Fantasy A Sword to Wield with a Broken Hilt IC

[CasualTea]

The fire burned just right, giving Yona that warm embrace she'd feel at campfires. It was a bit nostalgic to feel something like this, almost like in Dral. Her ear soon caught the familiar timid voice of the dragon girl. Her and her usual needless apology at the end of her sentence. It made her a chuckle a bit. She soon spoke in a gentle tone, trying to relax the girl. "Actually, I was looking for a bucket. But the elf brought me a tub instead. It's better than what I bargained for." She soon laid on the floor, looking at the dragon girl. She soon looked over to the table and saw the many tools that weren't there before. She did hear someone bringing in their stuff, was that the dragon girl's things?

"Those tools over there..." She started speaking with curiosity. "That's alchemical equipment." She assumed with her rough knowledge of that field. She saw it sometimes when she visited certain places in Dral and Kharien, both having very different purposes. In Kharien, she had met a doctor who used such tools to practice medicine. In Dral, it was a means to produce drugs that would later be sold discreetly. She remembered she'd burn those establishments down to nothing and disposing the drugs separately to make a message to others who wish to do harm by getting people hooked on it and take one step closer to their goal. She'd recall Qu had a plan for this issue. Since drugs sold highly and would usually make the consumers want more and cripple people, she wanted to do something about it. Her vision was to revert Dral to a time where one group controlled every aspect of the drug trade, providing a measure of order that she could control. Until someone found a way to stop smoking and snorting that shit, order was the best she could hope for. Yona was one of the key enforcers to working towards that order until the end of her contract. The amount of people she had to hurt and kill during that time, some of it haunts her. Not the ones who oppose Qu's will, but the victims who suffered from their greed and malice. If only she could act faster or come up with a cure.

She blinked back into reality before looking at the dragon girl. "Are you... An alchemist?" She asked, curious how she can see even though alchemy deserves certain levels of attentiveness and precision so nothing goes wrong. Taking another look at the tools, she can guess that it didn't serve the same purpose as the ones in Dral. This seemed like something else. She didn't know what though. "What kinds of stuff do you make?" Her question slipping right through her lips on instinct, but intrigued all the same.

 

[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• Sitra​

  

  
  There was no doubt the creature was dead. On top of that decrepit look, skin creepily stretched over every bit of bone and fur greyed, bent and at times with gaps, the trap had pierced all the way from its belly to its back, in both directions. Even so, the man removed a slightly rusted knife from his belt and lopped off the rat's head. Only then did he begin to examine the remains, prodding them with that same knife.
  
  "What are you doing?" I inquired, at least partially because my gaze instinctively turned away from the scene.
  
  "Looking at the bite marks. Nomatter how poor you are, one rat can only feed so many people, and we're not the only ones who want to feed either. So long as humanity needs to sleep, there's no way we'll get to the trap before it starts to get eaten. Well, the rest should be nearby though."
  
  "How do you know that?"
  
  The hunter stood up, leading me to take a tiny leap back when his knife got closer. He raised an eyebrow alongside a cocky grin.
  
  "Now that's a reaction I haven't seen in a while. Relax, not gonna hurt you. Just gonna show you the answer to your question. Look."
  
  I glanced at the knife. It was now a mix of colors, the grey metal with a slight copperish color in the rusted parts, red rivers webbed around the blade and dripping and finally some green goop in the tip.
  
  "Is that...?"
  
  Wern nodded.
  
  "Yes. Poison." He confirmed, though I hadn't really guessed it. It was a little hard, but I tried too look at the trap better. Under the rat's corpse was some leather with the green goop, burst open probably when the trap closed. In fact, upon looking it almost appeared as though the rat was covered in occasional green gooey spots. The hunter bent down again, and explained. "Trap catches one, covers it in poison, everything else is too hungry to be concerned with whatever the green thing on their meal is. It takes time and care to remove the poison afterwards so we can eat them, we've even had casualties, but it's a hell of a lot better than starving to death. Anyway, could you help me search for the rest of the rats? There might be a bat too judging by the bite marks, but that one might be much farther away."
  
  Yep, best not to think about that 'casualties' comment there.
  
  "Ah, you have a knife don't you?"
  
  "I guess, why?"
  
  "You saw me cut off that head earlier. We need to make sure they are dead before picking them up. If someone gets bitten or something they might get infected with whatever this corruption going around is."
  
  I gulped. It's not as though I had not hunted before myself. It's just... killing them while they just laid there defenseless, it didn't feel the same at all. I pitied them a bit. It usually felt like I won something, but this kind of hunting felt almost like bullying to me. Nonetheless, I knelt down on over that dark, greyed out dry grass. Some of it had shades of brown and others spots of black, but there wasn't a trace of the lush green one thinks of like grass. It felt like I was pushing around old bits of shredded parchment rather than a plant as I shifted through the grass in search of the would-be-meals of the townsfolk. Well, it did give me a little time to think while we were both focused on the search, him probably more than me though.
  
  On the way here Wern told me she hadn't come around here. There were all those blockades back there, and we only passed through because we were with Anselm, so she probably wouldn't catch up so easily. If not for the tense atmosphere, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. Naturally now that he told me, I should probably give him a hand too, since he invited me and all. Not that this is what I had pictured we would be doing at all though...
  
  "Ah." My hand bumped into something. I pushed aside the grass there and found myself poking into another rat and a slightly ripped wing near it. Following that trail, I found a dead bat as well. There were several wounds across its chest and one of the wings was cut through as well. Add to that the dried red over the rat's paws and you could get a pretty clear picture of what happened. Still, the wounds didn't quite look fatal, and the rat had claws and bite marks on it as well. I remembered what Wern said earlier about having to remove the poison, the shook my head as I didn't want to think about the rest of it. Though I didn't want to do this next part either... But even so, teeth and one fist clenched, I brought one of knives (miniature sword really) onto the bat's neck, then the rat's. "I've got two here! A rat and a bat!"
  
  "Eeeh, in one go? Not bad." Wern came closer, holding three rats hanging from strings. He pointed towards the ground, in the opposite side from the one I was searching. "Have you searched this bit yet?"[/color]
  
  I shook my head, so he knelt down and began searching that place.
  
  "You already finished over there?!"
  
  "It's just a matter of experience. You have to be quick or the animals will eat the carcasses, and the traps are all over the town except near the roads, so there is plenty of ground for us hunters to cover, and not enough of us for it. Not that getting more mouths to feed would be a great idea either."
  
  "I'm kinda, I guess, sorry about that..." I just kind of felt the need to apologize, rubbing the back of my head as I gave him a nervous smile.
  
  "Ah, I didn't mean it like that. You are just passing by it can't be helped. Say, you..." He glanced over and stopped talking, then immediately turned back to the grass to search a little more. "Nevermind, it's nothing."
  
  I wasn't sure what the matter was, but it was best not to think about it. Focus on searching! Soon enough though, Wern had stood up again.
  
  "Alright, I think we did enough searching around here. Lets move on to the next spot."
  
  I nodded in response, patted my clothes to shake off some of the dirt, and we were off. We were quite thoroughly inspecting a number of places, each time he gained more animals on strings. Rats, bats, lizards... He told me how the occasional cat would be a delicacy for those with a tougher stomach and how at one point they were afraid they would have to subsist of roaches alone. So far at least, however, it hadn't happened, though there was a stock of them already ready from the time when they thought it might happen. They might have to eat them anyway just to keep them from being too rotten to consume though, they really couldn't afford to waste food. In the meantime, I was also cutting some of the grass and stuffing it into a large sack I bought earlier while we were on our way out. It was surprisingly cheap, but then again there was little point in a sack that large when there was nothing large enough to make it worthwhile. Even though the animals we found were more frequent than I'd expect, they were so all so thin and half-eaten that they could easily be carried without needing a sack. Then, at the point where we had maybe searched a quarter of the immediate area around town, I stood up and poked his shoulder, and explained I needed to go. I might have to depart early, after all.
  
  "I see. Well, thanks for the help! Give me a second I'll pick one or two for you..."
  
  "It's fine, I wouldn't want to take those from you! I have some food as well and so does Anselm."
  
  "Anselm, huh..."
  
  "Hm?"
  
  "He's the one whose group you came in, right? It's the new Hilt's group."
  
  I put a finger under my chin thinking.
  
  "Hmmm, I guess?"
  
  "You don't seem like a bad girl. I heard some things. He is associating with mages and fellons like that."
  
  Well, he wasn't wrong. There were at least two mages in our group. But something about the way he was talking rubbed me the wrong way.
  
  "You have heard the rumors no?"
  
  "What rumors?"
  
  He seemed a little shocked, then a little worried. He closed his eyes for a moment before standing up and leaning close.
  
  "They say he killed his sister. That he wanted the title of Hilt, and he killed her, and that's how this whole mess started." He whispered. I didn't respond. "Are you after the bounty? They say there's some secret bounty on his head, from the people who know the truth. I mean why else would anyone go with h-"
  
  I gave him a soft push, and stared him in the eye. From the reflection in his eyes, it would appear my expression was blank.
  
  "You're a liar." He seemed confused. A little angry perhaps. I simply kept staring.
  
  "Sorry, I guess you just didn't know. But you should be careful, he-"
  
  "Liar."
  
  "Listen to me!"
  
  "Why should I listen to a liar?"
  
  "Are you messing with me?!" He swung dagger, probably without thinking. I cut my clothes a little bit, but fortunately didn't wound me. That being said, I simply kept staring, without even a blink. He huffed, and turned back to the half-dead grass, crouching once again. "Alright then. It's your life, I don't get to say anything about it. Just don't come crying to me later."[/color]
  
  "Hmph." I shook my head, and turned around, beginning to walk away. After a bit I heard some shouting.
  
  "And just so you won't say I didn't warn you, watch your horses! Everyone is pretty hungry around here, so be careful with any supplies you leave out of your watch!"
  
  I kept walking. Ignore him, ignore him. He was a liar. There was no way Anselm would have done something like that. No way...right? No, definitely, that couldn't be the case. So that man, Wern, was a liar. There was no need to heed the word of a liar.
  
  I continued on my way back, refusing to give it any further thought.
  
  
• Sitra​

  

  
  There was no doubt the creature was dead. On top of that decrepit look, skin creepily stretched over every bit of bone and fur greyed, bent and at times with gaps, the trap had pierced all the way from its belly to its back, in both directions. Even so, the man removed a slightly rusted knife from his belt and lopped off the rat's head. Only then did he begin to examine the remains, prodding them with that same knife.
  
  "What are you doing?" I inquired, at least partially because my gaze instinctively turned away from the scene.
  
  "Looking at the bite marks. Nomatter how poor you are, one rat can only feed so many people, and we're not the only ones who want to feed either. So long as humanity needs to sleep, there's no way we'll get to the trap before it starts to get eaten. Well, the rest should be nearby though."
  
  "How do you know that?"
  
  The hunter stood up, leading me to take a tiny leap back when his knife got closer. He raised an eyebrow alongside a cocky grin.
  
  "Now that's a reaction I haven't seen in a while. Relax, not gonna hurt you. Just gonna show you the answer to your question. Look."
  
  I glanced at the knife. It was now a mix of colors, the grey metal with a slight copperish color in the rusted parts, red rivers webbed around the blade and dripping and finally some green goop in the tip.
  
  "Is that...?"
  
  Wern nodded.
  
  "Yes. Poison." He confirmed, though I hadn't really guessed it. It was a little hard, but I tried too look at the trap better. Under the rat's corpse was some leather with the green goop, burst open probably when the trap closed. In fact, upon looking it almost appeared as though the rat was covered in occasional green gooey spots. The hunter bent down again, and explained. "Trap catches one, covers it in poison, everything else is too hungry to be concerned with whatever the green thing on their meal is. It takes time and care to remove the poison afterwards so we can eat them, we've even had casualties, but it's a hell of a lot better than starving to death. Anyway, could you help me search for the rest of the rats? There might be a bat too judging by the bite marks, but that one might be much farther away."
  
  Yep, best not to think about that 'casualties' comment there.
  
  "Ah, you have a knife don't you?"
  
  "I guess, why?"
  
  "You saw me cut off that head earlier. We need to make sure they are dead before picking them up. If someone gets bitten or something they might get infected with whatever this corruption going around is."
  
  I gulped. It's not as though I had not hunted before myself. It's just... killing them while they just laid there defenseless, it didn't feel the same at all. I pitied them a bit. It usually felt like I won something, but this kind of hunting felt almost like bullying to me. Nonetheless, I knelt down on over that dark, greyed out dry grass. Some of it had shades of brown and others spots of black, but there wasn't a trace of the lush green one thinks of like grass. It felt like I was pushing around old bits of shredded parchment rather than a plant as I shifted through the grass in search of the would-be-meals of the townsfolk. Well, it did give me a little time to think while we were both focused on the search, him probably more than me though.
  
  On the way here Wern told me she hadn't come around here. There were all those blockades back there, and we only passed through because we were with Anselm, so she probably wouldn't catch up so easily. If not for the tense atmosphere, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. Naturally now that he told me, I should probably give him a hand too, since he invited me and all. Not that this is what I had pictured we would be doing at all though...
  
  "Ah." My hand bumped into something. I pushed aside the grass there and found myself poking into another rat and a slightly ripped wing near it. Following that trail, I found a dead bat as well. There were several wounds across its chest and one of the wings was cut through as well. Add to that the dried red over the rat's paws and you could get a pretty clear picture of what happened. Still, the wounds didn't quite look fatal, and the rat had claws and bite marks on it as well. I remembered what Wern said earlier about having to remove the poison, the shook my head as I didn't want to think about the rest of it. Though I didn't want to do this next part either... But even so, teeth and one fist clenched, I brought one of knives (miniature sword really) onto the bat's neck, then the rat's. "I've got two here! A rat and a bat!"
  
  "Eeeh, in one go? Not bad." Wern came closer, holding three rats hanging from strings. He pointed towards the ground, in the opposite side from the one I was searching. "Have you searched this bit yet?"[/color]
  
  I shook my head, so he knelt down and began searching that place.
  
  "You already finished over there?!"
  
  "It's just a matter of experience. You have to be quick or the animals will eat the carcasses, and the traps are all over the town except near the roads, so there is plenty of ground for us hunters to cover, and not enough of us for it. Not that getting more mouths to feed would be a great idea either."
  
  "I'm kinda, I guess, sorry about that..." I just kind of felt the need to apologize, rubbing the back of my head as I gave him a nervous smile.
  
  "Ah, I didn't mean it like that. You are just passing by it can't be helped. Say, you..." He glanced over and stopped talking, then immediately turned back to the grass to search a little more. "Nevermind, it's nothing."
  
  I wasn't sure what the matter was, but it was best not to think about it. Focus on searching! Soon enough though, Wern had stood up again.
  
  "Alright, I think we did enough searching around here. Lets move on to the next spot."
  
  I nodded in response, patted my clothes to shake off some of the dirt, and we were off. We were quite thoroughly inspecting a number of places, each time he gained more animals on strings. Rats, bats, lizards... He told me how the occasional cat would be a delicacy for those with a tougher stomach and how at one point they were afraid they would have to subsist of roaches alone. So far at least, however, it hadn't happened, though there was a stock of them already ready from the time when they thought it might happen. They might have to eat them anyway just to keep them from being too rotten to consume though, they really couldn't afford to waste food. In the meantime, I was also cutting some of the grass and stuffing it into a large sack I bought earlier while we were on our way out. It was surprisingly cheap, but then again there was little point in a sack that large when there was nothing large enough to make it worthwhile. Even though the animals we found were more frequent than I'd expect, they were so all so thin and half-eaten that they could easily be carried without needing a sack. Then, at the point where we had maybe searched a quarter of the immediate area around town, I stood up and poked his shoulder, and explained I needed to go. I might have to depart early, after all.
  
  "I see. Well, thanks for the help! Give me a second I'll pick one or two for you..."
  
  "It's fine, I wouldn't want to take those from you! I have some food as well and so does Anselm."
  
  "Anselm, huh..."
  
  "Hm?"
  
  "He's the one whose group you came in, right? It's the new Hilt's group."
  
  I put a finger under my chin thinking.
  
  "Hmmm, I guess?"
  
  "You don't seem like a bad girl. I heard some things. He is associating with mages and fellons like that."
  
  Well, he wasn't wrong. There were at least two mages in our group. But something about the way he was talking rubbed me the wrong way.
  
  "You have heard the rumors no?"
  
  "What rumors?"
  
  He seemed a little shocked, then a little worried. He closed his eyes for a moment before standing up and leaning close.
  
  "They say he killed his sister. That he wanted the title of Hilt, and he killed her, and that's how this whole mess started." He whispered. I didn't respond. "Are you after the bounty? They say there's some secret bounty on his head, from the people who know the truth. I mean why else would anyone go with h-"
  
  I gave him a soft push, and stared him in the eye. From the reflection in his eyes, it would appear my expression was blank.
  
  "You're a liar." He seemed confused. A little angry perhaps. I simply kept staring.
  
  "Sorry, I guess you just didn't know. But you should be careful, he-"
  
  "Liar."
  
  "Listen to me!"
  
  "Why should I listen to a liar?"
  
  "Are you messing with me?!" He swung dagger, probably without thinking. I cut my clothes a little bit, but fortunately didn't wound me. That being said, I simply kept staring, without even a blink. He huffed, and turned back to the half-dead grass, crouching once again. "Alright then. It's your life, I don't get to say anything about it. Just don't come crying to me later."[/color]
  
  "Hmph." I shook my head, and turned around, beginning to walk away. After a bit I heard some shouting.
  
