Strife

[TheQueensGuard]

Logan Russo
Stoneview
Mentioned: @ItariChan @The Wanderer @StareNation @Sketching101 @Annyeong Bunny @Snowflake

"She...she didn't make it. She distracted the mana starved so we could get away. I found her bag but I didn't find a body. I don't know what happened to her." Logan glanced down towards the ground and scratched the side of his beard. "Well maybe she gotta' way." He didn't know her well, plus they got off on the wrong foot, but it was someone else to watch their back.

Logan kept his eyes forward as the group moved down the road. Mostly just so he could see if they were about to run into any threats, but also so he didn't have to face his daughter. When the howls began, Logan glanced up at the roof tops. Pox trolls weren't a good sign. If they were lucky, the troll would kill the dragon and the scavengers would feed from it's corpse. If they weren't, they'd already be on their scent.
"Anyone got pain killers or something at least?"
Nissa asked, before the howl interrupted her. They sounded closer, which wasn't a good sign.
"Doc might have some. Maybe the new girl does. If not I got some booze."

Before either her or the doctor could answer, the howl echoed right in front of them. A greenish-black creature, roughly the size of an ape, landed on an overhead highway sign. It's eyes were a ghostly white, staring directly at the group. It cocked its head and emitted a low growl. It began howling loudly once again, pounding on the metal sign to make more noise."Stay close ever-" He started to say, before being cut off by Aster "RUN!"
"God damn it!" Aiming his gun, Logan fired and struck the pox trolls shoulder as Aster ran down the alleyway.
​

Aster Russo
Stoneview

"You know, you could've at least given me a heads up!"
Aster whispered sharply into Ghosts ear before the howling began. "Those are what was hunting me and my friends." She murmured to herself, recognizing the sound. She stayed silent, in hopes that it would make a difference that the creatures wouldn't find her again. It didn't seem to work, as one of the creatures landed on a road sign right in front of them. She froze, looking for a way out. She saw Logan reach towards his gun, and thought back to when her group had tried to fight those things. Fighting was useless, they had to get out of there.
"RUN!"
Darting down an adjacent alleyway towards a side door of some building, she used her telekinesis to pull the door open.​

 

[Sketching101]

Lyra Rosewald​

A few moments after Lyra asked Nomad if she could borrow his mask, he made a signal at her that she thought was a rude gesture at first, before he hastened his pace as if to get away from her. Her brows furrowed as she fumbled to gather a string of insulting words to hurl at the man. Before she could put together something remotely coherent, he came back with the mask in hand, his face now obscured by some cloth and a pair of goggles. The enraged look vanished the moment the mask touched her hands. "Oh. I thought… Right. Thanks," she said, pressing her palm hard on her forehead in frustration. She slowly brought the mask up to her head, and struggled to fit it on. Once she had it on, she turned to Nomad again. He seemed to be making more rude gestures. Not wanting to make the same mistake, Lyra gave a thumbs-up and said "Hhhhhhks."

As she recoiled at the bizarre sound that escaped through the filters of the mask, the woman from Providence broke off into a sprint down an alley. Lyra looked up at where Logan's gun fired, then quickly scoured the area for Mona. "HHHNA," she yelled, pulling out her knife and making her way to her friend's side with a sprint. She reached out to grab her friend's hand. "HHHHOUHHHHEE," she articulated.

Mentions/Relevant :@ItariChan @TheQueensGuard @StareNation @Snowflake @Annyeong Bunny @The Wanderer

 

[The Wanderer]

Nomad

The fact that the gas-mask seem to fit almost perfectly on Lyra's face made Nomad a bit less on edge. Although his gestures seemed to be interpreted as something else as Lyra said something that might have sounded like "Thanks" but through the filter came out muffled and garbled. He was about to fall back to Mona and whisper to her to tell her friend that the filter was best taken off so the muffled garbled voice would be less of a problem.

But then the howling again resonated through the streets as the one of the creatures that was the source dropped down in front of them. Then as the beast began howling and making a terrible racket, Logan shot the thing down, but the beast still lived and the howling started coming from different directions.

Tugging on Logan's shoulder, he'd gesture to run with the others. Before going to back up Mona and Lyra as the two didn't have a firearm to fend off the beasts, not to say they were defenseless, but getting up close and personal with the Pox Trolls was less than advised. As he could vaguely remember that they carried all sorts of diseases and such.

His heart thumping like mad, he unsling the rifle from his back while getting the revolver out with the bag of ammo for said revolver. Just a measly eight, not great but at least one of the two could have something long ranged. He'd give the revolver and small baggie of ammo to Mona to do with as she pleased, before raising his rifle to fire off a round into the beast that Logan had shot, the crack of the rifle damn near busted his ears as the bullet impacted the beast in the chest, turning the howls into a rather nasty sounding gurgle that made Nomad want to vomit, and despite the beast being horrific, he didn't really intend to possibly damn it to a slow and painful death.

He'd follow Lyra and Mona, firing off shots at any beast that dared try to go after them. And also assist the others as they made their way down the alleyway and into the abandoned building.

@Snowflake @Sketching101 @TheQueensGuard @Annyeong Bunny @ItariChan @StareNation

 

[Itari]

Emrin had been walking distractedly, thinking of home and getting a new book from Lyra's when the pox troll landed in front of them. She cried out in surprise and nearly fell over. After recovering, she hurried after Aster down the alleyway and summoned her owl. As they ran down the alley, her owl slowed the trolls down by clawing at them with his talons. I'm so stupid. She thought to herself. She should have known better. They weren't home yet, after all. Emrin as the last one in the building. She quickly shut the door behind her, her owl swooping in at the last second.

