To Slay a Dragon

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Matthias walk through the hostile forest, in search of the rebellion's hide-out. dressed in his battle clothes, a lightly armored coat, slacks that allowed full range movement, and the sword belt that carried his two named katanas (fenris and aniu). the fading light of the forest was hard on Matthias's eyes, making him see mirages and off visions of shadows.
"finally" he said as he walked closer to the abandoned tavern.
Mr. Lanier procceded to knock on the questionable door.
 
Vivi was listening closely to Lirren's words, also doing her best to keep her new found comrades' names in her memories. She didn't have a lot to add to this talk of recruits... She was a loner for the most part and didn't know who all could be trusted. The trustworthiness of the people in this tavern was even in question, but only time would tell who'd likely back stab them. Nothing was going to get in between her and vengeance.

"I agree with Lirren. So as long as we have loyalty of others, that's good enough. No one is completely talentless... Everyone's skills have a use, whether it's cooking, killing, scouting, t-"

Vivi's feline ears perked up when she heard a knock on the door. It was probably well timed, because she felt like she was rambling on about something that everyone already knew about. She nodded to the group before walking towards the door, uncaring if they carried on their words without her being right there. Her hearing was well enough that she could hear it even if she was a few feet outside, after all.

She opened the door carefully, aware that it could just collapse from a single touch. A man with a pair was swords stood in the doorway, who she assumed was seeking them out. "Good morning," she cooed, her lips twitching into a smirk, that being her regular way of smiling. She idly wondered if her answering the door was wise, since she looked like a thieving criminal compared to the rest. He didn't look like the type to be easily intimidated, though.

"There's a chit-chat going on..." Then, she thought of something, "Don't suppose you saw anyone else on your way here?" In case they should be expecting others, whether or not they were friendly.
 
Nimba listened to the squabbling of different opinions and shook his head lightly. Raising an army of any sorts seemed the best path to take of that he agreed with Kroylrev. Even an army of village idiots could be turned into raw magical power if the need arose. But Lirren raised the true question without even seeming to notice that he had. Nimba's only goal in this was to slay a dragon but the effects would have an impact on an entire empire. The nation ran and worked right now, even it was ran by a tyrannical beast that was going to be put down for its own good. Than Sarem's suggestion of the outsiders not being able to stand up against the armies of Tarimel as if they were lesser for being untrained was nearly infuriating.


He wasn't sure of the people who gathered here with him. However, if he was to take the trophy of a dragons tooth he'd need them. More than that, he'd need them to work together and be able to make attainable goals. He slowly rose from his table, leaning upon his staff and cleared his throat, "They won't be loyal, not in the opinion of loyalty that you have. They'll follow for a chance to kill Tarimel. My people live in what you all call the outskirtsss. We live off the land like all do who live out there. Everyday is a battle of sssurvival. They have more warrior in them than any creature to walk from a city." Nimba placed his staff upon the table and crossed his arms leaning back against the wall, "However Lirren is correct, they may want back what has been taken from them. Which is to be expected of any who follow us. As thiss time Vineria is not willing to risse to freedom. Isn't that why you called for people to join you here and now? We need a chief- a leader. We can recruit warriorsss to help usss get the chance to kill Tarimel but in order to gain the support of the nation we need ssomeone they can stand behind. Take away the leader of a nation without a replacement it will fall. Your civilized people, your peasants, will be too afraid to stand for what they know iss right without ssomeone to follow."


Nimba sat back down in his seat after he was done talking. Though it made sense in his mind what he was saying his 'speech' wasn't delivered with much confidence and he felt uneasy having brought that much attention to himself. He'd said his part though and hopefully from that the group could pick some course of action to take. Sitting around in one place for too long was just asking for trouble.​
 
Horic Nodded to Nimba as the Lizard Man sat back down. and then he stood himself. "as much as I hate to admit it Nimba is right, raising an army will do little good at this point. For one, if we do raise an army no matter where or how we get it that action will hardly go unnoticed. Right now we are a small group and can move freely, or near enough, with out drawing much notice. but the moment we start raising an army, not only will we have to stay in one place for longer periods of time but we will also become much more visible, a growing target that will grow slower th bigger it gets. it will become increasingly easier for Tarimel to launch an attack." Horic took a small break to let his breathing cache up. "no, Tarimel's forces can hardly be loyal to him. he has only had a year to consolidate his rule, not enough time for indoctrination unless it is of a magical nature. I say we subvert his power not by throwing the lives of civilians at a well trained army but by turning his power at him. far less blood shed, and I think a far better chance of success too." Horic seated himself again so as to to hear the others thoughts.
 
the door of the tavern opened unexpectedly, forcing Matthias to jump. He questioned if he was at the right place because he heard little noise in the building even though the door was open. that and the woman standing in front of him was of questionable dress making him wonder who might live here.