  "And just so you won't say I didn't warn you, watch your horses! Everyone is pretty hungry around here, so be careful with any supplies you leave out of your watch!"
  
  I kept walking. Ignore him, ignore him. He was a liar. There was no way Anselm would have done something like that. No way...right? No, definitely, that couldn't be the case. So that man, Wern, was a liar. There was no need to heed the word of a liar.
  
  I continued on my way back, refusing to give it any further thought.
  
  
• 
  
  There was no doubt the creature was dead. On top of that decrepit look, skin creepily stretched over every bit of bone and fur greyed, bent and at times with gaps, the trap had pierced all the way from its belly to its back, in both directions. Even so, the man removed a slightly rusted knife from his belt and lopped off the rat's head. Only then did he begin to examine the remains, prodding them with that same knife.
  
  "What are you doing?" I inquired, at least partially because my gaze instinctively turned away from the scene.
  
  "Looking at the bite marks. Nomatter how poor you are, one rat can only feed so many people, and we're not the only ones who want to feed either. So long as humanity needs to sleep, there's no way we'll get to the trap before it starts to get eaten. Well, the rest should be nearby though."
  
  "How do you know that?"
  
  The hunter stood up, leading me to take a tiny leap back when his knife got closer. He raised an eyebrow alongside a cocky grin.
  
  "Now that's a reaction I haven't seen in a while. Relax, not gonna hurt you. Just gonna show you the answer to your question. Look."
  
  I glanced at the knife. It was now a mix of colors, the grey metal with a slight copperish color in the rusted parts, red rivers webbed around the blade and dripping and finally some green goop in the tip.
  
  "Is that...?"
  
  Wern nodded.
  
  "Yes. Poison." He confirmed, though I hadn't really guessed it. It was a little hard, but I tried too look at the trap better. Under the rat's corpse was some leather with the green goop, burst open probably when the trap closed. In fact, upon looking it almost appeared as though the rat was covered in occasional green gooey spots. The hunter bent down again, and explained. "Trap catches one, covers it in poison, everything else is too hungry to be concerned with whatever the green thing on their meal is. It takes time and care to remove the poison afterwards so we can eat them, we've even had casualties, but it's a hell of a lot better than starving to death. Anyway, could you help me search for the rest of the rats? There might be a bat too judging by the bite marks, but that one might be much farther away."
  
  Yep, best not to think about that 'casualties' comment there.
  
  "Ah, you have a knife don't you?"
  
  "I guess, why?"
  
  "You saw me cut off that head earlier. We need to make sure they are dead before picking them up. If someone gets bitten or something they might get infected with whatever this corruption going around is."
  
  I gulped. It's not as though I had not hunted before myself. It's just... killing them while they just laid there defenseless, it didn't feel the same at all. I pitied them a bit. It usually felt like I won something, but this kind of hunting felt almost like bullying to me. Nonetheless, I knelt down on over that dark, greyed out dry grass. Some of it had shades of brown and others spots of black, but there wasn't a trace of the lush green one thinks of like grass. It felt like I was pushing around old bits of shredded parchment rather than a plant as I shifted through the grass in search of the would-be-meals of the townsfolk. Well, it did give me a little time to think while we were both focused on the search, him probably more than me though.
  
  On the way here Wern told me she hadn't come around here. There were all those blockades back there, and we only passed through because we were with Anselm, so she probably wouldn't catch up so easily. If not for the tense atmosphere, I would have breathed a sigh of relief. Naturally now that he told me, I should probably give him a hand too, since he invited me and all. Not that this is what I had pictured we would be doing at all though...
  
  "Ah." My hand bumped into something. I pushed aside the grass there and found myself poking into another rat and a slightly ripped wing near it. Following that trail, I found a dead bat as well. There were several wounds across its chest and one of the wings was cut through as well. Add to that the dried red over the rat's paws and you could get a pretty clear picture of what happened. Still, the wounds didn't quite look fatal, and the rat had claws and bite marks on it as well. I remembered what Wern said earlier about having to remove the poison, the shook my head as I didn't want to think about the rest of it. Though I didn't want to do this next part either... But even so, teeth and one fist clenched, I brought one of knives (miniature sword really) onto the bat's neck, then the rat's. "I've got two here! A rat and a bat!"
  
  "Eeeh, in one go? Not bad." Wern came closer, holding three rats hanging from strings. He pointed towards the ground, in the opposite side from the one I was searching. "Have you searched this bit yet?"[/color]
  
  I shook my head, so he knelt down and began searching that place.
  
  "You already finished over there?!"
  
  "It's just a matter of experience. You have to be quick or the animals will eat the carcasses, and the traps are all over the town except near the roads, so there is plenty of ground for us hunters to cover, and not enough of us for it. Not that getting more mouths to feed would be a great idea either."
  
  "I'm kinda, I guess, sorry about that..." I just kind of felt the need to apologize, rubbing the back of my head as I gave him a nervous smile.
  
  "Ah, I didn't mean it like that. You are just passing by it can't be helped. Say, you..." He glanced over and stopped talking, then immediately turned back to the grass to search a little more. "Nevermind, it's nothing."
  
  I wasn't sure what the matter was, but it was best not to think about it. Focus on searching! Soon enough though, Wern had stood up again.
  
  "Alright, I think we did enough searching around here. Lets move on to the next spot."
  
  I nodded in response, patted my clothes to shake off some of the dirt, and we were off. We were quite thoroughly inspecting a number of places, each time he gained more animals on strings. Rats, bats, lizards... He told me how the occasional cat would be a delicacy for those with a tougher stomach and how at one point they were afraid they would have to subsist of roaches alone. So far at least, however, it hadn't happened, though there was a stock of them already ready from the time when they thought it might happen. They might have to eat them anyway just to keep them from being too rotten to consume though, they really couldn't afford to waste food. In the meantime, I was also cutting some of the grass and stuffing it into a large sack I bought earlier while we were on our way out. It was surprisingly cheap, but then again there was little point in a sack that large when there was nothing large enough to make it worthwhile. Even though the animals we found were more frequent than I'd expect, they were so all so thin and half-eaten that they could easily be carried without needing a sack. Then, at the point where we had maybe searched a quarter of the immediate area around town, I stood up and poked his shoulder, and explained I needed to go. I might have to depart early, after all.
  
  "I see. Well, thanks for the help! Give me a second I'll pick one or two for you..."
  
  "It's fine, I wouldn't want to take those from you! I have some food as well and so does Anselm."
  
  "Anselm, huh..."
  
  "Hm?"
  
  "He's the one whose group you came in, right? It's the new Hilt's group."
  
  I put a finger under my chin thinking.
  
  "Hmmm, I guess?"
  
  "You don't seem like a bad girl. I heard some things. He is associating with mages and fellons like that."
  
  Well, he wasn't wrong. There were at least two mages in our group. But something about the way he was talking rubbed me the wrong way.
  
  "You have heard the rumors no?"
  
  "What rumors?"
  
  He seemed a little shocked, then a little worried. He closed his eyes for a moment before standing up and leaning close.
  
  "They say he killed his sister. That he wanted the title of Hilt, and he killed her, and that's how this whole mess started." He whispered. I didn't respond. "Are you after the bounty? They say there's some secret bounty on his head, from the people who know the truth. I mean why else would anyone go with h-"
  
  I gave him a soft push, and stared him in the eye. From the reflection in his eyes, it would appear my expression was blank.
  
  "You're a liar." He seemed confused. A little angry perhaps. I simply kept staring.
  
  "Sorry, I guess you just didn't know. But you should be careful, he-"
  
  "Liar."
  
  "Listen to me!"
  
  "Why should I listen to a liar?"
  
  "Are you messing with me?!" He swung dagger, probably without thinking. I cut my clothes a little bit, but fortunately didn't wound me. That being said, I simply kept staring, without even a blink. He huffed, and turned back to the half-dead grass, crouching once again. "Alright then. It's your life, I don't get to say anything about it. Just don't come crying to me later."[/color]
  
  "Hmph." I shook my head, and turned around, beginning to walk away. After a bit I heard some shouting.
  
  "And just so you won't say I didn't warn you, watch your horses! Everyone is pretty hungry around here, so be careful with any supplies you leave out of your watch!"
  
  I kept walking. Ignore him, ignore him. He was a liar. There was no way Anselm would have done something like that. No way...right? No, definitely, that couldn't be the case. So that man, Wern, was a liar. There was no need to heed the word of a liar.
  
  I continued on my way back, refusing to give it any further thought.
  
  

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[Firelie]

Alterne Ember​

"Many of the Dead enter the Mansus through the White Door. They wander its corridors in silence until they are lost. Some embrace each other, some devour each other, some force their way into the dreams of the living. A few record their memories on the Mansus-stone where it is soft. They scratch it with their nails, you see. Last night I read one of those memories..."​

---

Alterne went silent at Yona's question. She took a moment, deep in thought before answering Yona's questions. "I was... um, an apprentice. I-I know how to make a lot of things, though. Nothing really impressive. I understand healing salves, medicine, wax creation, transmutation, enchantments..." She rambled, rubbing her bandaged wrists as she listed down her skills. "Ah! B-But, I'm not too good at those last two. Lots of um... detailed work and... y'know..." An awkwards silence followed, but Alterne broke it by snatching up the large intricate bell she had set down. "Oh! I um, also work with this, though. Its called a Fm'latghor Ye'bthnka. In common, that's Sunbreaker Bell. Its very fascinating. As far as I understand it, this device has countless uses! Though, I personally use it as my Catalyst Chamber and as a Magicraft Enthalpy Reactor. Oh! I also use it as a combustion chamber, but that's only for um... dangerous situations. I-I was thinking of creating some more fuel for it, since mist-" Alterne froze as her spiel came to a sudden stop. Sweat formed on her brow as her face flushed red. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to ramble. You probably already know all that, since you are... you know..." She shifted uncomfortably. She didn't want to go and call out Yona for being magic, but Alterne knew that she was. "...Gifted in the arts. I-I didn't mean to bore you with elementary concepts. I'm really sorry." She moved her gaze downwards, facing the floor in shame.

 

[CasualTea]

A breath was let out from Yona, a sigh as calmness just took her aback. "No no, this is really new to me." She said. She figured since this was such down in the dumps town and the rain was showering over during the night, she figured no one would hear that she was at some level; a magic user. She also noticed that everyone pretty much knows about her at this point. Well, only Sitra and this girl. How she was able to know, she would probably guess it's something she can detect since she clearly can't see. However, turn off one sense makes all the others more sensitive. She must've had some other way to tell. "I actually wasn't brought up as one before. I was raised as a Blade among Blades." She admitted. She soon sat up in front of the blind girl and faced her comfortably. "Out of the others I was raised and trained with, I was faster and stronger than them. I pretty much excelled higher than them in terms of strength and effectiveness. Little did I know that I was actually a daughter of two mages who abandoned me once I told them I wanted to be a Blade just like all the others in Penari."

She chuckled a bit as she noticed herself talking about her past so much in front of this girl. She had no reason to but here she is spilling everything. "It's actually kind of funny now that I think about it. How I made a trip from Penari, down to Kharien to learn more about the magic I'm capable of using and then having my abilities tested in Dral. And after all of the things I've been through, I come to Opol." It seemed out of character which how much she was genuine she was. She must've gotten soft. "Perhaps this journey is another trial by fire for me."

She looked at the tools on the table then back to the girl. "Even though I didn't understand much of what you said, the Sunbreaker Bell might be interesting to see you use in action." She said, trying to give the girl a bit more confidence in herself. She soon realized she doesn't even know her name. If she was going to stay in the group, she might as well know the names of everyone in it. She already knows Sitra, but that's only one person. There are five others besides the girl in front of her whom she doesn't know the names to. Well, given that one of them probably just does her own thing and steals stuff, she can slide on the list of people she needs to learn the names of. "Actually, what is your name anyway? If I'm going to stick around this group, I might as well know the names of the ones I'm rolling with."

 

[seasonedcat]

Things at the roadblock had been boring as usual. Most people didn't even need guards to stop them from going any farther, the rumours of what had happened at the meeting were more than enough to drive them away. Borre was annoyed he didn't get to see the party that came through while he was gathering more supplies for them. The hilt's brother himself was there, he could only dream what strong warriors were joined with him on his journey. He wished that he could join them instead of being stuck watching a road. Borre slapped his cheeks, shaking his head, he couldn't think like that, this was still helping people no matter how small it was.

On the thought of helping people Borre was once again disheartened. Abandoning the townsfolk just because they wouldn't flee... They didn't want to leave their homes and the captain said that if they waited it out they would eventually give up once they realized they couldn't make it on their own. Even still, what if they didn't come and they all died there? Borre felt sick at the thought, there was no way he could sit back if that happened.

As he looked up through the drizzle he sat uncomfortably in he ignored the few unlucky guards like him that had gotten stuck on the night watch. Sitting around the fire, with him while the others slept silently in their tents. As he sat a sound louder than thunder ripped through the air, jolting him and the other guards up. A dark light lit in the sky, in a place that could not be mistaken as anything other than the village. Another tear had opened, this time it had finally reached the village. Cursing Borre ran over to the tent of the captain, throwing it open, "Sir, a tear has appeared in the village!" he rushed out. The man let out an annoyed sigh, looking up at Borre, "Your orders still stand Millow. They chose to not accept our help." "But sir, they will die without us." "I will hear no more, back to your stations." Borre's face twisted in pain as he trudged back to his post, the others already going back to their card game.

He felt sick, glancing at the village. How many would die because of this? Swallowing Borre gripped his sword, he couldn't stand by. He couldn't do this. Borre stood up abruptly, scarring the others, not that he noticed as he rushed to their horses, mouthing one swiftly before taking off towards the village.
---
At the village, a defining bang shot through the air as in the center of town a tear appeared in the air. A black light engulfed the air, blocking the stars and seemingly eating up the light around it. From the tear, monsters broke through. While it was no army, they quickly began to attack anyone on-site, breaking into any houses they could tell people were in. From the tear, the ground darkened and the wood of the buildings began to look older.

From the light of the tear piles of bodies could be seen, villagers who had died from monsters that they could not bury without a member of the scabbards present. Shouts filled the night air as the few citizen chosen guards were slaughtered.

Anselm jumped from his seat, the chair falling over as he did so. He quickly grabbed his spear, "fuck, fuck, fuck, fUCK." he spoke to himself shaking, "why here, why now. God damn it. Fucking shit bitch UGH." he kicked over the table, throwing his notes everywhere and anything else that had been on it. He took deep breaths before composing himself before(hopefully) anyone saw that.

He spoke loudly to everyone in the house, "They are here, get your weapons and fight or you die here." he spoke with as much confidence as he could muster. He had been trained by blades plus the underground brawls, but what about the others? How well could they actually fight? Would all of them even make it out tonight? He didn't know and he didn't want to. This should be his sister here not him. He should be passed out in some bar right now, some other drunk pissing on his shoes. Instead, he was leading a party to god knows where without a solid clue of what he was going to do. Breathing out a sigh he grabbed his flask from his pocket and downed a large amount of it. He breathed out a happy sigh at the way it burned his throat and his insides. He quickly shoved it back in his pocket before opening the door and moving out into the battle zone. He wasn't going to die here.
interactions: Juju Idea The True Plague CasualTea Firelie Goonfire AriAriAbabwa

 

[Goonfire]

Hackel had wordlessly seated himself in a dark corner of the house after a brief wash, contemplating murder as he stared out the window. With his helmet and hood cast aside, he took a swig of whiskey to warm his insides.

Something kept the ex-blade from lowering his guard. The town seemed to take on an eerie quality rather suddenly, and a bang and distant screams pierced the quiet night. Soon, he heard a crash in another room and went to look. After his helm was seated properly, Anselm started barking orders. “Form up,” Hackel growled. “I will strike first.” Red Hook then disappeared into the shadows outside.

Demons paraded through the streets in a disorganized fashion. Some attacked the doors and windows of houses. Others tore apart humans in the way. A glimmer pierced the darkness as a sharp hook launched out and sank into a demon’s shoulder. It was quickly pulled off its feet and yanked into the blade of a sword, its head flying off. Their assailant stalked them more before again lashing out with his now-infamous chain. With great agility, he weaved around a cluster, tripping and binding them before cleaving into them. With each slice, he did a small service to humanity, in his opinion.

 

[Firelie]

Alterne Ember​

"There is much to be said about the hours. Most see them as simple numbers, a construct made by man in correspondence to the orbs in the skies. It is known that there is more to the sun and moon, but what of those very hours attached to them?"​

---

Alterne nodded as the older woman reassured her and ranted to her. Hesitantly, she gently began her alchemical work as she listened, gingerly removing strange dried plants and peculiar mixtures out of the leather pouch she had brought down with the rest of her supplies. "A... a trial, huh?" Alterne mumbled as she reached a finger into a small black tin and pulled out a sparkling golden paste that seemed to twinkle in the firelight. She slathered it into her mortar and pestle carefully. "We aren't so different, then." She added absent mindedly. To be honest, she had only been half listening since about halfway through the conversation. She found what the other woman had to say very interesting of course, she simply found it difficult to work and listen at the same time. As Yona asked Alterne for her name, the young animal-kin had just finished digging through her herb pouch. She didn't react at first, but soon flinched as she put together that she had been asked a question while her attention was elsewhere. She flinched and dropped the sprig of a dried yellow flower from her grasp. She jumped at her own mistake and her other hand snapped out and snatched the herb midair with a surprising speed. She froze in place a second, trying to put together what she had been asked. "M-my... er... Oh! My name, it's... well... I-I had said it earlier but, its Alterne. Alterne... Ember." She turned away from the woman and went back to her work. "I... would like to ask for your name too, if thats alright?" She mumbled as she set the flower in the mortar and pestle. Sounds of stone scraping softly against stone joined the conversation as Alterne ground the herb up with the strange paste. She was silent a moment as she focused on turning it too mush without pushing it over the side of the bowl.