"It's just one thing after another," Emrin said tiredly. They'd never get home at this rate. She was glad Lauren had left her with weapons. She pulled out the handgun and loaded it with the last of the bullets, 8 total. It occurred to her that maybe going into a building like this wasn't the best idea. They would be in trouble of the pox trolls surrounded them. "So... anyone have any ideas?"

 

[StareNation]

Pox trolls hadn't been unexpected when Gosmox had appeared although the fact that they were more focused on the group than the troll and dragon was a worry. Nissa had no time to continue in her quest for pain relief, instead watching the pox troll as Aster took off and most of the group followed in a hurry. Keeping half a gaze on the trolls as they began to pursue, Nissa stooped and took a hold of fur upon Whistlers shoulders as the dog stood beside her. The two turned to follow the rest but Nissa knew that keeping up was getting harder and it would be far easier to give the group some lead time to get well away. Knowing they were in close proximity would mean that Nissa could trail and catch up further ahead through tracking them. There wasn't time to let Logan know her idea and instead she split from the group as they darted down an alley way, instead holding firmly to Whistler and asking her companion to 'lead'.

Whistler continued in the other direction as Nissa held onto his fur, slowing as she asked whilst Nissa manoeuvred herself to keep her hold on his fur and walk backwards. The trolls had divided in their pursuit and as Nissa watched four grow closer she drew in a long breath. There was no way in hell she would have done what she did next had any of the others remained with her, worried that someone seeing her abilities would only lead to more harm than good. Her voice was strong as she began to speak in a tongue not often heard, the surface of her eyes swirling darker until they glistened an onyx colour. Whistler had begun to whine softly as he guided Nissa as she chanted, the pursuing trolls seeming to become disorientated as the tone of Nissa's voice distorted. To the naked eye there was nothing untoward with the pox trolls other than the fact that they were typical boil covered beasts but soon enough each troll had begun to direct their attention to one of their own, letting out hellish screams as they began to turn their attacks on one another as Nissa cast a psychic attack, conjuring images of each of the trolls appearing to be a threat to one another. As she made her attack she tried to keep a strong hold on Whistler as the dog guided her through the streets, the glaze of her eyes rendering her temporarily blinded as she cast the dark magic. Leading away from the building where the group had escaped to, Nissa assisted to create enough havoc between the pox trolls to create a distraction.

 

[Annyeong Bunny]

Fayne Santilon

As she walked, isolated from the group conversing ahead of her, the tall woman pulled her bow from her back and cocked an arrow. Being sure to only touch the wood of her bow with her gloved hand, she used the other to hold the arrow loosely, keeping it pointed at the ground to keep the others from thinking she may be a threat. The howl from before only made her more anxious as the familiarity of it crossed her mind. Fayne had been on the road for a long time, moving without a group.

So, her instincts were usually spot-on when she felt danger around; in fact, she always trusted it.

The woman kept her gaze at the side of the group, watching their blind-spots and staying quiet. Thankfully, nobody from the group moved to talk to her, as she was deep in survival mode. As they walked, her mask slowly began to morph into that of a leopard. Using the reflection from her arrow, Fayne looked at the shape of the mask and raised an eyebrow. The dark silver metal reflected the sun and stared back at her, making her even more cautious of their surroundings.

When the pox trolls appeared, Fayne's arms were riddled with goosebumps. She had seen them before, and touching them would leave a nasty disease. She was hoping that the group would be quiet and move along quickly... until one of the girls yelled for them to run.

"Damn it!" Fayne cursed to herself as she moved into a sprint as well, still a good pace behind the others. The trolls seemed to have moved between her and the group, causing her to groan in distaste. In order to help protect the others, she would have to get passed the trolls... which meant getting near them. As she was sprinting, Fayne looked at her clothed arms, knowing that if any of it touched the trolls, she would have to get rid of it before anybody else touched the cloth.

The bow and arrow seemed to slow her down, so as she ran closer to the trolls, she slipped them back over her back and pulled her spear free. Holding it with one hand, she felt her feet move faster, managing to see the group ahead of her. One girl with a dog then suddenly swerved into a different direction, distracting half of the trolls that were in the horde. A look of surprise crossed Fayne's face and she weighed her options: following the girl, or helping the group. Deciding that the girl must have had a plan, Fayne tore her eyes from the differing path, instead looking to the group. Everyone had slowed down, fighting with their guns against the trolls.

As she contemplated how to get through, Fayne felt her body suddenly skid to a stop. Her neck began to vibrate, and it continued down her arms and legs. It was coming from the mask. With a look of shock that was ultimately hidden, the tall woman fell into a crouch and let the feeling take over. She then had a plan, and pushed herself into a quick sprint... that was faster than it ever had been. Catching up the the few trolls left, she knew it would be difficult to kill them; however, she could always stun them or slow them down. Diving right into the trolls, she could hear the horrifying sounds they made as they saw her in their midst. Without hesitation. Fayne moved through them with fluidity and slammed her spear directly into the nearest troll's eye. A sickening screech left it's mouth as a spray of dark blood followed from her spear. She avoided it and felt her body slam against one of the trolls. Thankfully, it was with her clothed arm and in response, she whipped the spear directly into it's abdomen before pouncing away from it. She was almost at the group, and with a final push, she jumped, slamming her spear into the neck of another troll as she landed on his shoulders, immediately kicking herself over him as she made contact.

Landing on the ground in a low crouch, one hand on the ground and the other holding her spear out, the end dripping with dark blood, she watched the slowing trolls that were still standing hobble their way toward the group.