"Good morning," replied matthias with a bow, "this does happen to be the rebellion's hideout? And no there was no one that i saw coming this way but heard rumor that others might set out for you guys."
 
?????!!!!!!!!

"And who might you be?" said Kroylrev, hand moving to the curve-handled knife "It's not everyday somebody barges in on a concealed, deserted location and suddenly asks if we're a bunch of men on the run."

He didn't know who this man was and couldn't tell what to think of him based on his appearences. His words though, made him rather uneasy. He immediately wanted to know how this man found them, who he was working for, and how much the common folk knew about what they were up to.
 
It didn't surprise Vivi that there were people searching them out. Thus far, no one has come knocking over their hideout, so she expected they were safe for a little while longer. She stood aside so the man could enter... According to her senses, he had no cruel intentions. Her powerful ears didn't pick up fast moving heartbeats, which said a lot about a person, really.

She made an amused smirk when Kroylrev began to interrogate their visitor. "He didn't barge in," the feline woman argued, mostly to be playful.

That was really all she had to give for his defense. If senseless fighting was to be had, she didn't want to be a part of it. Now that she was finished here, she walked to a chair that was covered with dust and cobwebs. With a hand over her nose, she swished her tail across the seat so the dust would be pushed towards the wall so no one would suffer a sneeze attack. She waited for the cloud of it to waft away before sitting down, hesitant when uncovering her nose.
 
Xelmog had been sitting patiently while the discussion about whether or not to build an army was a wise decision. As Matthias entered and the ensuing responses, he finally decided to stand.

"Stay your hand Kroylrev, an assassin wouldn't use the front door, and a soldier would have brought more men. Let the man join us, we have no more reason to trust or distrust him than anyone else here. As for all this talk of armies, do you think that presently we could gather one? Regardless of whether or not we need an army, we have to make an impact so people see us as a revolution. If we don't we are nothing but a group of vagrants that can talk big but little else."

Looking over the map pointed to three separate outskirt villages, distanced a decent way apart. "I believe these would be good places to start, no offense Kroylrev, but going back to a village where a member of the emperor's hand was killed is walking into a hornets nest. These three towns are a decent distance away from there, and it will help keep what little numbers we have hidden. We need to strike fast with something high profile, then we should start discussing an army."

Xelmog then sat down, still staring at the map.
 
"Acts of terrorism?" spoke Horic from his seat, "well while I'll admit it will draw attention to our cause that kind of thing needs to be planed with extreme care less we draw the wrong attention. also no mater what act we take, if it is terroristic we will automatically be seen as a threat to the peace, this will make most of the people who could be supporters from inside the government think twice before helping us. I still say that the quite root is best for now. rile the entire nation and get then to be dissatisfied with a tyrannical leader. rile the poor, the enlisted, and the rich. and then make a move that will solidify their support behind us"
 
CAN WE STOP PLANNING THINGS NOW AND FINALLY MAKE OUR MOVE?

"I agree with Horic here; make a name for ourselves first and then fill ourselves our personal bodycount of useless moustache-twiddlers," added Kroylrev "Elisridge...no Xelmog, that's not where I snapped cutlery-assasin's neck, we'll be passing there for now... would be an excellent location to start. There are already dissenting groups in plenty there; we've already got men to link up with. At the same time, the lower ranks of the conscript army, including a few higher ranked officers, are a rather unruly bunch in the eyes of high command. Mind you, 'unruly' seems to be a bit of a code word among the commanding noble class for 'likely to backstab us and sell us out to the nearest rebel army.' Go figure."

He looked back at the newly entranced man, his eyes slacking back into their normal gaze "Oi, you there, have yourselves a seat and take part in our little council of brigands. I'd like to see what you know. Figures if fluffy over here can't detect any hidden evil behind those eyes, then I won't be able to either."
 
Matthias scanned over the group of rebels as they planned their first move. He smirked as he heard the debate over what to do and felt at peace and at home again.