Once the paste was ground, she held the bowl up, smiling as she lifted it to her nose and smelled the mixture. "O-kay. Now, um..." She clamored to her feet, scooting around the table. She needed to set it at the fire to let it heat up a bit, but just as she reached the fireplace, she froze in place. "Not long now, child. You aren't ready." The voice cried, the message cryptic and unsettling. Lights began to dance in her vision without her calling them. That only meant one thing. "I..." The bowl dropped from her grasp, clattering to the floor and scattering its contents. Without saying another word, Alterne broke the peace of the winding down party and ran up the stairs. She turned into the room her armor and bag was stored and quickly got to re-equipping her gear. Mister voice only reached out to her when she was in danger. While he didn't say exactly say how she was endangered, the message was clear. It took her a couple minutes to put her leather gear back on, and as she secured the straps, she grabbed her bag and slung it around her shoulders.

Alterne came running down the stairs just as Anslem burst cursing into the room. Outside, the sounds of a rift tearing open and the ensuing chaos came muffled through the walls of the manor. Alterne stumbled out after Anslem, snatching her Sunbreaker Bell from the table on the way out. She rifled through the side pockets of her bag as she exited out into the rain. Rain? "Oh... uh... uh oh." She mumbled. There wasn't a lot she could do in the rain. A lot of her things relied on small flames or were delicate, so they couldn't be used in the rain. Panic began to take her as she slowed to a stop, trying and failing to think of what to do in the situation. She was just about to turn tail and run when the Hackel's stern order forced her back into sensibility. "R-Right!" She squeaked, stumbling up behind him. She flinched as the sound of his sword slicing cleanly through whatever they were fighting made her flinch. The sound kickstarted her terror, and she quickly grabbed a small, smooth, stone from her bag. It was crudely painted to look like an eyeball, and she lifted it up in the air behind Hackel. Hesitantly, she braced herself and began to chant. "CAHFF AH GN'THOR NILG'RINAH." Her voice boomed unnaturally and was echoed by a cascade of unsettling whispers. The stone began to float on its own violation, shaking violently as cracks spread across it. Alterne then thrust her hands forward, and the stone flew forward into the crowd of monsters. There was a resounding crack as the stone shattered spectacularly. With it there was a second sound of a tear opening. Quieter than the first, and smaller, the visible tear floated in the crowd. Out of the dark portal came a long glowing tendril. It snatched up one of the monsters, and dragged it screeching into the tear from whence it came. Then a second tendril of light, then a third. The tendrils were snatching up any monster that came close, attempting to drag it back into the dark void from whence it came. Some beasts managed to resist being dragged in, but were forced to stop and swipe uselessly at the magic tentacles that bound them.

As the tear was ripped open, Alterne gasped in pain and fell to her knees, holding her head as pain coursed through it. Her whole world seemed to spin. Everything seemed to fade away into a persistant, obnoxious humming. She began to cough violently, and soon after she was coughing up a crimson sludge that was too thick and dark to be blood. She keeled over, breathing heavily and coughing up sludge as Hackel ripped away at the beasts just in front of her.

 

[Juju]

Tiria & Siv

---

Interaction: Goonfire (Hackle) seasonedcat || Mention: Firelie (Blind girl) The True Plague (elvish asshole)​

---

Quite suddenly, Siv flinched from his cuddle session and stood up, ears perked and tail stuck out. In the light of the fire his one eye glinted like a shiny copper coin, staring steadily outside the window. The fur on his neck raised, and soon enough he was growling. Tiria frowned when she saw this, ignoring the conversation about herbs and whatever stupid things the blind girl was saying.

"Something's wrong..." Tiria muttered, her previous playful attitude completely gone. In fact, she looked distinctly afraid.

Siv was a calm beast, save for thunderstorms and cages. Living on the streets had many rules of survival, but among the highest of these rules was that if Siv was scared, you should be too.

Something like a loud clap of thunder resounded, shaking the windows in their sills and causing fresh motes of dust to fall from the ceiling. Siv began to howl.

"What in all the bloody hells was that!?" Tiria crouched beside Siv, wrapping her arms around his furry neck. She wasn't sure who she was trying to calm down, the dog or herself. Even the blind one was acting afraid, and ran upstairs. Not good. If she knew something she didn't, she wasn't going to be caught off guard.

Tiria grabbed her soggy shirt and threw it over her head. Her bag was resting on a chair, so she grabbed it too and slung it over her shoulder and across her chest. It was then that she heard it. The scrapping of a thousand claws, the screeching of something that she didn't expect to hear so soon. The monsters had come. Tiria looked out the window. All was dark, but as soon as a lightning flashed she saw them.

There were so many it looked like a wriggling mass of worms. Only difference was that these ones were bigger than she was and had claws and teeth. She felt the colour in her face drain.

Hackle's orders snapped her out of her paralysis. Her voice was shrill, disbelieving. "Form up? Are you insane? There's too many!'

Tiria took a quick look at the assembled party. There was a naive girl, a blind orphan, the disgraced acting-hilt, some odd-ball (who was nowhere to be seen), an asshole elf, and sword lady. She fully believed in Hackle's ability, in fact she had her suspicions that he was that Red Hook guy who showed up on wanted posters every now and then.

She watched as Hackle charged into the fray like a man possessed. It was inspiring, sure, but after all was said, there was only so much you could do against such overwhelming odds. Standing and fighting like a hero was the quickest way to turn into a mangled mass of meat. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, the blind girl unleashed some sort of magic spell that summoned a demonic rift almost identical to the one that spawned the monsters in the first place.

If there was any attachment to the group in Tiria's heart, it vanished whenever she saw the mage. How many others knew... or worse, were mages themselves? She had her suspicions about that elvish prick. Why else would someone support the mage rebellion so openly?

So Tiria did what she thought to be the most logical thing to do, she slipped away as soon as the attention was drawn onto her party members. Whistling to Siv, she sprinted to the back of the manor, to where she had seen the faulty lock. With a practised shove, she pried it open and helped Siv through before slipping out herself.

The stables were not too far, just visible in the pouring rain. She could hear the panicked cries of the horses inside, kicking at the stable doors in frenzy. Tiria ran through the puddled yard, practically skidding into the stable door in her haste. She heaved it open, and both she and Siv filed in.

The horses were going wild, practically begging to be let out. If she just left them the creatures would probably slaughter them like pigs. She thought of leaving them as bait for the monsters, then realized she sounded like a stupid mage.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Tiria swore, having no idea what to do. She slammed the stable doors shut and shoved a box in front of it. "This isn't happening! This wasn't supposed to happen so soon! I just wanted to get to the next city and jump ship. The hell was I supposed to know they were all suicidal!?"

Siv paced around the centre of the stable, growling and on edge. Frost had formed on his fur and each of his pawprints left frozen imprints on the wet mud.

Tiria ran to the nearest stable, where the horse Hackle had ridden was trapped. It was frothing at the mouth and turning uselessly in its stall. Holding her hands out, Tiria raised her voice above the rain. "Calm down and shut up or you're dead? You hear me, you stupid horse!" She waved her arms at the other horses, "I'll get ya out but you've got to shut up!"

 

[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• Sitra​

  

  
  It took me a bit to realize I wasn't coming back through the same place I came. Not that it was a big deal, but it just made me a little confused, not quite sure what direction I should be going once I was inside the city. The guard standing outside, a man with slender features like all the others, but baggy clothes that perhaps indicated he had once not been so, greeted me with a friendly wave and smile before asking me to identify myself. Regrettably, I was effectively forced to give Wern and Anselm's names before I was allowed to go in, because I was a visitor he didn't recognize in the middle of the night. I sighed, and meandered about for a bit still carrying my makeshift bed of grass and sack, trying to get that liar's words out of my head.
  
  All of the sudden, the ground shook, and the sky crackled, like no thunder I'd ever heard before. Looking up, I witnessed as the sky went dark, or in another sense it was lit. A strange, paradoxical thing, a dark light, as though the darkness was disguising itself as its mortal enemy. I felt a tinge of bad taste in my mouth, and that was before the monsters started pouring down, widening my eyes as I realized that this phenomenon meant we were under attack. Now that the monsters joined the water in raining down on the village, not even I would miss what the piles of villager corpses meant, and even if Wern was a liar the fact he was so dedicated to hunting to scrape off any bit of food they could for the village was no lie. So what should I do? Should I try to meet up with the rest of the group to see if they are alright? Should I try to defend the villagers? My gaze was shifting side to side, faster and faster, and my breath was growing more repetitive, or more frequent, or just more, I couldn't tell, I couldn't know, I could think, but what if what now, what what and how could I what should I-
  
  NO!
  
  I stopped, still breathing heavily. I didn't matter what I decided right now, as much as it mattered that I decided and did something. I tried patting the backpack, and for a moment it whirled and glowed in the right places, but then it died down again. It didn't heat enough, the rain was keeping it cold! And (as far as I was aware) there was only one of it, so it's not like I tested its durability enough to risk putting fire next to it. Which meant I was stuck using the weapons I already made. Aaaaaah, damn it, why didn't I bring my rain shelter blade I made earlier! Sure it was heavy and clunky, but it was better than having so few options right now, only a couple swords and my daggers. Most of the daggers were already enchanted so I would pull them out at the right time, but as for the sword...
  
  "Furés, hale mime macil -o i cemina mol ar víle- -yes ter- mime notto." I muttered, as I passed my two fingers across the blunt side of the blade. It immediately began to feel lighter, and the water droplets appeared to fly out it whenever they got near a certain distance of the blade. In fact, if one looked closely they would see the image of it seeming almost distorted, as if swirling in places. Next, I placed a hand over my chest and closed my eyes. "Heroes watching from the god's embrace, grant me a sliver of your might and courage so that I may bring glorious feats before you."
  
  It was as if every muscle on my body was clenching, but at the same time they felt refreshed. There, with those two simple spells, I was ready. As mother had told me, if there was one advantage to these weaker spells, that is they didn't need as much time to use.
  
  I didn't stop to think anymore. I just started running somewhere, only consciously avoiding running straight to the epicenter of that invasion. As soon as I began making my way deeper, people were already splitting between those staying inside their homes, those already fleeing and those coming out as if their curious gazes would put a stop to the attack. One of the monsters happened to be the first turning in the direction of a particular street I was passing through, its long clawed fingers descending towards the watchers. My foot hit a rock on the ground so hard it hurt as I attempt to propel myself forward, rushing as fast as I could in their direction. The monster screeched, throwing another slash, but this time I managed to push aside the injured woman and put my blade on the path of the monster's hand, digging right through it and the start of the creature's arm. It screeched in response and took the step back, so I used the chance to go for the neck with a wide swing with both hands on the handle, and blade carried by the magically compelled winds.
  
  "Everyone, you need to get out of here! Run as far away as you can!"
  
  "But our homes!"
  
  "They'll GET into your homes! If anything is still standing after, someone will come say something. Otherwise..." No, I shook my head. That other scenario wasn't gonna happen. It wasn't even worth thinking about. "Someone will come get you. You will not lose your homes. But please go!"
  
  Even for the stubborn ones, it was hard to object at this point, with monsters rushing in right from the center of the city. Three more showed had shown up now, probably lured in by the screeches of the one I had just killed. They screeched in turn, scaring the people behind me enough that they finally began to evacuate. Many had left their homes and began to follow the crowd, but others yet remained hidden.
  
  Taking advantage of my distraction, one of the creatures launched at attack, claws digging through the makeshift bed as if it were butter, though it was just thick enough that they could yet reach me. I instinctively let go of it when the attack came too, which meant the creature ended up launching grass all over their "faces" (assuming those things were indeed their faces). I pulled a dagger and activated the spell it was enchanted it, causing flames to manifest from the blade spread into a few embers by the swing into the air. But I wasn't trying to cut them, and indeed when the embers reached the grass the creatures were covered in spots of flame, which were spreading through their bodies. They screeched time and time again, seeming to move around in a panic, so I spun and cut into them with the sword. I looked behind me again. There were STILL people hiding, but I could hear the number of screeches coming from deeper into the village. More of those things were coming. A lot more of them.
  
  Biting my lip, I made a decision. I grabbed the dagger again, and once again used the enchantment to activate the fire.
  
  "Over here!" I shouted at the creatures, before dashing off. Where I was going, deeper, there would probably be more of them. If I wasn't careful I would soon be surrounded, and I most definitely wasn't being careful enough.
  
  As I ran, I came across a narrower passage between two houses, and immediately dived into it. The monsters tried to give chase, but it was too narrow for more than one of them to even squeeze into it. I didn't have that much mobility either, unfortunately, in fact I was pretty much stuck with my backpack. But I had enough movement for my arms, at least and continued to fight off the creatures that came.
  
  
  ................
  
  
  It hurt. Damn, it hurt. I placed a hand next to my wounded belly. How long had it been since I got a bad injury like that? Well, at least I wasn't hurt bad enough to be unable to fight, even if I was covered all over with bleeding scratches and my clothes were near shredded in those and other places. Even so, I grinned as I continued to advance. For the time being, I had managed to come out the other side of the passage without the creatures being able to give proper chase, having to crawl through a narrow passage, as well as the forces of their 'comrades' and the leftovers of what weapons made of magic or otherwise had been left stuck there in the aftermath. I'd earned myself just enough time to get away, but surely it wouldn't last that long. I needed to find a place where I could sit down and-
  
  The neighing horses called my attention, but what kept was a familiar child-like figure near one of them was what kept it. As best I could I jogged towards the window opening I saw her through, unsure what she was doing.
  
  "T-Tiria was it?" I called out to her. "What are you doing there? Where's everyone else?"
  
  
• Sitra​

  

  
  It took me a bit to realize I wasn't coming back through the same place I came. Not that it was a big deal, but it just made me a little confused, not quite sure what direction I should be going once I was inside the city. The guard standing outside, a man with slender features like all the others, but baggy clothes that perhaps indicated he had once not been so, greeted me with a friendly wave and smile before asking me to identify myself. Regrettably, I was effectively forced to give Wern and Anselm's names before I was allowed to go in, because I was a visitor he didn't recognize in the middle of the night. I sighed, and meandered about for a bit still carrying my makeshift bed of grass and sack, trying to get that liar's words out of my head.
  
  All of the sudden, the ground shook, and the sky crackled, like no thunder I'd ever heard before. Looking up, I witnessed as the sky went dark, or in another sense it was lit. A strange, paradoxical thing, a dark light, as though the darkness was disguising itself as its mortal enemy. I felt a tinge of bad taste in my mouth, and that was before the monsters started pouring down, widening my eyes as I realized that this phenomenon meant we were under attack. Now that the monsters joined the water in raining down on the village, not even I would miss what the piles of villager corpses meant, and even if Wern was a liar the fact he was so dedicated to hunting to scrape off any bit of food they could for the village was no lie. So what should I do? Should I try to meet up with the rest of the group to see if they are alright? Should I try to defend the villagers? My gaze was shifting side to side, faster and faster, and my breath was growing more repetitive, or more frequent, or just more, I couldn't tell, I couldn't know, I could think, but what if what now, what what and how could I what should I-
  
  NO!
  
  I stopped, still breathing heavily. I didn't matter what I decided right now, as much as it mattered that I decided and did something. I tried patting the backpack, and for a moment it whirled and glowed in the right places, but then it died down again. It didn't heat enough, the rain was keeping it cold! And (as far as I was aware) there was only one of it, so it's not like I tested its durability enough to risk putting fire next to it. Which meant I was stuck using the weapons I already made. Aaaaaah, damn it, why didn't I bring my rain shelter blade I made earlier! Sure it was heavy and clunky, but it was better than having so few options right now, only a couple swords and my daggers. Most of the daggers were already enchanted so I would pull them out at the right time, but as for the sword...
  
  "Furés, hale mime macil -o i cemina mol ar víle- -yes ter- mime notto." I muttered, as I passed my two fingers across the blunt side of the blade. It immediately began to feel lighter, and the water droplets appeared to fly out it whenever they got near a certain distance of the blade. In fact, if one looked closely they would see the image of it seeming almost distorted, as if swirling in places. Next, I placed a hand over my chest and closed my eyes. "Heroes watching from the god's embrace, grant me a sliver of your might and courage so that I may bring glorious feats before you."
  
  It was as if every muscle on my body was clenching, but at the same time they felt refreshed. There, with those two simple spells, I was ready. As mother had told me, if there was one advantage to these weaker spells, that is they didn't need as much time to use.
  