"Shit, at least they've slowed down." Fayne breathed, her chest rising and falling as she stood and ran toward the group. "Anybody have any clue what to do now?" she asked out loud, dropping her spear in order to grab her clean dagger. Using it, she quickly cut the cloth that touched one of the trolls free from her arm, watching it fall to the ground. She would have to wash her spear later, but in that moment, that was the least of her worries.

@TheQueensGuard @ItariChan @StareNation @Sketching101 @The Wanderer

 

[TheQueensGuard]

Logan Russo
Stoneview
@ItariChan @Annyeong Bunny @StareNation @The Wanderer @Sketching101 @Snowflake

It had been thirty minutes since the group had gotten away from the trolls. After Fayne asked what to do, Logan pressed everyone onward. In the chaos, three members of the group had disappeared. Rain, the doctor of the group. The assassin from Folly Logan had forgotten the name of. And the only one had some-what of a personal connection too, Nissa. The group was now sitting in a parking lot, recouping and gathering themselves.
He wasn't sure what happened to the two men, but he caught a glimpse of Nissa leading most of the trolls away when Gas-Mask pulled him along with the rest of the group. He assumed the worst.

"So whats the plan?"
His daughter broke the uneasy silence. Logan stood leaning against the hood of a truck, his gaze towards the ground. "We're going home." He replied, a sigh escaping his lips as Aster disagreed. "What? We can't just leave! What about Ghost and those other guys? What about my group!" Logan shook his head, looking up towards her. "We don't have the supplies or the fucking experience to be messing around here. We've lost too many people already and we're going to end up like your group if we stick around." Aster started to protest but quickly shut her mouth and stormed off to the edge of the parking lot. Logan watched her go off and his gaze softened some. Turning to Emrin, he asked. "Emrin, if you could do one last sweep with your owl and see if you can find anyone. Please." He turned to the newest addition of the group, Fayne. "So what about you? You gotta' group around here or do you wanna come back to Breez with us. Seems like you can hold your own. The city could use someone like you."​

 

[Sketching101]

Lyra Rosewald​

Fiddling with the vents of the gas mask the mute man gave her, Lyra finally managed to get her voice out. The young woman had been sitting inside one of the ancient cars, in the shadow of its roof. She turned to Mona, sat next to her, and stared at her for a moment. "I'll go check on the others," she finally said, pulling up her hoodie and stepping out through the broken door. After taking a look around, and hearing the yelling from the father and daughter, she stuffed her hands in her hoodie's pockets and made her way to where the old man was.

"She's just a pot of joy, isn't she?" Lyra muttered, her gaze following Aster storming off, from under her borrowed mask. She turned to Logan with an eerie red glow in its lenses, blurting out just as he seemed to be talking to the newcomer, "Yeah, talking about going back--How? No way these things've survived all this time with storms like that every now and then. Even the box you came in might've taken a few hits."

Mentions/Relevant :@ItariChan @TheQueensGuard @StareNation @Annyeong Bunny @The Wanderer

 

[The Wanderer]

Nomad

Despite having gotten away from the trolls, Nomad still didn't feel safe. Always keeping his head on a swivel near their spot, his rifle gripped tightly in his hands to the point his gloves would generate a small noise with every movement, and the light pain of gripping something too tightly filling the bottom of his mind.

He'd occasionally look to the group to see what they were going to do, Logan making the plan of getting back to Breez, with Lyra bringing up the valid point of how to get back there without succumbing to the perils of storms or other such creatures. Or heaven forbid they bring something back to Breez. Nomad wouldn't be able to live with himself should he be a cause for the settlement's troubles. Or even worse, what if that damned dragon were to follow them back? That thought birthed a chill that Nomad never thought possible.

Said chill was not helped by the fact that goggles on the gas mask that Lyra now wore, glowed just a bit red. Making Nomad wonder if he looked like that, and how he must've creeped people out. Maybe that's why people didn't take too kindly to talking to him at times. Or maybe it was just the goggles reflecting light, as sometimes when scavenging in the abandoned cities, the sun's rays would reflect off of glass or other reflective surfaces with all sorts of colors at times.

Oh dear, what if the goggles were colored in some form and he had just grown accustomed to it, he hoped if that was the case that Lyra wasn't too hindered by it.

Mona was resting inside of a car for the time being, and he couldn't bring himself to wake her. He needed something to distract from the severity of the situation. That was when he remembered earlier on the trip with Lyra and Mona that began their trip to Stoneview. The train stations, underground and somewhat safe so long as they retraced their steps. It provided cover from the storms, or any future ones and the big creatures wouldn't be able to follow them.

The trolls maybe, but perhaps they'd get distracted by the chaos that the dragon and ogre had created.

Without wasting a breath, he picked up his journal and pencil, walking over to them. Writing on a blank page "Train station, could provide us cover back to Breez." He'd tear the page out, handing it to Lyra as she'd be able to not only remember what he was talking about but also confirm the idea to the others.

He just hoped it didn't backfire.

@TheQueensGuard @Sketching101 @StareNation @ItariChan @Annyeong Bunny

 

[Itari]

Emrin watched helplessly as Aster and Logan argued. Part of agreed with Aster that they shouldn't leave Nissa here, but part of her also agreed with Logan. They were running low on supplies and staying here longer would put everyone at risk. She let her owl out at Logan's request, making sure he did an extra thorough sweep to see if they could find Nissa, and then hurried after Aster.

She hesitated before approaching her, unsure of what to say when things were still awkward between them. "Aster?" She gently touched her on the shoulder, "I know you're upset about leaving so soon, but Logan has a point. I don't want to leave Nissa here either, but staying here means we would be putting the rest of the group in danger. Plus, just because we're leaving doesn't mean we have to stop looking. There's still a ways to go before we get out of the city and my owl is out there looking for her right now. And if we don't find her, we can restock in Breez and come straight back. With or without Logan." She glanced back towards the group. They appeared to be dicussing something, "We should go back and see what the plans are to leave. That way we can make sure some time is left to look for Nissa."