"Your friend is right i am no assassin and i am a former solider. My name is Matthias Lanier and i have no more love for the current situation of or fair country than you do. i found you through rumors and seer will. I plan on doing something about this evil being but i can not do it alone."

He bowed and sat down to plan with the others, he hoped he would finally find peace some where
 
Bingles was getting tired. He had been walking for hours and needed to rest. The forest wasn't very inviting, and he hated sleeping out in the open. He decided to keep going until he found an inn. He opened one of his pouches, rummaged around a bit, found some herbs and carefully started chewing on them. Energy crept back in to his muscles. It would be enough for at least a little while, but he desperately needed to find a place to sleep.

After walking for several minutes, Bingles saw what looked like an abandoned tavern. Perfect, nobody to bother him while he slept. He walked over to the door and tried to push it open. It wouldn't budge. He pushed the door again, this time with more effort. Still nothing. Sighing, he knocked on the door as a last resort.
 
"abandoned old wreck of a building." BLEED thought to himself. his blacksteel mask felt cold on his face, but the heavy sword wrapped in mummy-like sheathing that was hanging off his right shoulder held tight in his armored right hand felt heavy enough for him not to care. there was a little light inside from what he coudl see, and his ears heard hushed voices and not so hushed discussion.

Not so long ago, He was a noble. that ended abruptly, and he abandoned his previous identity for the iron mask and tattered blue-grey clothign his tall figure would be seen in tonight. Coming over the ridge of the road the moon shone bright on his blackened armor. a sheen of haze was gathering along the roadsides.

"Something wicked comes..." He said to no on in particular. He felt a shiver run through his body and walked closer to the building. He heard a familiar vocie in the back of his skull. an overactive conscious. 'Don't be Hasty' it said in a hissing evil whisper.

"Better Them be wicked than me be the evil." he said, shivering againand pushing gently ont he door. He sneezed and dropped his blade behind him. it sharp blade hit the back of his heel and he lept forward, crashign throught he door and falling flat on his iron-masked face.

"... ... ... ..." He moaned and knelt up to his knee, his sword looking as a mummified giant cross in the doorway. "Damn heavy blasted blade!" he said in a thick castilian accent. He made a spectacle and kicked the flat of the blade, cursing at it. " I forged ye to kill the vile masters a'not ta clip my heels, I-... ... ... O_O" He stared at the rest of the room sheepishly.

"oh...." he twitched. somethign bad was about to happen. his armor clinked an a bloody red cross was revealed on his oversized pauldron as his tattered robes shifted away from his overly armored right side... expensive harshforged blacksteel.
 
The Rebellion Grows

"Gods be damned Lirrin," sighed Kroylrev "I think we might just be the most poorly concealed rebellion this entire continent has experienced in years."

He looked up at the two newcomers, one some shrunken humanoid, the other some shrouded figure with armour behind his disguise. He had the odd feeling the two might be connected, either by fate or possibly just bad luck.

"Up, you two, whoever you are. Name, skills, reasons for being here, where you're from, and what you know. Last but not least, proof of why we should trust you." said Kroylrev in a rapid-fire burst. Heaning back, one of his arm slid over the table discreetly and grasped the knife. It had soon dissappeared into his patched jacket, but his arm was now positioned in a way to send it as a lethal missile if need be.
 
m"ack. ye means i been searching for weeks for you lot and i stumbles on ye on ACCIDENT...Gods must hate and love me all at once me thinks." he stumbled over hsi words and started to tug the conciderable sword from the ground just outside the door. BLEED clanked it out and it slipped from his grasp, clanging ont he ground like a funeral bell, heavy and denting the floor.
"Damn things more troubl'n itsa worth." he said, lifting it with one arm and shouldering it.

"I have no name... I AM.. what i do. Call me BLEED." he said, then with a giggle, he added "THat be my skills too" he chuckled morbidle, tapping the pauldron on his shoulder, and the bloody cross scribbled on it.

"Blood is the currency of the soul... and this nation needs some theraputic.. heh.. leeches, methinks." he chuckled. his voice sounded lofty and metallic behind the mask.