  I didn't stop to think anymore. I just started running somewhere, only consciously avoiding running straight to the epicenter of that invasion. As soon as I began making my way deeper, people were already splitting between those staying inside their homes, those already fleeing and those coming out as if their curious gazes would put a stop to the attack. One of the monsters happened to be the first turning in the direction of a particular street I was passing through, its long clawed fingers descending towards the watchers. My foot hit a rock on the ground so hard it hurt as I attempt to propel myself forward, rushing as fast as I could in their direction. The monster screeched, throwing another slash, but this time I managed to push aside the injured woman and put my blade on the path of the monster's hand, digging right through it and the start of the creature's arm. It screeched in response and took the step back, so I used the chance to go for the neck with a wide swing with both hands on the handle, and blade carried by the magically compelled winds.
  
  "Everyone, you need to get out of here! Run as far away as you can!"
  
  "But our homes!"
  
  "They'll GET into your homes! If anything is still standing after, someone will come say something. Otherwise..." No, I shook my head. That other scenario wasn't gonna happen. It wasn't even worth thinking about. "Someone will come get you. You will not lose your homes. But please go!"
  
  Even for the stubborn ones, it was hard to object at this point, with monsters rushing in right from the center of the city. Three more showed had shown up now, probably lured in by the screeches of the one I had just killed. They screeched in turn, scaring the people behind me enough that they finally began to evacuate. Many had left their homes and began to follow the crowd, but others yet remained hidden.
  
  Taking advantage of my distraction, one of the creatures launched at attack, claws digging through the makeshift bed as if it were butter, though it was just thick enough that they could yet reach me. I instinctively let go of it when the attack came too, which meant the creature ended up launching grass all over their "faces" (assuming those things were indeed their faces). I pulled a dagger and activated the spell it was enchanted it, causing flames to manifest from the blade spread into a few embers by the swing into the air. But I wasn't trying to cut them, and indeed when the embers reached the grass the creatures were covered in spots of flame, which were spreading through their bodies. They screeched time and time again, seeming to move around in a panic, so I spun and cut into them with the sword. I looked behind me again. There were STILL people hiding, but I could hear the number of screeches coming from deeper into the village. More of those things were coming. A lot more of them.
  
  Biting my lip, I made a decision. I grabbed the dagger again, and once again used the enchantment to activate the fire.
  
  "Over here!" I shouted at the creatures, before dashing off. Where I was going, deeper, there would probably be more of them. If I wasn't careful I would soon be surrounded, and I most definitely wasn't being careful enough.
  
  As I ran, I came across a narrower passage between two houses, and immediately dived into it. The monsters tried to give chase, but it was too narrow for more than one of them to even squeeze into it. I didn't have that much mobility either, unfortunately, in fact I was pretty much stuck with my backpack. But I had enough movement for my arms, at least and continued to fight off the creatures that came.
  
  
  ................
  
  
  It hurt. Damn, it hurt. I placed a hand next to my wounded belly. How long had it been since I got a bad injury like that? Well, at least I wasn't hurt bad enough to be unable to fight, even if I was covered all over with bleeding scratches and my clothes were near shredded in those and other places. Even so, I grinned as I continued to advance. For the time being, I had managed to come out the other side of the passage without the creatures being able to give proper chase, having to crawl through a narrow passage, as well as the forces of their 'comrades' and the leftovers of what weapons made of magic or otherwise had been left stuck there in the aftermath. I'd earned myself just enough time to get away, but surely it wouldn't last that long. I needed to find a place where I could sit down and-
  
  The neighing horses called my attention, but what kept was a familiar child-like figure near one of them was what kept it. As best I could I jogged towards the window opening I saw her through, unsure what she was doing.
  
  "T-Tiria was it?" I called out to her. "What are you doing there? Where's everyone else?"
  
  
• 
  
  It took me a bit to realize I wasn't coming back through the same place I came. Not that it was a big deal, but it just made me a little confused, not quite sure what direction I should be going once I was inside the city. The guard standing outside, a man with slender features like all the others, but baggy clothes that perhaps indicated he had once not been so, greeted me with a friendly wave and smile before asking me to identify myself. Regrettably, I was effectively forced to give Wern and Anselm's names before I was allowed to go in, because I was a visitor he didn't recognize in the middle of the night. I sighed, and meandered about for a bit still carrying my makeshift bed of grass and sack, trying to get that liar's words out of my head.
  
  All of the sudden, the ground shook, and the sky crackled, like no thunder I'd ever heard before. Looking up, I witnessed as the sky went dark, or in another sense it was lit. A strange, paradoxical thing, a dark light, as though the darkness was disguising itself as its mortal enemy. I felt a tinge of bad taste in my mouth, and that was before the monsters started pouring down, widening my eyes as I realized that this phenomenon meant we were under attack. Now that the monsters joined the water in raining down on the village, not even I would miss what the piles of villager corpses meant, and even if Wern was a liar the fact he was so dedicated to hunting to scrape off any bit of food they could for the village was no lie. So what should I do? Should I try to meet up with the rest of the group to see if they are alright? Should I try to defend the villagers? My gaze was shifting side to side, faster and faster, and my breath was growing more repetitive, or more frequent, or just more, I couldn't tell, I couldn't know, I could think, but what if what now, what what and how could I what should I-
  
  NO!
  
  I stopped, still breathing heavily. I didn't matter what I decided right now, as much as it mattered that I decided and did something. I tried patting the backpack, and for a moment it whirled and glowed in the right places, but then it died down again. It didn't heat enough, the rain was keeping it cold! And (as far as I was aware) there was only one of it, so it's not like I tested its durability enough to risk putting fire next to it. Which meant I was stuck using the weapons I already made. Aaaaaah, damn it, why didn't I bring my rain shelter blade I made earlier! Sure it was heavy and clunky, but it was better than having so few options right now, only a couple swords and my daggers. Most of the daggers were already enchanted so I would pull them out at the right time, but as for the sword...
  
  "Furés, hale mime macil -o i cemina mol ar víle- -yes ter- mime notto." I muttered, as I passed my two fingers across the blunt side of the blade. It immediately began to feel lighter, and the water droplets appeared to fly out it whenever they got near a certain distance of the blade. In fact, if one looked closely they would see the image of it seeming almost distorted, as if swirling in places. Next, I placed a hand over my chest and closed my eyes. "Heroes watching from the god's embrace, grant me a sliver of your might and courage so that I may bring glorious feats before you."
  
  It was as if every muscle on my body was clenching, but at the same time they felt refreshed. There, with those two simple spells, I was ready. As mother had told me, if there was one advantage to these weaker spells, that is they didn't need as much time to use.
  
  I didn't stop to think anymore. I just started running somewhere, only consciously avoiding running straight to the epicenter of that invasion. As soon as I began making my way deeper, people were already splitting between those staying inside their homes, those already fleeing and those coming out as if their curious gazes would put a stop to the attack. One of the monsters happened to be the first turning in the direction of a particular street I was passing through, its long clawed fingers descending towards the watchers. My foot hit a rock on the ground so hard it hurt as I attempt to propel myself forward, rushing as fast as I could in their direction. The monster screeched, throwing another slash, but this time I managed to push aside the injured woman and put my blade on the path of the monster's hand, digging right through it and the start of the creature's arm. It screeched in response and took the step back, so I used the chance to go for the neck with a wide swing with both hands on the handle, and blade carried by the magically compelled winds.
  
  "Everyone, you need to get out of here! Run as far away as you can!"
  
  "But our homes!"
  
  "They'll GET into your homes! If anything is still standing after, someone will come say something. Otherwise..." No, I shook my head. That other scenario wasn't gonna happen. It wasn't even worth thinking about. "Someone will come get you. You will not lose your homes. But please go!"
  
  Even for the stubborn ones, it was hard to object at this point, with monsters rushing in right from the center of the city. Three more showed had shown up now, probably lured in by the screeches of the one I had just killed. They screeched in turn, scaring the people behind me enough that they finally began to evacuate. Many had left their homes and began to follow the crowd, but others yet remained hidden.
  
  Taking advantage of my distraction, one of the creatures launched at attack, claws digging through the makeshift bed as if it were butter, though it was just thick enough that they could yet reach me. I instinctively let go of it when the attack came too, which meant the creature ended up launching grass all over their "faces" (assuming those things were indeed their faces). I pulled a dagger and activated the spell it was enchanted it, causing flames to manifest from the blade spread into a few embers by the swing into the air. But I wasn't trying to cut them, and indeed when the embers reached the grass the creatures were covered in spots of flame, which were spreading through their bodies. They screeched time and time again, seeming to move around in a panic, so I spun and cut into them with the sword. I looked behind me again. There were STILL people hiding, but I could hear the number of screeches coming from deeper into the village. More of those things were coming. A lot more of them.
  
  Biting my lip, I made a decision. I grabbed the dagger again, and once again used the enchantment to activate the fire.
  
  "Over here!" I shouted at the creatures, before dashing off. Where I was going, deeper, there would probably be more of them. If I wasn't careful I would soon be surrounded, and I most definitely wasn't being careful enough.
  
  As I ran, I came across a narrower passage between two houses, and immediately dived into it. The monsters tried to give chase, but it was too narrow for more than one of them to even squeeze into it. I didn't have that much mobility either, unfortunately, in fact I was pretty much stuck with my backpack. But I had enough movement for my arms, at least and continued to fight off the creatures that came.
  
  
  ................
  
  
  It hurt. Damn, it hurt. I placed a hand next to my wounded belly. How long had it been since I got a bad injury like that? Well, at least I wasn't hurt bad enough to be unable to fight, even if I was covered all over with bleeding scratches and my clothes were near shredded in those and other places. Even so, I grinned as I continued to advance. For the time being, I had managed to come out the other side of the passage without the creatures being able to give proper chase, having to crawl through a narrow passage, as well as the forces of their 'comrades' and the leftovers of what weapons made of magic or otherwise had been left stuck there in the aftermath. I'd earned myself just enough time to get away, but surely it wouldn't last that long. I needed to find a place where I could sit down and-
  
  The neighing horses called my attention, but what kept was a familiar child-like figure near one of them was what kept it. As best I could I jogged towards the window opening I saw her through, unsure what she was doing.
  
  "T-Tiria was it?" I called out to her. "What are you doing there? Where's everyone else?"
  
  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Interacting With: Juju
Mentions: seasonedcat
Might Also Want to Read: N/A​

 

[The True Plague]

Faenor had finally gotten back into his metaphorical center. His mind had wandered, and yet, had not become lost. Eyes closed, body leaned against the wall behind him. Nothing but the collected and near mechanical steadiness of his breathing and the chaotic pattering of rain to try to steal his thoughts. In his mind's eye, he saw roaring flames. The embers held the shine of gold, the burning fuel crisscrossing the flames in a manner akin to scales with its pattern. Ahead of him, blue flame seemed to collect in a sphere, as if the eye of a grand beast, observing him.

On the outside, if any happened to stumble upon the noble, they'd merely see him with his head down, hands clasped together with the flames of his glove shifting in hue. If one, somehow, could see within his mind, they'd see an odd scene. Noble and dragon, mage and beast. A unique polarity between civilized and wild. The noble who had it made, risking it all for the sake of more. The beast who guarded what he had with his life, freely giving to another. It was... An odd experience to say the least. Something that Faenor found himself happy to contemplate whenever he had the chance. To better the connection between him and Snapdragon, his cherished connector. Perhaps it was a bit whimsical, maybe even childish for him to imagine the beast that gave its life for his connector... But he didn't care. So what if he wished to imagine what it'd have been like to meet the dragon whose blood stains his gloves? So what if he imagines a connection between them both? Can't an elf dream a little dream?

Nevertheless, he couldn't ponder the paradoxical relationship for very long. Despite the running off of the... Is it a sellsword if you've not paid them? Semantics later, action now. After running off the sellsword by getting her a tub, he had expected a peaceful night. After all, how often do things go awry night one? Not often. Day two? Sure. Week two? Absolutely. Not night one. That's just rare. Though one could argue night one transitions into day two... Regardless, his peaceful night was so cruelly denied to him by the universe.

For surely, what else could this be, if not the ridiculously unnecessary gears of fate, so stubbornly gumming up to inconvenience him? He had heard the roar of the tear coming into existence long before Anselm called out, the representation of himself created by his mind winked out. As if the flame had been extinguished by the rush of wind one would expect from such a forceful tear in reality. With an almost suffering sigh, Faenor shook his head and made for the front to rejoin the group, thankful in part to the fact that others at least knew what that sound meant. What the unnatural unlight in the sky was. There was some hope for them yet.

As their relatively quiet resident mad man yelled for them to form up, Faenor made his way up to collect his robes. Purely for the dagger he kept on the inside, since he took no joy in the idea of pyromancy in the rain. He'd have to be utilizing more powerful spells to ensure it didn't fizzle out, but that meant he was likely to get shanked whilst casting if he weren't prepared. Thus, to prevent getting slashed to death, he'll stab anything that gets too close... Presuming his comrades to be incompetent in a bout.

It was only as Alterne casted her spell that he began to ponder... Exactly how many mages did they have in this group? The naive one was magical, apparently water. It appears the lizard has magic. Sitra has magic. If he were to believe what he had barely overheard from Sitra earlier, their sellsword had potentially magic... Or at least, enchanted items. That's what... about 4 to 5 of them? Interesting...

Even more interesting, was the spell that was cast. A second tear had been created, and although he'd want to yell at the stupid reptile usually for seemingly doubling their problem, he was too sidetracked by how it seemed to be the reverse of the tear issue. It didn't spew forth monsters, it seemed to be bringing them back in. Perhaps if that could be applied on a larger scale, it could seal tears up... Presuming the concepts are the same and didn't just look similar.

Nevertheless, it was time for Faenor to carry his weight here. Perhaps even carry the weight of their missing members, for he couldn't see Sitra or Tiria anywhere. He expected the thief to dip, but not Sitra. He imagined Sitra would've let the group know if she were leaving. Tiria he had no expectations for except that items will be missing alongside the rogue... Focus Faenor. They seem to be holding the front, but you need to be prepared.

He'd hold his right hand facing outwards, the left hand holding onto his arm to keep it steady. "I runya -o ohtatimeár- shall n- kindled, lesser nar úr- eth. Caure i orme -o rámalóce kin, úr- yenya i lokë lambe!" (The flame of war shall be kindled, lesser fire burn out. Fear the wrath of dragon kin, burn before the serpent tongue!) At first, nothing seemed to happen. Then, steam began to rise in billowing clouds from his hand... Finally though, he got what he wanted. At first, it was somewhat small. Weak even. Merely a collection of orange and yellow embers... But as he focused upon it, his glove turned an oddly enticing shade of blue and green, streams of similarly colored flame pooling in his hand and slowly forming an orb that dwarfed his hand. In its flickering light, if one were to look towards the noble elf, they'd see a wholly unbefitting, almost manic grin. Eyes alight with mischief.

"You know, the rain really is a blessing here." He'd chuckle softly, ears twitching. Sight wasn't the only thing that he had going for him. Albeit not as good as his sight, he had superb hearing. Not that he needed it to hear the traipsing of the monsters that had sought to flank their little group. Tch, as if they were worthy of being before him. "It means I can go all out, without worrying about the buildings burning down completely. Release!" Like that, flame began to spew forth from the orb in his hand. The world was bathed in a blue glow as the flames roared to life, monsters flash frying if caught in the way.

Those whom thought themselves clever by darting out of the way soon found out why it's the Serpent's Tongue. He moved his hand slowly, deliberately, causing the flame to fork and whip about. Sure, he still missed some, eager as he was to whip his flames about... But those who lived wouldn't be feeling too hot... Or rather, they'd feel overly hot, what with the steam rising from the puddles that had been evaporated on the ground. Sure a few buildings had caught aflame, but the rain was making an effort to diminish that.

Mentioned: seasonedcat Juju Goonfire Idea Firelie CasualTea AriAriAbabwa

 

[CasualTea]

The peace Yona grew to be accustomed with was very short. As soon as she learned the name of the girl, Alterne, she was about to give hers. "It's alright. My name's Yo-" She stopped herself once she felt a change in atmosphere. Then everyone in the party seemed to scramble. Alterne getting her gear, the Hilt panicking to mobilize combatants from the group, the paladin already following the order of the Hilt and the thief and her dog running away. She stood up and looked outside the window before moving to the door way and taking a few steps outside into the rain despite her lack of clothes. No amount of experiences she had were to prepare her for this. In Dral, she knew that those who witnessed her have said that she was able to cause hell. She never saw it from their perspectives until now. It almost was like the world itself was plunged into it without warning. Those things kept spewing out from whatever place they came from and the corpses of villagers stacked. She even felt like those creatures relished in killing the villagers as a way to show them off as trophies. So this is what it's like to witness Hell.

Soon, Faenor made his entry, manifesting his magic and then attacking. She was surprised though. It seems that Alterne can be effective in combat. The paladin and Faenor as well. The Hilt seems to be holding his own too. Not like that was surprising, she'd figure they've had their fair share of fights. However, she started to worry. Sitra hasn't been back yet and the thief ran off with her dog. Not that she cared that much for the thief, but they were still people in the party. It didn't even look like she knew what she signed up for. She probably was only in it for loot. Sitra on the other hand, she may have enchanted weapons but you still can't help but worry, right? As all the questions raced within her mind, her attention was brought back by Faenor's words.

The rain is a blessing, huh? She looked up and watched the rain. It rained pretty heavily and you can't even see the stars. Faenor... Is correct. The rain truly is a blessing. With every drop of it cleared her mind. It emptied it. She looked back down at the scene in front of her, back to hell. This is nothing. In fact, she can cause an even greater hell than this. With her mind metaphorically empty, she can make room for what's to come next. In the words of the paladin, form up.