 

[Annyeong Bunny]

Fayne Santilon

As the group pressed on, Fayne sighed beneath her mask and crossed her arms. Her jet black hair that had been in a ponytail had grown to be messy after her intervention with the trolls. The leader of the group trudged in front of her, but she stayed close since at least he and Mr. Gas Mask seemed trustworthy... to an extent. When she pulled down her hair and began fixing it up into a nice ponytail once more, Fayne blinked in surprise as a heated discussion began between the leader and one of the younger women.

Slowly, she finished with fixing her hair and turned to look as the girl stormed off. In her eyes, it seemed as if the group was split... by how, she wasn't sure, but she could see the divergence among the people. Contrast in a group never ended well, and Fayne found herself pondering her decisions she had in front of her. Then, as if hearing her thoughts, the older man turned to her, questioning where she was to go from there.

"The city could use someone like you."

Fayne sucked in a breath of air at the words and felt her mouth turn down to a frown. Cities didn't seem to be her forte, especially after the last one she had managed to get away from. After a moment of pondering, she answered the only was she could:

"... We'll see. For now, I've got nowhere to go, so I guess you guys are stuck with me. I'm not a cannibal though, so it should be fine, right?" Fayne spoke the words with a bit of a lighter tone and felt her face flush a bit. She wasn't used to being commented on about her skill. Before anything else could really be said, however, a girl wearing Mr. Gas Mask's gas mask chimed in. Fayne took a step back in order to let the two converse about how to go back, noticing the red lenses in the mask. It wasn't important enough for her to note, so instead, the tall woman turned her masked gaze to the others who had made their way away from the group. She also looked to the sky as one of the member's owl flew off, making her think of Beau. Turning her eyes to the ground, she closed her eyes and just listened to any plan that would be made; it wasn't her place to interject since she was a newcomer. While she was listening, she also couldn't help but think of the girl that went off with the rest of the trolls. It would be too extreme to create a search party, but her moto was that nobody was to be left behind...

@TheQueensGuard @The Wanderer @Sketching101 @ItariChan @StareNation

 

[StareNation]

It took a little while to regain her sight but when Nissa eventually did, Whistler had guided her further out of the city and thankfully in the right direction for Breez.
"Good boy," She praised the dog with a soft voice, taking her time to look around and get her bearings. There was no sight of the others and she hoped with the distraction she had created that perhaps it had given the group the opportunity to gain plenty of ground. Stopping for a brief moment she sighed softly as she scratched the back of her neck. It would be utterly stupid for her to turn back though there was no way to tell if the group would make it back to Breez at all. The one good thing that had come from the separation of herself from the group was that she was thankfully able to avoid the inevitable snipes from an angry Aster and awkward interactions between the girl and Logan. As much as Nissa was happy to see Logan find his daughter, there was way too much personal family drama for her to handle.

The streets towards the outskirts of town were significantly quieter than the previous sections with Nissa more than happy to enjoy a 'boring' exit to Breeze. With Whistler beside her, Nissa began the task of navigating for home, determined once she got there to find some damned pain killers and get a decent sleep after giving Jay some friendly advice to never ask her for a favor again.

 

[TheQueensGuard]

Logan Russo
Stoneview
@The Wanderer @Sketching101 @Annyeong Bunny​

"She's just a pot of joy, isn't she. Yeah, talking about going back--How? No way these things've survived all this time with storms like that every now and then. Even the box you came in might've taken a few hits."
Running a hand through his hair, he gave a disgruntled shrug. "She means well. Most people in Providence aren't exactly accustomed to the real world." He glanced towards Aster and continued. "Won't hurt to check see if the van was left in a working condition. If not we hoof it and hope for the best."
Gasmask hastily started writing on a piece of paper, and gave it to Lyra. Catching a glance, Logan nodded approvingly. "Train station. Not bad kid, that'd be a lot better than braving the elements."
~~~
After waiting a few more minutes and Emrins owl came back without sighting any of the others, Logan rounded everyone up. Aster objected, but a quick glance from Logan got her to quiet down. There wasn't much they could do now. They were low on meds, ammunition and had already taken a few casualties.
So after spending the rest of the day walking to the far end to the city, relying on a tattered map and landmarks, they finally made it back to where they had parked the van. "Fuck me." In truth Logan hadn't expected the van to be in working condition. Lyra had a good point with the storm blowing through and the horde of Mana starved stomping their way through the city, the chances of the van working would've been slimmer than not.

What the party walked up on was the van was missing entirely. A fresh set of tire tracks pulling off down the road away from the city back towards Breez. Motioning for Gasmask to take the lead, he muttered. "Well get us to the train station."
~~~
The group set up camp at the mouth of the train station, only resting long enough to get their stamina back up before hitting the tracks once again. It took longer than Logan would've liked, and he was complaining about his knee the entire time, but eventually they made it through the tunnels and the familiar sight of Breez was in the distance. Letting out a sigh of relieve and a chuckle, Logan took a deep breath. "We made it. We actually made it."
​

Aster Russo
Breez
@ItariChan​

So this is Breez. Aster thought quietly walking along side Emrin. It was the exact opposite of Providence. Dirty and broken buildings, no walls and no actual guards. "People live here?" Aster muttered aloud, watching a group of people conversing at what appeared to be a food stand. As they passed a few people, they got a few looks. Particularly people were looking at her and the tattoo on her face. A few people said things like "welcome back Lyra" or "Jay is going to be glad to see you all."

