sound. As such, she had quickly flipped around the demon-knight and picked Avell back up (who hadn't stopped complaining until now), once more raising it in front of her and waiting for an attack.
  
  
  43 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Mei-Ling quickly looked Catherine over. She couldn't see any blood, but it looked like the were-cat had a grimace of pain. "Catherine, are you alright?" Hearing the approaching sound, she raised her staff to a guard position, holding back from casting more illusions to save chi for healing.
  
  
  42 minutes ago
• 
  The Mood is Write:
  And, further inside, listened for them to come. In the quiet, he hoped to hear them fairly well with all this stone around, though finding them might be hard with echoes and the like. Still, he finally put Paul down. "Help me find the little girl," he urged. "Be quiet about it, unless she's in danger." He put a jeweled bracelet around Paul's neck, then shifted her feathers to cover it before he patted her rump and watched her go deeper into the citadel.
  
  
  41 minutes ago
• 
  trijan:
  kanoxi would follow thinking to herself just who in the village did she fall on and why where they so astounded by her?
  
  
  37 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  Paul the chicken, in all her stupidity, was at least fantastic hunter. Her little chicken claws scratched along the stone floors as she search and flapped through the citadel hunting down where the child empress was being imprisoned. ...but the tiny room she stopped at had no child. Just the clothing that had been given to her before as a disguise. --- Meanwhile Cathy, Mei and Kanoxi soon found themselves face to face with a trio of lightning cultists. And they did not wait for introductions before shooting their lightning!
  
  
  31 minutes ago
• 
  trijan:
  (kanoxi would angrily begin to say something before vommiting on one of them )-i thi-bleeeeeeeeeeh
  
  
  28 minutes ago
• 
  The Mood is Write:
  And followed her in a short time later. She was faster than him, after all. On finding the clothes, he frowned and knelt to inspect them and the energies in the room. "Keep looking, Paul. Find where they took her," he urged. The chicken hurried off as he hurried with his inspection.
  
  
  27 minutes ago
• 
  Loveless:
  Catherine quickly ducked out of the way of the lighting bolts, adrenaline helping it soothe her poor aching tail, and went for a lowered approach in the form of a 4-limbed hop closing in the distance between her and the cultists once more pulling Avell out, the gemstone pointed at them. "SPRINKLE!", she chanted the spell while making a cut in the air left to right. With the gem shining a light blue, something equivalent to a hose's flow had erupted from the blade, following the motion and coating the trio of cultists in water. She wanted to see them try their lightning tricks now!
  
  
  24 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Mei-Ling sprang for the wall, hoping to kick off and attack from an unexpected angle while dodging the lightning bolt that came at her. The lightning arced toward her, striking her with a glancing blow that sent her tumbling to the floor, moaning in pain.
  
  
  24 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  Paul the chicken skuttled over to a dresser. Behind it seemed to be just a normal wall, but on a closer look, And could see Paul's feathers jostled by a draft. There was a secret passage! Just inside there were a child's footprints in the dust, along with two other sets of adult prints. Had someone else gotten to the child first?
  
  
  21 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  THE CULTIST IN HALL, however... Kanoxi's vomit threw one off their game enough for Chatherine's water to capture them - but not without Mei-ling being hit. As the cultists struggled to magick their way out of their watery grave, a mighty big hand slapped Kanozi on the back. "GOOD SHOW OLD GIRL!" Bellowed Beere the Orc. If he was inside now, that meant a bunch more cultists were soon to follow.
  
  
  21 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Physician...heal thyself... Mei-Ling thought, taking a deep breath and guiding her chi through her body's energy meridians to heal most of the burn damage and restore the function of her jolted nerves. She pulled herself to her feet. "Beere...I am glad you are unhurt! We have to find her quickly..." I wish And was here! He's the only one who knows anything about these people, or where they might be keeping the Empress!
  
  
  19 minutes ago
• 
  Loveless:
  Uh-oh, this was bad! Avell was shouting ideas in Catherine's mind, useful ideas as long as they still had a way further inside from their side of the corridor as well. She glanced around quickly trying to see if that was the case or if they had to find a way across the sea of cultist whose footsteps were already approaching far in the distance.
  
  
  17 minutes ago
• 
  trijan:
  (kanoxi)-who the *belches acid* are you?! (she said trying not to be rude, the hangover kicking in)
  
  
  17 minutes ago

• 
  The Mood is Write:
  "Good girl," And praised as he looked up to her cluck, then entered the secret passage. "Find the others. Bring them to me. The jewels on your neck will help me know where you are at all times." He urged as he moved forward and prepared a wand.
  
  
  17 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  Finding the others is exactly what Paul did. Of course, when a flapping squawking chicken showed up crowing and kicking off a storm, those that had never met the chicken were confused. In fact Beere the Orc grabbed the chicken and was just about to stuff it in his mouth...
  
  
  15 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "Beere, no!" Mei-Ling cried. "That's Paul! Let her go!" Oh thank goodness!
  
  
  14 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  Reluctantly, Beere let go of the chicken. He did give it a real confused side-eye, though.
  
  
  12 minutes ago
• 
  Loveless:
  Catherine focus on the duo's plan had all been lost the moment flaps of wings had reached them from the back, glancing to see what that was about. The werecat had been similarly confused about the chicken, unsure of where it had come from or who its owner was, only really understanding something else was afoot when Mei-ling had stopped it from becoming the orc's meal. Avell though already knew there was something more, but let his protegeé figure it out at her pace. "Oh wait! Is the chicken also a party member??"
  
  
  9 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  Once the chicken was on it's feet again, it ran ran ran down the maze of halls to the hidden passage And had already stepped through. With more cultists closing in, going through the passage was now the only way out.
  
  
  7 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "Yes," Mei-Ling said, "That's Paul, And's chicken. And will know where the Empress is. We need to follow her!
  
  
  7 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  "Come on!" she said, hurrying after the chicken.
  
  
  7 minutes ago
• 
  trijan:
  (kanoxi)-if this is what i need to do to get back to my house, fine
  
  
  6 minutes ago
• 
  Zarko Straadi:
  Though And's necromancy was rather disturbing to her, Mei-Ling would be quite grateful to turn over leadership of the mission to him, since her own efforts in that direction had not exactly panned out brilliantly.
  
  
  5 minutes ago
• 
  Loveless:
  With the order to follow the chicken, Catherine had promptly sheathed Avell back on the build-in sheath on her backpack and started following after Mei-ling who was following after Paul. This was a huge relief since having to chain in another spell in so little time would have made it her last unless she wanted to get really exhausted in the process.
  
  
  4 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  Beere was the last one through the passage, because he was so huge. His broad shoulders and mega armor made it a very tight squeeze. On the bright side, his big body was going to block anyone from trying to follow, should they discover the passage.
  
  
  3 minutes ago
• 
  Diana:
  And thus our party caught up to And inside the secret passage and they followed the trail of dusty footprints out of the citadel and into the very mountainside of which the citadel was built. Before long they found themselves in a maze of caves, but no immediate sight of the child empress. The cultists (as far as they could tell) had not discovered the secret passage to follow... THE END, FOR NOW. TUNE IN NEXT TIME FOR THE CONTINUED SEARCH FOR THE CHILD EMPRESS.