She began taking a few steps towards the battlefield, her gaze now dull yet focused. The more she inched away from the house, her energy began to surge and was being drawn out into reality in the form of black, redlined electric crackles. Within a few seconds she manifested a polearm with her energy manifestation without saying a word. It was a uniquely designed polearm. With the spearhead in the design of a halberd, the was an extension attached to the top with looked to be a flat edged blade. The bottom of the pole was yet another blade, but sharpened in the same fashion as her katana. Speaking of her katana, her main weapon, she extended her arm which the katana found its way into through the window of the house. After wielding it and re-establishing her bond to it, she pointed it into the air and let out a war cry before slamming the edge into the ground with all her force as the same lightning she had manifested before struck down into her.

She wasn't damaged in the slightest, but now she adorned a red transparent cape seeming to give her wings. Energy surged all around her as they made a protective shield around her body. Her weapons sharing the same energy surge were now imbued with the lightning. She's ready.

The whole scene definitely caught the attention of some of the monsters and began charging towards her, but they were soon struck by lightning. Afterwards, lightning would strike a group of monsters with precision and might, as if someone was firing a cannon from above like artillery but with a heavier load. This was her connection to the thunderbird, enraged and picking off anything that it despised. Soon, she began making moves herself, making sure to steer clear from Faenor's attacks, she cut down monsters in small groups with one slash. She used her lightning abilities to enhance her speed and literally make her blink from location to location, decimating anything in her path. She even struck a monster so hard with her polearm she splattered its remains against a wall of a house and made indents into the wood. She would continue her rampage to create a perimeter to protect her other party members that she can see before moving on to look for Sitra and the thief. The villagers? Not much of her priority. All they can ever hope for is her thunder's blessings to wipe out any monster near them, even if they didn't know what was going on.

Spoiler: Spear

Spoiler: Katana

 

[Juju]

Tiria & Siv

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Interaction: Idea (Sitra)|| Mention: seasonedcat (monsters) The True Plague (Fire) CasualTea (lightning) Firelie (lizard)​

---

Just when Tiria was beginning to think she might survive more than fifteen minutes, a voice rose above the rain and screams of horses.

"T-Tiria was it? What are you doing there? Where's everyone else?"​

"Shit. Shit" Tiria whisper-yelled. She scurried over to the nearest wall, one beneath the window and crouched with her back to it. If she played this right, Sitra wouldn't be able to see her. "Where'd she come from?!"

Of course the chattiest member of the group was the one who spotted her. The one who, she might add, had disappeared into town. This was just her luck that she so happened to return right at the moment she intended to slip away.

Siv was still pacing in the stable, the horses were still kicking against their stable walls and Sitra was still standing outside in the rain, trying to talk to the girl who was ignoring her. Not good.

On one hand, Sitra might be more useful than she thought, but on the other, that might mean she was one of the mages like that lizard-girl. Sitra did seem to carry around too many items... a suspicious amount. Earlier, Tiria had given her the benefit of the doubt, but after seeing the tear in the ground made by Alterne she lost trust in this group. A flash of bright blue light lit up the nightsky, and a crackle of lightning cast a bright shiver against the rain stained glass. Just how many mages were hidden among us them?

No armour, going off in the middle of the night, carrying a suspicious sack of items? Sounded too close to the mages she'd seen. Come to think of it, she looked way too frail to even be carrying such a load naturally. Even if there was a chance she could be wrong, Tiria didn't care.

She hid in the stables, ignoring Sitra and hoping she would give up and go to the others. She whispered under her breath, "Go...go... leave! I'm not here!"

 

[seasonedcat]

tw|gore(light), mentions of death
table of contents|
Juju Tiria
Idea Sitra
Goonfire Hackel
The True Plague Faenor
Firelie Alterne
CasualTea Yona
Anselm
little girl
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the room was tight with bodies as they huddled together in prayer. The little girl shook as she held the toy rabbit tight to her small chest. They had dealt with these monsters before, but never the rift in the middle of the town, would they be able to pull through this like they always did? Why hadn't Mayor let them evacuate with the blades. How many have died in this pursuit of pride? Screams could be heard from outside, the young males who had volunteered to guard tonight were farm from lucky.

She couldn't help but feel lost. The rain still dripped from leaks in the roof, wounded still huddled in the corner, the Scabbards tried to ease tension. So what if this town had survived hardships before, this wasn't a hardship, it was a suicide. It made her sick to think her father died protecting a group that was so stupid to think it would be safe like this. This ground may be considered holy for some old, dead god, but that did not mean it could save them here.

she shivered as she moved out of the group, their warmth being the only thing keeping her warm once the fire was forbidden after the last attack. Her makeshift dress provided her no warmth, but she did not fear the cold. She easily made it through the adults without being noticed, reaching the door where the guards no longer stood, having went outside in foolish attempts to keep them safe. Taking a breath, she pushed past her fear and creeped opened the door, slipping out before she could have a second thought.

she didn't bother to hear the door click behind her as she rushed down the steps, her bare feet making no noise as she did so. She held back her vomit as her feet met the cold mud, mud that was stained with the blood of a familiar man. He had given her his bread the other day after some bullies took hers. Would he have had the strength to survive today if she hadn't taken it? She swallowed back the thoughts before taking off towards any direction she could, away from this town. She would not die here today.

she could see some others fleeing, some being guards that didn't want to fight anymore, some being those who chose the smarter option of not relying on holy grounds, but still the dumb one of not leaving the town. Some chose to flee instead of hiding, had someone helped them realize they could flee instead of dying here? As she ran she tripped and fell into the mud, shoving herself back up and continuing to run. It was only then did she remember she dropped her rabbit. She quickly stopped, running back. It was safe still, she couldn't see anything. As she picked it up, she was blown backwards by the force of something, as she landed on her back she noticed fire spreading quickly along the old wood of the buildings. Her head stung, warm sludge dripping from her scalp into her eyes. She struggled to get back up, swallowing back her fear of the fire. How could buildings that were wet catch on fire? Only a fire hot enough to evaporate the layer of water could get the old, dry wood underneath. She wondered if any burned who chose to stay in their houses.

As she began to try and stand again, a wet noise made her freeze. Her eyes slowly turned over to the creature tearing the face off of someone she could no longer recognize. She couldn't move, the momentum was gone. She was scared. She quickly tried to cover her mouth as a gasp slipped out. She backed away slowly, flinching as a flash of light filled the night. She then noticed those fighting, if they were there that meant they were saved. All she had to do was call out and they would save her. Her hand reached out as she opened her mouth to call, only to be met with a loud crunch. She couldn't call out anymore. Why were they not saving them? It was only then that she realized the monster had looked up in alarm after the lightning attack that she took her watch away from it. She did not notice it come for her. At least she had her rabbit, even if it would take a while for her to get that stain out.
○
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Anselm quickly took to fighting the monsters as did the others, though he moved with a different purpose. He rushed over to the guard who let him in, meeting a surprised face as he saved him from the monster eating him alive. He tried to not let the disappointment crush him at the sight of the disemboweled man. He couldn't save him, he went to quickly rush to another person who needed saving, only for his arm to be grabbed, "I'll be damned, who'd a thought that the cursed child would save someone other than himself." Anselm moved to try and get out of his grip, "You know, this was all your fault. If you were never born, our land would not be cursed." Anselm shoved off the man's arm, standing quickly to return to battle, "the church, they are in the church. please..." Anselm offered a glance at the hacking man before offering him a nod. He quickly shot through the monsters, his training coming in use for not the first time in his life. He reached the church quickly, the building not being very far from where they were. He cast an annoyed glance at his mage friends, some making a bigger mess than before, he wondered if that had cost any lives. The heat from the fire made his skin sting, but he had no time, electricity sat in puddles, something that would defiantly shock people passing by, he felt anger inside him. These mages needed to learn how to save people, not kill them.

His stomach dropped as he saw a little girl's half eaten corpse, a bunny still clutched in her hands. His gaze then turned to the church, who's doors were wide open. As he approached he became very aware of the fact that the door's lock stood unharmed. Someone had forgot to lock it on their way out? Or maybe they did this on purpose. Blood coated the walls. There was far too many bodies to count. If only he had been a little faster, if only he had known they were here. He Felt panic grip his heart. He couldn't break down now, there was still so much left to do. But he couldn't find the strength to make his lungs breathe. Why was he so useless? It was only the black figure rising from the bodies that made him freeze into focus.

it's body was soaked in blood as it dropped the last body it was holding. What could Anselm do, could the worthless him even fight this on his own. A scream then brought him to the shivering old woman holding a man, protecting him with her body. "fuck." was all he spoke before he dashed in, his spear slashing at the creature in front of him. It stopped its pursuit towards the civilians, turning to face him, its arm slashing towards him. It loomed over him, standing at a height impressive to even tall people. Maybe 10 foot or so, maybe more. He didn't know, all he knew is that he was screwed.
○
○
monstrous screeches roared through the air, the putrid scent of their flesh wafted anywhere nearby. Houses caught alight, everyone alongside the blast in fact, thankfully though, the rain stopped it from spreading outside that street, however, the rain did little to quell the fire that evaporated water that got to close, making the rain almost have no effect to the inflamed buildings.

Monster's half ablaze ran through the streets, some that managed to survive the original blast took off back into the rift, seemingly to heal or retreat in some way. Even still, with the large amount killed from the blast of fire, more continued to poor from the rift in a seemingly endless fashion. They continued forward towards The noble elf, some even continuing to fight as their body burned. The waves of beasts seemed endless and no matter how many you took out, 10 more would replace them.
○
○
Lightning slashed through the air, electrifying itself on the very droplets that surrounded the mage woman. Bodies of the dead's hair rose up by the sheer amount of it. Magic remnants or simply by the dead bodies of those she killed, electrified puddles throughout the town. Some villagers most likely falling victims to it, mostly monsters received small shocks however. Either way, a hazard followed her where she went, including for her if she were to come in contact with them. Similar to the fire mage who fought not too far from her, more monsters continued to appear, and the waves of hoards continued throughout her slaughter.
○
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Tendrils grasped at anything it could get it's hands at, thankfully, they just managed to grasp the bodies of monsters, though it defiantly came close to grabbing the man fighting in front of it's caster if not for his experience in battle. Those that were unlucky enough to be grabbed were brought into the void, devoured by the retched beast that left remnants of black slime wherever it dragged. Thankfully for the two of them, the number of monsters began to thin with the slaughter they pursued. Most of the monsters were being pulled towards the large amounts of flashing lights from magic being used by the other two.
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As Hackel fought them off, behind him the girl had all but collapsed, it was up to him if he were to help her. As she lay there, a monster slipped through and grabbed her leg, beginning to attempt to drag her away. It's claws dug into her skin, blood dripping out as it tried to succeed in this and hopefully gain another snack. The portal she opened had already began to close up, the tendrils taking their last meals as they slipped away into the air, would anyone be able to help her now without her beasts?
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by the stables the scent of blood danced through the mucky air. A beast lurked as it listened to the voice of the female speak outside. It shivered with excitement. It waited no longer, diving forward towards the girl. It wondered how good this meat would taste. Unbeknownst to the backpack wearing girl another two stalked her, one come from a far, while the other lurked atop the roof, waiting for this beast to fall, or to take its meal from it if it did succeed.
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inside the stable it was much safer. For a while that is, however, the screeching of horses drove one to slither into the stables. It's body fit easily through the open window in the back as it went forward slashing at a beast in front of it. A horse let out a loud noise of anguish, the other horses becoming more frantic to escape. The horse in the back began to struggle against it's attacker. It was only a matter of time before the small girl and her dog was noticed from where they were. The question was if they would use the lives of the horses to escape. The answer would need to come quickly as the horse wouldn't last much longer.
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[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• Sitra​

  

  
  "Tiria? Tiria? What's going on, are you alright?" I got on the tip of my toes, stretching my neck as I attempted to find some angle in which I could see the little girl inside the stable, but to no avail. I was certain, 100% positive that I had spotted her here, but now all of the sudden she was silent. Her dog was there too, or at least I was pretty sure that was her dog (not that I had seen many dogs so maybe they were more similar than I thought), so I couldn't imagine she was very far away. Since she wasn't responding in this kind of situation... could it be she was hurt? Had she passed out?! As much as I didn't want to think about the possibility, and as witty as the little girl seemed, she was still that, a child. I'd hoped it was a situation of not judging by appearances, but what if she was as fragile as she appeared? No way she could last on her own with all these monsters pouring through! I had to do something, and I had to do it fast! "Just hold on there Tiria, I'm coming!"
  
  I began attempting to push open the stable doors, but for some reason they wouldn't budge. I continued doing it, the door banging as it went back and forth whilst refusing to open. My breathing grew a bit heavier alongside my worry, I tried to see if there was some mechanism to open it, then I tried kicking the door, until at last I thought I'd have to resort to attempting to use a blade to get through the obstacle.
  
  A screech behind me called my attention away, however, as I managed to turn right on that very key moment where my blade crashed into the claws of the creature lunging at me, which only managed to go through some of my arm. Well, at this point it was just another wound to add to the party, a bit more blood spilled. Nothing I couldn't recover from if I found somewhere a little more peaceful to use a bit of healing magic. Not that I would be able to get there with this thing and any others that might be lurking nearby still clinging to me.
  
  Finally, I managed to push it back as the stalemate was cut short by the monster pulling back a little, probably on account of the large wound on its hand...paw? On account of the wind sheath grinding into it. I reached out for a dagger to throw, but I didn't have more than some three of those left, so I stopped. I would have to be even more reserved with those now. I grabbed the handle of the sword with both hands, trying to assume some kind of more defensive stance, as best as I could remember how. The monster attacked again, so I leaned down and nearly lept ahead, deflecting the arm with my elbow after going past the claws, and throwing a kick at the shredded palm. The creature screeched in pain, and I took the opportunity to slide its neck.
  
  No sooner had I done, that, however, than another attacked me, using the corpse of its fellow monster as a cover for its ambush. I managed to duck under the claws instinctively, but was still pushed down and slipped on the blood, back and head hitting the stable doors. That thing got my shoulder with a voracious bite, teeth sinking deep into my left shoulder.
  
  "Gaaaargh!" I gargled loudly, before gritting my teeth and stabbing into the creature's chest. It decided to press its bite, perhaps hoping to tear my arm off, and out of desperation perhaps I continued to stab it over and over, until it finally let go, stumbling back with an arm over the wounded chest. Yet another growl came from the right as I attempted to get up, and I had to bite my lips to fight through the pain and throw one of my daggers at it, electricity flowing out of the dagger as it hit the creature's arm and quickly coating it thanks to the rain. It wouldn't immediately kill it, but it would hurt it and buy some time, and that was what I needed right now. I approached the ambusher creature and cut its wrist when it attempted to raise its arm to claw me, then slashed through the already wounded chest, leaving a long, gashing wound that cause it to fall down on the verge of death if not actually dead.
  
  Only one left. I hoped. I pulled out my connector, and waited until the creature screeched at me or the like.
  
  "Flames that heat the passions of the soul, manifest yourselves at my fingertips!" I pointed the connector, a small amount of flames emerging from it, which I rammed down the creature's throat, as close as I could without letting it bite or touch me. "Brave winds, venture forth this day."
  
  The addition of the wind spell produced a small gust of wind which pushed the flames deeper inside the creature, leaving it screeching and wriggling and rolling on the water, still get shocked by the dagger's enchantment, whilst its insides burned. I felt something of a bad taste crawling into my mouth as I watched that, and I had to pull back to the stable door while covering it. I knew it was dangerous, but I still couldn't quite keep looking at that sight, instead only shooting some peeks when I dared to just to make sure no more monsters were coming. For now anyways.
  
  "Tiria! Tiria if you're in there, if you can hear me, I need you to open the door! If not... try to at least not be in the way. I'll... try to hack through it. I'm coming!" I shouted toward the stable.
  
  
• Sitra​

  

  
  "Tiria? Tiria? What's going on, are you alright?" I got on the tip of my toes, stretching my neck as I attempted to find some angle in which I could see the little girl inside the stable, but to no avail. I was certain, 100% positive that I had spotted her here, but now all of the sudden she was silent. Her dog was there too, or at least I was pretty sure that was her dog (not that I had seen many dogs so maybe they were more similar than I thought), so I couldn't imagine she was very far away. Since she wasn't responding in this kind of situation... could it be she was hurt? Had she passed out?! As much as I didn't want to think about the possibility, and as witty as the little girl seemed, she was still that, a child. I'd hoped it was a situation of not judging by appearances, but what if she was as fragile as she appeared? No way she could last on her own with all these monsters pouring through! I had to do something, and I had to do it fast! "Just hold on there Tiria, I'm coming!"
  
  I began attempting to push open the stable doors, but for some reason they wouldn't budge. I continued doing it, the door banging as it went back and forth whilst refusing to open. My breathing grew a bit heavier alongside my worry, I tried to see if there was some mechanism to open it, then I tried kicking the door, until at last I thought I'd have to resort to attempting to use a blade to get through the obstacle.
  
  A screech behind me called my attention away, however, as I managed to turn right on that very key moment where my blade crashed into the claws of the creature lunging at me, which only managed to go through some of my arm. Well, at this point it was just another wound to add to the party, a bit more blood spilled. Nothing I couldn't recover from if I found somewhere a little more peaceful to use a bit of healing magic. Not that I would be able to get there with this thing and any others that might be lurking nearby still clinging to me.
  