"Son of a..." Logan noticed it before her, but a white van was parked in the center of the square. Providence plastered on the side of it beneath a blue cross. It was one of their vans, though much dirtier than the usual ones. One of its windows were busted, and it was scrapped up pretty good but was in working condition. Judging from the look on Logans face, this was the van they took to Stoneview.

Following Logan to the most well-kept place she had seen in the town, she read the sign above it "the Breez Bar". Following inside behind Emrin, in the center of the bar was a few familiar faces. Kathleen Ramadan, Emilia Strider and a guard from the expedition. "Kathleen!" Going forward and hugging her, she broke off and hugged Emilia next, saying. "What are you doing here Emilia!"
Hugging her back and giving her a squeeze, Emilia responded "Helping you! Providence wasn't going to send anyone to get you guys out of Stoneview so I came here."
​

Logan Russo
Breez ~ Jays Bar
@StareNation​

Logan extended a hand to Jay, who promptly ignored it for a hug. "Took you all long enough to get back!" Logan accepted the embracing, suppressing a smile before breaking off. "Not all of us made it back. Lauren, Doc and some kid from Folly got separated." He paused, rubbing his forearm some as he glanced towards the ground. "And uh. Nissa too. I'm sorry Jay." Unable to meet his gaze, Jay patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear about Lauren and Rain. It's a shame, I felt like Lauren really could've had a place in this town and we really needed Rains skills. Luckily Nissa made it back before you all." Looking up with a surprised look, Jay smiled and nodded. "Came limping in a few hours ago with Whistler. Gave him the biggest 'go to hell' look I've ever seen, but she's resting up now." He gestured to the rest of the group. "Glad to see you all still kicking. Looks like you picked up some travelers along the way. You all will be compensated for the help in going to Stoneview. I'll throw in alittle extra since they stole your van." Laughing some, Jay made his way to the bar. "Drinks on the house tonight everyone!"​

​

​

 

[The Wanderer]

Nomad

As the group gathered together, heading towards what was supposed to be a parked van according to Logan, which was revealed to have been taken by someone, which wasn't fantastic.

But when Logan turned to Nomad, urging the young scavenger on to lead to the train station that their group had taken when they were escaping to the troll. Which now that he thought about it, if it was no longer back at the start, they could have an easy way back to Breez without having to worry about mana-starved or trolls along the way.

Even better, was that he saw that there was a landmark indicating which way led to the aforementioned train station. So with a wave to follow him, Nomad began to lead the group back to the train tunnel that had led Lyra, Mona, the assassin and himself here. Taking back alleys and through ruined buildings to avoid trouble, specially when Nomad thought he saw a shadow overhead in the clouds before vanishing, something that Nomad could only wish was a trick of the eye.

They soon made camp inside the train station several times, sometimes within the relative safety on the inside, or in the entrances along the way to rest up before continuing, Nomad using his journal and sketches to lead them back. Before finally they arrived at the train station that was near the city that the troll chased them from. Nomad being the first to go up and scout, the buildings or what was left of them was eerily quiet and nothing moved, save for a few rodents and birds. Which made Nomad sigh in relief, this meant that there wasn't anything here or the animals would be hiding or vacating the area, so signaling the others, the group continued on their way, until they found the tunnel that led to an area real close to Breez.

Felt like years since Nomad saw Breez, when it was only probably a few days as they soon saw the settlement in the distance. The sight of the place made Nomad quicken his pace with the others, eager to be back in safety.

First thing he saw was the messed up truck that Logan had mentioned earlier, all beat up and looking like something had wrecked it. But rather than dwell on it, they went inside of a bar where a man known as Jay talked to Logan about certain missing members and payment. The former topic made Nomad's heart heavy as so many of their number had been potentially lost, and that he hoped that some of them made it out okay.

He took a seat, the stress catching up to him, making Nomad just realize how sore his legs and back were. And just how tired he was, so when a drink was offered to him, he didn't quite realize it wasn't water until he looked at it closer, the strange liquid smelling quite odd to him. Similar to the stuff he used to disinfect or clean wounds when necessary, so he was hesitate to drink it. Only doing so when he saw those who did drink, do so without much trouble.

He regretted it immediately, the liquid burning his throat and settling in his stomach oddly. Managing a weak cough, he gave a thumbs up before setting the glass down. That done, he opened up his backpack, taking out a few books he took from the ruined bookstore prior to meeting the winged beast that would no doubt be the fuel for his nightmares for the following nights. In hopes that someone from their number would know who would want said books and such.

@TheQueensGuard @Sketching101 @ItariChan @StareNation @Annyeong Bunny

 

[Sketching101]

Lyra Rosewald​

Once the group arrived back to Breez, Lyra took off the mask she had borrowed from their guide, and handed it back. "Thanks for lending it to me," she said. "You have fun with this lot. I oughta go get some sleep after all this." She quietly slunk off, heading toward the square, pulling down on the front of her hood. Her eyes set on the ground, she didn't notice the ruined book on the floor until she reached the open door. She quickly snatched it up in a panic, and started running through what was left of the wet, dusty pages. It had been left on the wet dirt, open, for some time, apparently. She cautiously stepped inside, holding the book close to her chest. The dust that gathers on the windows after a stormy day had made its way inside, covering the floor, desks, and books on the shelves. She placed the book on the counter, walked out, and closed the door.

"What the fuck happened at the library!?" Lyra yelled as she stormed into Jay's Bar, just as people were cheering for their free drinks. She walked up to Jay, next to Logan. "I'm gone for a day or two and I come back to see the library --OUR library--" she emotively gestured at everyone in the room, "had its door left open through the storm, and a book thrown into the mud right up front!"