"proof of trust.. well thats a bit trickier isn it... hmmm say i let ye strike me, sir.. right here.." he said, pointing at his stomach, lifting the robes to show he wore no armor there.
 
m"ack. ye means i been searching for weeks for you lot and i stumbles on ye on ACCIDENT...Gods must hate and love me all at once me thinks." he stumbled over hsi words and started to tug the conciderable sword from the ground just outside the door. BLEED clanked it out and it slipped from his grasp, clanging ont he ground like a funeral bell, heavy and denting the floor.
"Damn things more troubl'n itsa worth." he said, lifting it with one arm and shouldering it.

"I have no name... I AM.. what i do. Call me BLEED." he said, then with a giggle, he added "THat be my skills too" he chuckled morbidle, tapping the pauldron on his shoulder, and the bloody cross scribbled on it.

"Blood is the currency of the soul... and this nation needs some theraputic.. heh.. leeches, methinks." he chuckled. his voice sounded lofty and metallic behind the mask.

"proof of trust.. well thats a bit trickier isn it... hmmm say i let ye strike me, sir.. right here.." he said, pointing at his stomach, lifting the robes to show he wore no armor there.


"COme on now." BLeed taunted, staring at all of them. " Will none of ye raise a weapon t'me?" he laughed.

"This nation's been ravaged by an evil that makes even the fiercest warriors shudder in their boots. money means nothign in a state of chaos. tell ye what i know. i know somethin' has t'be done..."
 
Xelmog teleported behind Bleed while drawing his sword and stabbed it through his stomach from behind.

"Willing to be stabbed is a sign of simplicity, not whether or not you are trustworthy." Xelmog said as he drew the sword back out, flicking the blood off of it, "I have no doubt though, that it is not a fatal wound or you would not have offered."

Turning to the rest of the group, Xelmog announced "I'm going outside, when you're done trying to decide how to lead a bloodless revolution against a tyrant, let me know." He then turned and walked outside the inn.
 
Bleed fell to his knee's int he shadow of his hood, his eyes flashed red.

"grk.. still hurts ta be sure... but bein' undead... has its advantages." he laughed, standing up.


"bloodless tis war can't be. cold and decicive it can though." he said, puttign his sword back on his back and walking to a vacant seat, BLEEDing all over still. his wounds woudl heal in the next ten minutes. he cared not. it wasn't lethal enough a shot. good thing it missed his spine.
 
The werewolf was listening and watching, but he didn't respond, only nodded idly when Kroylrev addressed him. He was looking more and more distracted as the conversation went on and the vampire entered; anyone who was paying attention would know something was wrong. Lirren was many things, some bad and some good, but easily distracted he was not.

There was something in the air..no..in the ground below his feet. Something dark and unnatural drew his attention. Worse yet, he could not identify what was causing the uneasy feeling, what his instincts were trying to tell him. Then the vampire entered; Lirren felt the same about the scent of the man who called himself "Bleed" as he did about the mysterious thing. When he heard mention of 'being undead', that's when it hit him.


"Sh**!"


The disturbance reached a climax and finally ended, but the uneasy feeling was about to be the least of his troubles. A rotten patch of the wood in the back end of the tavern was burst through, and through it walked someone. It was impossible to tell anything about the intruder, for it wore a full suit of rusty armor, helmet covering its face; it held an old spear that matched, and moved toward Lirren. Its movements were disjoint and slow, like that of a puppet imitating a march. The others, not sure what to think yet, moved aside for the intruder.

"You smell like death..." Lirren began, angrily, but was unable to finish; the intruder plunged his spear at the werewolf's head; he dodged, and someone repaid the assailant in kind. The blow knocked off the helmet and left behind no head; when the helmet fell a skull dropped out, and afterward the rest of the body did not stop moving. The spear was swung in a random direction, dodged again, and then thrown blindly at a wall; then the body began punching air with gauntletted fist.

As this was going on, several howls came from different places outside. "Distress cries..they're all over the forest," said Lirren. "Necromancy was outlawed in Vineria until about...nine months ago," he added; that should clarify enough for the others.
 
"NECROMANCY!" Bleed swore, standing up, then grabbed his wounded stomach, cursing as he flinched. bleed growled and let out a cry like a dying bird. the familiar call of ravens barking orders between one another.


(( Invoking the power RAVENS CALL))

"there be hundreds!" Bleed cursed, drawing his gigantic sword. instantly it grew green with magic and licks of flame came off of it. The barking of ravens could be heard everywhere as well.

((invoking GREENFLAME power))

The night of the dead begins.