  Finally, I managed to push it back as the stalemate was cut short by the monster pulling back a little, probably on account of the large wound on its hand...paw? On account of the wind sheath grinding into it. I reached out for a dagger to throw, but I didn't have more than some three of those left, so I stopped. I would have to be even more reserved with those now. I grabbed the handle of the sword with both hands, trying to assume some kind of more defensive stance, as best as I could remember how. The monster attacked again, so I leaned down and nearly lept ahead, deflecting the arm with my elbow after going past the claws, and throwing a kick at the shredded palm. The creature screeched in pain, and I took the opportunity to slide its neck.
  
  No sooner had I done, that, however, than another attacked me, using the corpse of its fellow monster as a cover for its ambush. I managed to duck under the claws instinctively, but was still pushed down and slipped on the blood, back and head hitting the stable doors. That thing got my shoulder with a voracious bite, teeth sinking deep into my left shoulder.
  
  "Gaaaargh!" I gargled loudly, before gritting my teeth and stabbing into the creature's chest. It decided to press its bite, perhaps hoping to tear my arm off, and out of desperation perhaps I continued to stab it over and over, until it finally let go, stumbling back with an arm over the wounded chest. Yet another growl came from the right as I attempted to get up, and I had to bite my lips to fight through the pain and throw one of my daggers at it, electricity flowing out of the dagger as it hit the creature's arm and quickly coating it thanks to the rain. It wouldn't immediately kill it, but it would hurt it and buy some time, and that was what I needed right now. I approached the ambusher creature and cut its wrist when it attempted to raise its arm to claw me, then slashed through the already wounded chest, leaving a long, gashing wound that cause it to fall down on the verge of death if not actually dead.
  
  Only one left. I hoped. I pulled out my connector, and waited until the creature screeched at me or the like.
  
  "Flames that heat the passions of the soul, manifest yourselves at my fingertips!" I pointed the connector, a small amount of flames emerging from it, which I rammed down the creature's throat, as close as I could without letting it bite or touch me. "Brave winds, venture forth this day."
  
  The addition of the wind spell produced a small gust of wind which pushed the flames deeper inside the creature, leaving it screeching and wriggling and rolling on the water, still get shocked by the dagger's enchantment, whilst its insides burned. I felt something of a bad taste crawling into my mouth as I watched that, and I had to pull back to the stable door while covering it. I knew it was dangerous, but I still couldn't quite keep looking at that sight, instead only shooting some peeks when I dared to just to make sure no more monsters were coming. For now anyways.
  
  "Tiria! Tiria if you're in there, if you can hear me, I need you to open the door! If not... try to at least not be in the way. I'll... try to hack through it. I'm coming!" I shouted toward the stable.
  
  
• 
  
  "Tiria? Tiria? What's going on, are you alright?" I got on the tip of my toes, stretching my neck as I attempted to find some angle in which I could see the little girl inside the stable, but to no avail. I was certain, 100% positive that I had spotted her here, but now all of the sudden she was silent. Her dog was there too, or at least I was pretty sure that was her dog (not that I had seen many dogs so maybe they were more similar than I thought), so I couldn't imagine she was very far away. Since she wasn't responding in this kind of situation... could it be she was hurt? Had she passed out?! As much as I didn't want to think about the possibility, and as witty as the little girl seemed, she was still that, a child. I'd hoped it was a situation of not judging by appearances, but what if she was as fragile as she appeared? No way she could last on her own with all these monsters pouring through! I had to do something, and I had to do it fast! "Just hold on there Tiria, I'm coming!"
  
  I began attempting to push open the stable doors, but for some reason they wouldn't budge. I continued doing it, the door banging as it went back and forth whilst refusing to open. My breathing grew a bit heavier alongside my worry, I tried to see if there was some mechanism to open it, then I tried kicking the door, until at last I thought I'd have to resort to attempting to use a blade to get through the obstacle.
  
  A screech behind me called my attention away, however, as I managed to turn right on that very key moment where my blade crashed into the claws of the creature lunging at me, which only managed to go through some of my arm. Well, at this point it was just another wound to add to the party, a bit more blood spilled. Nothing I couldn't recover from if I found somewhere a little more peaceful to use a bit of healing magic. Not that I would be able to get there with this thing and any others that might be lurking nearby still clinging to me.
  
  Finally, I managed to push it back as the stalemate was cut short by the monster pulling back a little, probably on account of the large wound on its hand...paw? On account of the wind sheath grinding into it. I reached out for a dagger to throw, but I didn't have more than some three of those left, so I stopped. I would have to be even more reserved with those now. I grabbed the handle of the sword with both hands, trying to assume some kind of more defensive stance, as best as I could remember how. The monster attacked again, so I leaned down and nearly lept ahead, deflecting the arm with my elbow after going past the claws, and throwing a kick at the shredded palm. The creature screeched in pain, and I took the opportunity to slide its neck.
  
  No sooner had I done, that, however, than another attacked me, using the corpse of its fellow monster as a cover for its ambush. I managed to duck under the claws instinctively, but was still pushed down and slipped on the blood, back and head hitting the stable doors. That thing got my shoulder with a voracious bite, teeth sinking deep into my left shoulder.
  
  "Gaaaargh!" I gargled loudly, before gritting my teeth and stabbing into the creature's chest. It decided to press its bite, perhaps hoping to tear my arm off, and out of desperation perhaps I continued to stab it over and over, until it finally let go, stumbling back with an arm over the wounded chest. Yet another growl came from the right as I attempted to get up, and I had to bite my lips to fight through the pain and throw one of my daggers at it, electricity flowing out of the dagger as it hit the creature's arm and quickly coating it thanks to the rain. It wouldn't immediately kill it, but it would hurt it and buy some time, and that was what I needed right now. I approached the ambusher creature and cut its wrist when it attempted to raise its arm to claw me, then slashed through the already wounded chest, leaving a long, gashing wound that cause it to fall down on the verge of death if not actually dead.
  
  Only one left. I hoped. I pulled out my connector, and waited until the creature screeched at me or the like.
  
  "Flames that heat the passions of the soul, manifest yourselves at my fingertips!" I pointed the connector, a small amount of flames emerging from it, which I rammed down the creature's throat, as close as I could without letting it bite or touch me. "Brave winds, venture forth this day."
  
  The addition of the wind spell produced a small gust of wind which pushed the flames deeper inside the creature, leaving it screeching and wriggling and rolling on the water, still get shocked by the dagger's enchantment, whilst its insides burned. I felt something of a bad taste crawling into my mouth as I watched that, and I had to pull back to the stable door while covering it. I knew it was dangerous, but I still couldn't quite keep looking at that sight, instead only shooting some peeks when I dared to just to make sure no more monsters were coming. For now anyways.
  
  "Tiria! Tiria if you're in there, if you can hear me, I need you to open the door! If not... try to at least not be in the way. I'll... try to hack through it. I'm coming!" I shouted toward the stable.
  
  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Interacting With: Juju
Mentions: N/A
Might Also Want to Read: N/A​

 

[AriAriAbabwa]

#B1E1CB
Interacting: Firelie (Alterne) Goonfire (Hackel)​

Before the beast could drag Alterne any further, a large bubble suddenly snapped between them. It separated the young girl from its grasp, shoving it away as it drifted her further away. However, the bubble itself was notably shaky; it mirrored its creator. Emerging from the woodwork—which were the safe confines of their quarters—a trembling Edelmira Ise directed her connector to bring Alterne out of harm's way. "L-Let my friend go..." she whispered, focusing her all on saving her.

Mira tried her best to ignore the lashing rain; the screaming civilians, crying bloody murder; the metallic scent that arose all around them. And, tried as she did, her legs went weak and numb all the same. At some point, she didn't know if she was crying or if the rain somehow got in her eyes. At any other moment, Mira would have loved nothing more than to help everyone in any way she could; not here. Here was nothing like the battle scenes against monsters that she imagined in the fairy tales.

But Alterne, kept in a sturdy bubble, was now safe aside from the bleeding on her leg.

Breath quivering, Mira turned her oar to the monster that attacked the blind girl. Her lips moved; she bit her tongue several times, and the chant was barely audible to even herself. Yet, the rain subsided around the monster. And, forming a wall, it rushed at it, pushing it away from Alterne and Hackel like a powerful wave. It was a one-time miracle, though, that the spell was as strong as it was.

Mira's fear mirrored in her spells that followed suit—she attempted to perform the same wave-type spells with the rain to alleviate some of Hackel's pressure. Some of those waves, though, were more like a bucket of water to the monsters than anything potent.

She wanted to go home.

 

[Goonfire]

Hackel’s battle was on two fronts—physical and mental. He could feel his blood pressure skyrocket as the mages revealed themselves; almost every single ally was involved those... squalid studies. They were more likely to destroy this village and corrupt the potential few survivors. The Hilt had also sprinted towards the church, necessitating haste if he wanted to keep the oddball safe.

However, a sudden dilemma dulled his urge to bury his axe in these destructive, toxic bastards’ heads. That girl had fallen unconscious and was being dragged into the shadows by a demon. She used magic, yet... she was but a child. In a split-second decision, his paternal instinct overrode his prejudice and he leapt into action. His hook found its mark, embedding in the creature’s neck. He then whipped the snagged creature to one side, smashing its head against a wall before the hook tore free. He then took a pitchfork and impaled the dying monster through its neck, fastening it to the wall. The water splashes obscured the demons’ vision enough for the Red Hook to catch them off-guard, carving into them and ending their miserable existence.

The bounty hunter’s murderous gaze then turned towards the two girls... and softened. “Come, Anselm is counting on us,” he urged, reaching to pick up Alterne and place her under his arm. With his hatchet, he pointed towards the church. He hoped his assertion would boost the nervous scabbard’s confidence. Despite her alarming use of water spells, she was proving to be a better ally in this war than most.

Hackel spared no creature in his way of a violent thrashing. He ripped through over a dozen demons with the axe, clearing a path with the strength and finesse of a veteran Blade. He then hurled the weapon, burying it in a demon’s chest, then switched his grip on Alterne, tucking her under his right arm with his pelt taking the abuse directed her way.

With his chain, he lashed the wounded beast. The more distal steel links swung more violently, the demon’s neck serving as a fulcrum. The hook embedded itself in another, allowing Hackel to pull off a maneuver that slit the one’s throat and broke the other’s neck in one motion. As the reeled in the bloodied chain, he caught the axe handle and pried it out. The way to the church was mostly clear, but only for a few seconds. They needed to move.

Firelie AriAriAbabwa

 

[The True Plague]

If one were to look at Faenor right now, they'd not see the expected smug look of the noble. Gone was the apathetic look, even the anger was absent. No, in the flickering blue light of his flames, Faenor's face was one of silent horror. The rain was supposed to weaken his fire. Why did these buildings catch? They shouldn't have caught aflame. The forests back home never caught flame when struck by a rain storm. Was there some difference in living wood and old wood?! The amount of lives he potentially just took... Sure, maybe there's been a noble or fellow member of the Rebellion who was never heard from again, but that's different. That's something done on purpose. The swift, sure strike of a viper in waiting. This? This was something else entirely.

If not for Yona zipping to and fro, Faenor would've found himself disembowled, so close was he to the claws of a beast half burned. As his comrade came in and truly turned the beast into half of what it once was, did Faenor shake off his stupor. Now's not the time to freak out. A memorial can be made later, funded purely by him. Relocation as well, done by local nobles in return for a favor from his family, presuming the locals had any survivors.

For now, he'd ignore the group of three heading towards the Church, where Anselm too had gone. Why? Simple. The beasts seemed to be drawn to him and Yona. Likely due to their nature as mages. Wouldn't have pegged the sellsword to be a spellsword, but he didn't have time to ponder that. After all, his mind may have been shaken, but he wasn't out. Not yet at least. Even if his body was beginning to feel overly warm, especially around his hands...

He'd use his left hand to grip his dagger, plunging it deftly into the throat of the next beast that lunged from the darkness, crisp skin releasing steam as the pre-cooked monster was allowed to alleviate itself. That smell never got better. Burning skin, charred bones, overcooked meat. It was a smell he'd never get used to, but one he'll always remember. He had to grit his teeth, face screw up in pain as a beast got past his dagger, slashing up along his arm. Son of a fucking bitch! He placed a glove on the beasts head, and with a murmured chant, as it snarled and tried to bite off his hand, he blew its fucking head off with a combustion point blank.. For the most part, his voice became a soft whisper as he kept backpedalling to make space between him and the monsters for what he wished to do next. Little explosions of flame and heat bursting forth from his right hand to keep them back.

"Right then. It appears that violence is the language of you beasts. So be it then." He scowled, sliding his dagger back into his robes. It would seem he'd have to start being a lot more indiscriminate if he wished to make progress... And also to keep the beasts focused on coming for him. Hopefully, he can keep them funneled into the street with the buildings already burnt. "Ahem! Spellsword! I'll need you to keep them focused amongst the burning houses. It'll minimize casualties, and should make them easy pickings for my flames. Make sure they do not flank us!" Not a please or a could you in sight. Fucking arrogant bastard. Love it!

Irregardless of if she even heard him or not, he has spells to begin weaving. Hands free, back to a wall, he began to, excuse the pun, work his magic. So frazzled was he, that he even forgot to speak in his native tongue. Common is just... Much less complicated to work with when under stress. Theatrics and show can wait for when his life, and others, aren't on the line. After all, think of the hits to his reputation.

He began with a relatively simple spell, to him. "To my call, fire shall heed. Blood of all, fuel this seed." As he spoke, he began to rub his hands together, flame greedily licking out from between his hands. "Eternal has it burned, peaceful and calm. Now for what it has always yearned, flame burst upon my qualm!" He opened up his hands, revealing two balls of flame. He chucked each one forward, letting them dangle within the crowd of monsters until one touched a ball. As soon as they did, both balls would burst, upheaving the ground and bursting into flames as he worked his AoE damage out there. Further helped by the sparks in the air. Where the expanding flame touched sparks, they'd begin to conduct themselves through the flames, electrifying any monsters caught in the way. So if they didn't melt, they'd likely get fried or at the very least stunned. Paralyzed even!

However, he wasn't done quite yet. Although he often would work alone, he's had to cooperate and learn with mages of many different types. He knew some basics of how to work his magic to get some terrifying results. Sadly, the explosions would cause the sparks to go to ground, removing them from his ability to work with... However, he could make use of his environment still.

He'd turn his gaze to the ground before him, hoping this would pay off. Otherwise he's gonna end up cooking his own goose here. He'd take a risk here, but he'd get down to his knees, hands on the ground. As the thundering of feet began to pick up again, Faenor allowed the blood from his wounded arm to create a puddle on the ground, grinding it into the palm of his right glove. "All things melt before the flame, so now it's time to play my game. Although earth answers not to my name, the results shall remain the same. Magma bursts forth from shattered remains, mana with my will to be ingrained." As he spoke, his gloves began to shift in color once more, the blue of it slowly being swallowed by a blinding white, steam rising from the ground as it began to smoke. He was taking a big gamble here, but damn it, he's a master at pyromancy. If he can't create molten rock by slagging the ground, what even is the point?

He began to push outwards with his magic, flame pouring into the ground. Around him, mud would solidify once more, cracks beginning to spread. For cobbled path, the very stone would begin to bubble and twist. Monsters stepping upon it would occasionally find their feet sinking into it, caught upon the melted stone. His arms shook, pain lancing through him as another beast managed to catch his side with a slash, stopped from gutting him due to it slamming it's hand into his dagger. Push through the pain Faenor, push through the pain. Spell or die!

"The ground shakes before my might, fire purging those in my sight. Nevermore to draw my ire, I call upon the mountain's fire!" It seemed to do nothing at first, as Faenor fell facefirst upon the ground... But seconds later the ground would bubble and boil, small pockets of flame seemingly building up before exploding upwards. Behold, the fire storm! Gouts of blue flame rose from the ground into the sky, the ground around it turning to molten slag. Yona will have to be careful darting around as the world melts around her.

Panting, Faenor would push himself up, shakily grabbing his dagger with his right hand. His gloves returned to their natural red state, smoke rising from them. He's been using his magic too carelessly, too flashily. He's gonna have to keep his magic in check for a moment, partially to avoid adding another burn to his hands, partially to avoid running out of mana and dealing with all those 'fun' side effects and symptoms. Just... Don't focus on the pain spearing his senses, nor the way his left arm would shake every once in a while. If they get close, cut them. That's it. Recuperate, refresh, re-engage.

Mentions: seasonedcat Goonfire AriAriAbabwa Firelie
Interact: CasualTea (Vaguely, they're fighting in the same area currently)

 

[CasualTea]

As the slaughter continued to ensue, Yona caught a glimpse of the Hilt running to the church. The paladin, Scabbard and an unconcious Alterne followed as well. Guess they're safe for now and she knows where to find them. One problem irked her. Her thunder strikes were precise, but it was leaving hazardous puddles around and making them death traps to humans. The monsters weren't so affected by it as it seemed to just injure them partially, cripple them, paralyze them, but it sure as hell didn't kill them. She stopped the barrage of thunder strikes to save energy when she figured that a mindless local would just panic into a puddle of electricity and die which has probably happened already.