Mentions/Relevant :@ItariChan @TheQueensGuard @StareNation @Annyeong Bunny @The Wanderer

 

[Itari]

The trek back to Breeze was thankfully, uneventful. They had a minor hiccup when they discovered their van was missing, but thanks to Nomad, the entire party was able to make back home safely. She turned to Aster beside her as they approached the small town, "Welcome to Breez."

She smiled at Aster's comment, "I thought the same thing when I first got here. It's not as bad as it looks. You'll like it." She hoped Aster would stay and they would get the chance to talk more. Nobody had felt very chatty on the way back due to fatigue, but with some good rest the two of them would hopefully be able to sort out the past. As they approached the town square, Emrin noticed the van in the center. So that's where it went. Still, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. Even if they hadn't taken the van, it probably wouldn't have been there when they made it back. At least it was still usable if they needed it.

Jay gave them a warm welcome when they walked into the bar, and Emrin was glad to see that Nissa had made it back as well. "Nissa! You made it. We were worried about you." She gave Whistler some scratches behind his ear. "How did you get back? We went through the old train tunnels." Emrin sat at the bar and gratefully accepted a drink from Jay.

Lyra stormed into the bar. She was, understandably mad about the damage to the library. Emrin inspected the book on the counter. "How many books were damaged? Bring them to my shop later and I'll see how many I can save."

@TheQueensGuard @StareNation @Sketching101

 

[TheQueensGuard]

Jay Kennedy
Breez ~ Jays Bar​

"What the fuck happened at the library!? I'm gone for a day or two and I come back to see the library --OUR library--had its door left open through the storm, and a book thrown into the mud right up front!"
The smile on Jays face sank some and his eyes glanced towards Logan who sat at the corner of the bar in his normal spot. Jay coughed and nodded towards Lyra as if to say well you have some explaining to do. Getting the hint, Logan took a drink and turned in his stool to face Emrin. He hesitated and scratched the side of his beard, which happened to be Logans tell when he was thinking up a lie. "That'd be Laurens doing. She was a thief I caught shortly after leaving Breez and we uh-." He paused, motioning towards Jay. "Thought it'd be a good community service if she helped us out in the city. She might've knocked one of the bookcase down too when she was running but I could've sworn we closed the door."
Emrin spoke up then, offering to help save some of the books.

"Whatever you can't save, I'll donate some supplies to the library. I could probably also give some of my personal books to the library, since I've already read them all." Giving a nod towards Lyra, he scanned the room for the girl with the tattoo'd face. It was about time he met his niece. He spotted her standing at a table along side Kathleen Ramadan, Emilia Strider and the other surviving members from Providence. He waved towards Kathleen to get her attention, then pointed towards Aster. Getting the hint, Kathleen told her to head up to the bar. Walking around the edge of the bar he gave her a smile.
"So you're Aster? Glad to finally meet you after all this time. I'm Jay." He extended a hand, which she took with a soft grip. "All this time?" She questioned, a hesitant smile on her face. "Your mother used to send me letters about you and your brother growing up. I never had the time to make the trip up to Providence so-" A look of realization sunk in on her face as her eyes widened and the smile grew on her face. "Uncle Jason?"

Hugging him, she laughed and said "Mom told me so many stories about you. Said I was adventurous just like you." Hugging her back he chuckled. "Seems like it, your first outing from Providence and you go to Stoneview."

After talking for a few minutes, mostly about tattoos and stories of their towns, Jay cleared his throat and his smile slowly disappeared from his face. "It might be best if you stay here in Breez for a while Aster." A look of confusion on her face, she asked "Why? Our job is done, we can go home." Jay shook his head and leaned on the bar. "The uh.... The heads of Providence think you deserted the city. When Emilia took off with the van and came here, Providence sent some Inquisitors. Luckily by the time they got here Logan and the others already left with the van. We hid Emilia and they asked us to turn in her and any members of the Providence team that went into Stoneview if they showed up here." Aster took a seat on the barstool, a look of confusion on her face. "The good news is you and the others are welcome here until we clear things up. I can get you a job here in town, you can stay with your dad-"

"No. I'm not staying with him." She interrupted, shooting across the room to Logan. "That's okay. I got a room upstairs, you can stay with me."

~~ Four Months Later ~~​

@ItariChan @StareNation @The Wanderer @Sketching101 @Annyeong Bunny

Spoiler

Four months have passed since the party had returned from Stoneview. Before they returned, Kathleen Ramadan and the remaining members of the scientific expedition]arrived back in town with the artifact they were searching for. Though most of the team died, the mission was a success.
Kathleen and the others quickly went to work understanding the magic runes used on the device, an orb roughly the size of a tire. After a month, her and other scientists and other magic users managed to understand the use of the orb and got it working once again.
Charged with magic, the orb emits a sort of 'signal' that dissuades monsters from getting too close. While it doesn't help against Mana-Starved or more intelligent creatures, most stay away.