She wasn't used to protecting people on the battlefield as she was always sent to locations in Dral to exterminate all who opposed her boss. Seeing that now she was working with a team, no more of that lone wolf stuff. She now has other combatants she's fighting with. Speaking of now being part of a team, she was being called upon. Upon pinning down a monster to slice its throat, she heard the elf starting to speak and thought that it was a spell but realized halfway through, he was calling out to her. Like an order, out of instinct from her time in the syndicate, she finally plunged her sword into monster's throat right through before violently pulling out through its neck, ripping its supposed throat. All of that followed by her vocal confirmation of the order with every drip of malice she had on deck. "Rog'. On it."

She then started to fight in a less chaotic way like that of a berserk beast and into a more calculating assassin. She used her polearm and her sword to cut down monsters with precision and speed to always create fatal damage on her targets. As she did this, she also began making sure the monsters clustered around the burning houses as per the elf's orders. It was like a dog herding sheep. She saw it a couple of times in Kharien. She also made sure to watch her step as she was getting pretty close to the fire and steered clear from actually getting burned. She even started to conjure spears in less than a second and had already started sending them on a travel path into a monster's head, killing it whenever there was one that was stray from the crowd and trying to get into their flanks.

She soon noticed the elf chanting a spell and then falling face first into the ground. Shit. To her, he was vulnerable and needed more priority than the order she was given. She rushed over while cutting a monster in half and stood near him, conjuring multiple swords and spears which were pointed at the general direction of the monsters and was sent hurling at them in a parabola pathway to only affect the area she can see. Soon though, she noticed the elf getting back up as well as changes to the environment. It would seem she'd have to do something a bit more different. She didn't have any efficient ranged attacks but she knows one way to solve this problem.

Yona lifted her foot before putting it back down again. Though, when she did, she had created a small platform made by the same magic she used for her protective shield. It was small enough just so her foot could make contact and she can launch herself forward. She used this technique to replace running on the ground and instead used it to dart towards enemies probably even more efficient than before now that she can make fake walls to launch herself from. She continued her rampage as she stayed cautious for any environmental changes caused by the elf or whatever nature these monsters spewed from. This same very shield still protects her from monster attacks and acted as a physical enhancer to further boost her mobility and strength. Even without the thunderstorm, she can still do a lot of damage as she resumed the order from before.

 

[Firelie]

Alterne Ember​

"There is so much to be said about that ancient energy that flows through with such ferocity. Perhaps that is why it is taboo to say anything of it,"​

---

Alterne coughed and hacked, desperate to get a breath. Still, there was nothing but dark sludge. It spilled out of her in unhealthy troves, leaving her a gurgling mess. Alterne suddenly had her feet swept out from under her as a foul monster flanked her and it's wretched claws dug into her ankle. Blood poured out onto the ground, and pain shot through her leg. A pained gurgling escaped her, sending another burst of sludge from her. Panic grasped the young girls heart as she was abruptly tossed to her back to be dragged away to certain death. She scrambled for another pocket in her bag and pulled out a jar filled with a rotten looking, pulsing mound of flesh. Shaky hands struggled to take the lid off, and as the sudden force of the bubble pushed Alterne and the monster apart, the jar escaped her grasp and bounced off a couple of feet before settling to a stop against the body of a fallen void beast. Powerless, the blind Alterne let out a terrible gargled cry and pathetically shielded her face with bandaged arms. Luckily, the resounding crack of the beasts skull against a wall meant the end of the beast.

Beyond her, the rift began to close, and the beast within let out a roll rumbling growl as it retreated back into the depths. As the portal came to a close, Alterne felt her mind clear, and the terrible ooze keeping her from breathing finally dislodged itself and dislodged itself from Alterne's throat, the dark crimson glob slopping into the ground. Alterne blindly reached for that mysterious jarred substance she dropped, but before she could find it she was scooped up by Hackel with a yelp. "W-wai-..." Her protests died out, barely even audible amongst the chaos in the first place. "Ans.... O-Okay! Yes sir!" Alterne gasped out, still struggling for air. Finally she had a moment to think, and that meant a moment to connect. Silently, she whispered a prayer as Hackel carried her toward the church. She focused on that small, twinkling light and watched as it grew into a string, a path. Alterne felt a weight lift off of her heart as the sweet instruction came to her, and that meant she could be much more useful than before. Alterne reached for the ivory bracers at her side, grabbing them and hastily snapping them on top of her bandaged wrists. The iron chains that held the bracers together as she was roughly carried by Hackel. Mentally she prepared herself for what was to come and spoke out, trying to lightly push herself out of the mans grasp. "I... I am ready to fight." She mumbled, her wavering voice making her words hard to truly believe.
Mentions: Goonfire AriAriAbabwa (kinda)

 

[Juju]

Tiria & Siv

---

Interaction: seasonedcat (monster) | Mention: Idea (Sitra)​

---

"Shit, shit, shit..." Tiria kept repeating, scrambling back from the stable door. She was frozen in fear at the sound of screeches, along with the obvious noises of a scuffle. The bright glow of a fire swarmed under the door, and in between monstrous shrieks she heard strange rhymes. Was that a spell? Standing on her toes, Tiria was just tall enough to peek out the window at the mage girl.

This wasn't good. Could Sitra even take on all those things? Whatever, that was Sitra's problem. There was no way she was going to open the door and let those things into the stable.

Siv snarled, his teeth bared and his fur covered in a film of ice. As if things couldn't get any more chaotic, he began to jump at one of the stable doors and bark. The poor horse, which happened to be the spare one from earlier, was already scared as it was.

"Siv, stop! You're going to attract the monsters!" Tiria hissed while desperately trying to calm down her dog.

That's when she saw the shadow slither in through the window. Open window. It was so quick she might have imagined it, but the snarling of Siv was a dead give away. Survival rule number 3: Siv's better at detecting things than you.

Tiria felt all the warmth in her body drain into a puddle. Siv was howling and the horse in the stable screamed in pain. The smell of wet copper rose above the reek of horse dung and hay. Sitra was still fighting outside. It would be a good time to leave, now that the monsters had two meals. It was every man for themselves right now, and she didn't need to think twice about ditching the mage. After all, it was their fault the otherworldly creatures had invaded in the first place. Word on the street was that they opened the portals by straying too far with their magics.

The horse, on the other hand, didn't deserve to be eaten alive by a monster. Tira's hands fumbled into her bag, grabbing the leather sling. In a daze, she fitted a stone into the pocket and swung it above her head. Her heart pounded in her ears, louder than the rain.

"HEY ASSHOLE!" Tiria shouted as she slammed the stable door open. By the Twins the monster was ugly. Before she could think about the rows of sharp teeth, she lobbed the stone at the beast's head. "EAT THIS!"

With a solid thunk, the rock collided with the monster's head. The impact made it stumble away from the horse, blood from its mouth splashing onto the walls. Tiria could hardly believe it. It felt like she was watching someone else or dreaming. The only thing that reminded her of reality, was when the creature recovered and then turned its sights onto her with black, fishlike eyes. It leapt, bloody claws ready for a different meal.

She probably should have thought this through more.

Tiria yelped and stumbled back, but before the claws struck her they were intercepted by a mass of white fur and ice. Siv's fangs were clamped firmly around the monster's arm, bowling it over onto the ground. The temperature dropped, and with a screech of pain, the monster's arm was encased in ice. The mud froze below it, snaring a leg or two. Unfortunately, one of the clawed arms was still free and lashed out to grab Siv. His yelps of pain was more than enough to spur Tiria into a rage.

Throwing caution to the wind, Tiria reached for the make-shift shiv under her shirt and stabbed it into the back of the monster. "Let go of him, bastard! I'll kill you!"

 

[seasonedcat]

Rain plastered against his face painfully as the horse sped towards the village. The weather began to pick up as he rushed towards them, his stomach twisted with anxiety as he watched the flames swirl in the night, he just hoped that the increasing of rain would do well to put out the fire. Flashes of light that was not native to the tear made him even more afraid. Are there beasts he had not seen before there? What exactly was attacking the citizens? He had to make his way to the church as quickly as he could in hopes to save them from being massacred.

He reached the entrance of the village, bodies of dead people he had once talked to when trying to convince them to leave met his gaze. He felt sick, why hadn't they stationed here, why weren't they protecting the people who needed it. He quickly dismounted his horse, not tying it up incase it was attacked. He made his way into the city, moving to walk past the stables when Borre heard the sound of a voice calling out.

"Tiria! Tiria if you're in there, if you can hear me, I need you to open the door! If not... try to at least not be in the way. I'll... try to hack through it. I'm coming!"

He quickly rushed forward, panic at the thought of someone's loved one being stuck and unable to escape. He rushed forward seeing the girl who had some light injuries, but nothing that he needed to attend to immediately. "Is your friend in there? I am a Blade I will save them don't worry." He patted her head lightly before turning to the door. He could hear the sounds of yelling and commotion inside, they were in trouble. He reeled his leg back and began to kick the door, wood splattered and soon with one final push of the door he managed to get it open. Thank goodness his training was useful for something other than killing things.

As the door busted open, some boxes cast to the side he was met with the sight of a young girl stabbing into a monster, a small dog like creature was also there attacking it. The poor stable girl had no means to protect herself other than her dog. Borre quickly leapt to action, unsheathing his sword and dashing forward, propelling himself over the boxes to avoid falling. With one swift, trained motion the head of the beast fell to the floor, an easy cut over the short girl's body.

the beasts body easily fell over as it was now lifeless, thankfully that was the only beast that was in the immediate area that he could see. He quickly leant over and inspected her for cuts, tilting her face to try and get a look for anything, "are you two okay? Is there any other friends or family stuck, I am a Blade I am here to help." he offered a small smile, wanting nothing more than to protect these two from anything and everything.
Juju Idea
---
As Faenor and Yona cleaved their way through the enemies, the waves began to slow down, their numbers begging to thin. Now it would only be a measure of time before they cleaned the streets from the beasts. Even still, these waves had done a number on the two mages, both were nearly out of mana storage, Faenor being the worse for wear. Their reckless use and waste of magic due to their flashy styles has left both running out of magic, it was only a hope that the two of them had other means to fight in case it was needed.


while the monsters' numbers began to thin, the tear still stood open in the center of town, while no more monsters seemed to enter through it, it was still very apparent that it would be a threat until closed. The rain began to pick up, some of the smaller fires began to sizzle, slowly dying, while the large flames still seemed to crackle amidst the moisture. Some patches of electricity still sat among the muddy floor, though they slowly began to lose their charge as the source no longer supplied to it. The two's plan seemed to be working, no more screams could be heard in the night air, though it was still unsure if this was because there were no longer any to scream.
The True Plague CasualTea
---
Anselm coughed up a hack of blood, his back burning from the impact of the wall he just got thrown into. His body fell to the ground, blood splashing him as he landed on the corpses of two newly weds who had been holding each other when they were cut down. He struggled to stand, his limbs shaky as the monster stared him down as if it was just a statue.

Anselm winced, spitting out blood from his mouth, leaning against his polearm for support, he managed to stand up, blood from his forehead fell in his left eye, causing it to shut from the foreign liquid.

it's spear spun in the air, pulsing as if it were a heart, made up of the blood of all the people around him, his own blood that had been spilt had most likely joined to sharp blade. His attacks did little to it and he was out of practice compared to what he used to be. Was there anyone even left to save? Was there even a point to his continue pursuit? He shook off his doubt and offered the armour a bloody smirk, "You know, once a drunk elf pansy hit me harder for stealing his sweet roll, I hate to tell you this, but I think you might need to add a little more oomph to your hits." he chuckled, hacking slightly as he did so from the liquid that began to fill his throat.

he wondered if the others who he had taken with him had just fled, without him there to keep them there would they just flee and return back to their homes, giving up on him just like the rest? He wouldn't be surprised, it was a likely outcome that he was expecting for a while actually. He just hopped maybe they could get somewhere before they all abandoned him.

Anselm was used to this, it was fine. Fighting alone even when he knew he couldn't win was just how it always was. The useless, failure of a child, that's how he has always been. Even when his bones broke under the stress or his skin burned from the heat, he had no choice but to face it alone. Who would stand beside someone like him? Even if he died here nothing would change, he couldn't do anything by himself really, this whole mission was bound to fail. He had no where else to go, without his sister he was a no one, they would gladly dispose of him the first chance that they got. So at least he didn't die by a knife in the back like they had tried multiple times. He laughed to himself at the thought.

Maybe he lives here, maybe he dies here, it didn't matter in the end. The world wouldn't change by his hands. He let out his breath, gripping his polearm he reeled it back, at least this time he wouldn't die in his sisters shadow, may they all remember him without her attached as the unidentified body found in the church.

With a sudden gust he dashed forward, the polearm striking the armor with a sudden force he had not displayed before, the sound of the clashing metal echoed through the air. As wind gusted throughout the church, dust flushing outside the door from the pressure. The armor cracked under the weight as it hit, the contact quickly leaving as the armour lashed back, Anselm dashing back to avoid it, this time appearing to weigh nothing as he did so. As he landed his leg shook and bent as he struggled to not collapse. His breath came out in gasps as if he couldn't breathe, dark lines began to form as if his skin was cracking, spreading from under his choker, slowly branching out and stopping an inch from the choker. Anselm straightened his body, he knew no one was coming, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
---
as the group began to make their way towards the church they had almost no issue with monsters, only the few stragglers were near them if they even bothered to try and kill them or left them to do as they pleased. As they ran bodies lined the streets both from the corpses of monsters and that of the citizens.

the wind that gusted may have made them stumble or fall over, it was a wind that was as unexpected as the sound that came before it. It was noticeably stronger the closer to the church, hitting this group the hardest, though it was up to their personal strength if it even had any effect on them.

If they reached the church the doors would be wide open and they could clearly see the massacre as well as the battle happening inside. Would they aid Anselm? would they search for more survivors? Help the two battling the mass of the hoard? They had many options as they were not currently against enemies, whatever they chose they would have to chose quick or else some unpleasant outcomes may happen...
Goonfire Firelie AriAriAbabwa
---
Throughout everyone's battles or interactions there was a common moment between them all. The sound of a loud bang, as if metal on metal, spilled through the air. A strong gust of wind spread through the town, knocking over lose items and smothering fires that were too small. Even the rain seemed to get knocked back a few spaces as if the clouds themselves moved, but it was probably just a trick of the eye.
Juju Goonfire Firelie The True Plague CasualTea AriAriAbabwa Idea

 

[Idea]

• Coded
• Phone Version
• Semi-Coded

• Sitra​

  

  
  Was that barking coming from inside the stable? I realized there was a dog there, but now it seemed agitated for some reason, increasingly so. I was too occupied with the battle I had just endured to think about it, but somewhere inside me I couldn't help fearing the worst. I didn't wait more than a few moments after declaring my intentions to the stables for me to raise my sword up high, tilted back ready to swing, but just before I did I threw back my foot and shifted my body to the direction of the new sound. To my surprise (and relief) it was not another monster but a boy with blonde hair, slightly taller than myself, dressed in colorful elaborate clothing.
  
  I couldn't keep the arm up for long after the boy showed such a concerned expression as he inquired about my 'friend' inside, so it dropped to rest for a second over my bleeding shoulder. He genuinely seemed to be here to help, and we could use all the help we could get, yet before I could reply to his question or even react to the the odd feeling of his hand over my head, making me clutch my body a bit tighter, muffled screaming erupted from inside the stables, followed by noises I didn't quite recognize. I felt my heart skipping a beat or two as I turned with wide eyes and heavy breathing to this new benefactor.
  
  "PLEASE HELP US!"
  
  He then began kicking the door, which was pushed as if bent with each of those knocks. With even more screaming coming from the inside though, I began readying my sword again to make an attempt at the door myself. Fortunately, it was then that it finally gave in and was burst open, and a torrent of cold air engulfed us. There was snow all over, particularly where the monster and Tiria were fighting, and shards of ice scattered around the stables. Where did they come from? What happened? Is that what the noises were? Yet, the boy did not share my moment of hesitation, instead jumping straight into action against the monster. It made me realize I couldn't let myself get let behind either, and I leaped onto the stables myself, ignoring the stinging all over.
  
  "Tiria!" I ran towards the girl, as fast as I could while handling how slippery things had gotten and tried to get between her and whatever monstrosity she and her pet were up against. I had barely gotten there though, and the blonde had already managed to put down the thing.... I felt the chills of the cold air near my feet, shivering especially as it irritated my wounds. Did that monster make this ice, snow and cold? Then why was the creature's arm still stuck in it? Wait, what was I thinking. I shook my head, trying to focus on the more pressing matters. I turned swift as lightning to Tiria and knelt down near her. "Are you alright Tiria? Are you hurt anywhere?"
  
  I eyed her up and down a few times, hands darting all over the place and getting close to the child, but not enough to touch her even if she were to let me, as I didn't want to accidentally touch somewhere I shouldn't and hurt her more. She was after all, already shaking a fair bit, in no small part because she looked drenched between the mud and the rain, and the bits of snow on her hair and skin, which surely weren't helping. She was going to get sick at this rate, just look at how pale she was already! It was only a question of how much of it was her physical conditioning, and how much was from the shock of what she just went through...
  
  "Aaah, you'll get sick, I should, what should, I-I- I uh, is there anything-" What would mom have done in this situation? My thoughts were all jumbled as if fighting each other in a pit called panic. I looked around the stables. It might be a bit redundant to note this again, but it had turned into quite the cold place. Whatever things here might warm anyone up, they were likely frozen.
  