News traveled fast of this new security measure, and the small town of Breez nearly doubled in size. While it still doesn't rival the cities of Providence and Folly, the small scavenger-stop has turned into an actual town. While this boost in population has mostly benefited the town, members of Folly soon started to seep into the town. Ultimately this caused trouble, so the town finally got its first law enforcer- Sheriff Logan Russo-. Though he hates the title, he managed to keep the extra criminal activity to a minimum.
In an attempt to help fortify the town more and regulate who enters the town, Natasha Petrov has begun creating a wall around the entirety of the city. While it is still a few months off from completion, things are starting to look up for the rubbled town of Breez.​

~~~​

Aster Russo
Breez ~ Jays Bar ~ Mid Day
@Sketching101 ​

"Aster, get up here!"
Her uncles voice called from up the stairs of the bar. Aster actually had enjoyed the past four months, and though she missed some of the luxuries of Providence, she enjoyed the freedom. The job Jay had got her was just his glorified helper. She ran the bar during the day for him, ran his errands around the city and generally she helped keep the town running.
Things with Logan-or her dad which Jay insisted on calling him- had gotten alittle better. Things aren't as awkward but she still doesn't generally like him. Her and Emrin were getting along again, which she was happy about.
"Aster this is important!"
He called out again, snapping Aster out of her day dreaming and getting an annoyed sigh from. "I'm coming!" Tossing the hand towel on her shoulder, she stomped upstairs to him and paused at his parlor door. Something was off with him today. He got a note from Kathleen earlier that morning and since had disappeared upstairs. He normally wasn't this impatient, and his voice had a tone of worry in it.
"Whats up? Everything okay?" She asked, finally entering the room. He finished writing a note and folded it up. "I need you to get some people for me." He looked around his desk for something before giving up and shaking his head with a sigh. "My normal people are busy, so I need you to go grab Logan, Lyra, Mona, Nomad and Emrin." He stood up and stretched. "Alright, but what's this about." He gritted his teeth, hesitating before giving in. "Kathleen has found something near the city. Two miles south-west from the city. She thinks it might just be a surge of magic in the Earth, but she has a bad feeling. When she gets a bad feeling about something, that means it'll probably be bad. Normally she'd ignore it, but she said its drawing in creatures. They stay there for a few hours then book it. Her group has been attacked twice this week and they need more people for protection."
Aster was silent, thinking if she had heard anything like this before. Coming up empty, she turned to leave the room. "Aster, don't tell anyone. Not yet at least."

Nodding she hurried down the stairs and out the door, making sure to flip the 'Sorry, We're Closed!' sign on the door before heading down towards the library. She wasn't sure where to find most of them, but Lyra should be at the library still. Turning down the sidewalk and walking two blocks before finding the building she peaked in. "Lyra, you here?"​

 

[The Wanderer]

Nomad

Four months after returning to Breez after the 'trip' to Stoneview

Life for Nomad had changed somewhat after the return to Breez, as he made friends with most of the group from Stoneview whom lived in Breez. And not wanting to leave right off the bat, Nomad stuck around, helping out where needed and eventually nabbing himself a nice small home within the expanding settlement that was Breez. Granted, said home was the basement to one of the more intact buildings near the subway that Breez originally started as, mostly chosen out of proximity to the library and homes of his friends.

Two of whom would be often joined by Nomad on scavenging runs for books, tech or other such supplies for the city to help it out. As while Nomad usually preferred nature to settlement life, he felt somewhat invested in Breez. Mostly because he made friends here, and that it was familiar ground in which he could find shelter. Especially since winter had come with much harsher winds than Nomad was used to. The cold wind going through his leather jacket, tent and sleeping bag that it would be a death sentence to stay out in the cold. This cold forced his attire to change with his moving habits. He dumped the leather jacket for a fur insulated jacket, did several scavenging runs for a ski mask that would cover his head and be able to also combine with his goggles.

The only thing it didn't mesh well with was his old gas mask, which forced him to do another run to get a more suitable one. The 'new' one he got was one that covered the mouth and nose of the wearer, the strap of which could be worn atop the ski mask so he didn't have to deal with the cold biting at him, or making the latex of the gas mask cling to his warm skin. He did give it to Lyra if she should ever need it again similar to in Stoneview, as Nomad was still wary of any lingering magical side effects from the mana-storm. As he did notice the glowing eyes of Lyra still persisting enough that he began to look out for any medical books or treatments that could deal with mana-storm exposure. He did also give her a pair of sunglasses to help with the glowing eyes, and if her eyes were sensitive to brightness.

After all, friends tended to look out for one another.

Which the frequent scavenging runs and constant contact with Mona and the others boosted Nomad's social skills enough that he felt comfortable enough talking to them. Granted in a soft voice that he often had to raise so people could hear him properly as Nomad had a bad habit of just whispering, unused to speaking to others like so.

Speaking of Nomad, the scavenger was resting in a makeshift bed in the basement he called home, wrapped in his sleeping bag, dreaming another odd dream once more. This one was horrible as it involved that dragon that nearly killed him. The scaled beast hunting him down and ultimately killing him. The conclusion making Nomad jump up from his slumber and nearly off his bed. Despite several months passed, and no sightings of the dragon in question, the thing still haunted him. As while no one had seen the beast, there were no signs of its death either, and sure the creature the dragon fought after being interrupted was prone to not leave much in terms of evidence. There still would've been something, bones, blood or even leftovers from the ogre's meal.

Or it was simply Nomad's weary mind keeping him paranoid about a dragon that was dead. And while Nomad loathed killing anything, he hoped the latter had occurred as he wanted the dreams to end.

Now awake enough that going back to sleep wasn't an option, Nomad got up, dressed himself and out into the world. The bright winter day nearly blinding him, and the cold wind cutting through the ski mask's material, making Nomad reach into the collar of the insulated coat and pull out his hoodie's hood, tightening it around his head before continuing down to the library to see if they needed more books. His shoes crunching through snow, he would wonder what his friends were up to, especially Logan as the older man had a lot on his plate, the stress more than likely needing relief, which Nomad could go scavenging for the bitter drinks that Logan and Jay tended to share.

But rather than getting distracted, he focused on getting to the library, as he could simply ask Logan later on if he wanted Nomad to go drink scavenging...

@TheQueensGuard @Sketching101 @StareNation @ItariChan @Annyeong Bunny

 

[Sketching101]

Lyra Rosewald ~Four Months Later~​

In the days after the group returned to Breez, Lyra managed to brew the same potion she had used when they met up with the search party looking for Aster. While the potion appeared to help at first, its effects dissipated after a week. The next time she made one, the effect only lasted a few days, and then, only hours. She kept going out to scavenge ingredients, and then brewing the same potion. By the end of the first month, the potion stopped having any effect whatsoever.

Throughout the second month, she tried to alter the bloodrose plant using magic, to increase the potency of the potion. While she found some success, the effects of her condition were only mildly mitigated, and emerged more pronounced than before. As she continued to work on her potions, she started to stay in her room for hours at a time, experimenting with different formulae. Unless scavenging with Mona, Lyra started to leave late at night, and return to Breez early in the morning with supplies.

Early in the third month, Lyra disappeared right before a heavy storm hit the area. She only turned up two weeks later in the town square, and immediately collapsed. She was covered in blood and dust, with her clothes worn out from what seemed to be cuts. She had quite a few lacerations, and even some flesh crudely ripped out, her bleeding appeared to have mostly stopped by the time she arrived in town. When she came to, she kept quiet about what had happened, claiming she didn't remember. While she closed herself off even more than usual, she appeared to be in good health for the first time in months. A few weeks after the event, a traveler came into town, and pointed to a den full of chained up remains of corpses, along with three men whose bodies had dried up, with puncture wounds around their necks.

During the fourth month, Lyra started leaving her room more often, usually sitting at the front desk of the library, while still working on alterations for the bloodrose plant. She usually didn't leave home without a cap or her beanie, but she started walking out and about a lot more often than she had been, recently.

Late into the fourth month, as she arrived back into town early in the morning, she saw someone standing in front of the library entrance. Excitement seized her for a brief moment.

"Lyra, you here?"

Lyra's face soured as she realized who it was. She stood there, quietly deliberating what to do: whether to continue walking quietly, or to call for her attention. She hadn't gotten too close to Aster in the last four months, and had in fact kept her distance, at least as much as she could in such a small town. This was, in no small part, due to Aster's own home town.

"Hey! Behind you," she called out, after letting out a heavy sigh. She continued, putting on a wry smile. "Looking for a book? We've got a bunch, though prob'ly nothing you don't 'ave back home, right?"

Mentions/Relevant :@ItariChan @TheQueensGuard @StareNation @Annyeong Bunny @The Wanderer

Lyra and Aster

 

[StareNation]

GHOST

Nissa had only briefly stepped into the meet up at the bar the four months prior, greeting the others and sharing a drink before she had headed home to recover and recount over the trip. There had been too much to take in at the time and for the first time in a long time she found herself with so many more questions about her own past. She had promptly told Jay not to ask her for anymore 'big favours,' but truth be told she had been excited by the adventure despite all of the close calls. True to form after the first two weeks of being back in Breez, Nissa seemed to completely disappear from the city. She had reluctantly told Harry about the motorcycle and after a lot of swearing the old man had forgiven her on the count of Nissa providing enough scrap to rebuild a bike.

Dreams of the past had begun to haunt her and after sorting things out with Harry, Nissa had collected her things and headed back towards Stoneview with the aim of revisiting the farm. Ever present at her side was Whistler, always happily sniffing the air and padding along. She hadn't been around to watch Logan and Aster's interactions, sure that Aster was going to have enough of a hard time without everyone constantly putting their noses in and being in a completely different environment from Providence was surely going to be one hell of a shock for the kid.

Managing to make it through to the farm once more despite a couple of run ins with some stray Mana-starved and the gremlins who had made a home out of one of the barns, Nissa spent a good month pilfering through what remained in the house and in the various sheds. Salvaging a cluster of working tools and a second pair of bellows which simply needed a good lick of oil, she later focused her attention on the small material items in her old bedroom. There was the small doll which her mother had hand stitched for her, some old runes she had kept in her drawers and a small wooden box that she had plucked out from under the bedroom floorboards. It was stacked with photos of Gus, Isabella and a much younger version of herself, memories she had kept hidden in the box over the years but had forgotten during the great storms. Allowing herself to cry a while as she cleaned them free of dust and reminisced over the simple things, Nissa felt that maybe having gone on the trip to begin with had been a blessing rather than a curse.

In middle of the third month she began to head home, using an old cart she had fixed to take all of the gathered belongings back to her home in Breez. She only stopped to hide from passing monsters, preferring to stay well out of a fight where possible. When she came across the fresh carcass of a Wyvern she took the opportunity to harvest its skin, teeth and a tail spikes and would later use the thick armoured like skin to make herself a new jacket once she was back in the city. She had saved some of the raw flesh for Whistler who seemed not to mind the taste.

Once back in Breez she stuck to home in the carriage, making her new jacket and completing a couple of orders she had waiting to fill. Whistler was occasionally seen about the city, taking himself off on his own adventures while Nissa unloaded her collected goods, finished the jobs and spent time reading an old tattered book she had found in the streets of Stone view.

___ present day___

The air was bitterly cold, the kind of chill that would normally turn people indoors though Nissa absolutely loved it. Winter had always been her favourite season of the year, the crunch of snow under her boots lending to her delight. Having reached the Jay's bar she had noted the closed sign though she wasn't coming in for a drink. Instead she pushed the door open, stepping in quietly as she glanced about for Jay. The place was silent and after figuring he was upstairs she wandered to the base of the stair case.

"Jay? You in!?" She called from where she stood.