  I stood up and looked him right in the eyes.
  
  "Thank you for saving us, mister uh, blade. Really. We came to this village with some other people, but I was outside with some... hunter I think, when that thing in the sky showed up. I was trying to meet back up with them after I distracted some of the monsters, still no idea where everyone is though. Well, except for Tiria, since I happened to spot her. I guess I've got a few "scratch marks" after all that but that's nothing new for a traveler like myself. I'll be just fine, just need a safe place to take a breather and fix myself up a bit. But I need to find something to warm her up... and something for him as well."
  
  It had slipped my mind, but as I looked at it again, the dog was wounded. It was hard to tell if it was anything deep though, and it would probably be even more averse to me getting close than Tiria might have been. I looked at Tiria.
  
  "I'll go see if there is anything the two of you could use in the supplies around here. If you know anything about what happened here or everyone's whereabouts, could you share it with him? He seems to be helping us." I gave the child a smile, then looked at the boy and headed to do as I said.
  
  
• Sitra​

  

  
  Was that barking coming from inside the stable? I realized there was a dog there, but now it seemed agitated for some reason, increasingly so. I was too occupied with the battle I had just endured to think about it, but somewhere inside me I couldn't help fearing the worst. I didn't wait more than a few moments after declaring my intentions to the stables for me to raise my sword up high, tilted back ready to swing, but just before I did I threw back my foot and shifted my body to the direction of the new sound. To my surprise (and relief) it was not another monster but a boy with blonde hair, slightly taller than myself, dressed in colorful elaborate clothing.
  
  I couldn't keep the arm up for long after the boy showed such a concerned expression as he inquired about my 'friend' inside, so it dropped to rest for a second over my bleeding shoulder. He genuinely seemed to be here to help, and we could use all the help we could get, yet before I could reply to his question or even react to the the odd feeling of his hand over my head, making me clutch my body a bit tighter, muffled screaming erupted from inside the stables, followed by noises I didn't quite recognize. I felt my heart skipping a beat or two as I turned with wide eyes and heavy breathing to this new benefactor.
  
  "PLEASE HELP US!"
  
  He then began kicking the door, which was pushed as if bent with each of those knocks. With even more screaming coming from the inside though, I began readying my sword again to make an attempt at the door myself. Fortunately, it was then that it finally gave in and was burst open, and a torrent of cold air engulfed us. There was snow all over, particularly where the monster and Tiria were fighting, and shards of ice scattered around the stables. Where did they come from? What happened? Is that what the noises were? Yet, the boy did not share my moment of hesitation, instead jumping straight into action against the monster. It made me realize I couldn't let myself get let behind either, and I leaped onto the stables myself, ignoring the stinging all over.
  
  "Tiria!" I ran towards the girl, as fast as I could while handling how slippery things had gotten and tried to get between her and whatever monstrosity she and her pet were up against. I had barely gotten there though, and the blonde had already managed to put down the thing.... I felt the chills of the cold air near my feet, shivering especially as it irritated my wounds. Did that monster make this ice, snow and cold? Then why was the creature's arm still stuck in it? Wait, what was I thinking. I shook my head, trying to focus on the more pressing matters. I turned swift as lightning to Tiria and knelt down near her. "Are you alright Tiria? Are you hurt anywhere?"
  
  I eyed her up and down a few times, hands darting all over the place and getting close to the child, but not enough to touch her even if she were to let me, as I didn't want to accidentally touch somewhere I shouldn't and hurt her more. She was after all, already shaking a fair bit, in no small part because she looked drenched between the mud and the rain, and the bits of snow on her hair and skin, which surely weren't helping. She was going to get sick at this rate, just look at how pale she was already! It was only a question of how much of it was her physical conditioning, and how much was from the shock of what she just went through...
  
  "Aaah, you'll get sick, I should, what should, I-I- I uh, is there anything-" What would mom have done in this situation? My thoughts were all jumbled as if fighting each other in a pit called panic. I looked around the stables. It might be a bit redundant to note this again, but it had turned into quite the cold place. Whatever things here might warm anyone up, they were likely frozen.
  
  I stood up and looked him right in the eyes.
  
  "Thank you for saving us, mister uh, blade. Really. We came to this village with some other people, but I was outside with some... hunter I think, when that thing in the sky showed up. I was trying to meet back up with them after I distracted some of the monsters, still no idea where everyone is though. Well, except for Tiria, since I happened to spot her. I guess I've got a few "scratch marks" after all that but that's nothing new for a traveler like myself. I'll be just fine, just need a safe place to take a breather and fix myself up a bit. But I need to find something to warm her up... and something for him as well."
  
  It had slipped my mind, but as I looked at it again, the dog was wounded. It was hard to tell if it was anything deep though, and it would probably be even more averse to me getting close than Tiria might have been. I looked at Tiria.
  
  "I'll go see if there is anything the two of you could use in the supplies around here. If you know anything about what happened here or everyone's whereabouts, could you share it with him? He seems to be helping us." I gave the child a smile, then looked at the boy and headed to do as I said.
  
  
• 
  
  Was that barking coming from inside the stable? I realized there was a dog there, but now it seemed agitated for some reason, increasingly so. I was too occupied with the battle I had just endured to think about it, but somewhere inside me I couldn't help fearing the worst. I didn't wait more than a few moments after declaring my intentions to the stables for me to raise my sword up high, tilted back ready to swing, but just before I did I threw back my foot and shifted my body to the direction of the new sound. To my surprise (and relief) it was not another monster but a boy with blonde hair, slightly taller than myself, dressed in colorful elaborate clothing.
  
  I couldn't keep the arm up for long after the boy showed such a concerned expression as he inquired about my 'friend' inside, so it dropped to rest for a second over my bleeding shoulder. He genuinely seemed to be here to help, and we could use all the help we could get, yet before I could reply to his question or even react to the the odd feeling of his hand over my head, making me clutch my body a bit tighter, muffled screaming erupted from inside the stables, followed by noises I didn't quite recognize. I felt my heart skipping a beat or two as I turned with wide eyes and heavy breathing to this new benefactor.
  
  "PLEASE HELP US!"
  
  He then began kicking the door, which was pushed as if bent with each of those knocks. With even more screaming coming from the inside though, I began readying my sword again to make an attempt at the door myself. Fortunately, it was then that it finally gave in and was burst open, and a torrent of cold air engulfed us. There was snow all over, particularly where the monster and Tiria were fighting, and shards of ice scattered around the stables. Where did they come from? What happened? Is that what the noises were? Yet, the boy did not share my moment of hesitation, instead jumping straight into action against the monster. It made me realize I couldn't let myself get let behind either, and I leaped onto the stables myself, ignoring the stinging all over.
  
  "Tiria!" I ran towards the girl, as fast as I could while handling how slippery things had gotten and tried to get between her and whatever monstrosity she and her pet were up against. I had barely gotten there though, and the blonde had already managed to put down the thing.... I felt the chills of the cold air near my feet, shivering especially as it irritated my wounds. Did that monster make this ice, snow and cold? Then why was the creature's arm still stuck in it? Wait, what was I thinking. I shook my head, trying to focus on the more pressing matters. I turned swift as lightning to Tiria and knelt down near her. "Are you alright Tiria? Are you hurt anywhere?"
  
  I eyed her up and down a few times, hands darting all over the place and getting close to the child, but not enough to touch her even if she were to let me, as I didn't want to accidentally touch somewhere I shouldn't and hurt her more. She was after all, already shaking a fair bit, in no small part because she looked drenched between the mud and the rain, and the bits of snow on her hair and skin, which surely weren't helping. She was going to get sick at this rate, just look at how pale she was already! It was only a question of how much of it was her physical conditioning, and how much was from the shock of what she just went through...
  
  "Aaah, you'll get sick, I should, what should, I-I- I uh, is there anything-" What would mom have done in this situation? My thoughts were all jumbled as if fighting each other in a pit called panic. I looked around the stables. It might be a bit redundant to note this again, but it had turned into quite the cold place. Whatever things here might warm anyone up, they were likely frozen.
  
  I stood up and looked him right in the eyes.
  
  "Thank you for saving us, mister uh, blade. Really. We came to this village with some other people, but I was outside with some... hunter I think, when that thing in the sky showed up. I was trying to meet back up with them after I distracted some of the monsters, still no idea where everyone is though. Well, except for Tiria, since I happened to spot her. I guess I've got a few "scratch marks" after all that but that's nothing new for a traveler like myself. I'll be just fine, just need a safe place to take a breather and fix myself up a bit. But I need to find something to warm her up... and something for him as well."
  
  It had slipped my mind, but as I looked at it again, the dog was wounded. It was hard to tell if it was anything deep though, and it would probably be even more averse to me getting close than Tiria might have been. I looked at Tiria.
  
  "I'll go see if there is anything the two of you could use in the supplies around here. If you know anything about what happened here or everyone's whereabouts, could you share it with him? He seems to be helping us." I gave the child a smile, then looked at the boy and headed to do as I said.
  
  

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Interacting With: Juju seasonedcat
Mentions: N/A
Might Also Want to Read: N/A​

 

[The True Plague]

Faenor kept his gaze steady as he watched the fruits of his and the spellsword's labor. She may be a human, and he may prefer working alone... But he won't lie. She is definitely capable with her magic. Exactly who was this individual? He tended to pride himself on knowing any Mage of particularly strong nature. He may have to check with some of his more... less than scrupulous contacts amongst the Rebellion. When digging for information, nothing must be left unchecked.

Of course, that's if he managed to live this night. He was low on mana, and couldn't exactly risk the side effects of running too low. This was Blade territory still. Best to not be caught without the ability for at least one spell and a get away. Though he wasn't entirely sure if this human knew about the dangers of running too low on mana... Sure. They were more or less resistant to it by nature, but resistant isn't immune... Bah, what does he care? Sure. She's helping him stay alive... And he's not exactly paid her to do that...

"Fuck!" He was too distracted by his thoughts, and a monster had managed to slip past Yona. Thankfully, it had only slashed his leg, likely to try and drag him down. Sure, it felt horrible. Three cuts along the side of his left leg left him dangerously vulnerable to being ran down... But a knife to the eye quickly took that monster out, though he could just barely wrench it out again. He really should've focused more on the whole physical combat portions of his training.

Lamenting his lack of preparedness for a situation in which he blew all of his magic on flashy effects... He did his best to follow Yona's trail of destruction amongst the thinning waves of wee beasties, illuminated by the tear nearby. Sure, he was mildly winded, has taken a few slashes here and there... But regardless a knife to the throat or to the claws dissuaded most monsters... Sure, there were close calls here and there where one of them managed to cut his flowing robes, but that generally gave him enough of a tell to move out of the way, though the once resplendent robes were becoming more of a cloak, or maybe a shawl with how much has been lost to the claws.

"Conserve your energy, Spellsword. There's no use for dead heroes." He'd speak slowly, forcing back another beast's claws when it happened. A clamourous clang rang out throughout the battlefield, as if all of Yona's lightning had finally been caught up to by its thunderous counterpart. On the heels of the sound, was the resulting roar of wind that sought to extinguish the flames. Alas, only the sputtering and dying embers were put out. The blaze spluttered, it flickered... But it was not enough. The azure flames still burned onwards, in spite of rain and gale. The storm can't put out the forest's fire.

However, it did cause its caster to stumble backwards, opening himself to a leaping monster to drag him down. He... May need some assistance?

CasualTea

 

[CasualTea]

As the beasts' numbers began to noticeably thin, Yona began cutting down on her use for magic to conserve mana. Even though she was low, she was still just as lethal as can be. Not too over the top, but remembering some glances from Hackel, these monsters are still quite fragile like the human body. As well as seeing the corpses dropping near Faenor with his skill with the knife, it seems the monsters aren't all too smart either. Sure, the one outlier who'd flank them would be around, but it's not unusual. A surprise but not a total shock. She kept sending the monsters to death's door wrapped up in a nice ribbon while also starting to tighten her security with Faenor. This meant she wasn't going to attack unless the monsters were in a close perimeter. That being said, her occasional glance turn to Faenor when she heard him say something but noticed something else in the air.

Of course, another monster that slipped passed Yona. She's terribly used to going off as a lone wolf so she never had to worry about teammates. However, she was also not used to totally feral disgusting little fuckers who come out of a gaping hole of whatever the hell they came from. Since she still had a good amount of magic left in her, she used some of it to leap into the air and dive into the leaping beast midair using her spear, landing a meter away from Faenor having driven the spear head into the beast to the ground finishing it off with her sword.

After violently ripping the spear from the monster creating an even messier wound, undoubtedly killing it, she looked out to the battlefield and saw that there were none or at least, very few beasts left but just weren't heading their way. Right when she leapt into the air moments before, she did hear a loud bang. It didn't sound like her doing since it was more metallic. Like a clashing of steel. Though, seeing as how that might have scared off the creatures from them or perhaps to go and regroup with more, it was a calm before a potential storm. Better make use of it.

She jogged over to Faenor and sheathed her sword, her polearm seemingly attached to her back as if there was a strap or a holster for it, though there was none. Once she got near him, she gave out a sigh. She then remembered what he said moments prior, looking at Faenor straight in his eyes. "Was there a point to that? Were you dictating your fucking obituary to me, Pyromancer?" She said tiredly and in between breaths, the nickname coming out of its own as she was not in the right mind to give a damn about what he wanted to be called given that he hasn't given her his name yet. Well, neither did she. That was besides the point though. Since the both of them are nearly exhausted of their mana, the best option is to regroup with the others to increase combat effectiveness if they were to survive this night. Better yet, secure the horses in case the Hilt decides to ditch the village and live to fight another day.

She soon began to help Faenor, putting his arm over her and helped him up in a timely manner. "Come on. We have to move. Don't burn me, okay?" She said as she began heading towards the stables where the horses were. Since the monsters attack anything indiscriminately, she wouldn't be surprised if some of them started preying on the horses. She also figured that if a monster were to attack, she'd have to kill them. With one hand wrapping around Faenor's waist to keep him up, her other prepared an electric charge to fire at any monster that came near them and took an interest. Her spell was something she had to prepare if she couldn't use a weapon for some reason. If she were to fire it, a bolt would come straight from her two fingers that would pierce right through stone. If anything, she'd have the equivalent of a really big fucking ballista right at her finger tips.

She still had quite enough magic to just get by since some of the puddles still had electricity in them and they would be absorbed by Yona through her hand and redirected to the charge while the extra that she had used would be conserved. It didn't hurt Yona in the slightest since she was used to using this technique. It also wouldn't hurt Faenor since the pathway of the electricity was accurate enough to only be directed to Yona's charged finger tips. To make sure his arm wouldn't get hit by any stray charges, she had his arm over her shoulders and around her neck. Though, did meant Faenor's arm was hanging just in front of her chest. However, she didn't care. She probably isn't even conscious of it. As she walked with Faenor to the stables, she spoke again. This time, it was a sort of praise. "Thanks for the help. Even though I was the one supposed to be preventing your injuries and I'm fucking up, glad you're still with me."

She wasn't walking to fast nor too slow. Sure, she wanted to make sure the horses were okay, but that didn't mean she was going to bum rush to it and make a lot of noise to attract monsters. If there was still any lingering anyway. She still wanted to keep an eye for electric puddles. She can take the shock, sure. But Faenor? Let's just not hurt him even more than what he just endured. Eventually though, they'll make it to the stables. Carefully and cautiously. There's no longer any room for mistakes.

 

[The True Plague]

"Hmmph, as if." The elven noble would scoff at such a ridiculous idea. Sure, he was indebted, a bit, to the spellsword for saving his life... But mercenaries are generally all the same. She'll probably just want his money. "If I were, it'd be a lot more dramatic. Poetry, oaths of vengeance to be passed to mine family. Hardly a worthy obituary to have me warning one away from utilizing too much mana, mildly hypocritical given the whole..." Smoke would puff from his gloves, followed by a wince from him. Yeah, no. That hurt to even redirect a miniscule amount of mana to Snapdragon. Sure, it was a livable pain, he could maybe even manage a weak fireball by his standards.

Part of him wished to decry the fact he was being helped along like this. He was no invalid, and he certainly didn't need her help walking! Though according to his leg, and the warm sensation of blood running down it, he's a little bitch that needs to sit down and shut up. Stupid pain... When she wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him supported as she readied a spell preemptively, he decided he might as well, bleh, be considerate here. After all, it was... Kinda awkward for someone whom he didn't even know the name of to hold him at all.

"As if I'd be that incompetent. I quite clearly owe you for saving my life, would be a terrible form of repayment to burn you now. Though I will ask your name, since if I must be in debt, I should at least know the name of whom I owe it to." The fact this would make it easier to dig into her past with his informants is merely a side benefit. In truth, he did mostly wish to know so he could repay his debt swiftly. It will haunt him to know he owes a human anything.

"It was no problem. The entire reason I'm even here is to offer the support of the Rebellion to Anselm and his cause. The least I could do is aid in my own defense. However, you've hardly fucked up. After all, no money has exchanged hands. Merely a request between strangers. Though if I ever do pay for protection and this happens to me, do know I'd not be so lenient." One star out of five for this protection service. Only not 0 because he liver. Maybe two stars for not abandoning him when she easily could've left him to die. If he were some wretch, he may even think this portion of the whole carrying thing was nice. Alas, he was more concerned about, y'know, the pain and bleeding over where his arm was rested.

CasualTea